Chrono Trigger - DS/Walkthrough
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1000 A.D.
Truce Village
The game begins with you, Crono, being woken up by your loving mother in your bedroom. When you have control of Crono, run downstairs and speak to your mother for a chance to name your friend, Lucca. Speak to her again as she starts to walk away for 200 G, then exit the house.
Before you head north to the colorful-looking Millennial Fair, explore the various houses in your little village of Truce. Start with the Elder's House, as it's a great place to learn about various aspects of the game and pick up some very helpful hints for later use. Grab the Tonic and 100 G in this house, and while you're upstairs, keep speaking to the old man with glasses until he forks over 300 G. Check out the other houses in the village (and the town of Porre to the south, if you want a Shelter), then head north to the fair itself.
The Millennial Fair
At the fair, you may be overwhelmed by all that you can do here, but in actuality the fair isn't all that large. Before you explore it too much, head north to the next screen and approach the blonde girl running back and forth there. You'll collide and fall to the ground, and the girl's pendant will go flying. When you get up, speak to the girl first, then go grab her pendant and give it to her. You'll have a chance to name her now (her default name is Marle), and she'll join you as you explore the fair.
The various minigames that you can play here all award you with Silver Points, which you can either trade for gold or use to win prizes at Norstein Bekkler's lab on the east side of the fair. Most of the minigames don't award many Silver Points and really aren't worth your time, though the battle with Gato on the west side of the fair is one you should definitely devote some time to. Not only does defeating him net you a nice 15 Silver Points, but you'll also earn XP (experience points) and Tech Points with every battle. You can also eat the bagged lunch lying on the table just to the southeast of the entrance to Gato's little nook to restore your health between rounds (though this will work against you in a criminal trial later in the game...).
When you've gotten your fill of battling Gato, you'll want to check out the rest of the fair, if for no other reason than to affect the outcome of the aforementioned trail that takes place later on. Here are the rest of the ways to obtain a favorable verdict in the trial; obviously, if you want an unfavorable verdict, just do the opposite of the following:
- Speak to Melchior: Melchior is the weapon salesman in the southern screen of the Millennial Fair. He'll offer to buy Marle's pendant from you, but don't offer to sell it.
- The Lost Cat: Talk to the little girl on the east side of the northern screen of the fair. She'll tell you that she's lost her cat. It's not far; just walk to the west side of this screen, "speak" to the cat, then lead it straight back to the girl.
- Candy Shopping: When you try to exit to the north of the northern screen of the fair, Marle will ask you to wait while she checks out the nearby candy kiosk. Don't try to run away while she's browsing; just stay put and wait until she's finished.
Continue north now to where your friend Lucca and her father Tabin have their new invention on display, a device that transports someone from one portal to the other. Speak to Lucca, then stand on the left portal to give the machine a try. Marle wants to give it a go next, but the machine has a negative reaction to the pendant she's wearing, causing her to be transported to somewhere else in time. Step up to the machine, grab Marle's pendant, and follow her through the portal to a strange new world that won't seem completely unfamiliar...
600 A.D.
Truce Canyon
Upon your exit from the portal, you'll immediately be attacked by three Blue Imps. Take them out with regular melee attacks, then exit this screen to the left. Make your way around the path, going up, then left to find a treasure chest with a Tonic in it, then down to find a PowerGlove in another. You'll be fighting more enemies along the way if you touch them, but they're all very weak to account for your low level, and many fights are completely optional. Continue south until you reach the exit to the World Map.
If you speak to some of the people in the village here, you'll soon learn that you're in the year 600 A.D., not 1000 A.D. anymore. There's not much of interest with the townsfolk, so head west and then north into the Guardia Forest.
Guardia Forest
There really isn't much to this forest. Though you can painstakingly make your way around the edge of the forest here to avoid enemy encounters, it's recommended you don't do that; every little bit of XP helps! If you examine one of the bushes with a very small "trail" leading up to it (the one near the very middle of the forest), you'll find a Shelter. Examine the bush to the southeast for a Power Tab (the nearby shining spot triggers a battle, if you're interested), then head to the northern exit to reach the World Map yet again.
From here, it's just a short walk north to Guardia Castle.
Guardia Castle
Walk right from the entrance and head down the stairs to the kitchen, where you'll find a chest with an Ether in it to the south. You can also sit at the table here to restore your HP/MP. Return to the ground floor and head north to the throne room, then head up the stairs on the left. Continue climbing the stairs to the top (opening the chest for 100 G along the way), then open the chest in the bedroom there for some BronzeMail for Crono. Go back to the throne room and take the right staircase now to the top, opening the chest on the way up for a Tonic. Open the chest in the Queen's room there for an Ether, then speak to her to discover that she's actually Marle! Yeah, this should surprise no one.
After Marle's abrupt departure, Lucca shows up and explains a bit of the plot to you, then joins your party to help you rescue the kidnapped princess. Exit the castle now, work your way south back through the Guardia Forest, then walk west to the Cathedral.
Cathedral
All seems fine here at first: chapel pews, nuns, the usual cathedral fare. Speak to the nun at the organ and a shining spot will appear on the floor to the right. Examine it and the nuns will transform into hellish Naga-ettes that attack you! Use Crono's Slash attack or a Dual Tech with Lucca like Flame Whirl to kill them all quickly. Once all four are defeated, another will attack, but a curious man-frog named Frog of all things drops down and vanquishes the foe for you before joining your group. When you regain control, go play the organ to open a secret door to the right, and step through it.
Head left, open the chests along the way for a Revive and a Tonic, then head north through the door. Climb the stairs here, then enter the first door you see. Open the chests for a MaidenSuit, Tonic, and Ether, then check the drawers to the left for the Naga-ette Bromide. Three Henches will attack you after you find the bromide, so be prepared. Leave the room now and continue right and then north, then left toward the spikes. Head down around them and hit the skull switch to lower the spikes, then head through the door they were protecting. Check the pot on the left for a Power Tab, then leave the room, head right, and walk north to find a chest with a SteelSabre in it. Equip it, then head south all the way and descend the stairs.
Time to check the right side of this area. Head up the stairs there and don't bother with the first door. Instead, head to the door north of it. Ignore the three people in here (they're Gnashers in disguise) and open the chests for an Ether and 100 G before leaving the room again. Now head back down the stairs and head north through the middle of the room to reach a door. Go through to reach the second main area of the Cathedral.
Use the Save Point here to save your game, climb the stairs, and go left. Open the chest for a Shelter, then head down the nearby stairs. Go north through the door into the next room. Ignore the skull switch in this room (it triggers some enemies to appear) and continue north into the corridor there. Open the two chests here for a Heal and a Tonic, then continue right and then south into the room there. Hit this skull switch on the wall to lower the spikes in the room to the west, then continue south through the door. Climb the stairs here, then walk left and then north through the door. Open the chest to the right for an Iron Sword, equip it, then play the organ to the left. This opens the door in the northern corridor, so make another half-circle through the rooms to reach it and head through. Fight the enemies on the bridge here, then stand on the nearby Save Point and use one of your Shelters to completely heal up. Save your game now and go through the northern door for a boss fight.
| Boss: Yakra
HP: 920 If you haven't flagrantly avoided fighting any enemies up to this point, Yakra is going to be a walk in the park. Use Crono and Frog's Dual Tech, X-Strike, to inflict massive damage on Yakra while Lucca uses Flame Toss. Yakra's attacks aren't all that strong, but his NeedleSpin attack can cause around 40 HP of damage to a single party member, so be sure to heal up after that! Lucca should use Tonics for any healing you need to do so that Frog can keep up on the offense, but his Slurp ability can also be used if need be. Keep up with X-Strike and Yakra will fall in very few rounds. |
You've saved the Queen, but where's Marle? Before you leave the room, open the two chests. One contains a Mid Ether and the other holds the real Chancellor. Leave the room now and you'll be transported back to Guardia Castle. Head up to where Marle disappeared before and you'll find her there. Return to the eastern part of Truce Canyon now where your portal dumped you here, then hop inside to return to your proper time.
1000 A.D., Part 2
Lucca tells you to escort Marle back to Guardia Castle, and that's a right fine idea. Leave the Millennial Fair, head west and then north through the Guardia Forest, which is almost exactly the same as it was 400 years ago. Be sure to pick up the Power Tab from the southeast corner of the forest, then head north to reach the Guardia Castle. As soon as you enter, you'll be arrested...for kidnapping Marle!
The Trial
And so begins your legal battle, Crono v. The Kingdom of Guardia. Things are pretty much out of your hands now, though you should not admit that Marle's treasure tempted you if you're going for a Not Guilty verdict. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter, because the outcome will be the same no matter the verdict: you'll be thrown in jail! If this what passes for justice in Guardia, Crono might be better off packing up and moving to a different kingdom.
