Chrono Cross: Walkthrough Part 4

Our final outing as Lynx takes us back to Fort Dragonia, and of course through Mount Pyre yet again. Head there in the Home World.

If you have the Ice Breath, use it as soon as you can on every screen, as there are no submerged chests. There's one exception: the lava stream you can walk up (I'll warn you when you get there). If you don't, equip the Dreamer's Scarf and a RecoverAll in a L.1 Element slot for one character, and have him/her use it at the start of every battle.

For starters, head to the top left to the next screen, then right, then go down the flow. Go through the pass to the top right. This is the screen where you should NOT use the Ice Breath. Climb up the lava flow to the top left, then cross the bridge for a Red Brooch. You can use the Breath now. Go back down the lava flow. You really don't have to do this next bit, but for the sake of completeness: Exit north. There are about six HotDoggitys running around, and while they're not tough, they're annoying. Use L2 to slow the game down if you're in New Game+. Otherwise, try to avoid them. Your aim is the left side of the screen, where an Inferno, a Strengthen, and a Weaken await you. (Yay.) Now go back out to the lower right twice to reach the start of Mount Pyre again.

Exit back to the top left, then go top left again. The chest on the right holds a Mythril, and up the little stairs is a Denadorite. Exit north and right, then go up again to finish Mount Pyre; you can now walk through it like it's not there. Go down and enter Fort Dragonia yet again!

If Steena's not in your party, she'll appear; either way, she'll tell you that using the Dragon Tear will open the fort to you. All the switches (including the little blue ones in each door which lower staircases) will automatically switch themselves! (If you haven't gotten the Dragon Tear yet, obviously this won't work.) You could theoretically go right up into the elevator and continue, but you'd be nuts to miss up the treasure in the rooms. I'm assuming you remember this place well enough for me not to re-explain all the puzzles; you can re-check the earlier section if you're still stuck. I'll also assume you've already switched all the switches, so I'll ignore them.

OK... let's start with lower left (blue). Make sure Lynx is leading the party, then examine the tablet in the left room. Then press Select once and examine it again to get access to a Denadorite, and press Select one more time and examine it to get access to a ThundaStorm (on the right side of the screen). That's it for here.

Next, bottom right (red). Just select west and pick up the four treasure chests (two sets of five Nostrums, a Volcano, and a Denadorite) and leave.

Next, top left. The room straight to the right has an Iceberg. The room straight to the left has a useless battle with a Cybot; ignore it and exit.

Finally, top right (green). This one is a real level; you can't avoid too many enemies. They are tougher than before, but nothing you can't handle. I'm gonna do some cutting and pasting here, dum-de-dum... Ahem. At the start, you have a choice of going straight or left up the stairs; go straight to the next screen. Then head left down the stairs, down, right through the blue door; you can now go upstairs or down; choose down, left through the bottom blue door, and up the stairs for five Nostrums and a Denadorite. Now go back downstairs and right, and this time head up the stairs. Follow the path left and down to the next screen for a Nostrum x5. Now head all the way back to the start.

This time head left up the stairs, follow the path to the right and the next screen. Follow the path around, and at the intersection (down or up) go down for (eventually) a Tornado Element, then return to the intersection and go up; follow the path to exit at the top left. First head down for a Denadorite, then head up, around, down, around to the left, and go back down the staircase to the start and exit. That's it!

Save your game, then head into the elevator where you'll be surprised by your alterego, Dark Serge. (He won't show up if you don't have the Dragon Tear.) He's not very strong physically, but he has very nasty magic, including all the Level 6 spells (Volcano, Iceberg etc.) you just found, plus FeralCats and ForeverZero! (You can trap those L.6 Elements if you're lucky.) Have lots of HealAlls on you, and keep attacking as much as you can. Lynx's techs don't do a lot of damage, but other Elements can. White is the best, of course. When you finally beat him, you'll get another Star, and Lynx will get his first L.8 slot! Go back down and save, then enter the elevator.

Go down first. Use the Big Egg you got in Another Fossil Valley on the center machine here and Draggy will hatch and join your party. Cute little fella. Go up two floors. No enemies here, just treasure. More cutting and pasting, gimme a sec...

