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NW Epic Center: Chrono Trigger: FINAL WEEK
 
* * * * * Chrono Trigger - Week 5 * * * * *

(Plain English: Scroll down to the bottom of the "OP" if you're lagging behind for previous weeks)


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue:
i Okami Club
ii Fire Emblem Club

Epic Center:
01 Ogre Battle
24 Secret of Mana
39 Phantasy Star IV (cont'd)
67 Earthbound (cont'd)
99 Breath of Fire II (cont'd)
110 Paper Mario (cont'd)
123 Golden Sun (cont'd)
136 Chrono Trigger

(ALL VINTAGE EC GAMES ARE CONTINUED IN THEIR OFFICIAL DISCUSSION THREADS!)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Hello, true believers! Welcome to Negative World's newest RPG-centric Club Hub, springing off the heels of the Fire Emblem Club. Way back when, Nintendo Power introduced a monthly walkthrough / in depth Role Play Game section (right around the beefiest SNES RPG era), but since they aren't around anymore to use it, Negative World will bring it out of the ashes, dust it off, and roll with it (two things of note: #1, this is not in reaction to Nintendo Force Magazine at all -- I know that because I thought of it in the shower this morning, so THERE; and #2, I just looked up "Epic Center RPG" on Yahoo, and there is apparently another RPG-based site that has that, ugh. I guess we're looking at a "Ghostbusters" / "Real Ghostbusters" thing now... Whatever..).

For anyone who grew playing SNES RPGs, and were a fan of them, they surely resonated to the point where they still hold office as some of your favorite games of your entire videogame life, systems, generations, and decades later. The NW Epic Center (run primarily by myself, with the aid of some special friends occasionally) will help to expose some of those games that didn't quite get the recognition they deserved, and also to relive some of the greatest games EVER as we play through them again -- together -- and open up a whole new dialogue on these lost treasures.


Next up..



Chrono Trigger is held by many (myself included) as The Greatest RPG of All Time, pun not intended. It is a benchmark title in the genre, and even after 20 years the game is discussed daily and held in high regard, even in the face of juiced-up, HD "masterpieces." Is simpler sometimes better? Sure, but we're not talking "Dragon Warrior" simple here; we're talking 16-bit perfection at its finest. I'm personally a bit worried about pursuing this game once more; it's been a long time since my last jog through it, and I'm afraid I might have the rosiest pair of glasses that any shot of nostalgia could ever produce. We find out later this month, for better or for worse. (C'mon, it's gonna be fine -- we're talking Chrono Trigger here!! THE BEST, JERRY, THE BEST!!)

Sunday, August 30th marks the start of Week 1 (if you prefer to start your own quest AFTER Sunday, like Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday, thats fine!). Golden Sun ran 6 Weeks. GameDadGrant will be our DUNGEON MASTER for this one, and we figure the playthrough to run about the same length. Less than two months. I'm told the total quest should last you between 20 and 30 hours.


See ya soon!!


CHRONO TRIGGER

Dungeon Master: GameDadGrant

You Did It! Chrono Trigger Complete:
VofEscaflowne
Scrawnton
Mop it up
Ludist210



Week 4 Complete:
GameDadGrant
mrbiggsly
DapperDave

Week 3 Complete:
Mr_Mustache (and Mrs_Mustache!)

Week 2 Complete:
Smerd
Dark weres
warerare
sirmastersephiroth

Week 1 Complete:
Anand

Triggermen:
HammerLord
Koovaps

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5

--------------------------------

URL to share (right click and copy)
12/22/12, 00:24    Edited: 10/31/15, 03:51
 
   
 
WEEK 2 - Finding Nina (and so much more!)


