Chrono Cross: Walkthrough Part 1

The game starts with a nice FMV of a tower. Then three people come up an elevator: Serge, Kid, and a third, totally random character. The characters' stats are completely buffed up here; you're at 20 stars, have Mythril equipment, and some kick-ass Elements like MagmaBurst and MeteorShower. Serge and the random character (not Kid, however) will have their Level 3 techniques, as well. However, the enemies are total wusses, so this is a good time to get used to the combat system and try out your Elements.

First off, you can go either right or left. Go left to see a switch (so close and yet so far!); just head back right. There's only one way to go here for a bit (you can't get to that raised platform from where you are) so follow the path south, down the stairs, and out. Take the stairs up and left. Go up and right, ignore the path downwards (it's a dead end) and all the upward staircases, and head to the top left. Here's that switch again; go up to it and press X. Go back to the main room; notice that the raised platform is undulating now? Head up the second upward staircase (you can run past the Cybot if you want), onto the platform, and press X. Now just walk upwards to end this scene.

Memory Card Save: "Arni Village - Where the tides start to turn..."
"Opassa Beach - A calling from beyond time..." (after speaking to Leena)

Yawwnn... what a whacked-out dream, huh? Or a premonition? (Cue dramatic chord.) Well, like Chrono Trigger, you get to explore a bit now. For starters, check your bed again to get your secret stash of a whopping 200G; go to the left side and snoop around for five Tablets. You've already got a Tablet and a Cure+1 equipped on your measly three Element slots, so keep the new Tablets for use outside of battle. From now on, you can rest in your bed for free. Now talk to your mom like a good boy, then head out of the house.

There are four houses here: yours is the bottom left, Leena's is the top left, the bar is in the top right, and Kiki's house is the bottom right. There's a lady who sells both Elements and equipment at the bottom of the screen. I recommend buying a Fireball to stick in your third Element slot. Also, check her pile of junk for the Shellfish window frame. Anyway, let's explore the houses. First go left and talk to the fisherman. Tell him "You're probably right!" to get a Komodo Scale.

Leena's house has her grandma. Talk to the cat for an interesting piece of info you can store away. Also, check the buckets near the top of the screen for a PhotonRay.

The bar's a bit more interesting. You'll hear about the Radical Dreamers (who sound like a nasty piece of goods), gawk at Miki's poster, talk to the bargirl for some original poetry, or talk to Belcha, the barkeep, for your first taste of the CHArming Guldovian speech. Check the barrel near the top right of the screen a few times for it to cought up an Uplift Element. The main goods are past the door in the top right. Search near the top left of this screen for a Heckran Bone, and in the chest at the top right for an Ivory Helmet, which you should equip right away.

In Kiki's house, head down the stairs to talk to her father, who'll give you his Shark Tooth amulet. Head outside and use the Komodo Scale next to the boy moping outside Kiki's house. You can try to sell it for 1000G, but it won't do any good; you can give it to him to get an Uplift Element.

Now for the main event: go up to the docks and talk with Leena. Man, she's bossy. And selfish, I guess. Talk to the sleeping man twice for another interesting (and hard-to-find, too) bit of info.

You can head to the west part of town to meet the elder, Radius, who will enter you in the School of Hard Knocks and teach you a bit about the combat system. Gonji will explain how to use Key Items (not all that tough). The gardener in the lower left of the screen turns out to be Toma XIV (son of Toma XIII from Chrono Trigger). Running around at the top of the screen is Poshul. You can give her your Heckran Bone to make her join you, but take my advice and wait a bit; you can get her later, along with Leena! If you get her now, Leena will never join you, sniff sniff... Before you leave, talk to Kiki's grandfather in her house for some tips on hunting Komodo Pups, if you like... oh wait, I'm gonna tell you anyway. ^^;

Well, you're done snooping around your home town; head to the right and out into the great beyond... well, it's not so great, there aren't too many places to head. You're supposed to head south to Lizard Rock, but take a detour west to Cape Howl.

There are a total of two chests here. Get 'em both. I'd recommend exchanging your Cure+1 for the Heal; it's better strategically when you use it in battle. You might as well fight the Beach Bums here; you might get your HPs raised a bit. Go past them to the top left and read the oh-so-pretty message on the rock, if you like. Watch out for the steam blasts; if you happen to get caught by one you'll lose 5 HP (not the end of the world, but...) Now head out and to Lizard Rock.

There are three screens in this level, and each screen has one Komodo dragon pup. The third pup will be rescued by its mother, though, so be prepared for a boss battle there. The battles will be fairly short and not difficult. You only have 3 Element Levels, so one weak hit and one medium hit will fill it up. My advice is, if there's only two enemies, finish one off with physical attacks and use your Fireball+2 for the other. If there are three, finish one off, Defend, then finish the second one off, then use Fireball+2 on the third one. If you're hit at all, just use physical attacks; that way you can automatically use your Heal after you win the battle. If you have Poshul it's quite a bit easier, but it's not too tough with just Serge. We'll start with the screen you're on.

