CHRONO CROSS GUIDE & FAQ By ToastyFrog (Jeremy Parish - tfrog@camalott.com) ---------------------------------------------- REVISION 1.2.1 January 16, 2000 ---------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE: First of all, this FAQ is entering limbo until the US version gets a little closer. I've devoted plenty of time to Chrono Cross, and many other projects and games are beckoning. Any updates from here will simply be minor corrections. Once I start tracking down endings I'll probably list those as well, but for the most part not much will change here in the next 6-8 months. Please DO NOT send me any further details on the game. Also, please do not ask me any further questions about gameplay - that's what this guide is for. If you don't see it here, I don't know the answer. Thanks to everyone who has written in with comments and tips for the post-game wrap-up. Unfortunately, I've gotten all kinds of contradictory information regarding the story, so I'm going to avoid delving too deeply into story details since I don't want to give inaccurate data (probably too late for that, but oh well). Finally, I'm sorry if you've written to me and I've failed to write you back. I just haven't had time... but I'll do my best to be sure you're recognized for your help in this guide. ---------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- CONTENTS: I. ABOUT THIS FAQ II. ABOUT THE GAME A. KNOWN GAME DETAILS (PRE-RELEASE) B. GAMEPLAY SYSTEMS 1. COMBAT 2. MAGIC (ELEMENTS) a. CLASSES b. CUSTOMIZATION 3. FIELD EFFECT & SUMMONS 4. COMBINATION ATTACKS 5. THE MENU SCREEN 6. AFTER THE BATTLE 7. STATISTICS C. GENERAL GAMEPLAY TIPS III. WALKTHROUGH - DISC ONE A. CHANGES FROM THE DEMO B. CHRONO'S MYSTERIOUS DUNGEON C. WE... ARE MEN... OF ARUNI! D. THIS IS NOT MY BEAUTIFUL HOUSE! E. TO TERMINA... AND BEYOND! F. TERMINA DOGMA G(A). MANSION OVER THE HILLTOP - ALF'S PATH G(B). STORMING THE GATES - PIERRE'S PATH G(C). INTO THE WOODS - SLASH'S PATH H. MANIAC MANSION I(A). MISSION OF MERCY I(B). THE NON-MEDICINAL ROUTE J. INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN K. RECURSIVE LOOP L. OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE M. SAIL THE SEVEN SEAS N. INTO THE VORTEX O. FAMILIAR TERRITORY P. DRAGON QUEST VI Q. IN THE FLESH? IV. WALKTHROUGH - DISC TWO A. THE THREE FATES B. CHRONOPOLIS C. ASHES OF MEMORIES D. THE STAR TOWER E. FINAL BATTLE F. NEW GAME+ V. CHARTS A. MAGIC B. COMBO ATTACKS C. WEAPONS D. ARMOR E. ACCESSORIES F. KEY ITEMS G. CHARACTERS (POSSIBLE SPOILERS!) H. MORPHS I. STOLEN ITEMS J. SOUNDTRACK LISTING VI. FAQs VII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, ETC. A. REVISION HISTORY B. LINKS C. MUCHAS GRACIAS ---------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- PART I: ABOUT THIS FAQ The ultimate goal for this Guide is to be a comprehensive resource for the game Chrono Cross in conjunction with my website (for the simple reason that it's a little tough to use images and screenshots in a text-only FAQ). However, this Guide has a few limitations. One being that I can't read Japanese, just English words written in Japanese alphabets. So while I can tackle the systems pretty easily, I will have very little idea of the actual story of the game, just vague guesses. So please, don't ask me things like, "Hey, why did Serge deep-kiss Yamaneko at the beginning of Disc Three?" or whatever, because I'm just as clueless as you. This Guide may be distributed, reproduced, copied, folded, spindled or cited, so long as you credit me and don't change the text. If you don't like the way I write, feel free to create your own guide - all I ask is that you respect my intellectual property and investment of time! This Guide may NOT be distributed for profit, under penalty of, uh... death, or something. Thanks. The most recent version of this document will always be available at http://www.toastyfrog.com and http://www.gamefaqs.com. Please compare it to the latest version before writing to me! And finally, there are going to be spoilers in this Guide. If you don't want to spoil the game for yourself, for crying out loud, DON'T READ THIS GUIDE! You'd think that would be obvious, but then again some woman made millions of dollars because McDonald's didn't tell her that coffee is hot, so you can't be too safe these days. Anyway, enjoy - I'm sure you're sick of my prelude, so here's the Guide. ---------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- PART II: ABOUT THE GAME ---------------------------------------------- A. KNOWN GAME DETAILS (PRE-RELEASE) Chrono Cross, as you hopefully know, is the sequel to 1995's extremely successful uber-RPG Chrono Trigger. The game takes place 20 years after the original... well, 20 years after the main time period, I suppose, making it 65,000,020 years after Ayla's time and about 979 years before the Day of Lavos. Erm, anyway. The battle system is similar to, yet shockingly different from, the system in Chrono Cross. I'll get to that later; but another major difference is the premise of the game. While Chrono Trigger focused on time travel and the resulting paradoxes (as well as the malleability of the past - who would have known that selling a piece of beef jerky would generate 20 generations of greed?), Chrono Cross seems to focus on inter-dimensional travel. Not dimensions as in 2D and 3D (although CC *does* make the jump from 2D to 3D), but rather parallel worlds and alternate realities. So don't expect to hear Serge say, "Ich bin ein Flatlander!" On the other hand, having seen those Evil Kirk episodes of Star Trek will probably come in handy.... A few CT characters are known to be returning. First and foremost is Lucca, whose presence was indicated by the sight of her home in flames at the end of the Chrono Cross demo. It should also be noted that in the recent Playstation rerelease of Chrono Trigger, new endings were added that presumably lead in to Chrono Cross. Of particular note are the marriage of Crono and Marle (why, Crono, why?!), the marriage of Ayla and wuss-boy Kino, Frog's transformation back into Glenn and his subsequent knighting, and Lucca's adoption of an orphaned child bearing a mysterious pendant. Additionally, the Grandleon Sword (aka Masamune) was stolen in one of the new endings. Surely they wouldn't go to the trouble of adding these new details unless they planned to DO something with them, right? The general plot is based on a Super Famicom text adventure called Radical Dreamers, which was briefly available by Satellaview (a dial-up downloadable Super Famicom game service in Japan). In that regard, Chrono Cross is more of a remake than a new game, with a plot centered on finding a relic called the Frozen Flame, which can grant the ability to twist reality according to the will of whomever holds it. Yamaneko, an anthropomorphic cat in a Soviet military dress uniform, appears to be the main villain. However, this is a Square game, and Square games are noted for their plots twists; I imagine defeating Yamaneko and acquiring the Frozen Flame are about as likely to be the ultimate goals of the game as much as beating President Shinra was the goal of Final Fantasy VII. The game is being designed so that random battles are rarely necessary. Not only can you see your enemies on screen to avoid them, but you can win the game without spending much time leveling up (boss fights, of course, will be necessary). No doubt people who take time to boost their levels will blow through, but those who are tired of constant combat won't be penalized for their reluctance to fight. Additionally, traditional experience levels are not an element of this game; you earn status improvements a little at a time after many battles, like in the SaGa games. Small, piddling production details: the characters, for better or for worse, are designed by Nobutero Yuuki. Yuuki also designed characters for Record of Lodoss War, Seiken Densetsu 3 and more recently, Tail Concerto. The prerendered FMV is being churned out by the amazing people who put together Final Fantasy VIII's video sequences. Yasunori Mitsuda (composer for Chrono Trigger and Xenogears) has written the music, which so far sounds excellent. In fact, much of the Chrono Cross staff is comprised of Chrono Trigger alumni, which really shows as you play the game. B. GAMEPLAY SYSTEMS ------------------------- While I can't yet provide a lot of details on the game's story or events, I do know a few things regarding the gameplay itself. Some of this is guesswork, so please feel free to correct me if I say something stupid. -- 1. COMBAT --------------------------------- Neither turn-based nor active-time. What madness is this? Why, it's the Chrono Cross battle system, of course. Describing Chrono Cross' battle system is much easier with visuals, so if this text is incomprehensible for you, check the charts I've made at http://www.toastyfrog.com/ Anyway, here's my best effort at a text-based description. Chrono Cross has three numbers which indicate a character's battle status. The first and most obvious is HIT POINTS, which determine who lives and who dies. The second number is the ELEMENT LEVEL. Rather than using Magic Points, Chrono Cross Element use is determined by a histogram which rather resembles the level displays on a stereo. Refer to the Magic section below for more information. The third number is shown at the bottom of the character status indicator, and that is STAMINA. Stamina determines who can attack, and the number and power of their possible attacks at once. Each character begins battle with their stamina at 7 (maximum), the Elements at 0 (minimum) and with however many hit points are carried over from previous battles. Because the game is not real-time like Final Fantasy's Active-Time Battle system, you can stand and stare at your enemy for as long as you want while you devise a strategy. What does determine the flow of battle is Stamina points. For each attack a character launches, that fighter uses a set number of Stamina points. Similar to Xenogears, a strong attack uses 3 Stamina points, a medium attack uses 2, and a weak attack inflicts little damage but uses a paltry 1 Stamina point. But while a fighter's Stamina is being used up by physical attacks, 2 things are happening. One, other characters (enemies and allies alike) are recharging their own Stamina to prepare for an attack. Secondly, the active character builds his or her Element Level for each successful attack landed. A successful attack that costs 3 Stamina Points will add 3 Levels to the Element meter; but a 1-Stamina Point attack will only add a single level to the meter. A strong attack that misses is a real waste - not only do you lose 3 Stamina Points, but you earn nothing on your Element Meter, leaving you more vulnerable. When you begin to attack an enemy, a small box opens that displays your chances of landing a successful blow. With each successive strike, your chances improve. Weak attacks are more likely to hit than strong attacks, especially at the beginning. But as you score more damage, you will have more success with strong blows. A 3-point attack may have only a 60% chance of connecting at the beginning of a round, but after landing a few 1- or 2-point strikes, a strong attack may rise to 85% success or even higher. Balancing your attacks is imperative. However, despite the obvious advantage of consecutive strikes, you're not required to strike only a single enemy per move. Nor are you required to attack with the same fighter. At any time, you can switch your attacks to a different foe; you may also choose to have a different character pick up the attack. However, switching targets or fighters will destroy the statistical advantage your successful attacks against an enemy may have generated. But aborting attacks is the key to effective Summoning and Combinations, rather like Xenogears' AP but less tedious. Personally, I rarely use all 7 Stamina points for attacks. If I'm down to one last enemy, I'll use my last Stamina point for an Element to end the fight quickly. But if I'm up against multiple enemies, especially those which use strong attacks, I'll use my last Stamina point to Defend and reduce damage. Yes, that's right - Chrono Cross may be the first RPG ever in which defending is not only useful, but something that can be done frequently without bogging down the battle. Amazing but true! Defending cuts physical attacks by as much as 2/3, so judicious defending is a wise combat decision. -- 2. ELEMENTS (MAGIC) ----------------------- Elements serve the role of Magic in Chrono Cross; a rose by any other name kicks just as much butt. Like in Chrono Trigger, Elements are divided into a series of classes. Additionally, spells have a power level to them which can be enhanced or diminished depending on their placement in your magic hierarchy. -- a. CLASSES -------------------------------- This is fairly straightforward. Each spell is ranked in a category that seems to match up with Chrono Trigger's system, with a few small changes. Each character seems to have an Elemental affinity; while they can cast spells of various kinds, it seems the spells for which they have the most affinity will be more effective. For instance, Serge is White/Cosmic, Kidd is Red/Fire and Glenn is Blue/Water (hey! Just like Frog! Uh, never mind). 1. WHITE - This seems to include elements of CT's Lightning and Shadow. Attacks are both energy-based (Holy, Laser, Photon) and physical (Comet, Shooting). Also includes Recovery magic, like Revive. 2. RED - Fiery attacks. Surprising, huh? Spells include Volcano, Meltstone and the Salamander Summon. 3. BLUE - Ice, water and healing. Spells include Flood, Ice Lance, and Cure/Cure-ra. 4. GREEN - Air and nature-based attacks, such as Leaf and Tornado. Also incorporates earth-based attacks, like Needle. 5. YELLOW - This seems to encompass a number of different spells types, really. Some of them are straightforward electrical attack spells, like Lightning and Discharge. Also, there seems to be a number of earth-elemental spells here as well, such as Uplift. 6. BLACK - The antithesis of White. As you might well imagine. This seems to consist of complimentary versions of White Elements, such as Hell Laser, the yang to Laser's yin. Elements exist in pairs - White and Black, Blue and Red, Green and Yellow. Enemies with a certain elemental affiliation will be weak to its opposite Element - a Green enemy will take more damage from a Yellow attack than from a Blue or White attack. But Green elements will also damage a Yellow enemy in turn. Furthermore, sometimes using spells of an enemy's type will actually heal it (for instance, certain plants recover HP when hit with Green spells). Use this to your advantage, but be aware that enemies aren't shy about exploiting Elemental opposites either - I've noticed that enemies tend to go after characters who are opposite to their own nature. Additionally, each element can inflict a certain status ailment on your party or on enemies. An (*) indicates a condition that heals automatically after battle. Each condition can be healed with Stock Elements of the same color. GREEN: Poison (saps HP - 1 HP for every battle increment) Cowardice (receive critical hits easily)(*) BLACK: Blind (hit accuracy % is cut in half)(*) Curse (Lose stamina when struck in battle)(*) RED: Burn (receive more damage in battle/on "damage zone" ground). Berzerk (characters attack randomly)(*) YELLOW: Sprained Ankle (attack down/characters can't run while exploring) Dizzy (dodge rate decreases) BLUE: Frozen (characters are inactive for several turns)(*) Cold (Slow stamina recovery/hard to control in field) WHITE: Stamina Drain (characters exert additional stamina with each move)(*) Sleep (Character is immobile and vulnerable)(*) -- b. CUSTOMIZATION -------------------------- The Element system is an interesting hybrid of other magic systems. It resembles Suikoden and the original Final Fantasy in that each character has a hierarchy of spells to use - Level One spells are weak, but can be cast with only a single level built on the Element Meter in combat. Level Five spells take five successful physical strikes to activate, but are much more powerful than Level One spells. However, what makes the Element system different from those terribly limited games is that it's completely customizable, like Junctioning in Final Fantasy VIII. By opening the status screen, you will have access to a grid that allows you to switch around the Elements you find. Yep, magic in this game is not learned but rather earned and found. The more you find of a particular Element, the more frequently you can use it. Each spell slot on your grid can only be used once per battle, so you need to use them with discretion. Choosing which Elements to take into battle (should you equip 5 slots with Cure-ra, or focus more on heavy-hitting attacks and eschew the curative Elements in favor of offensive spells?) will offer many hours of tingly fulfillment for people who like to twiddle with stats, but it's still simple enough a system not to be overwhelming to a casual player. An interesting note about Elements is that each spell has a basic power level. If you put a Level 3 Element in a Level 3 slot, it will be at its natural power. However, if you want to be able to cast that spell more quickly, you can knock it down to a Level 1 slot; but, you will lose some of that Element's power, which will be denoted by a negative number after the spell's name (i.e., Tornado-2). On the other hand, you can crank up an Element's power by dropping it into a higher level slot - so taking a Level One spell like Cure to a Level 5 slot will yield Cure+4. Additionally, there are non-Elemental items you can equip, such as curative tablets and capsules. The possibilities are sickeningly immense. Some limitations apply: Summons and high-level Elements like Tornado and Volcano can only be used by characters who have an affinity toward those elements (i.e., Iceburg is only available to Blue characters). When you're equipping Elements, press the Triangle button to bring up a menu with three choices. These allow you to organize your Element list by function and color, which can make scrolling through the list MUCH easier. As a small aside, casting Elemental attacks requires 7 Stamina points. So if your Stamina meter is low, using an Element will knock it into a negative number, forcing you to sit out a portion of the battle until your Stamina builds back up. -- 3. FIELD EFFECT & SUMMONS ----------------- As you fight, you will probably notice a little series of concentric circles in the upper right-hand corner labelled "Field Effect." The Field Effect Meter is affected by the natural terrain in which a battle transpires and also by the Elements used during combat. Field Effect is the key to using Summons in the game - for instance, Salamander can only be summoned when the Field Effect meter is all red (i.e., three consecutive fire attacks have been used). This is more easily said than done; if an enemy uses an Element of a type other than what you're trying to build on the meter, it can screw up your efforts. And if you're being beaten down mercilessly and have to heal, the Elements or Items you use for healing will register on the Field Effect meter as well. Therefore, expect Summoning to be a difficult and challenging affair, requiring a bit of luck and a lot of good planning. Fortuntely, there are ways to ease the Summoning process, but it requires the proper Elements and setup. Additional notes: To summon a beast, you need to possess Stars. Your party will earn Stars after certain events (such as whalloping a boss), but each use diminishes your Star total, and you have to stay at an Inn to replenish them. -- 4. COMBINATION ATTACKS -------------------- And of course, the combination attacks are back. These seem to combine character's unique skills to enable attacks that are vastly more powerful than a lone attack would be (unlike in Chrono Trigger, where combo attacks were often less effective than solo attacks). Combinations require two characters with compatible skills to have built both Stamina and Element Levels to an appropriate degree. For example, Serge and Glenn share a combination attack in the demo called X-Strike (hey, just like Crono and Frog! Err... forget I said anything). For X-Strike to be enabled, both Serge and Glenn need to build their Element Meter to Level 3 so each can use their respective skills that form the X-Strike combo. Additionally, they need to have at least 1 Stamina point. When these prerequisites are fulfilled, either one of them can activate the X-Strike by choosing his respective skill. You can see when they're ready, because the name of the skill will change to X-Strike. When using combos, switching between characters during a round is extremely useful to help minimize Stamina depletion. Undoubtedly, there will be many more combos to discover; hopefully more than one per character. The combos link character-specific skills. Each character has a Lv.3, Lv.5 and Lv.7 Elemental skill. With 40 characters who have 3 skills apiece, with three possible party members at a time, I think you can see the sheer possible number of permutations, and why it's not necessarily easy to find them! -- 5. THE MENU SCREEN ------------------------ The menu screen functions rather like Xenogears' menus, except with more options and polish. In the right hand corner is a small odometer; moving the dial up and down allows you to access various functions. From top to bottom, the menu functions are: STATUS ELEMENT EQUIP ITEM CUSTOMIZE FILE - STATUS: Allows you to examine the current status of your characters. Press Action (Circle button) to toggle between statistics and equipment. Note: press left when Serge is highlighted to bring up a list of all characters in your party. You can view their status from the menu. The following are the meanings for the numerical statistics displayed on the character status screen, from left to right, top to bottom (courtesy of tennin): WARYOKU (Muscular strength) Affects the power of physical attacks. SEIKAKUSA (Accuracy) Affects the hit rate of physical attacks. MARYOKU (Magic power) Affects the power of magical Elements. TAIKYUURYOKU (Endurance) Affects defense against physical attacks. MIGARUSA (Agility) Affects evasion rate. KOUMA (Magic resistance) Affects defense against magical attacks. STAMINA KAIFUKURYOKU (Stamina recovery power) Affects rate of stamina recovery. This is the equivalent of speed. - ELEMENT: Use and equip Elements. - USE: Allows you to make use of Elemental items such as Tablets and Tears to heal between battles or power up. - EQUIP: Allows you to switch Elements around on your characters' grids. - DETACH: Allows you to remove all Elements equipped on a character. Press right to bring up the option to detach Elements from the entire party. Did I mention this Element system is a lot like Junctioning? - ATTACH: This option allows you to place Elements on a character's grid automatically. I'm not certain how it determines which Elements to put in various places, but it can save a great deal of time. Press right to bring up a menu option to allow you to optimize the entire party's Elements. - EQUIP: Allows you to change a character's equipped items. - WEAPON - ARMOR - ACCESSORY - ITEM: Allows you to view Key Items, such as the Hekran Bone and Kodomo Scales. - CUSTOMIZE: Allows you to configure your settings to match your preferences (thanks to tennin for help). - SOUND: (Stereo) Mono - WINDOW: (Default) Custom Allows you to change the style of your windows on-screen. I prefer the default myself. You can find new window styles throughout the game (I personally like Red Vision myself). - CURSOR POSITION - (Regular) Memory Regular defaults a menu cursor to its original location. Memory will maintain the cursor position in menus and point at the most recent location when you open a menu again. - BATTLE ATTACK SELECTION - Manual (Auto) When in battle, automatically advances the Attack cursor to the next highest attack with and 80% chance or better of success. - CONTROLLER - (Normal) Custom Allows you to set your controller settings. You can adjust this as you see fit, but I think the default is fine. Interestingly, it seems you can set the "L3" and "R3" buttons to be Action and Cancel, which is a rare feature. - X-BUTTON ON - Run (Walk) Causes Serge and party to run or walk during exploration sequences by default, and to toggle between the two by pressing X. - LEFT STICK SENSITIVITY - (Inactive) (Active) Active will allow you to switch between walk and run based on how far you press the left stick. Inactive means you need to press X to switch. - FILE: Choose to SAVE or LOAD a file. You can only save at certain points, but you can load anywhere. A nice touch! -- 6. AFTER THE BATTLE ----------------------- Once battle has ended, you will see a number of screens as a familiar tune plays. The first screen displays any statistical improvements a character has earned (since Chrono Cross has discarded regimented levels, characters power-up in more frequent bursts of small increments). The second screen gives you three options: - Replenish HP and status using battle Elements - Replenish HP and status using stock Elements - Do not replenish HP and status The post-battle options are fairly intelligent. The first choice will automatically use healing spells up to the Element level your characters have remaining on their meter at the end of battle. So if one character equipped with Recover+3 has his Element meter built to L.7 when combat ends, choice one will cause this character to use Recover on the entire party automatically. Choice two instead uses Elements like Tablets and Capsules to restore HP, and is a useful option after a tough battle where your Elements are expended and levels are low. Choice three simply lets you restore your HP at your own discretion through the menu screen. Note: fallen characters cannot be healed with option one or two; although "dead" characters automatically recover with a single HP after battle, they do so after the auto-recover screen. So be sure to use the menu screen to replenish the HP of anyone who bit the dust during combat. After the recovery screen, you will receive a list of all the items you have won during battle. Most of these seem to be little animal bits, which is a bit grisly. However, those bits 'n' pieces are important, as they allow you to upgrade your weapons. The power levels I've seen so far are as follows: - Bone - Bronze - Iron - Mythril/Silver - Denodoro - Prism However, it seems that even if you have Denodoro items early in the game, you can't actually use them until you pass certain points, which is when the smiths learn more advanced forge techniques. Also, you can stock up on certain components by speaking to various people who will convert Elements into items. Note on Prism weapons: Finding Prism equipment is terribly difficult. You will only find one or two Prism items in the course of the game; the rest you have to create on your own. Hot Pepper (jolee@exchange.ursinus.edu) passed along the following tips to acquiring Prism gear: First you have to buy master's hammer from the guy in the black dragon's cave (Home).He will be there after serge get his body back. After that get Zappa to equip it and talk to other Zappa in Another. He will learn the way to make the best weapons and armors. The components to make them are very rare...in fact you have make them. Whenever you kill monsters with summoned monster, you will get the upgrade item that has the same element with the summoned monster you used. you will need every kinds element items for any weapon you are going to make. D. GENERAL GAMEPLAY TIPS --------------------- -- 1. COMBAT --------------------------------- Learning to make the most of Chrono Cross' battle system can be tricky; but as you learn the game's strategies, you'll find there's a lot of flexibility and strategy in the game. You COULD barrel straight ahead and annihilate everything with your strongest attacks, but that won't always be the best solution. Remember that using an Element, no matter what level it is, requires 7 Stamina points. If you knock your Stamina down to 1 and then cast a spell, you'll be out 6 points. That's 13 measures of combat you'll have to wait before your Stamina is full recharged, and 7 measures until you can even defend again. Obviously, standing there helplessly against a tough enemy can be a very, very bad idea. Learn to defend whenever you can! Defending only causes a single measure of combat to advance, and it can cut the physical damage you suffer by as much as 2/3. Learning to balance attacks is especially important once you start acquiring Level 7 & 8 Elements - even with the item that automatically gives you a headstart to Level 1 on your Element meter, it will take more than just a single turn (of 7 Stamina points) to boost Elements to 8 and cast a spell. A good technique to use is to stop at 1 Stamina point and defend, then switch back to the character who is building his Element meter once his Stamina has risen a few points. While toggling between characters like this, it's a good idea to have the character whose turn is being cancelled defend as well. Another wise strategy is to assign a single character as a healer in tough battles, and to keep that character's HP high and their Element meter boosted as much as possible. This way if you're hit by a sudden strong attack, you can switch right over to that character and heal immediately - an especially good idea when facing multiple strong enemies. However, don't make that person the only one who can heal! Be sure to give everyone healing Elements to be safe, and try to have a good selection of single- and group-effect spells on hand. Revive spells are hard to come by; be sure not to give them all to a single character, in case that one fighter gets taken out. A nice trick about Revive is that the higher the slot it's placed in, the more effective it is. While a Level 1 Revive spell will restore a fallen character to life with a few HP, Revive+5 will restore that character as well as all or most of their HP. On the other hand, you may not want to have to build five levels on your meter to be able to restore a fallen character, especially if the one who fell was your main healer or attacker, so placing Revive in a low-level slot can be smart as well. Experiment and see what works best for you. Of course, each Element has its opposite type; use this to your advantage. Craft your party to respond to the threat ahead. For example: if you're going up against a Red enemy, it's not always good to use a Blue character as they will be more vulnerable (they'll suffer as much as 50% more damage per attack). However, to use the really good Blue Elements, like Iceburg and the Frog Summon, you NEED the blue character. So there's a trade-off for every decision you make. And be careful not to rely too heavily on a single spell Element; an Anti- spell can totally seal off your access to an entire category, making that character much less effective for the duration of the battle. Fortunately, Chrono Cross isn't a terribly difficult game. But keeping these considerations in mind will make the fights much easier, and you'll spend much less time hanging on to life by a thread if you plan ahead. ---------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- PART III: WALKTHROUGH - DISC ONE A. CHANGES FROM DEMO ------------------------- A number of elements, both major and minor, have changed between the demo and final versions of the game. Here is a brief rundown. - Fewer battles in first dungeon, and no boss encounter with Sidestep. - Glenn no longer accompanies Kidd and Serge; rather, a third party member is selected apparently at random for the duration of the sequence. - Kidd and Glenn do not offer assistance in hunting down the Kodomo lizards. - Serge's skill, HP and Element levels drop significantly between the dungeon dream and waking up in his village. - Treasures have been removed or changed in various places. - Lazzuly no longer turns Serge away from Hidora Woods; instead it's some random guy. - The real battle theme and victory fanfare have been added, and much of the music has changed in certain locations. - Enemy levels have been reduced so they don't annihilate Serge. - There's a second section of Aruni Village, at its west end, where Radius teaches Serge a lesson humiliation. - The game doesn't end after talking to Rena on the beach :-) - Battle load times have been abbreviated significantly. B. CHRONO'S MYSTERIOUS DUNGEON --------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd, Lazzuly (Note: "My Party" simply describes who went with me at various times, not necessarily who is most effective. I've had a few people ask about this; hopefully it is of use to you.) This bit will be rather familiar to anyone who has played the demo. It's the same area as the opening of the demo, but with the challenge sucked out like a dog sucks the marrow from a bone. Slurp! After an opening cinema which simply displays the Tower from outside (and what a creepy Tower it is), Serge and Kidd and a random character plucked from the cast of thousands arrive in an elevator near the top of a dungeon. It should be noted that I've seen many different characters here - i.e. Poshul, Lazzuly, Mel and Oocha, and I'm sure if I tried it again I'd see a different character. Each random person seems to have distinct dialogue (and even dialect, although I can't really say since my knowledge of Japanese could be inscribed on the head of a pin), which is probably causing Square's translation team to stay up late at night weeping. This area is pretty straightforward, since all the treasure boxes from the demo are missing, the enemies are toned down, and the boss is in absentia. Use this dungeon as an opportunity to familiarize yourself with combat, and don't feel bad about using your most powerful spells, since you won't be seeing them again for a while. Head left from the elevator to check out your goal - a glowing pillar. Kidd gets ticked off that you can't just jump down, but it's not a problem, really. Go back to the right and into the central chamber of the Tower and work your way counter-clockwise around the room to the exterior. Continue to work your way around and up; your ultimate goal is to reach the door in the upper left-hand corner of the central chamber and throw the switch in the room beyond. Once you've deactivated the beam of light, return to the central area and walk to the hub in the center of the room. Press the action button and you'll be transported outside and in front of a large door. Walk up to the door and be creeped out by the freakish cinema... C. WE... ARE MEN... OF ARUNI! ---------------- -- 1. ARUNI VILLAGE -------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge Items in this Area: - 200G (beneath bed) - Kodomo Scales - Shark's Scales - Hekran's Bone (beneath restaurant bed) - Bone Mitt - Coral Motif Window - Laser - Tablet The screen turns black and someone calls Serge's name. Is his mother? Or maybe Jenova? Who knows. Anyway, it turns out that whole dungeon sequence was a dream... which is a real shame, since Serge was about 4 or 5 times more powerful in the dream than in real life. You'll find when you wake up that you have only 50 HP and a mere three slots on your Element grid, as opposed to being the beefy warrior tyke you were in the dream. Oh well. After a yawn-and-stretch-and-try-to-come-alive bit, Serge is up and about in his home. Be sure to grab the 200G stash under his bed; there's also a Tablet hidden on the opposite side of Serge's room. You can rest at any time by "talking" to the bed and choosing the top option. Once you're satisfied with the state of your room, head downstairs where you'll meet Maji (to whom I will refer to as Marge to avoid confusion with the word Magi, which tends to show up in games like this). Marge reminds you to go meet Rena-chan, which you should do... but there's no harm in exploring the village first. There are several points of interest in Aruni. First off, head out of town to the left, which will take you to the western portion of the village where old man Radius will kick your butt in the name of training. Poshul is also running around here with a little girl and can be recruited (see below). Back in the main portion of the village, the fellow standing near the west exit beneath the massive flopping fish will give you a Kodomo scale if you choose the second response option when you speak to him. The woman standing in the depression to the east is a merchant; speak with her to make a purchase. The top option is "Don't want to shop," the second option is "Purchase Elements" and the third selection is "Purchase Equipment." Under each option you have the choice to Forge (use found items to create new equipment), Disassemble (break apart your current inventory to reclaim the components necessary for making other items) or Sell (you can sell for 25% of the cost of purchasing... ouch). Also, Equipment offers three choices: Weapon, Armor or Accessory. You can search her pile of good for an Aztec-looking coral motif window setting as well. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ELEMENT PRICE(G) EFFECT LEVEL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tablet (x1) 10 Restore HP in or out of battle 1/0 Can equip 5 per slot (consume) 2/0 Cure 100 Blue Element - single heal 1/7 Fireball 50 Red Element - single attack 1/7 Aquabeam 50 Blue Element - single attack 1/7 Tear (x1) 15 Recovers Blue (consume) 2/0 Detoxin (x1) 15 Recovers Green (consume) 2/0 --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- EQUIPMENT PRICE (G) TYPE EQUIPPED BY --------------------------------------------------------------------- Bone Dagger 40 Weapon Ki Bone Glove 40 Weapon Po Bone Vest 40 Armor Se Bone Armor 60 Armor Se Bone Mitt 40 Accessory Se --------------------------------------------------------------------- Beyond the merchant is a restaurant run by a large swarthy man. You can chat with people inside (they mention things like Radical Dreamers and the like) or admire the poster of Dynamite Dancer Mika. The back room of the restaurant is guarded by an overly-friendly dog and contains a Bone Mitt in a trunk and a Hekran Bone under the bed (you remember the Hekran cave from Chrono Trigger, right?). Poshul can be recruited here by giving her the Hekran Bone. It can be tricky to line up correctly with her, but just offer her the item and she'll join you for a gleeful dose of butt-whuppin'. However, if you can hold off and not give Poshul the Hekran Bone for now, you'll be able to recruit Rena AND Poshul later. The choice is yours. Behind the restaurant is a boathouse where a fishmonger and a girl with an affinity for Kodomo lizards live. Show the girl the Kodomo scale the fisherman gave you if you want to earn her contempt; otherwise head to the odiferous basement and talk to the fisherman, who will give you a shark's scale pendant. You can give the Kodomo scale to the girl outside the house (or sell it for 1000 G); if you let her have it (first option), she'll give you an Uplift Element in return. Once you've done all the above, head to the docks at the north end of town, where you'll have a pleasant chat with Rena. I think she rather fancies Serge, except the little kids in town tease her to the point of distraction about it. Serge, being the macho man that he is, volunteers to make a necklace for her out of Kodomo lizard scales. And not just any scales! If you try to give her the scale that the fisherman gave you, she'll say, "No, no! I want scales ripped from the warm corpses of lizards that you murdered with your own hands!" Serge is whipped, so he heads out out of town to go reduce the lizard population of the region. -- 2. WORLD MAP -------------------------- When you'll leave town, you'll enter the world map, where Aruni village is pretty much the center of everything. To the east is Hidora Woods, where some guy tells you it's dangerous to enter. Scratch that. To the north is a valley, where soldiers tell you it's dangerous to enter. Hmmm. Northwest of Aruni is a small cliff, where a large stone overlooks the ocean... but to get there you have to fight through a series of steaming geysers. The only enemies here are Thundra Lizards and Beachboys (which look like Nus from Chrono Trigger but actually are pathetic wimps). Items in this Area: - Heal - Bone (Item) You can look at the stone on the cliff, but there's not much to see. Still, this section offer a little extra combat, which means more G and stat-boosting! Once you've explored the world, head west to the small coral forest at the tip of the land. -- 3. TOKAGE ROCK ---------------------------- Items in this Area: - Fireball - Jeweler's Loupe (accessory) - Tablet - Bone Mitt Ah, the grotto. How we love thee. This part can be a bit confusing if you don't know the goals (especially since, unlike in the demo, Kidd and Glenn don't appear to give you guidance), but the point is to catch, murder and skin the three lizards. Conveniently, this area is broken into three sections, and a lizard lives in each one. However, catching them will require a little brain work. The bottom right area (just head down from the entrance after pushing the rock out of the way) features a lizard happily walking back and forth in front of a small rock ledge. Running up to the lizard will cause it run away in justified fear. However, to the left of the ledge is a fallen tree that leads to the upper-right screen. Walk up this tree to the next screen, then hang a 180 and head back down to the screen below by way of the rock ledge. You will find yourself looking down at the happy lizard; when it passes in front of the ledge, press the Circle button to leap on it and attack. Be careful with the timing here; too early or too late will cause it to run away. Now kill the lizard and take its precious hide. Jerk. Be sure to knock the rock into the water at the far left of the screen to claim the treasure chest and the accessory within (whatever it is, I can't read the name) and then head up to the left section of the grotto. The left section features the easiest lizard to catch, although the fact it doesn't really require a gimmick might make the solution easy to overlook. Simply chase the thing around and around in a counter-clockwise circle. Use your X button if you don't have the controller set to auto-run. Again, when you catch it you'll fight it and take its scales. The left area also features a somewhat tricky chest to reach. Walk all the way to the left edge of the area and look for a lump towards the center of the outcropping. Pressing Circle will cause you to leap into the lump, which is the entrance to a tunnel that will squirt you out at the top of the waterfalls. Head back through the tunnel (guarded by a Beachboy) to snag some Tablets. Return to the action by leaping back into that... sphincter... thingee. Finally, head back to screen you started on where you should see a small rock tunnel. Beneath the tunnel is the last lizard you must violate. Walk around the rock formation (NOT through the tunnel - the lizard will run away and you'll have to leave and come back to reset the screen) and the lizard will scurry through the tunnel. No problem; walk to the large rock and press Circle while standing at its left side. Serge will roll the rock to block the tunnel. Now walk back up to the where the lizard fled and it will try to escape through the now-obstructed tunnel. This is almost too easy - just kill the thing and -- BATTLE: BIG KODOMO LIZARD HOLY CRAP! It's a giant lizard! Looks like mama lizard's a bit pissed that you've been practicing genocide with its babies. As soon as the baby lizard bites the dust, the mother will appear (no chance for healing between fights, sorry) and attack. It has some pretty powerful Elements, like Aquabeam and Cold Breath. Hopefully you have 5 Tablets in your Level One slot and at least one attack spell at a higher level (I would recommend putting Fireball in the Level 3 slot, since the lizard is a Water Element). Try and predict its attacks so you can defend when it uses Elements, and keep your HP high. The Cold Breath attack can easily knock more than half of your HP off, so play cautiously. Defeat the mama lizard and you will receive not only the last lizard scale you need, but also some nice status boosts and your very first Star for summoning. Not that you have any Summons yet, but give it time. Once you're through here, you can try to head back to Aruni Village, but Rena won't be there. Head to the beach to the west of the grotto instead and she will meet you there. As she talks, that Jenova voice starts calling to Serge and a weird energy surrounds him as a massive wave crashes against the shore. Rather than panic and run, Serge does the manly thing and passes out face-first in the sand with Rena nowhere to be seen. D. THIS IS NOT MY BEAUTIFUL HOUSE! ----------- -- 1. TOKAGE ROCK (ANOTHER) ------------------ Serge awakens when some random guy and his pet lizard kick sand at him. Rena is STILL nowhere to be seen, and the random guy doesn't have much to say about her. So Serge heads back the way he came... except now things are... DIFFERENT (cue dramatic chord). Items in this Area: - Bone Besides the new music that plays during the world map, there are weird flying fish floating about the grotto. And there's a lizard guarding a chest where a Beachboy guarding a chest had been before. This chest simply holds a bone rather than an Element. But that's not a bad thing, as it will allow you to create armor as you begin to develop a party. The enemies seem to be a little more vicious now, but it should be nothing that Serge can't handle. Watch out for the lizard on the rock outcropping - it jumps on you just as you had done to the lizard before! -- 2. WORLD MAP (ANOTHER) --------------------- Returning to the World Map shows that not too much has changed since Serge passed out, but the music is different. However, heading into the various areas reveals a number of differences. For one thing, the guy in Hidora Woods no longer cares if you go in further, although the swamp water is poisonous and will sap your HP... best to wait for now. The soldiers in the valley are different, and still tell you to kiss off. But you'll definitely want to take a trip to the geyser area. Items in this Area: - Bone - Discharge (Element) Besides housing the extremely useful Discharge (it sounds like a medical condition, but it's actually your very first Yellow Element), the geyser area is significant because of the rock outcropping on the cliff, which contains an inscription. Anyway, now that you've gotten a feel for this strange new world, you should head home. So to speak. -- 3. ARUNI VILLAGE (ANOTHER) ------------- Aruni Village is really, REALLY different. Instead of being littered with dead fish scraps, it's festooned with flowers. In my opinion, this is an improvement, but I can see how it would be disconcerting for Serge. Head into the first building, which is no longer a restaurant but a flower shop. The Dynamite Dancer Miki poster has been replaced with a poster of Slash, a rock star, which is being swooned over by a woman. The overall macho ambience of the store has been transformed into a flowery sort of cheer. Although the girl who used to be a disgruntled waitress now seems to be a disgruntled flower girl (and no wonder; flower girls have rotten luck in Square games). There are items in the back room once more, but the chest which now contains a Tablet is hidden behind a curtain. Behind the flower shop is the home of the fishmonger - although his basement is no longer used for cutting and scraping fish, but rather as a shrine to the one, the only LUCKY DAN! Whatever has happened to Aruni is strange, but extremely cool. You can try giving him the Shark's Scale (use the Square button to bring up the Key Items menu, then press Circle to select it); however, he refuses it. The area of town to the west is quiet, and Radius and Poshul are nowhere to be seen. And Serge's house is... different. Besides the fact that Marge is nowhere to be seen and the cats have been swapped out for dogs and the overall feel is a bit more claustrophobic, Serge's bedroom is now occupied by a lizard that charges him 100G to sleep. Talk about a blow to the ol' self-esteem. On the plus side, you can find a Bomber Element at the far left of Serge's room - walk behind the foreground clutter and press Circle to retrieve it. When Serge leaves his house, a woman walks in and demands to know what he's doing there. He asks where Marge is, but the woman doesn't know and claims (I think) to have lived there for 10 years. At this point I'd be a little dejected. Luckily one thing hasn't changed - Rena is still hanging out at the docks, watching the kids swim. Alas, Rena doesn't recognize Serge and says (I cheated here and confirmed this with the spoilers at www.thegia.com) that Serge died 10 years ago, and doesn't seem to appreciate Serge's claims to be, well, Serge. Even offering her a lovely lizard scale won't turn her callous heart. E. TO TERMINA... AND BEYOND! ----------------- At this point, you have two options. You can try to cruise Hidora Woods (actually Hidora Swamp, I've since discovered) or you can go visit the monument on the cliff again. The correct answer here is "the monument"; however, there are some good items to be found in the swamp, and the enemies are easy to deal with in the opening area, so I recommend a side tour through the swamp before advancing. -- 1. HIDORA SWAMP PART 1 -------------------- Items in this Area: - Leaf (element) - Discharge (element) - Protective Gear The first thing you will notice in Hidora is that the water is poisonous. Walking in the water will take off a hit point or two with every step. This is a Bad Thing, as there's an awful lot of water in the swamp. Fortunately, you don't have to suffer for long - walk up to the swaying plant to the left of the man at the entrance and hit Circle, which will cause it to lower and provide a shortcut for you. Now head left off the screen and you'll walk along a massive fungal growth high above the swamp. There are no enemies in this bit, so it's quite straightforward; just head up and hang a right at the Save Point (the little glowing blue pyramid that appears midway up the fungal stalk - there was one in Aruni inside what used to be Radius' house as well). When you get to the top, you will meet two men - but be sure to grab the Discharge element first. Speak to the first man, the one in purple, and choose the first option. He will give you a key item called Protective Gear, which will keep the swamp's poisonous water and gasses from harming you. And you don't even have to equip it! Better yet, it works like Final Fantasy VI's Diving Helmet and one set works for an entire party! I love video game logic. Head back down the stalk and into the main swamp area. You can travel through the water without suffering damage, but be sure to check your HP before every instance of combat - many of the enemies use poison in battle. You should also buy 10 or 15 Detoxins from Aruni Village (15G, bottom choice in the buy/elements menu) to clear up any poison status you acquire in battle. The only two enemies you'll encounter for now are some insects which can hit for 15-24 HP as well as some passive-aggressive plants. Be sure to take out the insects first, because they attack actively, and because the plants have a dying counter attack which hits you with poison and about 30 HP damage! You can avoid combat if you like, but you can earn some extra cash this way if you need it, as well as some random Elements (I've won several Wind-based elements here). Just be sure to heal after combat. Head up and grab the Leaf Element in the chest at the top left corner of the screen. The walk to the right and you'll see two plants guarding a treasure chest... unfortunately, they're up an unpassable slope. Head back to the left and up off the screen and you've gone about as far as you can. There's a bending plant here, but it's a little resilient and snaps back, injuring Serge and making this route unpassable. -- 2. CAPE OF CRYING WIND ----------------- If you head back to the cliff where the rock monument was before, you'll see the sun is setting. Head up past the geysers, collecting any treasures you may have passed up before, and examine the monument. Serge bends to look more closely at it, and sees it is in fact... his tombstone. Talk about creepy. Apparently, though, some people have a thing against adventurers who pull a Huck Finn and show up at their own funeral. Or was that Tom Sawyer? Anyway, a fellow named Karsh and his bumbling henchmen Sugar and Salton (what is UP with games/anime and food names, anyway?) appear and try to accost Serge. But they stop in their tracks when a voice from behind mocks them. Pan over to reveal Kidd, looking VERY nice in the twilight. Kidd joins Serge in standing against Karsh and co. and of course, a fight commences. BATTLE: KARSH, SUGAR, SALTON This is a pretty simple battle, as Sugar and Salton are dismally weak. Kidd is also sort of spindly and ineffectual as a fighter, but she has some pretty handy magic. Take out the henchmen first as they sometimes use status-affecting magic. Then focus on Karsh, who is a bit more formidable. Be sure to use your last Stamina point in each attack sequence for Defense (unless you use and Element), because Karsh has a special attack called Dragon Ride in which he mounts a dragon steed and charges for serious damage. Still, caution is the word of the day, and you should win without any serious difficulty. Victory brings many spoils: another Star, a new Level Two slot on your Element Grid, a Bone Axe, a Bone Vest and a Bone Mitt. Also, you join with Kidd, whom you can name. Now you have an RPG party! You'll return with Kidd to your "house," where a short conversation ensues and Kidd gives you the Teleshifter, which apparently allows you to swap party members on the world map (but at this point, you have a two-member party). Gee, I wonder WHO could have invented a gizmo like that? -- 3. DROWNED VALLEY -------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd At this point, you will be allowed to pass into the Valley to the north of Aruni. There are a few enemies here, although nothing totally lethal, if you know what to do (and what not to do). Items in this Area: - Clown Skull (key item) - Niwatrice Egg (key item) - Flowers (key item) Near the entrance is a battle with three Pig Babies, which is utterly baffling... they seem to attack one another, but not the party. Beyond that is another guard blocking a ladder; choose the first option when you speak to him and he'll step aside. Up the ladder is a massive fossilized dinosaur skeleton. A strange little talking skull painted to look like a clown is hiding in the dragon's skull; choose the first option and it will hop into Serge's inventory. The skull's name is Skarll, and it wants a body. This becomes one of your sidequests. Back down and to the left is a bone ladder headed down; a soldier will speak to you when you mount the ladder, although I have no idea what he's saying. Hopefully not, "Don't kill the bird down there, or you'll burn in hell," because I killed the bird down there. This is your first encounter with a Niwatrice, which are terribly annoying creatures. They hit pretty hard