Banora Underground

Banora Underground is the final dungeon of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- and a secret network of caves underneath the town of Banora. The caves are mazes of naturally made caverns and waterways, the ruins of Shinra Electric Power Company's laboratories and private prison facility, and an area with a statue of a woman holding the Goddess Materia.
The Banora Underground is home to the most powerful enemies in the regular game of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- and once the player enters they cannot leave save for missions. To unlock the door to the final battles, the player must find seven special Materia, called the Goddess Materia: Light Materia, Star Materia, Heaven Materia, Ground Materia, Life Materia, Sabbath Materia, and Being Materia, that are scattered throughout the dungeon.
==History==
The Banora Underground was one of many sites examined by the Shinra Electric Power Company for the potential to host a mako reactor. The underground mines were built with this purpose in mind, but the site was closed when Shinra discovered a Weapon in stasis, and the village of Banora was built to hide the discovery with Shinra staffing it with residents.
Shinra employees were placed on the village board of trustees but eventually the company lost interest in the site and Banora became a free village. After his role in Project G concluded, Genesis Rhapsodos was sent to live in Banora under foster parents, as were Gillian and Angeal Hewley and others involved in the project, to live under surveillance. Genesis discovered the abandoned caverns by chance and made his secret headquarters there, which Zack Fair will discover years later and read Genesis's childhood diary.
After Genesis defected from Shinra alongside doctor Hollander, they set up a laboratory under the apple juice factory in Banora, with a giant dungeon where people and monsters were exposed to Genesis's unstable cells to turn them into Genesis Copies. Notes left behind refer to Genesis as someone who wanted to become even stronger, but found himself betrayed when the brutality of the experiments dawned on him. Another note was left by someone hired as a guard, who was then made a subject in the experiments against their will. Some subjects considered incomplete fled from their cells and were absorbed into the lifestream of the cavern. Genesis briefly used the secret lair as his base of operations as he conducted his war against the Shinra Company.
Exploring the caves, Genesis found a huge red materia inside a tree, and had a door built to protect it from harm, with seven smaller "Goddess Materia" needed to open it. Upon returning years later, he would start recreating his own version of Loveless, leaving several monoliths with parts of the poem inscribed throughout the caves, and placing a statue of a goddess in front of the huge materia, which he interpreted as the "Gift of the Goddess".
After the Banora Village is destroyed by Shinra to cover up the latest incidences there, the underground caverns can be reached from above easily. When Zack descended into the caves, he discovered Genesis's old hideout, the abandoned facilities, and the missing test subjects, who were turned into Genesis Copies similar to makonoids from the lifestream springs in the underground lake.
Genesis used the huge materia to transform into Genesis Avatar. When Zack defeated him, Genesis returned to human form, now cured of his degradation. Genesis again challenged Zack, but was defeated again.
==Layout==
===Depths of Judgement===
The first area in Banora Underground. Depths of Judgement has quite complex topography with many narrow tunnels and paths. There are four chests that contain Goddess Materia that needed to unlock the path to the final boss. There are also two LOVELESS plaques in this area.
Items found:
*Light Materia
*Heaven Materia
*Ground Materia
*Star Materia
Enemies:
*Grangalan
*Evilgoyle
*Malboro
===Lake of Oblivion===
The second area in Banora Underground. Lake of Oblivion is a flooded area and has three chests that contain the remaining Goddess Materia. It has a less complex topography compared to Depths of Judgment. There are five lifestream springs that will summon a Genesis copy resembling a makonoid when Zack examines it. Zack needs to examine the LOVELESS plaques to summon the Genesis copy. There is a large tree trunk the player can energize with lifestream.
Items found:
*Life Materia
*Being Materia
*Sabbath Materia
Enemies:
*G Antenora
*G Caina
*G Ptolomea
*G Judecca
*G Lucifero
===Cage of Binding===
A prison-like complicated area in Banora Underground. To unlock the path to Cage of Binding, Zack must first defeat all five Genesis Copies that spawned from the Lifestream spots in Lake of Oblivion.
Items found:
*River Chocobo Armlet
*Elixir
*Dispel Blade
*Phoenix Down
*Laboratory Key
*Gris-Gris Bag
*Graviga
Enemies:
*Mover
*Nightmare
*Blue Materia
*Green Materia
*Red Materia
*Yellow Materia
===Howling Fang===
A prison-like area similar to Cage of Binding. Zack can encounter the optional boss, Behemoth King, in this area. There is also a LOVELESS Plaque in this area.
Items found:
*MAG Up+
*ATK UP+
*HP Up++
*Silver Armlet
*Iron Bars Key
Enemies:
*Evil Eye
*Grenade
*Grosspanzer
*Panzer Jr.
*Behemoth King
===Portal of Severance===
The third area in Banora Underground. Portal of Severance holds the pedestal to place the seven Goddess Materia that will unlock the path to the final boss. There is also a LOVELESS Plaque in this area.
Enemies:
*Grenade
*G Regicide
===Light of Doom===
The last area in Banora Underground. In this area, the final boss awaits Zack's arrival. The area has a giant tree with the Goddess Materia in its grasp, and a goddess statue in front of it.
Enemies:
*Genesis Avatar
*Materia
*G Shadow Knight
*G Shadow Scythe
*G Shadow Mage
*Genesis
==Other appearances==
===Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call===
Banora Underground appears as a battle background in a Battle Music Sequences.
==Behind the scenes==
A Weapon that strongly resembles Emerald Weapon can be seen frozen in stasis in the first area, Depths of Judgment. A hill in the northern part of the area looks upon a large crystal formation, and the Weapon's shoulders can be seen extending from behind it, the four slots for its orbs resembling Emerald Weapon. Despite the resemblance, it is an entirely new Weapon.
While the rest of the Great Cavern of Wonders uses generic mine and cave-type maps, the area where Minerva is fought is the same area as the Depths of Judgment area where Emerald Weapon lingers in the background. Emerald Weapon being seen at the bottom of the Great Cavern of Wonders makes more sense than in the Banora Underground, since the Weapons are resting in the Northern Cave at this point of time, a cave system located next to the Great Cavern of Wonders.
==Citations==
Category:Locations in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Category:Final dungeons