* * * * * 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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Mr_Mustache said:

And I think I started Week 5 a bit early by accident

JUMPING AHEAD I SEE.

@Mr_Mustache
They make it pretty clear they're talking about you, the player.

Week four completed.

@Zero

Not really, since you "save in Summers," and thats what I did.

@Secret_Tunnel
@ploot

Dammit all over the place. Now what?

@VickiL

'Atta girl! Did Moonside mess with your head, too?

@Mr_Mustache

You get to change it later. Make sure you do it right then though!

Done.

This location for Week 5 is where the unfamiliarity of a new place, far away from home, balances with the serenity of a vacation spot. You try to relax, but you can't help but keep your guard up as you explore.

@TriforceBun
@Secret_Tunnel

Someone give me an explicit heads up!!

@Mr_Mustache

You just want me to tell you in full detail how the rest of the game will go?

@Mr_Mustache
You'll know. The game will make it explicit.

@chrisbg99

Kinda! I don't need the spoilers, but a "Rob, make sure you ___________ and then _________." I wouldn't protest that. (I liked the info about the Skip Sammy, the PeeRaser, and the Pizza. Thumbs up.)

Gripe: I left my Town Map on Paula, and when she got kidnapped.... *sigh* (I'm GUESSING this also meant that I missed out on using it through Monkey Caves, and I had to remember each twist and turn from memory? The Fresh Egg bit was annoying, though I got it rather quick with my stellar recall.)

@ploot

I thought the game already kinda did that then...but it still felt like a trick!

I put in "Don't Care" for all of my named things as I didn't want anyone to be named "incorrectly."

The map wouldn't have helped you in the monkey cave. I was talking about using the map in the guide for that area since that is pretty close to most people's most disliked spot.

@chrisbg99

I don't follow. In any event, I got by without it. *shrug*

--Where are the Sesame Seeds? Who needs them? This is completely Week 4 stuff, right?

@Mr_Mustache

You don't really need them; they're more a fun aside. There's a black sesame seed and a white sesame seed in the Dusty Dunes Desert--both are a single pixel large and very easy to miss. They aren't objects to get though; they're characters! You can talk to them if you manage to spot them, but you don't get any items or whatever from this venture. It's just another detail in the world of EarthBound.

Well, I sort of finished the whole game.

I kind of somehow missed the whole abortion angle (I've heard it before, just didn't notice the signs), but reading up on it afterwards... yeah. Wow.

They need to bring over Mother 1 and 3 now.

@Zero

What'd you think??

Not to spoil the fun, but the endgame spoiler you mentioned is more of a theory rather than an intentional thing. But Giygas origins are still extremely creepy in nature--the boss was inspired by a sex scene in a movie that Itoi was traumatized by as a kid. Link to...what the heck? That's me posting! Hi, past me!

As we reach the halfway mark of EarthBound, we have seen and done quite a bit. Gangs, cults, zombies and politicians have caused us quite a bit of problems but we've persevered and made right that once went wrong and have collected the first four songs. Now Ness and his friends are in Summers but they won't have a lot of time to enjoy the overpriced sights and sounds because they have 4 more songs to collect. You'll be collecting two this week in an usually short time this week so you'll accomplish quite a bit.

EARTHBOUND EPIC CENTER

Week 5: Summers Vacation
Goal: Collect the Fifth and Sixth Songs; Save in Scaraba

Optional Challenge: Defeat the Kraken before collecting the Fifth and Sixth songs; Buy the house in Onett.

Convenient Grinding Location(s): Pink Cloud Cave

I like this branch of the game a lot as well. Summers is a fun town, both for its relaxing atmosphere and its enjoyably tourist-trap gimmicks. Make sure you stop by the restaurant and check the Help menu for the food to get some fun text!

@TriforceBun No I know it's just a theory, but man... it seems like a pretty compelling theory, no? Like the kind where it's easier to explain the theory than it is to explain how it wouldn't be that.

Anyhow, overall I'd say I liked Earthbound a lot, although it had some flaws too. Don't want to get into specifics yet since I jumped ahead and they might be spoilerific.