Guardia Prison
When you come to in your cell, you'll either find a bag with an Ether in it if you were found Not Guilty, or nothing at all; doesn't matter much either way. Now, there are two ways of getting out of your cell. One is to simply let three in-game days pass, after which you'll be taken to a guillotine and rescued by Lucca before you can be beheaded. This bypasses a decent part of the prison and takes care of some of the enemy forces you'd otherwise have to deal with yourself. If you're looking for a quicker way out of the prison, this is the way to go.
If, on the other hand, you want to fight the enemies for XP and gold, you're going to want to bust out of your cell. To do so, keep approaching the cell door and banging on it until the guard comes to punish you for all the noise makin'. As the guard walks away, hit him in the back of the head, then leave the cell and fight the other guard. Head east and you'll reach a four-way staircase. Take the southeastern stairs down and continue forward until you reach a cell (if you sneak up on the guard and knock him out from behind, you can grab a Mid Tonic off him). Pull the switch next to it and enter to find some chests. Open them for two Ethers and two Mid Tonics, then return to the four-way staircase.
You can either try to slip between the two Blue Shields here, or just fight them; if you do battle them, only attack them when their shields are turned to the side. Continue up the northeast staircase and cross the bridge. Sneak up on the guards inside and knock them out, and be sure to check their bodies for more Mid Tonics. Open the gate here and you'll find Fritz in the guillotine; free him from his confines and he'll help you out later in the game. This is also where you'd start if you waited three days in your cell and let Lucca free you. Grab the Mid Tonic here, then open the gate behind the guillotine to find a BronzeMail. Now leave this area through the northwest exit. Cross the bridge and you'll reach a second four-way staircase.
You can head down the southwest stairs to find a Shelter, then go back and take the northwest exit. Head into the far left cell and go out through the hole in the wall. Climb down the outside wall until you reach another hole, and enter. Take the Shelter from the chest here, then climb through the hole in the floor. You'll end up in the cell next to the one you started in. Take the Lode Sword from the chest here, equip it, then approach the wall and climb back up. Return to the last four-way staircase and take the northeast stairs this time. Follow this route back to the upper office, where you'll reunite with Lucca if you haven't already. When she knocks out the guard, search his body for five Mid Tonics. Read the note on the floor next to him for a tip on beating the upcoming boss, save your game at the nearby Save Point, use a Shelter if you need to replenish your HP/MP, then head up the stairs to face the final obstacle preventing you from escaping...
| Boss: Dragon Tank
Head - HP: 266 Body - HP: 600 Grinder - HP: 208 Each of the three pieces of the Dragon Tank has a specific purpose. The head heals all three pieces, the wheels store up energy, then release it by running you over, and the body has the primary attacks. You'll want to take out the Head first to prevent it from healing the other two pieces, then remove the Grinder (wheels) next. Use the Fire Whirl Dual Tech every round until your HP drops below 30, at which point you should use a Mid Tonic. Keep up with the Fire Whirls (or Cyclone and Lucca's normal attack if you haven't learned the Dual Tech) until all three pieces of the Dragon Tank are destroyed. |
The way out from here is straightforward, and you can't really deviate from it. Descend the stairs, grabbing the Shelter from the chest in one of the room before you reach the bottom. Head out of the castle and east through the forest until you reach a dead end. At that point, Lucca will get the brilliant idea of jumping into the portal there, so do so to leave your pursuers high and dry.
2300 A.D.
Bangor and Trann Domes
You'll appear in the Bangor Dome in the year 2300 A.D. There's not much here save for a mysteriously locked door to the north, so exit the dome to find a post-apocalyptic landscape decimated by some sort of armageddon long since past. Head south first to the dome there, known as Trann Dome. You'll find some people here, as well as a machine known as the Enertron, which will replenish your HP/MP (but leave you hungry...). You can also buy some supplies here, if you need them. When you're ready to move out, leave the dome and head north on the "road" until you reach Lab 16.
Lab 16
Quite an array of monsters here, though nothing you can't handle. The Mutants are the toughest foes here, and will require a few powerful attacks to take down quickly. Avoid the rats running around here, because they'll steal your Tonics if you touch them. Also of note are the Shadows; they're impervious to physical attacks, so use Crono's Slash Tech or Marle and Lucca's magic to kill them.
From where you begin, head right, then north, and open the chest for a Berserker. Go back south and left, then continue north until the path curves to the right. Follow it east, open the chest for a Lode Sword (which you probably already have), and then north until it curls west. Open the chest there for a Lode Bow for Marle, then head south, west, and north to the top of the area. Walk all the way east, then head south. Look to the southwest for a chest with an Ether in it, then head east, and finally north out of the Lab and back to the World Map.
Follow the road now to the next dome, known as Arris Dome, and enter.
Arris Dome
Find the Enertron here to heal up, and buy whatever supplies you may want from the local merchant. The people here are starving, and there's rumor of food down in the storage room, but the elder, Doan, says no one ever comes out alive. Ignore his warning and climb down the ladder near him. You can't take the right path by the shining console yet, so head up the left one to reach the rafters. Follow them around until you reach what appears to be a statue of a rat. Examine it to find a warning about the boss just ahead, then head north to face that boss, the Guardian, and its two Bits.
| Boss: Guardian
Guardian - HP: 1,200 Bits - HP: 200 each First thing's first: you do not want to attack the Guardian while both Bits are still alive. Doing so causes it to unleash a powerful Delta attack on your party, causing big damage. Instead, use Crono and Lucca's Fire Whirl Dual Tech to take out the two Bits first, then attack the Guardian with your normal attacks (it's strong to Fire-based attacks, so don't bother with Lucca's spells). The Guardian will initiate a countdown, at the end of which the two Bits will be revived. Destroy them again with Fire Whirls, then attack the Guardian normally again. A few rounds of this will do the Guardian in. When you need to heal, either have Marle cast a healing spell, use Mid Tonics, or cast Aura Whirl in conjunction with Crono. |
Continue into the food storage room now to find a corpse with some seeds on it. After the conversation, check the corpse to see that it has a note about that rat statue you passed earlier. Turns out it's real, and if you want the password to get into the other section of the dome, you're going to have to catch it. Open the chest here for a Mid Ether, then return to the room with the rafter beams. The rat will flee from you, so chase after it while holding down the Run button, then hit A when you're near it to catch it. It'll give you the password L + R + A, so return to the console in the first room of the dome's basement and input it there to unlock the door. Head through.
There's only one treasure in this room, and it's a Mid Ether on the lower-middle platform. To reach the northeast door, head north up the left side of the room as far as you can go, go right onto the upper-middle platform and head south, head up the steps on its southeast corner, then go north to the door to reach the next room. This room's much larger, but there's no treasure for you to find here at the moment, so you'll just want to head straight for the door to the north. Reaching it is a simple matter of always staying on the left side of the room. When you reach the door, go through.
Here you'll learn that there's a gate in the Proto Dome to the southeast. You'll also see a filmed account of the Day of Lavos, 1999 A.D., when the world was destroyed. After your party's decision to find out more about this Lavos creature, run all the way back to the ladder going up to the surface level of the dome and hand over the seeds you found to Doan. He'll give you the Bike Key in exchange, so use the Enertron if you need to, exit the dome, and head north to Lab 32.
Lab 32
Approach the bike here and examine it to set off an alarm. You'll be introduced to Johnny, who challenges you to a race across the Lab road. You're given three boosts, though you really don't need them in order to win. You and Johnny will always fluctuate between the lead and rear position, but you increase your score by steering your bike so that Johnny rams into it from behind. If you're having trouble winning the race, hold onto at least one boost until you're near the end of the race (keep a close eye on the map at the bottom of the screen), then hit the boost at the end to rocket over the finish line. Once you've beaten Johnny, you can race him again at any time. You can also walk back through Lab 32 to find the Race Log, which records your best race times and allows you to race with different camera modes.
That's it for Lab 32, so head east, then south past the Factory to the Proto Dome.
Proto Dome
Heal up at the Enertron, then continue north through the room to find a busted-up robot lying on the floor. Lucca fixes him up, and when it's able to speak, go ahead and name your new ally, Robo. The power that controls the door between you and the portal here needs to be activated in the nearby Factory, and only Robo can do that. One of your party must stay behind, so choose between Marle or Lucca. If you want more healing for the next boss fight, bring Marle, but if you want more firepower, bring Lucca; it's up to you.
When you've made your decision, leave the Proto Dome and walk north to the Factory.
