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Games | Chrono Series | Flashbacks: One of Chrono Cross' great strengths -- or most damnable offenses, depending on who you ask -- is the way it integrates CT's story into its own. It also plays holy hell with the continuity of rather straightforward events in the original game, but never mind that. So here are some of the most salient connections, listed in alphabetical order. This is your last chance to avoid spoilers, chump!
BELTHASAR
Belthasar is the Prophet of Time whom you meet early in the game inside of the Viper Manor library. Late in the game, he holds the key to the completion of your quest (or at least, the key to getting a non-sucky ending).
Belthasar was one of the three Gurus from the kingdom of Zeal in 12,000 B.C. When Lavos destroyed the magic kingdom after being awakened by Queen Zeal's Mammon Machine, Belthasar was flung far into the future - to A.D. 2300, in fact. There he continued the research into the nature of time which he had begun in Zeal and constructed a time machine called Epoch (based on the timewarp technology he had experimented with in the form of the pendant which Schala and later Marle wore), which he granted to Crono and his party in their effort to stop Lavos. Though he seemingly died shortly after crafting Epoch, it seems this was not the case, as he appears to be aware of Crono's efforts. Or maybe this is before he originally met Crono, as Epoch appears to be incomplete. In short, time travel sucks.
THE BEND OF TIME
The Bend of Time is clearly patterned after the "End of Time" from CT. Crono and co. discovered the End of Time quite by accident; when they arrived, they were informed by a man named Gaspar that the EoT existed beyond time, and that they had reached the place by trying to travel through a Time Gate with more than three people at once. The EoT featured 9 light portals which led to different time eras, as well as a room where the characters could battle Spekkio, the delightful Master of War. This is not quite the same as the End of Time. For one thing, there are no time portals, and Gaspar is nowhere to be seen. Instead, you can use this opportunity to fight, pilfer and mimic enemies. And of course, once you finish the game, you can fight some tone deaf, evil fiends and win a pair of underwear and a vest with prosthetic breasts. Right on.
BUMS ON THE BEACH
BeachBums look remarkably similar to Nus, strange creatures in Chrono Trigger who were often found in unsual places throughout time. Nus, however, were a heckuva lot tougher than BeachBums. All life begins and ends with BeachBums! This is what I believe... at least for now.
This house belongs to Lucca Ashtear, one of Crono's closest friends, and one of the heroes of Chrono Trigger (as well as an accomplished inventor). Of course, her house was never a burning battlefield in the original game. After the end of her adventure to destroy Lavos, Lucca found a young child abandoned in the woods and decided to found an orphanage. In the meantime, she also continued to research robotics, based on her knowledge gleaned from encountering Robo and the Mother Brain-dominated world of A.D. 2300, which allowed her to create technology far beyond what would normally be possible in A.D. 1000. Incidentally, it seems as though Lucca was responsible for the technology used to create Grobyc.
The burning orphanage probably best exemplifies the wanton disregard the creators of Chrono Cross had for the elements of Chrono Trigger which many frothing, rabid CT fans hold entirely too dearly. I say, job well done.
CHRONOPOLIS' SECRET MESSAGE
The text in the side chamber on the top floor of Chronopolis may seem familiar if you know much about this game's pre-history - it's the opening text of "Radical Dreamers," which, apparently is an alternate reality version of the events of Chrono Cross. And if you're wondering, "Magil" is "Magus" in disguise. Magil. Not Guile, Magil. Can we please kill the rumors about Guile and Magus now? Thankupo.
DEMIHUMANS
A major subplot in Chrono Trigger involved a race of demihuman creatures called Mystics, who live in the village of Medina and disliked humans. I'm not certain if the Marbule demihumans are related to the Mystics, but they're quite reminiscent. Except they don't look like baby DragonBall characters, Allah be praised.
DENADORITE
The name Denadoro, as you'll recall, was a mountain in Chrono Trigger with hella tough goblins... or rather, wimpy goblins with hella tough hammers. You can use Denadorite in Chrono Cross to make your own hella tough weapons (which, fortunately, don't disintegrate when touched by fire).