Push the rock out of the way with the X button. First off, there's a Beach Bum guarding a chest in the lower right; the chest holds another Fireball. Keep it around. Now head left (along the lower side of the screen). You'll see a Komodo Pup run up through a little tunnel, away from you. See that rock to the left of the tunnel? Go around it and push it to the right, blocking the tunnel. Now go around to the right, up, and left. The Komodo Pup will try to run down the tunnel, but it's now trapped; just go in and duke it out for your first Komodo scale. (You can't see them on the Key Items list, but they're still there, don't worry.)

Now head to the bottom right and into the next screen. You can't catch the Komodo Pup here, so leave it for the moment. Go to the bottom left of the screen; a Beach Bum is guarding a rock. Push the rock into the water and wait for a few seconds; a treasure chest will float up. It holds a Silver Loupe; equip it right away. Now go to the top of the screen. Jump onto the green stalk which leads back to the screen above you. Head right and back down. You're now above the Komodo Pup you saw before, walking back and forth below you. You can jump on it with the X button, but you have to time it right or you'll miss and it'll run away. The best time is a split second after it starts moving back left from its far right position. Beat it for the second Komodo scale.

Now go to the top left to the last screen. Again the Komodo Pup will run away, but this one's a bit slower than the others. Ignore it for the moment. First, there's a hard-to-see-slope right near the lower-right entrance you just came in from, which leads to the water and a Beach Bum, which guards a chest holding another five Tablets. Just keep them around. Go back up and all the way around left and down. At the left side of the screen there's a hole you can jump in which again leads to the water. The chest on the island has a Bone component; now head to the top right into the little cave. Once in the cave, hang LEFT to get to an Ivory Helmet. Now go back into the hole you came from. Heal up using Tablets if you're low on HP. Now all you have to do is chase the Komodo Pup around counter-clockwise; you'll eventually catch up to it. When you beat it the Mama Komodo will appear. Use your Fireball against her, but don't let your stamina drop too low. Use physical attacks then defend, then use the Fireball, then finish up with physical attacks. Use the Heal if your HP gets below 25. When you win you'll get your first Star and a new Element slot in Level 1; equip your second Fireball there.

Now just head out and left. You'll end up back on the world map, and you can now pass through Lizard Rock as though it wasn't there (kinda like Zenan Bridge in Chrono Trigger). If you happen to be low on HP stop back in Arni to rest (if you don't have Poshul by now you REALLY don't need her), then go into Opassa Beach.

Memory Card Save: "Opassa Beach - A calling from beyond time..."
"Arni Village - Nothing has changed but everything!" (after warp)

A typically serene sequence will play out. Her two questions are important to get her special technique later in the game. Answer "I remember" your promise, and "We'll always remember this day" to be guaranteed to get it. Of course, once this bucolic scene is over, something goes terribly wrong. When you wake up, things are... different. Head out and back to Lizard Rock... but you can't just waltz through it any more, no, you have to fight your way through again.

There are much fewer chests here, but more enemies. The new Opah Fish have more HP than previous enemies, but will still go down with one Fireball+2. The chest on the island in the first screen now holds a Feather. In an ironic twist, the Opah Fish will now chase YOU around the water. Head down.

There's a chest at the lower left guarded by another Opah Fish, which holds a Bone. Head right, and holy cow more irony, the Komodo Pup jumps on YOU. Heh. Head up to the last screen. The chest at the lower right is now guarded by a Komodo Pup, and it's an Ivory Helmet. Exit to the top right, and head back to Arni.

Memory Card Save: "Arni Village - Nothing has changed but everything!"
"Cape Howl - A reminder of one's former self..." (after speaking to Leena)

If you paid attention to what people said in Arni before, you're in for some big changes. Seems like Viper (who disappeared in your Arni) has always been around here; Belcha's wife now runs the pub instead of him; Miki's poster has been replaced with Nikki's; etc. etc. Poshul isn't around any more (the sign on his doghouse in Leena's house says he's gone on a "rong journey", go figure).

The biggest shock, natch, comes in your own home, where the owner's never heard of you before. If you try to rest in your own bed, you'll have to pay 100G... man, that bites. But you can get it back by searching in the top left of "your" room for a MagmaBomb, your first multiple-hit Element. Leave it in your inventory for now.

The barrel in the pub has turned into a pot; search it a few times to get an IceLance. The upper-right room in the pub still has a chest in the top right, but it's hidden by curtains; it holds five Tablets. Now head to the docks and talk to Leena. If you answered one of the questions wrong in Opassa Beach, say "I'm Serge!" to still be able to get that technique later on. (If you answered both wrong, you're screwed permanently). When you're ready, head out of Arni and back to Cape Howl.

