The development of each Final Fantasy game has reached a point where it can take several years to pump out a new title. Final Fantasy XV might be the biggest example of this, due to the fact that it started out as a different game and spent over a decade in development.

The fact that each Final Fantasy game takes so long to make means that a lot of material goes unused, due to various different reasons. It's possible that the developers ran out of time and couldn't include every area that they wanted to, or maybe they just decided that a location didn't work and needed to be culled.

The Final Fantasy fans managed to create tools that allow them to go digging through the files of each game. It is due to these programs that we discovered the mythical Czar Dragon of Final Fantasy VI and the Buster Sword hidden within the world of Spira. These same fans managed to uncover a lot of unused locations that were never meant to be seen by the player.

We are here today to visit the most secretive of Final Fantasy locations, which the player was never meant to find; from the area that may have saved Final Fantasy XIII, to the most risque hotel in the city of Midgar.

Here are Twenty Hidden Locations In Final Fantasy Even Super Fans Haven’t Found!

20 The Seventh Ark

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One of the biggest complaints about Final Fantasy XIII was its linearity, with the whole game seemingly taking place on one long corridor with no deviations. There were no side quests in the game, except for a few optional hunts that didn't appear until the latter half of the game.

There was a scrapped area in Final Fantasy XIII that was meant to include quests. It was called the Seventh Ark and it featured a cut secret boss that was repurposed into the proto-Fal'Cie that appeared in Final Fantasy XIII-2.

The reason the Seventh Ark wasn't finished was due to the fact that the developers were running out of time and its lack of relevance to the overall story meant that it was the first thing to be cut.

19 The Lost Forest

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The early Final Fantasy games were stuck on cartridges, which severely limited the amount of memory that was available. This meant that the games would have to compress a lot of data in order to ensure that everything ran smoothly.

There is an unusual map in Final Fantasy IV that depicts a clearing in an empty forest, which could have been used in numerous different locations throughout the game. What makes this map unusual is the high quality of the image, which makes it difficult for the game to compress, meaning that it may have been used to test the limits of the Super Nintendo's hardware.

18 The Lost Parts Of Altissia

Final Fantasy XV Altissia

Altissia is one of the main locations in Final Fantasy XV, as several major events in the story take place there. You are given the opportunity to go back in time and return to Altissia once you have completed the game so that you can complete more quests.

Like many regions in Final Fantasy XV, Altissia wasn't finished before it was added into the game. It's possible to visit several unused locations by using cheats, which include an entire unused district, as well as the room that Lunafreya uses during her stay in the city.

17 The Trap

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The graphics of Final Fantasy VII used 3D models and backgrounds during the battles, FMV sequences, and the world map, but they would switch to 3D models on a static background whenever you entered a location.

One of the unused static backgrounds within Final Fantasy VII depicts a small mound of rocks, which is referred to as "Trap" within the files of the game.

The name of this map suggests that it involves Yuffie and it may have been meant for your first encounter with her. It could also have been used for the moment when she steals the party's supply of materia.

16 The Original Gate Of Limberry Castle

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In Final Fantasy Tactics, the player needs to travel to Limberry Castle, where they will have their final showdown against Marquis Elmdore and his demonic men. This will result in Elmdore transforming into Zalera, leading to a battle against another Lucavi demon.

Ramza and his allies need to assault the gate of Limberry Castle during their siege of Marquis Elmdore's stronghold. There was actually a different map for the Limberry Castle Gate, which featured small pools of water that the player would need to traverse.

It's unknown why the Limberry Castle Gate map was changed, as it's fully functional and can be accessed via cheats.

15 Niflheim

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The Empire of Niflheim is the antagonists throughout most of Final Fantasy XV. Noctis is given a chance to visit this nation during his adventures, but you aren't given any chance to explore, as it is during the end point of the game.

It seems that a lot more was planned for Niflheim, as fans have managed to explore large parts of the region that are only glimpsed from a distance within the game.

It's possible to access the Niflheim by breaking out of bounds, which gives you a glimpse at the game that Final Fantasy XV could have been.

14 Salt Lake

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In order to reach the country of Esthar, Squall Leonhart and his friends need to travel through the Great Salt Lake area. This was once an actual lake, but all of the water dried up due to the experiments performed by scientists from Esthar. Squall must escort Edea to Esthar by going through the dried-up lake, even though monsters have taken residence within it.

There is actually a background map that shows the Great Salt Lake during the period when it had water. This would likely have been used during one of the Laguna flashback sequences, as a photo that he took of the region can be found within the game.

13 Winhill

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The party is given a glimpse at the small town of Winhill during one of the Laguna flashbacks. The relevance of these segments doesn't become clear until the player realizes that these scenes show Squall's parents meeting and falling in love.

It seems that there were more scenes planned for Laguna's flashback, as there are several background maps of the town that go unused in the town. These backgrounds include a green truck that is being driven and a different view of the town that has data pertaining to Laguna, Kiros, and Ward.

12 The Snowfield

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Final Fantasy Mystic Quest takes a lot of crap from the fanbase, but one of the things it has going for it is some impressive (for the time) animation on the backgrounds. The game made full use of the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 to create moving weather on some of the battle backgrounds.

There is a snowfield background that cannot normally be seen during the regular game, which is meant to be seen whenever a battle happens north of Wintry Temple. You cannot access this background through normal gameplay, as a different one is substituted whenever you enter the area.

11 The Pre-Lunar Cry Areas

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The monsters of the Final Fantasy VIII planet are actually aliens, as they are dragged from the moon by a phenomenon known as the Lunar Cry. When the Lunar Cry happens, the sky turns a shade of red.