Factory
Right Path
Approach the console here and Robo will disable the security system, allowing you to enter. There are two elevators here, one on the left and one on the right. You'll want to use the one on the right first, so do so. When the lift stops, head forward, climb down the ladder, then go left until you see a ladder going up into a dark room. Climb in there and check the upper-right corner of the room for a hidden chest with a Mid Ether in it. Exit the room now, climb down the ladder to the catwalk, and walk south on the catwalk to the ladder going down. Descend it, then head all the way to the left to find a chest with a Robin Bow for Marle in it. If she's in your party, equip her with this.
Return to the catwalk now and take the ladder all the way to the right. Follow the path south and then west, and stop before you enter the little room there. Wait for any robots on the conveyor belt to pass, then run into the room and start running on the conveyor belt to the left. If you see a robot coming, duck off to the south of the belt on either of the two safe areas (the second safe area holds a chest with an Ether in it). When you reach the far left side of the belt, head down the steps there, go through the door, head right, climb the ladder, and go through the door to return to the main room. Cross north on the catwalk, and go right when you can. Open the chest for a Mid Tonic, then head through the door just above you. Open these chests for 400 G and a Mid Ether, then examine the computer in the middle of the room to learn the crane operation controls. The first controls will be X, A, and the second set will be B, B.
Exit the room now and head left to the next room. Go left, open the chests for a Shelter and Ether, then exit to the southwest to reach the crane operation station. When prompted, enter the first pair of controls (X, A), then the second (B, B). This clears the barrels from the paths that previously blocked the way ahead. Exit the station and the room behind it, then climb down the ladder to the left. Run left, then north to a door you couldn't reach earlier, and head through it. Open the chest for a Bolt Sword, then examine the computer to learn the Factory's security password, ZABIE, which translates to X, A, B, Y on your controller. Leave this room and return to the elevator all the way to the right, and ride it back up to the Factory's lobby. Ride the left elevator down now.
Left Path
Head around to the northern part of the room, kill the Acid/Alkalines there, open the chest for a Shelter, then examine the computer to open the hatch. Climb down. Head left across this room, then south down the corridor, then right, and finally north through the door into another room with a computer. Open the chests on either side of this room for a Titan Vest and Hammer Arm, then examine the computer to disable the lab's lasers. Defeat the enemies that attack you with more magic and Techs like Crono's Slash, then climb down the hatch to the lowest level of the factory. Head north, open the chest for a Plasma Gun for Lucca, then examine the computer.
Here you must enter the password you learned on the Right Side of the factory (X, A, B, Y) to unlock the nearby door. Go through and hit the switch on the pillar there. This sets off a security alarm, meaning you have to get out of the factory post haste! Head south back to the ladder, climb it up, then make your way back around (there's only one way to go) until you're attacked by six robots bearing an uncanny resemblance to Robo...
| Boss: R Series
HP: 150 each You'll be facing six of these bad boys, and without Robo to boot! They don't have much HP on their own, which makes using Chrono's Cyclone Tech the one to use. You can wipe out all six R Series bots pretty easily with that attack, as long as you manage to hit three of them at a time with it. Whoever's your backup should be on healing duty. If it's Lucca, have her use Mid Tonics on whoever's HP is lowest, and if it's Marle, use her Aura Tech. Lucca can also use her Flame Toss Tech to speed things up, if no one is in drastic need of healing. |
Robo's in pretty bad shape, so you'll drag him back to the Proto Dome, where Lucca will repair him. Once he's back in tiptop shape, the four of you will step through the door and take the portal to wherever it leads...
The End of Time
Well that was unexpected. Head southeast through the gate and speak to the gentlemen sleeping next to the lamppost to learn about this place, the End of Time. You'll find out that you can't travel with more than four people in one party, or you'll end up here. Of note are the Save Point and the shining spot next to it, which recovers your HP/MP; and beware bucket northeast of the man, as this takes you to the Day of Lavos, 1999 A.D. The old man also tells you to speak with Spekkio in the room above to learn about magic.
Go through the door and speak to Spekkio. To learn magic, you must first perform the inane task of walking around the outside of his room three times, clockwise. Go slow, and make sure you touch each corner. When you're done, speak to him and you'll learn magic! Crono learns Lightning magic, Lucca learns Fire magic, and Marle learns Ice magic. When you get Frog back in your party, you should bring him here so he can learn Water magic. You also have the chance of testing out your new skills on Spekkio. If you're able to defeat him, you'll earn some good prizes. Come back every now and then after you've raised several levels and he'll have transformed into a harder version of himself. Keep defeating these versions for better prizes, but know that Spekkio is no pushover! Don't worry, though, he can't kill you.
Return to the previous area now and walk over to the time gates area. Your ultimate destination is the one going to Medina Village, 1000 A.D., but you may want to make a quick trip back to the Proto Dome, 2300 A.D. Why? There's an invisible Power Tab just south of the time gate there, so take a step or two down and keep hitting the A button until you find it, then return to the End of Time and take the gate to Medina Village, 1000 A.D.
1000 A.D., Part 3
Medina
You'll pop out of the cupboard of some monsters who live here in the magic village of Medina, but they won't hold any grudges. Exit the house and head over to the Elder's house. Look for shinings spots on the kitchen cupboard downstairs and the desk upstairs for a Speed Tab and a Magic Tab, respectively. Head southwest of town now and visit the weaponsmith Melchior at his home there. Buy some equipment if you like, then head north from his house into the Heckran Cave.
Heckran Cave
Those magical powers you just picked up will come in handy here, as the enemies in the Heckran cave are all resistant to physical attacks. If Robo's in your party, his Laser Spin Tech will also be quite effective. Follow the linear path forward until you reach a large open room with water. Head straight south from where you enter this room to reach an antechamber with a treasure chest containing a nice MagicScarf in it. Equip it, then return to the water room and head left. Open the chest for a Mid Ether, then go north to the end of the little finger of land there for an Ether. Walk south now to exit to a different room, then go left, head up to the next room, note the sealed chest here (remember to come back here once you have the means of unlocking these chests for a Wall Ring and Dash Ring), then exit this room at the top. Climb down into the water now (funny how your crew seems to be able to walk on the water here...nice work, programmers) and work your way around to the north-center of the room, where you can climb up. Heal up and save your game at the Save Point, then walk north through the opening to face this cave's namesake boss, Heckran.
| Boss: Heckran
HP: 2,100 As you may have guessed, Heckran is weak only to magic, so use that exclusively here. Marle and Lucca's Dual Tech, Antipode, words great against him, so use that if you've learned it (and they're in your party, of course) while Crono casts Lightning. Robo should use his Laser Spin. When Heckran starts to taunt you with "Go Ahead! Try and attack!", do not attack him, or he'll counter with a painful Water Wave. Wait until the "Brief counter-attack break" message appears, then go back to laying into him with your magic. Use Marle's Aura or Aura Whirl Dual Tech with Crono when you need to heal, though you shouldn't need to do much of this. |
After the battle, walk north and jump into the whirlpool.
Lucca's House
You'll be spat out right next to your friend Lucca's house. Go ahead and enter and speak to Lucca's father, Taban. He'll give her the Taban Vest, which she should equip right away. You'll want to come back here every now and then to see if Taban has created something new for Lucca, as it's almost always worth the trip.
Before you head off to the Millennial Fair to use the time gate there, enter the Truce Market and speak with Fritz, if you saved him from the guillotine in the Guardia Prison. To show his appreciation of your gallantry, he'll give you ten Mid Ethers. Not bad!
Not much else to do now, so head to Lucca's machine in the Millennial Fair and use the time gate to return to the End of Time and open up the portal to Truce Canyon, 600 A.D. there. Take that gate now.
600 A.D., Part 2
Feeding the Troops
Make your way out of Truce Canyon, then head southwest of Truce to the Zenan Bridge. Speak with the Knight Captain (the guy in gold armor) to learn that their rations have run out, and apparently there's no one around to run the two minutes north to Guardia Castle to fetch more. No one...except you, that is! Head north to Guardia Castle and enter the kitchen, and speak to the chef. His words aren't encouraging, so head back to the main level of the castle and try to leave. The cook will stop you and give you a Power Tab, as well one lousy piece of Jerky to feed the soldiers. Ouch. Well, it's going to be enough (in this crazy skewed Squaresoft world), so exit the castle and head back to the Zenan Bridge.