and have high defensive ratings, but most frustrating is that they respond to Element attacks with a brutal counter-blow that kills a character in a single hit. So please, don't use Elements against them, unless you enjoy dying. Defeating this creature will allow you to take its egg, another key item. I feel kind of sleazy for having killed it, but what can you do? Between this and the Kodomo Lizards, Serge is on a crusade to offend PETA, it seems. Climb back up the ladder and head around and up the path. You can fight the enemy there or simply bypass it and take the Rindou flower (yet another key item) at the edge of the cliff. Once you've looted the area, head back down to the lower sections and travel to the left of the bottom path. You will encounter Sugar and Salton once again (what's an RPG without wacky recurring enemy fops? Scorpion Army, we salute thee). BATTLE: SUGAR, SALTON Another fight that's nothing to be worried about. I think this is more an in-game tutorial than a battle; these guys talk about using Elements, and then do - mainly status-affecting Elements at that. You can see their lovely examples of Element types, or just beat them down in a hurry. Winning will earn you the Element "Uplift," a third Star, a second slot on your Level Three Element grid, and a unique skill (Serge gets Dash Attack and Kidd learns Steal, which as you might suspect allows you to steal from enemies). These skills are not Elements per se, as they seem to be inherent abilities and are marked with a Yin-Yang symbol and cannot be exchanged or un-equipped. Head out the exit and return to the world map. F. TERMINA DOGMA ---------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd, Lucky Dan Passing through the valley of dragon bones opens up a new area of the world map for you; additionally, you can pass back to the Aruni area without having to enter the valley again. I would recommend doing just that; now that you have Kidd, you can get your second optional party member: the one, the only... Lucky Dan! Finding Dan is pretty simple - he's in the basement that belonged to the fishmonger back in the reality Serge came from. Lucky Dan is actually an idol to a dark god of some sort. Examine the doll and speak to the young man who seems to spend his entire life contemplating this evil effigy. Use the Square button to hand the Shark's Scale (pendant) to the boy, who will extemporize on it and hand it back to Serge. If you did this right, nothing will happen until you try to leave... and then, Dan will come to life, proclaiming himself a messenger of God. "Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Dan! Go, go!" Let him join the party and name him as you see fit. Dan isn't particularly powerful, but some of his secondary ratings are excellent - two to three times as high as Serge's. Also, he's quite amusing in combat. And now, back to the story. The only real option you have now is to go to the city of Termina. The eastern woods are blocked by a burly knight named Zoah, and the gates of the mansion are impassable. So head to the western shore and enter Termina. -- 1. TERMINA SQUARE ------------------------ NOTE: The actions you choose here will affect the path the story takes. I recommend Alf's path; it's easy to find, and Alf is an extremely powerful fighter and mage. But if you want more of a challenge, skip down to section 6(B). If you want the scenic route, scroll ahead to 6(C). Termina is a large, bustling town with festive music... sort of like Aveh, but without the grating slowdown. When you enter, you will witness a scene involving Glenn, a young man seeking Rindou flowers. How convenient that you managed to snag that Rindou flower back in the valley, eh? Since the flower shop is sold out of Rindou, Glenn goes away empty-handed; but not before mentioning Karsh, causing Kidd to have a brainstorm and connect two plus two to get four. Note - if you chose to recruit Rena, you will need to travel to the top of the city and view the statue of Jyakotu where Kidd will join you before you can advance any further in the game. ************************************************ ***************** BRANCH POINT ***************** ************************************************ At this point, the game offers you three paths, depending on your next action. If you go to the west docks first and speak with Miki, you will go down Slash's path. If you go east and back to the rear area of town, you will go down Pierre's path. And if you head straight to the Inn, you will meet Alf. Before you hunt for Glenn, though, take a look around town. There's plenty to do here, such as stop at the Inn at the lower level, or visit Lisa at Yuri's Shop. There are a few new Elements for sale here, so have a look. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ELEMENT PRICE(G) EFFECT LEVEL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tablet (x1) 10 Restore HP in or out of battle 1/0 Can equip 5 per slot (consume) 2/0 Tear (x1) 15 Recovers Blue (consume) 2/0 Aura (x1) 15 Recovers Red (consume) 2/0 Detoxin (x1) 15 Recovers Green (consume) 2/0 Disperse (x1) 15 Recovers Yellow (consume) 2/0 Cure 100 Blue Element - single heal 1/7 Heal 100 Green Element - single heal 2/6 Fireball 50 Red Element - single attack 1/7 Bomber 80 Red Element - multi attack 2/6 Aquabeam 50 Blue Element - single attack 1/7 Ice Lance 80 Blue Element - single attack 2/6 Leaf 50 Green Element - single attack 1/7 Air Saucer 80 Green Element - single attack 2/6 Uplift 50 Yellow Element - single att. 1/7 Discharge 50 Yellow Element - single att. 2/6 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Be sure to buy several Auras and Dispurses, as you probably will be stricken with those particular status ailments soon enough. Lisa also offers you a ticket to Slash's upcoming concert if you examine the ubiquitous Slash poster in her shop. Alas, she realizes that she is out of tickets if you accept the offer. At the top of the Square is a statue of Jyakotu, who seems to be the man in charge of this region. Kidd initiates a conversation; whatever it is, you can choose an affirmative reply (top) or negative (bottom). I don't know what effect this has on events. To the left of the main square is a carnival celebrating some 100 year anniversary or another in Termina. Unfortunately, you can't get in for now. You can also mosey up a pink stairway to see groupies standing around Slash's residence - he's like the Ricky Martin of Chrono Cross. However, you can't get past the throng of swooning fangirls, but you can meet Dynamite Dancer Miki in the dressing room below. To the right of the main square is a number of items of interest. Head up a screen to see a house which seems to be Glenn's residence (be sure to bring Lucky Dan along to examine the practice dummy in the yard for an amusing scene; if you bring Poshul, she'll exchange a barking match with the dog outside the dojo), but he is currently away (keep looking!). To the right of Glenn's place is a smithy run by a man named Zappa, who dislikes being disturbed while forging. If you've found any interesting items while traveling, you can have your weapons upgraded here... but most likely, you will need to explore new areas and defeat new enemies to acquire useful items. The back room of Zappa's shop is occupied by Pierre, who likes to spice up his dialogue with English but is too busy admiring himself in the mirror and complaining about his lost badge to join your crusade. At the end of this area is a mansion where an artist named Bancliffe lives. Bancliffe and his father don't seem to get along too well, but isn't that what being a teenager's all about? To the right of this section, past the fortune teller's tent, some children are gathering to watch a demonstration when a street punk named Korcha scares them away and leaps to his boat below. Work your way further right and then down to follow him. When you get to the next area, you'll see Korcha by his boat but won't be able to reach him. Head counter-clockwise around the pond beneath the shack and trigger the event with Glenn and Riddle. Glenn wishes to commemorate the death of his father and brother (I think); give him the Rindou flowers you acquired in the valley and he'll place them at the memorial. If you don't have the flowers, he and Riddle will simply pass you by after speaking. The two will disappear beneath the shack. If you follow them, you can speak with Korcha, who seems unimpressed with Serge. G(A). MANSION OVER THE HILLTOP ----------------- ----- ALF'S PATH ------------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Alf, Lucky Dan Head back to the Inn and speak to Alf again. This time he will join your party; this is a very, very good thing. Alf is an excellent magic user, plus his attacks are extremely powerful, despite his fey appearance. His Strong attack hits all enemies simultaneously, and his unique skill, In Body, is almost abusively damaging (and downright painful to watch). Now backtrack once more and chat with Korcha. This time, Alf will persuade Korcha to lend use of the boat, which can hold only four people. So off you go to do the ol' attack from behind maneuver. Korcha takes you to the cliffs behind the mansion, where you can sneak in without worrying about those pesky gates. Unfortunately, a guard spots you and begins flinging boulders at you. Quite a strong lad, he is. -- 1. OVER THE HILL ------------------------- Items in this Area: - Heal (element) - Laser (element) - Shooting (element) - Tablet - Friction (element) The boulders that fall hit the party for 10 HP per character, so be sure to heal before entering battle if you are struck. There are two kinds of enemies on the cliffs - round bat-like things called Devitts, and round baskets with mysterious creatures inside, called Nestors. The Nestors are hard to avoid, as they ambush you while you climb. Neither enemy poses a great challenge, but they do offer decent power-up opportunities, so be sure to battle a few. From the bottom of the cliff, you can go one of two ways. I'd start by going right across the shallows, and up. Head to the far left and climb to the chest which contains a Heal element. Be careful of the geyser - if your party leader gets hit, you will be washed down to the screen below. This is bad, if you're climbing up. However, once you've gotten the Heal chest above, let the water blow you to the screen below, which allows you to access a chest with a Laser element inside. This will probably be your first Cosmic element; I would recommend giving it to Serge, since he has the highest Cosmic affinity. Climb back down to the lowest level with the hanging moss and begin climbing the cliff, this time on the left side. This section is a bit complex to explain in text, so here's a rundown of where the paths lead. Second screen up: Right to Tablet; left to dead end; middle to Third screen. Third screen up: Left to Shooting; right to dead end; middle to Fourth screen. Fourth screen up: Left to Friction, middle to dead end; right to top. At the top of the cliff, you will be accosted by several soldiers. This should be an easy fight; unfortunately, the soldiers also manage to irritate some bird men who will give you the first truly challenging fight of the game. BATTLE: ACACIA SOLDIERS Just be sure to defend after your attacks until you thin the ranks a bit, then use your elements. Victory will yield a Star. BATTLE: SKARF, WINGAR, WINGEL Is it just me or do these names sound like something from Thundercats? Skarf is a real pain here, so be careful. He uses status-boosting skills on himself at the start of the fight to improve his strength. It's imperative to defend constantly! He can launch multiple strikes in a single turn, just like your party members, making him very dangerous if you leave your defenses open. Your first instinct might be to tackle his henchmen first, since they can inflict status conditions and have less HP than Skarf. However, this actually is a bad idea; when Skarf fights alone, he uses a truly nasty spell on the party called Graviton. It can kill a party member in a single hit, which is not good... so you want to avoid being hit by Graviton. Use your best attacks on him, especially Alf's In Body, which can hit for nearly 100 HP and is by far your most powerful skill. Play cautiously, keeping your HP above 50 at all times in the event that Skarf gets means and uses Graviton (he tends to cast it twice consecutively, leaving you with two seriously wounded characters). Your well-earned victory here gives you another Summon Star (bringing your total to 5) and a new Shadow element, Heavy Blow. When the battle is complete, you will sneak into the manor. G(B) STORMING THE GATES --------------------- ---- PIERRE'S PATH -------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd, Pierre If you think a butt-kicking mage like Alf makes the game too easy - or maybe you just think Alf is too macho - you can follow this alternate game path. Start by entering Termina and going to the right. The take the path up, to the Smithy. Enter Zappa's Smithy and walk into the back room to speak with Pierre. Exit Pierre's room through the exterior door (not back into the Smithy) and speak to the kids in Glenn's house once or twice. Exit Glenn's house and speak to the children in the yard. The boy in red should give you a Key Item - a badge with a crest on it. Give that to Pierre and he will join your party. If you give it to Pierre after speaking to Korcha, Korcha will disappear. If Pierre joins before the Korcha event on the bridge, once you trigger it, Korcha will simply boat on past the shore by the shack and you'll never meet him. Refer to the Termina Square info above for a breakdown of the city. Once Pierre is in your party and you're ready to enter the manor, return to world map. The woods are still blocked by Zoah, but that's OK. Pierre's a flamboyant type - so this calls for a frontal assault. Walk up to the guards at the front gate of the manor; Pierre will introduce himself and ask to be let inside. The guards are not impressed. Pierre seems nonplussed, but Kidd makes a comment and offers some suggestions - choose option 1 and battle the guards. Victory will net you a Star. Once you've opened the gate, Sugar and Salton will accost you... but this time, they've brought a friend. A massive, dangerous friend named Rutovibi who starts the battle by hitting your party leader for about 600 HP. Yipe... Sugar is considerate, though, and revives your fallen character. Your best bet is to take out Rutovibi first; when Sugar or Salton become critical, he grabs both of them and uses them to attack the party, which will almost certainly knock out the member targeted. On the plus side, that attack also wipes out Sugar and Salton. The real challenge of this battle is that Pierre is pathetic - his strong attack is about as powerful as Serge's weak attack. His special skill is to use his badge to restore a few HP, but it only works on himself. He's not terribly inspiring. However, if you can overcome Rutovibi's muscle and Pierre's lack thereof, you'll be in the mansion. Pierre recommends hiding until night, which the party does. You will enter the mansion through the front, but you'll still need to get the key from the stables. (Skip to Part H) G(C). INTO THE WOODS ------------------------ ----- SLASH'S PATH -------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd, Slash This sequence begins at the large ocean liner parked next to the Carnival area in Termina. Make it your first stop; enter the lower door on the ship and speak to the girls twice. Exit, then return and speak to the manager. Miki will enter the room, being a prima donna celebrity I suppose. Reply to her query with the top response and she will run away. -- 1. SHADOW CUT WOODS ---------------------- Items in this Area: - Air Saucer - Uplift - Heal - Pink Bag (Key Item) - Shoulderblade Bones (Key Item) - Memento (Key Item) Refer to the previous section for details on the layout of Termina. However, you will not be able to find Alf or Korcha or Pierre after meeting Miki. Do whatever you need to accomplish in the city, then exit to the world map and head to the eastern woods. Zoah no longer will be standing in the way, so you can pass through here to get to the mansion. Inside the forest, you'll quickly notice several strange blob creatures of various shapes. These are land octopi, although you won't be able to get them to move simply by talking to them. Make a note of where they're located and which colors are where. Your more immediate concern is on the fellow in the pond on the second screen. If you take the lower path around the pond, he'll be surrounded by the creatures of the forest and leap over them to safety, fleeing to the next screen. Grab the Air Saucer from the chest above the pond and the Uplift element from the chest at the bottom left of the area, then follow the man. In the next area, the fellow you're chasing runs into a party of Tengu. You can help him out by running up behind the Tengu if you wish. BATTLE: TENGU (x3) An interesting battle. This begins with Slash, the man being chased by the Tengu, fighting them off single-handedly. Once everyone has made a few moves, your party will be allowed to attack. These guys are really easy, especially if you have multiple-effect Elements like Bomber. As with most of these fights, you will earn a Star for your victory (no matter which path you take, you'll always net two Stars by the time you arrive at the mansion). You'll also earn a couple of Uplift elements. Slash isn't terribly friendly - his way of thanking you for his rescue is to run off and disappear behind a small waterfall. Chase the dope and you'll find he's accidentally blundered into a dead end. Speak to him and choose the first option both times - he'll join your party. I'm guessing that he's hunting for Miki, but I can't say for sure. Anyway, he'll join up. I would rank him somewhere between Pierre and Alf in terms of usefulness. His attacks and magic are stronger than Pierre's, but nowhere near as powerful as Alf's. He also looks pretty goofy in battle, but hey - handbangers need love too. Be sure to take the Pink Bag in the cave... I'm sure it will come in handy at some point. Also, read the note, which will enable you to proceed to the next step in your goal of reaching the mansion. Now it's time to put the forces of nature to use. You need to move past this area, but unfortunately the egress is being blocked by a large plant. Luckily, it's a very hungry plant. Even more fortunately, its diet consists of land octopi - convenient, considering you saw some on the way in. The only question is how to convince the land octopi to become scooby snax. In a stroke of sheer fortune, the land octopi enjoy eating the little friendly spore-blobs that the spiky bushes in the forest release. The rub here is that octopi will only eat spore-blobs that are the same color as themselves. Go up to each bush and press the Action button; it will release a spore-blob of a specific color which will then follow behind your party like a puppy. Walk in front of each land octopus with a spore-blob that matches its color in tow and the octopus will follow you. Move quickly, or the octopus will eat the spore-blob and lose interest in you. Play pied piper here until you've led all three octopi to a crunchy death at the jaws/mandibles/petals of the big path-blocking plant (don't forget the blue plant beneath the waterfall). Once the plant is sated, talk to it. Kidd will threaten it, but instead of fighting it will simply shrink down and allow you to pass, plus it will give you a new window setting, the strange but amusing Skull motif. Note: it's possible that you only need to lead the orange octopus to the plant. Try it and see. The last section of the forest is brief, but significant. You will be accosted by Zoah, a knight of the Acacian army, as well as by wacky funsters Sugar and Salton. BATTLE: ZOAH, SUGAR, SALTON Salton begins this battle by trying to summon a Golem... unfortunately for him, the Field Effect isn't all Yellow :-) This won't be a tremendously difficult fight; focus on Zoah first, and try to take him down before he uses his Dragon Ride attack. The enemies will go pretty easy on you in the first few rounds, so you might as well use your best element attacks right away. As the battle wears on, try and predict some of the attacks (especially once Sugar uses High Muscle on himself to boost his strength; that's when he starts using special charge attacks). Zoah runs away in disgrace at the end of the fight, although nothing is shown of his sidekicks. Hopefully that won't be the last of them! You'll win a Star here, as always, as well as Uplift and Bone Mail. Grab the Heal in the chest by the tree and duck beneath the tree's roots. -- 2. THE ROOT OF YOUR TROUBLES ------------- Items in this Area: - Bomber This section is brief and straightforward, but you'll probably end up engaging in more battles than you would like thanks to the numerous quick enemies and narrow maneuvering space. Grab the Bomber in the chest behind the roots, and then run ahead to the cave in the distance. You'll encounter a line of running bugs here (this reminds me of the teenagers where I live who drive around Sonic's parking lot on weekend evenings... scary). Coupled with the fast flow of water, these bugs will make the area unpassable. Unless of course you take care of the problem at its source and staunch the bug flow. Climb the overhang parallel to the bug flow and fight the Lifeless next to the boulder. When the monster is gone, you can roll the boulder in front of the hole that's ejecting insects. Now you can wade upstream without molestation. There is a seemingly inaccessible chest above the path on a small alcove (advice on accessing it would be welcome), and a tunnel leading into the back of the cave which connects to a well. When you arrive in the well shaft, the party will automatically climb the vine clinging to the back wall. This will lead you to the mansion yard. H. MANIAC MANSION --------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Alf, Lucky Dan You will arrive at the mansion one of three ways - through the back (Alf), front (Pierre), or the well to the southwest (Slash). Whichever is the case, you will need to head to the back area before you can enter the mansion proper. -- 1. TACTICAL ESPIONAGE ACTION ------------- Items in this Area: - Aura - Feel Blue (Element) - Kneepad - Bronze Mitt - Bronze Mail - Recover In the back, you'll find yourself in a scene right out of Metal Gear Solid - everything from sneaking around guards to a giant roving searchlight. The good news is that guards aren't in infinite supply, and you can dust them off one by one. But your first priority here is to head up to the stables at the top of the area. Inside the stables is a very welcome Save Point. You might want to make a new file here, as you can't leave the manor (at least not as far as I've found). While you're in the stables, check the top right-hand corner for a Key, which will be need later. Also inside the stable is a small minigame. Talk to the old man and choose the first option to play a game that requires you to feed the dragon steeds and keep them happy. This game is necessary if you want to acquire the Key to the manor - unless you try feeding the dragons, the old man will refuse to let you take it. How the game works: Serge can carry three bales of hay at a time. The dragons can only be fed while their heads are raised; if they are not fed within a few seconds' time, they become angry and turn a shade of red. If any dragon becomes completely red, you've failed. Replenish your hay by pressing Action at the far left; feed a dragon by pressing Action in front of its stall. The more food you give the dragons, the better the prize. You can choose to feed them 10, 20, 30, 40, or 100 bales of hay. The prizes are as follows: 10 - Kneepad 20 - Bronze Mitt 30 - Bronze Mail 40 - Recover (element) 100 - Beats me. Anyone know? I'm not very good at this game... Outside the stable, you can go back down to the door right above where Alf enters the manor and pick up Feel Blue, a Blue element. The Feel Elements cause an enemy to acquire a specific elemental attribute, making them weaker to a specific counter-element. Example: hit an enemy with Feel Yellow and it will become weak to Green elements and strong against Yellow elements. Take the door to the lower left, and try to stay off the open path unless you want the guards to see you. Fight the guards by the main entrance and you will be allowed to enter the mansion. Did you snag the key in the stables? Don't miss the Ora Element in the chest at the top left-hand corner of the yard and Feel Yellow in the treasure chest by the main gate! (Skip to Part H) Once inside the mansion, you will have to work through three sections. The door to the second section is straight ahead, but don't expect to get there right away... Note: if you chose not to include Kidd in your party, she will follow you into the mansion as an NPC. In the following events, I used a party of Serge, Alf and Lucky Dan, so your sequence may vary slightly if you take Kidd along. -- 2. INSIDE - FIRST AREA ------------------- Items in this Area: - Feel Green - (unknown accessory) - Feel Black - Blue Shield (key item) - Bronze Sword - Bronze Mail - Pendant - Revive When you enter the mansion, you will be confronted with three doors: straight, left and right. The left door is locked (well, blocked) and the right door is available. The door straight ahead is flanked by a snake statue. Talk to the snake statue and it will ask for you to input two numbers. You have a 1-in-100 chance of getting it right, so 99% of you are going to fail, which activates a trap door leading to a cage in the basement. Three guards are standing watch by the cage, and two of them run upstairs when you arrive. You can rattle the door, but the guard just says to shut up. Stand around for a while and Kidd will sneak up the stairs. Bang the door again to distract the guard; Kidd will knock him unconscious and pick the lock. The other two guards rush in and attack, which should be an easy fight. Serge and party will do a Locke Cole and steal their uniforms (no clue about what happens to their bodies...), although Lucky Dan won't be able to don a guard outfit... for obvious reasons. From here you can take the left elevator or take the right stairs. There's nothing of significance downstairs - a guard blocks your way into the dungeon, you will be attacked by a random treasure chest, and there's a rattling grate that can't be opened. Up the elevator, you'll come to a room with both left and right passages. Either way works fine. To the left is the living quarters of the Akacia soldiers. The first door is the mess, where you'll meet Glenn again. Talk to him and he'll leave... affable fellow. There's an accessory in the chest at the top of the room, although I'm not certain of its name. Past the mess, and behind the second door, is the kitchen, where Ocha and his assistance are preparing food. I've seen Ocha as a playable character in the random opening dungeon, but it seems he cannot be recruited at the moment. Still, that shouldn't stop you from taking the Feel Green element in his cabinet. The third door is the Akacia soldiers' sleeping quarters, where Glenn has gone. You can grab a Revive element here, or use the Save Point, but be sure to pay attention to Glenn's actions - he faces the wall, and then moves to his bed side? I wonder what was so interesting about that wall... maybe you should look (hint hint). Past the sleeping chambers is a staircase, leading to the first-level basement. There is a bronze golem at the end of the hall, which will fight