Final Fantasy 7 Remake guide: Collapsed Expressway hidden Materia

As you and Aerith make your way from Sector 5 to Sector 7 in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, you’ll pass through an underground Collapsed Expressway with some hand robots in it. There are two hidden pieces of Materia here. In this gudie, we’ll show you how to find both.

Collecting different bits of Materia will enable you to cast different spells, or alter some of your existing abilities. You can purchase Materia at stores or vending machines, but some of it is hiding in the world of Midgar.

Green Materia

Binding Materia

Grid View

• Heed the warning and drop Aerith off on the container to pick up the Materia Image: Square Enix via Polygon
• Heed the warning and drop Aerith off on the container to pick up the Materia Image: Square Enix via Polygon
• Heed the warning and drop Aerith off on the container to pick up the Materia Image: Square Enix via Polygon

In the Collapsed Expressway, you’ll find some robot hands that you need to shuttle Aerith from one side of the room to the other. After a short tutorial puzzle around the hands, you’ll run into the first one with a hidden Materia. While it’s easily visible on the right side of your screen, it’s not clear how to pick it up.

If you try to put Aerith down on the other side of the room, the game will show you a warning, saying you won’t be able to get the Materia once you put her down. So how can you pick up the Materia?

If you have Aerith, drop her back where you picked her up. Use the arm to grab the shipping container, and place it next to the wooden structure that the green Materia is sitting on. You’ll only be able to put the shipping container in the yellow lines, so it’s easy to see where to place it.

Once the container is in position, pick Aerith back up. Use the arm to carry her over to the shipping container and lower her down. A command will appear to “Drop Off.” Hit the Circle button and Aerith will hop off the hand and pick up the Materia.

Now you just need to pick her back up at the shipping container and move her to the other side of the room.

Blue Materia location

Magnify Materia

Grid View

• Repeat the same process as the first puzzle Image: Square Enix via Polygon
• Repeat the same process as the first puzzle Image: Square Enix via Polygon
• Repeat the same process as the first puzzle Image: Square Enix via Polygon
• Repeat the same process as the first puzzle Image: Square Enix via Polygon

The arm puzzle with the blue Materia is a bit more complicated, but getting the Materia is just as easy. Use the first hand to pick up its nearby shipping container and move it over to the yellow outline near another wooden structure — where the blue Materia is sitting.

With the container in place, pick up Aerith and drop her off on the container. She’ll grab the blue Materia for you.

To finish the puzzle, move the container to the yellow lines between the two hands. Use the second hand to stack the second container onto the first one. You can then take Aerith, put her on the stack of containers with the first hand, and move her to the other side with the second.

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