Zenan Bridge
Give the Jerky to the Knight Captain, then talk to him again. Agree to help him and he'll give you a Gold Helm. Equip it, then start heading across the bridge, where you'll soon meet Magus's #2 man, Ozzie. Ozzie will sic lots of Deceased enemies at you, but you can quickly kill them with Crono's Lightning magic. Don't bother attacking Ozzie during these fights; just focus on the Deceased and Ozzie will flee when they're all defeated. After a few rounds of this, Ozzie will send the much larger Zombor after you.
| Boss: Zombor
Top Half - HP: 960 Bottom Half - HP: 800 There are two halves to this boss, and each is strong against certain types of magic. The top half absorbs Fire and Lightning magic, and the bottom half absorbs Shadow and Ice magic. Crono should use his Cyclone Tech to hit both halves. If Marle's in your party, have her heal with Aura and cast Ice on the top half. If Lucca's in your party, have her cast Fire on the bottom half. And if Robo's in your party, have him attack the bottom half. Once the bottom half is dead, finish off the top half. If both Marle and Lucca are in your party, have them cast Antipode to quickly remove any remaining HP this boss is clinging to. |
That's it for the Zenan Bridge. Exit to the left to return to the world map, then head southeast toward the village of Dorino.
Dorino, Fiona's Villa, and Porre
There's not a whole lot to see here in this quaint little town, but if you grabbed the Naga-ette Bromide from the Cathedral earlier in the game, you'll want to stop by the northernmost residence of Dorino. There's a shining spot on the set of drawers next to the fireplace here; examine it and you'll see it's locked. Speak with the woman in front of the fire and agree to give her the Bromide in exchange for "something good." The old man will then unlock the drawer, allowing you to extract a Magic Tab from it.
Enter Fiona's Villa in the middle of the desert to the south now and speak to her to learn about her missing husband. More on that later, but for now, open the two chests in her house and steal her two Mid Ethers.
Walk south to the town of Porre now and enter the Market. Grab the Power Tab off the floor on the left side of the room, then go up to the counter and purchase any new equipment that catches your eye.
Your next destination is the Cursed Woods, northwest of Porre. Go there now.
Cursed Woods
The enemies here aren't too difficult, so go ahead and fight them all for XP and TP. Occasionally, if you run north through the woods from the entrance, you'll witness a Nu walking around, though this is just a little useless nugget of trivia. Open the chests along the way for a Mid Tonic and a Shelter. When you reach the north end of the woods, move around the shaking bush in the middle of the path and climb down the ladder concealed there. You'll find someone's sleeping hole, currently empty. Open the chest to the right for another MagicScarf, then go left to trigger Frog's appearance. He's wallowing in his own guilt and self-loathing, so leave him be and leave his home, and the Cursed Woods.
There's only one way to cheer up a frog when he's down: bring him a big fat sword!! Rumor has it you may be able to find such a thing in the nearby Denadoro Mountains to the east, so stroll on over there, and bring Lucca with you. You'll find out soon enough.
Denadoro Mountains
One word of advice about the Denadoro Mts.: If you encounter an Ogan with a hammer, have Lucca cast Fire on it to burn the weapon away, making the enemy much, much easier to defeat.
Open the chest near the start here for 300 G, then head north. Don't climb the ladder just yet; instead, continue north on the water, and look on the left side of the next screen for a chest with a MirageHand in it for Robo. Return to the previous screen now and climb the ladder. Immediately head left and south to reach the upper part of the first screen, and open the chest there for a Revive. Go back north to the second screen and walk along the left edge of the rock; you'll go through an obscured path to a chest with an Ether in it. Now head north over the bridge, climb the ladder, and continue north to find a chest with 500 G in it. Cross the bridge to the east now, walk south, climb the ladder there, climb the ladder north of that, then exit to the northeast.
Walk right, and when the path splits north and northeast, go north first to find a Mid Ether in a chest. Go back to the fork and continue northeast now, grabbing the Revive from the chest on the right before climbing the ladder. Take the Gold Helm from the chest on this level, then climb up the next ladder and head left. When the path forks west and south, go south first and descend the ladder to find a Mid Tonic, then go back and exit this screen to the west. Head north here, climb the ladder, open the chest for a Mid Ether, climb the next ladder, and exit to the east.
Go right here, climb the ladder, open the chest on the right for 600 G, then continue north to the next screen, which offers quite a nice view of the distant mountains (how this translates to the actual world map is for the more imaginative of us to decipher). Walk left to the next screen, the top of the large waterfall. Open the nearby chest first for 300 G, then go north and step onto the water itself (there goes Crono playing Jesus again...). Curl around to the northeast first and open the chest there for a Mid Tonic, then head southwest to the edge of the waterfall's leftmost side. Drop down here to land on a little outcropping of land with a chest on it, and open this for the Silver Stud accessory. Drop down again and go right to get back on land. Before exiting to the north here, follow the path south to find another chest with a Silver Earring in it. Now exit north.
You'll be back in a screen you were at previously. Exit north to reach the screen with the nice view again, then go west until you're back at the top of the waterfall. This time, step out onto the water, then get back on land via the path to the northwest. Go left, open the chest for a Mid Ether, then climb down the ladder and exit southwest to another area with a nice view. Cross the bridge, then keep speaking to the creature here until he gives you a Magic Tab to leave him alone. Exit south now to find a Save Point. Heal up, save your game, then go left and descend the ladder. Go right, open the chest for a Mid Ether, then go south and climb down the ladder there. Walk right to the next screen.
Check beneath the leaves of the tree at the northern edge of the path (before it turns south) to find a hidden chest with a Gold Suit in it. Equip this, then go south and drop down the half-ladder there. Open the chest to the left for a Shelter, then go right, climb the last ladder, and enter the cave to the north. There, you'll meet Masa and Muna, who you'll have to challenge if you want the Masamune sword.
| Boss: Masa & Mune
Masa - HP: 1,000 Mune - HP: 1,000 This fight pits you against the separate brothers. Each has 1000 HP, but to move on to the next stage of the fight you need only defeat one brother. Focus on either Masa or Muna and lay into him. The brothers will counter every one of your attacks, so it's best to use Dual Techs until one is defeated. Once you've taken one out, you'll immediately be thrust into the next boss fight... |
| Boss: Masamune
HP: 3,600 Now here's the real challenge! The two brothers have joined their powers to form one huge, nasty beast. Crono's Lightning magic doesn't work so well against it, so he should be attacking or using Dual Techs with other teammates. Devote one party member to healing, either Robo or Marle. One thing to watch out for is when Masamune starts "Storing tornado energy." When you see that prompt, have Crono use his Slash Tech to neutralize the attack. If you don't do this, Masamune will unleash a powerful attack on your party that will leave you seriously hurting. Keep your Crono + Lucca or Robo Dual Techs going while your healer keeps your HP up until Masamune falls. |
For defeating the brothers, you receive the blade of the Masamune sword. Now where's the hilt? It's not far. Stand in the light here and ride the wind back to the base of the mountain.
The Hero Medal and the Hilt
Walk south to Tata's House in the village of Porre and speak to Tata, who has been going around claiming to be the hero of legend. Clearly, he's no hero, so he'll give you the Hero's Medal, which he found lying around somewhere. Take it to Frog in the Cursed Woods, who remains in his funk, but steps aside, allowing you to open the other treasure chest (treasure apple?) here to find the hilt of the Masamune. You'll learn that Melchior forged the sword, so it looks like you'll need to go talk to him about getting this thing fixed!
Return to Truce Canyon now and use the time gate there to return to the End of Time. There, jump to Medina, 1000 A.D. and walk over to Melchior's home. Show him the pieces of the sword, and he'll say that he can only repair it with Dreamstone, which hasn't existed for millions and millions of years. Sounds like another trip to the End of Time, eh? Head back there via the cupboard in Medina, then use the portal to the Mystic Mountain, 65,000,000 B.C.
65,000,000 B.C.
Mystic Mountain
You'll be dropped unceremoniously down the side of a cliff here and immediately attacked by green critters named Reptites. Beat back the ones that attack you, and when their numbers really get out of hand, breath a sigh of relief as a scantily-clad woman bounds onto the scene and wipes them out for you. She introduces herself as Ayla, though you can name her whatever you want. She also says there are plenty of stones back in her village, so you'll need to follow her out of the Mystic Mountains to reach it.
This is a simple matter of running south down through the valley, which is populated by various dinosaurs. Fight them to get an idea of the kind of foes you'll be facing here, and be sure to open the chest for a Berserker on the way down. When you reach the world map, head northeast to find the Ioka village.
Ioka Village
Swing by the southeast tent first and drink some of the Sweet Water to restore your HP/MP, then enter the Chief's Hut to speak with Ayla. After some dialogue, it will be nightfall and a party is in full swing. Walk around, talking to all your party members, dancing around the fire, etc., and keep checking back with Ayla until she agrees to challenge you for the dreamstone. You're going to have to beat her in a poi-drinking contest, and this is just a simple matter of mashing on the A button as fast as you can. Once you win, you'll hit the sack, and wake up next morning with your Gate Key stolen!
