Chrono Trigger DS
Chrono Trigger DS Review + Release Date
Finally a great port for Chrono Trigger is coming out on November 25th 2008 for the DS.
We have seen Final Fantasy Chronicles be released for PS1 with a port of Crono Trigger. Unfortunately the PS1 ports were doomed by a terrible lag. Chrono Trigger DS is a seamless transition from the original cart, with some added content along the way.
Chrono Trigger Walkthrough
Leene Square
Head out of your house and north to Leene Square. You can play some games here to win silver points. In the north area, you see a blonde girl running around. If you get in her way, you won’t knock her down. But if you move by her you’ll knock her down. Talk to her about this, then get her pendant and bring it back to her. This is Marle. Agree to take her along for a walk.
Marle will have all sorts of fun. Everyone will eventually hint that you need to go to the north part of the fair to see Lucca’s Time Machine Invention. Before though, try to accumulate 50 Silver Points. This will allow you to buy two Bronze Helmets, a big difference from the Hide Cap. Of course, buy the Bronze Blade from Melchior. And don’t ask Marle to sell the pendant to him.
As you are about to go to Lucca’s spot in the north, Marle will want candy. Just wait as she orders. Then go north to see Lucca. Her dad Taban is here too.
Marle wants to try Lucca’s Telepod. First, Crono goes on and is teleported to the right Telepod. Now it’s Marle’s turn. But something goes wrong, and off she goes. Must be that strange pendant. Go up to it with Crono after everyone leaves, and it will be time for Crono to follow Marle. Crono succeeds in following Marle and seems to have brought the pendant with as well.
600 A.D. The Middle Ages
Truce Canyon
Three Blue Imps ambush Crono. Dispatch them quickly. Continue along to the west to a new screen, and then follow counterclockwise until you fight a few more blue imps. Crono should gain a level and learn the Cyclone Technique soon.
West after the second battle with Blue Imps and you will see a treasure – a Potion. South and east for a Power Glove. Further south to see a few imps kicking around a Roundillo. Take them out for 7 exp and 3 tech points. South and you are out of Truce Canyon.
One of my favorite tunes starts to play, the overworld theme for 600 A.D. Middle Ages. Head south into town. Seems as though King Guardia XXI is leading everyone in a bitter war against the “Fiendlord”. The southern residence has the Blacksmith Banta who is forging a bell for the King to symbolize his love for Queen Leene.
At the Inn there are many to speak to. The upper floor yields a box that looks cursed and cannot be opened. There will be a time for this later. One of the guys at the bar mentions Queen Leene has been found at Truce Canyon but was not acting herself. Hmm. Soon you will see an adventurer named Toma come in. Spare the 10 gold and listen to what he has to say. Something seems afoot at the western cathedral according to Toma, but once he hears that Queen Leene is found in the canyon his fears are calmed.
Guardia Forest
Head towards the castle, through Guardia Forest. Go east and fight a few Roundillo’s and a Green Imp, who can take a hit and throws rocks. Southeast from here and look for a shiny blue thing on the ground – it’s a Strength Capsule. You will come across many shiny blue things like this so keep your eyes peeled. Unfortunately there are also blue marks on the ground like the one in the southeast of this area that are traps (two Roundillo Riders pop out).
Northeast of here and search the bushes. One will cause three roundillo’s to pop out. The one west of here though, a white monster comes running out and drops a Shelter. Now head west and north all the way (the far northeast is where one of those mysteriously sealed treasures lies).
Guardia Castle
The guards chastise Crono as he gets in, but then “Queen Leene” comes in to save him. First things first, go west and downstairs, talk to everyone, and rest. You will learn more about Sir Cyrus and a monster named Yakra out west. Now go back upstairs and all the way east and down the stairs for the dining hall. Grab the Ether at the bottom, and you can sample the food in the upper left chair at the table.
Back up and north towards the king. He thanks you for helping Leene. Then talk to the Chancellor, and follow him up the northwestern stairs. Stop when you see a treasure chest though (100 Gold) and another mysterious treasure. Next floor is the top, with the strange Chancellor who is startled as you talk to him. Look for the Bronze Armor in the room to the east. Crono should have a Bronze Blade, Bronze Armor, Power Glove and Bronze Helmet.
Time to go up the next flight of stairs, on the other end. Grab the Potion and go talk to the ‘queen’. She wishes to talk to Crono in private. Grab the Ether, and then talk to her. Turns out as you may have guessed, it’s Marle. Just as she discloses who she is, she is ‘torn apart’. Where did she go now?! Go back downstairs and you will run into Lucca. This is when she tells you that Marle is Princess Nadia which is why everyone thinks Marle is the Queen Leene. Lucca then explains that Marle is gone because with the search party called off for the REAL princess, Marle expires as her descendant is not found.
Leave Guardia Castle and then fight some battles with Lucca around Guardia Forest. It would help to have her learn Flamethrower so that you can have the dual tech Fire Whirl.
Manolia Cathedral
Head on over to Manolia Cathedral. You may have already been here, but it doesn’t take too much to see these ladies are nuts. Search the blue spot on the floor and a battle looms. There is a hairpin here (Guardia’s Royal Crest). Use Fire Whirl to burn through three of these Naga enemies. Not too difficult but they do yield 320 Gold.
Another Naga comes in, but a frog with a sword comes in to slash it away. Go with the frog despite Lucca’s phobia. Frog is like Crono, a master with the sword. They have the same exact armor (assuming you got the Bronze Helm for Crono earlier), but Frog fights with a Bronze Sword instead of Bronze Blade. As you see he is of the Water element, similar to Marle (though she is Ice-based). Lucca is the Fire Elemental user while Crono specializes in Lightning Elements.
Play the piano to continue on. It opens a path to the east. Take the left path for an Athenian Water and Potion. Take the north path up the stairs and all the way to a spiked door and a Steel Saber (+5 attack from the Bronze Blade). Now by the spiked door, you can see a skull on the left side. Work your way over there and hit it to lower the spikes. Two soldiers locked in here, along with a Strength Capsule on your left. They say the Queen is in the back, and there is a shrine somewhere for the Fiendlord.
Return south a bit, to the other room. Search the white thing on the desk for a hidden Naga Bromide. Three Underlings will come out to stop you, but a Fire Whirl should do them in. The three treasures are an Ether, Maiden’s Suit and a Potion. The Maiden’s Suit will bring Lucca’s physical defense closer to average (+8 from Padded Vest).
Go to the east end now. You will have to go through some Vipers, but they shouldn’t be hard. The room in the far northeast has the Queen and Chancellor. Well, they are impostors. Take the the Ether and 100 Gold, but as you leave they turn into Vipers. The room south of here is the break room for the monsters.
Time to head up the north path. Evade the enemies as best you can, but you’ll have to fight the two Vipers and two Nagas at the end. Good time to use Fire Wheel. At this point Frog learned Slurp Flash, which also triggers X-Strike, a good dual tech between Frog and Crono.
New area now. The blue spot on the floor is a save point. We are almost finished with A Vanished Princess. Up the stairs and west for a Shelter. Take the left route now, and the stairs will turn into a slide as you go. Evade the Underling and then the Mad Bats. Hit the skull switch to lower the spikes in the center room.
Circle around clockwise now, grabbing the Panacea and Potion. Two Underlings and two Bats are ahead. The Underlings are brutes but one little Fire Whirl will maul them. Continue going clockwise, hitting the next skull switch you see to lower more spikes. Head to this center room now to defeat the two Diablos and three Underlings. Grab the Iron Sword for Frog (+2 from Bronze Sword) and then go to the piano and press A. You’ll play the tune, and a door to the north opens. Might have to fight a battle on your way there. Also, the note changes (If you’re that determined to get through, by all means).
A few battles to fight in this area, with Underlings and Nagas. Good time to use a Shelter at the northwest save point if you are low on techs. The Chancellor and the real Leene are ahead. Leene flees, and then the Chancellor turns into Yakra. Yakra has weak regular attacks (10-15 damage) but will counterattack almost all of your attacks. The only time he won’t counter is if he is too close to a certain character (this is a good strategy, to wait and only attack with characters that are right by him. Otherwise he counters the entire party for 10-15). He also has a scream attack on all members for the same amount of damage. That’s about all there is to this one, though Yakra will bust out the Needle Spin for 45-50 damage to one character. X-Strike him to death (about 170+ damage each time). Only 50 EXP and 5 TP for this win (600 gold though).
Before leaving, grab the Mid-Ether and the real Guardia Chancellor from the chest. Talk to Leene and thankfully you will automatically return to Guardia Castle.
Guardia Castle
Frog is disgraced that he failed to protect Queen Leene. He leaves the castle, while the King and Queen wonder about that girl that appeared at Truce Canyon. Lucca suggests that Marle / Princess Nadia might be where she disappeared. Go up the stairs to find out.
Marle indeed comes back, and admits to being the princess of years later. Time to head back to Truce Canyon, as Lucca will use the Gate Key on that portal which takes you back to 1000 A.D.
1000 A.D.
Guardia Castle
Lucca heads off upon returning. Time to take Marle back to the Castle. Buy her a Maiden’s Suit and Iron Blowgun first.
Unfortunately those at the castle don’t look favorably on Crono (the irony, after just saving their kingdom). The Chancellor in particular leads the charge, and before you know it, Crono is being prosecuted. Crono’s behavior on the date with Marle is in question. Whether you are guilty or not doesn’t really matter. If you are not guilty you are to be executed in 3 days anyway.
Prison Towers
Crono wakes up in jail. Take a drink to restore your HP / MP, and the pink bag is an Ether from a sympathizer. Save your game and then bang on the doors a few times. You will have one guard to maul and you can rest for free afterward so you can unleash anything you want.
Can’t get in the west cell with the chests at the moment so go upstairs and use Cyclone on the Sentries. Obviously they are easy to defeat once they are not behind the shields. Take the stairs going up on the west end to see two more cells. Again, the west-most one will not open, but the other one does. However a Lancer will be brought to life here.
Time to take the stairs going east (southmost ones). You’ll come to a Royal Guard. Defeat him and open the gate as four treasures are within (two Mid-Potions and two Ethers). However, as you are leave a huge enemy with a spiked wrecking ball comes in. This is Gaoler. Fortunately he’ll miss often, so just unload with Cyclone on him. He does have a Crushing Blow for 50-60 damage, so heal up after your second attack on him.
Take the stairs going up to the east end after this, but Crono will be ambushed by two Royal Guards. In the next area, you see a Royal Guard on patrol. Wait for him to turn his back and rush in to knock him out without a battle. Search him for a Mid Potion. Further east for another Royal Guard. Defeat him and go into the nearby cell for a Mid Potion and a guy ready for a guillotine. This is Fritz from the Truce Market. Go through the door here and take the Bronze Armor. Obviously, those two skeletons turn into Lancers, so just Cyclone them when they get close to each other. You may wish to return and rest, but to continue just take the northwest exit in the guillotine room, and you’ll have another opportunity at a Royal Guard to hit for a Mid Potion.
Next area has two Sentry’s. Beat them up and then go southwest, down the stairs. Inside the first cell is a Shelter, and the nearby cell has a body that turns to bones upon examining. Back up the stairs and take the ones going up and west to see a path to the exterior of the tower. Climb the wall down to a new path, which is one of the cells you couldn’t get into. It has a Shelter and a pit to jump in. This is the real prize – 1500 Gold and a Silver Sword (+3 attack from Steel Saber). Back up a few levels and climb back up the exterior tower wall. This time we take the stairs going up on the east end.
Fight a few Royal Guards, and then you see the Warden. He’ll flee but Lucca comes in and knocks him out. Read the note that is nearby – just use physical attacks on the Head of the machine ahead to destroy it’s means of healing. Oh, and take the five Mid Potions from the Warden. Rest and save your game.
Up ahead is the Dragon Tank. Just use regular attacks on the Dragon Head as if you target multiple parts, it will heal. The Dragon Tank doesn’t really take off much initially, though it can attack both members by running them over. 40 EXP 5 ability points and 500 gold coins. Watch the Chancellor’s funny face before you use him as a bridge. Take the Shelter as you go down the stairs.
Guards on the first floor are ready to stop you. However Princess Nadia comes out and orders them to stand down. The King then comes out and denounces her, but Marle then decides to leave with you. Head through the east route in the forest to a gate, which takes us to the Bangor Dome.
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Bangor Dome
Nothing to do here but there is a huge sealed door near you. Exit this place and go south to the Trann Dome.
Trann Dome
Talk to the first guy. He’ll be glad to see you have cash. Buy the Pocket Blaster(+6 for Lucca) and then three pairs each of Iron Suits and Iron Helms. This should vastly improve your defense especially your females. Use the Enertron to restore your HP / MP. Head out and go north of both domes.
Site 16
As you enter, head east and evade the rat-like creature to grab the valuable Berserker Ring. Put this on Crono and he’ll go around and one-hit kill most of the enemies around here (but he cannot be controlled so no tech-using). Anyway, go north after getting the sword and then east a bit to see a Silver Sword treasure. Further north, evading more of those potion-stealing rats, for a Silver Bow (+3 attack for Marle). Continue north through some optional battles and east to a new screen.