Memory Card Save: "Cape Howl - A reminder of one's former self..."
"The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..." (after waking up in Arni)

Make sure to pick up both treasure chests; exchange your Fireball+2 for the ElectroJolt. Go up and read the inscription on the rock, which is now a tombstone... A bunch of surprising things will happen, and you'll find yourself thrust into a fight with three Acacia Dragoons, but you have yourself a temporary ally, conveniently called Girl. She'll automatically equip herself with residue from your Elements (including MagmaBomb). Have her use the MagmaBomb as soon as she can, and have Serge use his brand-new ElectroJolt on Karsh. Concentrate on Karsh, then get his bumbling cronies. They won't put up too much of a fight. As for all early battles, defending is key to survival. When you beat them, you'll get a Star and a new L.2 Element grid space.

Now the new character, Kid, will ask if you want her to join you. If you already have Poshul tell her yes; otherwise tell her no. Three times. (For the slow, that's "Refuse", "...", and "No thanks".) You'll wake up in Arni either way. If Kid joined you she'll give you the Tele-Porter; if not, Leena and Poshul will be next to you, and they'll join you. Congrats, you now have yourself an RPG party! Woo-hoo! Buy more Elements (including AquaBeams and Cures) at the Element Shop and distribute them among the three characters.

Regardless of whether your third character is Leena or Kid, you now definitely want to see this! Head into Kiki's house (bottom right) and down the stairs. Give the Shark Tooth you got from the first Arni to this guy. He'll say some fairly depressing things then kick you out. However, when you try to leave you'll be stopped in your tracks when his good luck charm-cum-idol begins to talk! That's right, he's been praying to the one and only Mojo! Also known far and wide as Lucky Dan. This whacked-out voodoo doll has a weird way of talking and a weirder way of fighting, but he's so damn charismatic... and he's now yours! I personally switched him for Poshul; I can't stand Poshul. 8-)

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

Theoretically, you can just head down and left and out. But up top is at least one Rare Item you'll want. So go talk to the Dragoon at the top center of the screen and pose as exorcists ("Yes we are"). First off, just head up. A skull will hop towards you. Go ahead and take it; it can't hurt. Now head left and up. Go past the Drongo (you're probably too weak to fight it as of now) and pick up the Bellflower. If you think you can hack it, head down and to the left and down the ad hoc ladder to reach a jumping Dodo and a Big Egg. The Dodo's rather tough. M mentions that using Elements on it will cause it to attack you with a strong technique, so just use normal attacks. But in any case you might want to come back a bit later; absolutely nothing changes and you'll be more beefed up. Anyway, when you're done head back down the original ladder and to the exit I mentioned earlier, where you'll fight Solt and Peppor again. They're a bit tougher here. Get rid of Solt first; he has less HP. If someone's HP drops below 30, use a Tablet. You won't have too many problems, though. When you're done, head left and out to return to the world map, and you can now pass through Fossil Valley without having to fight. Save, then head up and left to Termina.

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

When you enter Termina you'll be treated to a short scene. Now you're free to explore this place thoroughly. You can talk to everyone as long as you first DON'T talk to the man standing by the statue of Lord Viper at the top of the main square. Here's how Termina is set out:

A: Main Square: Bar, Inn, Lisa's Shop, Viper's Statue, Skelly's House
B: Docks, Magical Dreamer Ship
C: Boardwalk: Artist, Fortune Teller, Rarity Shop
D: Zappa's Smithery, Glenn's House, Van's House
E: Shrines, Greco's House

Let's start with A. The Inn is there for 100G. If you have Leena, you'll have a cute little scene in Lisa's Element Shop. Stock up on stronger Elements and diversify a bit; you can now buy Green Elements as well. Remember that you'll be fighting more bosses and your Element grids will grow, including getting L.4 spots, so keep some in reserve. Buy some MagmaBombs as well; they're the only multi-enemy Element thus far. Don't worry about the status Elements for now. You can look at the poster on the wall to find out about Nikki. You can find Guile in the Bar, but he won't do anything till you talk to that guy I told you not to talk to. The house at the top left of the main square has a little kid who's sick; you'll find out about Korcha there. Snoop around near the very top left of the screen to get a hidden fella who'll give you the Tea For Three window frame if you say you understand him. Finally, you can enter the top right house where you'll learn about Skelly. Let's move on.

The Docks hold absolutely nothing now, let's go east. The Fortune Teller is kind of useless, but interesting. As you walk right, you'll see a scene involving Korcha, a merchant, and a mermaid. Not much else here; head to the lower right to enter the shrines. You'll see Glenn and Riddel at the grave of Dario and Garai at the lower right; you can give them your Bellflower for a scene. (I never tried asking for money; I don't know if it makes a difference later on. Sugeng says if you don't give it to him, he doesn't tell you about Radius later on, when Kid falls sick.) Greco's house is empty for now, and Korcha won't take you anywhere because you don't have anyplace to go.

