Yuffie & Vincent

You can get Yuffie in your party during any disc. If you're in Disc 1 and are riding around in the Buggy, that will work, too. The two places that she appears most often are the forests beyond the Gold Saucer (in the Gongaga Area), and most forests in the Junon Area. After a few battles, you'll fight Yuffie (seems to be a 1 in 15 chance, if you ask me).

When the battle ends, you'll be in a plain with Yuffie lying nearby. There's als a Save Point here. However, if you touch the Save Point, then go to your menu screen to save, Yuffie escapes and steals 200 gil! Don't worry, you can meet her again. You'll have to talk to her several times to get her to join. As she and you converse she'll ask you several questions, and you can reply in two ways. To get her to join, respond like this:

Bottom answer, Top answer, Bottom answer, Top answer, Bottom answer Put another way, respnd using the second reply, then the first, then the second reply... and so on. After that, you can name her, and she'll hook up with Cloud and the rest of the gang. Note that if you choose the top answer for the last question she asks, you can name her, but she'll steal 700 gil from you and run away. You'll have to repeat the whole process if you want to get her in your party.

The Second 'optional' (or hidden) chacter in the game, Vincent can also join your party during any disc. You'll need the gold key from the safe in Nivelheim's Shinra Mansion (see getting Red XIII's limit manual for the combo). Go down to the pink cavern leading to Sephiroth's libary (it's in the Shinra Mansion, the entrace is in the stone wall in the eastern wing).

Remember the door to the crypt you couldn't get through? You can now enter it. Stand at the foot of the purple coffin and hit O. The lid will fly off and Vincent will talk to you. Choose the bottom reply when he asks you a question. When the coffin closes, press O again. Choose the second (bottom) reply when Vincent poses another question, and you can name him. Then, try to leave the cavern and he'll join you. Vincent can join you from the first time you reach Nivelheim onwards (but not during Cloud's flashback).