Three strange Shadows in this area. You will need Fire Wheel to hit them. Move on eastward to find a path leading south. Take this to the southwest corner for an Ether. If you take this lower path east you will fight two battles of Shadows, so you may wish to remove the Berserk Ring. The above route has that big brown Mutant, who has 300 HP but is slow moving and easy to dispose of with a Berserked Crono. One last Mutant before the exit to the overworld.
Arris Dome
Three new places to go to, but Arris Dome first. The Old Man will greet you. You will learn more about this area, and of Death Peak. Rest up, save, buy any equipment you couldn’t before, and head down the ladder.
A console is ahead but we don’t know the password. Head up the stairs, and all the way north to a new screen (check the note on the frozen vermin). Please take off the Berserk Ring if you have it, otherwise you won’t win the upcoming battle.
Further ahead is a huge robot, aptly named the Guardian. It has two Pods with it, which you must destroy before attacking the Guardian itself (lest you want to provoke it to do an attack of 50-60 damage on everyone each time the Guardian is attacked). The Pods attacks are much weaker and they do not have much HP, so they are easy to kill if you gang up on one at a time. Flamethrower is good to use on the Pods and Crono will likely get his fair share of critical hits. Once both pods are destroyed, the Guardian will count to 5 and then restore the two pods (though they seem to have less HP after being ‘revived’). Don’t use Flamethrower or Fire Whirl on the Guardian, it does 0. Just physical attacks. The Guardian has a ton of HP but yields some nice rewards as well.
In the room ahead is a dead guy who has a seed in his hand. Grab the Mid-Ether and search the guy one more time to hear that you need to catch the rat. It tells you the password to the console (hold L and R, then press A to activate the switch). Probably going to want to head back to rest and save though, then go up to the console below and press the code. The bridge appears.
The Exterminator here will attack anything that moves. Use Fire Whirl to dice these enemies up and grab the Mid-Ether. These Insect enemies ahead are easy to evade if you choose to do so. Take the north path all the way on the next floor to see the Supercomputer. Seems that the Gate we need to get to is at Proto Dome. Marle then hits a button that activates the sequence of Lavos coming in 1999. If you wish to watch this scene you may.
You can explore around a bit more and fight some new enemies like Version 2.0, but there is not much else here to do at the moment. Doan and friend are surprised to see you back, though only a seed has been procured. Doan thanks you and hands you the Jetbike Key, which will allow the party to go through Sector 32.
You can head straight to Sector 32, or you can take a side quest through the Abandoned Sewers.
Abandoned Sewers
The east route leads to some enemies and 600 Gold. Take the west route to find some battles and see some monsters talking about a bridge that used to be there. Rest up and head down the southwest stairs.
Read the note to the west and then walk through this area, not touching anything you see; the cat, the save point, nothing (otherwise a fish battle looms).
Head north in the new area but look for a skinny path east that leads to a switch. This opens a door. More enemies conversing as you follow the path all the way north to a Rage Band. Heal up after this, as Krawlie is ahead of us. When he says his line that’s when he’s going to attack for heavy damage. This will reduce a character’s HP to 1, so make sure to heal immediately. Even his normal attacks do 50 damage but he doesn’t attack that often. Crono and the Berserk Ring can make short work of this fight as he is likely to get a critical hit for 170+ HP.
Heal up and continue south all the way and then west for a Thunder Blade (+2 attack for Crono). Up the stairs now. You can check out Death Peak but it is impossible to climb before long, as the wind will throw you back. But if you stick to the right side and run along and search you can find a Strength Capsule. Keeper’s Dome has a weird machine and an Old Man talking about some inventions and Death Peak.
Time to return back to the Sewers. As you enter, take the west path to hit the switch. This should let you go northwest and to the exit sooner. This is the end of this optional route, so it’s time to continue the story at Sector 32.
Sector 32.
Grab the Mid-Potion right in front of you. Search the vehicle north of you and “Johnny” comes out. The race ahead isn’t too hard. Just try to time a speed burst at the very end, and it’d help if you could get ahead of him before that and have him bounce behind you. Exit Sector 32, and head towards the Proto Dome.
Proto Dome
You have to fight through a few sets of Exterminators here, but use all the Techs you want because an Enertron is ahead. Further to the north is a robot and a nice cut scene. You get to meet Robo, who seems to be a robot with a kind heart. He is willing to head to the factory up north to restore power at this Proto Dome, so that the gateway can be accessed. Choose between Marle or Lucca to stay back (I choose Marle to stay back because Robo has a Cure Beam).
Derelict Factory
North of Proto Dome is the Derelict Factory. Access the front computer with Robo. Take the factory elevator in the northeast. Go down the first ladder, then go west and north through that door. Looks like a dead end but run around and search back in there for a Mid-Ether. Now go south a bit (not down the left-most ladder, but the next one). Walk a LONG way west for a Bandit’s Bow. Now take the ladder that gets you in the southeast area. Another door to go through and you’ll be on the conveyor belt. If you run into a robot you’ll get into a series of battles, but if you evade them you can get to the same area without the battling. Go south to a new area now.
Evade these things and go east and up to the next door. You are now in the rafters of the main factory room. Go north until you can go east, and take that to the Mid Potion. Now go in that nearby door. Grab the Mid Potion and 400 Gold. The computer in the center tells you the controls, or you could just read ahead to get the controls and skip this computer (which leads to a battle).
Go to the northwest now. The western ladder down leads to nothing, but go in the door and get the treasures for a Shelter and Ether. Take that southwest exit in the room for a chance to activate the crane. Hit “X, A” to move one of those huge orange blockades, then “B, B” for another. This opens up that path directly below you, which goes west. Climb down the ladder and take this west exit.
A Thunder Blade and another computer. ZABIE ULTRA-HIGH SECURITY DOOR LOCK SYSTEM CODE: XABY.
Return to the very beginning with the note on the wall between the two elevators. This time, take the northwest elevator down to a save point, and then north for a battle and a computer to check out. This opens up the hatch which you should climb down. Fight a few battles as you work you way west and south, then back east looking for a door inside. Grab the treasure on the west end for a Titanium Vest. The right side has a Hammer Arm and a computer. The computer will stop the lasers.
Go down a floor, either with the ladder in the center room or take the elevator. On this floor, take the center route going north. The treasure is a Plasma Gun for Lucca (+7 attack). Check the console now. We know the password is ZABIE (X-A-B-Y). Enter and hit the switch. Uh oh, time to flee.
The elevator will not work, so go up the stairs and then take the long clockwise route in the next floor. A bunch of blue Robo’s come out and put the boots to Robo. Time for Crono to get revenge. Obviously you will have a more capable healer with Marle in this battle, but this battle isn’t too hard even with Crono Berserked the whole time. If not Crono does not have the Berserk Ring on, Cyclone works well too. Once the R-Series is no more, it’s time to pull Robo out and continue out.
Proto Dome
Robo is repaired overnight by Lucca, and then he wishes to come with you to save the world. And hey, the gate is right in the back. This one heads to the End of Time.
End of Time
Strange place here. Check out the flashing blue light by the save point for an HP / MP restoration, and then save. Talk to the old guy, who explains that this is where groups of four or more from different worlds go. Only three members can travel at a time, and the remaining members stay back here.
For the moment, bring Marle and Lucca along. Go into the north room as the old man suggests. Spekkio is within, a strange monster. Spekkio explains that Crono and friends have the ability to learn magic. Crono learns Lightning, Lucca learns Fire and Marle learns Water. Robo does not learn anything but his Laser Spin counts as Dark / Shadow magic. You can try out this magic on Spekkio but he’ll blow you away at this point (only magic hits him).
Back outside, the Old Man wants to talk again. Stop by anytime, he says.
1000 A.D. The Present
Medina Village
1000 A.D. is where you want to go. You end up in Medina Village, in the cabinet of some Imps. They say most Monsters haven’t forgiven the humans after losing the war 400 years ago. Sure enough, head to the Market and try to plead to buy things. Even after you win the battle, the Underling will overprice everything. Head to the Elder’s House to see Elder Ozzie, and check just west of him on the kitchen counter for a Speed Capsule. Then go upstairs and search the southwest for a Magic Capsule.
Melchior’s Cabin
Far to the west is Melchior’s Cabin. Finally, a place to buy weapons. Everyone but Crono should have their weapon though, as Marle for example has a Bandit’s Bow from the Factory in the future. Buy a Crimson Blade for Crono (+3 attack from Thunder Blade but also +2 magic too). Other than that, buy a few Titanium Vests for whoever doesn’t have them.
Heckran Cave
North of Melchior’s place is the Cave of Heckran. The enemies within have a strong physical defense, though a Berserked Crono can still do a serviceable amount of damage.
Follow the path counterclockwise and take the Ether. The exit is further to the southwest but you’ll fight a few Cave Stalkers and a Djinn Bottle, which requires magic to truly pierce.
Next area we have two Rhino Weevil’s just as you enter. These enemies will only be downed by magic. Time to make a quick detour south. A battle with some Boundillo’s first and then some Cave Bats. Burn them and grab the Magic Scarf, great for someone like Lucca to add +2 to magic. Go west now, grabbing the Mid-Ether and an Ether along the route. Take the far west exit south to a new area filled with Boundillos. Another battle and then you can take the western opening.
North in the new area, fighting some more Cave Stalkers and that Djinn Bottle. Exit to the north along with one of those sealed treasure chests. Now it’s time to head down the steps and east through the water and then north. Use a Shelter and save at the save point.
In the next area is Heckran. Regardless of who you have with, you will need to rely on magic techs to do damage on Heckran. Physical attacks will do next to nothing. Crono can use Lightning, and I happened to have the two ladies with so Antipode Bomb is a good tech for close to 300 damage.
Heckran’s Nereid Cyclone will do about 90-100 damage on a single member. Afte a bit of damage, Heckran will go in a defensive mode and bait you to attack him. Don’t do anything, instead use Aura Whirl or whatever healing Tech’s you have to rest up. Eventually Heckran will disengage and you can continue to spam Antipode Bomb on him. Heckran will continue to go in this mode every once in a while, so be sharp about when you use your attacks. He will cast Water 2 if you attack while guarding, which is a problem. Heckran has over 2000 hit points so this battle will take a while. 10 Tech Points and 1500 Gold or your efforts.
Upon fleeing, Heckran mentions Lord Magus summoning Lavos 400 years ago. Hmm. Head north as you gain control, jump into the pool and you will be near Truce.
Check Lucca’s House. Talk to Taban and he has Taban’s Vest for Lucca. Only +1 defense from a Titanium Vest, but also +2 Speed and halves fire damage.
The Truce Market is worth stopping in, if you saved Fritz from the guillotine a while back. He will show his appreciation by handing you 10 Mid-Ethers.
Not much else to do before going to Leene Square, though it’s probably worth resting at Crono’s House and checking back in with his mom. When you are ready, go to Leene Square and then to the back with the gate.
End of Time
First thing you should notice is that there are two new gates at the End of Time (one being the one you just took, and also the Truce Canyon 600 A.D. gateway). Restore your HP / MP if you need to, save, and then head off to Truce Canyon.
600 A.D. The Middle Ages
Truce Canyon
Exit Truce Canyon as you normally would. According to the residents, the Fiend’s army has pushed all the way to the bridge. Head over to Zenan Bridge when you are ready.
Zenan Bridge
Speak with everyone here. Some sound hopeless, just waiting for the hero with the “badge” to come save them. The Commander mentions that the troops are starving and is wondering where the food is. Time to head to the castle.
Guardia Castle
You are stopped as you enter. Visit the King by going north and up the northwestern stairs. He is resting in his bed and mentions that the “Hero” is off to the southern continent to find a sword that can slay the Fiendlord.
The more immediate matter must be dealt with at the kitchen. At the Guardia Castle entrance, go right and then up to go downstairs. The Master Chef will bicker about having to send food, but talk to everyone and then exit. The Master of Kitchens comes out to hand you some Spiced Jerky. As a reward for being the middle man, Crono receives a Strength Capsule. Use this, and then it is time to head back to the Zenan Bridge.
Zenan Bridge
Make sure you rest, save, and buy anything you would like at the Market before heading here. It would probably be smart to have Robo out of the lineup as his Laser Spin magic won’t do damage on the undead enemies ahead, and having Lucca’s Fire Magic and Marle’s Healing / Ice magic is needed.
Give the Commander the food. As you do, the enemies draw near. Tell the Commander that you too will fight the enemy forces, and Crono gets a Gold Helm.
The first battle you face is between two Skeletons and Ozzie. Fire is obviously best here as physical attacks will do paltry numbers. Shortly after this Ozzie revives three Skeletons for a second battle. Same strategy, just use Fire Whirl on the nearby Skeletons and attack them a few times to finish them off. 14 ABP between the two battles. Rest up after this.
Ozzie summons a bunch of skeletons that bunch together to form Zombor. Antipode Bomb is really nice in this battle for doing damage to the top half, but save it for the end and focus on the bottom (Antipode’s Ice heals the lower half.) Lucca’s Fire should do about 160 each turn to the lower half. After a while Zombor will back up, start chanting death, death, death, and then will send out a beam that does 90 damage to all members. Zombor will also use this move when you defeat the lower part, which can be nasty if you do it right after he uses it the first time. The top half of Zombor is left, which is strong against Fire and heals from Ice. The top part of Zombor has a weird black hole suction type attack that will take off 60 to each character. Shouldn’t be too hard to stay healed though Marle’s Ice is best against it and she is usually the healer. At the very end, the top part of Zombor will use MP Buster, which will drain the TP for whoever killed it. This is why it’s best to destroy the bottom part first.
