Let's Play Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes!

[Dracorion]

If I really wanted to be evil, I'd have named him Fifth.

It'd be Fifthfiend's own personal hell to be trapped in a fanmade sequel that acknowledged Chrono Cross.

[tacticslion]

Originally Posted by Dracorion

If I really wanted to be evil, I'd have named him Fifth.

It'd be Fifthfiend's own personal hell to be trapped in a fanmade sequel that acknowledged Chrono Cross.

I'd suggest you rename the protagonist who's no longer silent Fifth. That would be glorious.

[Dracorion]

Note to self: LP Chrono Cross, name the main character Fifth.

Then he'd be a silent protagonist. The implication is he'd want to scream about how shitty Cross is and he wouldn't be able to.

Oh, how delicious.

[Marc v4.0]

I have no Mouth, and I am in Chrono Cross

[Dracorion]

Episode 3: Magus versus the Lost LevelsEpisode 3: Magus versus The Lost Levels

Yeah, he's going to stay Magus, sorry guys. But Fiendlord BUTTZ will always live on in our hearts.

Last time, we finished the prologue, got some sneak peeks at what the rest of the CT crew was up to, and found Magus. Unfortunately, he died five seconds later because, as it turns out, living beings require food and warmth to survive. And then, just to kick him while he's down, his corpse got robbed by a wandering hobo.


Or not. He was just rescued, and cared for in someone's house where they were even nice enough to put a nice bearskin blanket over him.

Music: Corridors of Time

Did you hear the latest?
They found some more ruins?
Yeah! With the water receding and all, a bunch of Zeal treasure is being found!
Mm! I hear some people are crossing the ocean to get some of the artifacts.
*Turns to Magus* Pretty creepy guy, eh?
No kidding. Such a pale face... And what's with those strange clothes?

Not to mention, y'know, the fucking pointy ears. Can't forget those.

Guess you never know what to expect!

Magus finally detects he's being made fun of and decides to wake up.



Oh, you're up! We were worried! No need to thank us. We all have to work together to survive!

And so begins Magus' character arc for this game, letting go of his obsession with Schala to help society survive like she would've wanted him to. He struggles between his quest to find his sister and newfound feelings of caring for the few people left alive in the world.

... Haha yeah no.

... I'll be leaving now.

Never change, Magus.

At least see the Elder before you go. He rescued you, ya know?


Welcome to 11.995 BC, ladies and gentlemen. Just like after the fall of Zeal, there isn't really much to do in this time period. But certainly more than there was in the last game.


If we head up we can go to the North Cape.


There's really nothing here except Magus being emo melancholy as always. And the pretty view, of course.

One NPC in the First Village (yes, that's what this collection of huts and a forest is called) tells us some douche called Sargon found a Zeal healing square and won't share it with anyone. Another tells us there's an empty hut we can use to rest for free (a feature which, incidentally, will become irrelevant in about five minutes).


If we head over to the forest clearing...


I'm pretty sure there isn't enough room in all the huts in the village to accomodate all these people.

Anyway, NPC dialogue here has more bitching about Sargon, one guy recognizing Magus as a dude who was looking for something, sightings of ghosts wearing Zeal clothing (unlike all the people around here plainly dressed in Zeal clothing) and mention that a new land has risen in the south and a bunch of villagers migrated there. And this guy:


Make note of him. It'll be relevant way, way in the future.

Continuing up...


Hey, it's Magus' cat!

Alfador does a little hop (as pictured) and a small meow when you talk to him because he still like Magus for some reason.

... Soon, Alfador.

Anyway, whatever, let's talk to the old man.


Some of the elderly have grown sick, myself included. Please... Go and find Sargon, as he has a Zeal healing square. For our sake...

Except you're really the only old guy in the village.

...
Please, this is not just for us... This is for you too, Janus. You have kept searching without ever resting... I know your powers have declined.

And so, Magus is the only character from the original game who gets an explanation for why he's levelled down. Even if it is a half-assed one.

And even so, you're still the strongest among us. You're the only one Sargon may listen to.

And then Magus told him to go fuck himself. Except not really. He can't stand the old man, so he'll just do as the geezer says and get him off his back.

... Fine. Wait for my return.

Great! So where's this newly risen land, anyway?



Oh, there it is. Apparently an ice bridge formed or rose in the last five years, providing us with another area of the Dark Ages to explore. Convenient.


Make note of this forest here too. It'll be relevant in this update!

Mist village is superior to the First village in every way. Which still isn't much, but whatever.


Also the only store in the world.


I didn't actually buy anything here, other than shelling out 2000G for twenty Mid Tonics, but I just wanted to show you guys that I've got a healthy stock of everything here. It makes this whole chapter a lot easier.