-2.1 Head back to HomeTown for a volatile situation. The game should eventually guide you towards Mt. Rocko.
-Once you clear the cave, you should be on your way to Windia, up and left from Coursair, via the Dead Maze.
-2.2 After your stuff in Windia (and your now 4-person party!), head West. Can't really do anything at the Circus (yet), proceed to a Lodge (durying Daytime only), or/and keep going to Capitan. DON'T GO IN THE WELL YET.
-After you've talked to everyone, stock up on health stuff and duck in the Dry Well to clear it out and help people. (more help below) Be CAREFUL with your targetting.
-Back to the Rui-- HEY. THE RUINS ARE CALLED SOMETHING ELSE NOW!! Look around at your new digs. Note: You'll now be able to switch party members at Dragon Shrines, too!
-Return to Capitan and talk to the prostitute. After your "alone time," talk to a guy where she was standing (in Capitan), and you'll be whisked away to TownShip.
-After this, you'll be off to Capitan -- again -- to pick out a carpenter. (RIDE RAND, HE'S AWESOME) They offer more than just appearances (see below for more help.)
-2.3 After you've made your choice, head North (from Capitan) to a Harbor. A boat should be waiting. Ride across and enter the Woods.
-You'll encounter a huge frog who has been cursed by a terrible witch! You gotta help him, right? (Suggested Level help below).
-Head to a Tower that stands alone. Bring some patience.. (extensive Tower help below)
-Return to our frog friend with the proper "credentials" and do whatcha gotta do. The Week is pretty much over, do NOT advance to SimaFort. Do the Sidequest stuff and / or proceed to the lonely spoiler sentence.
-Sidequests WildCat Restaurant: NW of the woods, turn Jean into a HUGE FROG w/ Y, and swim into a waterfall to find a hidden cave. Ryu will enjoy the stay, surely.
- Return to TownShip (Jean moves you much quicker as a HUGE FROG), your town should look different; check out the houses and eventually proceed to the "Unity Room." Experiment a little and have some fun! (Or just look below..)
-You'll learn that there is room for Tenants. You may've already come across some. You CANNOT get everyone, unfortunately. Sorry DapperDave. I'd love to Catch 'Em All, too. There are consensus "best" tenants for each house. Go wild, (or look below.)
-After you're done with that, return to the Wild Cat. Enjoy you're meal! ("Hey Buddy") (more help..)

-When you're done with everything, save at anywhere but SimaFort and call it a week!


Extra Help if you REALLY get lost (spoilers of course):
2.1 Mt. Rocko: 4 chests in here. Boss' nephew is "Pain." Before you're prompted to do anything (ie: "check the hole"), make sure your HP is where you want it. Nina shoudl cast Cold in the Boss fight w/ Joker. Dead Maze: generally you'll want to go West and South.
2.2 Capitan - Dry Well: 6 people to rescue down here. You'll want to target the things on their face, and not the actual people. Don't say "yes" that you're ready until you've got all of them. If you rescued all 6, you'll get a new spell called "Renew," which has a 70% chance of bringing someone back after their unconscious (Cure2 if less than 6). Just head back to the Ruins (eventually) to claim it. From the walkthrough: Bow and Rand will learn Renew on their own as they grow in levels. Katt and Sten are obviously not good choices because they have a low maximum AP count. Nina has more AP, but Ryu will always stay in your party no matter what. Ryu isn't necessarily a spell caster, while Nina is
more of one. Whatever you choose, both are good choices, but Nina might be the best choice since she her magic repertoire seems to be more offensive based.
Your call, dude!