First, head down, right, and below the warp platform you used before to pick up five Nostrums. Go back left and follow the path upstairs and down to the next screen. Head up and left to the next screen. Take the staircase straight down. At the top left here is an AntiBlack Element, and at the bottom right is a door leading to another five Nostrums. Head back up that staircase and head right. Go past the first staircase, then up the second one for AntiWhite. Finally, go back to the platform, up, and into that damn room again...

When you're done here, you'll have Serge back. But not just Serge - all the characters that used to be with Serge, like Leena, Glenn, Poshul, etc. will rejoin you as well! The Dragon Tear will also turn into the Tear of Love. Now you've got a hell of a lot of options open for you, so yet another optional section (biggest one yet) ensues.

Tol' ya it was big. You definitely won't have all of these characters, but they're all listed here. I've grouped them in a logical fashion so you won't have to keep going back and forth between worlds except where absolutely necessary. Skelly and NeoFio are the only two characters who have findable techniques and you could EITHER have gotten them as Serge or Lynx. If you got NeoFio as Lynx, you could already have gotten her tech, but I'm re-listing it anyway.

Speaking of which... if you haven't gotten these two characters yet, you can do so now. 8p Instead of me copying and pasting, just check out the character pages for Skelly and NeoFio for how to get them.

Home Arni: Take Poshul to Leena on the docks and talk to her to get Poshul's Unleashed tech. Take Leena to her (other-world) grandmother in her house (top left) to get Leena's MaidenFaith technique. (To get this, you must have answered two out of three questions correctly at the start of the game - in Opassa Beach: that you remember her promise, that you'll never forget that day; and in Another Arni: "I'm Serge!!!".) Also, talk to the fisherman downstairs in the top right house (for use in getting Mojo's technique; see Another Arni, below).

Home Termina: Take Viper and Skelly to the barkeeper to get Skelly's OnARoll technique and gain access to the side room, where Viper will pick up his FlagBearer technique and a Dragoon's Glory (an upgrade to Dragoon's Honour). Take Greco to his house to get his GraveDigger technique. Take Mojo to the dummy in the yard behind Zappa's smithery to see an interesting (but strategically useless) scene.

Home Shadow Forest: Take Funguy to the cave where you found him and examine the mushrooms (it doesn't matter what you choose to say to it) to get his Myconoids technique.

(Home Sky Dragon Isle: If you just got NeoFio (or just got her back), take her here and talk to the red land octopus. Leave the screen, then come back. Talk to it again, then push it to get NeoFio's BamBamBam technique.)

S.S. Zelbess: Take Nikki up the mast on the left and to Nikki's ship (talk to the pirate to get there); and talk to this world's Nikki to get his LimeLight technique. While you're here, stop by the casino below the captain's room. By using the pausing trick in the Miscellaneous section of the shrine, you can get a Rainbow Shell.

Home Marbule: All of these are only if you completed the Black Dragon quest the REAL way. Take Irenes to the first hut and talk to the witch doctor twice to get her SirenSong technique. Go up to where the Black Dragon was in Another Marbule. Talk to Toma twice to get the Quill & Papyrus window frame. Talk to the man on the top left, who'll offer to sell you the Master Hammer for 10,000G. Buy it. Exit the town, then re-enter; talk to the guy in blue at the entrance (the one who gave you the Valencian Cloth in Another World) to get a FullRevival. You may have to enter and exit a few times until you get it from him.

Home Hermit's Hideaway: If you had the Ice Breath and used it on the hot patch in Another Hermit's Hideaway, take Poshul here and examine the little green thing to get Turnip to join your party. If you didn't use the Ice Breath, you can do so now (a bit of traveling, but hey). If you never got the Ice Breath, you'll just have to wait.

Home Isle Of The Damned: Take Steena to where Garai lies and examine his grave to get her GaraiShadow technique. OK, we're done here for now, back to Another World.

Another Arni: Take Mojo to the fisherman's house (top right) and examine, in order, Lasery, Aurey, and Lickey (bottom left cat, right cat, top left cat). Mojo will get his HoodooGuroo technique and his name will change to "Mojoy". (You must talk to the fisherman in Home Arni first to get this to work.)

Another Fossil Valley: Take Draggy to the skull up top to get his BigBreath technique.

