Chrono Trigger community playthrough

[Fangu]

There was noone else on Skype playing CT? You should have told me, I would have joined you :/

 

[The G'randiest' Daddy]

Chapter 5: Party! Eat! Dance! Fight! Fun!

[*]Now that we're a good way in, how are you enjoying the game thus far?

I am loving it so much - particularly when I realised how much the Tech point system is similar to the AP system in some FF games.

[*]Speaking of enjoyment, this chapter has some of my favorite music pieces in the game. Do you have any favorites?

Hmm. I love the battle music. And I really like both the Mystic Mts music and the Ioka music. For some reason I also really like the Leene Square festival music.

[*]Did you spend time in the Hunting Ground? If so, did you find the special enemy?

2 x yes. Fought him/it around 8 times. Used him for his extreme tech point farming-ness, and also for materials to make a) exactly as much equipment as I wanted and b) a bunch of stuff to enrich myself with when I went back to the future (hehe, back to the future. Great movies.)

[*]What are your thoughts on the Reptites, particularly after meeting Azala?

The Reptites are odd... Some of them seem so ...dumb. But then there's Azala, calling the early humans apes and whatnot. Also Azala does seem like a recurring thing, plus she reminds me a lot of Ozzie... We'll have to wait and see, I guess!

[*]How do you feel about the flashback sequence?

The moment I saw Glenn I said to Airling "I bet that's Frog, I bet something happens and he turns into Frog!" and whaddya know. Pretty sad flashback, in all honesty. Excited to see what happens next, with Frog all powered up, maybe getting to use the Masamune eventually.

It's wonderful how the game makes use of my optional choices and makes me question what would have happened if I had picked differently. A small example in this chapter was when Lucca helped Melchior; what if I had brought Marle and Robo instead? Would it have just taken longer, would I have had to go back to get Lucca, or would it have made no difference? I wish I had made a list of all the things I want to try on my second playthrough!

Spoiler: The answer to your thoughts

It doesn't seem (in this case) to make a difference. I took Marle and Lucca, Airling took Marle and Robo. In my case it was like yours, in her case Robo helped out, it took the same time, it was just Robo doing it, and Robo's lines.

Additionally, I did manage to beat Spekkio once so far. Now he looks different, like an Ogan, so I guess he's powering up as I do. And I couldn't beat him in his new form yet.

 

[Airling]

Chapter 5

Now that we're a good way in, how are you enjoying the game thus far?

It's getting so interesting! But in all seriousness, I've known since we started playing that I was going to love this, and it looks like I wasn't wrong.

Speaking of enjoyment, this chapter has some of my favorite music pieces in the game. Do you have any favorites?

Not really, because I find myself humming along and jiving to pretty much all of them!

Did you spend time in the Hunting Ground? If so, did you find the special enemy?

Did I?! Once I discovered Nus give one 30 Tech points a fight, I spent about an hour running around fighting them! I have so many trading items I gave up turning all of them into sellables.

What are your thoughts on the Reptites, particularly after meeting Azala?

They vaguely remind me of the Mystics.

How do you feel about the flashback sequence?

Perhaps Lucca will feel even more comfortable around Frog now, since he's actually a guy?

Also, I beat Spekkio this time around. When I came back he was buffed up passed where I can beat him again. Challenge accepted!

 

[Flintlock]

Nus give one 30 Tech points a fight

What.

I completely missed that.

Are you finding the game too easy as a result of all your new techs?

 

[Airling]

I haven't had A LOT of opportunity to use them yet, but they are pretty damned cool. I especially like Robo's group healing tech.

 

[Flintlock]

I like ... the piece that plays while Melchior (and in my case, Lucca) are fixing the Masamune, though I don't know what [it's] called

Found it: Corridors of Time. It seems to be one of the more popular tracks from the Chrono Trigger OSV - there are about a hundred different arrangements and covers, including by Smooth McGroove.

I think like is an understatement. The more I listen to it the more I want to listen to it.

 

[Joker]

Chapter 6 - Power is beautiful, and I've got the power!
19th - 22nd Jan 2015

After the events of the last two chapters, our destination should be clear, as well as our goal: stopping Magus.

Our target, however...