The attack at Zenan Bridge has been repelled.
Dorino
Nothing much at the market or the Elder’s house, though you will see Toma talking to the village elder about a Rainbow Shell. Buy Toma a drink at the Inn to speak more. He mentions a strange beast to the south, and it’s a frog. Hmm, maybe it’s our old friend, “Frog”. Go to the Residence and talk to the Old Man (has to be from the right side, for some reason) and he will see your Naga Bromide (from the Cathedral). He unlocks his drawer, begging you to take his Magic Capsule.
Further south from Dorino is Fiona’s Villa. Talk to her for a bit and grab the two Mid-Ether’s.
Porre Village
Modest village. The market has some nice things, as the Porrean Beret is a cheap upgrade for the females and the Golden Suit is a +7 upgrade for almost everyone. The only one who shouldn’t bother to get one is Lucca as Taban’s Armor is probably more effective with the speed bonus and halving fire damage.
At the tavern, you learn that the legendary hero is Tata from this village. You can buy Toma another drink and he tells you that he knows the Rainbow Shell is on a small island nearby.
Cursed Woods
It’s time to head northwest of Porre to the Cursed Woods. Grab the Mid-Potion and Shelter, and then run to the very north part of the Cursed Woods. You will see a little brown enemy come out of the bush in the back, so check the back of the bush to find a ladder.
Climb down and you will see that you have invaded Frog’s home. Grab the Magic Scarf, but the other treasure won’t open. Crono will tell Frog that his majesty has been wounded. Unfortunately Frog is depressed and wants to be alone. Looks like we’ll have to at least come up with the Masamune sword first.
Denadoro Mountains
The Denadoro Mountains is a long venture. Again you will probably want to leave Robo out, as Lucca is absolutely necessary with his fire magic against the enemies ahead and Marle will allow for Antipode Bomb against the upcoming bosses.
300 Gold chest just northwest as you enter. The Ogan’s you meet here are overrated – they do weak damage and can be killed in one hit. You will meet some with a weapon later on that are more dangerous, but you also got a tip that by using Fire on the ones with weapons that the wood burns and then the fight is easy. So keep that in mind as a battle with an Ogan like that is coming. As you get to the north part of the screen you see the ‘Hero’ Tata. Fight a few enemies that come chasing him. Before going up the ladder, take the lower path going north and look west right away. It’s a Mirage Hand treasure for Robo.
Take that ladder and then go straight west for an Ether. Further south for an Athenian Water. Back north to the screen with the ladder, and then go north all the way until you see two Ogan’s, one with a weapon and one not. Use Flamethrower to burn the weapon and defeat them. Grab the 500 Gold and then head east and southeast, but watch out for an Ogan that dashes out at you. Climb the ladder by him and take the far northeast exit.
Ignore the north paths for a second, and instead go east for another Athenian Water and a few Freelancers. Back to the two north paths; the first one leads to a Mid-Ether, while the middle path north has a Golden Helm (should be your second so give it to Robo) and then continue north until you get to an Ogan with a weapon. Further west for a Freelancer who wakes up another Ogan that has a weapon. Now that you are free to go, there are two paths going west. Take the south route for a Mid-Potion and then the northwest route for a new screen.
A Freelancer throws a rock at you here. Grab the Mid-Ether along the north path and take that northeast exit. You are then ambushed in this new area by a stick carrying Ogan and a Freelancer. Take the northeast chest for 600 Gold and then further north to exit.
Real nice view in this area. Nothing else though. In the next screen, look south for 300 Gold. As you walk north down the ramp, a battle with a Bellbird and two Freelancers commences. To the south is a waterfall that you can fall down, but go to the far west end and fall down that way first (to get both of the treasures ahead). You get the wondrous Silver Stud, which reduces the MP you consume by 50%, and then the Silver Earring after jumping down again (this ups your HP by 25%).
After you fall down that waterfall, you will have to go back north to that area with the nice view. North of those Freelancers is a Mid-Potion and to the west is another Freelancer waiting for you. Grab the Mid-Ether and then continue down the stairs, defeat the two Freelancers, and head west. A battle with a few Bellbirds, but then you see one of those furry white creatures. Talk to four times and it will finally just give you a Magic Capsule to go away. Exit this area to the west.
South to save your game. Please use a Shelter too, bosses loom. Go south and grab the Mid-Ether to the east that you see. In the far southwest corner you see a blue thing flashing. It is a Speed Capsule. East to a new area with another Freelancer throwing rocks. Look closely for a Golden Suit before you go down the broken ladder and grab the Shelter. Circle around counter clockwise (where the Freelancer was) and then make your way to the cave. Rest up.
Two kids are within. Well, after you tell them you want the Masamune for yourself, they get leery and change form. I believe Masa is the purple-collared one and the one with the green collar is Mune. Either way, go after the one with the purple collar because he will never counterattack. The other meanwhile will always counterattack with an X-Strike attack for 50 HP. They have a wind attack that confuses an ally, but that is just a nuisance. They both have 1000 HP and you just need to defeat one, so stay rested and take out Masa on the left. You get a small reward for defeating these two.
Masa and Mune are worried. No one since Sir Cyrus has lasted this long. Time to form into Masa & Mune. Use Antipode Bomb liberally in this battle, though Marle will need to use Aura too. This boss has a single-ally wind attack for about 80 damage and he will also store energy for a 120+ damage attack on everyone. You want to use Crono’s Wind Slash to dissipate his Wind-storing ability. If you can always manage to do this, he will never threaten you (although he seems to act faster and take off more damage with his attacks towards the end). Just use Aura Whirl to stay ahead (you probably don’t have Cure yet for Marle, though you may). Masa & Mune have upwards of 3500 HP, so don’t expect a short battle.
When you finally win, Masa and Mune return to the human kid forms they had earlier. Go north to see and acquire the Broken Masamune. Masa and Mune then provide wind for you to fly off the Denadoro Mountains.
Head over to Porre Village and then to Tata’s House. He will hand over the Hero’s Badge. Now return to the Cursed Woods. Crono will show him the Hero’s Badge and that will get Frog a little excited, but then he is sad that he does not have the Masamune. Go search that flashing blue light for the other part of the broken Masamune! On this is an engravement – M E L C H I O R. Melchior. We know him from Medina Village 1000 A.D..
Make the long journey to the Truce Canyon and then the End of Time. Rest, save, and go to Medina Village.
Medina Village 1000 A.D.
Melchior is very interested in the Masamune Sword, but knows that it cannot be fixed without a rare red dreamstone that is no longer of this world. Long long ago he says.
Mystic Mountains 65,000,000 B.C.
Just as you enter, there will be five Reptites waiting for you. Easy battle especially with Laser Spin from Robo, and then you get to see a scene with a strong forest lady :) She takes out a bunch of Reptites but you still have four more to defeat. After these battles you get to meet Ayla. Follow her as she runs off.
In the next screen look to your left as you go south for a Berserker’s Ring. Fight the enemies along the way, they should be easy to kill with magic and reward you with a lot of tech points.
Ioka Village
The Ioka huts are to the east. Visit them all but it seems we cannot trade yet. The northwest hut is where Ayla is, so talk to her and then it will be night fall. Enjoy the party and talk to everyone. Speak with Ayla multiple times and soon Crono will find himself in a drinking contest with Ayla. Just press A really fast.
Crono and friends wake up the next day, passed out. Unfortunately, someone stole the Gate Key while Lucca was getting drunk. Once you regain control, go around the village for clues.
The northeast hut is now open for trading, though you likely don’t have enough to trade at the moment. Which is a shame because there are many nice weapons and armor here. But that’s why I suggest you go and spend some time at the Hunting Range north of the village.
Hunting Range
Run around and clear the normal enemies from the screen. The real prize is when it rains and a Nu will show up in a few designated spots. Nu’s will rotate from the northwest, northeast and southeast corners. If you get used to the area and are fast, you should be able to run and check all three places in one rain session. You have to be quick to find it, but you get some huge rewards; 3 of all the trade items, a Third Eye Accessory the first time you beat it, and the best prize is the 30 TP. It’s a great way to get your party ready for the Fiendlord. Spamming Fire Sword or Ice Sword is a good way to quickly dispose of a Nu.
As mentioned, you will want to get around 20 of each trade good. Marle’s Shaman’s Bow is a +10 increase in attack, Crono’s Mammoth Tusk provides +5 for attack but he loses the +2 for magic the Crimson Blade gave. The Ruby Gun is a +10 upgrade for Lucca. You will want a lot of Ruby Vests as they are +6 defense from the Golden Suit’s and also halve fire. The Stone Helm is only a +2 or +3 upgrade but still worth getting to at least sell later on.
Forest Maze
When you feel you are ready, head south to the Forest Maze. Kino is here in the first screen. The loon took our Gate Key and gave it to the Reptites.
Grab the Mid-Potion as you run east, then go down the vine and south for another treasure. Two Golden Eaglets are here and must be defeated first. Take the Athenian Water and go east, down another vine and over a bridge. North and west for a Mid-Ether. Back to the bridge and south for a Mid-Potion. Continue with that northeast route until you get to the far corner. There is a Bao-Bao here but Ayla + Berserk Ring can kill it in one attack. Look to the west as you travel south to get the Athenian Water.
Head to the far southeast corner for a Shelter and a path that leads to the upper path. This eventually works it way back north and west to the initial part of the screen, but on that higher level in the southern part of the map. At the north-south split going west, take the north route that leads to the ground level. Take that to the southeast for a Mid Ether. Return to that fork and take the southern route going west and look for a Mid-Potion in the south. Further west and south is a Panacea and then the exit.
Reptite Lair
Ahead of us is the Reptite Lair. Take the east exit to a big room with several Aecyto Weevil’s walking around. Eventually, they dig holes all over the map. This is how we will advance in the cave, but there are treasures in various holes so it’s hard to know which ones to take going in. Most of the treasures aren’t very important and even the equipment ones (Ruby Vests) you probably already have 1 million of from the Hunting Range grinding earlier. At the end we can climb back up and go down all the holes anyway, if you really feel intent on grabbing each treasure. If there is a hole you’d want to go down though, try for the Elixir which requires a Weevil to dig a hole in the southeastern part of the map. Drop down, grab the Mid Ether, and wait for a Weevil to dig a hole in the eastern side of the screen to get the Elixir. If you drop down the hole already on the left side, you get a Ruby Vest.
After this is the bottom floor, with Reptites running all around. Check the treasure in the northeast corner for a Reptite and a Megasaur battle. Use Lightning on the Megasaur to lower it’s physical defense by a lot (remember this tactic for an upcoming boss battle). Grab the Hi-Ether after the battle, and then go southwest for a Stone Helm. East to enter a new area.
There is a Bao Bao and Mossback here, easy victims. Two more Mossbacks and a Bao Bao to the north but they can be avoided easily. At the very far north is another Megasaur, this time with two Reptites. Cast Lightning on the Megasaur and romp on him. A save point emerges, so use a Shelter and save.
Ahead is Azala, ruler of the Reptites. You can tell him about the Gate Key if you wish, not that he believes you. After this, Nizbel comes from the back. This boss is a lot like the Megasaur in that his physical defense is staunch until you hit him with Lightning a few times to shock him and then his defense turns to mush. Use this once, beat him up for a few turns, then rest up. Get ready for an Aura Whirl because every once in a while in this battle Nizbel will release the electric power with Electric Discharge. This does 150+ damage to all! It helps to have Haste on Marle if you have it, to ensure the healing gets done. After the Electric Discharge, Crono will need to cast Lightning again because his defense reverted. Repeat this process until Nizbel goes (around 4200+ HP). Ice Sword does 550-600 damage so that will help, though both Crono and Marle are needed for other things in this battle.
Finally, the Gate Key is back in your hands.
Ioka Village
The party appears back at Ayla’s Hut at Ioka. They say their goodbyes and Kino apologizes again.
Now that you have both party member slots open sans Ayla, you may wish to spend some more time at the Hunting Range building up TP. Remember, we can always come back here later too. Also with a new friend coming back to the party (I’m sure you can guess who) it’ll require another trip back here just for him.
At the End of Time, make your way to Medina Village 1000 A.D. to meet up with Melchior. If Lucca is in your party she will help Melchior in repairing the Masamune (and I think Robo takes charge if it’s Robo / Marle with). Talk to Melchior and the one repairing the Masamune with him a few times, and eventually they will finish and unveil the fixed Masamune sword.
600 A.D. The Middle Ages
Cursed Woods
Return to the Cursed Woods once more. With the Hero’s Badge and now the Masamune sword in tow, Frog cannot resist any longer. After a night of sleep, Frog makes his decision. You see a scene overnight with Glenn and Sir Cyrus. Sir Cyrus suffers his ultimate defeat, and Glenn is turned into Frog.
