The Whirlwind Maze begins as soon as you reach the top of Gaea’s Cliff. It’s the area located in the middle of the crater. The story will continue as soon as you proceed over the edge.

Continue to the left until you reach the actual maze.

You are going to end up having to use Tifa in your party once you reach the bottom of the slope into the crater. Remove the Materia off of the character that she will be replacing so that you can equip it to her if you have not been using her in your party already.

She will run up behind you in the area shown in the screenshot below on the right.

Pick up the Neo Bahamut Materia located close to the screen when you get near the Save Point (shown in the screenshot below). Walk towards the Save Point, and Cloud will jump over to that platform.

Tifa will explain that you will need to cross the pathway when the wind is calm or risk getting swept off (resulting in a battle against a Wind Wing enemy). Examine the two people in black cloaks in front of the barrier to receive a Hi-Potion and an Ether.

Run across the barrier when the color of the wall dims to be nearly clear. Use the screenshots below to help you spot the difference in how the barrier looks and when you can walk through it:

Cross when the path looks like the screenshot on the right, as opposed to the left screenshot.

Follow the trail through the Whirlwind Maze. Pick up the treasure chest on the right side of the screen, which contains a Kaiser Knuckle weapon for Tifa.

The Kaiser Knuckle has more slots for Materia. Still, it is not stronger than the Dragon Claw weapon, which was purchasable at the Icicle Inn Weapon Store, or even the Diamond Knuckle that you could buy in Wutai.

Continue along the pathway. None of the people in black cloaks give items in this area.

Before you proceed beyond this point, you should equip your party members with any armor or accessories that you have that nullify or absorb fire-based attacks. The Fire Armlet and Dragon Armlet work great for this task, and make sure to equip the Fire Ring on someone.

The second barrier you must pass through in the next area is more challenging that the first. You have to wait until the barrier is not glowing, similar to the previous area, while dodging the large green bursts that go from the right side of the screen to the left side.

The team will encounter Sephiroth in the next area, and he will unleash the next iteration of Jenova that you will have to defeat.

Cloud will pick up the Black Materia off the ground at the end of the fight, but Tifa suggests that you give it to someone else for safekeeping.

You can give it to Barret or Red XIII, as Cid, Cait Sith, Yuffie, and Vincent will not accept it. Speak with Tifa again after you hand over the Black Materia.

Pick up the MP Turbo Materia lying on the ground in the next area and then proceed forward. Another mistake in the game is this Materia should be colored blue, despite appearing yellow on the ground.

MP Turbo Materia can be paired with one of your green magic Materia to make it much more powerful. Save your game at the Save Point and then open the treasure chest to receive a Poison Ring.

One last barrier to travel through. The trick to this barrier is to get as close to it as you can before you have to run through it.

Use the screenshot below to give you an idea of how close you could and should get before attempting to bolt through.

You now need to make sure that the barrier is light enough to pass through, that you’re dodging the green waves of energy, and you need to dodge the additional lightning bolts as well.

The story continues at the end of this pathway. There is a lot of dialogue and talking to go through for the next section of the game. You will not require a guide to complete it.

There are a couple of points during the cutscenes where you will have to walk over and talk to various characters (Tifa/Sephiroth).