you if you talk to it twice. If you walk down the center section of the carpeted hall, you will be attacked by sentry monsters. Finally, several doors here are guarded by eyeballs - touching the door while the eyeball is active will cause you to enter battle with a very nasty living door. The doors can be beaten, but they yield little in the way of power-ups and give you a single Capsule as spoils. They also have strong Lightning attacks and can summon assistant enemies to aid them. You can battle the door if you wish, but you're better advised to run to the door and open it when the eye blinks. If you time it right, you can sneak past it. The first door on this level is unguarded, so pop in and take a look. Here you'll find a girl in a jester costume asleep on a couch. There's also a fighting treasure chest; I managed to win an Air Saucer here, but your mileage may vary. The right chest is passive and will give you Feel Black - a very useful item to have with all the White elements Serge should have equipped. The second door on this level is guarded by an eyeball, but even if you defeat the eye the door is locked. Tres bummer. You're better off fighting the golem to unblock the door to the main chamber. The golem is tough and has some damaging attacks, but use your best elements and you shouldn't have any trouble. Now you're back in the room you saw when you first entered the mansion. If you have the numbers Glenn was blocking (or perhaps he wrote them on the wall for you as a favor), you can use them to pass the snake statue. However, there are a few interesting things to be found on the right side of the building, so take a detour first. Starting from the bottom floor and heading to the left, the first room seems to be a treasure depot. You have to go in here, because the passage is blocked by another bronze golem. Kidd is already in the treasure room - if you talk to her, though, she'll take off. A small possible story spoiler regarding Kidd in the mansion: because Chrono Cross is based on Radical Dreamers, some of the characters' motives are known. Kidd is seeking to steal a legendary treasure known as the Frozen Flame, which she believes to be hidden in this manor. This is why she was willing to help Serge break into the mansion, and why she seems to be searching for something during this section of the game. And now, back to our walkthrough. You can take the items at the back of the room, including useful equipment like a Bronze Sword and Bronze Mail. There's also a pendant attached to the right wall of the room; if you choose to take it (first option), it will activate a trap door that sends you into a cage in the next room. This room is occupied by a lady named Lutianna, who seems to be conducting research to breed powerful fighting animals. She'll let you out of your cage, but you have to fight two little creatures that look like a cross between Lucky Dan and Peco from Breath of Fire III. I don't know if she sics them on you, or if they're rampaging out of control, but when you win you will receive a Star and two Air Saucer elements. When you leave the lab, you can fight the golem to unblock the passageway. Again, no real problem. The eye-guarded door to the right of the lab is an armory. You can push a snake statue against the wall here, which will cause some little pink blob things to attack. They yield decent power-ups, so there's no harm in fighting them. You can also choose to take the shield from the wall between the statues if you wish. If you give the shield to one of the guard statues, they will fight you. You can then open a secret switch that takes you to a secret chest surrounded by poison gas... no word on how to bypass that just yet, though. Back in the hallway, head up the staircase at the end of the passageway and back to ground level. There are two doors here, both of which are guarded by eyes. Inside the first door is Zoah and inside the second door is Karsh. Since you're in disguise, you can ask them various questions about things... undoubtedly, this is useful if you know Japanese. Both men have a treasure chest in their room, but they will not let you open chests (actually, Karsh will give up if you keep trying and let you take the contents. Count to 30...). Now that you've seen the sights, return to the main hallway and input the numbers at the statue. It will open the large doors leading to the second section. Be sure to save before you go! -- 3. INSIDE - SECOND AREA ------------------ Items in this Area: - Feel White This is a large antechamber. Two guards are blocking the back passage and there's a golem by the right door. This means you can go left and only left, so walk left through the door and across the bridge to the library. A small girl named Marcella and an old man (I'm assuming he's the librarian) are here. The librarian starts to describe the plot using some REALLY trippy special effects. The important terms I gleaned here are "Wormhole" and "Worldhole map - START Button Menu." For some reason, this revelation provokes Marcella to attack your party. Yeah, a tiny little girl wants to kick your butt... and she's pretty darned good at it, at that. BATTLE: MARCELLA For little munchkin, Marcella packs a punch. Her physical attacks are only so-so, but her magic kicks your butt. She doesn't have anything brutally powerful, but she uses the Elements she possesses frequently and viciously. Her two most dangerous Elements are Line Bias, which hits for about 50-70 HP, and Freeze, which damages a character AND stuns him. She can use this on two characters consecutively when her HP is low, so be prepared to finish her off with just one active character. The Feel Elements come in handy here, and it might not be a bad idea to give one or two characters Tear elements for when she hits you with Freeze. When you win, you'll receive a Star and a Freeze element. Marcella runs off, disappointed that she couldn't murder you. The librarian seems to find this amusing. Ignore his senility and press the switch that Marcella tapped earlier, the one hidden in the books, to activate the ladder to the balcony. Grab the Feel White element up there, because it's oh-so-handy with Black characters like Alf and Lucky Dan around. Run back across the bridge to the antechamber and you will be greeted by both Kidd and the jester girl, Tukuyomi. Kidd and Tukuyomi don't seem to get along too well, especially after the jester blows Serge a kiss and walks off. Kidd acts annoyed if you try to leave, the guards won't let you pass, and the golem won't fight you. You're going to be stuck here unless you adapt to Square's habit of creating invisible switches. Annoying, no? The switch in this room can be found after long, tedious hours of pressing the Action button - you'll have the most luck if you search near the columns at the back left side of the room. When you find the switch, you will cause an elevator to descend, scaring the pudding out of the guards. It seems the guards don't care much for having the pudding scared out of them and they attack you. Put them out of their misery and take the elevator to the third floor. -- 4. INSIDE - THIRD AREA ------------------- You can go left or right here, but there's nothing of significance to the right - just a lovely balcony with glowing plants. To the left is a very welcome Save Point. Make use of it and have a look at the doors. The one on the left is locked, but the door on the right leads to an office with a small glowing item on the desk. Kidd enters and becomes excited for a moment about the object d'art, but then realizes it isn't the REAL Frozen Flame - merely a lifelike simulation. As she comes to grip with reality, the bookcase at the back of the office retracts and an old man (Jyakotu, lord of the mansion) steps forth. He is soon accompanied by none other than Yamaneko. Kidd seems to know Yamaneko and Yamaneko seems to know both Serge and Kidd. The cat man takes this opportunity to pop the top on a six pack o' butt-kick on the young perps who have broken into the inner mansion. BATTLE: YAMANEKO Yamaneko is a tough customer, but actually gave me less trouble than Marcella. He uses Anti-White, which will prevent your characters from using White spells. Showing remarkable AI for an RPG enemy, he's most likely to use Anti-White on Serge. Just play cautiously here, mixing your strong Element attacks with defense and healing. It should be noted that scythes appear to be the tradition for Chrono main enemies these days! When you defeat Yamaneko, you'll earn another Star as well as some sort of accessory. But you know, you're only a few hours into the game - surely you don't think this is the last of Yamaneko? Of course it's not. He transforms into a cat, then reappears as himself behind the cat apparition, and causes more cats to appear as he entices Serge to examine the glowing sphere on his desk. Serge has another vision, in which his face changes to Yamaneko's ("No, Serge... *I* am your father...") and a city on an island is nuked. Things are starting to look pretty bad as Serge starts a Cloud Strife-style freak-out, but just then Riddle, whose quarters are next door to Jyakotu's office, walks in and Kidd takes her hostage (pretty impressive for a spindly little waif). It's a standoff! Serge's party backs out of the office, but the Karsh and several soldiers appear from behind, leaving Serge and co. no choice but to head out for the balcony. Unfortunately, Yamaneko reveals a throwing dagger with which he hits Kidd. Wounded, she plummets to the ocean below, and the rest of the party jump after her to be rescued by Korcha. interestingly, Yamaneko mentions the word "Chrono Trigger" as Serge falls... how's that for adding some intrigue to the plot? ************************************************ ***************** BRANCH POINT ***************** ************************************************ The story splits here based on your responses to Korcha regarding Kidd's health. Once you awaken and walk outside the hut, you'll find the rest of your party. Kidd, however, collapses right away and falls ill from the wound she suffered at Yamaneko's hands. Doc, who appears to be involved in medicine as a side hobby of his other interest in certain herbs, has a look at Kidd and determines her wound can only be healed by a potion which is located in Hidora Swamp. But not the Hidora Swamp in this world - you'll have to return to Serge's world to reach it. To enable this, Kidd gives Serge a small bag which allows him to locate and use a dimensional warp. Once you receive the bag, Korcha asks you what your intentions are. You response dictates the story branch you will follow. - If you give him the TOP reply to his questions (a negative response), he will become annoyed and take the bag from you, presumably with the intent of helping Kidd himself. - If you give the BOTTOM response to his questions, he will join your party as you search for the medicine to heal Kidd. Either way, you can take care of a number of odds and ends at this point. -- 5. ODDS AND ENDS ------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Korcha, Alf Items in this Area: - (varies) A few things in Termina have changed. For one thing, Miki is back in her dressing room, although she seems rather oblivious to your presence. If you visit the shack where Glenn placed the flowers by the memorial to Dario, you will witness an event where three people seem to be sending a boat off to the Great Unknown. The person giving the eulogy or whatever is Jillbert, a Pro Wrestler who apparently moonlights as a priest. Once the sequence has ended, follow him into the shack and speak to him and he will join your party. He kicks quite a bit of butt, so it's nice to have him around. There doesn't seem to be anything else to be done in Termina for now, so if you want you can travel to Yamaneko's manor. The mansion is basically deserted; there's a bronze golem at the front gate which can be beaten easily. Once you're inside you can go inside and collect a few items that were inaccessible before. Be sure to note: now that you're on the World Map, press Start to bring up the usual "Vibration On/Off" menu. A second menu will be available beneath that; this is the Wormhole Map. Turn it On to display a small indicator of your current dimensional location, much like the era indicator in Chrono Cross. So far I've seen Another and Home, but were there only two time periods in Chrono Trigger? Hardly. Who knows what the future holds... You first stop in the mansion should be Lutianna's lab. Lutianna and Tsumalu are gone, but the chef's assistant seems to be caught in the large cage trap. You can set him free, though that doesn't seem to affect much of anything. There is also an Earring (acessory) on the desk in the lab. Lutianna, though, is at the balcony where Kidd was injured by Yamaneko. If you talk to her, she will leave and return to the lab. You can talk to Riddle or explore Yamaneko's office ("left statue is the key to spectacle rock"), but be sure to follow Lutianna. When you speak to her in the lab, select the first option and she will join your party. You can also enter the private rooms freely now, although some are still locked (such as the dungeon entrance). You can open the chest in Karsh's room to claim an accessory, but Zoah's chest is still locked. Too bad your thief is incapacitated! Outside the manor, you can also explore any areas you skipped before. If you took Slash's path, you can take the back route and descend the cliffs (which will be MUCH easier in the absence of falling rocks). Slash's path can be accessed through the well, although to get past the giant plant you'll want to enter through the woods to the east of the manor. These areas are optional, but offer a few useful elements and items and may be worth the time and trouble it takes to clear them. IA. MISSION OF MERCY ------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Korcha, Lutianna Provided you've chosen to help Kidd, thus begins a new fetch quest. -- 1. GARDOV --------------------------------- Be sure to explore Korcha's home before you get going, though. In the lower level of the house is a girl named Mel who is very very intent on using crayons. At the docks below his home is a person who can combine Elements to create items for upgrading your weapons... unfortunately, it's expensive, and it seems like everything he has to offer sort of sucks. Don't expect too much here, but it's possible you might be able to find a good combination at the smithy just left of the merchant. West of the docks is a bar where Doc and a girl named Orlha will have a conversation, and Serge decides not to enter. If you come back later, you can enter, and a little big-nosed midget gives you a medallion. Above the bar is a shop; there's not too much new here, but you might find something worthwhile. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ELEMENT PRICE(G) EFFECT LEVEL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tablet (x1) 10 Restore HP in or out of battle 1/0 Can equip 5 per slot (consume) Tear (x1) 15 Recovers Blue (consume) 2/0 Aura (x1) 15 Recovers Red (consume) 2/0 Detoxin (x1) 15 Recovers Green (consume) 2/0 Disperse (x1) 15 Recovers Yellow (consume) 2/0 Leaf 50 Wind Element - single attack 1/7 Air Saucer 80 Wind Element - single attack 2/6 Uplift 50 Lightning Element - single att. 1/7 Discharge 50 Lightning Element - single att. 2/6 Laser 60 White Element - single attack 1/7 Shooting 100 White Element - single attack 2/6 Heavy Blow 60 Black Element - single attack 1/7 Get Soul 100 Black Element - single death 2/6 --------------------------------------------------------------------- At the far west end of the village is a fortune teller's hut occupied by two women named Delia and Steena. Steena will answer various questions about various things. If you show the medicine bag to Delia, she'll give you a hint about what to do with it (hint: it starts with "worm" and ends with "hole"). Once you've explored the village to your heart's content, go to the east end of the docks and speak with Korcha, who will take you to Termina (you have no choice in the direction here, sorry) and incidentally expose a much larger view of Chrono Cross' world than you've seen to date. -- 2. HOME IS WHERE THE SUBQUEST LIES -------- First of all, speaking to Korcha at the docks will allow him to join your party. If you want to return to his home, simply press Action while facing his boat. Hidora swamp has changed significantly. In particular, it's swarming with creatures now. This is a good sign, as the boosted difficulty means you're on the right track! If you haven't already picked up the Protective Gear on the fungal stalk at the left edge of the forest, do so now in preparation for the journey ahead. However, you're still going to find yourself at a dead end in Hidora Swamp. You need to pass that unyielding plant, but how? Perhaps if you could find some other means to pass it... This is where the Medicine bag comes in handy. If you travel to the beach where Serge arrived in Another world, it will cause a reaction with the spot on the beach which caused Serge to cross dimensions. The Medicine bag acts like a Gate Key - use it while standing in the energy reaction and Serge will be transported back to his Home dimension. No one here seems particular overjoyed at Serge's return. There's no "Oh Serge! I thought you were dead when you vanished before my very eyes on the beach!" from Rena, no cheerful exclamations from Marge upon your return. Tsk! Well, no matter; Aruni isn't where you need to be anyway (although this would be a good time to take care of anything you missed before). Then travel ahead to Hidora Swamp. Items in this Area: - Bone x 2 - Tear - Disperse - Needle - Detoxin - Recover - Pipa Flute - Hidora Potion You'll notice it's not quite as grim and gloomy as the alternate world's version of the area. However, the plant life is just as unyielding. You'll need to find another way around that plant on the second screen. Collect the treasure on the first two screens and then visit the left area, with the massive fungal growth that rises above the swamp. As you venture into this area, a HUGE insect will fly overhead. Luckily for you, it's not interested on making a snack of you, so you can travel unmolested. However, when you reach the third section, near the save point, you will be accosted by a strange little tribal-looking creature called a Pipa-pipa. It will attack, and the most annoying fight to date will begin. BATTLE: PIPA-PIPA The Pipa-Pipa isn't terribly strong, but it's fast and unfortunately, it calls friends to assist it. Within a round or two you will be facing not one but FIVE Pipa-Pipas. This is extremely frustrating, because they attack after almost every move you make, which slows the battle down to a ridiculous crawl. Take them out one at a time starting with the leader, and be sure you have your Recover Elements equipped (high slots are good). You may wish to unequip unnecessary Elements like Tears and Detoxin, because this battle will be long and most likely will use up most of your Element slots. Persistence and patience win the day here; when you finally win all you'll get is a crummy Uplifter Element (a more powerful version of Uplift). No Stars, and little status boosting. What a hassle. Defeat the Pipa-pipa and he'll retreat apologetically, giving you a flute (key item). Carry on up the stalk (you can sneak around the tribesman at the offshoot above to claim a Needle Element if you like) and arrive at the platform where you received the Protective Gear in Another world. Your other party members will make a comment, then rejoin the group. Take a cue from Nausicaa and play the flute you just received while standing in the middle of the platform. The large winged insect you saw, a Hidora, will descend. Unfortunately, when Serge tries to grab the medicine it possesses, the bug attacks (shock!). BATTLE: FLYING HIDORA This is one nasty bug. You saved earlier, right? It uses a vicious breath attack that slams your party for serious damage, plus it has a physical attack that can be used up to 4 times consecutively! Balance defense with offensive Elements and be careful when it starts to attack multiple times. You won't win anything worthwhile from this battle. However, the stress of the battle, coupled with the bug's crash landing, have weakened the platform on which your party is standing. Keep walking across the stress fracture, and in a moment your party will plummet to the depths of the swamp below. Luckily there's a massive land kraken to break your fall. You'll drop into its lair and onto its head, which causes it to become unconscious. You don't HAVE to fight it, but next to the chest bearing a Recover element you'll find a sprite in a cage. If you choose to let her go, the kraken will revive and attack you. BATTLE: LAND KRAKEN Not a terribly difficult fight. Again, it can use a multiple hit attack, so watch your defenses. This is a Blue elemental monster, so Yellow attacks are very effective (Lightning, Uplifter, etc.). Once you beat the kraken, you can free the sprite, Lazzuly, who knows something of Wormholes, it seems. She will join your party; I HIGHLY recommend taking her along, as her magic is powerful, and she's extremely effective against the main boss of the area. MY PARTY: Serge, Korcha, Lazully Climb out of the kraken's lair and you see a familiar area - it's the ledge overlooking the stupid plant that won't bend! The good news here, though, is that you can skip right past that plant now. Walk to the tip of the ledge and hit the Action button to jump to the back area of the swamp. you can grab an Air Saucer element here, if you want. Exit to the right and back of the screen to travel to the depths of the swamp. You might want to sneak past the giant plant guys (just like the plant in the Eastern woods where Slash was, except that these guys fight instead of shrinking) on the next screen. They can be a little tough (especially since a lot of Green elements HEAL them - ouch) and you've just been through two consecutive boss fights. Luckily, there's a Save Point just beyond the plants. Here the path split in two. To the rear of the area are some dwarves standing guard; the foreground leads to the exit. You probably won't want to go too far in this direction, but once you've cleared the area the dwarves split and take all the treasures with them, so it's now or never. Talk to the three dwarves at the back path and they will attack. BATTLE: DWARVES There are six of these creeps, and they start the battle with a massively damaging group attack. Your first priority will be to use a Recover element to restore your party's HP! Next, try to take out as many dwarves as you can as quickly as possible. Don't be shy, use your best Elements immediately. For reference, the tall dwarves seem to have fewer HP than the short ones, so start with them. As you thin the ranks, you also diminish the power of their attacks, so this is one battle that happily becomes easier as you go along. Winning will give you a much-deserved Star, as well as several Equipment items and Elements. One of the dwarves runs away to the right - follow him and you'll encounter another huge insect. This one doesn't have wings, but it's tough nonetheless. Yes, prepare for another boss battle. BATTLE: HIDORA Once again, watch for the Breath attack. Green Elements are effective here, especially Lazzuly's special attack which does 150+ HP damage. Use the same general strategy as you used for the previous Hidora battle, and you shouldn't have any real trouble. Once you win, you will receive a Star and Uplifter. Examine the dead insect to take a vial of medicine for Kidd, and you will automatically return to opening area of the swamp. If you wish to return to the recesses of the swamp, the previously inflexible plant is now a bit less lively. Also, the dwarves have ditched. Now you should return to Another world and take the medicine to Kidd, who is in the building immediately above the docks at Gardov. Show the medicine to Doc, and watch the events unfold. After Kidd is healed and thanks Serge, she rejoins the party... but not until after Mel screws around in the middle of the night with her Element Grid.... [UNCONFIRMED: If you talk to Steena and then chase Mel around long enough, you can reclaim the Elements that were stolen from Kidd's grid. If you're like me, though, you had a surplus of Elements anyway, and can live without the ones missing. However, tracking down Mel now allows you to recruit her later.] And now, freedom! Korcha takes you back to Termina. Once there, leave the town and Glenn will meet you at the entrance. Apparently some gamers have been taken back to Termina by Mamacha rather than Korcha, and Glenn joined their party. However, that didn't happen for me, so until I figure out the difference here, we'll just let it slide. After speaking to Glenn, go back to the Termina docks and speak to Korcha. Kidd will feel compelled to kick Serge here for some reason, but the abuse is worthwhile because you'll receive Korcha as a permanent member of your party (i.e., he'll stick around even when you return to Gardov). If you don't choose to put Korcha in your party right away, he'll swim on home (quite a distance, I should say!). In either case, you now have access to his boat, which opens most of the world map for you. IB. THE NON-MEDICINAL ROUTE ----------------- I have not explored this branch. From what I gather, you need to explore the Pirates' boat and then return to Gardov to see Kidd. Obviously, you cannot return Home without the bag, nor can you meet Steena and Delia. J. INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN ----------------- Once you go out onto the world map, you'll see several places to go. Starting in the northwest corner and moving approximately clockwise, here are your options (some names are just the ones I've assigned): 1. Gardov (Korcha's home) 2. Crater Island 3. Burn-out 4. Bone Cave 5. Foggy Shroud (Pirate Ship) 6. Foggy Shroud (Inaccessible continent) 7. Mabure (Town of bug-men) 8. Ruins 9. Mysterious Triangle (nothing happens) 10. Inaccessible island 11. Crescent Island Also, there are four places to weigh anchor on the main continent: 12. Aruni Village 13. Termina 14. East Island (there's a moss-covered cabin in the woods) 15. East Coast The next place you need to go is the East Coast of the main continent. However, you're free to explore to your heart's content. It's not a bad idea to search around, because many of the areas have Iron and Mythril items necessary for upgrading your equipment in the future. Here is a quick rundown of each area: -- 1. GARDOV -------------------------------- You've been here recently. Be sure to pick up any new Elements you're missing before heading out. -- 2. CRATER ISLAND ------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd, Jillbert Items in this area: - Disperse - Capsule - Upheaval (element) You can explore here and pick up a few small items. Head to the top of the area and jump into the large crater (top option) to explore the subterranean cave. You can cut left or right here to grab the chests; if you want to exit the cave, climb the right side and hop into the small geyser. It will blow you to the surface (luckily the fact that geysers blow boiling water doesn't seem to affect you). Lower down in the cave are some very annoying enemies who possess high resistance to physical attacks and throw a mechanical bomb at you that apparently cannot be defused until after the other enemies are defeated. Take advantage of the fact that these guys have a Yellow affiliation and use your strong Green attacks like Needle and Uuha (the Street Fighter-esque attack that resembles