CHRONO CROSS MINI-FAQ: FLASHBACK GUIDE By ToastyFrog (J. Parish, tfrog@camalott.com) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Revision 1.0 21 December 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLEASE READ BEFORE USING THIS GUIDE: 1. Do not email me for help or information about the game. There are plenty of FAQs out there which will explain the game's secrets to you. I have neither the time nor the desire to be a hint line. If you can't find an answer in a FAQ, try the message boards at GameFAQs.com where dozens of fans of the game will eagerly pounce at any opportunity to help someone in need of aid (just watch for unmarked spoilers). 2. Speaking of spoilers, this guide has 'em in abundence. This FAQ exists for the benefit of people who have completed Chrono Cross and have also finished Chrono Trigger or do not mind having the older game's story spoiled. If this guide ruins your game experience don't come crying to me; you've been warned. Anything beyond this point if SPOILER CITY (where you can go for all your spoiler needs!). 3. This guide is copyright 2000 J. Parish and may not be reproduced for any commercial or public purpose. This guide may only appear online at Game FAQs (gamefaqs.com) and ToastyFrog: PSI (toastyfrog.com); if you see it anywhere else, please let me know so I can hunt down the offending party and slay them LIKE A DOG. You may copy, print and minimally redistribute this guide in electronic form for your own personal use, but you may NOT post this guide on the web, nor may you create a derivative work for public use. 4. This is all that's left of my old CC FAQ; please don't ask to see the whole shebang make a return, because it won't. There are more and better FAQs out there already, and there's no need for further redundancy. This guide encompasses a unique feature from my old FAQ that merits being reposted, which is why I've put it together. If you're dying to see my old, sloppy, overwrought, disjointed excuse for a FAQ, I'm sure you can find it easily at some of the less reputable/conscientious FAQ sites around. They never clean out their dead files. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I. CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I. CONTENTS (which you are in fact currently reading) II. FLASHBACKS III. FAQs IV. CREDITS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II. FLASHBACKS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The purpose of this guide is to point out the various connections between Chrono Cross and its predecessor, Chrono Trigger. One of the great strengths of the game is the way it integrates CT's story into its own (and one of its great weaknesses is the way it plays holy hell with the continuity of rather straightforward events in the original game). However, not everyone has played Chrono Trigger, so the nuances are often lost. For you, this guide exists as a lamp to thy darkness (yadda yadda). I've even included a few tidbits of the "lost Chrono chapter," Radical Dreamers, although that information is rather minimal as I haven't played the game myself. I've probably missed a few connections. I'm OK with that. Don't write in with corrections unless you have something REALLY good to say, OK? No need to waste your time and mine with inane or previous-mentioned tidbits. So here they are, listed in alphabetical order. This is your last chance to avoid spoilers, chump! - BELTHASAR ----------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Belthasar is the Prophet of Time whom you meet early in the game inside of the Viper Manor library. Late in the game, he holds the key to the completion of your quest (or at least, the key to getting a non-sucky ending). Belthasar was one of the three Gurus from the kingdom of Zeal in 12,000 B.C. When Lavos destroyed the magic kingdom after being awakened by Queen Zeal's Mammon Machine, Belthasar was flung far into the future - to A.D. 2300, in fact. There he continued the research into the nature of time which he had begun in Zeal and constructed a time machine called Epoch (based on the timewarp technology he had experimented with in the form of the pendant which Schala and later Marle wore), which he granted to Crono and his party in their effort to stop Lavos. Though he seemingly died shortly after crafting Epoch, it seems this was not the case, as he appears to be aware of Crono's efforts. Or maybe this is before he originally met Crono, as Epoch appears to be incomplete. Ack, time travel sucks. - THE BEND OF TIME ---------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The Bend of Time is clearly patterned after the "End of Time" from CT. Crono and co. discovered the End of Time quite by accident; when they arrived, they were informed by a man named Gaspar that the EoT existed beyond time, and that they had reached the place by trying to travel through a Time Gate with more than three people at once. The EoT featured 9 light portals which led to different time eras, as well as a room where the characters could battle Spekkio, the delightful Master of War. This is not quite the same as the End of Time. For one thing, there are no time portals, and Gaspar is nowhere to be seen. Instead, you can use this opportunity to fight, pilfer and mimic enemies. And of course, once you finish the game, you can fight some tone deaf, evil fiends and win a pair of underwear and a vest with prosthetic breasts. Yeah! - BUMS ON THE BEACH --------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] BeachBums look remarkably similar to Nus, strange creatures in Chrono Trigger who were often found in unsual places throughout time. Nus, however, were a heckuva lot tougher than BeachBums. All life begins and ends with Nu! This is what I believe... at least for now. - THE BURNING ORPHANAGE ----------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] This house belongs to Lucca Ashtear, one of Crono's closest friends, and one of the heroes of Chrono Trigger (as well as an accomplished inventor). Of course, her house was never a burning battlefield in the original game. After the end of her adventure to destroy Lavos, Lucca found a young child abandoned in the woods and decided to found an orphanage. In the meantime, she also continued to research robotics, based on her knowledge gleaned from encountering Robo and the Mother Brain-dominated world of A.D. 2300, which allowed her to create technology far beyond what would normally be possible in A.D. 1000. Incidentally, it seems as though Lucca was responsible for the technology used to create Grobyc. The burning orphanage probably best exemplifies the wanton disregard the creators of Chrono Cross had for the elements of Chrono Trigger which many frothing, rabid CT fans hold entirely too dearly. I say, job well done. - CHRONOPOLIS' SECRET MESSAGE ----------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: RADICAL DREAMERS] The text in the side chamber on the top floor of Chronopolis may seem familiar if you know much about this game's pre-history - it's the opening text of "Radical Dreamers," which, apparently is an alternate reality version of the events of Chrono Cross. And if you're wondering, "Magil" is "Magus" in disguise. Magil. Not Guile, Magil. Can we please kill the rumors about Guile and Magus now? Thankupo. - DEMIHUMANS ---------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] A major subplot in Chrono Trigger involved a race of demihuman creatures called Mystics, who live in the village of Medina and disliked humans. I'm not certain if the Marbule demihumans are related to the Mystics, but they're quite reminiscent. Except they don't look like baby DragonBall characters, Allah be praised. - DENADORITE ---------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The name Denadoro, as you'll recall, was a mountain in Chrono Trigger with hella tough goblins... or rather, wimpy goblins with hella tough hammers. You can use Denadorite in Chrono Cross to make your own hella tough weapons (which, fortunately, don't disintegrate when touched by fire). - GRENN OR GLENN, DUH? ------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Glenn was the real name of the CT character Frog. CT's Glenn was an aspiring knight whose closest friend Cyrus was killed by the then-villainous Magus, and Glenn himself was transformed into a man-sized frog. Frog's speech was characterized by extremely formal and archaic English; while CC's Glenn does not speak with the same medieval tongue as CT's Frog, the two characters actually have quite a bit in common. Glenn's relationship with Dario is very similar to Frog's relationship with Cyrus: both are young but noble spirits standing in the shadow of their heroic elder. However, the two Glenns are NOT the same character, so if you go around saying they are, I will beat you with a stick. - GUARDIA KINGDOM ----------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Guardia Kingdom was the focal point of much of Chrono Trigger. It was the land of which Marle was princess, and the land whose queen Frog protected in the past. At the end of Chrono Trigger '99, the marriage of Crono and Marle is shown, presumably meaning Crono would become King in the future. Guardia seems to have suffered some unknown, unhappy fate in the time of Chrono Cross. - GUILE --------------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Guile is extremely reminscent of CT's Magus, though the two are not the same person. For more about the history of Guile and Magus, check the FAQs section near the end of this guide. - HECKRAN BONE -------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The Heckran was a powerful monster whose body was highly resistant to physical damage but weak to magic. Crono, Lucca and Marle battled it in order to reach their home after a bit of a mishap. Here it's just a tasty bit of scooby snax. - THE HERO'S MEDAL ---------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The Hero Medal you give to Pierre played a small role in Chrono Trigger as well - it was formerly Cyrus', was but taken by a young lad named Tata who thought himself a hero despite being a bit of a wuss. Sort of like Pierre, actually. When equipped along with the legendary sword Masamune, the Hero Medal gave Frog a power boost. Pierre doesn't use anything nearly as cool as Masamune, though, so the badge just boosts his Evade % a bit. Incidentally, the similarity between Tata and Pierre is not coincidental; Pierre was created to intentionally resonate with the false bravado of Tata. - I HAVE METAL JOINTS ------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Gato, the crispy fried speaker in the burning orphanage, was a robot sparring dummy designed by Lucca and her father, Taban. During the Millennial Fair, you could fight Gato to earn tokens to be spent at the fair. (My name is Gato/I have metal joints/Beat me up/And earn 15 Silver Points) Oddly, there were also Gato-like robots in the Ocean Palace, 13,000 years before Lucca built hers. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun. Sadly Lucca's scientific genius was made hollow by a palette-swapped sprite, reducing the fruits of her creativity to a Mortal Kombat-esque dupe. - JANUS --------------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The "Janus" to whom Lucca refers in her letter to Kidd was Magus' real name. Why would Magus, the heroic villain of Chrono Trigger, be interested in Kid's welfare? Some people think it's because Serge is actually Magus, despite all evidence to the contrary. Some people also think the earth is flat. You never know. - LARA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The code sequence used to acquire Kid's L.7 tech is similar to the LARA code from Chrono Trigger. During one of the game's many subquests, Lucca discovered a Time Gate leading to the night where her mother was crippled by one of Taban's machines. By inputing the code LARA (Lara was the name of Lucca's mother), Lucca could save her mother from being crippled. She could also fail, which was one of the more depressing things to be seen in a 16-bit RPG. - LAVOS --------------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Lavos was the true villain of Chrono Trigger. Although its true nature is not entirely clear (monster? alien astronaut? parasite? god?), the creature Lavos smashed into the planet 65,000,000 years prior to CT, in an era where man was a primitive race and demi-human dinosaurs were poised to take the lead of evolution. Living beneath the planet's crust and feeding on its life for tens of millions of years, Lavos manipulated the world's development in various ways (and when Queen Zeal tried to manipulate Lavos in 12,000 B.C., it destroyed the floating nation of Zeal and plunged mankind into a new ice age). Magus tried to destroy Lavos in A.D. 600, but was interrupted by Crono and Frog and flung into the past as an act of defense by Lavos. By traveling into the future, Crono and his comrades discovered that Lavos would destroy the world in A.D. 1999 (thereafter spawning children to travel to other hapless worlds), and - determined to save the world - stopped Lavos before it could annihilate mankind. The ruined computer displays data on Lavos because it is a relic of the lost future, a fragment which ended up in the Time Crash. - LUMINAIRE ----------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Serge's skill Luminaire was seen in Chrono Trigger as Crono's ultimate magic attack. Kid's RedPin was originally a combo Tech shared by Lucca and Frog; although it's different here, it's interesting to see skills carry over. For those who played the Japanese version of Chrono Cross, these skills were called "Shining" and "Red Needles" respectively; those were in fact the original Japanese skill names in Chrono Trigger as well, so the inconsistency is consistent. - THE MASAMUNE -------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The Masamune was a major component of the Chrono Trigger tale. Originally forged in 12,000 B.C. by the Guru Melchior, the Masamune was a living weapon whose two spirit components, Masa and Mune, would serve only one whose strength of body was matched by his strength of heart. Eventually weilded by Frog in his fight against Magus after being reforged by Melchior in the year 1,000 (where Melchior had been flung after the destruction of Zeal in 12,000 B.C.), the blade was stolen several years after the marriage of Crono and Marle, and disappeared to whereabouts unknown. The sword itself is not inherently evil, but its power is such that it amplifies the emotions of those who control it. Someone without the strength of will to master it would become overwhelmed by their own spiritual weaknesses as they're enhanced by the sword. - MIGUEL'S LAST STAND ------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The battle in the center of the Time Crash vortex with Miguel transpires in the ruins of Nadia Square near Nadia's Bell, a monument erected by King Guardia to honor his daughter Nadia (Marle's real name) at the end of the Millennial Fair. The children are images of Crono, Lucca and Marle, the main characters of Chrono Trigger. - MOTHER BRAIN AND PROMETHEUS ------------------------------------------------ [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The Mother Brain program upon which FATE is based was a program which achieved sentience in the Lavos-devastated future and decided to annihilate humanity (very Skynet-like). Robo (aka Prometheus), one of the main characters of Chrono Trigger, was one of the normally peaceful RY-series robots reprogrammed by Mother Brain to destroy humanity. After being reactivated by Lucca, Robo fought with Crono and his party to destroy Lavos as well as the Mother Brain. Incidentally, Robo had a cyber-sweetie named Atropos, although I don't know for a fact that the Atropos aspect of VITA is related. Eventually, Mother Brain was destroyed, and Lucca apparently installed Prometheus into Mother Brain's second incarnation as FATE as a sort of safety precaution, in case FATE went on a rampage. Once again, the termination of Prometheus is another of those things I'm pretty sure the creators of the game added just to piss off the gamers who worship Chrono Trigger as part of the sliced bread pantheon. - OPENING DIALOGUE ---------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: RADICAL DREAMERS] The opening dialogue in the ancient fort is remarkably similar to the opening dialogue from Radical Dreamers, though the third character (who was Magil in Radical Dreamers) is chosen randomly. - PORRE ARMY ---------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Porre was a small town in Chrono Trigger at the southernmost point of Zenan. The mayor of Zenan was a greedy, heartless man, but Crono was able to alter his personality by traveling back in time and teaching the mayor's ancestors the value of sharing. Hooray for moralizing! Apparently, though, that lesson didn't stick, as Porre seems to have developed into quite a fearsome military power. - RAINBOW SHELL ------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] In Chrono Trigger, the most powerful weapons and accessories could be forged from a rare item called the Rainbow Shell. However, it could only create a very limited number of items (a sword, Sunglasses, and your choice of helmets or vests), and acquiring the Shell was a subquest in itself (which involved the Guru Melchior, a trip through a hidden cave, and a rigged criminal trial intended to do away with King Guardia). Prism equipment is a LITTLE easier to come by in Chrono Cross... but not by much. - SCHALA KID ZEAL ------------------------------------------------------------ [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Kid's true identity, Schala Kid Zeal, is incredibly significant. As a matter of fact, it's the crux of the game. If you haven't played Chrono Trigger, you'll probably be cheesed off to learn that the point of the whole quest is to restore a minor character from the previous game to her true self. So here's the deal. Schala was the princess of Zeal. Her brother, Janus, went on to become the man known as Magus. Her mother was a power hungry ho-bag who used Schala as a tool (HELLO BRAHNE) to acquire control over the ancient primal force known as Lavos. When Schala's mother summoned Lavos to the Undersea Palace, the beast raged out of control and killed Crono; it was only through Schala's intervention that Crono's friends (and Magus) were able to survive. Schala herself was thrown into a time vortex as she subdued Lavos; everyone else was flung into distant periods of time, but Schala was never seen again. Magus made it his quest in life to find and rescue her, although apparently he did a pretty lousy job of it since the deed was done by Serge. And don't give me that "Serge is Magus reincarnated!" crap. One bit of inconsistency; Schala in Chrono Trigger had teal hair, while both Kid and CC's Schala have blonde hair. Personally I don't think it's any big deal; Terra's hair wasn't supposed to be green in Final Fantasy VI, nor was Faris' supposed to be pink. Sprites is sprites. But some people get bent out of shape over the most anal things, so for those of you whose enjoyment of the game was utterly destroyed by this hair color thing, allow me to give you the ability to reclaim your joie de vivre by mentioning the fact that I've read in several places that the original Japanese version of CT mentioned the people of Zeal dyed their hair to make themselves stand apart from the magic-less wretches of the Earthbound Village. I didn't notice that when I played the Japanese version, but then my Japanese literacy is what you might call "piss-poor," so don't take my word for it. - SCYTHES ------------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Just as Lynx looks ready for a quick game of harvest Moon, the "villain" of Chrono Trigger, Magus, also used a scythe. - THE TIME EGG ---------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The first Time Egg (aka Chrono Trigger) was created by Belthasar and given to Marle to let her travel back in time to prevent Crono from dying in battle against Lavos in 12,000 B.C. Though Lavos destroyed Crono (whose death saved the rest of his party) when awakened by Queen Zeal, Marle was able to use the Chrono Trigger atop Mt. Death to travel to the moment of Crono's death and save him from Lavos' power by replacing his body with a life-sized doll. Yeah, yeah, it's sort of silly. Anyway, the Time Egg works a bit differently here, but the concept is still the same. (Technically, the first Time Egg is part of Schala's pendant, but the first fuly functional Egg seen in the series was used for the purpose described above. Argh, never mind). - TIME'S GRASSLANDS --------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The overworld music, and several other themes in the game, include the "Chrono Main Theme" motif from the original game's opening. - TOMA XIV ------------------------------------------------------------------ [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Toma XIV is presumably descended from Toma Levine, an errant adventurer from the year 600. Toma encountered Crono and his party at various places and offered useful advice (in exchange for having his sake, errr, SODA poured over his gravestone). - TONE DEAF, EVIL FIENDS ---------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] Ozzie, Flea and Slash were the three Mystic-race lieutenants of Magus in 600 B.C. Slash was a consummate swordsman, Flea a gender-confused mage, and Ozzie was, uh, sorta worthless. After Magus was thrown into the past by Lavos, Ozzie took charge and continued the Mystics' fight against humanity by converting Magus' castle into "Fort Ozzie." When defeated, the three apparently were lost