GRENN OR GLENN, DUH?
Glenn was the real name of the CT character Frog. CT's Glenn was an aspiring knight whose closest friend Cyrus was killed by the then-villainous Magus, and Glenn himself was transformed into a man-sized frog. Frog's speech was characterized by extremely formal and archaic English; while CC's Glenn does not speak with the same medieval tongue as CT's Frog, the two characters actually have quite a bit in common. Glenn's relationship with Dario is very similar to Frog's relationship with Cyrus: both are young but noble spirits standing in the shadow of their heroic elder. However, the two Glenns are NOT the same character, so if you go around saying they are, I will beat you with a stick.
GUARDIA KINGDOM
Guardia Kingdom was the focal point of much of Chrono Trigger. It was the land of which Marle was princess, and the land whose queen Frog protected in the past. At the end of Chrono Trigger '99, the marriage of Crono and Marle is shown, presumably meaning Crono would become King in the future. Guardia seems to have suffered some unknown, unhappy fate in the time of Chrono Cross.
GUILE
Guile is extremely reminscent of CT's Magus, though the two are not the same person. For more about the history of Guile and Magus, check the FAQs section near the end of this guide.
HECKRAN BONE
The Heckran was a powerful monster whose body was highly resistant to physical damage but weak to magic. Crono, Lucca and Marle battled it in order to reach their home after a bit of a mishap. Here it's just a tasty bit of scooby snax.
THE HERO'S MEDAL
The Hero Medal you give to Pierre played a small role in Chrono Trigger as well - it was formerly Cyrus', was but taken by a young lad named Tata who thought himself a hero despite being a bit of a wuss. Sort of like Pierre, actually. When equipped along with the legendary sword Masamune, the Hero Medal gave Frog a power boost. Pierre doesn't use anything nearly as cool as Masamune, though, so the badge just boosts his Evade % a bit. Incidentally, the similarity between Tata and Pierre is not coincidental; Pierre was created to intentionally resonate with the false bravado of Tata.
I HAVE METAL JOINTS
Gato, the crispy fried speaker in the burning orphanage, was a robot sparring dummy designed by Lucca and her father, Taban. During the Millennial Fair, you could fight Gato to earn tokens to be spent at the fair. (My name is Gato/I have metal joints/Beat me up/And earn 15 Silver Points) Oddly, there were also Gato-like robots in the Ocean Palace, 13,000 years before Lucca built hers. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun. Sadly Lucca's scientific genius was made hollow by a palette-swapped sprite, reducing the fruits of her creativity to a Mortal Kombat-esque dupe.
JANUS
The "Janus" to whom Lucca refers in her letter to Kidd was Magus' real name. Why would Magus, the heroic villain of Chrono Trigger, be interested in Kid's welfare? Some people think it's because Serge is actually Magus, despite all evidence to the contrary. Some people also think the earth is flat. You never know.
LARA
The code sequence used to acquire Kid's L.7 tech is similar to the LARA code from Chrono Trigger. During one of the game's many subquests, Lucca discovered a Time Gate leading to the night where her mother was crippled by one of Taban's machines. By inputing the code LARA (Lara was the name of Lucca's mother), Lucca could save her mother from being crippled. She could also fail, which was one of the more depressing things to be seen in a 16-bit RPG.
LAVOS
Lavos was the true villain of Chrono Trigger. Although its true nature is not entirely clear (monster? alien astronaut? parasite? god?), the creature Lavos smashed into the planet 65,000,000 years prior to CT, in an era where man was a primitive race and demi-human dinosaurs were poised to take the lead of evolution. Living beneath the planet's crust and feeding on its life for tens of millions of years, Lavos manipulated the world's development in various ways (and when Queen Zeal tried to manipulate Lavos in 12,000 B.C., it destroyed the floating nation of Zeal and plunged mankind into a new ice age). Magus tried to destroy Lavos in A.D. 600, but was interrupted by Crono and Frog and flung into the past as an act of defense by Lavos. By traveling into the future, Crono and his comrades discovered that Lavos would destroy the world in A.D. 1999 (thereafter spawning children to travel to other hapless worlds), and - determined to save the world - stopped Lavos before it could annihilate mankind. The ruined computer displays data on Lavos because it is a relic of the lost future, a fragment which ended up in the Time Crash.