Magus heads to the structure on the left of the area, which you may have realized is Sargon's house.


Didn't you hear me freak? Get out of here!

Sargon suddenly falls silent, even though Magus hasn't even done anything.

...
Command me again, and I'll spare no torment in your death.
...S...sorry. Um... Wha, what can I do for you?
*Swishes cape* Sorry, I don't abide fools.
Just let the villagers and me use the healing square.

Now there's the Magus I know. He doesn't even wait for a response, he just straight up walks over the healing square and gets recovered instantly. If you bother to talk to Sargon again, he'll be perfectly fearful and polite.

Incidentally, this is why the empty hut in the First village is now useless. Like, I don't even know why it's there. You can't even have any combat between Magus waking up and talking to Sargon.


His task done, Magus goes back to tell the Elder the good news.

I visited him. He should let you use the square now.
Good, thank you Janus.
There have been many sightings of people in Zeal clothing. I...

???: Hey!

Music: A Strange Happening


Oh goddammit didn't you get thrown off a fucking plane in the last game? Why couldn't you just fucking die? No one likes you!


Oh, fuck you.

D, Dalton!
Been a while, hasn't it?
Tell me, geezer! Where is this 'Sargon' I've heard so much about?
That's...no!! Leave us alone!

Yeah, you tell him old guy!

Magus swishes his cape because he's a badass like that. Anyone else would've said "Hey!!", but Magus doesn't need to say a word to get your attention.

Heh, the Prophet! Give me a break... Now, where is Sargon? Speak up!
No! Get out of here!

At least someone has some backbone around here.




Dalton doesn't like that, though, so he throws an explosion at the elder. At this, Magus decides he's had enough of Dalton's shit.


Please! You're as obstinate as that traitor, Schala...

Wrong choice of words, dude.

You'll regret that!
I disagree. Now can someone PLEASE tell me where Sargon is, before I toast the lot of you?
Enough! This ends now!

Sadly, before Magus and Dalton can throw down...


Sargon's house is south of here, near the new village!

Goddammit woman, NPCs aren't involved in RPG battles! Dalton could unleash and attack that destroys the entire solar system if he pleases and your kid and the rest of the planet would still be perfectly fine!

Was that SO hard? You get to live... for now! Hah!


Dalton scoots off...


And Magus gives chase.


Magus rushes to Sargon's house to track down that annoying bastard. I mean, the other annoying bastard.


Lord Dalton? He asked me where I found my artifacts, and hurried off.
And you told him? Idiot!! Do you know what you've just done?
Waaait! Please don't hurt me!

Hurt him, hurt him!

...Tell me where he is.
T, The woods east of here!


And lo and behold, as we leave Sargon's house we notice an entrance to the forest opened up!


Time for the game's first dungeon. It's a short one, though.

Music: Underground Sewer

Actually, we should probably look at Magus' stats before we head in.


As you can see, the Lord of the Mystics have been severely depowered between games. I mean, goddamn. By the way, that Amulet he's carrying is supposed to protect from status effects.

Anyway, let's go kill a bitch.


It's only made up of four screens. If we move up and to the right a bit...


We're suddenly ambushed by monsters!

Music: Battle 1


Let's take a look at Magus' techs for a moment. They've been remade for this game, as you can see. Omnishield, which I already used before I took this screenshot, makes this whole place a cakewalk. That green aura you see around him means Magus takes zero damage when the enemies here ram headfirst into his gut.


Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Magus has gone from Fiendlord to merely powerful party member to the party's designated thief.



Steal is pretty straightforward. Magus strikes a little pose before jumping at the enemy and then jumping back to his position. I've found it's not very reliable, though. As you can see, it missed this time.


And here's Shadowbolt. It's just a basic lightning spell on one enemy.

Anyway, Magus can waste every enemy here with two physical or magical strikes, so he does that here and goes on his merry way. The beasties here have a gimmick in that they attack power will rise whenever you hit them with anything (including Steal). This means that they hit an Omnishielded Magus for 7 damage after one power up, and 14 damage after two.

Yeah, not really worried.

I remember the enemies were a lot harder the first time I played through this game. But back then, I didn't bother with the Casino, so I wasn't able to stock up on healing items and I'm the kind of player who doesn't like to use MP for chump encounters and just kill everything with normal attacks. This didn't work out so smoothly my first time around. I'm prepared for 'em now, though.

I was a lot more carefree with my MP here, as you can tell. Magus takes two Shadowbolts to kill an enemy, but he can do so just as easily with two physical strikes.