Ayla knows it's the Reptites, whose lair is to the south, in the middle of the Forest Maze, and she'll join your party now. Before you head south, you may want to spend some time fighting enemies in the Hunting Range north of Ioka Village. There you'll acquire Horns, Feathers, Petals, and Fangs, all of which can be traded with the village's local bartering meister for better equipment. If it rains in the Hunting Range, quickly check the southeast, northeast, and northwest corners for the blue Nu, and fight him to win a Third Eye accessory. When you're ready, walk south of the village to the northern edge of the Forest Maze, and enter.
Forest Maze
You start off in the northwestern corner of the forest, and the exit is in the southwestern corner, which means you'll be making a big arc through the forest, heading east first, then south, then west. This "maze" isn't all that difficult, really, though it is a little tough to see the path due to the shadows of the foliage overhead. Be that as it may, the path forward is pretty linear, with branching paths to treasure chests providing the only diversions.
From the the start, follow the footprints east, open the chest just to the south for a Mid Tonic, then go right and climb down the vines there. Go southeast from here, open the chest for a Revive, then head back up and climb down the next set of vines. Head southeast, cross the gap on the fallen tree, and head southwest to find a chest with a Mid Tonic in it. Now follow the edge of the gap north and then northwest to find a chest with a Mid Ether in it. Walk east now along the northern edge of the forest, then follow the path as it turns south. When the path forks, go left first to find a Revive in a chest, then go back and take the other path beneath the "jungle overpass" to the southern edge of the forest. Open the chest here for a Shelter, then go right up the ramp to get on that overpass you just walked under. Follow this path around until it splits north and south, and take the southern route first. Go west and the path will split again. Both of these paths lead to treasure chests: north for a Heal and south for a Mid Tonic. After you've grabbed both, head back to the previous north/south fork and go north this time. Follow this path around until you head down a ramp returning you to ground level, then go southeast along the edge of the rock. You'll pass beneath another overpass and find a chest with a Mid Ether in it. That's it for the Forest Maze treasures, so just head to the southwest corner now to reach the exit.
From here, just stroll south to reach the Reptite Lair. Be sure to save your game on the world map before you enter.
Reptite Lair
This is a rather short dungeon that won't prove too difficult for you, unless you're planning on try to collect all the treasure in it, in which case you're going to have to be very patient... In any case, from the first screen, head right to the next and you'll see a hole in the ground and some EvilWeevils wandering around. Now, you can fight these guys, or you can wait and let them dig other holes in the ground. These holes lead to branching paths that lead to various treasures on your way down to the bottom level of the Lair. None of these treasures are all that great, but if you want to try finding them then by all means go ahead. The enemies here aren't all that strong, but if you encounter a Megasaur, be sure to have Crono cast Lightning on it first to weaken it!
For the quickest way to the bottom, jump in the hole that's already there in that room, and you'll fall to a room below. Just keep jumping into the holes that are already there and you'll reach the bottom level soon enough. You'll know you're at the bottom when you see all the Reptites running around; feel free to attack them if you want the XP. There, open the chest in the southwest corner for a Rock Helm, then walk northeast to the exit, opening the chest for a Full Ether before you head through. Walk north through this room, but avoid the exit on the left wall unless you want to go back to the start of the Lair and try to take a different route down to find all the treasures. Keep walking north, use a Shelter at the Save Point, save your game, then continue north until you reach the boss of this dungeon, Nizbel.
| Boss: Nizbel
HP: 4,200 Nizbel's physical defense is through the roof until you weaken it with Crono's Lightning spell. Once you've shocked Nizbel, get in as many attacks as you can, but make sure your HP is always above 200, because eventually Nizbel will release the energy you electrocuted him with back onto your party for heavy damage. Use Robo's Cure Beam, Ayla's Kiss, or Marle's Aura spell (or Aura Whirl with Crono) to get everyone's HP back up to full, then have Crono whip out another Lightning bolt. If you've learned it, Crono and Ayla's Dual Tech, Volt Bite, works great against him. Just keep up this pattern of shocking Nizbel, getting your attacks in, surviving his energy release, healing up, and shocking him again to start the process all over. |
The Reptite leader, Azala, will give back the Gate Key at this point, but make his escape...for now. Your party will automatically return to Ayla's hut in Ioka. When the conversation ends, return to the Mystic Mountains, head to the very top of the mountain, and drop off the cliff to land in the time gate midway down. From the End of Time, take the gate to Medina Village, 1000 A.D.
1000 A.D., Part 4
Repairing the Masamune
Head over to Melchior's house now and give him the Dreamstone. Things are basically out of your hands here, so just keep talking to Melchior and Lucca as they reforge the sword until the task is complete. With the new weapon in hand, return to the Medina time gate, then head back to Truce Canyon, 600 A.D.
600 A.D., Part 3
The New Hero
Head down to the Cursed Woods and show Frog the completed Masamune. You'll get a little piece of backstory, after which Frog will permanently join your party! Your ultimate destination now is Magus's Castle to the east, via the Magic Cave, but first and foremost you must take Frog back to the Truce Canyon time gate to return to the End of Time if you want him to be of any use to you. Bring him to Spekkio so that he can learn Water magic, then return to 600 A.D. and go to the Magic Cave, which is just east of Fiona's Villa (you may also want to head to Lucca's house in 1000 A.D. for the Taban Helm from her father before proceeding). Frog will split the cave open, permitting your entry.
Magic Cave
This is a very short cave, hardly worth mentioned, but it's there, so we shall. Fight your way through the beasties here, using magic against the rats whenever you encounter them, until you reach the end of the cave. If you haven't taken Frog to Spekkio yet, he'll keep hinting not-so-subtly for you to do so. Don't fret about that annoying little bat following you around, as there's nothing you can do about him. At the end of the cave, read the note on the dead soldier, then step outside.
If you can't make your way to Magus's Castle from here, put down the controller immediately and drown yourself.
Magus's Castle
Once inside, head up the staircase and you'll see that the path branches left and right. Head down each path to its end, then return to the top of the staircase to find what looks like a Save Point. Stand in it to summon Magus's main henchman, Ozzie, who informs you that you're going to have to fight your way through the castle. Those two halls you ran through earlier are now populated with enemies, and you must defeat the boss at the end of each before you can move on to the next part of the castle.
You may as well start with the left hall. You don't have to fight the enemies here if you don't want to, but if you want the XP and TP, go right ahead. Just make sure to heal up before you reach the final room, because that's where you'll face off against the first of Ozzie's cronies, Slash.
| Boss: Slash
First Form - HP: 3,200 Second Form - HP: 5,200 Frog's Water magic doesn't work at all against Slash, so you may want to relegate him to healing duties, or just have him attack with the Masamune. Stick to physical attacks to wear Slash down, and have one person healing every turn. Once you've knocked off the first 3,200 HP, Slash will grab the sword off the wall, and then the real fight will begin, but your tactics should stay the same: have one person healing every round while you lay into Slash with physical attacks. Dual Techs work well, as do Triple Techs like Triple Raid, if you've learned it. |
Once Slash is defeated, pick up his sword, Slasher, and have Crono equip it. Save your game, then go check out the right hallway again. Speak with the kids guarding the treasure chest if you want to fight them for it; otherwise just head to the end of the hall, making sure you're fully healed before you reach it. There, you'll find a strange looking creature that attacks you. It'll fall in one hit, but whoever kills it loses all their MP, so make it someone who's not magic-centric. You'll then face Ozzie's other crony, Flea, who despite his feminine appearance is actually a man. Thanks for toying with our libidos, Square.
| Boss: Flea
HP: 4,120 Flea uses a lot of status-ailment magic on your party, and you would do well to cure yourselves of them as soon as they hit with your Heal items. Like the battle with Slash, you'll want someone dedicated to healing and curing ailments every round, while your other two party members hit Flea with their strongest attacks. Flea has no real weaknesses or strength, so magic is fine to use here, as are Dual Techs. Fire magic is slightly more effective against Flea than other magic types, so if Lucca is in your party, go to town. |
Pick up the Magic Tab off the floor when Flea is defeated, then return to the top of the stairs. There's another faux-Save Point there, so step into it to be taken to a different part of the castle.
In the first room, you'll need to fight your way through the enemies to reach the far door. Open the chest at the end for a Mist Robe, then go through the door. In the next room, you must move along the conveyor belts without being cut by the rising and falling blades. This is actually quite easy to do, so don't worry too much about them; just hold down the run button when avoiding them. Open the chest for some Dark Mail along on the way, and the one at the end for a Doom Finger for Robo. Head through the door and you'll be at the bottom of a Donkey Kong-esque set of stairs and ladders. You can avoid all fights here simply by heading up the stairs and climbing down one of the ladders whenever a green roly enemy rolls by.