LUMINAIRE
Serge's skill Luminaire was seen in Chrono Trigger as Crono's ultimate magic attack. Kid's RedPin was originally a combo Tech shared by Lucca and Frog; although it's different here, it's interesting to see skills carry over. For those who played the Japanese version of Chrono Cross, these skills were called "Shining" and "Red Needles" respectively; those were in fact the original Japanese skill names in Chrono Trigger as well, so the inconsistency is consistent.
THE MASAMUNE
The Masamune was a major component of the Chrono Trigger tale. Originally forged in 12,000 B.C. by the Guru Melchior, the Masamune was a living weapon whose two spirit components, Masa and Mune, would serve only one whose strength of body was matched by his strength of heart. Eventually weilded by Frog in his fight against Magus after being reforged by Melchior in the year 1,000 (where Melchior had been flung after the destruction of Zeal in 12,000 B.C.), the blade was stolen several years after the marriage of Crono and Marle, and disappeared to whereabouts unknown. The sword itself is not inherently evil, but its power is such that it amplifies the emotions of those who control it. Someone without the strength of will to master it would become overwhelmed by their own spiritual weaknesses as they're enhanced by the sword.
MIGUEL'S LAST STAND
The battle in the center of the Time Crash vortex with Miguel transpires in the ruins of Nadia Square near Nadia's Bell, a monument erected by King Guardia to honor his daughter Nadia (Marle's real name) at the end of the Millennial Fair. The children are images of Crono, Lucca and Marle, the main characters of Chrono Trigger.
MOTHER BRAIN AND PROMETHEUS
The Mother Brain program upon which FATE is based was a program which achieved sentience in the Lavos-devastated future and decided to annihilate humanity (very Skynet-like). Robo (aka Prometheus), one of the main characters of Chrono Trigger, was one of the normally peaceful RY-series robots reprogrammed by Mother Brain to destroy humanity. After being reactivated by Lucca, Robo fought with Crono and his party to destroy Lavos as well as the Mother Brain. Incidentally, Robo had a cyber-sweetie named Atropos, although I don't know for a fact that the Atropos aspect of VITA is related. Eventually, Mother Brain was destroyed, and Lucca apparently installed Prometheus into Mother Brain's second incarnation as FATE as a sort of safety precaution, in case FATE went on a rampage.
Once again, the termination of Prometheus is another of those things I'm pretty sure the creators of the game added just to piss off the gamers who worship Chrono Trigger as part of the sliced bread pantheon.
OPENING DIALOGUE
The opening dialogue in the ancient fort is remarkably similar to the opening dialogue from Radical Dreamers, though the third character (who was Magil in Radical Dreamers) is chosen randomly.
PORRE ARMY
Porre was a small town in Chrono Trigger at the southernmost point of Zenan. The mayor of Zenan was a greedy, heartless man, but Crono was able to alter his personality by traveling back in time and teaching the mayor's ancestors the value of sharing. Hooray for moralizing! Apparently, though, that lesson didn't stick, as Porre seems to have developed into quite a fearsome military power.
RAINBOW SHELL
In Chrono Trigger, the most powerful weapons and accessories could be forged from a rare item called the Rainbow Shell. However, it could only create a very limited number of items (a sword, Sunglasses, and your choice of helmets or vests), and acquiring the Shell was a subquest in itself (which involved the Guru Melchior, a trip through a hidden cave, and a rigged criminal trial intended to do away with King Guardia). Prism equipment is a LITTLE easier to come by in Chrono Cross... but not by much.
SCHALA KID ZEAL
Kid's true identity, Schala Kid Zeal, is incredibly significant. As a matter of fact, it's the crux of the game. If you haven't played Chrono Trigger, you'll probably be cheesed off to learn that the point of the whole quest is to restore a minor character from the previous game to her true self. So here's the deal.