Afura Mann's "Big Sucker Gab Slash" technique from El-Hazard). Then kill the bomb; be sure to have the person who takes the brunt of the blast defend. As annoying as these battles are, they're very valuable because Kidd can steal Mythril items from these guys. Unfortunately, your progress into the cave will be blocked at the second screen; there's a rock buried in the sand, but it's unmovable. -- 3. SMOKING ISLAND ------------------------ MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd, Korcha Apparently this place has recently suffered a fire. And you'll be greeted by none other than Tukuyomi, that oh-so-cute jester girl. BATTLE: TUKUYOMI Tukuyomi will challenge you to battle, but she's a complete pushover. Smack her with some White elements, and be sure to have Kidd steal Photon from her. You'll win another Photon element, but no star. When she's defeated, she vanishes and Radius, whom you will probably remember as the village chief of Aruni in Home, appears. It seems Radius lives on this island beneath the large tree that has burned down. You can rest in his house and talk to him. There's a bald patch of ground that reacts when you walk over it, but nothing seems to affect it (you can make use of it later). -- 4. BONE CAVE ----------------------------- This place is bad news. The enemies here are way the heck more powerful than you at this point, and your progress seems to be impeded by mirrors. You can brave it, or you can use some common sense and avoid this place. Items of note in the areas I was brave enough to tread: a bunch of bone fragments to add to the skeleton you're assembling for Skarll. -- 5. FOGGY SHROUD (PIRATE SHIP) ------------ MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd, Lutianna This area is vital to your continued progress in the game. Be sure to save outside, as it's a point-of-no-return sort of place. Items in this Area: - Aquaball - Burning - Capsule x2 - Graviton - Photon When you approach the fog bank, you will be given two choices: (1) avoid it and (2) enter. Choose the second option and you will hook up with what seems to be an abandoned ship. Unfortunately, it's NOT abandoned, and you will be surrounded by a throng of pirates, who seem none too happy to have become the targets of piracy on the high seas themselves. Their leader, Farga, comes forward and calls three of his crewmen on you. Whether you win (in which case you receive three capsules) or run (no prize), you will be attacked immediately by a humongous bird. BATTLE: BIG-ARSE BIRD A simple fight. Defend, attack, element. Steal a Search Scope and win Meltstone, a powerful Red element with a chance of causing an enemy to go berzerker. Once you beat the bird, Farga himself will attack you. BATTLE: FARGA Farga's pretty strong, but again it's nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. Defeating Farga will get you nowhere, though, as your party falls unconcious. You'll wake up in the hold of the ship, where you have been dumped unceremoniously. Luckily, any nefarious plans the pirates might have in store for you are curtailed by the arrival of a haunted ship full of ghosts - the crew suddenly has their hands full. Exit the hold after using the optional Save Point. You are located at the aft end of the second interior deck of the ship; the door immediately to the right of where you enter the hallway is locked. The first door to the left is open, though; go inside to fight some ghosts for an Aquaball element (climb up on the desk at the corner to get it). You can ask the pirates you help for the key, but none of them know have it. The second door to the left is locked as well. Beyond that is a ladder leading to the first interior deck, and past that is a chest containing a Burning element. Up the ladder there are two doors to the left, but neither of them can be opened yet. To the right is the kitchen and a bunch of burning barrels. You won't be able to pass the barrels, but you can circumnavigate them. Check the vent at the back of the kitchen with the Action button and your party will climb through it into the mess, which happens to be on the other side of the burning barrels. Talk to the fat pirate twice, then speak to the pirate on the left, who will give you the key to the door at the end of the hallway below. Trudge back down and unlock the door; now you can explore more of the ship. The weapons room is located here, and you can exit the ship by walking through one of the cannon ports. Run along the exterior to the left, then down, run back to the right beneath the oars and climb to get back into the ship. God only knows how, but Tsumalu, the little fuzzy thing from Lutianna's lab in Yamaneko's manor, is here. Chase it around, and once you catch it you can ask it to join your party (top option). I wouldn't recommend putting Tsumalu in your party just yet, though, as he's kinda... pathetic. Be sure to grab the treasures in this area before taking the ladder at the lower right area to the exterior again. Save your game here and climb to the deck. Once you arrive, you'll witness the pirates fending off ghosts. But it seems ghosts are in plentiful supply, as more appear. Serge and his party run to the front of the ship automatically, where Farga is battling ghosts. No matter which choice you make here, you will walk to the helm and battle the source of the monsters. BATTLE: DAIMONJA This can be a mildly frustrating fight, due mainly to the fact that Diamonja has a very high evade rate. To make matters worse, he can inflict a black elemental status on your characters, which cuts their physical attack success rates in half. And no successful physical attacks means no magic... If you can spare a non-attack Element, Kidd can steal a Heavy Blow element - nothing special. When you win, you'll receive a Star, and the element Get Soul (which is Chrono Cross' version of Final Fantasy's Death). Once you've chased away the ghosts, the fog dissipates and the pirates move east, with thanks. However, they're not grateful enough for Farga to join you, which is a darned shame. The removal of the fog results in the east coast of the main continent becoming accessible. This is your next main destination. -- 6. INACCESSIBLE FOG-SHROUDED CONTINENT --- You can get here... yet. -- 7. MABURE -------------------------------- Mabure seems to be populated by beastmen who don't seem particularly fond of humans. Not much of note here, although you'll be meeting the chief of the village under different circumstances. There's also a big honkin' dragon sleeping in the back left cave. -- 8. RUINS --------------------------------- This island is covered with ruins from some ancient thing or another. You can collect a ribcage here (much to Skarll's delight). Also, there seems to be a small village of sprites here, much like Lazully, including one named Rosetta. Rosetta doesn't seem interested in joining the party, though... I guess one sprite is enough. -- 9. MYSTERIOUS TRIANGLE ------------------- There's a triangular formation of stones here. Rowing to the center causes a text box to appear, but nothing more. -- 10. INACCESIBLE ISLAND ------------------- Serge isn't much of a rock climber, it seems, so the sheer cliffs of this island are off-limits for now. -- 11. CRESCENT ISLAND ---------------------- Not much to see here... just a large open space. It would be great for calling a Flammie, if you had a Flammie Drum! -- 12. ARUNI VILLAGE ------------------------ Just in case you feel like getting the cold shoulder from Rena again, feel free to drop by here. -- 13. TERMINA ------------------------------ You can stop north of Termina if the need arises. -- 14. EAST ISLAND -------------------------- There's a moss-covered hut here in the forest, population one. -- 15. EAST COAST --------------------------- Here's your next stop. This stop only leads to one area, the Fire Cave, but it's where you need to be. -- 16. THE FIRE CAVE ------------------------ MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd, Korcha Items in this Area: - Meltstone - Tablet x2 - Trap Heat - Capsule The Fire Cave is a bit intimidating, because standing in lava saps your party's HP muy pronto, and there are some big freakin' enemies who seem to attack right as your HP drops to 1. There may be a protective item to prevent HP loss, but I didn't find it. Nevertheless, you're only in trouble while you walk in lava, so buy lots of Tablets and sally forth into the cave and towards... destiny. Or whatever. [UNCONFIRMED: Apparently, you can talk to the guy at the docks in Aruni (Home) who will take you to an island where you can find a Key Item called Freeze Breath, which will solidify the lava flows when used nearby] If the massive lava creatures happen to catch you at an inopportune moment (i.e., your HP is 1), don't be ashamed to run. You may want to pass up some of the out-of-the-way items for now, though. No point in getting slaughtered just for a measly Tablet or two. Whenever you get past a lava area, be sure to refresh your HP. This is especially important in the second screen, where you will face Sugar and Salton yet again. I love these guys! BATTLE: SUGAR AND SALTON Another not-particularly-tough battle, but these guys are just warming you up for the main event. Win a Star, an Iron Vest and Iron Mail with your victory here. [UNCONFIRMED: It seems that if you undertake the Faerie Village subquest, you do NOT receive a Star here, as you will have received it already at the Faerie Village.] To the right is a large lava flow, which I wasn't brave enough to tackle just yet. If you follow Sugar and Salton when they run off from battle, you'll enter a third section with a few enemies and treasures. There's a save point here; save and prepare yourself. The next area wil be a challenge. Beyond here is Salamander's cave, although you'll probably have to brave the lava flow to actually meet Salamander. Instead, you're confronted by Chibi Dragon, who blocks your progress and challenges you. BATTLE: CHIBI DRAGON He's small, but he packs a punch. He has a devastating Fire Breath attack; be sure a few people are equipped with Revive and try to keep your HP above 125 at all times. Don't be hesitant to Steal - Kidd can snag a Magic Ring from him, which is a hard-to-find item. When you win, you'll receive another Star and the element Weak. But wait, there's more! Chibi Dragon wasn't the last opponent you'll face; whatever lies ahead seems to be a big deal, as you're faced by the triple whammy of Karsh, Zoah and Marcella. Sure, you've beaten them one at a time already, but now you have to face all three. BATTLE: KARSH, MARCELLA, ZOAH Fortunately, their attacks haven't changed too much, and none of them seem as powerful as they did alone. Karsh represents the least threat, whereas Zoah has a very powerful single-character attack and Marcella has multiple-character attacks that can be very frustrating, especially when she slows you down. Leave Karsh for last and concentrate your efforts on either of the other two; take out one at a time to thin the ranks. Keep your HP high until Zoah's gone, and heal quickly if the enemy concentrates too much on a single character. You'll win a Star, an Eagle Eye element, a Magic Earring and another Magic Vest here. Once these three are out of the way, Tukuyomi appears and makes a comment before disappearing (what, no battle?). Now you're at the exit, beyond which lies the Mysterious Dungeon from the beginning of the game. K. RECURSIVE LOOP --------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Kidd, Korcha You may find yourself experiencing deja vu here. Do not panic! What you are seeing is a premonition made flesh. -- 1. MYSTERIOUS DUNGEON REDUX PT. 1 -------- Items in this Area: - Trap Volcano (Element) - Meltstone - Burning - Healing Wind - Needle - Detoxin - Uuha - Trap Tornado - ??? Accessories - Accessory (resist Anti-Yellow) Before you can find familiar territory, you have to work! You can start by battling the guard who has been stationed at the bottom of the tower. Gee, an Akacian Dragon rider? I wonder where this guy could have come from. BATTLE: AKACIAN RIDER & SOLDIER The soldier here is nothing; the real threat comes in the form of the dragon rider. He possesses both group attacks (Breath) and strong single attacks (Charge). Stick it out, though; for winning you receive a Star AND a summon, Frog. I recommend bringing Korcha or another Blue element-user along at this point, since they're the only ones who can equip this Element. [UNCONFIRMED: I've heard that if you undertake the Faerie Village subquest, you do NOT fight an Akacian Rider here, nor do you receive a Star or the Frog summon, as those were won in the Faerie Village.] Additionally, this victory opens up everyone's Level 5 skill. Serge can now use a skill that looks a WHOLE LOT like Crono's Luminaire; Kidd has a group attack called Red Needle. Find the combination that works best for you, as you will encounter a wide variety of challenging enemies in the sections ahead. Past the entrance is the main chamber. There are 4 circuits etched into the floor here, and your goal is to open all 4 to progress to the next area. Then you will open two more circuits and activate a transporter to a small structure suspended above the main Tower. Every circuit is connected to a statue of a dragon, which appears as the circuit is closed. Each of the four circuits is controlled by a device behind each of four different doors. These can be tackled in any order, but I am addressing these in counter-clockwise fashion from the far right. --- 1a. FAR RIGHT --------------------------- Past the bridge here is a statue which offers your four choices. The option you choose will cause the platform on which you're standing to rotate and drop, sending you to one of 4 divisions of the area below the statue. Option 1: 360† Option 2: 90† Option 3: 270† Option 4: 180† (1) doesn't lead to anything spectacular; to return to the level above, head to the left and climb the ladder. (2) allows you to battle a few bronze golems, if you feel the need. (3) leads to 4 treasure chests with some decent elements inside (Trap Volcano, an Accessory, Meltstone, Burning) (4) gives you access to the switch. Hit it and activiate the first circuit. --- 1b. UPPER-RIGHT ------------------------- You'll find tons of staircases here. Explore them thoroughly to find some nice elements (Healing Wind, Needle, Detoxin, Uuha, Trap Tornado). The short route to the end is as follows: left, down stairs, right, up at the branching path, follow path around and then double back to go up stairs. You should reach a switch which will lower a set of stairs to create a shortcut. Beyond that is the circuit switch, but it's being guarded by a massive Golem. BATTLE: DRAGO This guy seems to have mistaken himself for a pro wrestler. He uses attacks like Body Press, Back Drop and Slam Dunk. You can steal Trap Tornado from him, which will be useful if you ever come across an enemy that uses Tornado elements. Hit him hard and keep your HP high; Korcha's Fishing skill works well here. You'll win a Star and the opportunity to hit the second switch when you defeat it. Return to the main chamber to see the results of your efforts. --- 1c. UPPER-LEFT -------------------------- Here you'll find a room with two sets of chests which rotate various platforms as they are opened and closed. Each platform has three positions, low, middle and high. The chests on the left lead to the following: - Low: back to entrance - Middle: a room guarded by an Akacian rider - High: chests on the right side of the room And the chests to the right lead to: - Low: switch and battle - Medium: a chest - High: chests on left side of the room BATTLE: MASSIVE GEL There's nothing terribly spectacular about this battle. Use your typical strategies and you'll be fine. Win a Star and Aquaball element for your troubles. --- 1d. FAR LEFT ---------------------------- This area is simple, but can be time-consuming. Standing on the green footprints in the left room causes the platform in the main room to rotate by various degrees. The order of your party affects the distance it turns, so you need to switch your party order for best effect with the Select button, or by standing on the blue footprints in the main chamber. The platform needs to rotate to the left to allow you to hit the blue switch that lowers the stairs. Then rotate the platform back around to the lower position so that you can climb the stairs and cross to the large tablet-like structure on the second level. Examine the tablet and the center section will drop. Hit the main switch to activate the fourth circuit and return to the central area. -- 2. MYSTERIOUS DUNGEON REDUX PT. 2 -------- The activation of the circuits has caused a large portion of the floor to rise in the main area. Enter the door at the bottom to reach the fifth switch. The way will be blocked by a rather difficult opponent. BATTLE: SUN FACER The Sun Facer is a white element, which means that Serge's most effective attacks will be rather ineffectual here. Unfortunately, no other elements work particularly well, either, as it has a high resistance to magic. It also has a high resitance to physical attacks. Add to this the fact that it dishes out serious punishment, and constantly changes its mode by changing its expression, causing the field effect to turn white and making the use of summons practically impossible and you have a tough battle on your hands. To make things worse, it uses Wall for protection and Sensitive to weaken your party. The good news is that Sun Facer has very low HP - I would estimate merely 250-350. So while your attacks may seem ineffective, keep chipping away at its HP and don't let the field effect become all white, if possible, as that will boost its attack strength. Once you win, you will receive a Star; but more importantly you can hit the fifth switch to activate the elevator to the very familiar fifth area. Items in this Area: - Accessory (resist Anti-White) - Accessory (resist Anti-Black) - Capsule - Comet Since you've been here before, there's no need for a walkthrough. Be sure to search out the treasures, though, as they can be quite useful. The sixth switch activates the transporter in the center, and releases the sixth and final dragon statue. Unfortunately, before you can activate it, you must fight yet another boss. BATTLE: KAMEI This guy starts out innocently enough, but after taking a small amount of damage it dies and an evil spirit arises from it. Despite having cool metallic specular highlighting, the ghost can be pretty nasty. Watch for its deadly eyebeam attack, which can annihilate a single party member without a thought (especially if that person is a white element). Its element changes from red to black with the transition, so plan your attacks accordingly. Kidd can steal a Friction element from it, which is a VERY useful skill to have against non-black element enemies. You'll win a Star and a Graviton element at the end of the fight, and can travel to the transporter. Serge will have a repeat of his original vision when you reach the large doors above the dungeon. Heedless, Kidd and the third party member will press on, leaving Serge to follow in their wake. Within the room past the doors are two uninvited but not unexpected parties: Yamaneko and Jyakotu. BATTLE: JYAKOTU After the past two brutal fights, this guy is a laugh. Kidd can steal a useful accessory from him, a Stamina Ring, and you'll win a Star and another accessory. Yamaneko seems a bit displeased with Jyakotu's failure and stabs him in the back. With friends like these.... anyway, now you get the fight the man himself. Er, the cat. Cat-man. Whatever. BATTLE: YAMANEKO He's pretty much the same nasty fellow you fought before, except now he uses his Level Three skill to wreak havoc on your party. You might want to give Serge the accessory that prevents Anti-White so his skills aren't made inaccessible. Be sure to give everyone a wide variety of healing skills (Cure+3, Heal+2, and so forth) so no one element can be blocked. It wouldn't be a bad idea to use your summon here, if you can manage it - usually Yamaneko follows up an element attack with a physical attack, so you can set the Field effect pretty easily. Keep your HP high and defend (especially Serge) when not attacking and this battle will be yours, along with a Star and an accessory. Of course, what kind of villain would Yamaneko be if he was defeated that easily? Instead he tries a psychological attack on Serge, causing a flashback or a metaphorical vision of a cat pouncing to flash through his brain. Yamaneko activates the crystal in the center of the room, which is the same crystal that gave Serge the heebie-jeebies in the mansion before. It does more than that this time, though - Serge not only freaks out, he turns evil, as can be seen by his creepy expression. Serge takes charge and decides to press the attack on Yamaneko. BATTLE: SERGE AND PARTY You'll find yourself in control of Yamaneko for this battle, which is basically hopeless. Have you ever wondered what it must be like for enemies facing a violent, dangerous gaggle of teens loaded for bear? Well, now you know. You might notice that Yamaneko's HP and skills reflect Serge's completely... that's because Serge and Yamaneko have switched bodies. But don't worry about hurting your friends here; they'll kick your butt quickly enough. Once you're laying on the ground licking your wounds, "Serge" decides it would be a good idea to put "Yamaneko" out of his misery. Kidd, having some sense of compassion, tries to stop him and gets stabbed in the gut instead. "Serge" knocks the other party member unconscious and shatters the crystal, which also causes the six dragon statues to shatter as well. Things are looking bad, which is probably why Serge (formerly Yamaneko) does the usual RPG hero thing and blacks out. L. OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE ------------------- When Serge awakens after a vision of Kidd and the ocean, he's stuck in Yamaneko's body still. He's also trapped in some freaky Van Gogh painting. -- 1. STARRY STARRY NIGHT ------------------- MY PARTY: Serge Items in this Area: - Revive - Mythril items x3 The chest on the left ledge can be acquired easily enough; walk to the very top and push the boulder to the ledge below. Then head back down and walk behind the waterfall to reach the left ledge; push the boulder again to dislodge the other boulder below, which will free up the path to the Revive element. You can't open the door at the bottom; however, you can trick the occupant into opening it for you. Walk out on the tree branch to the right and wait for a fruit to fall. As you move to get the fruit, a little person will dart out from the door and snag the fruit. Instead of going for the fruit, sneak into the door while the occupant is occupied. Inside the house you will meet Spriggan, an ancient creature of the Van Gogh painting. Or something. Climb down his ladder to reach that Save Point, if you so desire. As you try to leave the hut, Spriggan will join your party. He's kind of weak, but can transform into other monsters. The usefulness of this skill remains to be determined... MY PARTY: Serge, Spriggan With Spriggan along (don't forget to set Spriggan and Serge's elements!), step into the tower at the peak of the waterfall. Inside you will be drilled (not literally) by Tukuyomi. Whether or not you choose to be honest (the top options let you say, "I am not Yamaneko," "I'm Serge!"), she will change into a likeness of Serge and walk into a door. Mimic "Serge's" actions and walk into the same door he does (albeit on a different floor level) and you will move to the next area. If you choose different doors, "Serge" will change into different characters and eventually you'll end up back outside. You may notice that Serge has new skills as Yamaneko. The first is Yamaneko's jumping attack, and the second is called Cat Raid, which looks like a nightmare right out of Ranma 1/2 and damages an entire enemy party for great damage. Despite his new skills, Serge still uses a Swallow weapon rather than Yamaneko's scythe. Now that we've done Van Gogh, let's move to Escher. The room you enter now is physically impossible, of course, but it's certainly interesting to look at. And speaking of interesting to look at, Tukuyomi joins your party (your responses in the tower have no effect on her action). The switch at the top selects which direction the platform beneath leads, left or right. Walk behind the central pillar to the left or right to access the items here and to reach the portal at the bottom, which leads back to Hidora Swamp in Serge's Home dimension. MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Spriggan The spot where you appear in the swamp glows momentarily with inter-dimensional portal power, but nothing happens. As you leave the swamp, you will pass Lazzuly, but she doesn't seem to care to be associated with you (and since you look like Yamaneko walking around with Tukuyomi, who can blame her?). There's nothing to do here, so head for the entrance. -- 2. A QUANDARY ---------------------------- If you return to Aruni Village now, everyone seems to recognize Yamaneko, and regard him with some degree of trepidation. Even Rena freaks out. Bypass Aruni for now and head to the beach. Maybe you can find a clue in Another world, right? Alas, nothing of the sort will happen; using the medicine bag on the beach produces exactly zero results. Go back to Aruni and look for Radius, who was missing a moment before. Radius recognizes Yamaneko as well and challenges him to battle. BATTLE: RADIUS Now it's payback time for that humiliating lecture at the beginning of the game! This fight is pretty simple, so go easy on the poor old guy. Consider it a senior citizen's discount. For your victory, you'll win a Star, a Heal element and Radius will join your party. With Radius in tow, speak to Serge's mother. She tells a story of something that happened 14 years ago involving Rena, someone named Miguel, and a boat. MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Radius With Radius and "Yamaneko" as your party, the soldiers guarding the Valley of Bones run off in fear, opening the way. Items in this Area: - Red Vision (windows) - Mythril x2 Be sure to check behind the large skull for a new window setting. The bird (well, birds) on the ledge below don't offer anything of value, but their fight is pretty simple since all they do is cast Trap ???? elements. Keep attacking physically and you'll be fine. Beyond here you'll see some interesting things. For one thing, Yamaneko's manor is a bombed out husk. The Palepori army seems to be in control here - Termina is extremely militarized. The bridge bazaar has been replaced by cannons and guards, and Glenn's home is occupied by Polepori troops. Poor Serge; his Home dimension sucks. You can't reach the docks in Termina, but you can do two other things. Stop by Zappa's forge and speak with him and he will join. You'll also receive a new Key Item - it occupies the top right slot on your menu and allow you to call Zappa's shop any time you're on the world map and want to upgrade your weapons. Handy. You'll also notice that times have been hard for Bancliff's family - their mansion is but a hovel, and Bancliff's father is a lean, chiseled man rather than the bloated porkpie from Another world. Speak to them a few times and Bancliff will join your party, after his father gives him a boomerang (yes, yet another kind of weapon to keep upgraded!). MY PARTY: Serge, Yukuyomi, Bancliffe Be sure to stop to visit Lisa at Yuri's shop as well. She has some new elements for you to peruse. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ELEMENT PRICE(G) EFFECT LEVEL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tablet (x1) 10 Restore HP in or out of battle 1/0 Can equip 5 per slot (consume) 2/0 Capsule (x1) 25 Restore more HP than Tablet 3/0 Tear (x1) 15 Recovers Blue (consume) 2/0 Aura (x1) 15 Recovers Red (consume) 2/0 Detoxin (x1) 15 Recovers Green (consume) 2/0 Disperse (x1) 15 Recovers Yellow (consume) 2/0 Clear (x1) 40 Recovers White (consume) Void (x1) 15 Recovers Black (consume) Curera 220 Blue Element - single heal Healwind 300 Green Element - all heal Fireball 50 Red Element - single attack 1/7 Bomber 80 Red Element - all attack 2/6 Burning 100 Red Element - single attack 3/5 Meltstone 240 Red Element - single attack 4/4 Can cause Red status Aquabeam 50 Blue Element - single attack 1/7 Ice Lance 80 Blue Element - single attack 2/6 Aquaball 100 Blue Element - single attack 3/5 Freeze 240 Blue Element - single attack 4/4 Can cause Blue status Leaf 50 Green Element - single attack 1/7 Air Saucer 80 Green Element - single attack 2/6 Needle 100 Green Element - single attack 3/5 Uuha 240 Green Element - single attack 4/4 Uplift 50 Yellow Element - single attack 1/7 Discharge 80 Yellow Element - single attack 2/6 Upheaval 100 Yellow Element - single attack 3/5 Lightning 240 Yellow Element - single attack 4/4 --------------------------------------------------------------------- There's not much else to do in Termina, so go back to Yamaneko's manor. You'll find the guards have moved out of the way, so you can enter the grounds. Radius describes what has happened here. You need to find Ishito, apparently a member of the Palepori army who has made his headquarters at the manor. However, you won't be getting in through the front door, since it's rubble. There are two ways to get there: you can descend the well in the manor yard, or you can take the back route through the woods. The woods have a few treasures to collect (a capsule, a mythril item and a Trap Hell Plant element), but there's at least one treasure you can't get, which is guarded by a fellow beneath the waterfall cave. All roads lead to Rome, ar at least a Romanesque viaduct system beneath the mansion. Climb the ledge beside the spillway in the cave beneath the well and walk into the darkness beyond the water. You'll enter a waterway where a few guards stand alert. You can walk across the barrel here to get to the main section; you can also knock one of the barrels on the platforms into the water where it will lodge into a nook, making half of a walkway. Unfortunately, the other barrel is blocked by a soldier. Take the upper ladder to the dungeon area of the mansion, which has not yet collapsed. The doorway at the end of the hall houses Ishito, who will be persuaded into joining your party if Radius is present. MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Ishito You will automatically travel to the west docks at Termina, where you can take control of the boat the end of the pier (the little one, not the massive monstrosity at the bottom of the screen!). Once again, you will open up the entire world map. M. SAIL THE SEVEN SEAS ---------------------- Clockwise from the northwest, here's a breakdown of the world map. I'm still taking notes on a lot of this, so forgive my incomplete information. 1. Gardov (Korcha's home) 2. Crater Island 3. Solitary Hut 4. Bone Cave 5. Foggy Shroud (Inaccessible continent) 6. Mabure (Town of bug-men) 7. Mysterious Triangle 8. Flooded Ruins 9. Inaccessible island 10. Crescent Island And on the continent: 11. Termina 12. Yamaneko's manor 13. The Zelbess 14. Small Island 15. East Coast 16. Aruni Village And not labelled: 17. Warp Point -- 1. GARDOV -------------------------------- No one here wants to join the party, and Steena's shop is inaccessible. However, the Element shop has some nice new Elements to sell. Most of these are effect spells, and I haven't had a chance to determine their uses. I will provide a thorough breakdown of the magic skills at a later date. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ELEMENT PRICE(G) EFFECT LEVEL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tablet (x1) 10 Restore HP in or out of battle 1/0 Can equip 5 per slot (consume) 2/0 Capsule (x1) 25 Restore more HP than Tablet 3/0 Potion (x1) 60 Restore more HP than Capsule All Clear (x1) 500 Removes all conditions Purify (x1) 210 Removes all conditions Recover (x1) 380 ???? Nainai 2880 Guarantees 99% hit rate Info 880 Allows you to view enemy's HP P-Eraser 2880 Temporary immunity to attacks M-Eraser 2880 Temporary immunity to magic Genius 430 Boosts Element power Foolish 430 Weakens Element power Wall 430 White - single protect Sensitive 430 White - single weaken Mana Call 1670 White - all party & enemy makes Elements more powerful Mana Feeble 1670 Black - all party & enemy makes Elements less powerful Forget 2880 Seals all Elements Revenge 600 ???? --------------------------------------------------------------------- -- 2. CRATER ISLAND ------------------------- Items in this Area: - Mythril Item You can enter the subterranean cave here by falling into the sand at the top. Unfortunately, there's a massive turtle blocking the path, and it won't budge. -- 3. SOLITARY HUT -------------------------- Items in this Area: - Magic Ring - Accessory Lazzuly lives here. If she was in your party earlier, she won't join Yamaneko. However, it's possible that if you missed her in Hidora that you can recruit her here. Once you have found Starchild and Dragonchild, they will hang out here when not in your active party along with the other tiny, cute, non-human characters. -- 4. BONE CAVE ----------------------------- The enemies here are not nearly as tough now as they seemed before. You still won't be able to make much progress though; the doors all wrap around to the opposite side of the main room. There's another mysterious mirror here, but nothing seems to affect it... yet. -- 5. FOGGY SHROUD (INACCESSIBLE CONTINENT) - As of yet, inaccessible. -- 6. MABURE -------------------------------- Mabure seems nearly deserted, and ghosts are wandering around town. The guy on the bridge offers details, if you can read Japanese. You also will notice a mermaid swim away as you approach the bridge. Stay the night in the first hut by examining the bed. During the night, choose the first option to get up and walk around town. Serge will have a conversation with the man on the bridge. The mermaid, Irenes, eavesdrops and comments to herself once Serge returns to sleep. When you leave town the next day, she hails you and mentions the Zelbess (the ship docked to the northeast of the main continent) and swims away. -- 7. MYSTERIOUS TRIANGLE ------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Bancliffe Items in this Area: - Mythril Items x2 - Starfish (key item) You can dive underwater and explore here by rowing to the center and pressing the action key. Beneath the ocean you can walk around without air, oddly enough, and search out treasures on the ocean floor. The pufferfish are pretty strong, but this area shouldn't be anything you can't handle. The first screen holds a chest with a Mythril item, and the ladder at the back leads down to a second screen. Run left and counter-clockwise to find another chest with Mythril and descend to the center area (with the massive throng of fish) to acquire the area's treasure, a jewel-encrusted starfish. -- 8. FLOODED RUINS ------------------------- The ruins from Another world are here as well, but have been flooded and are swampy. You can move from section to section by using the lilypads. No word on why Serge can descend underwater at the Triangle area but can't swim here. Items in this Area: - Aquaball - Freeze - Bone Item - High Grip - Magic Ring - Fish Dress Beyond the lilypads (don't forget to search behind the waterfall here!) is the former faerie village. However, the somber music and the big angry blue Mudokon-looking guys suggest that something bad has happened here. Darned if I know what, though. Descend to the lowest level and head right to meet a really big frog-fish-thing. Pardon my incoherence here; I'm not really certain what to do. I would assume the situation here is linked to Mabure, since the monsters wandering around here are same as the ghosts haunting Mabure, but I'm unclear of the actual goal. Search behind the waterfall being guarded by the Mudokon-wannabe on the lowest level for a Fish Dress. It doesn't offer much in the way of stats, but surely there's some sort of significance to it... -- 9. INACCESSIBLE ISLAND ------------------- What? Climbing the Cliffs of Insanity? That's inconceivable! -- 10. CRESCENT ISLAND ---------------------- Nothing of note here. The main plateau holds a treasure chest, which is looted by a creature that scurries off when you arrive. You can't do anything here, yet. -- 11. TERMINA ------------------------------ Same old, same old. -- 12. SNAKEBONE MANOR ---------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Bancliffe You can dock here and explore the cliffs to collect some items. Items in this Area: - Capsule - Mythril Item x5 The top of the cliff is blocked by rubble, so don't expect to sneak in to explore areas of the mansion here. There are no falling boulders, obviously, but the enemies will still attack you. Unless you're in need of Mythril to upgrade your weapons, there's nothing of value here. You can also return to the waterway beneath the castle now. The guards are gone, and you can knock both barrels into the water to create a path to the floodgate at the top of the lefthand stairway. As for how to access the rest of the area, well, I'm still searching... -- 13. THE ZELBESS -------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Ishito Lots to do here. If you board the Zelbess after sleeping in Mabure, you'll have more events to witness. It seems Farga has turned his scourge of the seven seas into a New Orleans riverboat sort of affair. The place is "brightened" by artwork of varying degrees of tastefulness, and festooned with posters for Slash's concert. It's a tourist attraction, filling the void left by Termina's militarization. The layout of the ship is as follows: Top deck: Lounge, Ticket Desk First interior deck, right to left: 1st room - Restaurant; Miki is on the balcony here 2nd room - Locked 3rd room (up) - Farga's cabin 4th room (down) - Casino Vegas Second Interior Deck, left to right: 1st room - Inn & Save Point 2nd room - Stage 3rd room - Locked 4th room - Supply room End door - Blocked Third Interior Deck Grand Slam Competition You can explore here, but the real action starts when you visit Farga's cabin. You'll see a conversation between him and Irenes. They mention Marcella, Slash and Lutianna for some reason, then Irenes leaves. In the Casino, you can play a game of Roulette with simple enough rules. You tell the wheel when to stop, and earn points accordingly. You begin with 100 points (100G). North: Double your points East: +50 points South: Sudden Death; you lose West: -50 points In the Stage room, you can watch Snef, the ugly but skillful magician, perform various feats of magic. He suspends a woman, and then when the heckler in the audience bugs him, turns the guy into a cat! Once he's done, you can watch either Fat & Slim's Knife Show, or some sort of slapstick comedy routine involving the ever-popular Sugar and Salton. It's so nice that they found work after the mansion was shelled. The last door on the second deck is occupied by bugmen from Mabure. The formerly dignified chief of the village seems to have been reduced to janitorial duty here. -- 13a. THE GAMBLER ------------------------- The guy at the end of the hall won't let you through to the Grand Slam contest. Ask Farga about it and he'll challenge you to a game of Sudden Death Roulette. Follow him to the Casino Vegas and get your butt kicked. You see, Farga cheats like a madman, and it's impossible to beat him. Well, unless you cheat as well. Go downstairs to the Inn and you'll see the Inn owner climb down a ladder and back into the Inn. His cat tries to climb the ladder, and he scolds it. The party huddles in conference here, a realization dawning upon them. If only they could sneak into that room above, they could probably unrig the Roulette game. Challenge Farga again, but instead of heading straight to the Casino, go back to Snef's magic show. Choose the top option and the entire party will volunteer to participate in the magic act, which turns everyone into cats. Run out of the Stage area and over to the Casino (I think you can explore the locked room on the first interior deck as well, but I forgot to check) and up the ladder. You will watch the Inn proprietor spinning a giant magnet to give Farga a bit of a boost; when the Innkeeper sits down, steal the handle from the machine. Now go back to Snef's show by walking through the duct in the Stage room and he will transform you back into humans. Challenge Farga in the Casino and he'll lose. Note: Here's a quick and easy way to beat the Gambling game, courtesy of Adam Ismail (adam.ismail@utoronto.ca): Although you can't use this against Farga, a strategy for sure-fire double points every round: hit pause as the wheel spins, until you get the red end of the pin within the south-west quadrant of the wheel. Hold circle button, and then unpause - the pin will hit north every single time. The 4th, 3rd and 2nd place prize items are useless, but 1st prize is materials for creating Prism weapons. If you return to Farga's cabin, you'll see a conversation between him and Slash - it seems Slash is Farga's son. And if you talk to the pirate who was blocking the door to the Grand Slam contest, he will let you through. If you spoke to the Bugman earlier, you'll see him here. Go out the first window and back in it again to catch up with him. You'll talk for a moment and then he'll fight you. BATTLE: KENJA This guy doesn't pull any punches. He can use two Elements consecutively, and he tends to hit you with a "Feel" spell and a counter-element for a nasty one-two punch. I highly recommend bringing Tukuyomi to this point, as her Lv.5 skill can provide a great deal of protection for the party. Keep your HP high, because his Elemental power is strong. When you win you'll get a Star and a Mythril Mitt, as well as the Shomaneki (crab) Key Item. Slash will enter the room, talk, and storm off; then Kenja follows suit. -- 13b. GRAND SLAM -------------------------- At this point, you're welcome to participate in the Grand Slam competition. It's completely optional, but what RPG would be complete without its own ripoff of Final Fantasy VI's coliseum? This one has a cool premise, but falls down in execution. You have to play through several consecutive rounds with monsters which you control against a party controlled by Jyaness, the little girl who dominates the tournament. No monsters can be reused; unfortunately, most of the choices you receive are pitiful, whereas Jyaness receives extremely powerful monsters... it's hard! THE GRAND SLAM TOURNAMENT Here are the full details and skill sets for your monsters. Winning this tournament is party a function of choosing the right characters, but luck fits into it as much as anything else. Remember, if things look bad, RUN! You only have to start the round over, not the full tournament. Each row is progressively stronger than the last. The first row is pathetic, and the last row is populated only by the butt-kicking Eft. Use his power wisely. ROW 1: Beach Boy (Blue) - Kodomo Kid Lizard (Blue) - Lifeless (Black) ROW 2: Barbuu (Green) - Debitt (Black) - Goblum (Green) ROW 3: Hoblum (Green) - Piretta (Black) - Gaonja (Red) ROW 4: Eft (Blue) Each character has a particular skill set. Many of these elements are familiar by now, but a few may be new to you. Cure Rest, for instance, heals all allies (do NOT use this skill if you have an undead character active, such as Piretta or Lifeless - it will wound them). In general, the specialty skills are simply attacks that tend to hit for about weak-to-medium damage. Remember that you can get 2 strong attacks for 6 Stamina, or can use the Elements and get a weaker attack for the same cost plus the added inability to defend. Which sounds like a better idea to you? I recommend NOT using specialty skills in most cases. Note: None of the characters have Level 1 Elements. This chart begins at Level 2 and is structured exactly like you will see the skills on the characters' grid for your convenience. Correction: Apparently the precise list of enemies changes and grows as you advance into the game, based on Spriggan's Morph skill. I never use Spriggan, so consider this an absolute minimum survival guide - the bare-bones list. If you can win with this strategy, you should be able to win with more powerful monsters available easily. For the covenience of those who have a much larger list of monsters, here is what each of the characters I have listed looks like: Beach Boy - Blue creature with fins. Resembles a Nu from Chrono Trigger. Kodomo Kid Lizard - The green lizards you killed for scales in Tokage Grotto. Lifeless - A floating wraith who attacks with his shadowy head. Barbuu - Like an onion-headed doll. Debitt - A round, batlike creature. Goblum - A short, fat goblin. Hoblum - A taller goblin than the Goblum, with a yellowish skin tone. Piretta - A pirate skeleton. Gaonja - A large tiger-man. Eft - Blue and brawny; resembles a Mudokon from Oddworld. --------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARACTER/SKILLS --------------------------------------------------------------------- BEACHBOY ------------------------------------------------------------ Curera-1 Aquaball-1 Aquaball Aquaball+1 Atk. All Atk. All Atk. All Atk. All KODOMO KID LIZARD --------------------------------------------------- Feel Blue Water Atk. Water Atk. Water Atk. Cure Rest LIFELESS ------------------------------------------------------------ Atk. All Get Soul Anti-White Atk. All Get Soul+1 Get Soul+2 Anti-White+2 Inferno+2 BARBUU -------------------------------------------------------------- Leaf+1 Leaf+2 Heal Wind Heal Totter-1 Info-2 Needle+2 Feel Green DEBITT -------------------------------------------------------------- Burning-1 Drain Burning-1 Drain Drain Weak+1 GOBLUM -------------------------------------------------------------- Heal Needle Totter Uuha-2 Needle Totter HOBLUM -------------------------------------------------------------- Heal Eagle Eye-1 Uuha Needle-1 Needle Eagle Eye Heal Wind+1 PIRETTA ------------------------------------------------------------- Atk. Atk. Get Soul+1 Get Soul+2 Inferno+1 GAONJA -------------------------------------------------------------- Weak-2 Atk. Atk. High Muscle Bomber+3 Nainai EFT ----------------------------------------------------------------- Atk. Curera-1 Atk. Aquaball+1 Curera-1 Atk. Aquaball+1 --------------------------------------------------------------------- You face a set pattern of enemies as well. Round 2 is easily the most difficult, so this is where you want to use Eft. Remember, when things go bad, run and try again! A lot of your progress here depends on how the enemies make their initial attack; keep trying until the odds are in your favor. ROUND 1: Blob, Boar, Pipa-Pipa USE: Kodomo Kid Lizard, Beach Boy, Piretta The Boar is the major threat here; its charge attack can wipe out most characters in a single blow. The pink blob won't attack unless it's the only character left, and it hits prety hard. Take out the Boar first with one of Piretta's instant kill attacks. You can try Get Soul+1; since it's a Level 3 skill you can probably use it before the Boar charges at all. You'll have better success with Get Soul+2 or Inferno+1, though. If your initial attempt fails, run away and start over. Once the boar is gone, focus your attacks on the blob, then finish off the Pipa-Pipa as soon as you can. ROUND 2: Spearman, Machinery, Debitt USE: Eft, Barbuu, Debitt Be prepared to run. The Machinery has nearly 1000 HP and uses an attack called Land Hit which does massive, painful damage - it can nearly kill even the Eft. Unfortunately, there's another enemy, the spear guy, who attacks almost as powerfully and much more often; getting rid of him is priority one. Caution is the word here. Open with the Eft against the spear user (he always gets 99% hits for all moves, so hit with 2 strong attacks), then defend. Have another character attack, and switch back to Eft as soon as he gets to 7 Stamina. The less the Eft is idle, the better. Mr. Spear should go down in three rounds; now focus on the Machinery in the middle. Don't worry about losing a weak character or even two; just hammer away with your strongest attacks and defend when necessary. Heal with Curera-1 if Eft's HP drops below 300. Once you get the Machinery taken care off, polish off the Debitt (which sucks - it has at least 5 times the HP of the Debitt in your party!). Once this round is finished, you're nearly home free. ROUND 3: Mobechan, Tengu, Sky Frame USE: Lifeless, Gaonja, Hoblum. This shouldn't be TOO hard if you can take out the Sky Frame before it has a chance to use its specialty attack, which HURTS. Hit it a few times with Lifeless to soften it up, then use Inferno+1 or Get Soul+2 (I recommend Inferno, personally). If you fail, run and try again. If you succeed, this round is in the bag. Use Gaonja to pound on the Tengu in the center, then clean up the Mobechan, which is hardly a threat at all. Congratulations! You've won! Hopefully this didn't take you too long; I'd like to think my painful, frustrating hours of effort paved the way for your success. You'll win a Stamina Belt, then a Resist Belt, and a stronger accessory for each round you clear. Additionally, Jyaness will join the party; although her HP is very low, she's a strong (and strange) fighter and a solid magic user, and can be a good asset to the party. -- 13c. IRENES ------------------------------ Once you've explored the Zelbess, head to Slash's ship by taking the platform next to the crow's nest of the Zelbess. When you enter the dressing room, you'll see the whole crew: Miki, Slash, Kenja and Irenes. Everyone but Irenes ditches for rehearsal (sheesh, it's like an ABC After-School Special or something), and Irenes will join your party if you wish (top choice). Also of note here: the NPC hanging out in the dressing room mentions the Shomaneki item you have, which is the crab-like item. I don't remember where this came from, but apparently it's important... -- 14. SMALL ISLAND ------------------------- Such a distrustful world. The resident of the moss-covered hut here doesn't seem to trust strangers. You can't get in, but when you leave you'll see someone watching you depart. -- 15. EAST COAST --------------------------- The East Coast here still leads to the Fire Cave, which still leads to the Tower, which you can still explore. While there are no gameplay objectives here, the Tower has some extremely valuable Elements to acquire, so this side trip is easily worth the effort. -- 15a. FIRE CAVE --------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Irenes Items in this Area: - Denadoro Item - Mythril Item Not too much has changed, except that some of the new enemies are pretty tough. Hint: don't bring Blue elemental characters (like Irenes) along unless you want them to die pathetically. I still haven't explored beyond the lava flow, because I still don't have the Freeze Breath item. Side note: the Denadoro items apparently are the next step above Mythril. The name Denadoro seems really familiar to me... was that something in Chrono Trigger? Hmm. -- 15b. THE MYSTERIOUS DUNGEON PT. 3 -------- MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Radius Items in this Area: - Denadoro Item x4 - Thunder Beret (Element) - Iceburg (Element) - Potion x4 - Tornado (Element) - Volcano There are some new enemies here, including an upgrade to the Bronze Golems called Machineries. They look the same, but they're painfully strong - their Land Hit attack can demolish a character in a single hit. The Gargols and Chameleos are pretty easy, but don't get complacent. Luckily, there are no boss battles here, but some of the regular fights are bad enough. The puzzles here are unchanged, so if you have any long-term recall whatsoever, this should be a breeze. Definitely search high and low for the Level 6 Elements here - they are exceptionally powerful and will be a great asset to the party. The only drawback is that they can only be equipped by someone with a compatible elemental affinity; don't expect a Red elemental to equip Iceburg, for instance. Even so, these are definitely spells that should not be passed up. Once you've activated the elevator, go down rather than up. The central energy source is active, and it looks exactly the right size to serve as an incubator. If you picked up the egg in the valley of dinosaur bones in Another world, try placing it here. You will be greeted by a hatchling dragon who decides Serge is its father. DragonChild will join the party (top option). He's pretty strong and has the second highest HP in the party at this point (right after Serge), so be sure to bring him along. -- 15c. THE MYSTERIOUS DUNGEON PT. 4 -------- Items in this Area: - Potion x2 - Anti-Black - Anti-White Some very, very useful Anti-Elements are here; be sure to grab them as you explore. There are no enemies here at all, so this section should take just a few minutes. Activating the switch opens the transporter to the upper cell of the Tower. However, Serge doesn't have any visions this time, nor does anyone confront you here. There seems to be nothing to do in the Statuary, as the central pedestal is empty. It is a little strange to see the party shoot down the teleporter, I must say. -- 16. ARUNI VILLAGE ------------------------ You can dock here if you wish. -- 17. WARP POINT: THE END OF TIME ---------- This is not labelled on the map, but to activate the warp, approach the small semi-circular set of islands to the southeast of the main continent. Press the Action key until you find the warp point, which will take your party to a very familiar area. At the far end of the room is a large door, but the land octopus leaning against the light post will not allow you to enter just yet. When I arrived here, there were 5 portals open, with space for at least 3 more. The portals don't seem to lead to other time periods, but rather to random battles and battlefields from throughout the game. I sampled a few battles and they start fairly easy, but seem to become progressively more challenging. That's all that can be done here for now, but it's worth a visit, if for nothing more than nostalgia. N. INTO THE VORTEX -------------------------- After defeating Kenja, you received a small crab-like Key Item. Now is the time to use it. Boat over to the inaccessible vortex of clouds on the eastern edge of the map and activate the crab. For whatever reason, this causes the clouds to part enough to reveal an entrance to the mist. -- 1. GRANDLEON ----------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Radius When you arrive in the cave at the entrance to the Vortex, Radius will meet you there if he's not already in your party. As you try to enter the cave, you will be blocked by the power of a sword - none other than the legendary Grandleon Sword (known in Chrono Trigger as the Masamune - insert obligatory tiresome anti-Ted-Woolsey diatribe here). Radius has a bit of a history with the Grandleon and will help you get past its angry power. The Grandleon can only be countered with another sword, the Elranza. To find the Elranza, you're going to have to embark upon -- wait for it! -- a mini-quest. Items in this Area: - Garai's Memento (Key Item) - Elranza Sword (Key Item) Your first stop is at the solitary island where Lazzuly has taken