in the timestream, and the Mystic race eventually learned to get along with humans. - VICTORY THEME ------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The victory theme in Chrono Cross is a more boisterous rendition of Lucca's Theme from Chrono Trigger. - VIPER INVASION ------------------------------------------------------------ [FLASHBACK POINT: RADICAL DREAMERS] The excursion into Viper Mansion is the part of the game most clearly lifted from Radical Dreamers. In RD, Serge and Kid and a fellow named Magil (whom Guile closely resembles - see FAQs at the end of this guide for more info) planned to infiltrate Lynx's mansion to reclaim the Frozen Flame. Of course, in Chrono Cross, the manor doesn't belong to Lynx but rather to General Viper, and there's a bit more to the game than just the infiltration... - WAKEY-WAKEY --------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The game Chrono Trigger opened with a very similar scene: Crono's mother woke him up, opened the shades and gave him an allowance of 200G. - ZENAN MAINLAND ------------------------------------------------------------ [FLASHBACK POINT: CHRONO TRIGGER] The Zenan Mainland (and surrounding area) was where the events of Chrono Trigger transpired. The only actual mention of "Zenan" in the game was a large bridge that connected Guardia to the southern area of the continent (which was the site of a major battle for Crono and co.), but apparently the entire landmass has retroactively been dubbed in honor of the bridge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ III. FAQs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These FAQs are also culled from my original guide; I'm only focusing on story elements. The main reason I'm reprinting these is because they directly contradict other FAQs out there, and the more chaos I can sow the better. Enjoy! And if you give me any crap about spoilers, I will personally slaughter you and use your intestines as a non-feathered boa for my next social engagement. a. WHAT'S THIS ABOUT A CHRONO TRIGGER REMAKE? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About a month before Chrono Cross was released in Japan, Square reissued Chrono Trigger for Playstation. Like Final Fantasy Anthology, it's largely emulated rather than reprogrammed, but unlike FFA it has barely any slowdown and battle transitions are extremely quick. Additionally, there are several anime scenes added to the beginning, the end and - gasp! - throughout the game. This MAY be released in America, possibly, but untile Square EA makes up its collective glacial mind you can see the new endings at: http://www.thegia.com/snes/ct/ctmedia2.html. These anime endings tie into Chrono Cross, so you may want to give them a look. b. THIS STORY IS KINDA CONVOLUTED... CAN YOU SORT THINGS OUT? MY BRAIN HURTS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mine too. Here's the best explanation I can come up with. This incorporates both Chrono Trigger's and Chrono Cross's stories. (No guarantees on accuracy here, the plot wrinkles leave me a bit overwhelmed at times) In 65,000,000 B.C., an advanced civilization of humanoid dinosaurs called Reptites was destroyed by the combined efforts of a young man named Crono and the leader of the human's Ioka Village, Ayla, as well as the timely (?) arrival of a space-borne beast called Lavos. Lavos' influence allowed the fairly primitive forest-dwelling humans to evolve at an accelerated rate over the next tens of millions of years, until mankind grew to be the species that the Reptites had been destined to become. However, humanity evolved less in harmony with nature than the Reptites would have, disrupting the planet in an almost parasitic way. In 12,000 B.C., a young man named Crono and his friends fought Lavos in the skyborne kingdom of Zeal. Zeal was a land founded upon science and magic and was ruled by a queen who sought to establish herself as an eternal despot by utilizing the power of the slumbering Lavos. Crono and his allies disrupted the queen's plans, causing Lavos to awaken briefly and destroy Zeal (and Crono, for a while). In his battle with Lavos, Crono was assisted by Schala, daughter of Queen Zeal. Schala was lost into the Time Stream and never again found, despite the efforts of her younger brother Janus (who was, along with the Enhasa Gurus Melchior, Belthasar and Gaspar, flung into the far reaches of time by Lavos). Schala in fact was absorbed by Lavos and became the benevolent half of the TimeDevourer, but even her kind nature slowly became corrupted by Lavos' hate over the centuries. The ocean palace, where Queen Zeal hoped to tap into Lavos' power, rose from the sea as a skyborne fortress called the Black Omen. In approximately 9000 B.C., Lavos drew the future research city Chronopolis from the year A.D. 2400 into the past as insurance of its own personal welfare in the event that Lavos were ever to be destroyed. At the same time, the forces of the planet pulled a Reptite-based city from an alternate future (where the Reptites survived and became dominant) into the past to serve as a balance against Lavos' scheme. After an intense battle between Chronopolis and Dinopolis, Chronopolis was victorious and sealed away Dinopolis (which would later come to be known as Terra Tower) beneath Sky Dragon Island. Fate, the supercomputer which controlled Chronopolis, also captured the TimeDevourer and divided it into six Elemental Dragon Gods and an