We grab an Ether from this chest. The other two chests in this area give us another Ether and a Mid Tonic. But I have enough Mid Tonics at the moment. The Ethers are welcome, though.


SUDDENLY BATTLE, just after we pick the chest.


It went as you'd expect. There's actually another ambush battle just north from where Magus is standing, but do I really need to tell you what happened?


The next map is just a straight path. This enemy just sits here, and you can talk to it and it'll cry out, but it won't engage you in battle. That is, until you walk north a bit, at which point its buddy will jump down and they'll proceed to get slaughtered by Magus' scythe.


And finally, we come across the first save point of the game.




I'll let you guys have a glimpse of the save screen, as well as my current inventory. Magus hasn't had to heal even once in this whole map. I use a quick Shelter here and move forward.


*Runs forward* Dalton!!
The Prophet, again? Heh... You're too late anyway!
I shouldn't have left you alive back then...
Actually, I'd love to stay and catch up, but I have a date with immortality!

Same annoying old Dalton. Goddammit I hate this bastard.

Should you wish to witness the birth of my divinity, the ceremony will be held at the ruins in the far north.
Now, do me a favor and... Die!

What, are you bipolar? "Come see my ascension ceremony! Now die! XOXO!!"


Dalton flies off, leaving Magus to deal with one of his trademark Golems.


Time for the game's first boss!

Music: Boss Battle 1


Golem Boss, like all the Golems, likes to drop balls on Magus, halving his HP. But that's not it's only gimmick, oh no. It'll copy the properties of the last attack you do on it. So, if you do a physical attack, it'll start using physical attacks. If you hit it with a lightning attack like Shadowbolt, it'll hit you with Bolt 2.

Now, here's a fun little thing...


If you use Steal on the Golem Boss, it'll copy the ice element.

Readers: But Dracorion, Steal obviously isn't ice elemental!

Me: No, but Steal replaces Ice 2 in Magus' skillset, and as you can see it still carries that element as far as the Golem Boss is concerned.

(Incidentally, Steal did work this time and I managed to grab a Mid Ether.)


The Golem Boss basically comes down to a battle of attrition, though.


You want to keep Omnishield up at all times, and pelt it with Shadowbolts. Without being afraid to use those Ethers you should've picked up.


In my case, I just used physical attacks. That meant I didn't run out of MP and didn't have to use any Ethers. I had more than enough Mid Tonics stocked to sustain me, and I think I only ended up using five at most.

That's pretty much the trouble in this battle. Usually you won't have enough cash to stock up reasonably on items.


When it's finally defeated, the Golem unleashes another trademark move, this time Dalton's as a final fuck you. As long as you keep Omnishield and your HP up, you won't have any trouble with it, though.


And so we've beaten our first boss!


Now, I know you want to see what's in that chest. It sat there through the entire cutscene with Dalton and the battle, taunting us.


Unfortunately, the contents of the treasure chest will have to wait until the next update!

Why? Because I'm evil.



Next time: The mystery of the treasure chest revealed!

[tacticslion]

Why can I not rep you for every update?! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
(Enjoyin' )

[Dracorion]

Episode Four: Magus versus the Legacy of ZealEpisode Four: Magus versus the Legacy of Zeal



Welp, now that we've beat the boss, no use staying here. Let's get going.

Yeah, no, I'm just yanking your chain. Let's see what's in that treasure chest.


Nice. The Silver Stud halves the MP cost of all techs. This is extremely useful when we've got Magus flying solo, since it means he only needs 1 MP to cast any of his spells. We throw it on and head out.


After stopping by Sargon's house for a quick fix, we head north and find this newly opened dungeon waiting for us.



Music: Confusing Melody

There's actually an encounter waiting down there against two Lashers and a Jinn Bottle.

Lashers come in pairs, and like to counteract with X-Strike whenever Magus hits one of them, so it's a good idea to take out at least one of them first. But you should probably kill both of them before moving on because they're annoying.

Jinn Bottles are right bastards and attack by draining Magus' HP or MP because they're assholes. They also take more than two hits to kill, so they're going take long to kill and screw you over regardless of whether or not you concentrate on them from the start.

Omnishield mitigates the damage from the Lashers, and with it costing 1 MP thanks to the Silver Stud we really have no excuse not to kick off battles with it.


In the same room we find a note that clues us in to the gimmick of this dungeon.


Knife - Left
Bo - Down
Sword - Right

Riddles! We need to pick the right exit to progress here. A wrong choice results in either...


A pitfall dropping us into a room below with a save point, or...



An unwinnable fight with a Golem!

Fortunately, the Golem doesn't really kill you. After wrecking your shit, you get dropped down to the room with the save point with 1 HP to your name.