up residence. You may have seen Radius living here in Another world; it seems he has an affinity for this place, because he and his comrade-in-arms/rival Garai (seemingly one of Glenn's ancestors, and a fellow with WAY too much armor) sparred here. Radius shares a few flashbacks here, of himself and Garai practicing their skills (and Garai winning), and of Radius finding the Grandleon in the waterfall cave north of Aruni. After his monologue, he gives Serge a mirror-like memento of Garai. And where else have you seen mirrors? Why, in the cave on the Island of Bones. MY PARTY: Serge, Radius, Ishito The left mirror in the cave is your goal here; get there by passing through the portal at the bottom of the screen, beneath the monster's ribs. Use Garai's memento at the mirror and you will be able to pass through to the area beyond. Travel around to the left; ignore the empty armor there and enter the lit cave opening in the center. Here you can view a headstone that ominously bears the name of the members of Serge's party. The spectre of Garai appears and shares another flashback, in which Radius was apparently overcome by the Grandleon Sword and murdered Garai in cold blood. Obviously, Garai isn't too thrilled about this and attacks the party. BATTLE: GARAI In my opinion, this is the toughest fight yet. What is it with White elemental enemies that makes them such bastards? Well, in this case, it doesn't help that Serge is trapped in Yamaneko's Black elemental body, making him extra weak against Garai's ferocious attacks. Make sure NOT to bring Tukuyomi here, unless you want this fight to be even more lopsided. Zappa, Ishito or DragonChild are all recommended, as they are each strong, have good HP and have a good resistance to Garai's attacks. He uses three different modes of attack - a physical attack which can be used as many as three times consecutively; an Elemental physical attack which hits hard; and a White Element called Will Break which can kill in a single hit (especially against Black characters). Start this battle by protecting Serge with Wall - Wall+3, if you can manage it. Sensitive and Foolish are helpful if you can actually tag him with them; Anti-White would be awesome, but I never can get it work for me. Give everyone lots of strong healing Elements for both the party and individuals. Try to equip as many of your strong Black attacks (Friction, etc.) as you can cram into your upper slots. Balance strong attacks with as much healing as needed. It's a tough fight, but victory will give you both a Star and the Elranza Sword needed to advance in the game. Once you have the Elranza, take it back to the Grandleon's cave. Radius will strike the ground with the Elranza, shattering Grandleon... it sort of sucks to see that happen after all the work that went into restoring it in Chrono Trigger! Now you can move into the next section, a new close-up area of the world map which appears to be an ocean, frozen solid as it raged about a crumbling futuristic city. -- 2. FROZEN IN TIME? ----------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, DragonChild This is an unexpected, haunting, yet absurdly cool area. While the rest of Serge's world seems to be at about a Renaissance level of technology, this area displays the ruins of a high-tech society trapped in a frozen, tempestuous ocean. The goal here is to reach the center area of the vortex by running along the frozen waves and through the passable areas (denoted by a Save Point pyramid; these are not necessarily Save Points, though, as you can save anywhere on the map here. Items in this Area: - Anti-Red - Anti-Blue - Anti-Yellow - Anti-Green Be sure to pick up the useful Anti Elements on the map area while you can. Your first stop will be at a destroyed highway overpass, which you must navigate. -- 2a. HIT THE ROAD, JACK ------------------- There are two paths here: left, which leads to various treasures, and right, which leads to the exit. Items in this Area: - Capsule - Nail x2 - Mythril Item - Friction To the left is a variety of treasures, including the ever-popular Friction Element. Be sure to climb the ladder near the top of the area, and run beneath overpasses whenever possible. Most of the enemies here are very passive, so you can fight them at your discretion. When you open the chest containing Friction, the ledge on which you're standing collapses, bringing you back the start. Loop back around and head to the exit. Unfortunately, the way is blocked by a machine of some sort. BATTLE: KEVIN Kevin looks an awful lot like Johnny (aka The Man). You remember Johnny, right? The forefather of stupid, badly-implemented minigames that impede progress and have little place in an RPG? Right then. Kevin doesn't race, just fight. Alas, he's still terribly annoying. He has one attack that's extremely strong, and a group gas attack that causes Black status. This is one of those battles that isn't really hard, per se, but it certainly drags on and on due to your diminished hit accuracy. Once you beat Kevin, you'll receive a Star and High Grip. More importantly, you'll be able to leave the area now and move to the next section on the World Map. -- 2b. LINK TO THE PAST, AND FUTURE --------- The next area to explore is a ruined city. Walk along the wave crests here to reach various items and locations. Items in this Area: - Resist Vest - Earring - Kung-Fu Shoes - Stamina Ring Explore and collect here. The Kung-Fu Shoes are hidden in the bottom-most right doorway, the door which doesn't lead to a new screen. Walk beneath the door frame and press Action to open the hidden chest. The most important element here is the middle left crest, which leads to a door where a single computer monitor is still active. Ishito will enter here when you press the glowing red button and activate the monitor for you. On screen, you will see something very familiar - a spiny alien creature. The date A.D. 2300 should be familiar to you It seems that somehow, this frozen city was ravaged by the Event of Lavos, despite the fact that Crono and his friends supposedly stopped Lavos 20 years before (technically, 979 years from Serge's time, but you know what I mean). The plot thickens.... -- 2c. EYE OF THE VORTEX -------------------- At the center of the vortex is what looks like a gothic castle but appears on the inside to be a shopping mall. Like the rest of this area, it is ruined and frozen. Items in this Area: - Wing x2 - Mythril Item x2 - Sword (Key Item) - Healwind - Curera - Forget - Mana Feeble - Inferno - Nail Dress Be sure to explore the mall area carefully, as lots of good stuff is hidden here. There's nothing on the ground level here (despite your feelings of deja-vu, this is NOT the Shinra Building's lobby). Climb the central staircase and head counterclockwise to get a Wing (upgrade item). The third level contains an elevator which will move you up and down between floors. To the right is another weapon upgrade item, and the left wall is open, leading to what appears to be a open-air theatre in ruins. Climb down from the balcony and an apparition of a young blonde girl in a white dress will appear and vanish. The ghosts here can be surprisingly tough - each ghost appears to be robotic in nature and runs a program that casts a different spell (they announce each spell before casting it). Some spells are weak, but others, like Tornado, can be a real pain. A few will cast curative spells on your party, but watch out for Black Hole, a powerful Black skill that apparently can cause an instant death attack. There seems to be a small, overgrown park area here with what appears to be a sword in the middle. Grab the sword and move to the left area, where you will see an apparition of purple-haired girl who runs to the right. Grab the upgrade items and the Forget spell here and climb the collapsed rubble to the door at the upper-right. When you enter the next room, you'll see a number of ghosts standing about. One of them is a boy with spiky red hair (see a pattern forming here?) who leaps into a vortex at the back of the room. Take the Mana Feeble spell on the left platform and follow the boy. You may wish to save your game at the Save Point here. Right above the Save Point is a small chamber that, as you may have guessed, will recover your HP and status... but you'll still be hungry (grumble). Also, grab the Inferno Element and Nail Dress armor if you wish. Finally, you encounter the three spirits who led you here. Speak to the boy and Jacob Marley will appear. OK, actually, it's not Marley, it's Miguel, the man whom Marge mentioned before (he's Rena's father, if you must know). He steps out from behind the ruins of a familiar looking bell and describes a "Time Crash." Is time being kompressed? Kurses! It kould be. And, as is kustomary in most RPGs, Miguel greets you with an invitation to kombat. BATTLE: MIGUEL Miguel is another of those darned White Element guys, although he fortunately isn't as tough as Garai. This will still be a challenge, though. Like Kenja, he can use two Elements consecutively, although he relies mainly on White element attacks. His physical power isn't anything to worry about, but when his HP gets low he uses Holy, a painfully powerful group attack. Many of his attacks inflict White status as a secondary consideration, which can diminish your combat effectiveness. Be sure to protect Serge with Wall as soon as possible, and keep everyone's HP high. Equip skills besides just Black attacks - Miguel is pretty handy with his Anti-Black spell. Turnabout is fair play; if you have Trap Holy, you can make your own life much easier by using it. When you win, you will receive both a Star and an accessory, and Miguel mentions that 1999 is the Year of Lavos. It seems Miguel has been waiting 14 years for the arrival of Serge, the "Trigger." (Correct me if I'm wrong, here) With Miguel's death, the Vortex begins to collapse - Serge and party are fortuitously rescued by a black dragon, who wings them to safety as the vortex explodes. The Dragon mentions "Elnid," a name which has popped up a few times througout the game (apparently, it's the continent on which most of the action transpires... I think). Then he leaves, and Serge and co. return to their boat. You can boat into the former vortex area, which is just water now. There are three hotspots here, but when you pass over them, your second party member mentions Wormholes and you automatically leave. -- 3. WRAP-UP ------------------------------- A few items of note: if you use Zappa's scroll, you now have access to the Denadoro set of equipment. Additionally, this would be a good time to return to Crescent Island, where you will be confronted by a huge alien creature when you examine the treasure chest there. Note: it seems you need to have discovered the Starfish treasure beneath the ocean triangle before you can meet him. BATTLE: STARCHILD This guy is huge. Fortunately, he's a bit weak. He's a White elemental, but his attacks are pretty mild. His ray gun is not much to speak of, and his Elemental power is pretty low. However, he has a ton of HP, so it will take a while to wear him down. Once you defeat him in combat, catch him and choose the first option to ask him to join the party. Speak to the man who watches guard here and you will receive a very cool Starchild-themed window set! O. FAMILIAR TERRITORY ----------------------- With the clearing of the Vortex, Serge again regains the ability to warp between dimensions. Go back to the beach and use the Medicine Bag - this time it works! (If you don't yet have the Medicine Bag and took the other path through the game, you probably can get it at Gardov from either Doc or Steena or Delia, or perhaps one of Doc's assistants) -- 1. A WRETCHED HOMECOMING ----------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Tukuyomi, Radius When you arrive at the beach in Another world, you are greeted by the sight of a man fleeing from Yamaneko's shadow cats. He's even more freaked out when he sees "Yamaneko," but the cats get confused and leave. Aruni is now mostly deserted, and the West half is blocked off. Seems things have changed... The north waterfall, where Radius found the Grandleon back Home, is now open and people are seeking "Power Spots." There's a shrine or something at the west end of the cave with flickering candelabras, but nothing seems to affect it at the moment. The Pass through the Valley of Dinosaur Bones can no longer simply be passed through; you'll have to fight your way through. There are no new treasures here, although shadow cats and little wizard guys have replaced the pigs and birds. When you reach the other side, you'll find Yamaneko's mansion has been seized by Palepori soldiers - just like Home. You won't be able to enter, and even if you sneak in through the back way you can't get in the front door. Instead, go to Termina, which is becoming militarized by those Palepori jerks. If you visit Zappa, you'll find him being threatened by some guards, although they turn yellow when he actually gives them a baleful look of death. Glenn's house is occupied by soliders as well. About the only place that isn't crawling with troops is the bar, where the owner calls you into the back room. There, Alf is waiting for you; talk to him, then examine the back wall to find a hidden room where Karsh and Zoah are waiting. They'll describe the events which transpired immediately after Serge switched bodies and returned Home - Yamaneko vanished with Kidd, and they found Jyakotu wounded. They give Serge a broken crystal and you are given a choice of allies - either Karsh or Zoah will accompany you. Both are great assets; Karsh has tons of HP, and Zoah is a bruiser in terms of sheer hitting power. This may be the spawning point for another branching path, but for now I'll describe what happens if you take Karsh. MY PARTY: Serge, Karsh, Jyaness When you leave town, you'll see Ishito (from Another world, not Home) talk to the soliders at the entrance. You now have access to the mansion. Step inside with Karsh; when you enter the building, you will see Ridel being taken captive to the dungeon. Your goal is to rescue her. Of course, you can't just grab her and go. Go left and enter the second door to meet Ishito; after coming to grips with "Yamaneko's" identity, he gives the party a key to the sewer grate. At this point, a solider will also somehow turn the chef Ocha into a blue Ocha, which is pretty weird; apparently, he's evil. Items in this Area: - Flood - Denadoro Item - High Grip - Upgrade Item Go downstairs and examine the grating on the floor outside the kitchen. It will open, and you will enter the sewer area. You've explored parts of this area to reach Ishito at Home, but now you're entering from the upper left area and are trying to sneak into a different place altogether. The water flow up here is really fast and will knock you down to the lower level, to the area you've seen before. Knock the two free-standing barrels on the platforms into the water to create a path to the left staircase. Turn the valve in the chamber up the stairs to close the spillway and slow the water flow that was too fast to navigate. While you're down here, you can take the southeast exit to reach the forest entrance to the waterway. The path into the tree-root cave is blocked by a grating, but if you hit the grating the insect sleeping on the treasure chest right outside will freak out, knocking the chest to the lower level. You can find this chest later by traveling through the woods or the well to get a Flood Element. Once that's accomplished, go up the ladder against the back wall in the lower level. You will arrive right outside the dungeon; run back to the grate that you opened before and climb back down to the sewers. You'll be able to cross the water flow now, which leads you to the right-hand section of the sewers. Head up and around; leave the screen at the top-right to find a valve which controls another floodgate, this one on the lower level. Turn it so the lower path is unobstructed and run back around to the previous area. Head to the center section to open another gate, which will let you run to the lower level of the right screen through the water. Once on the right screen, walk up the ladder and to the lower right. Go past the second floodgate that you opened and climb the ladder to reach the valve again; turn it so the lower path is blocked and the upper path is unobstructed. You're almost home-free, but first you have to take care of a nasty, enormous insect that ambushes you. BATTLE: LAUM The bug in and of itself is not terribly strong, but its little larvae are nestled on its back and will attack in a swarm, hitting either the group or an individual for big damage. All your Red elements work really well here; if you have a Red character, be sure to protect him or her with Wall or High Protect. Defeating the insect and its brood will net you a Star and an Elbow Pad, in case you have a need to go skating sometime soon. Behind the battlefield, you'll find three ladders leading up. The left ladder leads to a cell where Glenn is being held, but he's sleeping like a rock and won't respond to you. The middle cell contains an old man who completely freaks out when you try to get through. And the right cell has a cot where Farga is taking a nap. Banging on the grate beneath his cot wakes him up and he lets you in. Then he breaks out of the cell, frees everyone, and beats the thunder out of the guards... not bad for an old guy. Save at the pyramid here and enter the door at the far right; you will see Ridel, being interrogated in a less than kindly fashion by Blue Ocha. The party busts in and decides to save her, but the giant culinary smurf seems to have other ideas. BATTLE: EVIL OCHA Despite being blue, this guy is a Red element. He's a bit of a pushover, too, as he uses no attacks you haven't seen before. The only real surprise he has is a move called Spice, which restores about 175 HP. You'll win a Star for your troubles. The soldiers suddenly recognize Yamanaeko ("Hey! It's the guy we stole the mansion from!") and run off. Ocha joins the party now that he's back to a healthy tan flesh tone. Ridel says thanks and heads out of the mansion; unfortunately, the place is crawling with soliders now. If you go left, they'll block the way to the lower levels; if you go right, they'll do the same. In the main chamber beyond the double doors at the back of the entrance, you will be confronted by several soldiers. When you take them down, Gyaradun (who appears to be a mercenary cyborg) joins the fray. BATTLE: GYARADUN Gyaradun isn't too terribly difficult; I'd put him at about Ocha's power level, or perhaps slightly better. Be very careful when his HP goes critical though; he uses a nasty Element called "Infinity" that seems to give him limitless Stamina - he hit one of my characters 8 times consecutively, until she went down. He also can use a group attack as well as a tough single attack. Your victory will be rewarded with another Star, and a Defenser accessory. But wait, there's more! When Gyaradun is defeated, the last soldier standing activates the mecha standing guard at the right door (it's no longer a bronze golem). BATTLE: MECHA This is a pretty easy fight. The Mech has a tough Yellow attack, but it's nothing to worry about if you don't have any Green characters. Just pound it with strong attacks; if you've brought Karsh (or Zoah), use Nainai to boost his hit accuracy and use 6 Stamina Points at a time for strong attacks, then defend and attack again as soon as his Stamina reaches 7. Unfortunately, you're going to have a Final Fantasy VIII flashback here - the mech won't stop. Serge and his allies run across the bridge to the library with the mech on their heels. Trapped on the balcony (geez, Serge completely forgot about that switch...), you'll fight again. When you stun the mech again, the librarian reminds you of the switch. Hit it and climb the ladder. The mecha leaps to the chandelier, but Gyaradun enters and cuts it loose, allowing the party to make their escape through the stained glass window (a Chrono tradition, it seems!) and into the stables. The stable keeper lets loose the dragons, allow Gyaradun to catch up and the party to make its escape from the manor. -- 2. SIDE QUESTS --------------------------- You have a lot of freedom now, because you've managed to acquire a boat during your escape. There are a number of places to go now, as well as some places that can't be explored. THE EASTERN CONTINENT (ANOTHER) ------------- The fog-shrouded area at the eastern edge of the map may be cleared back Home, but here it's still covered by clouds. You can enter a cave at the south edge where a number of old statues are situated, but there seems to be no purpose yet. THE SOLITARY ISLAND (ANOTHER) --------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Gyaradun, Jyaness The island where Radius has made his home in this world is now playing host to some guests: Ridel, Marcella, Jyakotu and Zoah or Karsh (the character you did NOT choose in Termina). Speak to Marcella, who apologizes for her rudeness toward Serge before (he tousles her hair by way of acceptance, which is something I've never seen in a video game before). Speak to Ridel and she will join your party; but as soon as she does, the island shakes violently. Jyakotu wakes up and Serge rushes outside when he hears Kidd's voice, despite Ridel's word of caution. Kidd seems not to realize that Yamaneko and Serge have switched bodies, and prepares to attack the party. Her attitude is especially puzzling, as she turns out to be in the company of Yamaneko, who has decked Serge's body in a really tacky-looking approximation of his old dress uniform. The inevitable fight is delayed, though, when Farga swoops down and saves the day on that bird you fought a long time ago, snatching Serge's party from the grasp of Yamaneko and Kidd. The party arrives at Zelbess, and Serge's thoughts turn to his memories of Kidd. He seems a little bummed that she basically hates his guts now. And Tukuyomi seems a little bummed that he's bummed. But first things first; go inside the Zelbess and you'll have a serious Suikoden moment as no less than four characters join Serge's entourage: Marcella, Jyakotu, Farga and Zoah/Karsh. Unfortunately, you'll also lose a character here - Tukuyomi seems torn after the confrontation between Serge, Kidd and Yamaneko, and despite the best efforts of a friend to console her (in my game, Starchild spoke to her, but it may vary) she leaves the party for good (be sure to unequip her first if she has anything good, as she takes it with her). GARDOV (ANOTHER) ----------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Ishito, Jyaness When you visit Gardov, you'll see Orlha single-handedly fighting off a bunch of Palepori soldiers. When one of the soliders recognizes Serge as "Yamaneko," she assumes Serge is in cahoots with the soliders and attacks. BATTLE: ORLHA This is one tough chick - don't let the pigtails fool you! She has some powerful physical attacks, and some pretty strong Blue elements as well. When her HP gets critical, she uses Iceburg, as well as drunken technique martial arts. When you defeat her, the soldier discovers Serge isn't Yamaneko and heads for the hills, while the party takes Orlha to see Doc. She revives and gives Serge a broach (key item). While you're in Gardov, be sure to visit Steena. If you show the broken crystal you received from Zoah and Karsh in Termina, she will give you an amulet with 6 slots (key item) - it looks rather like the Dragon Statue room at the peak of the mysterious dungeon. ISLAND OF BONES (ANOTHER) -------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Jyaness, Gyaradun If you use Garai's amulet at the left mirror, you'll discover Sugar and Salton trapped inside - they call Karsh's name. Bring Karsh into the dungeon and you'll be able to pass through the mirror with the amulet. As with the Garai quest, enter the cave in the center of the next room. Sugar and Salton will initiate a flashback involving Dario, Karsh and Ridel (Dario appears to be Glenn's older brother). In days past, Ridel seemed to have been friends with all three, though she favored Dario the most. Apparently, Karsh was overcome by jealousy and murdered Dario in the pretext of the searching the Cave of Bones for the Grandleon - what is it with this family and being backstabbed in relation to Grandleon? Watch out, Glenn - you're probably next! Seemingly incensed at Karsh's trechery, Sugar and Salton attack. Again. BATTLE: SUGAR AND SALTON As always, these guys are total jokes. Put them down quickly and cleanly. You'll receive a couple of Denodoro items for upgrading weapons as well as a Gyrator element. You'll also receive a key item, a pendant which once belonged to Dario. HIDORA SWAMP (ANOTHER) ---------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Jyaness, Radius ITEMS IN THIS AREA: - Cactus - Upgrade Item x4 - Spine - Tablet - Flower You'll finally be able to make some progress into this version of the Hidora Swamp, at long last. You'll notice now that there are monsters on the giant fungal stalks to the left of the swamp, some of which are picking on a Pipa-pipa. As much as you may hate those guys after the battle in the Home swamp, you should be a Good Samaritan here and help the little guy. You'll fight two Goblums, simple enough, and the Pipa-pipa will give you a cactus of some sort (key item). The large platform at the top has a huge hole in it now. Leap in and you'll come to the little room where you may have met the land kraken before. Now there's just a little dwarf here, who summons the skeleton of a Hidora to fight you. BATTLE: HIDORA FRAME This fight is so easy I almost shouldn't list it separately. It's similar to the previous Hidora battles, except that the zombie version is a Black element and spends the whole battle casting Graviton. Sadly for it, your defense should be so high by now that you'll suffer only single-digit damage (and zero counts as a single digit!). Just kill it as quickly as you can and receive an accessory and a L.5 White Element that can be given to any White character who lacks an innate L.5 skill; it allows you to summon a Hidora in battle to attack the enemy. Everything else is similar to the way it was before, except that there's no big battle at the end - just some Hoblums who fight you for possession of a chest holding a flower. I would guess the flower and the cactus are part of a set. While you're in the swamp, be sure to check inside one of the caves for a spine for Skarll - now you just need some hips, and he should be good to go. SNAKEBONE MANSION (HOME) ------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Jyaness, Ishito Items in thie Area: - Kotsura Dress - Revive - Mushroom - Anti-Green Prevention You can climb into the ruins here. Enter the front of the mansion and look slightly above the main entrance to the rubble. You should see a soldier standing on the wall. Find the hidden path to reach him through the rubble. You can walk past him and climb into the waterway beneath the mansion now. To the immediate right at the back of the area is a chest with a Revive Element in it. These are rare and precious, so be sure to grab it. Explore a bit more to find other items. As a trivial side note, you can use the dungeon key that Ishito gave you in Another world to open the cells in the dungeon here. Exit through the passage to the tree-root cave that leads to the eastern woods. When you come to the area that had the stream of bugs that you blocked with a boulder in Another world, run to the right bottom corner of the area directly to the right of the hole where the bugs were running. You will scare another insect, which will