Go through the door at the top of the stairs and you'll reach a room that has several section of false floor that, when stepped on, drop you into the room below. You'll want to fall down once to pick up the treasures in that room: you'll find a Mid Ether and Lapis in the upper-left corner, a Barrier and Shelter in the upper-right corner, and a Magic Tab in the lower-right corner. As for getting out of this pit, you see those four Save Points at the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the room? Well, two of them are enemies (easily dispatched with Crono's Slash Tech), one is actually a Save Point, and the one across from the Save Point will always be the one that teleports you back to the room with the pits in the floor. It's random everytime, so you'll just have to check them to see which is which. In any case, to get past the pit-room, walk right from the entrance until you hit the wall, follow the wall south until it turns east, continue following it east, and then keep walking east past the corner where the wall turns north. Walk east until you're directly beneath the door above, then walk straight up to it to get out.
You're now at another outdoor staircase with ladders. The same tactics as before apply here, but you won't be able to avoid the bird-like Outlaws, so try to fight them only when there's not a Roly Bomber around. Get to the top and go through the door. You'll face various enemies coming up on the chains here. The tricky ones are the Jugglers, which start out weak against magic attacks, but switch to being weak to physical ones after you hit them with a spell. If Crono's learned Lightning 2 by now (and if he hasn't, see that he does!), cast that to wipe them all out at once. Be sure to grab the Speed Belt here. In the next room, you can avoid the fights by moving behind the statues, clinging to the wall instead of running down the center of the room. Take the Revive from the chest in the corner (though you'll probably have to fight a battle for it), then go through the door at the top to face Ozzie.
| Boss: Ozzie
HP: N/A Ozzie, coward that he is, won't fight you directly, and you should do likewise; attacking him will get you nowhere in this battle, just a counterattack from Ozzie. Instead, target and attack the four switches behind him to send him plummeting into a pit. End of battle. |
Two Save Points appear now, one that's actually a Save Point (on the right) and one that teleports you to the final area of the castle. Be sure to open the chests on either side of the room for a Mist Robe and MagicScarf, then use a Shelter and save your game before step into the left sets of sparklies. Run down the staircase to the bottom and you'll reach Magus's inner sanctum, where it seems a ritual is underway. Time to interrupt it!
| Boss: Magus
HP: 6,666 For the first half of this fight, Magus switches his magic weakness between the four types (Fire, Ice/Water, Lightning, and Shadow). You'll know which spell to cast when you see the spell he casts on you; just cast the same type! He'll switch after you hit him with it, so don't get crazy and try to hit him with multiple spells. If you don't have someone in your party who can cast a particular type of magic (eg. if he casts a Fire spell and you don't have Lucca in your party), just attack him and he'll switch again. Frog can attack Magus with the Masamune to lower his magic defense as well. Eventually, Magus will drop this method of changing weaknesses and just hit you with Dark Matter spells. You'll want to make sure you have full HP before he hits you with this, as it's quite powerful. Use whatever attacks or magic you wish from this point on, but stick with your strongest ones, because you don't want to have to deal with more than one or two Dark Matters (or none, if you're really lucky or powerful). |
After the battle, Magus's ceremony goes completely wrong, and a gate opens, sending you back to 65,000,000 B.C. again.
65,000,000 B.C., Part 2
Laruba Village
You'll come to in Ayla's hut, 65,000,000 B.C. again. Shortly after you awaken, you'll hear that the northern woods are burning. Head there to find the smoldering ruins of Laruba Village, a group of humans who had hidden deep in the forest to avoid the Reptites. Listen to the dialogue between Ayla and the Laruban chief, and when she runs off, return to the world map and walk north to the Dactyl Nest, which is between the Laruba village and the Hunting Grounds.
Before you head there, though, you may want to spend some time in the Hunting Grounds acquiring more Petals, Fangs, Horns, and Feathers for the Ioka trader, who has new gear in stock. Also, here's an interesting little tidbit: if you go to the Medina Village square in 1000 A.D. now, you'll see that the mystics are worshipping a statue of Ozzie now instead of Magus.
Dactyl Nest
This is a short obstacle you must pass in order to reach the next, true dungeon. Head north all the way through the first screen until you get to the top, climb the footholds here, open the chest for a Mid Ether then make your way back sound along the left side of the screen. Cross the bridge to the right, open the chest there for a Mid Tonic, then go north, climb the steps, and exit to the right. The enemies here are often grouped into flying apes and volcano-like rocks; kill the volcanos first to prevent the apes from using them in a counterattack.
In this next screen, climb up the footholds, pass under the bridge, climb up the next set of steps, work your way south and right over the bridge, open the chest for the Meso Mail, climb the nearby footholds, head north, climb the next set of footholds, then exit at the top of the screen. Ayla's here with three dactyls, and she's a mandatory member of your party for this next bit, so choose your third member, then take to the skies. Your destination is the Tyrano Lair, which is due east from Ioka village. It's pretty hard to miss the jagged spikes of this castle-by-the-sea-of-lava.
Tyrano Lair
Head north through the room to the two dinosaur skulls. The left one's jaws are sealed tight, so you can't go that way yet. Walk through the right one and head down the stairs. Fight the Reptites there, then go right and hit the switch on the wall to free the cavefolk from the cell. Continue right and take the next set of stairs a separate cell, where Kino is being held. Defeat the Reptites outside his cage, then approach the door; Ayla will bust him out. Follow Kino back to the first room of the Lair and he'll somehow have the ability to pry open the left dinosaur jaw. Go through and take the stairs down.
In this room, there are monsters to the left and right, and switches and doors just before each of them. Go right first, hit the switch if you don't feel like fighting the monsters, then go down through the door. You'll be outside. Fight through the groups of enemies here, then enter the other door here. Do not open the egg-like chest on the right, as it will dump you back down in the cell where you freed the cavefolk earlier, leaving you to come all the way back here. Instead, open the chest on the left for a Full Tonic, then go back out through the door and in through the other one. Go to the left side of the room, hit the switch to dump the enemies, then go down through the door there.
Head left and in through the other door to reach the highly-annoying "Warp Room." Here, there are invisible squares that teleport you from one part of the room to another, and other squares that get you into random battles. There are four treasure chests here, two of which include the Meso Mail and a CeraTopper helmet, so use the accompanying map to reach them (eg. to reach the Meso Mail, stand on the square marked "To 4" to be taken to the "4" square). When you're done, head to the exit in the northwest corner of the room. NOTE: if you encounter the corpulent Gigasaurs, be sure to shock them with Lightning to lower their defenses, or else you'll have one heck of a time trying to kill them.
Head outside, then go right. The middle door is currently locked, so enter the far right one. You'll find a locked dinosaur skull and two floor switches. The one on the left triggers a battle, and the one on the right unlocks the skull. Step on the right one, then head up and hit the switch on the wall. This unlocks the middle door back outside, so return there and go through. You'll find Nizbel II here, who tells you Azala's in the back. When you try to get past him, though, he'll attack.
| Boss: Nizbel II
HP: 4,200 Nizbel II, like all the big dinos, becomes weaker when shocked by Lightning, but his defense grows stronger whenever you hit him. How do you deal with something like this? By using Lightning-based Dual Techs, of course! Chrono and Ayla's Volt Bite or Chrono and Frog's Spire attacks both work extremely well against Nizbel II, so have them use that attack over and over while your third party member takes on healing duties. Every few turns Nizbel II will release the electric energy you've been shocking him with, hitting your party from 100-200 HP worth of damage every time. There's not much you can do about this except to have someone healing every round, but even then Nizbel II is a pretty easy boss if your level isn't deplorably low. |
Head up the stairs in the back and step outside. There's another locked gate here in the center, so enter the room to the right of it. There are three floor switches here, one on the left, one on the right, and one in the center. The one on the left removes part of the floor, the one on the right makes some enemies appear, and the one in the center makes a Save Point appear. Only step on the center switch! Heal up and save your game, then approach the closed skull and hit the A button to examine it. This opens it right up for you, so go through and hit the wall switch to unlock the center gate outside. Return there and go through to find Azala on his thorny throne. When he flees out the back, open the two chests for a CeraTopper and a Mid Ether, then follow him outside to face the true boss of the Tyrano Lair.
| Boss: Azala/Black Tyrano
Azala - HP: 2,700 Black Tyrano - HP: 10,500 When the battle begins, have Ayla use her Charm ability on Azala for a Magic Tab and the Black Tyrano for a Power Tab, then start laying into Azala with your strongest attacks and spells. Once Azala falls, the Black Tyrano will lower its sizeable defenses and start counting down to something. Make sure your party's fully healed, then start nailing him with Dual Techs like Volt Bite or Spire, or other physical attacks. Once the Black Tyrano's countdown has ended, it will hit your whole party with a very powerful attack that can shear off upwards of 300 HP, so make sure to heal up after this every time. Wait for it to lower its defenses and start counting down again, then it him again with round after round of your best attacks until you render this dinosaur extinct. |
Witness Lavos's arrival, after which a new gate appears that takes you to a new time, 12,000 B.C., in the age of magic...
