* * * * * 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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@PogueSquadron

Sounds good! Might get started tonight, but I'll probably hit it Wednesday.

Is anyone playing? Guess people just had other games on their plate.

For those on the fence, it's a fairly quick game, relatively. It's a short RPG compared to SNES games (which makes sense since technically it's really only half a game)

@PogueSquadron

Like I said, I'll get it in tonight.

--I SHOULD UPDATE THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD, FOOLISH FOOLISH MAN!!

I should also note that week 2 is much longer than week 1 since it actually has battles and stuff. If it's too long we can just extend it another week or overlap it with week 3.

@PogueSquadron

I did the thieves stuff l last night, and I suspended afterwards when I saw a Djinn that comes out of hiding when you ring a bell? I figured you'd need to come out of the cave and walk up and around to get to him. Can I do that yet?

Started last night. Got to the point where Isaac, Garet, and Jenna met Kraden. Then I feel asleep!!

@ludist210

This game can be an absolute snoozer sometime. I really hope the entire thing doesn't conk me out.
Twice in two weeks so far.

Stache - no, I don't believe you can get that Djinn yet. The key to getting it lies in having a Psynergy ability you don't have yet. I think the little dog near the graves gives you a tip if you Mind Read him, though it won't make sense for a while.

@PogueSquadron

Yeah, I already did what you asked, and nothing popped out (ie: made sense). Its cool! I guess I'll just progress NE from town then, yes? Might get some dough and buy an AXE (or a few). Are there any hidden attributes on weapons? I got the Bandit Sword from that fight, but the Axe is already stronger. Why would I want to keep the Bandit Sword around at all?

@Mr_Mustache

Attributes on weapons aren't hidden from what I recall. Some of the effects are pretty sweet, and you'll know them when you see them.

The game is a little slow early, but the story does progressively ramp up.

@ludist210

The stuff that I've seen when buying things has been pretty straightforward, but I didn't know if there was a "Get extra XP" or stuff like that. I don't know. Does the Bandit Sword give me more money? If so, I'll probably keep that for a LONG time. I kept one of my Extra XP Swords in Muramasa on my person for the balance of the game, even though it became far outmatched.

@Mr_Mustache

Not that I remember, but I don't remember money being a problem in Golden Sun. Just search pots, boxes, and such when you're in towns and dungeons. You'll find plenty of items, and you won't use a ton of healing items throughout the game. PP recovers as you walk, and you can heal HP with Psyenergy. Win-win!

Ok, I'm catching up. Slowly. But I'm playing this before bed and remembering good chunks of it from my earlier years so it's being speedy. I had finished week 1's goal a couple nights ago, just helped Ivan get Hamlet's rod back and am apparently SCARED SHITLESS of the discovery that a rich man went to Lunpa!

Side bar, I hate how uneven the Djinn collection is in the beginning.

@missypissy

Haha, hilariously colorful choice of words. I enjoyed them immensely. We're even though, good deal.

@PogueSquadron

ALRIGHT. I beat Tret. That's the week?

Questions: In the "log maze" as I call it before the Great Deku Tree Jr., there is a treasure chest that seems reachable..but is it? I was trying forever, and maybe my brain is just all rotty from not playing enough puzzle games or deal with puzzles too much in games, but its breaking my head. Can I get it?

-Can you LOSE access to anything in this game? Liiiike, I was fighting a Djinn on top of the tree, and he ran away. I thought I lost him, but I just had to go inside the tree and come back out. Then I beat him down and stuffed him in my pocket. Whats the poop scoop?
-Also, if you don't get something NOW, can you not get it again? ie: Artifacts?
-What is the deal with Djinn? Do you WANT to stick them with the character they're most compatable with, or do you wan to go nuts and have them with a character they're NOT that comfortable with? After the Tree, I have 1 Venus, 1 Mars, 2 Wind guys. Are all of ours named the same? Did I miss any?
-Whats up with these Bones? I got like 5 and I can't sell 'em. ACK!

I can't think of anything else. But I know theres more. Let me know about Week 2, thanks!

@Mr_Mustache
You can get locked out of certain areas later on, but towards the end of the game.

For the Djinn, for your first playthrough I'd say keeping it type locked on characters is the best way to go. Issac getting all Venus, for example. You can get some pretty great combinations going at the end of the game, but if you start using the summons you can sort of handicap yourself (as you fall back in class when a Djinn is ready to summon or on standby). Once you know the full game and get the levels/best items you can really get some fun stuff. A lot of the coolest spells are, IMO, behind giving different combinations to the characters.

I think you've missed a Venus Djinn. I remember them being plenty early on with Garret being left in the dust for awhile.

@missypissy *SPOILERS THROUGHOUT*

I got the first one, I know there is one that was out of reach (talked about it up there), got one in the Goma? Cave, another in the Tree, and then another somewhere else. A different cave? I forgot their names.

I've got the Wind ones (Gust, Breeze?) on Isaac, Garret has the Earth one, and the Fire one (Forge?) on the wizard guy. I know that isn't what they're intended, or whatever, but it changes their classes if I have those on (Apprentice>Illusionist, Brute, and Seer? respectively). No good? Seems to be doing pretty well..

I did a bunch of grinding, outfitting myself with Broad Swords and all the best armor, so I'm "up there" in Levels right now. 12-11? I care not, it was pretty awesome. I was farting around in Bilibin? Cave, probably a good bit before I should've been. In any event, I'm packed with dough now. OH. I also got an AWESOME Elvish Blade in that cave, using the Growth skill.to make the plant go up. Did I miss any other things? I know there is probably something that I gotta do with those puddles all over the place. But yeah.

If I miss something (ie: I already passed it, and I can go back after without issue), please let me know specifically. I REALLY want to get that chest in the screen before the Trees.

The chest is totally gettable if it's the one I'm assuming it is.

It's just a matter of moving the logs in the right way so you can hop over them.

Will update later with week 3. Still not sure where to cut it off. It might have to be a shorter week if we want this done in 8 weeks, not sure.

@Mr_Mustache
There's no wrong way of setting Djinn, as far as I know. I typically keep the Mercury Djinn locked to one character as that gives you a solid healer, but you can move that around as well and still be good overall.

For puddles, that will be the fourth character you'll hit those up.

@PogueSquadron

Yeah..BUT HOW? Did you get it? I racked my brain for a good while, way longer than I expected / wanted to.

And it doesn't NEED to be 8 weeks. The entire process should be "comfortable," as the most important factor, while still maintaining an even and "it feels like we're making progress" clip. If you/we finish a week, and it feels like nothing has been accomplished, that is no good.

@missypissy

Ooh, thanks. Did you have 5 Djinn by the time you finish Week 2, or did you get 4 as well?


Telllll me something GOOD, dudes!