Yuffie's First Sidequest
WARNING: This page contains SPOILERS for Final Fantasy VII.
If you have already gotten Yuffie, a sidequest will start if you approach the town of Wutai on the western continent. The earliest you can do this is directly after getting the Tiny Bronco. You start right next to the shore of the western continent when you first get the Bronco. Simply land there and walk north until you find the town. I'll be vague with the details so as to not spoil this quest for anyone.
First thing to do is head to the left and enter Turtle’s Paradise. Talk to the Turks. Now leave, head up, and then go out of this area from the upper-left corner.
Go into the house on the right of this screen. In the upper-left of this first area, you can find a secret passage that leads to a Magic Shuriken for Yuffie. Proceed to the next part of the house. In the lower-right area of this part, you will find another secret passage that leads to a Hairpin for Red XIII. Leave the secret passage and talk to the man in this area if you want, but it's not necessary.
Now exit the house. Head down to the first screen of the town and enter the first building you come to. There should be a treasure chest in the upper-right corner that a lady used to be blocking. Try to open it. Now exit the building. Go all the way to the bottom right corner of this screen (should be where you first entered Wutai) and go in the first house on the right. Look behind the screen. Now head back towards Turtle’s Paradise. See the pottery/basket thing there? Talk to it several times. Now just do what you have to until you get your party back (it doesn’t matter what you tell Yuffie, just pull the lever again and you’ll be free). Now go back towards Godo’s house. To the left of his house is a gong. Ring it and enter the door that appears at the bottom of the gong area. Do what you have to and you will once again be in Godo’s house. Exit and talk to the Turks. Now head up to the cliffs (go north from the main Wutai screen).
This area is pretty straight forward. Simply follow the paths, and you'll end up following Reno and Rude. When Rude goes into a cave, follow him. Grab the Dragoon Lance for Cid. Don't worry about the flames - you won't be able to do anything with them until late in disc two. (If you are already on disc two and have the Leviathan Scales, simply examine the flames and you'll extinguish them. You can get Oritsuru for Yuffie and the Steal as Well materia.) Once you're done in this cave area, leave it and head down.
RAPPS: A lot of people have a tough time with this boss, since you will not have all of your materia. But if you prepare yourself, it's not that hard. Set Barret's limit level to One, and use Mindblow on RAPPS. That will take all of its MP, which means it will not be able to use Aero on you. Stick your characters in the back row, and use X-Potions when you get hit. Just let your limits do the work for you. If you really need it, you can buy items that cast spells in Wutai. Also, using Tranquilizers on your characters will put them in the Sadness status, which will decrease the amount of damage they take.
After the battle, Yuffie will return your materia. You'll have to reorganize them though. Before you leave the Wutai area, go into the house directly to the left of Yuffie's. In the back, there is a staircase. A cat used to be blocking it, but now you can climb it. Go up there and grab the HP Absorb materia. You'll also be able to buy weapons from the shop now if you want to.
I still have some materia. Is this a glitch?
No. Yuffie will only take a set number of materia. If you have more than that number, you will keep some of them. The game lets you keep them in a certain order too. You'll keep Fire materia first, and then work your way up in the order of the materia's sort order.
I can't beat RAPPS. Is there some way to leave?
No. If you saved after Yuffie ran off, you're stuck on the western continent until you get her back. Just level up if you really can't beat it.
Can I do this on disc three?
No. You must do it on disc one or disc two. If you don't, you will miss it, and you will miss the only chance to get an MP Absorb materia.