Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: A Golden Key Walkthrough (Chapter 12)

After a highly eventful homecoming in the previous chapter of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Cloud and the others depart from Nibelheim as they begin their search for the Keystone that will allow them to enter the temple. Once you reach the twelfth chapter, the world really opens up. You’ll be able to fast travel anywhere and work on all sorts of side content. Despite all the optional content, this next chapter is significantly shorter than previous ones. That said, here is what you can expect as you begin Chapter 12: A Golden Key.
This walkthrough contains spoilers, so proceed with caution.

When You Can’t Fly, Swim

Despite the disastrous landing, Cid is able to get his plane to function as a boat. After the cutscene is over, you will be in control of the plane. Sail along the river until you reach Costa del Sol. Along the way, there are boxes in the water that you can hit to get items. To get off the plane, approach the dock and hold down the Triangle button.

After the cutscene, you will gain the ability to fast travel to any region. There is also a chest nearby that unlocks the ability to create Corsair’s Compass (provided you’ve found all four pirate relics, which can be found once you’ve opened this chest). You will also have a bunch of new side quests that you can partake in as well. Once you are ready to progress the story, fast travel to the Gold Saucer.

Find Dio

Once you arrive at the Gold Saucer, your first objective will be to track down Dio. To find him, go to the Battle Square. Approach Aerith and then follow her into the arena. Approach Dio to trigger a cutscene. Because nothing can ever go as planned, you can only get the keystone if you win in the upcoming battle.
To get ready for the fight, head to the haunted hotel. Before you can progress in the story, though, it’s time to go see how things are going from Zack’s perspective. Head up to the second floor where Cloud is to trigger a cutscene.

Following the cutscene, leave the garden and board the motorcycle. Interact with it, and you will be back in Cloud’s perspective again. There will be a knock on your door. Depending on who you have the highest relationship with, the person on the other side of the door will vary. During this walkthrough, we got Barret.

Loveless

Barret managed to get some tickets to see Loveless. Fast travel to Event Square and approach the Usher at the end of the hall to trigger a cutscene. Following the cinematic performance of Loveless, you will partake in a mini-game of sorts where you get to make choices. Look to the right and select your weapons to get a tutorial. Alternatively, interact with the bars to begin the story.

In this mini-game, you must press the buttons when prompted. As the story progresses, you will have to choose to fight either Varvados (Barret) or Garm (Red XIII). As you progress through each act, you will have a choice to make. For the second act in this walkthrough, the choices were to learn Garm’s weakness or learn your future with Rosa. The second option was chosen.
For the third and final act, you will choose between Garm, Varvados, or Rosa. Rosa was chosen. Once the mini-games are over, there will be another cutscene. If you managed to score S rank during your performance, you will unlock a trophy. To continue the story, go to the skywheel.

The Fight For Naming Rights

For the tournament, your party will consist of Cloud, the person you hung out with, and a third member of your choosing. Approach the counter when you are ready to begin. You will fight a large group of Don Corneo’s minions. They pose little challenge and can easily be staggered, so just mow them down and heal when needed.
The next round is more dangerous, as you have to fight some Cactaurs. The Cactaurs move really fast, making them difficult to land any hits on. Wait for them to stop moving and build up your ATB gauge. Cactaur are weak to fire, so hit them with Fira to instantly stagger them. Hit them fast and hard to avoid getting hit by their 1,000 Needles attack.

For the third round you will have to fight not one, not two, but three Tonberries. Avoid getting hit by their attacks and stagger them as quickly as possible. Even after three rounds, the fight isn’t over yet. Your next fight will be against Corneo on a giant creature known as Abzu. Abzu is weak to fire, so make sure to hit him with Fire or Fira spells. Doing so repeatedly will make it easier to pressure and stagger Abzu.
If Abzu hits a wall, it will pressure him. Keep pressuring and staggering the boss, and he will eventually go down.

How to Beat Rude and Elena (Again)

Unfortunately, your victory is short-lived as the Turks come to crash the event. If your party is in need of healing, Dio’s got you covered as his staff brings out benches and vending machines for you to use before you fight Rude and Elena. Once you are ready to proceed, talk to Dio.
Rude and Elena’s weaknesses remain the same as they did when you fought them back in the third chapter. During this fight, neither Rude nor Elena do anything particularly noteworthy. Rude will spam Triple Shockwave and Elena will throw grenades. Even after the in-battle cinematic, little changes in this fight. Dodge unblockable attacks, heal when neccessary, and hit them with their elemental weakness to defeat them.

How to Beat Rufus

While Rufus has never been one to shy away from the camera, seeing him decide to jump into the ring is certainly unexpected. Just like with their battle at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, this is a one on one battle between Rufus and Cloud.

Rufus has no weaknesses, and he will block almost every attack you try to land on him. In order to actually land hits, hit him while he is reloading or using an ability. This also allows you to pressure him. In some cases, landing an ATB ability on Rufus while he is pressured is enough to stagger him outright.
As Rufus falls 25% health, Darkstar will jump down to his aid. Just like Rufus, Darkstar has no weaknesses. Rufus will periodically link with Darkstar, comboing their attacks. Build up your ATB gauge by attacking Darkstar and then use your abilities on Rufus to pressure and stagger him. By defeating Rufus, you also defeat Darkstar regardless of how much health it still has.

Find Cait Sith

After the battle, start looking for Cait Sith. Approach Aerith at the end of the hallway and then turn around to pursue Cait Sith. He is hiding amongst the chocobo and moogle plushies. Once you press the Triangle button, Cait Sith will get up and run away.
Follow him through the tunnel. Find Cid by the Ghost Square sign and approach him. You will see Cait Sith running off. Approach Barret at the entrance of the Event Square and you will see Cait Sith running off again, this time up toward the Ghost Square.

Oddly, when you go up there you will just see Vincent and he will tell you he’s not seen Cait Sith. At that point, you will see Cait Sith running at the bottom of the stairs toward the bench with a moogle statue on it. Interact with him and then pursue him as he runs off into a small side room with the sign “Authorized Personnel Only” above it. While pursuing Cait Sith through this area, make sure to loot the purple chest on the way that contains a weapon for Yuffie. Keep pursuing Cait Sith and you will trigger a cutscene.
Once the cutscene is done, talk to the Parking Attendant that is near your party to leave the Gold Saucer. While you can drive back to Costa del Sol via the buggy, you can also just fast travel and save yourself some time. Once you talk to Cid, the chapter will end.