Dirt Dirt , also called Soil and Natural Surface is a recurring terrain featured in areas of the world map in the " Final Fantasy " series . It usually appears where there is a lack of grass . Appearances . " Final Fantasy IV " . There are patches of dirt scattered throughout the Underworld , and it serves as places where the airship cannot land . Dirt areas return in the sequel to " Final Fantasy IV " , only appearing during the portion of Rydia ' s Tale in the Underworld . It serves the same purpose as the previous game . " Final Fantasy VII " . Dirt appears as a terrain in " Final Fantasy VII " . Dirt usually appears as a layer above grass terrain , as an alternative to grass . All major areas of the World Map except the Grasslands Area , the Icicle Area , the Gongaga Area , and the Rocket Launch Pad Area , feature dirt in portions . The " Highwind " cannot land on dirt , however , the Buggy can park on it . Enemies fought on the dirt terrain often match the enemies fought on the grass with few exclusives . Midgar is surrounded by dirt due to the Mako Reactor s killing the surrounding countryside . No islands use dirt terrain . In the Midgar Area , the only place the Custom Sweeper enemies can be fought is on the dirt terrain , which is the only place they can be fought other than the Battle Square in the fifth battle , albeit only preceding the party obtaining the " Tiny Bronco " . In the Junon Area , the dirt terrain exclusively contains the Hell Rider VR2 enemy , which otherwise can only be fought in the eighth battle of the Battle Square preceding the appearance of the Tiny Bronco . The Zemzelett enemy , although appearing on other terrains , is more likely to appear on the dirt than in other terrains . The Cosmo Area features dirt heavily . Due to this , a distance must be traveled after the player departs from the " Highwind " in the Cosmo Area before they can reach Cosmo Canyon . The first time , the Buggy can take the player to Cosmo Canyon , however this does not avoid Random encounter s . Contrary to its name , the Desert Sahagin enemy is fought in the dirt and canyon areas . Additionally , the Griffin , Bagrisk , Golem , and Skeeskee enemies are fought here . The Wutai Area also heavily features dirt aside from small areas of grass and its beach es . The dirt in the Wutai Area is exclusive to the Thunderbird and Bizarre Bug enemies . Like on the grass terrain of the same area , the Tail Vault enemy dominates its formations . The Tonadu enemy is fought in the dirt of the Woodlands Area , however , it is also more prominently fought in the beaches , with the Under Lizard enemies appearing more often on the terrain despite also having a small chance of appearing in the grass area . Palette - swap of the Griffin , the Hippogriff enemy has the highest chance of occurring in the dirt areas of the Mideel Area . The Spiral enemy dominates the dirt terrain , while also having a small chance of appearing on the grass . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . There ' s a terrain tile called Soil , known as Natural Surface in PlayStation version . A Geomancer standing on the Soil terrain tile will use Sinkhole to deal Non - elemental damage with a chance of inflicting Immobilize to any enemy units within five squares . " Final Fantasy Mystic Quest " . The entire Fire Region is covered in dirt and rocks , there ' s not even a single speck of grass or trees to be found . This is probably due to the area having an active volcano . Etymology . Dirt or is the mixture of minerals , organic matter , gases , liquids and a myriad of micro - and macro - organisms that can support plant life .