* * * * * 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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I really wish I could get into the Phantasy Star games. I've tried various times on the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection and each time I've pretty much just went "bleh" and not went back.

@chrisbg99

Did you try IV at all? It was my first run-in with the series, and my limited exposure seemed pretty rad. I got II on the VC at my earliest convenience and..it just doesn't have the same ZIP. The Gamecube one ("Online") breaks my mind, too.

Sooo..I guess I'll find out soon enough just WHY I thought IV was so awesome. Maybe its just..you know..."awesome?"

I'm in.

Still need to buy it.

This should be really fun. While I do love the entire series, I hope everyone who tries this one will be able to see that us poor Sega kids played a few good games now and again.

I'm in. Wish I hadn't loaned out my Ultimate Genesis Collection disc...guess I'll just buy it off Steam.

I'm not sure if I can join in on this, (it doesn't seem like too long of a game...), but if anyone's looking to buy it, this game is $2.99 on Steam right now, and is also part of one of the Ultimate Genesis Packs at $7.50.

For $7.50, the pack includes:

Beyond Oasis,
Dynamite Headdy,
Golden Axe III,
Phantasy Star II,
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom,
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium,
Streets of Rage 3,
Revenge of the Shinobi,
Vectorman 2,
Wonder Boy in Monster World

@PogueSquadron Haha yeah, I just went to check it out and bought the whole pack as soon as I saw the price.

I wish luck to everyone. I would love to join, but I have mid-terms this month. Good luck guys!!

When does it start and how long will it take? I'd like to get Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection on PSN, but I don't think it's on the PSN Store...

I have it on the PS3 Genesis collection so I'll play. I played through it back in 96 or 97, but I only barely remember it.

@ludist210

Not entirely sure. Starting this Sunday (but Week 2 would be the following Sunday, so you could start Wednesday if you wanted to and stay on pace). Length is TBD. I'm guessing another 6 weeks, doesn't seem long.

I've always wanted to play this, and playing RPGs in a focused group seems like a way better way to really stick with them and get it done. Count me in, broskis!

@Xbob42

Wow! Welcome aboard!

EDIT- While our Ogre Battle numbers weren't so hot, we had a MUCH higher completion rate for Secret of Mana. Hopefully we'll keep the train moving!

I remember this Phantasy Star IV as being the game in the series that was obsessed with the "Throop" sound among the Genesis' aural library. Sign me up!

I've got it on the PS2 Sega Genesis Collection, so I'll pop it in and give it a go. Normally I like to play the first game in a series before any of the others, but since it's a Master System game and therefore not in the collection, I don't mind skipping ahead to IV.

@Mop it up
There's not too much to worry about. The Phantasy Star games are 1000 years apart so they're only barely connected to each other.

Everyone pumped for tomorrow? Dig it up!

All ready to go!

Okay gentlemen, here goes nothing. I hope not to screw things up too badly.

A bit of history. Growing up a Sega kid, these were the RPGs I grew up with and I love them all dearly, though it has been a really long time since I played them. And while IV is nearly universally agreed upon as the best in the series, I tend to be more partial to I and II, so remember more about them. To help guide things along here, I'm relying on FAQs and walkthroughs, especially at the start. I will be replaying the game myself, but I hope get well out ahead of everybody so I'm better able to pace the game well from week to week and hopefully help when needed. That said, I hardly consider myself an expert in this game, so we may all need to help each other through various bits of the game, especially concerning specific strengths and weaknesses of armor, weapons, enemies, bosses, or whatever.

Week One
GOALS

- Deal with the monsters in the Academy basement.

- Look for and find Professor Holt.

- Locate the Alshline and rescue the town of Zema!

I hope that's a good place to stop for Week 1, and that those three goals are both specific and generic enough. This first part honestly involves a bit of guessing for how long it will take. I do think I'll try to keep it on a 6 week pace, assuming the game will run around 30 hours, give or take. As with any RPG, grinding will vary. Let me know if this sounds okay or if I should change anything. Good luck all! Enjoy this wonderful series!

I'm gonna sit this one out. Good luck guys!