The city of Esthar is caught up in the Lunar Cry, as part of Ultimecia's plan to free the Sorceress Adel from her prison. It's for this reason that the sky is red throughout the city during your time there.

There are several unused variants of established Esthar maps that show the sky as it was before the Lunar Cry. These include the Presidential Palace and the Ragnarok on its landing platform, even though it cannot be found before the Lunar Cry.

10 The Mysterious Crystal Chamber

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In Final Fantasy IV, Cecil and his party discover the chamber within the Tower of Babil that houses the Crystals that were gathered by Golbez, as part of his plan to summon the Giant of Babil from the moon.

Cecil is only given a brief glimpse of the crystal chamber, as he plunges into a pit trap before he is given a chance to explore.

If you use a cheat to bypass the trap, then you can see that there is an unused doorway at the north end of the chamber, which leads upstairs to a corridor that cannot normally be accessed by the player.

9 The Empty Cargo Ship

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In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife and the members of AVALANCHE have to sneak aboard a cargo ship that is docked at the port in Junon, so that they can continue their pursuit of Sephiroth. They have a boss battle against Jenova-BIRTH on the trip, but they manage to make it to Costa del Sol unscathed.

The interior of the cargo ship is full of boxes and crates during your journey across the water. There is an unused background map that shows the interior of the cargo ship with all of its contents removed, which may have been saved for a return journey and later scrapped when the developers realized that it was unnecessary.

8 The Hospital Battle

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One of the most unusual maps hidden within Final Fantasy Tactics shows a dingy hospital within the slums.

What makes this map so interesting is that it is composed of four small rooms that have to be viewed one at a time.

It's possible that these maps were intended for a gimmick battle, where Ramza had to move through several rooms in the hospital, in order to avoid a loss on the battlefield. It's also possible that these maps were going to be used for a cutscene that never made it into the final version of the game.

7 The Debug Room (Final Fantasy VIII)

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When a game is near-completion and has entered the testing stage, the developers will create a set of tools that will allow the testers to easily reach any part of the game with any configuration of settings, which are commonly referred to as debug tools.

The Final Fantasy titles that appeared on the original PlayStation including specific rooms filled with debugging options, as the developers likely never anticipated that the player would find them.

The Final Fantasy VIII debug room is only partially complete and has numerous options that will crash the game, but you can still use the presets to freely explore portions of the game.

6 The Security Camera Room

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The Final Fantasy VIII debug room is the only way to access a room within Balamb Garden.

If you access you the debug room on the fourth disc of Final Fantasy VIII, then you can find footage that is seemingly taken from a security camera within Balamb Garden. The footage shows an area within the training facility of the building, with pieces of the background moving around.

It's unknown what this room was going to be used for, as it's feasible that the security cameras could have been viewed by Squall, due to his high-ranking position within Balamb Garden, but what he could have been watching remains a mystery.

5 The Northern Cave

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One of the most interesting secrets hidden within the files of Final Fantasy VII is an unused variation of the Northern Cave that may have confirmed some speculation concerning one of the most famous events in the series.

The unused Northern Cave map was the basis for one of the FMV transitions, but it comes with an intriguing secret in the form of its music. The background tune for this scene is "Aerith's Theme" which has led some fans to suggest that she was meant to perish here.

The fact that Aerith has unused text after her demise, as well as evidence suggesting that a disc swap was planned for the first visit to the Northern Cave, has led some fans to believe that she was meant to pass away during the sequence when Sephiroth finally broke free from his cocoon, rather than allowing a Jenova clone to do his dirty work for him.

4 Lesalia Castle

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In Final Fantasy Tactics, Ramza Beoulve and his allies must travel to the city of Lesalia in order to seek out the aid of his brother in preventing the war. It's here that Ramza encounters Zalmour the Heresy Examiner and must evade capture from agents of the church.

It seems that a lot more was planned for Lesalia, as there are three unused maps within the files of Final Fantasy Tactics that take place within the city. The first two maps show both sides of the castle gate that bars the entrance to the city, while the other shows one of the main streets and several buildings.

3 The Debug Room

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Final Fantasy VII has a debug room that can be accessed with hacking devices and it serves a similar function to the one found in Final Fantasy VIII. The main difference is that the Final Fantasy VII is considerably creepier than its counterpart in the sequel.

The Final Fantasy VII debug room is a black void that is filled with various characters from the game, each of which serves a different purpose.

The most infamous character in the Final Fantasy VII debug room is "Aeriszilla", who is a larger version of the Aerith model. This version of Aerith can send you to different locations within the game, with the last option being "Hades". If you select this option, then Aerith will tell you that you are already there...

2 The Chess Board Room

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If you use a hacking device on the original version of Final Fantasy XII, then it's possible to access an unused map within the game which looks like it takes place on a giant chess board.

You might be wondering why a room like this would exist within the files of Final Fantasy XII. The pattern on the floor explains the purpose of this room, as the squares are used to measure distance. This means that this room was likely used for measuring the ranges of various different attacks within the game, as well as giving an easy size reference for different character models that are loaded there.

1 The Honey Bee Inn

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The area within Final Fantasy VII that has the most unused content is the Honey Bee Inn that can be found within Midgar.

The Honey Bee Inn was presented as being a burlesque house in Final Fantasy VII, but the location was originally going to be a lot worse.

There are several unused maps within the files of Final Fantasy VII that were meant to be part of the Honey Bee Inn that was removed from the game due to being too risque. These include a room with pictures of the girls and the prices that you can pay for various services, as well as waiting rooms for the clients.