That was 10 years from now. Finally Frog has joined, so equip him with newer defensive equipment and an accessory. Return back to Truce Canyon and the End of Time. Visit Spekkio with Frog now in your party. He is granted use of Water magic. As mentioned earlier, now that you can build up Tech points with Frog, it might be a good plan to return to 65,000,000 BC to build up tech’s for Frog at the Hunting Range. Or you might want to wait until you get the Masamune before you build up as Frog is a bit better with a Masamune than an Iron Sword.
Magic Cave
The Magic Cave is on the eastern end of the southwestern continent (600 A.D.), just east of Fiona’s Villa. As you enter the Magic Cave, the entrance is blocked. Frog has a flashback from earlier times in his life, including when Magus turned him into a Frog. After this, we get a cool scene of Frog slashing the entrance of the cave in half. Frog now has the Masamune equipped and probably has a higher attack than Crono even.
A bat follows you from the beginning of this cave. You can burn through the Grimlings and Vampire Bats with Fire 2 or Lightning 2 (more likely that you have that). A few battles at the end if you wish to fight the 5 Grimlings. The dead soldier has a note about the Jugglers that require you to switch between physical and magical attacks.
Fiendlord’s Keep
Go through the left route. Weird humans are here, somehow they don’t seem real. Grab the Mid-Ether and go all the way north. There is a Shelter and a Mid-Ether. It’s a dead end so return to the beginning, and this time take the right exit.
Take the Mid-Ether and talk to the King and Queen. Crono’s mom is also here. Just go to the very end, and it’s another dead end. Return to the beginning of the castle. Hit the ‘save point’ that just appeared, but it’s not a save point. Just signals Ozzie to come out. Ozzie says that Magus is busy, but that he will keep you busy along with Flea, Slash and the 100 other enemies this castle boasts. Use Lightning 2 to mop up the legion of enemies Ozzie sends at you right away.
Save and use a Shelter if you need to. Now time to return down those left / right side paths. Let’s take the left one first. Evade the Gaolers and Skeletons if you wish. In the far room you will have to take out 5 Lancers that were formerly humans. X-Strike is nice in this battle for a good 500+ damage each time. Bring Marle along to cast Haste on both of them and they will really mop-up with X Strike since it is only 2 TP each. Slash only has a few thousand HP so that can whittle down quickly, but try to stay as healed as possible because at the end he uses a flame bomb tactic for about 30 damage to each character.
That battle was a little too easy, of course. Time for a new battle and Slash has his sword now. He likes his Wind Slash type ability which can hit a few characters if they are in a row. You will have to cast Haste on yourself again, but it’s a big help again to make sure you stay healed with Frog’s Heal and Aura Whirl. With Haste and X Strike, they should be able to make quick work of even this battle, though your TP may be exhausted. Fortunately, Slash leaves a save point behind him and also his sword, the Slasher. This is a very nice sword for Crono – only +1 attack from the Mammoth Tusk, but +2 speed.
After using a Shelter and saving, take that eastern route. Talk to the ‘kids’, and say you want the treasure. They turn into Shadows, which can be killed in one shot from Wind Slash. Take the Barrier Sphere and continue to the next room. Queen Leene stops you, but turns into a Sorcerer. Defeat it with physical attacks and mop up the Underlings and Bats.
Next room you will see what seems to be Flea the Magician. Just one X-Strike should do it, but this Flea? will use MP Buster to take all of your MP. This is a problem because it turns out the real Flea has been with us for a while, ever since entering the Magic Cave. Flea is the bat, which changes her / his form afterward. Flea is more of a pest than a boss that delivers deadly attacks. Flea can slap you to sleep, Confuse an ally, and also has Rainbow Storm which causes poison and 40-50 damage. Spend the first few rounds of this battle restoring the TP of whoever got hit with the MP Buster earlier (likely Crono) and having Marle caste Haste on everyone. Then heal up and have Frog and Crono use X Strike again. Towards the end, Flea will use The Look, which causes Crono to attack everyone for 70-80 damage. Heal after this and then finish the fight. Flea has just over 4100 HP which doesn’t seem like a lot but you can really only do 350-400 each time with X Strike so it takes a while.
Grab the Magic Capsule on the ground, then walk out of the castle and rest / save. Return in and step on the ‘save’ point which is actually just a teleport now. You are then in a new area, with two Underlings just north of you. More underlings ahead but you will fight them with other enemies now including the dangerous Sorcerers. The fourth battle includes two of each enemy, and then you can grab the Mist Robe at the top and talk to Ozzie.
In the next room Ozzie has some guillotines set up. They are easy to avoid for the most part. Grab the Dark Mail which ups your Magic Defense. Ozzie speeds things up after this, but it still isn’t hard evading the guillotines as they drop. Ozzie flees once more and you can take the Death Claw.
This next area is dark and hard to see (and narrow, so hard to evade enemies). If you get in a fight and a Juggler is near, remember to attack physically and then with magic and continue to rotate. The following room is where Ozzie has his trap doors. First of all, you should at least fall down once, so beat up the Lancers when you land. There are two treasures in the northeast and two treasures in the northwest (Barrier Sphere, Shelter, Lapis and a Mid-Ether). There are now four ‘save’ points, but only one is a save point. The one across from the save point is the portal back to the room with Ozzie and the floor with holes. The other two save points are battles that you should probably fight just for the EXP and TP, because they’re easy.
Ozzie flees and you are at another one of those exterior levels where there is not a lot of room to evade battles, especially with the Outlaws. The Roundillo Bombers will blow up and take off 50 against everyone before they die, so try to avoid getting in a battle with them.
At the very top, you are in a room with elevators. You fight more Jugglers as you get further north. The third and final battle in this room is against four Jugglers (start off with a Lightning 2). The next room has guardian statues that summon enemies (though they are easy to avoid if you choose to walk on the edges). At the far north is an Athenian Water.
Next room is Ozzie’s last stand. A Magic Scarf at the northeast (though you should have plenty of these) but also a valuable Mist Robe. Talk to Ozzie now. He turns himself into a huge shard of ice to protect himself. Don’t attack him, but attack lever controlling the ropes around the room. The fourth one is the one that drops Ozzie.
Hit the right save point and use a Shelter, then save. Who do you want to use in your fight against Magus? Most people are going to use Marle and that’s the safest bet especially if you are low on level. Robo is not a bad option either, as he can heal both one ally and multiple allies, and he has Laser Spin for shadow damage. Marle and Frog both have ice so it is kind of overkill. However, Marle’s Haste is invaluable. Lucca is good too with her high-powered fire magic, but of course she lacks healing abilities.
That second ‘save’ point teleports you to the exterior, where you run down the stairs from the bats and through a door. You are now late for Magus’ ceremony, as purple flames light. Watch the pre-battle scene with Magus and Frog. Starting this epic battle with Magus, you’ll want to attack with Frog first to lower Magus’ magic defense. He will then counter with an element (and only that element can be used on him). He continues this pattern throughout the first half of the battle, so only counter with magic that he used against you. If you have Marle, cast Haste on everyone as that will allow you to stay healed quite easily. Marle and Crono’s Ice Sword does huge damage, as does Fire Sword. You will have more versatility with Robo and Lucca as they allow you to counter Magus more often but leave you more prone to dying with a lack of healing / speed.
After the Magus battle, he is in disbelief. A strange powerful energy comes from the gate near Magus. What is happening? Crono has a dream that he is at home, except Marle is there complaining to him.
65,000,000 BC Prehistoric
Crono and friends wake up at Ayla’s hut. Magus is no where in sight, but it’s time to rest and save.
The trade hut (northeast hut) has new weapons for everyone but Frog. Dreamstone Gun is +13 for Lucca, Dreamstone Bow is +14 for Marle and the Magma Hand is +11 for Robo. The Primeval Blade adds 15 to Crono’s attack but without the +2 speed bonus the Slasher gives. You’ll have to decide.
Laruba Ruins
North of Ioka is the Laruba Ruins. The elder is complaining to Ayla about the burned down village. Ayla insists on retaliating at the Reptite Lair, but needs a Dactyl first. Time to follow Ayla there.
Dactyl Nest
A Cave Ape and two Schists are right in front of you. Now go all the way to the north to the steps going up, but two Avian Rex’s stop you. Grab the Mid-Ether after the battle and then follow the path back south. Fight the Schists and don’t miss the Mid-Potion tucked in the southeast corner. Take the northeast exit.
More Apes and Schists. All the way north, west, and south. You can avoid the Schists up here if you want, but take the Mesozoic Mail. More Avian Rex’s to the north, but you are close to a Dactyl and Ayla. The party agrees it’s time to go to the Tyranno Lair together.
Tyranno Lair
The Apes here will charge you if you get in their line of vision. Evade them if you wish and take the northeast open-skull to the stairs. Defeat the Reptites and then open the gate with the switch to release some locals. Defeat some more Reptites and take that northeast staircase up.
More Reptites here. I suggest putting Lucca in your party to quickly Fire 2 them all away. Kino is in the cage ahead. Ayla swiftly opens it up and tells Kino to retreat. Take the Mid-Ether and then follow Kino. Kino says some funny stuff and opens up the left skull so you can take this route.
Enemies on both sides, but there are two switches that send them to a level below. Take the right door going south and outside you will have a fight. Those volcano-types will use flame on their entire group if you attack them and they happen to survive, so check it out. The left treasure in this area is a Mid Potion and the right one drops you down a level to the enemies. Defeat them and return back to the left skull.
This time go left and out the south door. Reptites and an Avian Rex. This new room in the building is dark and has all sorts of weird things happen, like monsters popping out of no where and certain spots on the floor teleporting you. There is a Potion in the center, Triceratopper in the southwest, an Athenian Water west of this and a hard-to-get Mesozoic Mail in the northeast. Look for a teleport just southeast of the Athenian Water.
Take the northwest exit and you end up on a balcony with a few fights. Head to the door just east of you for a battle with two Reptites and two Volcanites. East more for the open door but also two Avian Rex’s. In the next room, the skull will open if you hit either switch (the left switch drops monsters down, a Volcanite and Terasaur). Head through, hit the switch, and go through the center door outside (though there will be a few battles).
Our old friend Nizbel is right in front of you as you enter. Just go by him and use a Shelter and save (you can talk to him actually, a fight doesn’t ensue). Prepare by putting Marle in your party to cast Haste on everyone and act as a healer. Try to use Charm early on (or Twin Charm) as Nizbel has a Third Eye. Once you have everyone Hasted, start using Thunder Chomp like mad. This will continually decrease his defense (any other element will increase it). Of course, Nizbel has his Electric Discharge, but that 150 HP isn’t as bad as it was many levels ago. You should have no problem using Cure or Aura Whirl especially with Haste up.
Just Cure yourself – don’t use a shelter yet. Go up the stairs and out onto the balcony up top. East all the way and through the door for three switches. Hit the middle one, grab the Hi-Ether and hit the switch. Now save your game and don’t use a shelter yet (the other two switches cause a few holes in the ground and Terasaurs to drop from the sky).
Take the middle route outside – fight one Terasaur, and then two Terasaurs. Return back to the save point, use a Shelter, and then save (as you surely had to use some Lightning magic on them). Enter the room ahead to see Azala and a beast with a loud voice out back. Grab the Mid-Ether and then the Triceratopper. Heal up, a huge fight looms.
Marle is probably the safest bet as the 3rd character again; for her healing, Haste, Cube Toss (Iceberg Toss), etc. Start the battle off as you would any other, by casting Haste on Marle and then the other two members. Ayla can do some kisses to those who get hit by attacks in the meantime, while Crono can use Lightning on Azala to weaken her. Azala needs to be taken out first or else the big one won’t be hurt at all.
Azala has a teleport – boulder attack that might be her strongest, close to 100 for a character. Psychokinesis and some other attacks do about 50 to one character. The Black Tyranno will use mostly weak attacks early on, but will ‘chomp’ on a character to absorb over 200+ HP, so stay healed because of that. Azala has a strong defense so despite having HP in the 2000’s, it takes a while to get her out of the battle. Try to steal a Magic Capsule from her. Azala uses Azala’s Wrath at the end to sap your group.
The second part of this long battle now begins. Hopefully you have the Silver Stud on someone, but even so you’ll probably need to expend some Ethers + Mid-Ethers to get your TP back up to a reasonable level. Almost immediately after Azala goes, Black Tyranno will lower it’s defenses and start counting to 5. In addition to lowering it’s defenses, you can steal a Strength Capsule as well now. Save the healing for when it gets to about 2 seconds, because you are in Sap condition and your HP will continually get lower so you want to heal later to withstand the Tyranno Flames, which come out at 0 and take off 250+ on each ally. In the meantime though, you can take off nearly 1000 damage with Ice Sword II, Iceberg Toss, Thunder Chomp, etc. It will eat into your TP but you want to do as much damage as possible while it’s defense is low. After the Tyranno Flame, the defense improves and Tyranno uses normal attacks like the chomp drain. Shortly after it starts counting down to 5 again. You should be able to kill it because it gets off the Tyranno Flame a second time, but the Black Tyranno does have 10,500 HP so this will be a LONG battle.
After this battle, Azala seems to know the fate of this planet. The red stone is getting close to hitting land. This red stone being Lavos once it hits, about to ‘usher in a long cruel ice age’. Kino comes to the rescue with the Dactyl’s. Ayla asks Azala if she wants to leave, but she won’t. Lavos then hits the Lair and demolishes the entire area.
