* * * * * 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

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Week 3 is done! It turns out that the invincible Tubba Blubba wasn't so tough after all. All you have to do is stomp on his disembodied and sentient heart a few times... Our new kicks are getting blood on them already.

This week, we're going through a thematic 180. What better way to brighten your mood after staying at a spooky haunted mansion than to visit a giant toybox? We're also going to see a bit of a break in the Nature Walk --> Town --> Dungeon formula that's consistantly been used in every chapter. Instead of that, we'll be returning stolen objects. Yup! This time we're running errands! Yay! But if any game can make that fun, it's Paper Mario. And trust me, it does. There's that aforementioned toybox to explore, in addition to a bit of a tour of Toad Town. And the Shy Guys take center stage this week! They're mischievous and full of energy. As playful as they may seem, these guys have been causing a lot of trouble for the citizens of Toad Town. So let's right the wrongs these Shy Guys have committed and put their general in his place! He may have an army on his side, but we can do it! We're almost halfway there!

PAPER MARIO EPIC CENTER
Week 4

Goal: Save the fourth Star Spirit. Select "save and quit" afterwards.


Important Notes:

1. During Peach's segment, Bowser will ask her what Mario hates. Whatever you select will be what is sent to Mario during this chapter.


Optional

1. Now that we have a new pair of shoes, let's return to Mario's house. Go to the room in the back with the bunkbed and do a spin jump to be taken to Luigi's secret tunnel where he stores his diary. Let's all be good siblings and leave this room and never return again. But if you do happen to "accidentally" read his diary, you'll find that it's pretty entertaining. If you "accidentally" read it after every chapter, you'll find that it is updated fairly frequently with new entries. Accidentally.

2. Talk to Merlon to be sent on a strange quest

3. If you haven't done so already, explore the sewers of Toad Town

4. In the toybox and left of the blue station is an Anti-Guy that guards a treasure chest. In that chest is a Power Plus Badge. You can fight him if you want, but victory is unlikely. You can try to get lucky and beat him now or come back later when you're stronger. It's your call.

Or you could give him a lemon candy to skip the fight entirely, if you're the kind of person who lies to buzzards.

5. Get the Defend Plus Badge

I made my new ghostly friend from Week 3. So I'm making some progress. I have DKC:TF now.. but I haven't touched it much. I am trying to stay focused on Paper Mario. It's boring me a little more now but maybe because I find the item system a little weird and my controller makes it hard to go south. It's my only controller though. So I dunno. But I'm trying to stick with it!

Power Plus is one of those badges that kinda breaks the game, especially when paired with a couple other choice badges. If you don't want Mario to be an unstoppable force and would rather have the game pose some semblance of challenge, you might not want to use it.

@Mr_Mustache Yes.

Finished week 4.

And I somehow beat Anti Guy! I only had 1 HP left afterwards, but I did it.

This chapter is a lot more fun than I remember. Something about the toy box makes me feel happy and relaxed. I think it's a combination of the bright colors, upbeat music, and the shy guys. And this chapter's boss is my favorite yet. It really feels like you're taking on an army.

And Watt is awesome. She tends to go unmentioned a lot, but I really like her.

Alright, feeling really dumb and tired (the order is swappable, so I'm going to bed).

Questions:
-I've seen the Shy Guys reeking havoc in Town, I've stomped on a few, but I don't know how to proceed. I figured a train would be involved, but it says its going to Mt. Rugged still. Hrmm.
-How do I deliver the Toad Town News to the old Koopa? I've read it, and I thought Mario would remember.. He doesn't.

I thought there was another question but..hmm. I've explored the Sewers before this week, and went down again for a bit. Do I need to RE-explore them? I saw Koopa Jr. come out of the woods (fought him once in there), but I haven't seen him since. I opted to tell the "truth" with Princess so I could get some XP opportunities. I haven't fought any of those guys yet.

@Mr_Mustache For the first one, talk to people in town, you should get some clues on what to do.

For the second, make sure you read the front and the backside of the news board.

@Mop it up

THE BACK. WHAT.

@Mr_Mustache There's one new area of the sewers you can access thanks to the spin jump, but it can wait. Let me know if you're still stuck with progressing the story.

@Hero_Of_Hyrule

I just finished Week 4, thanks.

(When is that little fish guy joining up? I remember him from before, forgot all about Watt.)

Question: What does 3 Stars on the Slot Machine get you? I'm done trying, unless...

@Mr_Mustache I believe it pays out mushrooms.

@Mop it up

No badge or anything else worth more than 10 coins?

@Hero_Of_Hyrule

Oh!, Anti-Guy. Had HUGE success with him; didn't even get an attack off! I figured I'd try that Lullaby thing (from the 2nd Star Spirit) out, and what do you know, it works! I left Goombario charging up, and then knocked off back to back 10s or 14s, whatever I charged up to. I mean, dude, thats 20-28 points gone in a single turn. I had Mario doing his continuous bounce thing, too, when he wasn't putting him to sleep. It worked out nice!

Also, I noticed that Watt is referred to as both a She and a He depending on where you read. Weird!

@Mr_Mustache

That partner is coming up next.

I hadn't even though of using lullaby on him. Anti-Guy was so strong that I assumed it wouldn't work. How are you doing 10-14 damage with Mario? Power Plus, Charge, and multibounce?

@Hero_Of_Hyrule

Anti-Guy was actually the first time I had tried it! I just let it rip, hoped, and it worked. 3 straight times. Maybe he's so hard BECAUSE they hope you're going to use that? Other games do stuff like that, so I wouldn't be surprised.

I'm getting that damage with Goombario. I've got him Super'd (or whatever, can't remember the term), and then Charging for 3 consecutive rounds. I used this tactic again when fighting General Guy (and the Lantern Ghost, too). I let Mario take out the lightbulb / lantern, and when those were out of the way, or the path was open, I left Goombario rip, hit him again with the action, and he drops 14-20 depending on how many times I had charged. Got my 4th Degree card using pretty much the same method. In the Dojo, however, I was in single digit health when that fight ended (and I used a Whacka's Bump, too). As for Mario, yes, I've got two Power Plus Badges on him (as well as the Defend). I need more Badge points!!

EDIT- And I asked about that other partner because there was a point in my travels where I had found those Blue Coin Boxes without having the opportunity to give it to anyone. I was sitting at a +2, worried, but now I've got one in the sewers that I can hit as soon as we get someone new, and Watt obviously took the other.

Should be starting Week 3 soon. Gonna tackle do 2 weeks at a time from now on so don't worry if I get a week behind.

@Pokefreak911

Just so you know, the weeks are getting more "run around-y" and aren't so cleancut and quick, especially if you like to do extra stuff.

@Mr_Mustache
I always go extra stuff but I still keep to my own pace. I only ever check the main goal of the week and leave the rest up to my own skills to explore.

@Mr_Mustache

Oh, I didn't know charging stacked. That's pretty neat. How much BP do you have, because some of those badges take up a lot of it?

@Pokefreak911

Thanks for letting us know. I hope you're able to keep up that pace and I hope that your grandfather is doing better.

@Hero_Of_Hyrule

24.

Finished up the week. The way I beat the Anti-Guy was to mostly just hit him with lullaby constantly and let Goombario charge up to the point where he'd take out half his energy. Other than that mostly easy sailing expect before getting the 6th friend since I came into the fight really weak I got beat by sheer HP difference.

@Hero_Of_Hyrule
Yeah he's doing a lot better now. He can't drive for another 2 months though so that's 2 months of me helping get him back on his feet again. Thanks for asking.