Don't go in yet

Questions:

• Did you enjoy your jaunt through the castle?
• Flea, Slash, and Ozzie - thoughts?
• What do you think of the Laruba/Ioka cultural differences? Do they seem reasonable given the time period and circumstances?
• Do you have a favorite boss encounter at this point? (Flint, this does not include what was in the bucket )

 

[Joker]

To be clear - I haven't had a chance to play this chapter yet myself - hence the lack of a spiffy, super-rad image with the target business on it. The chapter post will be updated once I have.

 

[Flintlock]

Chapter 6 - Power is beautiful, and I've got the power!
Did you enjoy your jaunt through the castle?

It was alright. The boss fights were the most interesting parts, but I'll discuss those in my answer to the next question.

Flea, Slash, and Ozzie - thoughts?

Flea: not too difficult, I just had to keep everyone's health up.
Slash: pretty straightforward for most of the fight... and then he got to his counter-attacking stage, where he took off about half of each character's HP in one hit. That drew the fight out for a long time because I had to heal after each attack.
Ozzie: lol.

What do you think of the Laruba/Ioka cultural differences? Do they seem reasonable given the time period and circumstances?

Do you mean the differences between the Laruba and Ioka villages, or the difference between them and some other period of time, like the present? Assuming the latter, it does seem a bit strange to me that the people form the prehistoric time can speak the same language as in the present - not perfectly, but well enough to be understood. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief though; even though the game draws parallels with real-life Earth's history in a number of ways (the middle ages, for example), that doesn't mean it always has to be true.

Do you have a favorite boss encounter at this point? (Flint, this does not include what was in the bucket )

Fighting Nizbel was a fun challenge, having to hit him with lightning to do any decent damage but then having to prepare for the inevitable discharge afterwards. I had to decide how much I wanted to gamble with everyone's health in order to do as much damage as possible.

The battle with Magus was an interesting concept but I think I got really unlucky with his random elemental weaknesses: it was almost always shadow or fire, and I had neither Robo or Lucca in my party. And considering he's the Fiendlord, I would have expected his "most powerful" magic, Dark Matter, to have been a bit more powerful. The fight actually got easier once he started casting it because I only had to heal once with Aura Whirl after every casting and could go into full attack mode the rest of the time. A combination of Frog, the Masamune and Haste made for an easy victory in the end.

Other thoughts:

• Ice water came in super handy in this chapter. 4 TP to beat just about any swarm of up to six enemies? Yes please. Only the Sorcerers required special attention. Silly name for a tech though.
• No time travel story would be complete without at least one case of going back to fix things but actually making them worse. Magus' dialogue after he was defeated suggested to me that we may just have done exactly that.
• Yay, I got Ayla back, which means I got my old equipment back! Now I just have to figure out when she might leave my party again, if at all.
• Was that lava really so close to the Ioka village the last time I was here? I never went far enough right to check. I have a bad feeling about the fate of those huts.
• Random villager extolling the values of the Ruby Vest + imminent trip to a volcano = hint that there's a fire-casting boss coming up, no? I wanted to switch Marle out of my party as I've been using her for a while but I think her ice magic might come in useful pretty soon.

I'm a bit concerned about the participation rate. I think a lot of people have fallen behind. Maybe we should take a chapter off - maybe one that would have been published this Friday or next Monday - to give people a chance to catch up? I'm probably not going to be around on Saturday to Skype anyway so I wouldn't mind letting everyone else have a catch-up session. And you'd get a day off, Frog.

Edit: I just updated the participant list to see where everyone has got to:

Posted chapter reports (most recent chapter in brackets): Airling (5), AvecAloes (2), Claymore (1), Cthulhu (1), Darth (5), Drax (1), The Engineer (1), Fangu (1), Flintlock (6), Frog (6), Kuja9001 (3), The Man (2), Minato Arisato (1), Octo (4).

Confirmed participation only: ForceStealer, Kingdom Hearts530, Melon Lord, Sprites.

Voted for the game only: Dawnbreaker, Foxhound_Veteran, Godslayer Gator, The Mad King, Odysseus, Sterling Archer.

I'm not in the business of hounding anyone to keep up - taking part is completely optional, of course - but it's noticeable that almost half (6/14) of the active participants haven't posted any chapter reports after the first one. Also, I'm pretty sure that Force and KH530 have played the game but haven't posted reports here. It's our job to make it easier for people to stay up to date.

 

[Kuja9001]

Chap 4

Now that we're a good way in, how are you enjoying the game thus far?

