* * * * * 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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My friend and I tried playing this game a while back, but then moved on to something else because I didn't think it was very good. Perhaps I'll see about giving it another chance.

Secret of Mana was one of those games I had as a kid where I was completely clueless as to where to go/how to progress. I am tempted to play it again but with so much else going on I think I will pass on this club.

Alright, after an extensive (5 minute) discussion with Stephen, and a quick browse of the game's wiki entry, I have decided to take the plunge on this one. My last 800 Wii points are being spent as we speak. It's a happy day in Mustache land!

I hope I like it, I'd hate to end up abandoning this part-way through. I'm 4 and 0 on Mustache game clubs. Let's not break that.

@Shadowlink

Welcome!

Count me in. I'm still trying to decide if I want to erase my old save on the actual SNES cart and play or if I'm gonna go the emulation route on the Wii. Either way, this is gonna be awesome!

@Mr_Mustache

Wait until we get to the Feats of Strength

@Mr_Mustache

I thought SoM only had one save slot. I have to check now. If not, I'll definitely be playing on my SNES! Where's my Heck Hound?! haha.

So are we going to have a schedule of what to do each week? That'll help me immensely.

@Mr_Mustache

I figured that part would come later if/when people drop out .

Mustache has grievances and we're going to hear about them

So...honest question/observation. I know we're trying to do an Epic Center game every so often...if this is similar in nature to the Retro Game Club, shouldn't each game have its own Community Thread? I'm just afraid one huuuuuuge thread would get muddy to sift through once we start multiple games. Make sense?

Plus to add to my epic-ness, I'm also working through Final Fantasy XIII-2 (having just attained the Platinum Trophy for Tales of Graces f ~85 hours and some 8 months after starting my first playthrough). Though nowhere near the scale of XIII (it's only 20-30 hours for the main story), it's still a pretty big game. Bazinga.

@ludist210 Cool! I was considering getting a PS3 next year to catch up on the RPGs I missed, but then I realized I don't have the time to keep up with just the 3DS and Steam (and my expectations for the Wii U).

In a significantly less epic fashion, I'll be trying to finish Dragon Quest V while we're playing Secret of Mana. All epic people are named ludist.

@VickiL

I like my PS3 for RPGs, and that's really about all I play on it (aside from some PSN games and Rock Band games). I only got it because I got the Slim on sale before the price drop (160 GB for $200). Some of its best RPGs are cheap now, so if you've got cash to burn, go for it.

Hey, a DQ game is no small feat either (it took me nearly two years to finish DQIX, though I took an extended break), so you are equally as cool!

@ludist210 Not sure I've got the cash, as I was inclined to buy a phone this month. Those things are not cheap. But I imagine come next year that stuff will be real cheap after the next console is out. If I do get it, I'll send you a PM for game recommendations!

My first ringtones will be Secret of Mana sounds!

A little warning, I may have to jump Ahead at times. Gotta play this when I can before I get too busy!