Two payoffs ride on party affinity: a short Chapter 8 mini-date and the full Chapter 12 Skywheel date. Both go to whoever Cloud has bonded with most. Five are in the running — Aerith, Tifa, Barret, Red XIII, Yuffie — and if nobody clears roughly a half-full bond, Chapter 12 becomes the group outing with Cait Sith, Cid & Vincent.
Spoiler level: this names story chapters and the regions they happen in (through Ch. 12). No plot events.
How affinity works
It's one hidden meter per character, cumulative and relative — whoever's highest at the check-point wins the date. Raise it four ways:
Dialogue choices. Small, frequent. Scattered through almost every chapter and many side-quest wrap-ups.
Side quests. The biggest single boosts. Each character has ~7, and the affinity mostly lands in the conversation after you turn the quest in — pick the warm reply there too.
Synergy Abilities. The first time you pull off each Cloud + ally Synergy Ability, that ally gets a bump. Unlock the pair in Folio.
Story & minigame moments. The Junon parade, Costa del Sol swimwear picks, Queen's Blood against Red, the Corel mine cart, and more.
Check it anytime: hold L1 outside battle — a little face appears over each character showing how warm they are.
Want a specific date? Don't split the vote. Beyond feeding your target, avoid padding everyone else — especially hold off on other characters' first-time Synergy pairings and save rival side quests until after the Chapter 8 (and Chapter 12) check-points. Post-game, an Extra Settings toggle lets you pick the Chapter 12 partner outright.
Choose your date
Pick one and the page lays out their route — every choice, quest, and moment to hit. Ticks are saved on this device.