I remember the game had a timer to let you know how many hours you had played. When I had completed almost everything, I was at 100 hours. By the time I successfully bred a black chocobo I had put in another 100 hours! This was the only way to beat the game. The black chocobo could walk on water. On the island was the Knights of Round summon. It was the only thing that could defeat the last enemy.
I had no idea that there was a Black Chocobo that could walk on water to get there. My memory is a little fuzzy about how I got there but I recall using the airship to get to that island. You should have been able to land there and get what you needed to fight the Emerald Weapon.
I actually never was able to. I remember hearing that there was a special materia that you got if you did so. I manged to beat the game without this materia or Knight of the Round. I would love to play it again so that I could find all the secrets I missed the first time around.
The first time I played, when I was really young, I just breezed through the story. I barely understood English, so it was really hard for me. I came back a few years latter and finished all the sidequests, and everything there was to do. It didn't even feel like a grind, since I loved the game so much. Really loved Sephiroth, it is still my favorite villain in Final Fantasy games.
