* * * * * 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 grind up near the Water Palace for the free heals. You can go one screen to the right to draw the weapons, I believe, but the fish might knock you out. You walk a little farther than the inn in Kippo, but I'm really cheap.

I didn't know you got half XP if your weapons aren't drawn...thanks for the tip!

@Mr_Mustache White Day is an Asian holiday based on some marketing confusion, hence my approval. When Valentine's Day first showed up in Japan, there was an idea that it was the day women gave chocolates to men, because of the way it was advertised to the consumers. Later, White Day showed up as a day one month later where men gave marshmallows to women who gave them chocolates. Again, pure marketing. It's changed a little over the years. Valentine's Day is still mostly chocolate-based, but any white gift will do on White Day. We do sort of a blended thing in our household. Valentine's Day I go all out with gifts, fancy dinner, homemade chocolates, the whole nine yards, and get a smaller, token gift because I'm getting another little gift a month later. It about evens us out. No, neither of us are Japanese. Just weird. I think there's also now a Black Day on April 14th where single people in South Korea go out and eat beans.

@Mr_Mustache No, I barely travel at all. Bit of a homebody. It's where I keep all my stuff!

EDIT: Correction: I named my female character Carol as in Carol King. Because I couldn't name a single Adele song to save my life.

UPDATE: I can confirm that the girl's spells don't go up as quickly if weapons are not drawn. And, for some reason, just stepping outside the Water Palace has them draw there weapons, even though there are no enemies on the screen. Once the sprite has spells that don't require enemies on the screen, I can test to see if it's the same for him.

I made it to the Underground Palace, but I'm getting slaughtered when I set foot in there. I've made it as far as the room with the Chess Knights, but those Goblins that split, they'll corner me and boomerang my characters to death!

I should finish this week today. It can't be that hard. I'm sufficiently leveled, I was just tired when I was trying to do it last night.

@ludist210 They were destroying me as well. I just ran past them and fought the boss. I remember doing that here when I was a kid, too.

So, Week 1 completed late last night. I hope to grind for some levels and increase my weapon and spell levels if I have time before Week 2 starts.

@VickiL

Well I would if the AI wouldn't get hung up wanting to fight. Maybe I just need to set them into defense mode again...

But now that I know how to tell them what to do, the game is a lot more enjoyable since I'm soloing it. I'm already farther than I've ever been.

@ludist210 Yeah, stupid AI. Running doesn't always work.

Done. Finished the Underground Palace, got some new spells, and powered up my axe.

Will week 2 be up on Sunday? I've got a few hours to kill Sunday afternoon and I could knock it all out then.

EDIT: Just noticed my avatar on the OP. Appropriate, given who knows how many of those things killed me trying to finish this week.

This game can be kind of cheap at times. Maybe. But I definitely don't like the lack of clarity with where you are at any given time. I played enough tonight. I hope that tomorrow I can get to the end of this Week's play period.

Still wandering. Found a place with hard archer enemies. Then I hit a spot where Purim suggested using an axe bht we have to find a dwarf now. And I dunno where they are.

@Mr_Mustache

Nah, it's fine. It was just amusing.

Cool, I hope to defeat this week's challenge sooner rather than later. I'll get on it tomorrow afternoon.

I'm mostly playing this at another agent's house. I will see if we can live stream it tomorrow. We've just picked up the fourth, fifth, and sixth Mana Weapons, in a nice little event 3-pack.
I also have a save file I'm doing on my own, in which I've reached the end of Week 1.

MAGIC TRAINING TIP: You've probably discovered this, but if you use X to command someone to cast a spell, you can open their spell ring again immediately after the elemental disappears, to command them to cast the spell again. This is a great way for the girl to put someone in "stasis" for a while with her curative or status-changing spells, or for the sprite to lock an enemy in place while he pumps 'em full of ice-bullets. Of course, when doing this to train, it's a great way to prevent enemies from dying before you can spend all your magic, but if you're fighting for real, you may end up hitting the damage cap (999), at which point stacking more spells on top would just be wasting your MP.

@Mr_Mustache

Okay, then I was in the right spot. It's just that I died.

WEEK 2 - THE MAGIC IS IN YOU!!

Week 1 was a blast from the past, onto Week 2!:

-Oh no! Dyluck was sent to the Ruins in Pandora; HURRY! (Make sure to see the King and his spoils after!)
-The Water Seed has been stolen! Speak to Luka in the Water Temple. She knows what is up.
-Pack your bags, heading out! (visit the Dwarf Elder first!) Take the Cannon Travel trip near Potos to Upper Land.
-Head out of the village towards the Wind Palace. If you can't figure it out, look below in SI #1.
-Use your new power on the crystal to advance; head for Matango! (Analyze will help you w/ Crystals AND Enemies)
-Help the King (THIS MUSIC ROCKS). Accept the challenge and feel true emotion. (see SI #2 if you get hung up)

And that's it!


Special Instructions #1:
To the Wind Palace from Moogle Village- Go West (Spring), East (Summer), North (Autumn), West (Winter), and back South; passage should open to your right.

Special Instructions #2:
Even though Sylphid is your newest spell (which is generally how the game goes; "new spell, use it!"), you'll actually have to cast Earth Slide on a crystal after agreeing to help the King.



Hang around town afterwards until Week 3. Don't take a Cannon anywhere else. I can't confirm grinding (as some places become void of enemies after), but you should be able to find SOMETHING to fight if you so wish.



EDIT- Also, ShadowLink was unintentionally / unexpectedly misled by the length of Week 1 (he is well over 4 hours, and not done yet) based on reports of a few. Again, could the first folks who finish early please report on length, and if someone finishes AFTER them with a "drastically" different time please let it be known? I think we were all around 2:30-2:45, but a little exploration / confusion can change that bottom line in a hurry.

Well, I keep trying to make my way through anything and it's just frustrating. Characters getting stuck while asshole furries throw overpowered weapons at you. Moving in this game is clunky anyway but I'm really getting effing sick of traversing this land. I don't even know where in all the tips I'm supposed to go. At least A Link To The Past had a map with an icon on it, but this has nothing of the sort. Lame-sauce. It's going to have a hard time keeping my interest with Lego City Undercover arriving in a day or two, ... and then Luigi's Mansion and Bioshock Infinite after that.

Something's gotta click for me about this game and fast.

Okay, so I made it to the castle with Elinee. I'm getting more of the hang of things now. Still not psyched about this game but I'm less disgruntled.

So it's taken me at least half a dozen attempts to get through the final area of Week 1. Mostly thanks to the ridiculously cheap goblin enemies.

First off what looks like one enemy is usually three or four stacked together. Secondly, their attacks will not only do decent damage, but also knock you on your ass for a few moments...just long enough for you to get knocked on your ass AGAIN the second you recover. Cue a cycle of utter helplessness as all Hit Points are wiped out in under 15 seconds.

Anyway so I finally get through to the end and face the Fire Gigas. Ice magic is a no-brainer here. So I cast all my MP at the dude and cause some significant damage...but he's still standing. At which point he torches my entire party. Dead dead dead.

@#@!$! @!@#$!


Given that all the villagers in this game are COMPLETE ASSHOLES, my motivation to save the world is sorely lacking. It's times like this when I want a Fable-style alignment system.