One of the strangest creatures in Final Fantasy VII made it’s return as a major boss in the remake. So what are some of the best strategies to defeat Hell House in Final Fantasy VII Remake?
First, Hell House is no joke. You fight it midway through Chapter 9, and it is probably one of the hardest bosses in the main story. This is mostly due to how absolutely frustrating it is as an opponent. It resists physical damage so much that it’s just north of useless. Add to this the ability to consistently change “typing,” meaning its magical weaknesses and strengths, and you have a long fight on your hands.
Preparing for the battle with Hell House in Final Fantasy VII Remake
First, you’ll want to prepare. Since Hell House cycles through elemental weaknesses, make sure at least Aerith has all four types of primary magic Materia equipped. (These are Wind, Fire, Lightning, and Fire.) She’s going to do a lot of lifting on this fight because of her magic output. I’d also give her Magic Up Materia to further boost her damage. Finally, make sure she has a healing setup that you’re comfortable with. You’ll want to equip her with her highest magic damage weapon you have.
For Cloud, grab the Hardedge weapon from Wall Market before the fight. Not only will this boost the minimal physical damage Cloud will do, it also gives him several more Materia slots. Make sure Cloud has a Healing Materia available, in addition to an MP Up Materia, as he’ll need all the help he can muster. Wouldn’t hurt to give him an ATB Boost Materia too. I also think Assess Materia will help in the battle, as you can easily check which mode Hell House is in at any given time. There are visual cues as well, but I found it very convenient to double check with Assess. Finally, give Cloud as many of the elemental abilities as he has room left. If you can swing it, giving him all four like Aerith is best case scenario.
Make sure neither have any elemental affinities attached to their weapons. Additionally, if you’re bringing a summon bring Fat Chocobo. His attacks are non-elemental, meaning you won’t have to worry about the timing of Hell House elemental shifting.
Hell House boss fight strategy
The first phase of the Hell House fight in Final Fantasy VII Remake is actually fairly straightforward. Hell House will cycle through different types, with a different weakness each time. For example, Hell House starts in fire mode meaning it absorbs fire but is weak to ice. Simply keep track of the current mode and use the opposite element to capitalize on damage. If you need reminding, ice is weak to fire, lightning to wind, and wind to lightning.
However, after you whittle it’s health down a bit the real boss fight starts. Hell House transforms and grows limbs and a head. It also adds a new cycle into its defenses, God House Mode. This places Hell House into a circular barrier and removes all his weaknesses while further boosting his resistances. Save all your MP during this mode and try to get a little physical chip damage. Just make sure to take advantage of elemental weaknesses again every time God House Mode ends.
Toward the end of the fight Hell House will start flying into the air to fire off missiles and launch a charge attack your direction. You can block the rockets for some ATP charge if you need it or dodge if you’re low on health. Around this time you can summon Fat Chocobo if you brought him, which should help to further put more damage on the board.
It really is a war of attrition, just wailing away and seeing the health bar barely move. If you can manage to stagger it, that’s a huge plus. It’s most susceptible to stagger right after it leaves God House Mode. The fight is long and often frustrating, but as long as you keep your health managed and uses magic attacks wisely, eventually Hell House will fall.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.