Another Termina: Take Korcha to the mermaid inside the box (screen to the right of main square) and examine it. Leave the screen, re-enter, and talk to the trader. Go down to the shrines and all the way around (to where Korcha's ship was all the way at the start of the game) and talk to the mermaid to get Korcha's BigCatch technique. If you told the Viper Churro salesman (same screen as trader) to lower his prices to 50G earlier in the game, he'll have a Viper Churro for you, spiked with a Rainbow Shell. If you have Pierre, make sure he's not in your party, then talk to him in the room south of Zappa's smith room. If you got the Prop Sword in the Tower of Geddon, he'll get the Hero's Blade and SlapOfCyrus technique. Take Glenn to the grave of his father and brother at the shrines; the Einlanzer will now become two Einlanzers (kinda). (I'm not sure if you have to have the Mastermune or not before doing this.)

Finally, take Zappa to himself, where (if you bought the Master Hammer in Home Marbule) he'll learn how to make Rainbow equipment. (You might think you automatically get that Rainbow Axe he's working on, but nope.) It's the strongest in the game, but very tough to make. You have to use Summons in battle to destroy enemies, who'll leave Shiny components - but you need one of EVERY Element to make the equipment. PLUS it's over 20,000G per item. I recommend waiting till New Game+ (or at least till the absolute end of the game) for trying this. See Miscellaneous for more info.

Another Viper Manor: You need Norris to get in here. Start with Norris and Luccia in your party. Go into the kitchen (lower floor, second door from left) and enter the hatch at top left. Go into the water flow and hold right. Follow the path up and right and examine the blob to get Luccia's TestAmeba technique. Go back to the water flow and hold left, then go up the ladder to leave the sewers. If you have Turnip, go back upstairs and use the throne to get to Viper's room. In the nearby save point, change your party to Turnip and NeoFio. Go right to the balcony and examine the pool to get Turnip's VegOut technique. Go back and put Norris in your party again to be able to exit.

Another Guldove: If you got Doc, make sure he's not in your party, then go into his office (straight up) and give him the Medical Book you found in Tower of Geddon to teach him HangTen. Go out and left one screen, then into the bar; show Orlha the Sapphire Brooch for her to join your party.

Finally, head back to Home Guldove. Take Orlha with you and talk to this world's Doc. After a long scene, you'll get the Blue Brooch and Orlha's SisterHoods technique. Whew! You should now be pumped up to challenge FATE!

Enemies: VitaUnus/VitaDuo/VitaTres, PolisPolice, Gizmotoid, Aero-Guard, Gyroblade, Combot, Fate

Go into the Home Dead Sea Ruins. Enter any of the Fate Distortions (they all lead to the same place). Congrats, you've just entered Disc 2! When you open the disc cover, make sure the disc stops turning before inserting the second one, or it'll tell you "wrong disc!" >_<

Anyway... there are three islands here: Past (top right), Present (bottom right), Future (top left). In each one is a colored Record of Fate. You'll fight one of three bosses depending on which Record you examine LAST. VitaTres (found by examining Past last) is the easiest, but you want to fight VitaUnus (Present). Beating it nets you a Vigora Element, and it's the only place in the game you can get this great Element!

VitaUnus starts off using fairly easy magic, but hits hard physically. As you bash it down, it loses physical power but starts using stronger magic. Still, you shouldn't have too many problems. You'll get a Star and Vigora when you beat it, and you'll now have access to the central island here, Chronopolis. Save your game.

Walk to the right and you'll be treated to a largely unintelligible conversation between two shadows. These guys are all over the place here, and talking to them fills in points in the story (or is supposed to, anyway). I'll tell you how many are in a room just in case you want to know. Walk up to enter a fight with the PolisPolice. This guy is pretty damn strong - and has kick-ass techs, to boot! Your top priority is in using other Elements to keep the field effect non-white. His techs only hurt one person at a time, so you can use healing Elements like CurePlus in the meantime (or Revive! You'll be using that one a lot!) He doesn't have a whole lot of HP, however. Once you've finished the battle you'll get a Star and a PhysNegate Element. Go back outside and save, then re-enter.

First off, head left down the little staircase, and right; the chest up top holds a Yellow Brooch. Now go north to the next room. The door north is locked, so go right. Going up and opening the drawers nets you five Nostrums; go down and enter the hatch. Go left to activate the Robo-Sewer-Wash. You can move this guy around the narrow paths, but don't fall off. You have unlimited "lives", though. Compensate for the water movement (it goes to the top left). First head left at the intersection; a chest south (yeah, you can keep it) has a White Brooch, and the northern chest has a CureAll Element (useful!) Back at the start, go north this time, and follow the path till you leave the water at the top of the screen. Go right and hit the red switch to extend the bridge, then hit the Triangle key to stop controlling the little guy. Now go to the right side of the room and up a bit, and hit another red switch to complete the bridge. Take the ladder at the top right.