Schala was the princess of Zeal. Her brother, Janus, went on to become the man known as Magus. Her mother was a power hungry fiend who used Schala as a tool to acquire control over the ancient primal force known as Lavos. When Schala's mother summoned Lavos to the Undersea Palace, the beast raged out of control and killed Crono; it was only through Schala's intervention that Crono's friends (and Magus) were able to survive. Schala herself was thrown into a time vortex as she subdued Lavos; everyone else was flung into distant periods of time, but Schala was never seen again. Magus made it his quest in life to find and rescue her, although apparently he did a pretty lousy job of it since the deed was done by Serge. And don't give me that "Serge is Magus reincarnated!" crap.
One bit of inconsistency; Schala in Chrono Trigger had teal hair, while both Kid and CC's Schala have blonde hair. Personally I don't think it's any big deal; Terra's hair wasn't supposed to be green in Final Fantasy VI, nor was Faris' supposed to be pink. Sprites is sprites. But some people get bent out of shape over the most anal things, so for those of you whose enjoyment of the game was utterly destroyed by this hair color thing, allow me to give you the ability to reclaim your joie de vivre by mentioning the fact that I've read in several places that the original Japanese version of CT mentioned the people of Zeal dyed their hair to make themselves stand apart from the magic-less wretches of the Earthbound Village. I didn't notice that when I played the Japanese version, but then my Japanese literacy is what you might call "piss-poor," so don't take my word for it.
SCYTHES
Just as Lynx looks ready for a quick game of Harvest Moon, the "villain" of Chrono Trigger, Magus, also used a scythe.
THE TIME EGG
The first Time Egg (aka Chrono Trigger) was created by Belthasar and given to Marle to let her travel back in time to prevent Crono from dying in battle against Lavos in 12,000 B.C. Though Lavos destroyed Crono (whose death saved the rest of his party) when awakened by Queen Zeal, Marle was able to use the Chrono Trigger atop Mt. Death to travel to the moment of Crono's death and save him from Lavos' power by replacing his body with a life-sized doll. Yeah, yeah, it's sort of silly. Anyway, the Time Egg works a bit differently here, but the concept is still the same. (Technically, the first Time Egg is part of Schala's pendant, but the first fuly functional Egg seen in the series was used for the purpose described above. Argh, never mind).
TIME'S GRASSLANDS
The overworld music, and several other themes in the game, include the "Chrono Main Theme" motif from the original game's opening.
TOMA XIV
Toma XIV is presumably descended from Toma Levine, an errant adventurer from the year 600. Toma encountered Crono and his party at various places and offered useful advice (in exchange for having his sake, errr, soda poured over his gravestone).
TONE DEAF, EVIL FIENDS
Ozzie, Flea and Slash were the three Mystic-race lieutenants of Magus in 600 B.C. Slash was a consummate swordsman, Flea a gender-confused mage, and Ozzie was, uh, sorta worthless. After Magus was thrown into the past by Lavos, Ozzie took charge and continued the Mystics' fight against humanity by converting Magus' castle into "Fort Ozzie." When defeated, the three apparently were lost in the timestream, and the Mystic race eventually learned to get along with humans.
VICTORY THEME
The victory theme in Chrono Cross is a more boisterous rendition of Lucca's Theme from Chrono Trigger.
VIPER INVASION
The excursion into Viper Mansion is the part of the game most clearly lifted from Radical Dreamers. In RD, Serge and Kid and a fellow named Magil (whom Guile closely resembles - see FAQs at the end of this guide for more info) planned to infiltrate Lynx's mansion to reclaim the Frozen Flame. Of course, in Chrono Cross, the manor doesn't belong to Lynx but rather to General Viper, and there's a bit more to the game than just the infiltration...
WAKEY-WAKEY
The game Chrono Trigger opened with a very similar scene: Crono's mother woke him up, opened the shades and gave him an allowance of 200G.
ZENAN MAINLAND
The Zenan Mainland (and surrounding area) was where the events of Chrono Trigger transpired. The only actual mention of "Zenan" in the game was a large bridge that connected Guardia to the southern area of the continent (which was the site of a major battle for Crono and co.), but apparently the entire landmass has retroactively been dubbed in honor of the bridge.