Heading back to the boardwalk, go north this time. Have Poshul talk to the dog guarding the yard for a funny scene. The house on the left is the smithery (the door's a bit tough to get to open, fidget around a bit). They sell Copper and Iron items, but as of now you have only two Coppers. Upgrade Serge's weapon to a Copper Swallow, and buy a Bronze Mail as well; give it to your weakest character. The room down below houses Pierre for now, but he's also useless. Going south again gets you to the front yard of Glenn's house; if you have Mojo, talk to the training dummy for a foreshadowing scene. There isn't much in Glenn's house. Head north to Van's house. Check behind the staircase for a Profiteer Purse; give it to Serge right away. Go up the stairs and talk to Van for another scene. Now when you go back to section C, there'll be a man at the lower left who'll paint your portraits.

OK, you're done. Go ahead and talk to the man by Viper Statue. Kid'll show up; this time let her join. She'll give you the useful Tele-Porter Item, which you'll be using a LOT. Now stick her in your party and never take her out. Her Pilfer technique is extremely useful, especially at the beginning of the game. Now you have... a CHOICE.

You can go one of three ways here. You'll enter Viper Manor any way you choose, but you'll get a different character each way, and you can never get the other two. To choose Nikki's path, talk to his manager on his ship at the docks (go up the stairway at the docks). Nikki's a decent character with some nice story sidelines, and his path is of medium difficulty. To get Guile's path, talk to him at the bar. Guile is a solid character for the very beginning and end of the game, but fairly useless in the middle, and his path is the toughest. Finally, to get Pierre's path head to Zappa's house. Pierre's path is the shortest and easiest, but he's possibly THE wimpiest character in the game, at least until the very very end. So, choose your path and keep going below!

Head left to the docks, then up to the Magical Dreamers ship. Enter the lower door. Talk to Nikki's manager at the top right. Tell Miki you'll help her. Now leave town and head east to the Shadow Forest.

Enemies: Bulb, Cuscus, Cassowary, Quaffid, Wraith, Gloop, Gerridae, Solt, Peppor, Zoah

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

Start by heading left into the next screen. Note the location of the red land octopus, though. Head up now and fight a Bulb who guards an AeroSaucer Element. Going straight left is a dead end; head down and left to see Nikki trying to get a green land octopus to go with him for some reason. Follow him to the exit at the top left, but stop off to get a slightly hidden chest to the lower left which holds an Uplift Element.

Nikki is beset by Cassowaries on this screen. Go up to them to start a fight. Nikki will weaken the three enemies for you, but it's up to you to finish them off. MagmaBomb works wonders. After you beat them, he'll just say "..." like so many RPG characters have the ability to do, then hop into an underwater cave to the right. Follow him in there.

Talk to him in the cave to get him to join you. (I think he's only marginally better than Mojo; you decide.) You'll also find out about what you have to do. Read the notebook lying on the floor for more info; you'll also be able to pick up the Angry Scapula, for Skelly. Open the chest for the Aroma Pouch.

There aren't that many enemies, but chances are you'll have to fight all of them because they get in your way while you do this little puzzle. You have to feed the land octopi to the Quaffid. Feeding one octopus to him wakes him up and you have to fight him; feeding him all three just makes him shrink and give you the Skullduggery window frame.

There are three trees on the screen with the cave. Once you have the Aroma Pouch, they'll give off a pollen ball which will follow you around. The lower left one has a red pollen ball, the rightmost one (you have to go under the little bridge) has blue, and the top left one is green. I think it's easier to work backwards, so hit the lower left one first for a red ball. Now head back to the beginning of the Forest. Talk to the red land octopus to get it to pick up the scent, then start running. You have to stay enough ahead of it so that it doesn't eat the pollen, but not so much ahead of it that it gives up. Once it follows you to the next screen, it'll stay there even if it gives up or eats the pollen, so that's one less screen for you. Lure it all the way to the Quaffid to get it to eat it. Like I said, you can have one or all three. The other two octopi are on the previous screen (green) across the lake, and inside the waterfall cave (blue).

Once the Quaffid's out of the way by whatever means necessary (it's not tough at all if you have to fight it, just use Yellow Elements), head past it left. Going up towards the cave results in a fight with Zoah, Solt, and Peppor. Concentrate on Solt and Peppor (they give annoying status spells) before hitting Zoah. MagmaBomb works again, as does Green Elements. Zoah has a strong tech, DragonRider, but he doesn't use it very often. Keep HP above 40. You'll get another Star when you win. Stop off at the top right to pick up a Heal Element, then enter the cave.