artifact of power called the Frozen Flame, thus allowing it to manipulate both Lavos and the Reptite forces to suit its whims. At the same time, Fate created the El Nido Archipelago in the midst of the Sea of Eden, an artifical land which it populated with the former workers from Chronopolis. Using its power over the Elements and human genetics through devices known as Records of Fate, the supercomputer managed to maintain close control over the development of the area and its people. In A.D. 600, Janus (now known as Magus) tried to exact his revenge on Lavos by summoning him (with the pretense of destroying humanity in order to tap into the support of the Mystic race, which was at war with mankind). Crono interfered and he and Magus were thrown back in time to 12,000 B.C. by the partially-awakened power of Lavos. Glenn (aka Frog) later defeated Magus and returned to his human form with the aid of the Masamune (Grandleon) sword, which was stolen by an unknown party once Glenn was finished with it. In A.D. 1000, Crono became introduced to time travel when the pendant worn by Marle (passed down through the descendants of Queen Zeal) reacted with a warp device. Some time later, Lucca discovered an abandoned child in the woods, bearing the same blue pendant worn by Schala and Marle; she took the child in and founded an orphanage. A few years later, a three-year-old boy named Serge who lived in Arni Village on the El Nido archipelago fell deathly ill. During a raging storm, Serge's father Wazuki and Wazuki's friend Miguel took a small boat to Marbule in the hopes of finding a mystic healer there who could help Serge. Though they survived the storm, they were thrown off course and ended up in the Sea of Eden where they discovered Chronopolis. The electrical power in Chronopolis was deactivated for 10 minutes by the storm; in that brief time, Fate's control was weakened and two important things happened: first, the Frozen Flame sought out the young Serge and healed him, but also bonded with him, foiling Fate's control over the Flame. Fate was further thwarted by the activation of a secret circuit which had been installed in its program by Lucca Ashtear (a friend of Crono) and Belthasar, who had developed Fate and Chronopolis to begin with. At the same time, the six Dragon Gods were freed from Fate's yoke briefly and managed to create a seventh dragon, a Dragon God of the second moon which bore a human form - Harle, whose mission was to ally herself with Fate and manipulate events in the Dragon Gods' favor. Miguel became trapped in a timeless void of paradox called the Time Crash which resulted from Serge's interference with the Flame; Wazuki managed to get Serge back to Arni, but was eventually corrupted and transformed by Fate (which could control the bodies and minds of the humans of El Nido) into a servant called Lynx. Wazuki - now Lynx - effectively became a human vessel for Fate, and sought to undo the setbacks it had suffered. Four years later, Lynx tracked down Lucca Ashtear to her home, which had been converted into an orphanage, and abducted the scientist in the hopes of forcing her to set right the havoc she had wrought on Fate. Thanks to the power of the Mastermune (an advanced form of the Enhasa Guru Melchior's Masamune), a future version of Serge was able to step back in time and save a girl named Kid, though he could not prevent Lucca's abduction and eventual murder. Around this same time, Lynx also tracked down Serge, the boy who had bonded with the Frozen Flame, and attempted to kill him with a poisonous cat demon. Serge's cries of pain as he lay dying on the beach reached the ears of Schala and touched her heart. Using the power of her pendant (an incomplete but nevertheless potent Time Egg crafted by Belthasar in 12,000 B.C.), she was able to create a clone of herself and sent it into the world as Kid, the child who had been found in the woods by Lucca. At this point, reality split into two alternate worlds where Serge lived and died. In the "Home" world, Serge lived and went on with his life, but in "Another" world where Lynx and Fate existed, Serge perished from the demon's poison. However, the Frozen Flame was still out of Fate's control. Thus they began to bide their time until Serge could be pulled through the dimensions. Ten years after that, Schala's influence caused Serge to cross the boundaries between dimensions and into Another world where he had been killed by Lynx's demon. By warping between the dimensions with the use of Kid's "astral amulet" (Schala's pendant), Serge was able to set things right and re-stabilize time and reality. However, his efforts were dogged (oddly enough) by Lynx, who sought to gain control of Serge's body to help re-synch Fate with the Frozen Flame. Under the guise of "challenging" Serge, the Dragon Gods gave him the means to destroy Fate (which eventually happened as an act of revenge by Kid), which in fact freed the seven Dragon Gods to reunite into the TimeDevourer in order to detroy humanity. Ultimately, Serge was able to free Schala's mind from the TimeDevourer, allowing her to merge with her "Kid" self, and causing the split realities to be healed and restored as one. This neatly thwarted the plans of Fate, Lavos and the TimeDevourer and allowed mankind to develop apace... In A.D. 1999, Lavos destroyed the world, leaving humanity as a decimated race much like the Reptites had become. Alternately, Lavos was destroyed by Crono