So, reader input time! Which way do we go, guys? Left, right or down? Keep in mind there's several riddles here, so we're going to have some fun back and forth before we get through 'em all.

Fun!



























































Cardinal - Left
Silvard - Right
Blackbird - Up

Yeah, no, I'm not that evil. I'll just present the riddles and bold the solutions as I rant about something else. But fear not, there will be actual reader input soon enough.

(Incidentally, you can see me running from some chasing Lashers there. They're kind of annoying like that.)


White - Left
Gold - Up
Blue - Right

(This riddle is kind of a dick move, since it requires you remember some mundane detail from halfway through the previous game. It's far from the biggest dick move this dungeon pulls, though.)

Let's talk about Dalton and my hatred of him. I don't really hate him all that much. Rather, I hate what Squeenix did with him in the expanded content from CTDS.


Fire - Left
Lighting - Up
Shadow - Right

(Here's another one of those dick moves. It hasn't been said in this game at all which from of magic is stronger, and unless I'm forgetting something it never came up in CT either.)

See, CTDS has you encountering Dalton as a boss in a bonus dungeon. When defeated he says something to the effect of "I'm going to raise a big army in Porre and conquer you guys!"



That isn't even, like, crazy talk on his part. They established it as canon that Dalton somehow makes it to the present age and overthrows Guardia, all to expand on that retcon from Chrono Cross.


The Moon - Left
The Sun - Up
The Star - Right

What gets me is that this is literally the stupidest goddamn thing. Having a minor villain from another era in time be responsible for killing the heroes and their kingdom is basically just another example of Squeenix giving Chrono Trigger fans the finger.


It also doesn't help that Dalton is annoying is fuck.

Anyway, the trick for this last riddle is that none of the exits are correct. We want to talk to the statue and it'll transport you to the last room of the dungeon.



We're on chapter five, right?
Yes, sir!
Okay! Get ready to write: And then it came to pass that venerable Dalton - yes, he who subjugated the Golems - located the Silver Streak of Zeal, and taking it upon his mantle, declared the new kingdom an immortal one, with Dalton as eternal regent over...

See? Tell me you don't hate him too.

Also, this Silver Streak thing reeks of plot McGuffin.

Hm?



And as always, Magus doesn't need to say a word to get someone's attention.

These games are over.




Magus, you DONKEY! Bill had a family! Little Annie and little Jack and his wife Carrie! Who's going to bring food to the table now? Who's going to pay the mortages? Carrie's going to have to whore herself out just to stay afloat! How could you do that to them?

Hey!! Those guys are getting hard to find these days!
Wait... I detected magic! Shadow, no less! Just who are you?

Uh, dude... he was the Prophet back in Zeal, remember? Why should you be so surprised he can cast magic? It's not like the Queen would let some Earthbound chump claiming to see the future become her trusted advisor.

Also, this is the only time the game gives you an indication that Shadow magic is somehow more special than the other elements. Shortly after you complete the riddle that requires that knowledge.

Crimson Echoes!

Humph! Doesn't matter anyway. Your aura has weakened a lot since those events five years ago.
With your death, I will be the only heir of Zeal once more!!
Time to put you in your place!


And then Bill's wife Carrie, along with Annie and Jack got between them, demanding they shouldn't fight because her children are here.


Except not, fortunately.

Music: Boss Battle 1


Unfortunately, this is another unwinnable battle.




You know, I can't help but think Dalton would be a lot more bearable if he didn't keep kicking your ass, even though he's a second-rate villain.

Honest to God, maybe the CT developers had this idea of him as a legit threatening, if silly villain, but to me he never could hold a candle to Queen Zeal or Magus himself.


Pathetic! You were much more tenacious last time! Hah, I'm gonna throw you in a statis tube.

Oh God no, he's a freak, too! Magus is still a virgin, goddammit!

Even though you're a wimp, you're an innate magic user... And I could need your energy to complete my device...
After that, you'll make a nice snack for my Golems! Or if you're lucky, you might even become my new jester!


And so, Magus has been captured by Dalton and doomed to have some freakish things done to his pure body.


Treasure cheeeeessstttt!!!


Yellow means flashback.

Music: At the Bottom of Night

But is it worth...? I mean, he objected to it... The very idea of getting power from...

This is probably referring to the Mammon Machine. I wonder who "he" is? One of the Gurus, maybe?

Don't be silly! That was before any of us knew the power of the great Lavos! Immortality is beckoning! And your mother demands you come!
But...
*Turns to the entrance* ...Janus? What are you doing here?


Look, I've taught myself to-

Janus' presence causes the other guy to take off, but not before he finishes establishing himself as an asshat.


