Whenever you complete the second reactor by defeating the iconic Airbuster in FFVII: Ever Crisis, you’ll unlock the option to do Criterion Dungeons. These dungeons are a great way to unlock great bonuses for upgrading your character and their weapons and materia. Each one has a hidden objective to complete for even more rare rewards at the end. One of those hidden objectives requires players to find and defeat Cactuar, a familiar face for those familiar with the franchise.
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Where to Find Cactuar in FFVII: Ever Crisis
Cactuar is easily missable by players looking to speed through the level in FFVII: Ever Crisis. He’s hiding near the last boss encounter whenever you enter the reactor core room. To find him, just head straight ahead on the walkway instead of turning right at the fork. When you reach the end of the walkway, the game should transition over to a random battle featuring Cactuar alone.
Once you encounter him in battle, all you have to do is defeat him before he uses his special ability to escape. If you have your gold weapons fully upgraded to level twenty, you should be able to make quick work of him. Be sure to cure as needed by switching over to defense mode before casting the spell. At the end, you will also get an extra drop after returning to the movement screen.
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In the end, after you defeat all the bosses, you will receive full credit for completing all the objectives. If you’re lucky enough to find the cactuar the first time around, it’ll save you some time from having to do it all over again. Each dungeon has its own secret objective, so be sure to explore everything you can in each one and try to keep everyone alive. These challenges and others are good for testing your team’s builds for future story encounters, as the jump in difficulty for each mission is huge.