On the first screen there are a bunch of enemies, but you can more or less avoid them all by sticking to the left side of the screen. However, there's a MagmaBomb in a chest on the right side among the roots. You probably don't need it too badly as of now; your choice. Anyway, continue up. In the next screen you can do it the hard way (keep beating all the bugs) or the easy way (go up the left bank, defeat the Wraith, and push the rock to block the opening). This slightly affects a scene later on, but nothing major.

When you're past this section, your goal is the cave in the top right. Watch out for a Gloop to drop unceremoniously onto you when you near the cave (it's possible to avoid it by hugging the right wall). You can see a chest with a bug on it, but can't do anything right now. Don't worry. When you reach the cave, Nikki's section is ended. Congrats! Continue here.

Go ahead and talk to Guile in the bar. He'll tell you about a bet he has with the Fortune Teller, to get an item in the Viper Manor dining room. His way of getting to Viper Manor is by boat. Go down to the shrines and talk to Korcha (head all the way around the land bank surrounding the sword to get to Korcha). He'll take you to Viper Manor Bluffs.

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

For starters, head RIGHT (yes, there is a pathway there). Go up the cliff to the next screen, then left and up again. Here and everywhere, watch out for boulders (they'll take off 10 HP from the entire party, and knock you off wherever you are). Also watch out for waterfalls. They can knock you down the cliff you're climbing. Time it right to get past them. A waterfall can hit you if you're quite a bit below it, but only a tiny bit above it, so don't go too quickly when you see it start to stop. The chest here has a Heal Element. Go back down but DO let the waterfall hit you. You'll land on a small cliff with a PhotonRay Element; give it to Serge. Go right and climb down to reach the start again.

Don't Pilfer the enemies here; they give lousy status Elements. However, the Gobledygooks might drop Antitoxinal Caps when you beat them; they're as strong as Ivory Helmets but also protect against Poison. And no, you can't avoid those Loch Nests. Anyway: Go up to the next screen, then up again. Let the waterfall hit you to get a chest with five Tablets. Climb down the left side of this cliff, now climb past that waterfall. You'll reach a ledge with three staircases. The right one is a dead end, the left one leads to a Meteorite Element (even better than PhotonRay for Serge), and the middle one leads ahead.

In the next screen, don't stay on the long central cliff; instead, go up a little bit and take the first real left (not the little platform). Go up past the waterfall to get a Trap FreeFall Element, which you won't be able to use for a little while. Go back down to the start of the screen; this time go right (the first right at the very bottom of the screen). Go up, take the first left, go down, and follow this path up to the end. You'll be attacked by two Acacia PVTs, who aren't particularly hard, nor do they have good stuff to Pilfer. When you win, you'll get a Star. Remember to equip new Elements in your grids (except for Guile, who doesn't gain a new spot). Heal up using Tablets, because your next fight will be your first real challenge in the game.

Definitely Pilfer from the KingMoaman; you can get either a Copper (useful) or a FeatherDress (even more useful). Concentrate on the two colored Moamans; they'll be a major pain. Defeat exactly one of them, then the King, then the other (if both are defeated at once, the King will use worse attacks.) Don't let anyone's HP drop below 40. Only use Elements at full stamina; if you use a physical attack, defend when you're down to 1 Stamina Level. MagmaBombs work even against the RedMoaman. Good luck! You'll win another Star. Now you'll wait until dark. Congrats, you've finished Guile's path! Continue here.

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

Go into Zappa's smithery (east, then north of the main square). Head left and down to the next room, then talk to one of the most annoying characters in the game (including the horribly-lisped Pip). Head down to the backyard and talk to the kid running around to get the Hero's Medal. Use it on Pierre, then talk to him a few times to get him to join you (man, what a PRICK!). Head straight to the front door of Viper Manor. You'll end up charging, but you can see more of Pierre's utter stupidity by picking "think of a plan". You'll have to fight a set of two Acacia PVTs, then two Acacia SGTs. Try to Pilfer an SGT for a useful Bronze Helmet. You'll win a Star when you're done. Re-equip Elements and give the Bronze Helmet (if you got it) to Pierre. Walk up to start one of the weirdest fights in the game, which of course features Solt and Peppor.

They've brought a friend named Ketchop, who wallops Serge for about 500 HP at the start. Have all your characters target Ketchop for all attacks; don't worry about Solt or Peppor. Solt revives Serge for a very stupid reason, so don't worry about that. After a while, both Solt and Peppor will be put out of commission by their unstable friend, but if a character's HP is below 60 and he's hit by the attack, he'll probably be dead. Don't worry about it too much. Just keep hitting Ketchop with your best stuff and he'll go down. You'll win a Copper, a Brace (or a Magic Ring if you're lucky), and a Silver Earring (give it to Pierre right away). That's it for this section, just continue below.