The switch on the desk below you opens the door which was locked before (useful if you want to leave). Go north to reach the Main Hall (what I call it). There are exits to the left and right, and a locked elevator. Going left leads to the docks, which has a save point and a shadow up at the top left which seems moped. Go back and take the right exit to reach a stairway. For starters, go up past the stairway then right to pick up a Forget-me-not Pot (useful if you want to start a New Game+ after this!). Climb the stairs till you get the big number "2", then enter the door on that level (further up is blocked). Yep, you're on the second floor.

Head left through a door and a laser-guarded opening (it'll call an Aero-Guard, which you can easily avoid) and exit south (the north door is locked for now). You're in a lobby-like room which you'll revisit for the other two floors. It consists of one door to the top left, one to the top right, and an elevator entrance in the center. The elevator, as before, is locked, so go to the top left. You'll see a presentation. There's a shadow in the top left; all the consoles do the same thing, switch the view between two modes. Hit the red switch on the left side of the large desk to unlock all those doors. The elevator is now active; you can go between floors 1-4, but not the basement yet.

If Grobyc isn't in your party, go back to the docks on the first floor and put him there. Go back to the top right door from the 2nd-floor lobby and enter the door north which is now unlocked. Examine the chest to the right to get Grobyc's level 7 technique, StrongArm. Now close all the safes (only one should be open) and examine the panel at the left. Enter 00 as your combination to get five Recharges (yep, the only place in the game you can get it). Don't get confused by the complicated look of this, there's absolutely nothing else here. Go back to the elevator and head to 3F.

The top right door has three shadows, and a door to the right, which has a HellBound Element guarded by a Combot. If you have the Forget-me-not Pot or Sprigg, have that character strike the last blow to add it to Sprigg's list - it's the strongest monster she can turn into. The top left room from the lobby has one shadow and three consoles to advance the story, plus the door at the top holds a Rainbow Shell. Now head to the fourth floor.

The upper left door is locked; go to the top right. There are four shadows in the room. The door to the right leads back to the staircase; go down to get a chest with a Magnify, and talk to the shadow. Go back upstairs and head to 1F and the docks. Talk to the moped shadow at the top left to get him to leave. Save your game.

Back in 4F, the top left door is now open. Examine the Record of Fate right when you enter for a presentation. You can talk to four Shadows if you wish. Head to the left and fight the Combot to get your Card Key. Examine the archive viewer at the top left of the screen for some interesting text... it's the intro from "Radical Dreamers", the game CC was based on. However, apparently it took place in an "alternate world" so boo-hoo, no Magil. Anyway, go back and save at 1F if you want to, then go to B1.

There are two Combots doing patrol duty, and you have to fight one of 'em, so go ahead. Heal up, make sure you've got lots of White Elements, and examine the panel to the left of the big door to enter. After the scene, you get your first major massive super-boss... Fate.

Like most major massive super-bosses, Fate is easier than it looks. It's a defensive powerhouse, having high defense and casting Diminish early on in battle. If you have the Black Plate, you can't lose this battle. 8-) Fate is a bit slow, though, so you should try giving Serge *Saints, building his Element level up to 8, and the others' Element levels to 3 or higher, then wait till everyone has full Stamina. Turn the field effect white by having the other characters use low-level White elements, then cast Saints!

Fate has a specific pattern of attacks, as follows:
Diminish (odd rounds) or a physical attack (even rounds), then Gravitonne, then HeatRay, then FreeFall, then GravityBlow twice, then DarkEnergy. Let's dissect them: Physical attacks are pretty weak. HeatRay can blind someone, so bring a BlackOut or preferably Purify. You can trap the FreeFall to neutralize it. Once you see it use GravityBlow, have EVERYONE use White Elements (including one RecoverAll) immediately! This means that its super-attack, DarkEnergy, won't have as much effect as it might. Heal up afterwards and keep going at it. Very cool music, though. Caspian Rampage mentions that AntiBlack just might work on Fate, which can make the battle much easier! You can steal a valuable HolyHealing Element off of it, and you'll win a Star (every character who learns L.7 techs by themselves has done so by now), and either an Earring of Light or a Magic Seal. After the long scenes/FMVs, you'll end up back on the world map.