Love the game, love the music, love the characters, love the story.

Speaking of enjoyment, this chapter has some of my favorite music pieces in the game. Do you have any favorites?

"Battle with Magus" and some others that play much later.

Did you spend time in the Hunting Ground? If so, did you find the special enemy?

Im aware of the Nu around there I just didn't fight him. I fought the one around Glen''s place though.

What are your thoughts on the Reptites, particularly after meeting Azala?

I don't look at them as bad guys, they're just doing what they believe is best for their survival.

How do you feel about the flashback sequence?

Magus is a jerk.

Chap 5

Did you enjoy your jaunt through the castle?

Yes believe I kinda farmed off the fightable save points.

Flea, Slash, and Ozzie - thoughts?

Flea is a cross dresser.

Trivia for Slash

Slash was much more a respectful and proper knight in the Japanese original version of the game. The entire "Sir Slush" joke did not exist, and Frog and Slash had a mutual respect for one another as warriors.

Ozzie was a waste of battle mechanics.

What do you think of the Laruba/Ioka cultural differences? Do they seem reasonable given the time period and circumstances?

Love Ayla's speech pattern it's just like another fav from FFVI, Gau. Seems fine to me.

Do you have a favorite boss encounter at this point? (Flint, this does not include what was in the bucket.)

Definitely Magus, his badass boasts leading up to the fight are great.

Funfact Time

1) I you lose against Magus, he just turns around and continues to summon Lavos.

2) In the original timeline(dubbed Lavos Timeline), Magus summons Lavos like he wants but gets killed instead that's why his followers and others were saying he disappeared.

 

[AvecAloes]

Chapter 4

How did you fare against Spekkio?

I beat him, but it wasn't pretty. Went through several Revives, but I think everyone was alive when I finally won.

This chapter had a bit more legwork as far as figuring out where to go and what to do, and it's up to the player to figure it out. How'd you do?

Uh.....to be completely honest, I looked up a couple of things in a walkthrough. I felt like I must have run around just about everywhere but couldn't really figure out what I was supposed to be doing to advance the game. I'm not a great gamer; I generally like a lot of guidance.

When you heard about the Hero, what was your reaction/what were your thoughts on the subject?

At first, I thought that it was somehow going to be Crono from another time or something. Who knows.

What sort of party did you use throughout the chapter, and did you change party members at any point? If so, how frequently?

I used Crono, Marle, and Lucca. I fought hard after getting magic from Spekkio, so I felt like using the three party members who could use it. Also I love Crono and Lucca's combined move Fire Whirl, plus the convenient all-party healing power of the combined move Aura Whirl that Crono has with Marle. I didn't change party members at all.


Chapter 5

Now that we're a good way in, how are you enjoying the game thus far?

I'm still enjoying it! I have to admit that I get kind of annoyed every time I have to go back to the End of Time, because it always means trekking all over creation to get back to the time portals. There seems to be a lot of running around in this game, which I'm not really a huge fan of, especially because moving around the world map is a lot slower and clunkier than moving around the area maps. But I'm still finding the story intriguing, and I want to see what happens next.

Speaking of enjoyment, this chapter has some of my favorite music pieces in the game. Do you have any favorites?

I quite liked Ayla's theme.

Did you spend time in the Hunting Ground? If so, did you find the special enemy?

Yes, and yes. I only spent as much time there as it took to find the special enemy, though.

What are your thoughts on the Reptites, particularly after meeting Azala?

"Where is this going...?"

How do you feel about the flashback sequence?

Well, it explains a lot. I kind of wish there had been a montage of a frog learning how to wield a sword though

 

[Joker]

I should clarify that when I refer to their cultural differences, I mean the ones between Laruba and Ioka, particularly the hiding and pacifism of the former versus the more hedonistic and rebellious ("yolo?") latter.

"Where is this going...?"

Stay tuned

 

[AvecAloes]

Yeah, Force is playing the game and has completed several chapters, he's just been lazy busy over the last week and a half

 

[Airling]

Im aware of the Nu around there I just didn't fight him. I fought the one around Glen''s place though.

How does one find that guy? I read up and saw he exists, so I hung around there quite a while and couldn't find him.

 

[AvecAloes]

I just realized I never did a write up for Chapter 3. Whoops. I'll do one tomorrow or some such, probably just edited into my most recent write up.