Enemies: Acacia PVT, Acacia SGT, Gobledygook, WillO'Wisp, Gloop, Portalgheist (plus Dodo, Komodo Pup, Bulb), Big Boxer, Li'l Boxer, Neo-N-Bulb, Man-O-War, Man-At-Arms, Marcy, Lynx

No matter who you have, you'll end up waiting till nightfall. Pierre will be by the gate, Nikki will be by the well in the south part of the main screen, and Guile will be on the eastern screen (yep, there are only three screens outside). Whoever you are, pick up a chest on each screen: a TurnYellow behind the gate, an Ointment x5 at the top left of the well screen, and a TurnBlue inside the little pavilion at the eastern side of the eastern screen. Do all this while either avoiding or fighting the guards. Your goal is to head to the top right of the eastern screen and enter the dragon stables.

There's a save point here, but more importantly there are dragons. (Man, I'm glad video games don't have smell...) You're trying to get into the manor, the old stable keeper has a Manor Key, wow! No, wait, you'll have to work for it. You have to (gasp) feed the dragons! No, don't worry, they eat hay. But it's still not easy:

You can carry three bales of hay at a time; there are five dragons. Use X to fill up on hay at the very left of the screen, and the same button to feed the dragons. Dragons won't take food unless they're hungry (they'll rear up and roar for a split second), but if you wait too long to feed them, they'll turn a shade of red. Miss the same dragon three times and you lose. Luckily, you can just use a tap of the control pad to move between dragons and the bale of hay. You set your own limit: Feeding 10, 20, 30, 40, or 100 times. Each time you'll get a different prize (no, sorry, only one prize per level) as follows, in order: Knee Pad, Bronze Helmet, Bronze Mail, RecoverAll, Iron Vest. I found the first three levels laughably easy, the fourth (40) a bit challenging, and 100 times is only possible if you have superhuman reflexes, or are using New Game+ and can slow the game down by using the L2 button. The prize isn't all that worth it, anyway. Whatever you manage to do, the stable guy will let you have the key (it's in the cupboard at the top right of the room).

Now head into the manor proper (the entrance is on the same screen as the well). You'll have to fight two Acacia PVTs and an Acacia SGT to get through; try Pilfering the SGT for another Bronze Helmet. Once you're inside, there isn't a lot of choice of where to go, as both sides and the front are blocked. Go and look at the viper statue. You can turn it! Go ahead and do so; no matter what you do, you'll be wrong and you'll be dropped into a trap.

Kid will annoy the guards if she's in your party and get them to open the door where you can whip their asses. Or, if she's not, just wait around and bang the door and Kid will rescue you wimps. You'll steal the guards' costumes. (Poshul and Mojo can't fit in, but no one will find them unusual what with all the monsters around.)

The manor is actually fairly small, but it's set out in a way to make it seem larger. Here's an ad hoc map. (top line is top floor, bottom line is bottom floor. Letters are doors, hallways being implicit.)

OK, it's not that small. You start in the trap room. There's a staircase down to the basement here, where you'll meet up with the Boxer Brothers (enemies who disguise themselves as chests) for the first time. Hit one of them. If you're right you'll get an item; if you're not, you'll fight them both. You can still Pilfer from them if you care to do so, but won't win anything after the battle. If you pick the wrong one, you can run away from battle and try again (thanks to Edson Walmor Wuerges for that tip). The items aren't amazing, but you might as well give it a shot. Talk to the soldier at the left for a hint for later on, then head back upstairs.

Throughout the manor, NEVER walk in the middle of the hallway; you'll have to fight WillO'Wisps and Gobledygooks that way. Hug the top or bottom. Anyway, the first door you come to to the left (door G) is the kitchen. (This is where Guile is supposed to get to, though he doesn't mention it when you reach it.) You'll meet Glenn at the bottom right, and find out that he knows the code for the statue, but has to write it down. You'll follow him in a sec. For now, a chest in the top right holds a Dragoon's Honour, and a cupboard at the top of the left side of the room (behind the cook, Orcha) holds a TurnGreen Element. Remember about that dishwasher for much later. Head back to the hall through the left door in the kitchen (F) and into the next room (E).

Glenn is at the top of the room, staring at the wall, then he leaves to sit on his bed. Go and check the wall for the password to the viper statue (it's random). Write it down. The left side of the room has a chest in the bottom right with a Revive Element - very important! Equip on the character with the highest HP and/or the best Defense. Now head out and left to go to the top floor.

Door A (leftmost) has a room with a sleeping harlequin who talks in her sleep in a French accent. It also has a big chest with a TurnBlack Element, and a little chest who is again the Boxer Bros. The next door, B, is guarded by a Portalgheist. These guys are beatable, but very tough (especially if you're using Pierre). They use strong Yellow Elements and call on helpers through the battle - including Dodos! You can avoid them if you just enter the room when the roving eye is closed. However, this room is locked anyway, so forget about it. The path to the right is blocked by a huge Roborg who won't let you through. You can beat him if you like, but I say explore the rest of the mansion first: head back downstairs and to the trap room, and this time go right.