12,000 B.C.
What's with that howling wind? Step outside to find out. Yeesh...looks like the world's in the midst of a frigid ice age. Head east over the continent to the glowing structure and enter. Step up onto the platform and use the gate there to reach the land of Zeal, floating high above. Make for the nearby town of Enhasa.
Enhasa
This is as good a place as any to gather information on this strange, cold world. Speak to everyone here, and be sure to check out the northwest corner to meet a strange blue-haired boy who prophesizes that one of you will die shortly. You can stand on the blue circles on the floor to replenish your HP/MP. You may also have noticed the three books lying around the building that, when opened, emit a different element (fire, wind, and water). If your party is relatively strong, go outside, save your game, then come back in and open the three books in this order: water, wind, fire. The water book is in the northeast part of the town, the wind is in the northwest, and the fire is to the south. After opening them in that order, the nearby bookcase will retract into the floor, revealing a passageway to a hidden room. Enter the room to fight six pretty difficult Nus. If you use three magic casters, each with a level 2 version of their spell (i.e. Lightning 2, Fire 2, Ice 2), you can cast a couple rounds of those to take out all six Nus pretty quickly, as long as they don't kill you first. For winning, you'll get some XP, 90 Tech Points (nice!), a Magic Tab, and a Speed Tab.
That's all that's worth doing in Enhasa, so leave the town and walk over to the other land bridge and take that down to a different continent on the icy world below. Walk north to the next gate, and ride that up to the main island of Zeal. Go west over the bridge and into the city of Kajar.
Kajar
As in Enhasa, speak to everyone here to learn what's going on, and pick up some info on the Sun Keep that'll come in later in the game. You'll want to head to the northeast room and check the lower-right corner for a Speed Tab. There are also three elemental books here, so open them in the same order you did in Enhasa (Water, Wind, Fire) to open another secret chamber. Enter and examine the Poyozo doll for a Black Rock.
There's one other thing you can get here in Kajar, but you can't get it just yet. For now, leave the town and walk east into the cave there. Use the series of teleporters to reach the Zeal Palace.
Zeal Palace
Okay, we know you're dying to know what you could have gotten from Kajar, so here's how to get it: find the blue Nu walking on the bridge on the level above the ground floor to learn the secret Nu's scratch-point. Return to Kajar now and go to the room where you found the Speed Tab. Scratch the back of the Nu standing by the bookshelves and he'll cough up a Magic Tab for you. There, happy?
Get back to Zeal Palace now and start talking to everyone. Make sure you swing by Schala's bedroom in the northeast corner for some interesting dialogue. Also, seek out the woman standing by the plant on the upper level of the southwest section of the building and tell her that she should secretly plant her little sprout (this opens up the Sunken Desert sidequest later on). Now head for the doorway in the center of the northern wall. You'll see Schala going through a sealed door, using her pendant to open it, but when you try to follow her, you'll see that your pendant won't cut the muster. Go back out and take the left door to the frightening Mammon Machine. Examine it to recharge your pendant, then return to the sealed door. It opens! Head through to find the Queen's chambers. Seems you didn't have an appointment, so she tells her lackey, Dalton, to take care of you. He, in turn, sics a Golem against you. Joy!
| Boss: Golem
HP: 7,000 Now, the sweet thing about this boss is that you don't even have to defeat it! The story continues whether or not you wipe it out, but if you're bound and determined to do it, here are some hints on how to go about it. The Golem will hit you with whatever kind of attack you last hit it with, so if you ended your round with a fire-based attack, it will blast you with a fire-based attack. Now, if you have enough Ruby Vests, you can exploit this trait by always ending your round with a fire-based attacks, since Ruby Vests halve fire-based attacks. Make sure your HP is above 100 before you deal the finishing blow, because it'll hit you with one last attack when its HP reaches 0. |
Whether you kill Dalton's Golem or not, you'll be imprisoned and then booted from 12,000 B.C. via the time gate, which Schala is forced to seal behind you. You'll be in 65,000,000 B.C., but there's zilch to do here, so fly the dactyls west to the Mystic Mountains and use the time gate there to return to the End of Time. Go speak to the old man, Gaspar, and he'll tell you of a man who was building a time machine. So what are you waiting for? Go take the gate to the Proto Dome, 2300 A.D.
2300 A.D., Part 2
Head north to Lab 32, then head back across it, either racing or walking. When you're back on the world map on the other side, head south toward the Arris Dome, then turn east to the Sewer Access.
Sewer Access
Now, you could have gone through the Sewer Access earlier in the game, before you even took on the Arris Dome, but it would have been more difficult then. Now, it should be a walk in the park for you.
Go right from where you begin and open the chest for 600 G, then go back to the left. Head south, listen to what the two frogs say, then follow them down the ladder. In this area, you cannot make any noise, or you'll be attacked by Nereids. Avoid the cat, the can, the cheese, and yes, even the Save Point (it's fake) as you make your way to the end of the room, then climb up the ladder there. When you emerge on the upper level, walk up, and then right through the somewhat hidden walkway between the walls to find a wall switch. Hit it to open the nearby door, then go back out the walkway and continue north, then right behind all the walls, then down through the door you opened. Follow the path around to the north, open the chest for a Rage Band (great for Crono or Ayla), heal up, then walk right to find Sir Krawlie.
| Boss: Krawlie
HP: 500 Krawlie has a whopping 500 HP, which you should be able to eliminate with one of your strongest attacks, two at the most. Or make things fun and just use normal attacks. He'll still go down faster than you can say "Sir Wimp." |
Walk south now over the brides, then left. Don't climb the ladder here just yet; first continue left, open the chest for a Bolt Sword (whoopdie-do), then hit the wall switch to extend the nearby bridge, in case you want to walk back later on. Now walk right to the ladder and take it to the world map above.
The Keeper's Dome is to the south; head there post haste.
Keeper's Dome
There's a Nu here; speak to him if you want. Head through the sealed door at the top of the room to find another room with several little sparkly spots on the floor. Interact with each of these to learn the story of Balthasar, the inventor, then go through the next door to find a cool-looking machine. Walk to the back of it and interact with it there, then try to leave the room. The Nu will come in with the seats for the device, and reveal himself to be Balthasar's memories, programmed into the Nu. He also reveals that this device is a time machine, and allows you to name it (default name: Epoch). Before you get in, go back one room to find a sparkly Magic Tab on the floor, then return to the Epoch. You can travel to any time with the Epoch, but right now your destination is 12,000 B.C. (though you may want to swing into 1000 A.D. to grab a Taban Suit from Lucca's father first).
12,000 B.C., Part 2
Forget trying to use the Skyway; it's sealed. Instead, walk northwest into the cave there.
Terra Cave
The ladder is down now (if you had come here before, the ladder would not have been accessible), so climb it to reach the earthbound village of Alghetty. Speak to the various shabby residents, stay at their Inn if you need to, and head to the very bottom of the village. Save your game at the Save Point, then head right into the next part of the cave. Check the lower-right corner for a Power Tab, then head north to fight some Beasts. Bring Ayla along with you to Charm them, as they cough up the superior Rainbow Helm when you do. Exit and re-enter this location to Charm a Rainbow Helm for every member of your party, then continue north to face a boss of sorts.
| Boss: Blue Beast, Red Beast, Mud Imp
Blue Beast - HP: 5,000 Red Beast - HP: 5,000 Mud Imp - HP: 1,200 The Blue Beast is weak against fire magic, the Red Beast is weak against water/ice magic, and the Mud Imp has high defense and heals the other two. The best way to deal with these clowns is to bring Lucca with you, and pair Crono up with a strong physical attacker who shares some Dual Techs with him (Ayla or Frog are your best options). Have Lucca use Hypno Wave on the two Beasts to put them to sleep, then have Crono and his Dual Tech buddy go to town on the Mud Imp. Don't use any area attacks; just stick to single-target techs. If the Mud Imp kicks a rock at a Beast and wakes it up, have Lucca cast Hypno Wave on it again, then continue pummeling the Mud Imp into dust. When it dies, the two Beasts will automatically die with it! If you have Ayla in your party, you can also Charm a MermaidCap from the Blue Beast, an Elixir from the Red Beast, and a Speed Tab from the Mud Imp. |
Now climb up the chain where the beasts were standing to reach the floating Mt. Woe.