New Characters: Kid, Mel (if took Korcha's path and missed her before); Turnip (if missed Ice Breath quest)

You can now head right to Terra Tower, but you want Kid back, right? I'm counting this as an optional quest because it's really possible to finish the game without getting Kid, but the rest of it won't make as much sense. 8p Seeing as it's optional, I'll stick in a few more odds and ends.

Head to the Divine Dragon Falls in Another World. It doesn't show up on the map, but it's the waterfall northeast of Arni. Go to the left and use the Tear of Love and Tear of Hate on the two pedestals, to get the one and only Chrono Cross! Hah!

Note for New Game+ players: You can now get back all the characters you had in your previous game! Go to Home Hydra Marshes and up one screen. You can go back to Sprigg's dimension using the Astral Amulet. Use the Chrono Cross when you get there and they'll all come back. Party!

Now head to Hermit's Hideaway (Another). Put Fargo or Mel as your second party member. Go up to Kid and talk to her. If you have the Masamune, you'll be thrust into the past with all three party members intact; if you don't, use the Chrono Cross and Serge will have to duke it alone. (Don't worry, Serge is more than a match for the wimpy enemies you fight here.) If you have the Mastermune, you actually don't need the Chrono Cross to do this segment.

Go up and fight the Lava-boy. His attacks and magic will do almost no damage to anyone at all, but you have to wait them out, which is annoying. You can steal a Red Brooch from him, and he gives great cash. Anyway, after beating it, check the table in the right part of the room; a child will scoot out. Talk to him to find out about the Ice Gun. Recognize that machine up at the top part of the screen? Go up to it and press L1, Triangle, R1, Triangle (sound familiar?) to get Kid's HotShot technique. Go up to the next screen.

Beat this Lava-boy and examine the junk around the left side of the screen; another child will come out and give you five Nostrums. I'll call this "the hall" from now on. Go up the left staircase. There are some interesting memos around the place, but go and check in the top right of the screen for the Ice Gun (if you have other characters, one of them will disappear now). Go south from here to pick up a Diva Dress, then return to the hall.

Going right is a dead end, so DON'T go there (the other character will disappear if you do). Go north to get a Stardust Cape in the lower right of the room, but then a Lava-boy will appear at the doorway and you have to beat it to return to the hall. Now go up the right staircase. Beat the Lava-boy, then check the bed. A child will run out and give you a Rainbow Shell when you talk to her. Go south and beat this Lava-boy, and talk to the child to get another five Nostrums. Go back north and enter the hatch at the top right of the screen.

Go down to reach the right half of the dead-end room (if you still have your other character, he/she will disappear now). Check the drawings for some more familiar characters, then go to the top right. Use the Ice Gun on the flames to put them out and avoid the Lava-boy if you wish. Go north to end this scene, wake up in Hermit's Hideaway, and get Kid back!

Next, put Kid in your party and take Luccia out. Go to Viper Manor (Another) for the very very very last time ever, I promise. By now it should be completely denuded of all treasures, anyway. Go to Luccia's lab (lower floor, one room from the right) and talk to her for an interesting scene; you'll get a Rainbow Shell at the end.

If you didn't get Mel before losing Serge, you can get her now. To job your memory: you have to have 1) taken Korcha's path and 2) chased after Mel when she stole the Element grid. Take Kid to Guldove (Another) and enter the residential building (left, up, right). Go downstairs and talk to Mel. Kid has apparently told Mel Korcha's all hers. Mel will join the party and give you the Guldovian Stitch window frame.

Next, if you missed the Ice Breath you can get a new character. Go to Another Hermit's Hideaway and use the Ice Gun on the hot patch of land. Go to Home Hermit's Hideaway and take Poshul; she can dig up Turnip, who'll join you. Take him and NeoFio to Another Viper Manor, and go up to the second floor, then right to the balcony. Examine the pool to learn Turnip's L.7 tech, VegOut.