The first door to the right (H) is the treasure vault. Talk to the guards for them to ask you the password. Anything you choose will start a fight with them, but if you just wait a few seconds without choosing anything, they'll let you through. (The password is silence, get it?) Inside the treasure room, there are three treasures on the left side of the screen which prove to be a Bronze Sword (for Pierre), a Bronze Mail (great!) and a Hero's Shield (again for Pierre, but useless). The vase at the top right of the screen is a monster named Potty, not very tough; when you beat it you'll get a TurnRed Element.

When you're done, look at the shiny thing on the right wall. No matter what you choose, you'll be thrust into Luccia's lab (the next room to the right, Room I), but you'll get a Silver Pendant. Luccia will let you out if you fight her latest Franken-veggies, the Neo-N-Bulbs. These are mutated versions of the Bulbs from Shadow Forest, but still not too tough. Use Yellow Elements if you have them. You'll get a Star when you beat them. Luccia will let you out for real now, but when you try to leave she'll tell you to come back later for her help. Before you leave, though, talk to Pip at the bottom left of the screen (in the cage). It doesn't matter what you do, he'll get out eventually. Now head right and out of the screen.

If you missed something in the treasure room, you can now go left and fight the Roborg to get him out of the way. Defend wisely throughout the fight and use Green Elements. If you've gotten everything, just head right and into the rightmost room, J. It's also guarded by a Portalgheist; see above. In here, the chest at the right holds another Bronze Helmet (you should have at least one for everyone now). This is the ONLY useful thing in here right now. The shield at the right is a Decor Shield. Put it on the suit of armor which is missing it for a battle. You get absolutely nothing useful after the battle (MagmaBomb is good during it, though). You can move the viper statue in the middle of the room into the slot designated for it in the right side of the room... but all this did before you fought that battle with the armors is cause Gloops to fall down, and now it just opens a door into a gas-filled room... like I said, nothing useful. You'll come back here later.

Now head right to get back to the main floor. The first door (D) is guarded by a Portalgheist; it's Zoah's room. He even sleeps with capital letters and exclamation marks! Try picking up his chest to get him to wake up. You can talk to him and learn more about the story, but you can't get the chest right now.

The next room, C, is Karsh's room. Talk to him as well to find out why Serge was being chased by him. You can indeed get this chest if you're persistent enough: press X by it 20 times to get a Dragoon Gauntlet. You're now done exploring the manor. Head back to room E to save, then go back to the main hall and use the combination you got earlier on the snake statue to open the door upwards.

There are guards up ahead and a Roborg to the right who won't let you pass, so you've gotta head left. You'll enter an outside walkway into a library (kinda reminds me of Guardia Prison, but hey...) Talk to the little girl up top to initiate a scene involving Marcy and the Prophet of Time; after it's done, you'll fight Marcy. She'll usually use attacks, which aren't all that strong; but once you get her near critical status she'll start using magic like IceBlast and Cat'sCradle, which can be nasty. Make sure Kid doesn't have the Revive Element, because she'll get hit the worst. RecoverAll will be useful as well. Keep the regular Attack/Defend/Element pattern going. You'll get another Star when you beat her (remember to equip new Elements).

Before you leave, head back upstairs and trip the switch you saw Marcy hit earlier. You'll drop the ladder; climb up it to get a TurnWhite Element. Now go back right to this floor's main room. Look to the left, you'll see four narrow pillars. Go behind the second from the top (it's easier if you walk, not run) and press a hidden switch to lower the throne from upstairs. The guards will get mad and rush you, but you've seen them before. Go up to the throne and press yet another switch to raise it to the top level.

There's a welcome save point here (you still can't use the Tele-Porter, though), and two doors guarded by PortalGheists. The left one is locked anyway; go into the right room to enter Viper's study. Look at the blue glowing thing on his desk (the Dragon Tear) to initiate another scene, where you meet Lynx for the first time... and fight him as well.

Lynx's only really nasty attack is HellSoul, where he completely kills one ally. His physical attacks are pretty bad as well, so Defend whenever you're not attacking. If you have the Meteorite from Nikki's path, use it quickly before he can cast AntiWhite! Try to get him down as quickly as possible. You'll get yet another Star, and another scene. In the middle of the scene you'll be shuttled to the menu screen; the point of this is to de-equip Kid from any good Elements, accessories, and armor she might have. After a bit of walk and talk, you'll regain control in Guldove, in the doctor's office.