Mt. Woe
Mt. Woe consists of several floating islands connected by chains that you can walk across. There aren't too many different types of enemies here, but here's a rundown of each: Rubbles have a very high Evade rating (meaning that most of your attacks will miss), but if you manage to kill them, you'll get 100 TP for it! When you encounter the Bantam Imp, be sure to have Ayla Charm an AlloyBlade out of one for Crono. You can Charm a Big Hand for Robo out of the Gargoyles, just be careful around them, as they have an attack that can lower a character's HP to 1. And finally, you can charm a Pearl Edge for Frog from the Man-Eaters.
Now, as for getting through this place, start by heading north to the northern end of this island, then walking west over the chain to the next. Head southwest beneath the island overhead to find a chest with a Lode Helmet in it (though you can skip this if you got everyone Rainbow Helms back in the Terra Cave). Walk all the way back to the beginning of Mt. Woe and head directly west this time, crossing the chain to the west and heading north to the next screen.
Walk northeast from where you come in until you reach a Save Point. Use it, then continue north along the edge of the island until you reach a chain going east. Cross it and open the chests on this little isle for a Shield and a Lode Vest. Cross back over the chain now and head west. Don't go up the ramp to the south just yet; continue walking west until you find the chest with a Barrier in it, then go back and head up the ramp. Follow the path around to the south until you reach another ramp going to the top level of this island, then head north to find a chest a Lapis inside. Go east now and cross the chain to the next island.
Go east, then south, and down the chain to the next island. Check to the east for another Barrier, then head up the nearby ramp and continue east to the next section. Grab the Lapis to the north, then walk right to find another chain heading to an island to the east. Grab the Full Ether and Barrier of this isle, then go back over the chain and head north to find another chain. Cross it, then continue north beneath the overhead arch, then west, and then south to a ramp to the upper level. Go south first to find two chests containing a Shelter and a Shield, then head back north, and then east over the arch you passed under earlier. Cross the chain there, then curl around to find another Save Point. This is the last Save Point before the boss, so be sure to heal up here, and of course, save your game!
Head north now, walk beneath the arch, go left, then follow the path up, opening the chest for a Time Hat before heading east to the next island. Open the chest there for a Mid Ether, then check the southeast corner of the island for a Magic Tab. That's it for treasure, so head north up the long chain to face Mt. Woe's boss, Giga Gaia, one of the few somewhat difficult bosses in the game (if you're underprepared).
| Boss: Giga Gaia
Head - HP: 9,500 Hands - HP: 2,000 each Giga Gaia almost always attacks with either Shadow-based attacks or Fire-based attacks, so it would behoove you to wear some appropriate armor for this fight (Red Vests, Red Mail, Black Vests, and Black Mail). Bring someone who can group heal to this fight (Robo or Frog), because this boss can deal some damage. Your goal is to take out the hands first, then attack the head before the hands respawn and the process starts all over again. Use Dual Techs (like Falcon Hit) or multi-target attacks (Lightning 2, etc.) to take out the hands, then go to town on the head with single-target attacks and Tecks like Crono's Slash or Ayla's Cat Attack. Eventually the hands will be revived, so kill them again, then go back to attacking the head until the whole great big beast is dead. |
After the events that follow the destruction of Mt. Woe, speak to Melchior for the Ruby Knife, which you'll be using soon enough. After that, return to the Skyway, which has been unseal, and return to the floating Kingdom of Zeal. Your ultimate destination is Zeal Palace, but you should swing into Kajar on the way and talk to the Nu running the shop. He'll ask if your pendant belongs to Schala; tell him no and he'll sell you the best equipment available at the moment. Buy what you can, then continue up the mountain to the palace.
Zeal Palace, Part 2
Make sure you've got full HP/MP, save your game, then enter the palace and make for the Mammon Machine room in the northwest part of the palace. It appears the Mammon Machine has been moved to the Ocean Palace below, and Dalton is guarding the gate there. Time to beat this punk silly!
| Boss: Dalton
HP: 3,500 Dalton has only one attack, and that's his Iron Orb, which reduces your HP by 1/2. Because of this, Dalton won't be able to really kill you, but don't get too cocky: once you've rid Dalton of his 3,500 HP he'll hit everyone in the party with his "burp" attack, which, if you've let your HP get below 130 or so, will kill you, so make sure you're healing constantly so that at least one party member survives! |
The gate to the Ocean Palace is now open. So what are you waiting for? Hop in!
Ocean Palace
Head down, use the Save Point, then continue down to meet up with Mune, who doesn't seem to mind that he hasn't met you yet, but whatever. After the cut scene, head down into the next room, a large open area with lots of paths winding through the lava and doors leading other areas on the northwest, west, southwest, southeast, east, and northeast walls. The Scout enemies here that attack in groups here are different-colored, and as such have different weaknesses: the blue ones are only weak to Ice/Water magic, the yellow ones are only weak to Lightning, and the red ones are only weak to Fire, so only use single-target spells of those elements on them, or they'll counterattack! Also of note are the Jinn/Barghest enemy groups. When you face them, always kill the Barghest first to weaken the Jinn.
Now, from where you come in, head south past the first path, then look on the right for a Rune Blade. Continue south and then southeast to find a chest with an Aeon Suit in it. Head to the northeastern door now and go through. Hit the switch here, then exit to the southeast. Open the chest for an Aeon Helmet, then exit to the left. Return to the area where you found the Aeon Suit, then go west, then head up to the northwest door and go through. Step on the switch here, then exit southwest. Open the chest for a Star Sword, then exit right. Work your way down to the southwest door now and head through. Open the chest here for a Shock Wave, then walk west, south, then east around the thin edge of the room until you reach what appears to be a dead end. Just before this dead end is a false wall you can walk through to find a chest containing a Demon Hit. Return to the large room now and exit via the southeast door. Walk down, then west across the bridge and hit the final switch there. Be sure to grab the Kaiser Arm and Sonic Arrow from this room before you leave. Back in the main room, a new exit has opened up, leading directly to the south, so take this new exit now.
You're at the top of a staircase now, so start heading down. You can avoid the fights with the guys on the stairs if you manage to run underneath them without them touching you, but this is pretty difficult. Eventually you'll run into Masa, who also doesn't seem fazed by the fact that he doesn't know you. Continue to the bottom, where you'll find a Save Point. Use it, then go south to the elevator and examine the shining left globe to get it started. You'll have to fight several battles on the way down, so be forewarned. When it stops, you can either continue ahead, or go back in and ride the elevator back up to find a Magic Tab embedded in the left wall (though you'll have to head back down the stairs and ride the elevator through more battles if you do this).
When you're ready to move on, head into the next room, which has a switch in the middle that doesn't currently do anything, and paths branching both left and right. You have to hit the switches at the ends of both paths, so go do that, then return to this central switch and hit it to create a bridge. Cross it, enter the next room, grab the Elixir, heal up and save your game at the Save Point, then continue north for a battle with not one but two Golems!
| Boss: Golem Twins
HP: 7,000 each Like the last Golem you faced, these Golems counterattack with whatever type of attack you hit them with, and like before, their fire attacks are the weakest in their arsenal, particularly if you're wearing Red Vests or Red Mails, so always end your rounds with Lucca casting a Fire-based spell on them. You can also use Lucca's Hypno Wave spell to put one Golem to sleep while you work on attacking the other one. If Ayla's in your party, you should have her Charm a Magic Tab out of each one before you kill them. Keep your HP up for their finishing "burp" attacks when you defeat each one so that your hard work doesn't go to waste! |
Go back and save your game now, then continue forward (only one way to go!) until you reach the Mammon Machine. Watch the exciting series of events that unfold next, after which you are attacked by none other than the planetary destroyer himself, Lavos!
| Boss: Lavos
HP: 30,000 Yes, you read that right: 30,000 HP. You're not supposed to be able to survive this fight, and unless you've massively leveled-up, you won't last longer than Lavos's first attack. If, on the other hand, you do manage to defeat Lavos here (and chances are you're on a New Game+ if that's happening), you'll get the wonderful Dream Team ending (see the Endings page for more details). Don't worry about that now, though, because for the game's full story to be told, you have to get wiped out here. |
More events unfold after Lavos wipes out the party, concluding with (SPOILER ALERT!!!) Crono's death. When your party comes to you'll find yourselves in the Last Village, a mix of the earthbound people and the fallen people from Zeal.
Last Village
Before you head to the Commons, check out the Nu's shop first. Buy what you need, then stand aside a wait a little while. During random visits to this shop, the Nu will eventually walk right out of the shop, leaving the Magic Tab on the floor where he was standing wide open. If you're standing there awhile and he doesn't move out of the way, exit and re-enter the shop and try again until he does.
Save your game, make sure you've got a party that includes Ayla, then head into the