Tyranno Lair Ruins
Save, and then enter the Tyranno Lair Ruins. There is a gate here.
12,000 B.C. Middle Ages
Seems we are now in the Middle Ages, 12,000 BC. Exit this “Small Cave” and go east. You will come across a Skyway. Take this up to a much more pleasant looking area, with islands floating in the sky.
Enhasa
Enter Enhasa. This is clearly an advanced civilization, and many within will allude to the Queen’s work with magic as the reason why. Check out the shop, nothing new to buy but you probably have many things to sell. Go to the northwest part of Enhasa to see a young boy who looks eerily similar to someone. Anyway, he mentions that the black wind howls and a member of Crono’s party will die. In this area is a blue glyph on the ground, why restores your HP / MP.
There is also a book in this room that can be opened up and then you see Wind. There are two other books like that in this place, including a Fire and Water one. Open them in this order; Water, Wind and Fire. This opens up a secret passage at the front. A Nu is inside. He says the Guru of Reason is gone. Do you want to challenge me? Only do this battle if you are well rested and have a party full of people who can use level 2 magic attacks. Lucca and Marle would be nice. Put a Magical Scarf on everyone (or maybe a Speed Belt on Marle or Lucca) because the only thing that matters is getting off 5 level 2 elemental attacks. 744 EXP and 90 TP are your rewards! He also gives you a Magic Capsule and Speed Capsule. Alas, this is the only time we can fight this battle, so no hopes of grinding at 90 tp a clip.
Go outside and hit the north Land Bridge. This sends you through a different skyway in the snowy Middle Ages. Head northwest for a new skyway (the mountains may look like something special, but they’re not).
Back up in Zeal, we have Kajar to the west.
Kajar
The guy in the east part of Kajar tells you about the Sun Temple, which the Queen has rendered useless. Speak with the Nu in the middle. Seems he has some nicer things, but we’re not allowed to buy it without the Queen’s permission. West of here is the Water book. Open this up, then the Wind book in the southeast, and the Fire book in the center. Enter the new area. Weird object ahead of you but inside is a Black Gemstone.
Check out the back rooms to learn more about Lady Schala and Lord Janus. You will also hear about the Moon Stone, and even that it can be made back into the Sun Stone if left to the sunlight for aeons.
Leave Kajar and go to the Small Cave (though you can go to the Blackbird where Dalton tells you off, but there is nothing else to do there). Take the warp here and you will be on a higher level.
Zeal Palace
Enter Zeal. Many people here who will speak about anything related to the Magic Kingdom, including Dalton, a strange prophet, and the three Guru’s. Chat with the Nu walking sideways just north as you enter (up a level). You will learn the Nu’s scratching spot. We can use this to get a Nu to move back at Kajar so you can get a Magic Capsule.
Talk to the lady in the southwest part of Zeal, on the upper level. She has a plant from the Guru of Life, so tell her to plant it in secret instead of burning it. This will open up a side quest later in the game.
Enter the bedchambers and enter the far right room to see Schala and Janus. Schala has to leave to the Ocean Palace, and Janus just talks about his cat Alfador and then tells you to leave.
Follow Schala as she uses her pendant and goes through a sealed door. Try to use yours, but to no avail. The two there will imply that Marle’s Pendant is the same as Schala’s. So, head to the Mammon Machine at the far left of Zeal. The room is guarded by a Nu. Go in and Crono will put up the pendant, and it will absorb Lavos’ energy. Marle’s pendant now has the same abilities as Schala’s. This will allow you to open ALL of the treasures and sealed doors you have come across so far. As you can imagine, this leads to a lot of side quests and valuable items. We’ll get into those later.
In the time being, we’re locked into Zeal as the exit is sealed. You can still rest in the southwest corner though. Head north and use the pendant to enter the Ocean Palace. Have your party ready for a boss battle.
The Queen and friends are within. Just as Crono enters, the prophet tells the Queen that you are the bad people that he had said would come by. The Queen has Dalton sic Golem on you. You don’t have to win this battle to continue the story, and it’s a very difficult battle because he will use his fire attack for close to 500 damage every other turn. Besides that he will use an Iron Sphere attack on you which halves your HP (he starts off with this). He will continue to use this as well, and will counter physical attacks with this. Golem will also counter your elemental attacks, so physical attacks are your best bet. Stay alive with Haste and hopefully you can keep up with the healing, but Golem has a lot of HP and considering the damage he can deal, it’s a rough battle.
After the battle, the Queen then says that you will be stuck here to suffer all sorts of pain. When you wake up, Janus and Schala are visiting you. Schala seems to have taken a liking to you, and she releases Crono and friends. Unfortunately, the prophet is here to stop you from escaping.
The prophet takes Crono and friends to the warp point. The prophet forces Schala to seal this teleport after you go through. How unfortunate.
End of Time
Now you are back in 65,000,000 BC, near the sealed gate. Time to take the dactyl to the Mystic Mountains west of you. The goal is the End of Time. The Old Man here has some key advice about something in the future that was made that could facilitate your time travels.
Rest and save. You may or may not have fought Spekkio before, but you probably have a bit of magic. Spekkio changed his appearance to one of those Ogan’s in 600 A.D. Getting Haste up on Marle and the rest of the party is key, so use someone else to heal with Mid-Potions while Marle sets that up. Antipode Bomb II is nice, doing 1000+ damage each time. Aura Whirl every other turn to stay on top of Spekkio’s attacks. You get 5 Mid-Ethers and 1 Magic Capsule for taking him down.
Of Sealed treasures
Now that Marle has the ability in her pendant to open sealed chests and doors, there are many more optional side quests to go on as you sit in the End of Time. One important thing to consider before opening sealed chests – there are many in 600 A.D. for example that become better pieces of equipment after examining and leaving them in the chest. Then find them in 1000 A.D. and they will be ‘powered up’ so to speak. But again, this is not applicable for all of them.
If you want to just skip ahead to continue the story, use CTRL + F and “Keeper’s Dome”. This is where we have to go next, though I highly advise you do the treasure hunting below because some of the equipment and accessories especially are very valuable.
600 A.D. The Middle Ages
Head to the Truce Inn second floor. Look at the sealed chest, but again, leave it in there.
Make your way towards Guardia Castle. In the forest, take the far northeast route as you get to the north exit. The sealed chest here is a Speed Capsule and cannot be upgraded. Time to head to Guardia Castle. There are two sets of chambers on the side of the king throne, take the west one and go up a few flights of stairs. Look for a sealed chest and choose to leave it there for now. Another one to get in 1000 A.D.
Go to the Magic Cave, and just east of the entrance is a sealed chest. No waiting on this one, it is a Magic Ring (+6 magic increase).
Now go all the way to the south, where Porre Village lies. Check out the Elder’s house to examine two more chests – don’t take them though.
1000 A.D. The Present
Time to return back to normal time and reap the rewards. Truce Inn is the first one, by Leene Square. At the top is a Blue Vest that is now a more powerful Blue Plate. This is easily your strongest armor.
Head on over to Lucca’s House. Taban has the Taban Helm. It’s possible this is available earlier and I just waited a bit, but the main plus for this is the +10 magic defense upgrade.
Make your way to Guardia Castle now. You will hear that Marle’s mom took a turn for the worse. Further north for a scene with Marle and the king. The king disowns her and then stomps off. Continue west and north through those stairs, but just go up three flights and look south for a Red Vest that is hopefully upgraded to a Red Plate. There are many other treasures around Guardia Castle, but I’ll let you unearth them yourself.
Now to the Mayor’s Manor in Porre Village. The greedy dad is upstairs. The White Vest is upgraded to a White Plate and the Black Vest is upgraded to a Black Plate.
Time for a big detour. Go by Lucca’s House and look for the Coastal Vortex. Hit this and you will be in Heckran Cave. Continue south and west through this place until you come across a sealed chest – a Barrier Ring. But wait, a Speed Ring is also inside. Speed Ring provides +3 speed and Barrier Ring has +10 magic defense.
Forest Ruins
Go out of the Heckran Cave on the Medina side, and head east and north to the Forest Ruins. There is a huge seal here, and the pendant activates itself and the seal is then gone. A nu appears, and you now have a choice between a nice piece of armor on the left and a valuable weapon on the right. On the left is a Guardian Helm, and though it’s very nice especially for right now, we will at least be able to find other Guardian Helms later. The weapon is a Swallow Sword for Crono, and this is the only one of it in the game. In addition to having a +42 attack power edge on the Primeval Blade, the Swallow Sword also has a +3 speed bonus.
2300 A.D. Proto Dome
Take the Proto Dome teleport now. The last treasures you can find with the pendant are in this time period. You will have to travel west and through Site 32. Race Johnny just for fun.
Arris Dome
To get to the sealed door in this dome, head down the first set of stairs where the people congregate. Take the east path, and then take the long way north in the first area. Do the same in the second area but work your way to the center as you go north. You will see the sealed door, and will have to use the password to open the path to it (Hold L + R then press A). Flashing on the ground in front of the treasures is a Strength Capsule. The treasures are very nice; Golden Earring, Acuity Ring, Luminous Robe and an Elixir. The Acuity Ring raises your accuracy +10 but I can’t imagine anyone using it with the options given to use for accessories at this point. The Golden Earring though provides an absurd increase (150%) in any given member’s HP total.
Two more domes to go to, and they both involve going through that horribly annoying Site 16 area. Just run from all the inevitable battles.
Trann Dome
The people here seem to have a seed. Use the pendant to go through the nearby Sealed Door, and you will see another blue flashing light on the ground west of the treasures. This time it is a Magic Capsule. The treasures aren’t bad either – a Hi-Ether and then one of the best accessories in the game – a Gold Stud. Yes, this cuts your MP use by 75%. Someone should always be using this to dole out the best techniques for a fraction of the TP they would otherwise take up.
Bangor Dome
Last but not least, go to the Bangor Dome just north of the Trann Dome. Don’t hit that teleport quite yet – hit the sealed door first to go through. Grab the Alluring Top, Hi-Ether and Workman’s Wallet. The Workman’s Wallet turns EXP to gold, and the Alluring Top boosts the success rate of Charm. Doesn’t sound that great but trust me, with some of the wonderful things we can steal through Ayla’s Charm, this Alluring Top makes that process headache-free.
Hit that teleport now. You may have already hit this teleport, but if you have not then you finally get access to Guardia Forest 1000 A.D.. Take this quick because it is the only way to reach this area in Guardia Forest, and there is a sealed treasure within – the Power Ring. The Power Ring gives any member a +6 in the strength category.
This is it for the optional sealed door / treasure hunting. To continue the story, we head to the Keeper’s Dome in 2300 A.D.
2300 A.D. The Future
Keeper’s Dome
The easiest way to get here is by taking the 2300 A.D. Proto Dome gate. You can take the Bangor Dome gate too but that requires you to trudge through Sector 16 which seems less desirable to me than quickly beating Johnny in a race at Sector 32, the route you have to take with the Proto Dome gate. Anyway, then take the Abandoned Sewers. With your earlier visit you should have opened up the bridges going east in the south area. This allows you to quickly reach the ladders going up for the exit.
Here you reach the Keeper’s Dome. A “Strange Construct” here seems to have forgotten it’s last order. Use the Pendant at the north sealed door, and as you enter the next area a bunch of flashing blue spots on the ground appear. They seem to be some sort of notes from the Guru of Reason, Belthasar. Here you learn more about Lavos and how Lavos is feasting on the planet. Lavos Spawns are all over nearby Death Peak. One more sealed door within.
You reach The Wings of Time, Belthasar’s greatest work. Go to the very north end to observe this piece of work. South after this to see the Nu pushing something along. Turns out the Strange Construct is Belthasar – he copied his memory into it and now assumes that form. Well, okay. You get to name the Wings of Time now, though the default name is Epoch. Get inside, but don’t choose to head out quite yet. Choose get off, then go in the previous room to see a blue light shining on the ground. Grab this Magic Capsule, and then get on and enjoy the scene leaving with the Epoch.
End of Time
Take the Epoch back to the End of Time to check back with the Old Man. He’s impressed the Wings of Time got finished. Rest and save, and time to put them to use.
12,000 B.C. Antiquity
To continue on, we are to go to 12,000 B.C. Antiquity but first head to 1000 A.D. Another good piece of defensive gear for Lucca from her dad, the Taban Suit. Halves first damage and gives her Speed +3, a big boost to one of her worst attributes.
Back at 12,000 B.C., the Epoch lands just south of the Small Cave that the Prophet had sealed. Head west from here and look for a north path to Terra Cave.
Terra Cave / Algetty
Enter the cave to see the Earthbound Village of Algetty. Enter the nearest room on the first floor that you are on to buy some goods. With all the various Plates we found from the Sealed chests, you probably won’t need armor, though maybe the Radiant Helms. The weapons are what you really want, including the Comet Bow, Megablaster, Megaton Arm, and maybe the Radiant Blade and Zanmato. The Zanmato does 1.5x damage to magical enemies but Crono’s Swallow Sword is a lot better with the speed bonus, if you chose that earlier. The Radiant Blade is only marginally better than the Masamune and doesn’t have the crit-rate of the Masamune, so it might not be deemed worth the money.