hop into the hole and scare a fellow who was looking for mushroom inside. He'll give you the mushroom; now take the fungus to the man in the waterfall cave outside in the woods (there should be several tengus walking around here). The man will turn into a bizarre mushroom man, which apparently makes him very happy - he begins laughing and joins your party (his name is Kinoko, by the way). ZELBESS (ANOTHER) --------------------------- Just a small note: you can get Tsumalu to rejoin your party here; so far this is the only member of Serge's party to rejoin after the Yamaneko switch. Too bad it's not someone useful like Alf... THE SMALL ISLAND (HOME) --------------------- The tiny island with a hut hidden in the woods houses Sugar and Salton in Another world, but here you'll find an unexpected resident if you bring Ridel: Dario, Glenn's brother. You'll also witness a flashback that shows exactly what happened when Karsh "backstabbed" Dario; Karsh was acting in self-defense. Like Radius, Dario was overwhelmed by the Grandleon and attacked Karsh. Unlike Garai, Karsh defended and persevered. Enigmatically, Yamaneko (the real Yamaneko) took the Grandleon sword for himself after this event. However, it seems Dario is back, and possessed by the Grandleon once more. MY PARTY: Serge, Gyaradun, Ridel BATTLE: DARIO This is one heck of a battle. Easily one of the most challenging opponents I've ever faced in an RPG. Dario kinda reminds me of that "offensively and defensively perfect" Angel from Evangelion - he hits extremely hard (in fact, he has Glenn's skill Hard Hit, which can kill almost anyone in a single strike), and attacks once per round. To make matters worse, his physical defense is high, but if you attack with an Element he counters automatically with a counter-Element. It's not too bad if you use Red or Blue, but if you hit him with a White element, you can expect to die from his counter. And if you hit him with Black elements, he simply absorbs it and heals himself with Recover. To make matters worse, one of your characters HAS to be Ridel, who is totally vulnerable to Black attacks (Dario's elemental affiliation). He CAN be beaten... but not easily. I recommend a party of Serge, Ridel and Gyadarun, since Gyadarun has very high HP and defense and is a Black elemental himself. Use physical attacks and defend, defend, defend. Spread your Revive Elements out among the party members. Give lots of healing Elements to Ridel, as her physical attacks are almost completely ineffectual. Do NOT attack with Elements. Caution is the word of the day here. His pattern is easy to determine (Attack, Hard Hit, Attack, Sword Sonic, repeat), but still very difficult to survive. Another strategy is to wait until you can equip L.8 Elements and use the Saints summon (have everyone cast L.1 Purify immediately after he uses Sword Sonic to change the Field Effect to all-white without activating his counter-attack) - not only does it heal your party for 999, I dealt Dario 1500+ HP in one shot, which took him nearly to critical status. The best part is that Saints doesn't count as an Element, so he won't counter-attack! [UNCONFIRMED: A third strategy, courtesy of Eric Oei: apparently, you can steal an armor item from the Black Dragon (see below) which absorbs Black Elements, like the Ruby Mail in Chrono Trigger. Equipping this on a character will cause Dario's strikes and counter-attack to heal the equipped character rather than hurting him/her. Give this armor to Serge and have him pound Dario with his strongest White Elements!] When you defeat Dario, you'll receive an Accessory. Gran and Leon (aka Masa and Mune), the spirits of the Grandleon, declare Serge a warrior with a heart pure enough to wield the Grandleon and he receives a new Cicero, the Grand Ream (making him even MORE grossly overpowered compared to the rest of the party than he already was). Dario returns with the party to the ruins of Yamaneko's manor and decides to rebuild it. At this point, Ridel receives her L.7 skill which can be equipped for future use. CRESCENT ISLAND ----------------------------- A massive white dragon is here, and tells you to collect a bunch of stuff. Or something. Looks like he's talking about the Elemental colors to me. That should be your cue... P. DRAGON QUEST VI -------------------------- Now you need to hunt down and defeat 6 elemental dragons. This is an almost pleasantly retro quest, reminiscent of the old days. You whippersnappers better appreciate it! These can be done in almost any order; only the White Dragon needs to be approached last. Bear in mind that these dragons are named for the Elements they represent; plan your party and equipment/Elements accordingly. Each victory rewards you with three items: A Level 8/0 summon (which you won't be able to use yet), a Star, and an elemental crest. -- 1. THE RED DRAGON ------------------------ MY PARTY: Serge, Jyaness, Kinoko Items in this Area: - Accessory x2 - Salamander (summon) - Red Crest - Bomber To find the Red Dragon, return to the Fire Cave in Another world. You'll noticed that the exit leading to the Tower Dungeon has collapsed, the path now blocked by rubble. Your goal is not to pass through the cave, but to find your way inside. This will be far easier if you acquired the Water Breath earlier in the game, but it's still quite feasible without it. Just bring lots of curative items... On the second screen into the cave, walk right and into the cave where magma flows down and to the right. Dodge the Gaonja and run to the down flow (not the one headed right; it will lead back out of the cave). Turn a sharp right here and run through the tunnel and to the back of the screen to the exit. Run beneath the arch to the back passage. Here you'll find a large, empty room where Salamander, an enormous fire creature, resides. But Salamander isn't the Red Dragon - instead, you need to talk to the little guy walking around with a pike. Speak to him and he'll challenge you to a fight. BATTLE: RED DRAGON This is a bit deceptive. The Red Dragon seems like a pushover, as he's almost exactly like the little Chibi Dragon you fought on the way to the Tower Dungeon. However, don't blow your best Blue Elements just yet - once you've inflicted a certain amount of damage on the dragon, it transforms into the REAL Red Dragon. The attacks he uses are basically pumped up versions of his previous attacks; be cautious and heal when necessary. There are no real tricks here, so it shouldn't be hard to win a Star, Salamander summon and the Red Crest. As you return to the exit, be aware that the lava flow in the room next to the Red Dragon's room CAN be climbed. Be sure to grab the two accessories before you leave! Also, if you explore this same area in the Home world, you can find a few Elements of varying value. -- 2. THE BLUE DRAGON ----------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Jyaness, Kinoko Items in this Area: - Blue Crest - Terror Whale summon You may have spoken to the Blue Dragon before, but now you need to return and duke it out with him. Go to the Flooded Ruins in the Home world and descend to the lowest level. You'll notice two Sidesteps down there, one of which is blocking the way (one of these guys was the dungeon boss in the demo - I had wondered when they would show up). Battle it and speak to the Blue Dragon. He'll ask you if you intend to fight; choice one is No and choice two initiates combat. BATTLE: ICE DRAGON The Ice Dragon uses mostly Blue group attacks. Its Ice Breath skill is pretty weak, but watch for Iceburg, which can do significant damage. Again, the strategies you used with the Red Dragon should be adequate here. You'll win a Star, Terror Whale Summon and Blue Crest for your victory. -- 3. YELLOW DRAGON ------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Karsh, Jyaness Items in this Area: - Explosive (key item) - Summon - Yellow Crest To find the Yellow Dragon, return to the Sand Cave to the northwest of Elnid in the Home dimension. You couldn't get past the turtle here before, but now it has moved, opening the area beyond the sand falls. In this room, you'll see one hole and three geysers. The hole is located right next to the ledge you want to reach; using video game logic, you can deduce that by blocking the geysers, the pressure will be forced to blow through the hole and enable you to reach the ledge. To block the holes, you must defeat the three giant turtles here. The one on the lower level is easy; just defeat it, then examine the shell to push it over the geyser. The turtle on the upper left is a little trickier; fight it while it's stading on the ledge overlooking the geyser, or you won't be able to push it off. The final turtle is at the upper right of the room, but it will neither budge nor fight. Luckily, you have a stick of dynamite (has anyone noticed how much wanton cruelty to animals is in this game?); set the dynamite by the turtle, and it will launch itself onto the last geyser. Jump into the now-geysering hole to reach the ledge above and meet the Yellow Dragon. The Dragon appears to be out of the office, but actually it's up above you and will come down to play when you examine the sand area. BATTLE: YELLOW DRAGON I really recommend bringing Karsh here. Although his Green nature will cause him to suffer more damage from the Dragon's Yellow attacks, his HP are high enough that he should be fine, and the added punch he gives green attacks are well worth the risk. If you have acquired the Gyrator Element, stick it in Karsh's L.7 slot for some serious power. Watch for Yellow status - you may want to equip lots of Disperse elements just in case. Victory will earn you the usual Star, summon and Crest. You can also reach the Dragon's room in Another World now as well, but you will be faced with a sphinx-like creature that asks you riddles involving elements. If you make the wrong choices, he hits you with Earthquake. Sometimes he hits you with consecutive Yellow Elements like Earthquake and Thunder Barrett, which will kill you outright. BATTLE: JINJIRX Really, this is a simple fight if you know what to do. Defend the first round and your Element meter will automatically rise to maximum. After that, he begins asking you about certain Elements. Respond properly and he'll move to the next question. The order is set, and goes like this: WHITE, YELLOW, RED, GREEN, BLUE, BLACK When you answer each question correctly, he disappears, and you receive no items. Am I missing something here? -- 4. THE BLACK DRAGON ---------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Gyaradun, Jyaness Now it gets a little tricky. You've probably seen the Black Dragon already, sleeping contentedly in Another Mabure. But how to wake him up? That's the trick. If you're like me, you'll stumble onto it completely by accident. Before you can undertake this quest, I believe you need to have completed the events on the Home version of Zelbess (see above). Once that is completed, you may proceed. First, take the Farga from your party to meet Home's Farga. Another Farga berates his counterpart for being such a crummy dad and not accepting Slash for the fem-boy glam rocker that he is. The Zelbess will automatically travel to Mabure where you'll see a hilarious 70s-style rock opera performance by Slash and his entourage. Yeah, baby, yeah! Once this is over, you get treated to Slash's endless, looping cheez rawk as you travel to Mabure and fight the Efts, which are no longer ghost-like. Farga also acquires a L.7 skill which he can equip - but be warned, once he uses it, it's permanently his! Two guys named Ash and, interestingly enough, Toma 14 (I believe that's correct) meet you at the entrance. You can then dispatch the Efts one by one. Once you've finished, you'll hear a growl indicating someone, somewhere is displeased. At this point, you're free to do as you wish. I recommend stopping aboard the Zelbess; if you speak to Miki in the restaurant, she will join the party. Eventually, you'll want to return to Another world and speak to the Black Dragon at Mabure. It wakes up and fights you. BATTLE: BLACK DRAGON This can be tough. For one thing, it auto-counters White Elements with Anti-White. It also uses a group attack called Graviton Bomb, which works almost exactly like Gravija from FFVIII - it hits you for about 3/4 your current HP. It ALSO uses Forget, which causes everyone to lose access to ALL of their Element skills. You might be able to equip the Anti- resistance accessories, but I'm not certain if those can prevent being struck by Forget. In any case, keeping your HP high is imperative. When you win, you'll get a Star, a summon called The End, and the Black Crest. -- 5. THE GREEN DRAGON ---------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Karsh, Ridel By far the most complex Dragon to reach is the Green Dragon. First, visit Hidora Swamp in Another world if you have not already acquired the cactus and flower there. Now travel to the Home Hidora Swamp and climb the fungal stalk to the left once more. That stupid Pipa-pipa is blocking the way again and challenges you to a fight. The difference is that this time you can kick his miserable butt and not have to deal with another annoying protracted battle. Once you've clobbered him, he gives you some clues which may or may not be compeltely worthless, depending on your Japanese literacy. Talk to the Pipa-pipa just beyond here and to the right; he mentions the cactus you got in Another Hidora Swamp. The gist is that you can catch a ride from a Hidora if you feed it a cactus, I believe. Summon the Hidora by blowing the Pipa Flute you go long ago (while standing next to the Pipa-pipa who mentions the cactus). It will take you to the southwest island which has been inaccessible all along. Items in this Area: - Denadoro Items x5 - Broach - Summon - Green Crest When you arrive, you'll discover a primitive-looking forest which is rather reminiscent of some of the 6,000,000 B.C. areas of Chrono Trigger. And in keeping with the prehistoric theme, a young girl clad in animal skins, named Leea, will join you as a temporary member. Put her in your party - she's only six, but she kicks so much butt it's hilarious. Also, make note of where you arrive - that exact spot is the point from which you'll leave as well. MY PARTY: Serge, Leea, Ridel You can go either left or right here; either way the woods wrap around. If you go left, though, you'll follow along some large footprints. Be sure to check high and low for items; you can climb into trees and down into the ravine using vines. Watch for the little tribesmen - they cast a variety of status ailments on you, including the ever-annoying Berserk. Kill all the giant landbound mosquitoes here; once they're gone and you wrap back around to the entry point, the music will stop and a dinosaur will attack. BATTLE: TYRANO This isn't too hard. Both enemies who attack here are Red elementals. Focus your punishment on the Tyrano, and if you use enough area effect spells like Flood, the other enemy should go down pretty fast regardless. You'll get a star for your very special victory. When the Tyrano bites the dust, a monster cries out. Leea heads toward the back of the area. Save at the left screen Save Point, and follow her. At the next area, you will meet the Green Dragon. BATTLE: GREEN DRAGON This fight isn't hard if you're careful, but it can take a while. The Green Dragon fights primarily by using his poison breath attack, which inflicts cumulative status conditions. However, watch out for when he uses Green Earth, which changes the Field Effect condition to all-green; he follows it up a few moves later with Hell Plant, which hits your party for a huge amount of damage. You do NOT want to be hit by Hell Plant, so don't let the Field Effect stay all-green! Whenever he uses Green Earth, disrupt the Field Effect status IMMEDIATELY by using a non-green Element, even if it's some worthless L.1 skill like Laser or Tablet. This will minimize the damage you suffer. And be careful healing - if you use too many Heals or Heal Winds, you'll just be helping to set yourself up for Hell Plant. Once you win, you'll receive a Star and the Genie summon, as well as the Green Crest. Additionally, the fifth dragon you defeat will open up the unique L.7 skills for Serge and Leea, as well as a few other characters. Also, Leea will join as a permanent member now. -- 6. THE WHITE DRAGON ---------------------- Now, return to Crescent Island (Another). The White Dragon will take note of the 5 crests you have brought and challenge you for possession of the 6th. MY PARTY: Serge, Ridel, Leea BATTLE: WHITE DRAGON This guy doesn't fool around. He casts Mana Call to boost the effectiveness of Elements during battle. This is worse for you than for him, because he uses Elements a bit more freely than you. Generally he follows up Mana Call with Holy Breath; expect it to hurt. You can counteract Mana Call with Mana Feeble, which will restore the Mana level to normal. Wear him down, and be careful; Serge is especially vulnerable as a Black elemental. When the White Dragon becomes critical, he uses Sensitive on two party members consecutively to make them even more vulnerable to his magic. When you defeat the White Dragon, he gives you the final crest, a Star and the Saints summon, then flies off. Q. IN THE FLESH? ---------------------------- Next stop: Gardov (Another) to show Delia the shattered crystal you received from Karsh and Zoah a while back, if you have not done so already. She will give you a six-slotted amulet. Take this amulet to Gardov (Home) and show it to the guard outside Steena's tent; he'll step aside and let you in. Steena will now join the party. She tells you to go to the Tower Dungeon once more, so head east and past the Fire Cave. If you haven't beaten Dario yet, this would be a good time to go to the Hermit's Island with Ridel. -- 1. AN OLD FAMILAR FACE ------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Leea, Steena You should be familiar with this dungeon by now; you've been here at least twice. You will have to activate all the switches here if you have not already done so; see above information for a walkthrough. Once you raise the central shaft and head toward the elevator, you will be confronted by Yamaneko, still dressed as Serge. BATTLE: DARK SERGE Dark Serge kicks butt. I'm sure Serge is thinking, "Damn! I didn't have that many HP when I was using that body!" Oddly, Dark Serge is a Black character rather than White, so Serge in Yamaneko's body has a good defense against him. Steena, on the other hand, is pretty vulnerable. However! Steena's White Element attacks hit him hard - be sure to give her good skills like L.6 Comet, and the L.5 Hidora summon you received from the Hidora Frame. And lots of healing magic for her and everyone else; you're going to need it. Dark Serge has all of Yamaneko's skills (Glide Fork, Cats Raid and the painful Zero Eternal), plus access to all of the L.6 group attack Elements (Tornado, Volcano, Thunder Barret, etc.). Hopefully you have lots of group recovery spells in your L.4+ slots, and all three of the Revive spells you've been able to find so far. Put Serge in the first position, since that seems to be the party position on whom Dark Serge focuses most of his physical abuse. When he starts using his L.6 attacks, try to keep your healers' Elements boosted so they have immediate access to a strong group heal spell. He tends to use an Element, then attack physically once or twice, then use another Element. It's a tough fight, but when you win you'll get the usual Star, an accessory, and a L.8 slot for several characters! Now you can use the L.8/0 Summons you earned fighting the Dragons. Once Dark Serge is defeated, he disappears and you will have free access to the rest of the tower. Travel to the teleporter and open the main doors at the peak of the dungeon. Serge will enter the chamber alone. Examine the pedestal in the center and the room will activate. A spirit will hover about, talking to Serge (and mentioning Lavos, whose advent appears to be depicted in the mural around the room). Once it's said its peace, Serge will be surrounded by a bubble, staggering to the floor. The bubble dissolves him and allows him to be reborn as his old self - and quite naked, I might add. Once the transformation is complete, the crystal shatters, and Serge conveniently whips out a set of his old clothing (convenient!). At this point, your entire party from before the Yamaneko/Serge switch will rejoin. Also, Serge has access to his White status and his L.7 skills, Sky Arrow. Steena mentions something called the "Chrono Cross," and a new quest begins. -- 2. CHRONO CROSS -------------------------- Go to the Waterfall Cave north of Aruni in the Home world with Steena. She will mention something, and the two braziers will begin to react. Set the two broken crystal shards on the brazier and you will receive the Chrono Cross, a Key Item whose use is at this point a bit opaque to me. You will also receive Chrono Cross the Element, which is instrumental for uncovering some of the game's secrets. When you have the Element equipped, you will notice musical chimes after every Element you use - a different note for each color. I believe (though I'm not certain) that using Chrono Cross in battle replenishes your expended Elements, which can be very useful if correct. NOTE: You may not be able to acquire the Chrono Cross until AFTER completing the Chronopolis quest. If you can't get it now, try again later. The Chrono Cross is fairly useless for the time being anyway. -- 3. SWITCHOVER ---------------------------- Now it's time to move to the next quest. Go to the lake where the Vortex used to be in your Home world and approach any of the three circles that were left there after the Vortex disappeared. When you enter the area, Serge's boat will warp to the same spot in Another world, and you will be asked to switch discs. NOTE: The game does NOT ask you to save when you switch, meaning that those of you playing with the swap method may be in for a rough ride... sorry, I don't know how to swap discs without a mod chip or Japanese system. --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- PART IV: WALKTHROUGH - DISC TWO Now that you're in a previously inaccessible area, be aware you can return to the rest of the world at any time using the three circles that correspond to the warps which brought you here. A. THE THREE FATES -------------------------- MY PARTY: Serge, Ridel, Jyaness This bit is pretty easy. There are three islands around an enormous triangular waterfall (an island is at each vertex of the triangle). On each island is a statue of one of the three Fates: Clotho, the spinner of threads; Lachesis, who measures them; and Atropos, who cuts the threads of fate when a mortal's life ends. I'm not certain if you have to visit each statue in order, but I did (does anyone know if this works out of order?). Clotho is the statue of the young woman at the southern tip of the waterfall. Examine the Save Point-like object before her statue and it will fly away. Now continue around the waterfall in a clockwise fashion and examine the other two Save Point items. When you activate Atropos' pyramid, you will be attacked by a giant mask. BATTLE: VITA-3 ------------------------------ Vita-3 isn't terribly difficult. However, as you inflict damage on it, Vita-3 gradually adopts stronger and stronger attacks, activating a mode corresponding to each Fate (much like the Sun Facer from waaaaaay back). While Clotho's attacks will barely scratch you (Laser? Pshaw!), Atropos can deal some serious hurt. When it activates Atropos mode, use your best attacks. You probably won't be able to use a Summon here, as Vita-3 attacks frequently with numerous Element types, but you should be fine without summons. Defeating Vita-3 will earn you a Star and an Amazon Dress, a decent female-only bit of armor. It will also cause the waterfall to retract, exposing a city on an island. This is the city of Chronopolis, and it's where the plot thickens. B. CHRONOPOLIS ------------------------------ MY PARTY: Serge, Karsh, Gyaradun Items in this Area: - Broach x2 - Potion - Cure Rest (Element) - Accessory - Item - Inferno - Mana Call - Card Key When you first enter Chronopolis, the PA system will activate and make some announcements (and mention some familiar names like Zenan and Medina as well). The ghost-like creatures in the lobby will repeat the same general information as in the announcement. There's a small bridge leading into the main portion of the building, but when you cross it you will be attacked by a large robot. BATTLE: BERYL ------------------------------- This is a pretty freakin' tough robot. It uses a skill called Megaton Punch (cue screaming old man here) that can deliver massive damage to a single character. Luckily, it's pretty vulnerable to skills like Sky Arrow and so forth, so hit it hard and don't hold back. I recommend using a strong party for this area, such as Karsh and Jyakotu. With allies like them around, Beryl should fall pretty quickly. Win a Star and a P-Eraser Element when you triumph. Beyond the bridge is another room, although you can run left and beneath the bridge first to reach a Broach item in a chest. In the second room is a door at the left of the room that is locked. You will need to open the hatch at the right side of the room (check the cabinet at the back for a Potion) to descend to the sewers beneath the building. Well, they're kinda tidy for sewers, but you get the idea. Right above the ladder is a red switch that will extend a bridge to the back of the room. However, you still have to traverse a gap, and the other switch is across the room through a watery depression. You are unable to enter the depression due to some security gates, but you can activate a remote drone with the panel at the far left. Use the Triangle key to cancel the drone. Drive the drone along the raised areas - if you fall in the deep water, you'll have to start over. Be sure to grab the chest in the upper left-hand corner; it contains a Cure Rest Element, which is a very powerful new healing Element that can only be equipped by Blue users. Maneuver the drone to the upper left-hand corner and activate the red switch there to complete the circuit (notice the drone can move through the security gates...) and walk across the gates to reach the back ladder, which takes you to the back half of the room from which you accessed the sewers. Now you can unlock the door that blocked your progress from the lobby before, allowing you to exit and enter freely. In the next area you'll find an elevator which is innaccessible (Level 2 Security Lock). There are 5 floors in this area, B1 to 4. You begin on 1 and your ultimate goal is B1. Most floors have three doors - left, right and elevator (central). FIRST FLOOR In the left door is a watery area with a Save Point and one of this area's ubquitous ghost-like guys (hereafter referred to as "ghosts" for my convenience). To the right is a stairwell patrolled by roaming, non-aggressive security drones. Be sure to grab the chest beneath the stairwell. The stairs lead to floor 2, but the way to floor 3 is locked. SECOND FLOOR Entering the second floor will activate a laser tripwire, but the drone it activates is easily avoided. Behind the drone, which resets if you leave, is a door leading to a room with five empty lockers, a coffin/case, and a locked door. I'm at a loss for what to do here, but it's not vital to your progress... so... In the other direction is the elevator and the left room, which features a ghost or two standing over a projection of the Elnid archipelago. Well... sort of. If you activate the switches, the projection changes to show the area (in