2.2 Carpenters - "Regular" Easternmost House allows you to cook items, "Tree" Middle Houses offers an Othello-type game for items, and "Futuristic" Westernmost House allows you to have customers talk to you about your game stats.. If you didn't rescue all 6 well-folk, you probably won't have all of the options. The "Regular" house is viewed as "the best" for the ability to cook stat-building items later in the game. If you don't care about that at all, go nuts!
2.3 Post Frog / Hut Action - Suggested Level is 12 to advance. I'm personally at 10 befor even hitting Week 2, but Rand might be a good deal lower if you're using him. The best place (supposedly) is near a Hut, "south of the woods, and west across a bridge (south of the big pond)." "Sleeping out in the open" will heal you. And S.Idol may drop a StoneAR which is some solid gear for Rand. Also keep an eye out for JahAR drops.
2.3 Tower - There is a Tile, step on it with Ryu. An entrance will open between 2 and 4 fights, probably. Don't open the chest - it is empty and will block your exit. Besides the empty one, there appears to be 16 treasure chests in here, most containing money. When you get to the "Platforms' room, 4 is the best for treasure, 2, 3 will get you to the same room. When you're done with that, 1 will advance you. Save 5 for later (you can go now if you want, but you won't be able to do anything). Tile Room: Tile 3 for Gate1, Tile 7 (lower of the triangle tiles??) for Gate 2, everything above that tile for Gate 3, and then the first tile below "7" for Gate 4. That'll net you the treasure, and the exit to advance. After the Boss fight, head back to the Platform room and Take #5.
~Sidequests~ Week 2 Unities - Rand, Nina, and Sten can combine with each individual Shaman, and Jean can combine with Seso (Fire and Frogs don't mix). Sten will have an appearance change; Sana yields Offense, Seso yields Wisdom.
Tenants: Hekkeller in HomeTown (next to Ryu/Bow's old house), Leminton (2nd Floor, Capitan Inn) -OR- wait until Week 3 for someone else, and Baretta (Windia Armory) are the suggested 3 at this juncture. If you would like an in-depth guide, I can point you in the direction of one. Hekkeller offers Fire Equipment (expensive), Leminton has some decent equipment (or you can wait for a guy who takes you to an AWESOME fishing spot: MONEY HOLE), and Baretta has equipment which changes as the game progresses. Starts out as poop, then gets better, and near the end, has some of the best stuff in the entire game that you can't buy elsewhere. There are all kinds of other things, from changing the color of your game windows, to secret fishing/hunting spots, etc. If you're looking for something specific, let me know and I'll see if there is something like that. Or, again, go nuts. Just don't be peeved when the kindness of your heart bites you SQUARE IN THE ASSSS!! (Some people don't do anything. Ah well...)
Wild Cat: Part 2 - Should be around Lv15, Ryu's new spells should do around 512 damage, wow! After your Boss Fight..: "are you mad that I tried to turn you into steaks? - NO" and "you're softhearted - YES" will get you a new, unblockable Spell, 0 AP, 50-70 damage, and doesn't care about the enemies defense AT ALL. (Answering differntly will get you +16 Max HP for everyone, if you prefer that). Katt and Nina are the suggested recipients, but again, go bonkers!


Alright, so thats a lot of writing. Took a while to read, took a while to write, but I DON'T think that will translate to in-game stuff, actually. This looks to be about the same length as last week, and we were all pretty good about polishing it off early. I won't get to start on it just yet, maybe I'll poke around in a bit (or someone else can) and give us interval times, or something.

I guess thats it. Good luck out there, and keep up the great work!
12/08/13, 07:05   
Edited: 12/19/13, 22:24
ALRIGHTY,
2.1 took about 45 minutes. Just finished with 2.2, significantly later. I messed up and went in underleveled in the Dry Well, and it bit me. Succeeded at 12/12/10/10 however. Get your party to double digits at least. Boss Fight ran me 6 rounds (Ryu Attacking, Katt Attacking/Herbs, Sten Bomb/Herbs, Nina Thunder). Saved everyone, gave Renew to Nina back at the ranch.

So that brings me up through 2.2. 2.3 and the extra stuff remain. Fun night, I hope you guys like it.

EDIT- OH, I know someone will complain (and it IS annoying..), but do yourself a favor and let Rand's wild, wild rolling work for you after you take Ray back to TownShip. Save yourself some time and headache. PLUS, its all fun trying to see how far you can go. Can you go from the foot of Mt. Fubi to the post below Windia? Its quite a trip!
12/08/13, 10:06   
Edited: 12/08/13, 10:07
Mr_Mustache said:

I'm almost done. I'll finish up today, a day late.
12/08/13, 22:39   
I started week 2. Defeated the hideout boss, and made it to the Windy City.

I still don't understand how to fish.
12/08/13, 22:58   
@DapperDave

Cool cool.

@TheOldManFromZelda

Fishing: is anyone else having trouble?

When you see the fishing spot (fish jumping out of the water, only shows in certain spots after a random number of fights, it seems), press A to enter the FishingSpot. There, you'll have a few options. With Ryu, equip a Pole and Bait for his ETC. Equipment slots. It doesn't matter which goes where (I think), but you need both filled. When you've got your line baited (lets say with Worms, speaking of the HomeTown fishing spot), you select "Cast," or something. Then, the power meter comes up, similar to Tecmo Super Bowl kick off stuff, and press A again at the distance you choose. I almost ALWAYS go for "an onside kick" with it, the meter as empty as possible. If you cast where you don't want to, hit B and you'll bring the line back without anyone taking a crack at it. If its at a distance you like, you can press A (pressure/duration sensitive) to jog the line a little bit, and reel a little bit closer. Sardines and Unagis (and Bait and Mackerel, I think) like Worms.