A story or two down and you can rest your game. At the bottom we see a save point and learn more about the Guru of Life banishing to the Mountain of Woe. Head through the very bottom exit when you are ready.
In the new area on the bottom level, look to the southeast for a Strength Capsule. Head north for some Mudbeasts. Strong physical attacks and a decent amount of HP, but nothing tough. Plus, use Charm on them both because you get two Rainbow Helms, which are the best helms around right now and halve Light damage. Two more Mudbeasts north of here, so two more Rainbow Helms. Your entire active party should have one now. Use an Ether on Ayla to recover the TP, rest up, and go north up the stairs.
Ahead we see a Vine and a few colored Mudbeasts. A Mud Imp walks down the vine and taunts you, and it’s time to battle him and the Red Mudbeast and Blue Mudbeast. First things first, get to Charming the enemies and casting Haste on Marle and Ayla. The Blue Mudbeast will yield a Mermaid Helmet if you can Charm it, while the Red Mudbeast has an Elixir and the Mud Imp has a Speed Capsule. As far as doing damage, the Mud Imp can’t be hurt really until you take out the Mudbeasts, and if you attack all three members you get a nasty counterattack. So focus on the Mudbeasts first, and of course the blue is weak against Fire and the red is weak against Ice. With Marle on Haste status, you should have no trouble keeping up on healing. It may take a while to defeat the Blue Mudbeast if you have Crono / Marle / Ayla, but the Red Mudbeast will go out in 2 turns after two Ice Sword II’s. Once the beasts are gone, the Imp will begin to just heal after each attack you do and throw rocks every once in a while. It’s defense is still high for a little bit, but he only has 1200 HP so use an Ice Sword II to take him down before he runs.
Equip the Mermaid Helmet after the battle (same defense as Rainbow Helm, just halves Water magic instead). Go up the chain and you will be at the Mountain of Woe.
Mountain of Woe
There is a rock in front upon entry. This Rubble yields 1000 EXP and 100 TP! But it is hard to hit and requires a few hits to defeat. Hopefully you can defeat it before it runs off, there are a few of these around here and they are a boon for advancing your TP fast. North for battle, and then west for another Rubble to defeat. Follow the path south and west underneath a bridge to get the Platinum Helm. Unfortunately, if you have been stealing Rainbow Helm’s and the Mermaid Helmet, then the Platinum Helm will be obsolete. Return south and take the southwestern path that eventually leads to the chain up.
Look to your left for another Rubble. Right and then north for some weak Gargoyles. Just after this is a save point, so use a Shelter and save. Further north you should take the east route, though it leads to a battle. Up the east chain to a Rubble and two treasures, a Shield Sphere and a Platinum Vest. Head all the way back west now until you can go west no further. Four Gargoyles stop you as you attempt to get the Barrier Sphere. Back east and look for the route south, which you will take for a while and then it wraps back north. A battle with two Bomber Birds and then get the Lapis. Take the bridge east now and follow the path until you reach another battle with Gargoyles and Bombers. South down another chain and look east for a treasure, another Barrier Sphere. Before taking the chain to the east exit, go south for another Rubble.
North for a Lapis and you can see enemies just east of you. Ignore them for now and go further east for a Barrier Sphere. South of this are a few Gargoyles and another treasure, a Hi-Ether. Time to fight those Death Lilies. A Death Lily will try to use Miasma (Confuse) on you but won’t be able to do much else with their low HP. Follow along counter clockwise until you reach a Rubble in the far northwest. Head south for some more Death Lilies and then two treasures – a Shelter and a Shield Sphere. To the far northeast now, where there is a save point. Use a Shelter and save.
In the new screen up the chain, you see a path that leads to a Time Hat. This prevents Slow and Stop. Further east and you see a Hi Ether nearby. Grab that, and then the Magic Capsule in the southeast corner. Rest up, as the huge chain in the eastern part of this room leads to the boss.
This is Giga Gaia and his two hands. He starts off with a Dark Plasma attack that takes off 100 damage (though it healed Crono). There is also a Double Hand Blaster attack he uses right after this for 150-170 damage. This is about the extent of it’s offense though. Just heal up after this and cast Haste and you should be fine. Charm the Giga Gaia for a Speed Capsule. The hands have nothing to charm. Defeat the hands and then use your best combo techniques on Giga Gaia. If you are lucky (and maybe over-leveled) it won’t have time to restore it’s hands, but it likely will be able to restore it’s hands at least once.
Giga Gaia disappears after the battle and a lot of EXP, and then the iced figure shows up again. It melts, and Melchior comes out. He is concerned about the Magic Kingdom, with the Queen’s behavior. The Mountain of Woe falls down and the group is back at the Earthbound Village, chatting with Melchior. Just as he is contemplating the next move, Lady Schala comes by. Unfortunately, all hell breaks loose as after Schala says she would never activate the Mammon Machine, Dalton comes by and abducts her. Time to go rescue her.
Talk to Melchior once more for a Ruby Knife. Time to head out and build up levels if you want before acting on the Magic Kingdom. The skyways now work so take the one on the far east part of the continent. Not much going on at Enhasa, but make sure to stop at Kajar.
Kajar
Speak with the sleeping Nu in the center with the equipment. Tell him it is not Schala’s pendant. You can now buy weapons / armor from him. The Heavy Hand you may have stole from an enemy at the Mountain of Woe (for Robo). The Smiter’s Blade is worth buying for Frog with the attack power and 1.5x damage bonus to magician-types (you may have stolen this too, from a Death Lily). The defensive equipment is nice but probably not worth buying if you have all the new Plates and Helmets that we have been Charming from enemies. Platinum is a little higher defense but doesn’t provide the halve-element bonuses.
Before leaving, go to the northeast room of Kajar. If you scratched the Nu’s back in Zeal you will be able to scratch this Nu’s back and he gives you a Magic Capsule.
Zeal
Not much else for us to do, so make the trip back to Zeal. Most people are saying the same things they were before, so just rest up and head north. Save along the way. In the Queen’s room is Dalton, and we finally get to fight him. All he uses is Iron Sphere which reduces your HP by half. First, Charm him for an Ambrosia. Then use your best techs, but as you get near 3000 damage done on Dalton, make sure to heal. He will use the Burrrp attack that the Golem uses but it will do about 150+ damage. This could kill one of your members if you aren’t careful, though the EXP and TP rewards aren’t anything outrageous.
Dalton retreats back through the gate so follow him. Cool new music here at the Ocean Palace.
Ocean Palace
Rest and save here. Mune talks of an evil power within; shortly after, we see the Queen ordering Schala to max the output of the Mammon Machine. Considering there are Red and Blue scouts everywhere, it’s probably best to have a party of Crono – Lucca – Frog / Marle. This way you have every element covered. Not having Ayla in the party to Charm is not a big deal since most of the items aren’t that special. If you really want to watch your TP, try to transfer the Gold Stud before battles based on what element the upcoming Scouter battle is.
As you enter this huge room, go south and use Lightning on these Scouters. Grab the Rune Blade treasure to the east. Helps Frog is you are using Water II with him. Now return north and take the east path and hit the switch in this first room. Defeat the Ghul first and then the Djinn. Go east ot the next room and fight some Red Scouters. Use Fire II to burn them away and grab the Aeonian Helm. Another good piece of defensive equipment but if you stole all those Rainbow Helm’s then you probably have no use for it. Take the west path out of here, then go south and wrap around north to grab the Aeonian Suit, though you may have to fight some Scouters.
Work your way west and then back north, looking for a northwestern room similar to the one on the other end. Another switch to hit and the far western route has some Blue Scouters and a treasure. The Empyrean Blade is strong, but has no bonuses and if you took the Swallow earlier, just doesn’t compare. Exit out and look for a southwestern room. Red Scouters in here and also a Shockwave Gun for Lucca.
South from here and then west along the thin passage along the wall. Continue this way until you see a treasure by itself east of you. Look for the passage over there. It is a Demonslayer, like the Smiter’s Blade but stronger and 2x damage vs. Magicians instead of 1.5x. Return back and head through that center path going south. Look for a Sonic Bow in that south area.
Go east and hit the switch. This is good. Now travel northeast and look for a treasure on your left; a Kaiser Arm. Go north now and travel counterclockwise to see that a new path has opened in that southeast corner in the 1st room.
A battle looms as you enter this new area. Monks are the new enemy but they aren’t difficult. The south path leads to an elevator shaft that is empty. Instead, continue down those stairs. This battle can be annoying with the multiple Monks using their counter. Down some more stairs afterward and try to evade the flying Monks. If you hit them, they go down and you fight them later.
Next area as you go down has a bunch of Monks running back and forth and a statue that spits out fire. Evade them as best you can. At the fourth and last platform of this area, you have two Warriors and two Monks. Masa is hanging around the next set of stairs. He talks about Dreamstone which has been around for a long time and has been used to create some of the most powerful things on earth, from the Masamune to the pendant to the Mammon Machine.
Meanwhile, Schala feels the dark energy. The Mammon Machine has an influx of energy and it seems as though Lavos is on his way. Just ahead is a save point that you should definitely use. The next room has an elevator, but you will have to fight a battle before you can use it. Then after you hit the switch, there are three more battles to churn through, each with 5+ enemies. You can ride the elevator back up at the end, if you wish to get a Magic Capsule on the ground, but you’ll have to walk all the way back down.
At the bottom of the elevator, go in and you will see a floor switch. Ignore this for now and go west for a wall switch, but you need to fight one of each Scouter first. Then hit the switch, and go to the right room and do the same. Return back and hit that floor switch in the center to open up a path north.
Follow it until you reach a save point. Use a Shelter and save, grabbing the Elixir. A tough battle looms so prepare your party. Ayla probably shouldn’t be in the party as having another elemental user (like Lucca) would be best, but if you wish to steal a few Magic Capsules then bring Ayla along. Equip Rainbow Helmets and other elemental-halving defensive gear based on who you are bringing. Like many battles, the key is getting Haste up so that you can spend more time dealing damage and less time healing. The Golems will start off using this powerful physical attack (200-400 damage per character), but if you start using magic then they will start to ‘imitate’. Thing is, it takes them a while after getting in the ‘imitate’ stage, so you can cast another spell before they get the counterattack off and that will void the previous counterattack. Continue to do this and the Golems will never attack, but you will most likely need three magic-users in this battle then (or at least two of them with high speed and Hasted. This would allow you to bring Ayla too to steal the Capsules). At the end, these Golems use Bluuurp!: Mimic Dalton. This only does 75-90 damage to all, but stay rested to make sure it’s not fatal.
Dalton flees and it’s time to go up ahead. Go past the Nu and soon we see the Queen, Schala and prophet. Crono tries to use the Red Knife which turns into the Masamune, but Lavos comes. He wipes everyone out with his rain from the heavens.
After the battle, some things happen. The prophet reveals himself as Magus, but he still cannot defeat Lavos. Then Crono does something. Schala saves everyone else, but Lavos is out to wreak havoc on the land. The entire Magic Kingdom bites the dust.
Surviving Village
The party wakes up in a strange village and the Elder comes out to speak with you and give you the Pendant. For the first time since we started, we can form a party that does not include Crono. Save your game and head out.
The east tent has a few people to talk to, and the north tent has a Nu shopkeeper and an enlightened one. Speak with the enlightened one to hear that this Nu checks the shores for all sorts of equipment so come back later. The Nu then left the room and you can go in the back and get the Magic Capsule.
To the Village Commmons now. Put Ayla in the middle spot of your lineup, you’ll see why later. Speak with everyone, but as you talk to the Elder, Dalton comes forth. Of course he’s still alive and he’s now The New King. He tricks the party, captures them and steals the Epoch. You wake up in a strange place.
Dalton’s Blackbird
Everyone has been stripped of their equipment, including accessories. You have to put Ayla in the lineup as she is the only one who can fight without a weapon. Hopefully you heeded my advice and put her in the middle of your lineup, as you recover the top and bottom character’s equipment first here.
Try to climb the ladder but that just shows the outside of the Blackbird so the party gets back in the plane. Climb to the rafters just west of the ladder.
There are many routes to take up here. First things first you’ll want to recover your equipment. Go east a tad and the north and west a bit. You should reach an upside-down T, so take the north route and ignore the second west route too, but take the third one. This leads to a ladder going down to a room with a sleeping guard and your first character’s equipment.
Return to the far southeast, where you started. This time take the west route, south a tad, and then west again for a room. Two guards that you have to fight here. Easy battle and you should have recovered equipment for the character in the third spot of your lineup.
Back to the rafters and go to the far south. You will see a scene with Dalton checking out the Epoch, which he says he will soon use to rule the world with. Take the west route now to find a ladder going down to a new part of the ship, with a Byte right in front of you. Enter the east room, there are six Daltonites but they yield a ton of EXP and TP, and will all go down with a level 2 magic spell.
Go back out and take the floor elevator north. Enter the left room for three Daltonites, and the treasure they are guarding has your money! East of here is another Daltonite guarding a room, but it is your prison cell with the save point. Still useful to open up and have access to the save point just in case.
North of the prison cell save point room is a room guarded by two more Daltonites. Inside is a Byte, but also a chest with the last party member’s equipment (the party member in the middle slot). Exit and go through the north exit.
