* * * * * 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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URL to share (right click and copy)

Who is pumped for Week 5, WOOOO!?

I'M NOT

The Shy Guy army is no more. We've fought every type of Shy Guy you can think of, played with a toy train, returned some stolen goods, and befriended a little known enemy from Super Mario World. It was a fun, lighthearted chapter and a great way to end the first half of our journey.

This week is going to be a bit special. We're going to Yoshi's Island! The Yoshi's Island! We'll get a glimpse of the culture, take in the sights, explore the waterways, and encounter a former boss from Yoshi's past adventure. Just be sure to watch out for the local fauna. But first, we have to figure out how we're going to get the Yoshi's Island. Toad Town docks would be a good place to start. And before that, why don't we pay a visit to the royal kitchen to make a snack for a familiar gluttonous, mask wearing fellow.


PAPER MARIO EPIC CENTER
Week 5

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


Important Notes:

The bulb-ulb in this chapter won't give you a magical seed. Don't worry about it until next week.


Optional

1. While playing as Peach, get the Last Stand badge

2. Find the Happy Heart badge on Yoshi's Island

3. Inside the volcano, get the Fire Shield badge

Since we've reached the halfway point, now is a good time to share your thoughts about the game as a whole. At least, what we've played so far. Which chapter that we've played has stood out as your favorite? Which badges or partners have been particularly useful? Have any moments or scenarios stood out as your favorite?

It's a tough call, but I think that chapter 4 is my favorite so far. Something about it makes me feel really happy and I love the boss. I really liked the Zelda dungeon-like Dry Dry Ruins and exploring Tubba Blubba's lair. Exploring Dry Dry Desert for the first time on my own was neat, and Bow's Mansion is always enjoyable. The defense boosting badges have remained on constantly. I've also used the badge that speeds up the spin ability as well. However, I generally tend to prefer upgrades to FP and HP over BP. I'm all about survivability and I would choose using FP for Mario's partners than for badge attacks any day.

@Pokefreak911

You're welcome. That's great to hear.

This is my 3rd time through the game and this game is kind of what got me back in RPGs after my attempts to really get into the genre with FF7 and then 8 nearly killed any interest I could have in the genre. I mean I loved EarthBound but for the longest time that was the only RPG I really played.

So Paper Mario along with Skies of Arcadia Legends and Tales of Symphonia reopened the genre to me. Good for them.

@chrisbg99

Skies of Arcadia and Tales of Symphonia are so delicious.
Hopefully they'll make their way through here sooner than later.

I guess I should make a minor correction. Despite what I previously thought, the island in this chapter isn't Yoshi's Island. It's called Lavalava Island. I could've sworn it was Yoshi's Island. After all, it is an island full of Yoshi. Oh well. It's not a big deal, really. Sorry for any confusion.

@Hero_Of_Hyrule I always use the Speedy Spin badge, always! Mario just moves so dang slowly that I need that extra speed just to move around. It's kind of an annoying way to do movement but it's the only way to move at any sort of decent speed.

@Hero_Of_Hyrule Heh, well it might as well be Yoshi's Island! It even has a version of the Yoshi's Island theme playing. I'm sure it's the colloquial name for the place.

I'll get going late late tonight or tomorrow. One of those!

Finished week 5.

@Mop it up Spinning in Paper Mario is like rolling in Ocarina of Time, but better. It' so much faster. Has this replay of the game changed your opinion of it, or do you still feel the same about it?

This playthrough has been kind of strange for me. I've spent a lot of time with this game since its release, especially the first half. But it's different from how I remember it in some ways. The level of quality is far more even than I remembered. Areas that I remember disliking have become highlights for me (Tubba's castle, Shy Guy Toy Box, Lavalava Island). The game as a whole is easier and more simple than I recall too. This doesn't make me love the game any less, it's just odd considering that I just played through this game again a couple years ago, so it's still pretty fresh in my mind.

Maybe I've just gotten better at RPGs. I have certainly branched out into the genre more. In the time since I last played Paper Mario, I've beaten Final Fantasy X and VII, Earthbound, Mother 3, a large part of Chrono Trigger, part of Final Fantasy VI, every Fire Emblem game released in the west, and other games I can't remember off the top of my head. While none of those games are super complicated, they are undeniably deeper than the familiar Paper Mario's and Pokémon's I used to stick to. I think this exposure has led me to see how simple and easy these games are. Excluding Pokémon's competitive level, that is. This doesn't reduce my enjoyment of Paper Mario, but it has given me a new perspective from which I look at these two series. That said, no amount of experience will stop me from enjoying Paper Mario.