You can also pick up some goodies for Razzly if you have her, at Home Water Dragon Isle. You can only get this if Razzly was NOT in your party during the Hydra Humour quest, and she WAS in your party during the Ice Breath quest. Bring her here and the tree in the center should be in flower now. She'll get the Floral Rod and her L.7 technique, Raz-Flower. (You may have to wait until after Chronopolis or even after Terra Tower to get this; I'm not exactly sure.)

Finally, go to Arni in Home World. Go into the bar (lower right house) and talk to the barmaid at the right of the room to get the Book of Poems. Go back to Arni in Another World and give the book to the barmaid's alternate self to get a Rainbow Shell. That's it for optional quests.

If you don't have Starky yet (you evil bastard you) go ahead and get him. Take him (and Kid, for the best results) to the El Nido Triangle at the bottom of the Another World map, which is now enterable. The chest at the top right of the first screen holds a Rainbow Shell. Go down using the ladder at the top left. First go down (you CAN avoid the Sidesteppas if you wish) and follow the path for another Rainbow Shell, then return to the ladder and go up for a fight with RoyalJelly.

I have one word for this guy: TARGET. He does absolutely nothing. (Or close to it.) The catch is that neither physical attacks nor most Elements have any effect on him. Use your weak attack (1) (since damage doesn't matter, might as well go for higher accuracy) to build up your Element levels, then wreak havoc using Red Elements. For a real quick battle, have Kid steal, then have the other two use more Red Elements, then have Kid summon Salamander. 8-) You can steal an Earring of Light from him, and he'll drop a Resistance Belt. Starky will enter his ship and when you're done, your boat will be able to fly and you'll be in Terra Tower.

To leave, just examine the ship again. DO leave. Take Starky back to the El Nido Triangle and back to his ship; poke around and he'll get the StarStruck technique, the last technique in the game (sniff). There's nothing else to do (unless you want to stock up on more Elements) so go back to... Terra Tower! Bring a whole bunch of Traps with you, bought in Another Marbule.

Enemies: TerraTerror, Ectoplasm, Cytoplasm, Myxomycete, Whoot, Cupoid, Terrator, Pyrotor, Anemotor, Luxator, Gravitor, Aquator,
TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer

OK, here goes, the Big Evil Palace. Once you've beaten this place you can't re-enter, so make sure you get all the treasure!

You start near a save point, and you'll be returning here a few times during the first bit. Let me talk about the "Tors". These are bosses scattered throughout the tower, one for each Element. They use only that color Element, and have access to ALL the spells plus an Omega attack which is the "ultimate" attack Element for that color. They also use healing Elements (yeah, even consumables) when they get low on HP. You can trap L.7 summon Elements from them (and yeah, it's one of the only places you can do that). They absorb their respective Elements, and they drop (besides a Star) either a Field Element (changes the entire field to one color, really useful for using Summons) or a L.7 attack Element (for White/Black, which don't have Field Elements). You can also steal a colored Brooch off of them. The easiest way to beat them all is to equip a colored Plate (stolen off the Dragons) on a character. While that character can still be hurt by attacks, s/he will be healed by magic of that Element, so there ya go. For the later ones, you can also use the Field elements and Summons from the earlier battles to wipe them out.

Having said that, go up the stairs to the top left for your first fight, with Terrator. This seems to be the only one who does NOT use a summon Element, so don't bother trapping Golem. I've never gotten him to use it. He uses a tech to lower your defense and raise his, so keep those Green Elements coming. You'll get a Star and YellowField. Go back and save, then enter the main tower to the top left.

You'll be meeting those TerraTerrors around the place. Although they (and their buddies, Ectoplasm and Cytoplasm) aren't very strong, they can be annoying. Each of them absorbs their respective Element, so using Black/Green/Yellow Elements may be easier. If your Strength and Accuracy stats are high enough, you can probably defeat them with normal attacks before they can release the little buddies (especially if you have the Mastermune). Anyhoo: for starters, go to the top right and follow the path for five Nostrums. Go back to the entrance and knock over the pillar to the left to make a bridge; exit to the lower left.

Climb down the staircase; there's no treasure at all here. At the bottom, go to the lower right (guarded by a TerraTerror); it's easier. As soon as you go down that springy thing (which I'll be calling "cliffs" for the heck of it) you'll get another five Nostrums. Aim for the lower left and exit.

You're now in a pinkish organic-looking place. There's only really one path: follow it down, under a pass, left, top right, down, go left under another pass, and fall down to the screen below. Go left and you'll be treated to speech from a giant stone head; keep going left to exit.