When a fish bites your line, you are then in a HUGE BATTLE. Hit A A A A A to reel him in, don't press ANYTHING when he jumps out of the water (if it happens), and don't press anything again until he re-enters the water completely (ie: his splash should be gone as well). Once that happens, resume your battle. Keep in mind, these are like 2-3 second things, so my typing for the entire thing is about 10 times as long as you'll be doing it.

The more you reel him in, the more his energy depletes. You'll notice your pole has a durability, too. When that exhausts, you lose your lure..but thats ok, because (hopefully) you've got 8 (or more; I carry about 35 MINIMUM on me at all times, and about 27 Urchins, too; 9 shrimp.) Worms left. Simple cast again, and pick up where you left off. With any luck, the fish'll be close to where you're sitting, and you just gotta tug a little more (catching a fish will also cost you a bait). When you run out of bait, you can reload.

I think I overexplained that, shouldn't be any way to confuse that stuff. If someone else would like to add something, go for it. If I need to clarify something somehow, please let me know. At this point, I still think that the spot near HomeTown is the best. 13 tiny fish swimming around, each yielding 30 bucks on a 4 dollar lure. The next level up is Minnows and Tuna (they look like Clownfish or medium sized Aquarium fish), which pop for 150 each, but the lure is more expensive, and they're pickier. Pileworms also eat Urchins, but it'll take you a bit to get them, especially at this point (next rod up, we can take a better look at them). If you're fortunate enough to get one of those, they sell for 500..but time / money for lures will probably score you against them now. Simply not worth it. They're SUPER picky, and they sit at the gosh darn bottom of the map, and often far to the right. If you can catch one by using less than 4 lures, GREAT JOB.


----------

EDIT- Be sure to add Breath of Fire II to your Database, and mark it as Playing! Woooo donkeys
12/09/13, 00:16   
Edited: 12/09/13, 00:40
@Mr_Mustache

I have not seen one fishing spot pop up, and ive had my guy properly equipped with both lure and rod. As far as I'm concerned, fishing in this game is a myth.
12/09/13, 02:09   
@TheOldManFromZelda

Hang out near HomeTown. It should be off the shore. You'll probably see one after 5-6 fights. There is a spot above Coursair, too, and another up and right of Ruins.

I think you'll like the music once you get in there. Very relaxing!
12/09/13, 02:17   
12/09/13, 02:44   
@TheOldManFromZelda

No, it's great! Sit down for some fishing with a cold pop!
12/09/13, 03:49   
Okay, I caught up and finished Week 1.

I took a bunch of screenshots chronicling the journey. But I haven't thought of a way to display them that is interesting but not too time consuming.
12/09/13, 07:16   
In the case of BoF2, I may jump in at a later point. I went through the game long ago on the SNES to a point and then stopped. Then I went roughly to the same point last year on the VC and stopped. I don't think if I restart again that I'll make it to the end, so I'm gonna have to cheat on this a bit.
12/09/13, 12:00   
@Mr_Mustache

Nah, it's ok. I seriously don't have time to wait around for it. I'm content with plowing ahead to complete my task.

I do have to say, the penalties are stiff for certain status effects, waaaay stiffer than any other RPG I've played. One HP per step when poisoned? That's ridiculous.
12/09/13, 14:38   
I vaguely remember that early on, you have to donate about 2000 Zenny to St. Eva, to get Ray to do something good for you later on (I think he teaches you a spell?) . Does anyone remember better what it was?

I love the interview for the coliseum.
"Education? Hobby? Talent!?"
Ryu dodged the question.


The post-coliseum interview didn't go so well:
Augus attacks Baba: SMAAAAAASH!
Baba grits teeth, gets up.
And gets SMAAAAASHed down a second time.

