If you're stuck in Final Fantasy VII, there are a couple of alternatives out there to help you. There are strategy guides online that you can go to, strategies in magazines like EGM2, or strategy books that you can buy.

　　Of course, you could always post a question to the Sony USENET newsgroup (good luck getting an answer quickly) or call the Sony hintline, but by the time you get an answer you could be past the area giving you trouble.

　　For most gamers, a strategy guide is the way to go. The three big guides out there are Brady Games' official guide, Versus Books' Completely Unauthorized guide, and Sandwich Islands' Final Fantasy VII Complete Survival Guide. All three have their strengths and weaknesses, and if you're in the market to purchase one of these books, you may want to know exactly what you're getting into. Therefore, here's a rundown of the books and their features:

　　First off, Brady Games' book (about US$15) is the "official" guide, and has plenty of Square artwork of the characters and enemies throughout. There are plenty of maps to help and detailed sections on the game's areas. It's the biggest book out there, weighing in at 224 pages, but buyer beware: The big drawback to Brady's book is that it contains story spoilers. In fact, if you end up flipping through the book to the wrong page, you could be tipped off to a BIG story element that would've been a heightened emotional experience in the game. Heck, you don't even have to play the game with this book; you can just read about what happens.

　　Next is Versus Books' Completely Unauthorized Final Fantasy VII Ultimate Guide, which retails for $9.99. It's the smallest of the group at 141 pages, but also the most useful. The introduction to the book, which was authored by Casey Loe (formerly of Game Fan magazine), explains the author's hatred for books that give away important parts of the game's story. That said, this book gives you a complete walk-through without giving away the elements of the story that make Final Fantasy VII so good. It is the best organized of all the books and won't take away any of the fun of playing through the game. It also has a really cool poster and unofficial artwork.

　　Finally there's Sandwich Islands' Complete Survival Guide ($14.95). This one too contains story spoilers, but is a useful guide. Like the other books it contains area maps and a complete walk-through, but isn't as pretty looking as the other two. Still, it contains an alphabetized monster index (which is very useful), item lists, and materia charts. Like the Versus Books guide, it contains no Square artwork, just screens from the game itself.

　　Of the three, there is one that stands out.

　　If you play role-playing games regularly, it's a disappointment to get a book that tells you everything about the game and its unfolding storyline. Easily, the Versus Books' guide has the vital information needed to help you through the game without telling you what happens at the end. It's also the cheaper of the three, and really well written (not that the others aren't). The Sandwich Islands book is also well done. But the "official" guide is not as thorough and contains pictures and details of story spoilers.

　　Our recommendation: the two unofficial books are the way to go.