and co. who traveled through the Black Omen in an earlier time period to stop Queen Zeal and Lavos before they could annhilate the planet. In A.D. 2300, Crono, Marle and Lucca learned of Lavos' actions 301 years before and vowed to stop the beast in the past, before mankind could be destroyed. Unfortunately, by defeating Lavos before it destroyed the world, Crono and co. created a time paradox - since they were prompted into action by witnessing events in a future that never happened, how could they have been motivated to act in the first place? Thus rather than changing events, Crono simply created an alternate timeline in which The Day of Lavos never happened. In a disastrous timeline dominated by Lavos and the computer Mother Brain, the Guru of Time, Belthasar, gave Crono and friends a time machine called Epoch to combat Lavos; in a more peaceful reality, Belthasar helped establish a time research center called Chronopolis, run by the supercomputer Fate (which was based on the design of the Mother Brain). In A.D. 2400, Chronopolis was pulled back through time by Lavos to arrive at 9,000 B.C. Or at least... I think that's how it goes. Don't sue me if I'm wrong. c. IS GLENN THE SAME GLENN FROM CHRONO TRIGGER? YOU KNOW, FROG? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOOOOOOO! Let me stress that now: CC's Glenn and CT's Glenn are NOT one and the same. Yes, they both have the same name, and they both can perform an X-Strike with the hero. They both are knightly swordsmen. But beyond that, they are NOT alike. But if you need more tangible proof, CT's Glenn lived in A.D. 600; CC's Glenn was born 400 years later. CT's Glenn and CC's Glenn are both shown as children speaking to characters from each respective time period, meaning they grew up in the eras in which you meet them, so there's no time-travel involved. Furthermore, CT's Glenn was transformed into a frog during his late teen years (you can tell, 'cause he was a CT generic male teenager sprite when he was changed) and stayed that way for 10 years; CC's Glenn is 20, meaning if he were Frog-Glenn, he'd be amphibian at that age. CT's Glenn had green hair (check the anime clips in the CT remake), CC's does not. CT's Glenn spoke a formal medieval dialect; CC's is a serious and somewhat formal person, but his speech is not archaic - merely polite. And while CT's Glenn wielded the Masamune, CC"s Glenn wields Einlanzer, the nemesis of the Masamune. So NO. They're not the same. Now stop spreading dumb rumors or I will kill you. d. IS GUILE ACTUALLY MAGUS? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Probably not. However, according to Andrew Vestal (andrewv@thegia.com), in Radical Dreamers (the text-adventure from which Chrono Cross derives some of its story) the Guile character was named "Gil." He was a masked mage with long white hair and at the end of the game, you discovered he was actually Mahou (Magus) looking for Sara (Schala). Obviously, this was changed for the revised game for a number of reasons; but Guile does indeed resemble Magus - a powerful black mage with long white hair who floats as he moves. Their personalities seem a bit different, though, with Guile seeming much more gregarious than Magus. Additionally, their ages don't seem to match up - Guile is 27, and Magus would probably be older by this point. Good guesswork, though. As a side note, Guile was called "Alf" in the Japanese game - similar to Janus' (Jacky's) cat Alfador. I think it's a mind game by Square. (A NOTE: Radical Dreamer's Gil character is officially named "Magil" in English, based on the text in Chronopolis from the alternate-reality memoirs. Further means by which to debunk the myth) e. ARE THERE ANY CHRONO TRIGGER CHARACTERS IN CHRONO CROSS? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, several. Some you'll recognize, some you won't. Here they are: - Crono, Lucca, Marle: These appear as child-like apparitions with Miguel and Belthasar. - Belthasar (aka Gash): The creator of the Wings of Time is now the "Prophet of Time" at Viper Manor. And here you thought he was dead. - Schala (aka Sara): You'll see her both as Schala and as her other self. - Slash, Flea and Ozzie (aka Soy Sauce, Mayonnaise and Vinegar): They appear as a bonus fight in the Bend of Time once you've finished the game. - Masa and Mune (aka Gran and Leon): They never appear as the sword kids, but they still play a pivotal role. And their sister Doreen shows up. The fused Masamune beast shows up in a Tech skill, too. f. ARE CRONO, MARLE AND LUCCA REALLY DEAD? :-( ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Another world, yes, it seems so. Oh yeah, and when Fate terminates the Prometheus program? Prometheus was Robo's original name. Massive suckage. Looks like the only characters who didn't get the shaft were Frog, Magus and Ayla. And if Leah is Ayla's daughter, then Kino and Ayla may have been killed as well (apparently Leah's village was destroyed, but the game never elaborates. Hello sequel!). But it's quite possible that when Serge restores time in the "proper" ending, he erases Lynx's meddling. Quite likely, this action undoes those deaths along with many other tragedies caused by Fate and the time split (in addition to restoring Kid's true self, of course). g. BUT WHAT ABOUT CRONO AND MARLE? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The only clue I saw regarding their fate is that Guardia was referred to as a peaceful kingdom - in the past tense. It's possible that Porre's adventurism caused some sort of war that resulted in the deaths of the heroes and monarchy of Guardia. This too could have been eradicated by the Frozen Flame, seeing as the Flame was a major factor in Porre's actions. I suspect more details will be made known in future installments of the series; they can't just kill off heroes and not explain why. OK, they can, but it sucks. h. AND LEAH? IS SHE AYLA'S DAUGHTER? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leah is an enigma. She refers to some sort of disaster that wiped out her village, and she's looking for her parents, but nothing really comes of it. It's possible Leah may somehow be Ayla's mom, which is amazingly stupid, but if you finish the game with her in your party she decides to name her kid "Ayla." Someone deserves a punch in the mouth for this one... i. WHO WAS THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER FROM THE MAINLAND WHO SAVED KID? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ah yes, that's an interesting question. When you choose to take the "Glenn" path of the game, you find that despite your inability to find Hydra Humour, a mysterious stranger from the Zenan continent came and gave Doc the necessary medicine to save Kid while you were beating up on Fargo. Apparently the "mysterious stranger" was Norris, who was actually in disguise in Viper Manor the whole time. Why did he have Hydra Humour? How did he know to help Kid? Who knows. But, this is elaborated upon in one of the extra endings - thanks to ManaElf@aol.com for pointing this out. j. CAN I KEEP HARLE FROM LEAVING THE PARTY? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No, her departure is an important aspect of the story. Ah, poor Harle. k. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO EACH CHARACTER'S OTHER WORLD SELF? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a chart of who is where in each world, when accounted for. An asterisk indicates recruitablility. Some of these I had to interpolate based on various scraps of dialogue, so if you've found more definitive information, please let me know. CHARACTER HOME ANOTHER --------------- ----------------------------- ------------------------------ Serge *Main character Died 10 years prior Kid A member of Radical Dreamers *Lone wanderer (according to M. Kato) Poshul *Arni *Arni Leena Arni *Arni Radius *Arni Chief Hermit's Hideaway Marge Lives with Serge Moved after Serge's death Peppor Entertainer on S.S. Zelbess Acacian Dragoon Solt Entertainer on S.S. Zelbess Acacian Dragoon Mojo Unknown *Arni Guile Unknown *Termina Pierre Unknown - probably dead! *Termina Nikki Indebted to Fargo *Traveling musician Zappa *Blacksmith in Termina Blacksmith in Termina Zippa Married to Zappa Married to Zappa Greco Unknown *Priest Van *Cynical artist Mopey artist Gogh Impoverished artist Wealthy trader Miki *Tours with Nikki Tours with Nikki Lisa Shoptender in Termina Shoptender in Termina Funguy *Camping in Shadow Woods Living in Termina Skelly Unknown *Deceased, more or less Glenn Died in Dead Sea expedition *Acacian private Riddel Died in Dead Sea expedition *Lady of Viper Manor Lord Viper Died in Dead Sea expedition *Lord of Viper Manor Marcy Died in Dead Sea expedition *Acacian Deva Karsh Died in Dead Sea expedition *Acacian Deva Zoah Died in Dead Sea expedition *Acacian Deva Lynx Died in Dead Sea expedition Humanoid conduit for FATE Luccia Whereabouts unknown *Viper Manor's scientist Guardian of Nikki & Marcy Guardian of Nikki & Marcy Harle Does not exist *Enigmatic Jester Orcha Barkeep, Guldove *Chef, Viper Manor Macha Guldove *Guldove Korcha Guldove *Guldove Mel Guldove *Guldove Doc Guldove *Guldove Steena *Shaman in Guldove Assistant shaman in Guldove Deria Deceased Shaman in Guldove Orlha Unknown *Barkeep in Guldove NeoFio Does not exist *Luccia's experiment Pip Does not exist *Luccia's experiment Razzly *Lost faerie Unknown, presumed dead Fargo Embittered extortionist *Fiesty pirate Sprigg [Exists as a creature of the Dimension Vortex] Wazuki Became Lynx Became Lynx Miguel [Bonded to the Dead Sea at Nadia Square - transcends worlds] Norris *Leader of 'Black Wind' Porre spy in Viper Manor Starky *Lost alien Unaccounted for Draggy Unaccounted for *Nothin' but orphans! Janice *Grand Slam champion Presumed dead or enslaved Dario Living on Forbidden Isle Died on Isle of Damned Sage of Marbule Indebted to Fargo Marbule Chief Irenes *Seeking to restore Marbule Unknown Sneff *Indebted to Fargo Unknown Grobyc Unknown *Hired by Porre Leah *Lives in Gaea's Navel Dead for millions of years Turnip Sleeping solider in V. Manor *Worthless vegetable ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ IV. CREDITS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Erm, none really. I wrote all of this crap on my own, so the only real benefactor here is my miserable lack of a life. You're welcome. - Well, thanks to CJayC for his nifty work at GameFAQs and for respecting the work of his contributors. Top class operation all around, pip pip. - And thanks to all the swell people like Peter Bartholomew, Ed McGlothlin and my favorite human CB! for all the cool additions they made to the old CC guide. It may be dead, but their memories live on. As do they, come to think of it. - Also, thanks to the FBI for not cracking down on me despite the fact that I have a website featuring pictures of a sexy underaged girl named "Rorita." - That's all. Finis.