Final Fantasy VII Remake takes no time at all introducing you to a key item collectible — the Moogle Medal. You find your first one in a Shina crate in the opening moments of the game, with the only hint of their use being that someone collects them. At that point, and for a while afterward, you have no idea whether to scour each area for every last Moogle Medal before moving on.
There’s no reason not to know whether missing even a single one will spell disaster later in the game, or whether there’s an easy way to track them down. We noted each and every Moogle Medal we found in our first playthrough to bring you a guide that should shed some light on these curious little knickknacks.
What do Moogle Medals do?
Moogle Medals are collectible items you’ll find throughout your adventure through Midgar, and they’re hidden in some of the most bizarre places. For a long while, you’ll wonder what exactly they’re for, why you’re picking them up, and who might actually want them.
It’s only until chapter 8 that you’ll be able to spend these, by talking to a kid dressed up as a Moogle at the Children’s Hideout in the Sector 5 Slums. Spend one Moogle Medal on a Membership Card, and he’ll begin selling a fairly wide selection of goods for even more of your shiny medallions.
Aside from medicines and the odd piece of equipment, most of the items you’ll find at the Moogle Emporium, from the Graveyard Key to SP-granting Manuscripts, are unique to this vendor, making Moogle Medals a true commodity that can, and will, help you on your way to shut down Shinra.
What can you buy with Moogle Medals?
Between medicines and fancy weapons, Moogle Medals can be used on quite a few interesting little items. You’ll find the biggest selection of goods right off the bat, but more items become available when you’re able to revisit the shop in chapter 14, including a key item you’ll need to complete one of the side quests in the same chapter.
Moogle Emporium Item List
- Moogle Membership Card
- 20. Gold Saucer music
- Ether
- Silver Staff (Aerith)
- Whistlewind Scarf
- Enfeeblement Ring
- Salvation Badge
- Graveyard Key (side-quest item)
- The Art of Swordplay Vol. 1
- Sharpshooter’s Companion Vol. 1
- Way of the Fist Vol. 1
- Telluric Scriptures Vol. 1
Chapter 14 onward
- Elixir
- Turbo Ether
- Steel Pincers (Barret weapon)
- Moogle’s Mortar (side-quest item)
Where to find Moogle Medals
For the longest time, it seemed like Moogle Medals came from hyper-specific places — like you would miss finding every available medal if you rushed through a chapter without breaking every Shinra box you came across. Now, with more people playing the game, it stands to reason that only some of these Moogle Medal locations are static, with the rest boiling down to pure luck.
Shina crates have an unknown chance to contain a Moogle Medal when broken, whereas solid chests will always contain a Moogle Medal in the same place in each playthrough. So while it’s possible to miss a static Moogle Medal, forgetting to break a Shina crate or two won’t stop you from being able to afford everything you need from the Moogle Medal shop.
Between random drops or those found in chests and mini-games, there are far too many Moogle Medals to reasonably map out. Given there’s a particularly easy way to farm for any additional ones you may need, it’s best to just keep an eye out for chests you might find along the way. Glance at the mini-map as you run through tunnels and other areas; dead ends usually lead to chests, which more often than not seem to contain Moogle Medals.
How to farm Moogle Medals
Setting the mind at ease by the time you reach the Moogle Medal shop is a new mini-game located right by the Moogle kid, at the exit leading into the monster-infested outback. A kid right by it will challenge you to a Whack-a-Box competition.
Among the rewards is a Moogle Medal, and you barely even have to try to get it. It’s nothing more than a participation prize, and she has an unlimited number of Moogle Medals to give out, making this a way to farm for any extra Moogle Medals you might need.
It’ll certainly take some time to grab everything from the shop if you’re struggling to find even a single medal by the time you enter chapter 8, but it’s one way to grab some essentials — like the Graveyard Key, Silver Staff, and each character’s SP manuscripts. At least it’s a pretty fun mini-game.
Barret’s Moogle Medal room
Although finding Moogle Medals in Shinra crates boils down to pure luck, there’s a section in chapter 13 where Barret finds himself in a few long corridors with stacks of Shinra crates along shelves right above him. With so many close together, it’s easy to mistake these for part of the decor, but take the time to shoot them down with his arm cannon and you should at least grab enough for a missed manuscript or two.
Don Corneo’s Secret Stash
By accepting the side quest “Don Corneo’s Secret Stash” in chapter 14, you’ll be sent on a mission to open all those red-crested gates you should have seen throughout your adventure. These are Don Corneo stashes, and they have a silly amount of crates and chests to break open. Some have more rewards than others, but the Steel Mountain and the Sewer System stashes tend to have the most Moogle Medals to grab.
All Corneo stash locations
- Collapsed Expressway:
- Head through the entrance to the area. You should see another similarly thin corridor to the north, opposite the correct way through the Expressway. That’s the stash.
- Steel Mountain:
- Probably the first you actively noticed, the huge gates to this stash can be found by following the east path away from the Sector 5 Train Station.
- Sewer System:
- This one can confuse people. You’ll have to progress the story back through Corneo’s mansion to reach the Sewers again. Tifa will remark that the stash gate used to be closed. It’s now part of the story. Go along with it for a while.
- When the boss critter you chase stops and flanks you to its final area, go back to this point afterward and take the path to the right. This is the new, final stash. Prepare for another boss fight. If you left the Sewer before finding it, you can head back down through a new entrance in the Urban Development District by Corneo’s mansion.