@chrisbg99

What didn't you like about FF8? I've haven't played it myself, but I've heard some bad things about it.

@Hero_Of_Hyrule

HOH, what did you have in mind for our next game? Was there something you were itching to play?

Pogue mentioned wanting to play Chrono Trigger again (probably independent of the EC, but maybe not?), and it appears that a lot of people haven't played this game for whatever reason. Everyone came out of the woodwork for Earthbound, but Chrono Trigger...my God, it's Chrono Trigger.

Did we already talk about another game after Paper Mario? I can't recall.
(And to confirm, I should be taking a HUGE bite out of Week 5 tonight. How long did it run you?)

@Mr_Mustache

When I messaged Pogue about playing Paper Mario, he said he'd much rather play Super Mario RPG. I told him that if he still wanted to play SMRPG when Paper Mario was done then I would vote for that game. So I've committed myself to that, if he still wants to play it. If not, then I have a few games I'd like to play.

Final Fantasy II/IV (SNES)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Super Mario RPG (SNES) [Even if Pogue doesn't want to]
Crystalis (NES) [If you consider it to be enough of an RPG]
Illusion of Gaia (SNES) [Maybe]
Super Paper Mario (Wii) [Hardly an RPG, so I understand if the answer is no]
Tales of Symphonia (Gamecube) [Only if I can find it for a good price]
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles My Life as a Darklord (WiiWare)

I thought there would be more games, but I can't think of any. If you're willing to go outside of Nintendo, I'd be up for Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, and Kingdom Hearts 2. Wild Arms too if I can find a good price.

It took me 2:46 to get through this chapter.

@Hero_Of_Hyrule

I'm up for any of those. Maybe not Darklord so much (and what happens w/ the Wii when it goes down?)
I bought Illusion of Gaia (on cartridge) several years ago in preparation of playing with NW people. Never happened.

Super Paper Mario probably wouldn't work. Still waiting for another non-RPG game club to pop up besides RGC. I thought Pokefreak (or Hammerlord? Or both?) were going to make an Adventure Game club years ago. Hmm.


--And outside of Nintendo? That would instantly disqualify me. Boooo to thaaaattttt.

Super Mario RPG did just come up somewhere though. Club Nintendo free game? I can't recall.

@Hero_Of_Hyrule Afraid not, playing it again has only solidified my opinion. That's a part of why I haven't been posting that much in here, I don't want to be a big hater.

@Mop it up

I don't think you're a hater if you dislike a game we're playing. Happens to everyone. What are your issues?
Too simplistic? I know you mentioned slow-moving.. After playing Dragon Warrior recently, nothing moves that slow.

Did you finish Week 4?

Yeah I beat the week four and the week five. They went by pretty quickly so maybe I should use some different badges this time to make things harder.

@Mr_Mustache
I've wanted to make an adventure club forever, but things keep coming up that just sidetrack me completely. I've been barely posting on NW at all this past month if you didn't notice.

@Mr_Mustache@Hero_Of_Hyrule
You guys are forgetting the best JRPG of all time.





EDIT: On the topic of how good Paper Mario is. I enjoy it, but Thousand Year Door outclasses it in every way and if I want an RPG Mario experience, I would choose Thousand Year Door every time.

@Pokefreak911

You're still posting a lot more than other people. ie: where the heck is Anand?
I know you've got some stuff going on; no one is mad at you and everyone feels for you.

And Lufia II isn't available on the VC at all.

@Mr_Mustache
Oh I know that, I still feel kinda bad for not posting more.

And don't remind me... Lufia 2 not being on VC is the greatest shame known to man.

@Mr_Mustache

The Wii and DSi shops are staying up after wifi goes down. I just checked, and SMRPG is going to be on Club Nintendo until the 9th in NA. I didn't expect non-Nintendo games to work, but I thought it was at least worth mentioning them.

@Mop it up

What Mustache said. Disliking something doesn't make you a hater. If you have any opinions about the game you want to share, go for it. Everyone should have a chance to share their thoughts.

@Pokefreak911

Don't worry about it. Post as much as you want to, even if that means not posting at all. You're welcome here, but if you don't feel like posting I understand.

If I can find a means of playing Lufia 2, I'd be up for it. I'll have to look at cartridge prices. Didn't it get a remake on the DS?

EDIT: Not looking good. The DS version is an action RPG with mixed reactions and cartridges are upwards of $100. I couldn't find anything on digital rereleases either.