This was basically a fight to showcase Rand's "wake" skill, but it's very unreliable after it's first use, and Augus will be smashing you down very reliably. Gain some levels with Katt and/or have a healthy supply of revives before taking this guy on.

The Coursair fishing spot seem to show up very rarely. I saw it once, got into a battle before I could reach it, and never saw it again. Perhaps it shows if you get into a battle far away from it?
12/09/13, 17:18   
Edited: 12/09/13, 19:19
@TheOldManFromZelda

When you get Jean, that can be alleviated, somewhat. Also, stock up on those Antidotes (I carry 9)! Take out Deathpedes FIRST when fighting them, as they can Poison your ENTIRE party. And 1 HP per step is old school. Dragon Warrior does this, every single NES game.

Uhhhhh. Fishing: just keep an eye out for it, you'll find it sometime. And if you're fighting near HomeTown, you wouldn't really be "waiting around for it," but destroying weak guys for like a minute or two since those fights will be over just_like_that.

@Dark Weres

I didn't think of that! I DID try Wake though, on Katt, and it totally didn't work. BOO!

Coursair fishing spot was pretty annoying, yes. Make sure you have the Gold if you're going there, as fishing without it just isn't worth it, in my eyes. You can get a SilverDR in Week 2 (finding it), or buy it from the guy there for 1200 or something. So if you CAN'T get to him, know that you'll be able to get it soon. The Armor will still be stronger though. And the fishing spot, I was walking in circles around there. One time the fishing spot came up with a hunting spot right in front of it, blocking entry, ha! What the heck, Boars!

EDIT- DONATING- YES, I was curious about this myself; 20 donations of 100 will give you something; its something we're "supposed" to do well off later in the game, not sure if you can get that Item now. If you go ahead with it, let me know! (The place Walkthrough Guy was donating was just in HomeTown. I'd guess that location doesnt' really matter. And there is ANOTHER donation place later for something completely different. I don't think I've EVER done that though.. Exciting!)
12/09/13, 21:27   
Edited: 12/09/13, 21:30
Anyone else get started yet and/or have trouble this week?

I'm gonna run The Tower tonight, and probably the extra stuff, too. Should finish it up. PUMPED!


LATE EDIT- Ok, I'm gonna finish up Week 2 in a few minutes here. Picked up Tenants 1 and 3 as advertised, but grabbed a different guy for House 2. I originally spoke about Leminton, but his equipment..I dunno. It might be good RIGHT NOW, but after this, no good. If you got Hekkeller, he already has stronger stuff than Lem, but expensive. I opted for a guy who knows a SECRET FISHING SPOT (after you get Jean, turn into a HUGE FROG and swim down the river south of SimaFort until you find a beach near a "W.Cape is Right There!" sign. This secret fishing spot is constantly stocked with SNAPPER and PILEWORMS. I found out tonight (the awesome way) that Snappers sell for 1500 bucks. HELL YEAH, FISH.

Took my time with everything tonight, so I can't offer an accurate time. I watched the entire Monday Night game while playing, though i did fast forward a bit and mess up the Tower a few times. Blech. (After the "Gates" room, be careful going out of the screen -- without stairs -- unless you want to fall out of the Tower and have to do the whole thing again, haha. ahh..ha ha...*sigh*)


Also, if you didn't get a chance you use your Gold lure outside of Coursair, I found another spot right near the Wildcat / Waterfall. That guy will sell better wares than I got in Week 1.
12/10/13, 03:59   
Edited: 12/10/13, 12:28
Finished. Man their is a lot I forgot about in this game. Still think BOF 3 is my fave
12/12/13, 04:56   
So what do you guys like/dislike about the game so far?

+ Love the character sprites in battle. These are some of the best sprites I've ever seen. They're not squashed blocky people like FF, they're a more humanoid size and have great animations.
+ The crazy character designs. A human, a dog, and a ram thing so far have joined. I remember seeing an image of the characters when this game came out was surprised by how each one is something unique.
+ Music is pretty good.