Fight some Daltonites to regain control, and enter the west room. Two Daltonites and a Byte to take out, but a chest with all of the inventory. The door going north leads to a ladder to the top of the Blackbird, which is where we need to go. However, there is one more thing we must do.
First of all, you definitely should have found all the chests with everyone’s equipment and money. But the last thing to do is to find a ladder and go up to the rafters, and head to the far northeast portion of them. Okay, return back to the room where you got your inventory (it’s the southwest room in this area). Enter the door and the ladder to reach the top.
Head to the far west and it looks like you may go off the plane. But suddenly a gate opens and a Golem Overlord comes out. You cannot lose this fight, as it is a little different than the old Crono Trigger. You can attack and defeat the thing without retaliation or just wait until it runs due to being scared.
Meanwhile, Dalton has the Epoch working. He takes it out and tries to shoot down his own Blackbird. Your party then jumps onto the Epoch and a battle with Dalton begins. His attacks are weak. He starts off with a Wind Slash type attack for about 50 damage, and then counters your physical attacks with Iron Sphere. Cast Haste on a few members and be sure to Charm him for an Ambrosia. Maybe his strongest attack is when he counters your magic with the opposite magic; even then he only takes off 100-200 at most and with all the different elemental-halved helmets and other equipment, you should be able to absorb some of those shots. As Dalton gets desperate he uses a fire attack for still only 60+ damage, and then he tries to summon Golem Overlord. He fails and instead goes through the teleport himself, and the Epoch is yours again. Hit the Y button on the Epoch and it slices up the Blackbird with one little laser shot. Time to find Crono!
Surviving Village
Check out the Nu’s tent. He’s got more stuff, though they should be mostly obsolete for you if you have been following the guide and got some of the Sealed Treasure goodies already.
At the Village Commons, a few people will mention a strange man looking for you that is now at North Cape. You can probably guess who this is.
North Cape
Do not bring Frog with, unless you know what you’re doing. You will see a scene with Magus in his younger years, as he thrusts himself into the situation to follow Schala. The three Guru’s are in the scene as well as they are sent through a gate. Janus too goes through a gate, and is found by Ozzie. Magus then proceeds to taunt you about Crono’s, and then asks to fight. You can fight him, but he then dies (you can fight him with Frog too but Frog fights him one on one, a very tough fight).
Or you can say no to him and leave. Magus then joins your party. Most would suggest that you do this as he is valuable in battle. You can also rename him if you so desire. Magus starts off with some nice equipment, and Schala’s Amulet which protects against status ailments. Magus also starts off with Fire II, Ice II and Lightning II. Use him to learn even more sweet techs. And while Magus cannot learn dual-tech’s, he does have some of the best triple techs around.
Get back in the Epoch, but as you do, the Black Omen appears. This is a big scary place that is one of the many side quests that can be done along the way to the end of the game.
End Of Time
Return to the End of Time to speak with the Old Man. He hands you the Chrono Trigger Time Egg, and also reveals he is the Guru of Time Gaspar. Celebrate by resting and saving. Put Lucca, Marle and Robo in a party and go cream Spekkio with Antipode Bomb II (and Heal Beam with Robo). Spekkio had graduated to the big phantom wrecking ball monster from Magus’ Castle, though his attacks are the same still. A big advantage when fighting Spekkio is having as much protection against elemental attacks as possible. If you can stay healed and get Haste up you should have no problem staying healthy and doing heavy damage. 5 Hi Ethers and 1 Magic Capsule are your rewards.
2300 A.D. The Future
Keeper’s Dome
Speak with the Nu, Belthasar. He tells of Death Peak and it’s ability to revive a person. Finally, he mentions a Crono Doppel Doll at Norstein Bekkler’s (1000 A.D. Leene Square). You could have won this earlier but if you go there now, they will make an exception for you and allow you to play the game for Crono’s doppel doll. Accumulate 40 silver points first and play the 40 silver point game to get the doll.
Return to Crono’s house and Marle will have to lie to Crono’s mom. The doll is there though, so take it and head off to the future, 2300 A.D.
Back at the Keeper’s Dome, speak with the construct and it starts the final program. Three small dolls fly off. The construct asks you to turn off the switch, as it has executed it’s last program. Be kind enough to do so.
Death Peak
Speak with the first little doll as you enter. It turns into a tree. We need to hide behind the trees when the wind is blowing sharply. There are only two trees as you go north but it can be a little tricky.
Defeat the Blood Yolk west of you in the second area, and then grab the Magic Ring. Look for steps to climb up, and then go east and climb up some more (after evading the Blood Yolks). East for a new area.
A Macabre and three Blood Yolks are here right away. Finish them off and go east and south for a save point (somewhat hard to see). Just north of here is a Barrier Ring. Back west and then north on the upper ledge for an opening in the wall, after two Macabre fight you. Rest up and head in.
Hopefully you saved, though this mini-boss isn’t that difficult. It is a Lavos Spawn as you can see, and their protective shell should not be attacked. Only use single-target techniques, on the head part of the Lavos Spawn. Lavos Spawn will use the Needle-all attack, so rest up with Heal Beam or something. He will use this Needle attack every once in a while but that is the only truly devastating maneuver, so you should be able to stayed healed, Hasted or not. Lavos Spawn also have a Lavos Sleep attack to put one member to sleep and Miasma for Confuse. You can steal an Elixir twice from the Lavos Spawn. A whopping 120 tech points for this victory, and you can now get the treasure east of it for a Gigaton Arm. North to exit.
Exit out and you will be on a cliff-area, with three Macabre’s coming. Defeat them and take the southeast entrance. Grab the Brave Sword for Frog. South for some Blood Yolks and then the exit.
Look just west on that ledge. You should see a blue light blinking fast. Hit this, it’s a switch to open the path on the lower end. You now have to return to this lower floor and fight a few battles over to get there. Use a Shelter and save of course, and then go north.
A single Blood Yolk comes out, but you can dodge it and grab the Hadean Sickle for Magus. Ahead is another Lavos Spawn, so use the same strategy as before. Further ahead is the second part of the program with the little white dolls. This area is slick, but if you ‘walk’ you will notice that you will not move at all if you continue to angle upwards as you go west.
An avalanche of Blood Yolks in the next area, so avoid them for a Yaksha Blade to the west. Follow the path a bit until you reach the third and final white doll, who simply says ‘push the shell. climb the shell’. Look for steps to climb down, and then continue southwest a bit until you can go north (south first for a save point and a Dark Helm). Rest up there, because your third and final Lavos Spawn battle is coming up. 360 TP for these three battles, that should help bring some of the other characters closer to where Crono was.
After the battle, you see the shell of the Lavos Spawn doesn’t disappear like the other two did. That is because it is meant to be climbed by us. Push it to line it up with the steps that are cut off, then climb up the contraption. Look to your right for a Memory Cap. Further north for a strange scene. The Doppel Doll is used as the Crono replacement. And hey, just like that…
The Fated Hour
End of Time
With Crono in tow, the party is near ready to take on Lavos. Everything at this point is optional work for you to do. Talk to the Old Man to learn more about the sidequests. The Black Omen is a long dungeon where Queen Zeal tries once more to summon Lavos.
You can talk to your party members to get a glimpse of where you need to go for certain events.
600 A.D. The Middle Ages
Ozzie’s Fort
Enter here and Ozzie will say things to Magus if you brought him along. In the next room, you have a boss battle with Diva Flea. She doesn’t last long though. Nothing to steal so just make it quick.
Next room, Ozzie makes a fool out of himself with a couple of weak cronies that fall down below. Slash is up ahead, but he too is weak and has nothing to steal so it will be another quick battle.
In the following area, ignore the guillotine Ozzie has set up and instead an imp will come by and try for the treasure. He dies and Ozzie has to flee. It was just a Hi-Ether. Definitely rest up and max your TP. This time it is Super Slash, Diva Flea and Ozzie the Great.
You absolutely need Ayla in this battle to Charm from all three enemies, and having the Alluring Top on would help. Use Marle too so that she can Haste everyone and make sure the process goes smooth with the extra turns you will have. These enemies counter a lot, so that can be annoying and could put you at risk if you don’t stay healed especially early on. Evil Impulse is a counterattack for 300-350 damage, if you mess with Ozzie or Flea. This is their way of hinting that you need to take out Slash first to negate that Triple Tech. So Charm the Slasher II, a great sword for Crono to use. Then go to town on him with Iceberg Toss and Frenzy.
Once Slash goes, Rainbow Beam will come out. You will need to follow up and defeat Flea soon because she is prone to fleeing (no pun intended). At the very least make sure you steal the Flea Bustier. Once Flea bails on Ozzie, he’s screwed, and will mostly just sit and laugh as you destroy him. Steal his goofy Ozzie Pants from him.
After the battle, look at the Slasher II. If you have the Swallow, the Slasher II is a +6 attack improvement (but -3 speed, which is a big part of the Swallow’s value). It’s up to you. The Ozzie Pants are tricky because they are +10 from even the Rainbow Helm but they cause you to be confused. So it’s not worth it. The Flea Bustier props up your magic defense +12, which is a nice bonus to protect you from some of the tougher late-game bosses, though like many accessories it can get lost in the huge shuffle.
Grab the Speed Ring and Clarity Cap. Further north for an Ozzie battle. This is easy right? But when you attack the switch, it is you who falls down the hole. Just run back up to see Ozzie again, but this time a cat runs up and hits the switch that takes out Ozzie.
600 A.D. The Middle Ages
Fiona’s Villa
First, you had to of visited the Village Commons at the Surviving Village in 12,000 B.C. and told the lady to plant the sapling and take care of it.
Now at 600 A.D. you will see someone near Fiona’s Villa. Enter the Village to speak with Fiona and her husband. Marco says that Water magic harms the enemies in the desert cave.
Sunken Desert
Enter that Sunken Desert southwest of Fiona’s Villa.
Fall down the hole and grab the Lapis. West a bit to trigger a battle with three Sandrago’s. West more for two VilePillar’s and a Hi-Ether. More Vilepillar’s south of here but take the Elixir and go to the southeast corner for an Aeonian Suit.
South for the lower area. There is a boss roaming, but first go around and collect the treasures. Going clockwise, there is a Hi-Potion, 5000G, Turbo Ether, Aeonian Helm, Memory Cap, Hi-Ether and in the center a Muscle Ring. The Muscle Ring is a +6 for Stamina.
Time to head out for that bone creature in the sand, Melphyx. There are three parts to Melphyx; upper body, lower body and the core. Take out the core first with regular attacks (though you should steal a Speed Capsule if at all possible). After this point, cast Water II and or Ice II to lower the defense of the lower and top parts of Melphyx. Hit the upper part of Melphyx a few times and then you will have to cast water / ice on it again to lower it’s defense. This causes the battle to take a while, but continue this process and stay healed. The chomp absorb attack can do 350-400+ damage so stay healed. Marle’s Arise might be needed if you get unlucky. LONG battle with 100 TP reward.
As you make your way out, look for a Strength Capsule in the desert as you go north in that second room (look on the west end to see it flashing).
Use a Shelter and save when you get out. Put Robo in your party and visit Fiona’s Villa. She is happy that you vanquished the enemies but cannot re-plant the forest herself. Robo will oblige so let him take care of it.
1000 A.D. The Present
Fiona’s Shrine
Hey look, there is a beautiful forest here now.
Within the shrine, there are nuns. One sells nice hats, though the only truly unique one is the Vigilant’s Hat and that is 50,000G.
Up ahead is Robo. He is still alive, though Lucca is tending to him. A philosophical talk follows amongst those in the party. In the middle of the night, you take control of Lucca. This is your chance to go downstairs and change a moment in Lucca’s life that she would like to have forgotten. When she was young she couldn’t save her mom, but this time you can by tapping L – A – R – A to stop the machine.
Robo is there when Lucca returns from the gate. He appreciates her work for him and others over time and gives over the Green Dream, which required 400 years of cultivating to come to it’s own. It automatically revives the owner once in battle, great insurance for tough battles later on.
2300 A.D. The Future
Geno Dome
Of course, the Future has one last technological maze for us to traverse. Robo seems to be familiar with this place so put him in the lead (and include a Lightning-user too). Evidently Robo’s real name is Prometheus. This wacky computer shuts off and opens the doors.
As you enter your party is put onto the escalator and you will fight Deverminator EX’s and Version 4.0’s. This is where you want Lightning II to mow through these enemies while having a Gold Stud and or Silver Stud equipped on Magus and Crono. There are plenty of battles but lots of valuable TP to get someone like Magus caught up. Enter the door at the north end.
Defeat the Deverminator EX’s at the west part of this new area, and then the strange machine talks to you some more. Take east path north and watch the Version 4.0’s as they charge their units up. Defeat them and grab the Hi-Potion. The computer here tells us how to take care of all the obstacles that we will face within. For the time being, charge Robo up and run south to open the door at the beginning (or a Version 4.0 will open it too). There is a Hi Potion and 50,000 G in that room!
Continue northwest of the area where Robo gets charged. Laser Guards will stop you as you head north but that’s okay. Up ahead there are three switches, all of which are green now. Hit the ones on the side to open up the charge port in that room just west of here. Return south to the charge pod for Robo and charge him. Run over to the recently-opened port and it will open now. Grab the white doll, and check back a second later to get the Speed Capsule.