Talk to Kid to get the Astral Amulet. Korcha will now ask you an important question. If you tell him you'll help Kid, you'll go on Korcha's Path. You'll keep the Astral Amulet and search for the Hydra Humour; you'll eventually get Korcha, Razzly, and Mel to join you. If you tell him twice that you can't help Kid, you'll follow Macha's Path. Korcha will take the Amulet from you, you won't get the Hydra Humour, and you can get Macha, Doc, and Glenn to join you. Oh, and Macha will give you the Tropical Paradise frame.

Whatever you choose, you're now free to explore Guldove, and you'll want to. Your first component trader is just south of the door. Make sure to talk to him, as he'll give you the Pelvic Bone as well. You'll probably want a Leather (and a Carapace too, if you want to use Leena) for making Bronze weapons. You can't make iron weapons yet, even though the weapon shop (to the left, inside the half-circle of boxes) sells two of them. The best way to trade items is to buy lots of Level 2 consumable Elements at 15G a pop and trade them. When you're done, head left.

A man here will tell you about Shiny items, which you won't see the light of for a LONG time. Check inside the bar for a scene involving Doc and Orlha, the barkeeper. Head up the ladder. Inside the tent here is the Element shop. Back out, go left to reach Shaman Direa's tent. Show her the Astral Amulet (Korcha's path) or talk to her (Macha's path) to advance the story. Her sidekick Steena will answer questions about the Dragons. Head back out and right twice to reach the residential tower. Macha is on the main floor, Mel is below, and Korcha's room is up above. Left of Korcha's room is a kid who'll let you "become the wind" - ride a rope back to the entrance of town, where Korcha (or Macha, if you're not helping Kid) waits to take you to Termina. (The girl in front of the Shaman's tent will also let you "become the wind", but only once you've talked to her brother in the residential tower).

New Characters: Korcha (if you're on Korcha's path); Macha and Glenn (if on Macha's path); Greco

Let's make this easier by splitting it up into the two paths.
Korcha's Path: Talking to him here will let him join you; from now on, talking to him at the docks will let you return to Guldove.
Macha's Path: Go to the entrance of town to view a scene involving Glenn. Go back to the docks and talk to Macha to get both her and Glenn to join you, and be happy, because Glenn is a great character. Macha will also give you her BOAT! Take Glenn to his house near the Smithy for a scene, then look at his trophy for a flashback scene.

A very few changes here. The man Korcha yelled at before (with the mermaid) is now a trader. The man in yellow just right of the entrance from the main square will ask you how much to charge for Viper Churros. I told him to lower the price to 50G, and from then on he gave me a free one every time I talked to him (they restore all HP).

If you took Guile's path, and remembered to pick up the Dragoon's Honour in the kitchen in Viper Manor, take Guile to the fortune teller. Have his fortune told to get a free Brass Rod.

Head down to the shrines (south of that screen) to see a scene with Greco, an ex-wrestler who's a master of psychic forces as well. He'll go into his hut when it's done. Go inside and talk to him to get him to join you. He's a decent character, but oddly Korcha has better stats than him (even Strength!). If you take him now, you'll lose him soon for a long chunk of time. If you wait, you can later get him for good. The two time amounts more or less cancel each other out, so it's your choice. For a bit of fun, you can pick up his barbells and walk around real slowly. 8-)

Well, maybe not, but she has the right accent. A Roborg is blocking the entrance to the manor, but you can beat it up and continue in again. Besides searching for any chests you might have missed, head back to Luccia's lab (second from the right, lower floor). She's not there, but that weirdo dishwasher is. You can let him out now. He drops a hint that she's on the top floor balcony. Before heading there, though, go back to the trap room on the lower floor and go downstairs. Search the pile of boxes at the lower left for the Parlor Key. It opens the second door from the left on the top floor, which holds a measly Daemon Charm... not worth locking up, really.

OK, head back upstairs. You don't have to worry about combinations any more, just open any doors you want. The library still has the Prophet, who'll tell you that everyone's gone to Fort Dragonia. Upstairs, Riddel's room is now unlocked, but she's no help either. Viper's room is also empty. Go right to get to the balcony, where Luccia will boast to you about her NeoFio, then head BACK to her lab. Before following her, climb up the ladder to your right to pick up a Sight Scope. Now follow her, and talk to her here to get her to join you. For right now, she's a half-decent party member. Be sure to pick up the Silver Earring on her desk before leaving the manor.

All right, you're done for here. If you're in Macha's path, skip down to exploring the world map. If you're in Korcha's path (which you are if you're still reading this) your next destination is Hydra Marshes... but entering there in this world is useless, because the Hydras are all gone! You have to head back to your world, and to do that you must go once more unto the beach, young lad. Opassa Beach, that is. Use the Astral Amulet to warp between the worlds; use it on the green flashing thingy on the floor. You can press X to skip the warping FMV if you wish.

You'll end up back in Home World, but nothing much is different. You still can't explore any new locations, but Hydra Marsh, as you'd expect, is now accessible.

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Nikki's Path

Guile's Path

Pierre's Path