- The encounter rate is very tedious. A battle every few steps yielding little experience. Seems like they padded this out too much.
- So far the battles just consist of me attacking 90% of the time, healing 10%. I hope they get more strategic once more people join and we learn new abilities.
- Translation. It's clear that the script has been chopped to bits due to the character limits from translation the Japanese characters. Seems like they can only fit a few words on the screen at once.
- Story. It's not very engaging, but it's at least moving forward and things are happening.
12/12/13, 07:26   
Alright, a little extended Tenant help here. I went with a guy that I told you to go with, and I'm not totally nuts about it. But it still might be the best option, who knows. Check it out, let me know who you'd want (if you care this much), and I can tell you what to do. (You dont' have access to ALL of these people yet, and there are 6 total houses) :

House 1: +4 Def guy (lasts one battle), Fire Weapons guy, Poison Immunity nurse (lasts one battle), guy 'finds' stuff then sells it to you, guy has secret info about a character..but you can get the character without him at all.
House 2: Dojo guy (with apparently NO use), guy sells some not very special -- though useful now -- equpiment, awesome fishing spot guy, guy who cleans out your bank account(!!) and hides it from you (!!!!), guy who adjusts your game screen colors
House 3: cat person, awesome hunting spot guy, armory with INCREASINGLY better items as the game goes on, charity case, fortune teller (who you don't need because you're playing in Epic Center, woo!)

Just thought I'd float that out there. I don't want someone getting the shaft or being like "why didn't you tell me about that Hunting Spot guy?!"

So yeah, I've got Fire Weapon guy for House 1, spent a TON of money getting stuff, and as you might imagine, Fire Weapons aren't good against EVERYBODY. I'm hitting for less damage (often) than I was with my older, weaker weapon that I switched out for these (though kept them in the terrible scenario that I'm kinda living, haha. Still gonna see how this goes), but I'm SLAMMING some other guys. S.Idols have been giving me trouble, but I SPECIAL'D one with Ryu for 352 damage, haha!! AWESOME. I like that part, I don't like the barely beating DevilKids. Blargh.

@SeVeN CDN

I hope 3 makes it to a Nintendo console somehow. I never got to play it

Which Tenants did you go with? Did you get the guys I wrote down, go with someone else, or not get anyone yet? Fire Guy has me kinda bummed..

@DapperDave

I've played this game a bunch before, so the stuff I liked then I like a bunch now, and the stuff I disliked then I don't dislike as much anymore. Nostalgia.

I like how colorful the game is, from the guys walking around on the overworld, and I ESPECIALLY like their portraits. I think they're beautifully done, possibly even moreso than Final Fantasy II or III.

Lets try to alleviate some of those minus points.. Encounter Rate: have you rolled around with Rand significantly yet? You can avoid, lets say, 90% of battles if you're rolling with him. Once you stop/collide with something, it seems like you're bound to be in a fight at that point, but sometimes not! I think this encourages you to use Rand for traveling (or Jean to a lesser extent, but keep in mind if you bring him, you might not be able to Hunt at all with Katt or Bow). No, he won't help you indoors at all. (When you get Jean, and he hits Lv14 -- I just did with him -- he learns Warp. SOLID.)

I'm not sure when the story kicks in. It's still very much in it's infant stage. I can't think right now how other games go, but more often than not, the truth/whatever is revealed around the halfway point. I'd suggest to just "enjoy the ride" right now, if you can.


----

Anyone else making Week 2 progress yet? It's already Thursday, oh no!
12/12/13, 10:33   
Edited: 12/12/13, 10:36
@Mr_Mustache

I just made it back to the ruins after completing the well. I accidentally killed one of the people trapped in the well, oops. Still got the spell though. I guess now I'm heading to the colliseum?

Positives: ..... I'll get back to you on that one. Characters... I guess?

Negatives: Story is going nowhere so far.
Overworld is enormous, and characters move too slow, which results in a lot of random encounters.
Sometimes very unclear as to what to do next. I miss the hint house of Earthbound.
No automatic healing after a huge boss fight? And then you're expected to backtrack out of a dungeon? Lame.
So hard to make money in this game. Still haven't seen a fishing spot.
Hunting is lame.
Lacks charm, so far.
12/12/13, 13:26   
@TheOldManFromZelda

Colisseum? No, go back to Capitan and get a Carpenter.

"Characters move too slow" Why do you guys hate Rand so much??
I have no idea how you haven't seen a single Fishing spot. I fish CONSTANTLY.
12/12/13, 23:02   
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