 

[AvecAloes]

Double postin

How does one find that guy? I read up and saw he exists, so I hung around there quite a while and couldn't find him.

He shows up somewhere on the Hunting Ground map when it starts to rain. If you can find him before the rain stops, you can fight him.

 

[ForceStealer]

All right all right, time to get caught up with the posts. As previously stated I've been keeping up with the chapters, just no the writing. Just finished Chapter 5.

Chapter 1: My name is Gato/I have metal joints
What are your initial impressions of the game? Or (as many have already played the game), what were they the first time you started? Chrono Trigger is coming up on its 20th anniversary this year; how well (or poorly) do you feel it's held up overall (using any criteria you like)?

I have stated before that I have started Chrono Trigger so many times, but I never got very far simply because I frequently got distracted. It's true that the story didn't necessarily grab me RIGHT off the bat, but I've also had a hard time in general sticking with emulated RPGs on my PC. I'm not sure why. For instance, I got much further in playthroughs of Xenogears on my PSP and PS3 than I ever did on the emulator.
Anyway, I appreciate more now than I have in the past how smooth the animation is. The sprites look just like FF6, by and large, but they have much more fluid animations and the lack of a separate battle screen on an SNES is damn impressive. I have never liked the DBZ artstyle and was thus never very taken with the characters, but you can't really tell with their sprites. I've never been real keen on silent protagonists either, just because of how stilted it makes the conversations (unless it's D&D-style game).

What type of playstyle and/or mentality are you coming into the game with - do you go and explore and mess around or do you follow the story?

A little in between with a focus on the story. How I generally play RPGs. I definitely like to poke around buildings and such and talk to lots of NPCs, but I also don't intend to use a walkthrough except where necessary as thsi si essentially my first playthrough. And I would like to focus on experiencing the story that so many people rave about.

Chapter 2: We must change history!
5th - 8th Jan 2015
Now that you've seen what happens to Crono at Guardia Castle, what do you think - is anything in the game familiar to you now, considering that Chrono Trigger is 20 years old? (extra points to Roger for seeing this coming)

I'm not sure I ever quite picked up on what was being referred to here... I mean the impact of your seemingly innocuous actions is a bit like the determination of VII's date, but somehow I don't think that's what you mean.

What was your verdict, and why?

Not guilty, which I was stunned by. I picked up Merle's pendant for her (I didn't want it to get lost!), and I didn't get that girls cat. How are you supposed to, I mean the found the cat, but every time I talked to it it would meow and then leap away off screen. *shrug

How do you feel about the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the Arris Dome - it this something you see as reasonable, possibly even something you might yourself do in their situation?

If the outside is a wasteland with deadly creatures and/or robots? Yeah it probably makes sense that that is what people would choose to do. Rely on those willing to brave the outside. Especially if you have a device that keeps you healthy, if not sated. It's not unlikely I would be in such a situation, not being terribly skilled in the ways that would be useful to venturing out. Hopefully I could be useful in other ways.

Do you have a favorite character so far, and why (whether you do or not!)?

Hm, not sure. I do like Lucca, it's cool that she uses a laser gun in all these alternate time zones and has a bunch of gadgets and such. Kinda like a Cid mixed with Q (from 007).

Chapter 3: No! Let's take care of YOU!
9th - 11th Jan 2015
Did you enjoy the minigame?

Oh Mode7, how late SNES games LOVED you. I liked it though. It was fun how the computer would block you, forcing you to pick your spots, then boost ahead and block him

Describe your reaction to the scene immediately before this chapter's (primary) boss fight.

Poor Robo I like him.

Did you get lost in the Factory Ruins?

No, I think I did okay.

Chapter 4: The legendary Hero
12th Jan - 15th Jan 2015
How did you fare against Spekkio?

I did pretty well against him, actually. By far my worst boss performance was, oddly, the Dragon Tank. Who is a boss I fought before, but I got caught in a terrible cycle of burning through Revives on that boss. I've done fairly well since then.

This chapter had a bit more legwork as far as figuring out where to go and what to do, and it's up to the player to figure it out. How'd you do?

I had a little trouble in the NEXT chapter, but this one I was okay with, I think I picked up on pretty much all of the hints regarding where to go next.

When you heard about the Hero, what was your reaction/what were your thoughts on the subject?