Way to be a douche, random guy. He's only the prince of your entire kingdom.

Next on the flashback reel...


More of kid Janus' escapades, from a time before he walked around with a purple cat, predicting people's deaths via symbolic dark hued gales.

... No choice! I must use magic...

Oh shit guys, I just realized.


What's the difference between innocent young Magus now and death-predicting Magus when we first meet him in Chrono Trigger?


The cat!

Your magic energy! That's remarkable! I never knew!

Shit, guys, Alfador is the real evil mastermind behind everything! It all makes sense!

This is a fan made game, glorified fanfiction! So of course that's it!

Stupid fucking cat!


Oh Jesus Christ it's these guys again. Actually, I don't mind them as much as Dalton. I actually kind like them. My main problem, though is...

Why does Ozzie have manboobs?

He's getting stronger... and fast, too!
To be that powerful, physically and magically, for a human his age...

Plus, humans aren't even supposed to be able to use magic in your era!

Yes, he is exactly the symbol we need!

The screen fades here, to signify another flashback, even though it's the exact same people in the exact same room.





Bad. Ass.

Magus is yet another of the retcon casualties of CTDS. Their half-assed attempt to tie him in with Guile from Chrono Cross (or, if that's not the case, then explain why Magus isn't in CC) is to have Magus get self-induced amnesia for no reason.

... Yeah, I'm kind of restraining myself from launching into a full-blown haterant about Square-Enix, and I suggest you do too.

Moving on!


Oh Christ, we're seeing flashbacks to scenes from the original game now?

We all know how it goes. Schala releases the heroes, in this case Crono, Marle and Lucca. Seriously, who even used Marle and Lucca? Sure, Antipode 2 was pretty strong, but honestly I never cared for that. I'd rather have cooler characters than Marle or Lucca in my party. Which is any character that isn't Marle or Lucca.

Are you all right? Quickly, escape from the palace!
I'm afraid I can't allow that...

A tall fellow, hooded and cloaked walks in. Man, I don't know who this guy could be, but he sure looks dashing.


You mustn't!
......!
Stop!

The mysterious figure whose identity I could never guess pauses for a minute, before...


So ends the flashback reel.

And they rejoiced.


Treasure chest!

And that's the end of this update, guys. You'll have to forgive me for the unoriginal episode name. It's because, my complaints aside, this flashback sequence serves as a nice reminder of Magus' journey, specifically how close he came to becoming just like his mother.

After ending up in the Middle Ages, he trained hard and became Lord of the Mystics. But he did this solely to get a shot at Lavos. He used the Mystics solely to fulfill his ambition, much like Queen Zeal did with her kingdom. They both only used others to further their own goals, and maintained their own indepence, all for Lavos.

In the end, the only thing that stopped Magus from becoming his mother is that he ended up getting sent back to the era where it all began, where he had to be constantly reminded of the real reason he did what he did: Schala. Dalton being Dalton now is just another reminder for him of what he almost became.

Where Schala was ultimately unable to escape the doom brought upon her by her mother, Magus suceeded, but not by himself. You'll find a lot of Chrono Trigger's themes are about people working together for their dreams. But that's not surprising, is it?

The actually surprising thing is that CT managed to be a genuinely great game while having all these cliches, and the reason is they were handled masterfully.

As for Crimson Echoes, well, it tries. It's a very well done game and sequel, but it's not quite as good as Chrono Trigger.


I'm afraid so, Magus. For now.


Treasure cheeeessssttttttttt!!!!!

Next time: Old friends! Old men! Reused bosses!

[Dracorion]

Originally Posted by tacticslion

Why can I not rep you for every update?! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
(Enjoyin' )

I accept making several new accounts and building up their rep to give me an amount of rep equivalent to what you have now as an alternate source of payment.

Strong-arming other people into repping me is also acceptable.

[Flarecobra]

Let me guess, Yakria returns or somesuch?

Or a giant bone golem?

[Satan's Onion]

Originally Posted by Dracorion

Seriously, who even used Marle and Lucca? Sure, Antipode 2 was pretty strong, but honestly I never cared for that. I'd rather have cooler characters than Marle or Lucca in my party. Which is any character that isn't Marle or Lucca.

Why you gotta do that, Drac? Why you gotta hurt my Lucca-lovin' heart? Yeah, okay, Marle was kind of dumb, even though she was a good healer, but Lucca was awesome. Also: I note that you've failed to mention a little spell called...Antipode 3. (And Flare! For fuck's sake, Flare! And Frog Flare! She's great with Frog and Ayla! Also, she's an awesome girl scientist! Lucca's amazing! Exclamation points!)