Head over to the beginning and then the southeast to fight some Deverminator Ex’s. Then take the northeastern white door, where you will be ambushed by three Version 4.0’s. A Lapis and Elixir are within. Take the door just south of this one and an elevator is within that takes you up.
Save point here and a good time to recover (though if you’ve had a Gold Stud on Magus you should have plenty of TP left despite all the Lightning II’s). Two Laser Guards as you walk south, but you can then grab the Lapis in the southeast corner. Return back north and go through the white door. East as you enter for a Strength Capsule.
At the north end is a new room with a few Laser Guards and Version 4.0’s. Take the elevator within. Go south in the new area for some more Laser Guards. There is a red barrier to your left but you can hit the switch to make it go away. Go to the other side of the conveyor belt and open up the charge pod by the room. Now, run down the conveyor belt and travel south, west, and back north to that room where you can charge up Robo. Return all the way back to that charge pod you just opened and if you can get there in time, the door opens. Within is a Turbo-Ether + Hi-Ether. Also though, there is a weird green robot that seems to follow you.
You know where to take this. Return all the way to the south and then west, where that identical green robot is blocking you from a treasure and the white doll. The robot you bring neutralizes it and you can grab the Vigilant’s Hat and that white doll. This should be the second one.
East and into the room with the elevator to go back up. Use the save point outside to rest and save. Put a Red Plate on Robo. Now go south and west and you will run into an old comrade of Robo’s, Atropos. She has been re-made by Mother to eliminate humans. Robo ends up in a fight by himself, but it is not difficult. Use Robo Tackle for 700 damage each time. Atropos can heal herself for 300 but has weak attacks for the most part. She will use Robo Tackle too but for only 300 damage. Laser Spin will do 110+ damage to you. At the end Atropos will spam Proximity Bomb. If you equipped the Red Plate, this should heal you. She still will have 3000+ hit points to churn through but at 700-1000 damage each time, she will go down. Unfortunately, she explodes and does 60 damage to Robo, and Atropos is in serious condition. Lucca tries to save her but Atropos powers down, just after regaining her memory. Turns out Mother wrote over her old program. But Atropos Ribbon will raise Robo’s speed by 3 and Magic Defense by 10 (and it’s permanent, not an item to equip).
After the battle, look in the north area for a Megalixir chest and a Magic Capsule hidden on the ground. Return to the save point to use a Shelter and Save.
Further west and Mother will taunt you some more, calling the human species obsolete. Go down the ladder you see, and take the 15,000 G. Through the door to see humans on the conveyor belt. There is nothing we can do about it now though, Mother Brain must be taken out. Take the southeast exit and the Hi-Ether.
Return back and up the ladder, about where you fought Atropos. Head northwest for six Laser Guards, and then six more Laser Guards further north. Put the two white dolls on the green flashing lights. This will open the center door. Rest up and save because The Mother Brain awaits.
There are three Displays behind Mother Brain. These Displays heal her to the tune of about 1000 each time. If you destroy them all, Mother Brain uses nastier attacks. So there is definitely an argument for defeating two of the Displays and then using single-target attacks on Mother Brain to lessen risk. Problem is when Mother Brain confuses a character and then that character could potentially attack the last display and destroy it anyway. You might consider it worth it to Charm a Blue Plate. If you leave a display, Mother Brain’s attacks are very weak (laser attack for only 50 damage to all, and a bit stronger attack on one ally). She will try to confuse you often, so have a Panacea ready. Mother Brain only has 5000 HP but with a display healing her 1000 often, it will take some time. Iceberg Toss can do around 2000 if you are leveled up, and Robo Tackle is good for about 700. As usual, Marle’s Haste helps a lot. Minimal EXP and Gold but Robo acquires the Teraton Arm and the Crisis Arm. Robo shuts it down and that’s that – you can no longer enter the Geno Dome as the power is off for good.
1000 A.D. The Present
Cyrus’ Ghost
Fly over to Choras Village which is on the southeast continent. Chest out the west cape to see Toma Levine’s grave. Search behind the grave for a Speed Capsule.
Northern Ruins
Enter the Northern Ruins. East is a dead end, and west leads to Cyrus’ Ghost. You cannot hit him or Charm him for anything, and you cannot run. Don’t fight him, but just leave and go to 600 A.D.
600 A.D. The Middle Ages
Choras Tavern
Check the residence first to see a bunch of Carpenter’s Apprentices. Then head to the bar.
The Carpenter is the first guy, drinking away. His tools have been stolen. Speak with Toma up top to get Toma’s Spirits.
Head back to 1000 A.D. The Present. Go to the Choras Inn and speak with the Carpenter who doesn’t mind if you take his tools, since he’s getting drunk. Go to his wife in the south to get them, and return to 600 A.D. The Middle Ages.
The Carpentry guy is glad to take his tools back. Go to the Residence and the group will head off.
Northern Ruins
Back at the 600 A.D. Northern Ruins, the Carpenter and his apprentices will just be heading out because there are monsters within. Take the right door and enter.
East in this big room for two Flesh Reapers and a Fallen. Have Magus and Lucca spam Fire II against these types. There are three battles with these foes. Return to the entrance and take the left path. Two Ghost Knights await, and another Fire II will take them out. However, their MP Buster can be annoying, so you should try to bring Ayla with to Charm a Hi-Ether to make up for it. Their attack is strong too. Three more battles with these groups, so return back to town after taking the Turbo-Ether.
At their residence, pay the head carpenter 2000 G to continue repairing the northern castle. Then back at the castle, we can do more exploration. Take the west end and go through to a grave. Here lies Cyrus. Put Frog as the leader and the Ghost of Cyrus appears. The talk is short, but Frog knows he has Cyrus’ respect now. Masamune also becomes the most powerful weapon for Frog, gaining 69 attack power after the transformation.
Return back to the entrance and leave (the east staircase still leads to a dead end). Return back to the Carpenter in town and have him repair it for 2000G. Back at the Castle, the Carpenter will report that there is no where else to repair.
Use the east staircase and then go left. This room has an Elixir. The east room has a sealed treasure chest – again, choose NOT to open it. We will come back in 1000 A.D. to get this (and others ahead) so that they have a chance to ‘power up’. Go through the north path to fight a few Flesh Reapers. A couple more battles with these types and some Soul, and then you will see two more Sealed treasure chests. Examine them but again, don’t open them quite yet. Now exit these ruins.
1000 A.D. The Present
Hero’s Grave
Head to what is now called the ‘Hero’s Grave’. Take the west route to Cyrus’ grave but look northwest of it for a Magic Capsule. Now go through the east end to collect the Sealed Treasures. The first one is in the east room, the Moonbeam Armor. This is one of the very best pieces of defensive equipment you will find, better than the various plates and even provides +10 in Magic Defense. Further in for a Valkyrie Bow and a Suzaku. The Valkyrie Bow +55 better in attack than the previously equipped Sonic Bow. Crono still had the Swallow, which is hard to give up because of that +3 speed bonus (although the Suzaku Sword is +14 better in attack and 4x for critical hits).
You may actually return to 600 A.D. The Middle Ages to get these three sealed treasure chests again – but they will not be the upgraded variety, but instead the Nova Armor, Siren’s Kiss and the Onimaru. The Nova Armor is another elite armor set and prevents all status ailments, easily the best of these three sealed treasures.
1000 A.D. The Present
West Cape
Assuming you have been to Choras Tavern and got the Toma’s Spirits from Toma, you should be good to go. Head to the West Cape in the present and examine Toma Levine’s grave. The spirits will be poured over the grave and Toma will come out and talk. He tells of the Rainbow Shell northwest of this cape on an island called the Giant’s Claw. However, this Giant’s Claw is only around in 600 A.D.
600 A.D. The Middle Ages
The Giant’s Claw
This huge mountain is just northwest of Choras Village (and near the Ozzie and Magus Castle Islands). You may wish to bring Ayla with to Charm, as you can get some nice things like Turbo Ethers and Ruby Armor.
Walk forward a bit to come across a crumpled letter from Toma – the holes you see may need to be jumped in to continue (though you’ve been in the Pre-Historic dungeons before so you know about this).
Enter the next area and it seems you are in the Reptite Castle. Hmm. Further south to the cave-like area, and go west for a battle and a Clarity Cap. Defeat the enemies on the east end and then take that exit. There are two Fossil Apes that drop down if you hit the right switch. The north switch releases a save point, while the southwest switch opens up two holes on both ends. Open the holes and jump through.
At the bottom, two more switches. The right one releases more enemies, the left one opens up the skull and you can go north. Grab the Strength Capsule and then you see a switch that you cannot seem to hit at the moment. Exit to the south. Head west and look for the ladder going down. Go west for a Hi-Ether and then east for another Strength Capsule. Now head counter clockwise until you get to the southeast corner of the room. Look for a Blue Gemstone tucked away north of the exit going south.
Another big new area now. Go east to see two ladders, one going up and one south. Take the south one and go west for a Zodiac Cape. This is a powerful piece of armor with +10 for Magic Defense. Go southeast for a Lapis and then further south. This leads to the southwest exit.
You can skip the dinosaurs here if you hug the west wall as you go north. Go through the open skull ahead of you. Two sets of enemies on both sides, but you can avoid them by hitting the switches. Or just defeat them for the EXP and tech points. Take the southwest exit for a Wrath Band, the ultimate in counter-attacking. Return and take that southeastern path this time. There are two Rubbles down here. They should be easier to defeat now and should be a boon for your members in getting their final techniques. Take the east exit when you are done with those two Rubbles.
Hit the white switch you come to, and a trapped door opens. You fall into a cell but you can exit from the south, and then go west for stairs going up. There is a Strength Capsule here and you will notice that you can go south to open up that skull and open up a back-track point. Anyway, go back down and take the far east end of that room with the cell. Take the stairs down.
A save point awaits you. Use a Shelter and save. Equip everyone with Fire-protective armor (Ruby Armor, Taban Armor, Red Plate, etc). Up ahead, the Rust Tyranno awaits you. Obviously, this is like the Black Tyranno earlier but this time the Rust Tyranno starts counting down immediately. Start off by Charming a Red Plate from him, and then cast Haste with Marle if you brought her. Rust Tyranno already has a slow countdown but you can run laps around him once everyone has Haste up. Combined with the fact that you have Fire damage protection means this fight should be a joke, as Tyranno Flame is the only attack he will use. With Haste up it’s very possible you whittle down his entire 20,000+ HP total before he gets his finisher off once!
Up ahead is the beautiful Rainbow Shell. Alas, it is too heavy to move. Head south and thankfully the scene fades and we don’t have to exit ALL the way out of there. The 600 A.D. Guardia King approves of taking this Rainbow Shell back to the castle and kept as a family heirloom.
1000 A.D. The Present
Guardia Castle
Unfortunately, as you return to Guardia Castle 1000 A.D. you find all is not well with the Rainbow Shell. The king is on trial for selling off a royal heirloom (clearly the Shell).
Take the east route as you enter, then the stairs north of you. Grab the Turbo Ether and go to the top (another chest that is locked along the way). Make sure you have Marle in your party as she will thrust herself through the guards.
Your group is kicked out of the trial room and you need to find the shell in the castle as proof that the King did not sell it. Go to the Basement (staircase just to the right of the one you went up). The guard here has been knocked out. Defeat the Vipers nearby and then the scene switches to the court room. A merchant blames the King then whispers to the Chancellor afterwards.
More easy enemies to defeat here. Defeat them and grab the Turbo Ether, Elixir and Lapis. Time to head north quite a ways, but there will be plenty of Vipers and Nagas along the way. Shouldn’t take up much of your time.
In the last room we come to another set of Lapis / Elixir / Turbo Ether, and then the shiny Rainbow Shell. There is a letter attached from Queen Leene, and Marle will take a Rainbow Shard and then the scene goes to the court room.
The verdicts are being read. Take your group and run all the way south and then go up those stairs again. The guards still won’t let you through but Marle knows another way. Back to the court room where the King is being charged after four votes of guilty and one of not guilty. Marle returns just in time. Of course, the Chancellor is Yakra XIII. Yakra starts the battle off with Confuse (Miasma)) and uses it often. Yakra’s attacks aren’t that powerful. He will go “graaaa” and cause an earthquake for 60-100 damage to all. Towards the end he will say he is going to exploit your weakness but his Needle attack only does 200-300 damage to one ally. He will use it often though, so just finish him off. Easy battle, so make sure to take the time to Charm Yakra for a White Plate. At the very end he uses the Yakra XIII Needle Attack on all members so make sure to stay healed.
The King and Marle have a talk after wards. Then, Melchior comes in. He says he can make some sweet armor with that Rainbow Shell. Melchior leaves.
Go up the right side again, to the court room. Within you see a flashing blue light on the floor – it is Yakra’s Key. Go to that locked treasure chest down the stairs and open it to find the real chancellor. A short thanks and he runs off to prepare for a Moonlight Parade.
Take the east stairs down to the basement. Head all the way to the back to see Melchior. He says he can make one highly effective Prismatic Dress or three less effective Prismatic Helms. I would suggest taking the Prismatic Dress and sticking it on Marle for the rest of the game (high defensive power and reduces magic damage by 1/3).