Finding all the Crisis Core Wutai spies is, honestly, a massive pain if you don't know exactly where to look. You’re playing as Zack Fair, trying to prove you’re a 1st Class soldier, and suddenly you’re tasked with a glorified hide-and-seek game across Midgar. It feels like busywork. It kind of is. But if you want that elusive "Wutai's Nemesis" trophy or the Flower Wagon parts for Aerith, you have to do it.
Most players stumble into the first one by accident and then spend two hours running in circles around the Sector 5 Slums. Don't do that.
The Wutai Spy subquest triggers in Chapter 5. You’ll find a SOLDIER 2nd Class in the Sector 8 Fountain area who’s worried about infiltrators. He’s right to be worried. These guys aren't just wearing generic NPC clothes; they have specific dialogue cues that give them away if you talk to them enough times. You have to find them in a very specific order. If you go looking for spy number four before catching spy number two, the game won't even trigger the interaction. It's rigid. It's old-school JRPG design at its finest.
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The First Three Spies: Midgar's Most Obvious Infiltrators
The first guy is a joke. Head to the north side of the Sector 8 Fountain area. You’ll see a man walking around, looking a bit more restless than the usual Shinra citizens. Talk to him three times. He’ll crack. He’s basically the tutorial for the rest of the quest. Once he’s caught, the SOLDIER captain will give you a hint about the next one.
Now, for the second one, head down to the Sector 6 Slums (Market). Look for a Shinra MP. You might think, "Wait, isn't he on my side?" Nope. This guy is pacing around the market area near the shops. If you talk to him, he acts suspicious. Keep at it. Eventually, Zack calls him out, and the guy admits he's from Wutai.
The third spy is probably the one that catches people off guard because he’s hiding in plain sight at Shinra Headquarters. Take the elevator up to the Entrance Floor. Look for a male Shinra employee standing near the elevators. He isn't doing anything particularly "spy-like," which is actually pretty good tradecraft for a Wutai agent. Talk to him until he realizes the jig is up.
It's funny, really. Midgar is supposed to be this high-security fortress, yet these guys are just chilling by the elevators and the fountain. Zack isn't exactly Sherlock Holmes, but even he can smell something fishy when a random citizen starts sweating bullets after three questions.
Scaling the Difficulty: The Final Three Wutai Spies
Things get a bit more annoying here. The fourth spy is a woman in the Sector 8 Fountain area again. She’s standing near the entrance to the station platform. You've probably run past her a dozen times while doing other missions. She’s talking to a man, and her dialogue seems totally normal until you badger her.
Finding her feels less like detective work and more like harassment until she confesses.
The fifth spy is a classic. You need to go to the Shinra Building Exhibit Room. There’s a guy standing in front of one of the displays—usually the rocket or the car. He’s a Shinra employee, but he’s not working. He’s just staring. Keep talking to him. This one is satisfying because the Exhibit Room is such a quiet, atmospheric part of the building, and catching a spy there feels like a movie scene.
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Finally, the sixth spy. This is the one that ruins everyone’s perfect run. You have to go to the Sector 5 Slums Park. There’s a kid there. Yes, a literal child. He’s wearing a Wutai-style headband (which is a dead giveaway, kid, come on). But he’s actually the most "hidden" because he's part of a group of kids. He’s the one standing near the slide. Talk to him, and the quest finally concludes.
Why You Should Actually Care About This Quest
Is it just for the trophy? No.
Completing the Crisis Core Wutai spies quest is the only way to get the Walnut Wood. If you’re trying to build the "Cute" Flower Wagon for Aerith later in the game, you need this specific item. If you skip the spies, you’re stuck with a subpar wagon, and honestly, Zack wouldn’t do that to Aerith.
Beyond the items, it fills in some of the lore regarding the Wutai War. Even after the main conflict, Wutai is still fighting a shadow war in the heart of Shinra's territory. It adds a layer of tension to the otherwise sterile streets of Midgar.
- Reward 1: Walnut Wood (for Aerith’s Wagon)
- Reward 2: Wutai’s Nemesis Trophy/Achievement
- Reward 3: Access to Mission 4-3-1
There is a catch, though. This is a missable quest. If you progress too far into the story—specifically, if you leave for Nibelheim—you can’t come back and finish this. The SOLDIER captain will be gone, and the spies will have successfully... well, whatever it is they were doing. Probably just standing by fountains.
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Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The biggest mistake is the order. You cannot skip ahead. If you go to the Slums Park first, the kid won't have the "spy" dialogue. You have to trigger the conversation with the SOLDIER 2nd Class at the fountain between every single capture. It’s tedious. You run back to the fountain, talk to the captain, get a hint, go find the spy, and repeat.
Another issue is the "talk three times" rule. Sometimes players talk to an NPC once, get a generic line, and move on. You have to be persistent. These spies are trained to resist interrogation for at least two dialogue boxes.
If you're playing the Reunion remaster, the quest is identical to the 2007 PSP original. Square Enix didn't change the locations or the mechanics, which is both a blessing (guides still work) and a curse (it's still a tedious fetch quest).
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
Don't wait until the end of Chapter 5 to start this. As soon as you have free roam of Midgar in that chapter, knock it out.
- Check your inventory. Do you have the Walnut Wood? If yes, you're done. If no, head to the Sector 8 Fountain.
- Talk to the SOLDIER 2nd Class near the entrance to Loveless Avenue. He’s your quest giver.
- Follow the sequence strictly: Fountain man, Market MP, Shinra HQ Employee, Fountain Woman, Exhibit Room Employee, Slums Park Kid.
- Confirm the rewards. Once you catch the sixth spy, the captain will give you the Walnut Wood immediately.
- Save your game. You don't want to have to do that walk back and forth between the Slums and the Shinra Building ever again.
Finding the spies isn't about skill; it's about patience. It's a small slice of Midgar life that reminds you that while Zack is off fighting monsters, there's a whole world of espionage happening right under his nose. Get the wood, build the wagon, and get back to the main story.
Once you’ve finished the spy hunt, check your Mission list. You should have unlocked the "The Remnants of Wutai" mission tree. These missions are actually a great way to level up Zack's Materia and gain some decent accessory rewards early on, which makes the mid-game boss fights a lot more manageable. If you find yourself struggling with the later Wutai missions, focus on equipping a "Hell Blizzara" or "Hell Thundara" to deal with the groups of infantry you'll be facing. No more standing around fountains after that.