Well, Frog was on my mind at first. But I was surprised when I found out it was a kid. I was actually kind of impressed that the game was going to take a left turn and make someone besides the main character more important for a change.

What sort of party did you use throughout the chapter, and did you change party members at any point? If so, how frequently?

Stuck with Crono, Lucca, and Merle. I didn't change at all. Like I said before I really like Robo and would like to take him, but Merle's healing is just too useful (and Aura Whirl was a major part of why I remained in command of the Masamune fight. I had seen the NPC hint about Slash, but I didn't connect what the NPC said to what the charging move was called in battle).

Chapter 5: Party! Eat! Dance! Fight! Fun!
16th - 18th Jan 2015
Now that we're a good way in, how are you enjoying the game thus far?

I am The combat's fun, and the variety of worlds is very interesting. I confess the plot still hasn't particularly grabbed me yet, but Frog's backstory was definitely interesting. So hopefully that's the start of what gets me investing.

Speaking of enjoyment, this chapter has some of my favorite music pieces in the game. Do you have any favorites?

I think my favorite so far is the world map music in 600AD. I can't not whistle it any time I'm there.

Did you spend time in the Hunting Ground? If so, did you find the special enemy?

The what? I guess I didn't explore as well as I should have in the ancient past...

What are your thoughts on the Reptites, particularly after meeting Azala?

I don't know, her eloquence as compared to Ayla was unexpected. I didn't see an explicit connection to Magus or anything. But I'm also not sure why she was interested in the Gate Key or knew that it was advanced - perhaps even what it was for?

How do you feel about the flashback sequence?

I liked it, Cyrus looked/sounded badass, and I didn't actually get what was happening (that it was a flashback) until halfway through. And boy, do Magus and his henchman look like DBZ villains or what? Even in sprite form. But with all the other wacky stuff the game's been throwing at me, I was perfectly willing to think Frog was...just an anthropomorphic frog. It was surprising to learn he was a person first. As Airling said, I wonder if it will change Lucca's outlook - if Frog tells them.




Phew, caught up. Besides chapter 6 of course, but the longer I waited to do this the harder it would have been to motivate myself to do so. But yeah, keep it coming. I'm officially in tax season now, which is a drag, but it's nice to have a game with an outside motivation to get through.

 

[Airling]

He shows up somewhere on the Hunting Ground map when it starts to rain. If you can find him before the rain stops, you can fight him.

I fought about 8 of those. But there is apparently one single lonely one that shows up around Glenn's house. Since it doesn't seem to rain in the Cursed Woods, I wasn't sure how to find him.

Oh well. It wasn't like I needed more experience and tech points at that stage.

 

[Kuja9001]

And boy, do Magus and his henchman look like DBZ villains or what? Even in sprite form.

Akira Toriyama drew the characters.

Lucca=Trunks
Magus=Piccolo
Crono=Goku
Marle=???

 

[ForceStealer]

Yeah, I know. Just saying that those two were particularly apparent.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Funfact Time

1) I you lose against Magus, he just turns around and continues to summon Lavos.

2) In the original timeline(dubbed Lavos Timeline), Magus summons Lavos like he wants but gets killed instead that's why his followers and others were saying he disappeared.

Where are you getting that he was killed? He could have been pulled through time like the party was.
Also, the "Lavos Timeline" thing is fan thing, not a confirmed timeline. Take it with a grain of salt.

Akira Toriyama drew the characters.

Lucca=Trunks
Magus=Piccolo
Crono=Goku
Marle=???

Marle is closest to a blonde Chichi.
Also, Lucca definitely more resembles Bulma or Bra than Trunks.

 

[Kuja9001]

Where are you getting that he was killed? He could have been pulled through time like the party was.
Also, the "Lavos Timeline" thing is fan thing, not a confirmed timeline. Take it with a grain of salt.

http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Lavos_Timeline.html

 

[Flintlock]

What did we decide for this weekend? I probably won't be around to Skype tonight but I'd still like to know what the target is, or if we're letting people catch up.

 

[The G'randiest' Daddy]

We're going to be on skype if anyone else will be otherwise I'm also trying to find out if ther regular skype thing is on, then we can alwas just hang around on that while we carry on.

 

[Fangu]

Shiiit, I have so much to catch up on!! Let's see if I can get something done tonight...