Follow the path to the top right, down, lower left, right, up, and take the exit to the right to pick up a Pack of Lies. This is one of two special Rainbow weapons you can pick up here (for Sneff and Janice). You can disassemble them if you like, but keep in mind that you can never get them back if you do so (although Prism Pellets are identical to Pack of Lies), plus it costs 20,000G to re-assemble it into another weapon. Anyway, go back into the previous screen and go up. Cross the water to the top left (hold up and left so you don't get washed down) and pick up a Defender Plus. Exit to the right.

Go up the cliff at the right, and pick up the chest north (under the waterfall) for a Rainbow Shell. The next few levels have cliffs on alternating sides, and you'll probably be unable to avoid the TerraTerrors patrolling the place while you're switching. Go up another three levels, then go all the way to the right side and fall down to reach a door, which leads to the Betta Carrotene. Go back in, climb the cliffs all the way to the top, and exit at the top right.

You're back in the first room! Follow the path to the top right, then knock down both pillars to be able to reach that first save point again. Go back and save, then exit the top left of this room. Go top-right, then take the top-left path, which leads to a HealPlus. Go back to the intersection and go top-right for a fight with Pyrotor. This one lowers your attack, so again Elements are useful (Blue ones, particularly). He summons RedWolf if you let him turn the Field Effect all red. He'll drop a Star and RedField. You can go back and save if you wish, then return here and exit to the top left.

Some of the Cupoids in this room chase after you, so more unavoidable fights. Climb the ladder, go around left and up the next ladder to your right. Go down the next one right for a Rainbow Shell, then back up. Go up the next two ladders to your right, then go down the next two ones to your left to reach a Spectral Glove. Go back up those two ladders and exit north.

There are three straight staircases on this screen. Go up the right one all the way for a Rainbow Shell. Go back down two flights, then go left, down the middle staircase, and left for a HolyHealing. Go back up one, left and up the left staircase, right and up the middle staircase, then exit to your left.

And you will say "?!" as you find yourself in yet another familiar place. Talk to the Prophet of Time for some major plot spoilers. There'll be extra dialogue if you have the Chrono Cross. When he disappears, go back to the upper floor and hit the switch on the bookcase near the right side of the room to lower the ladder; you can get a BlackHole up on the top floor. Exit back to your right. Whoops! The door disappeared, but a new one opened north. Enter it.

Hmm, freaky. If you have an ear for music, pay attention to the notes played by the crystals (in particular, their order). It looks like there isn't anything here, but there IS! Go north, but turn left just before reaching the exit. Go to the lower left; you can climb down here. Don't go straight down; maneuver a bit to get to land on the lower landing (not below the landing, which is a dead end). When you reach the landing, go in either direction to pick up an UltraNova (the landing is circular). Go back up and finally exit to the top right.

Ah, another Tor, the Anemotor. It'll use InfoScope to turn the Field Element to its advantage. You can trap Sonja (and Tornado, as well) off of it. It has weak physical attacks, so don't worry too much about that. It'll drop a Star and a GreenField when you're done. The transporter it's sitting on will now activate, so go through it to reach the second part of this crazy castle.

You're at a save point in front of a forbidding-looking door which is currently locked by two laser beams. You have to go to either side and defeat the beam guardians to shut them down. I say go right first; it's easier.

Watch out for the wind here, which can blow you into the TerraTerrors. Just keep going right to reach a teleporter; walk in to get to a small platform holding the beam emitter and Luxator, the White boss. You can trap Unicorn off of this guy. He's much stronger than the other bosses so far, so keep your HP up. Also, it'll use Magnify at the start of the round (followed by OmegaWhite! Watch out!) so use that to your advantage and cast nasty Black magic. When you beat it you'll win a Star and an UltraNova, plus one side of the beam will shut off. Go back to the main hall and save, then head left.

Just avoid the Cupoids as you go left. This part is identical to before, except now you have to fight Gravitor. You might want to give Serge the Black Plate for this battle. He can use MotherShip and FreeFall, if you're interested, and is just as strong as Luxator physically. Plus, he can use HellBound and HellSoul, so watch it! Be free with your Revives, and use the ChronoCross if you have it to restore your Elements! You'll get yourself another BlackHole when you win, plus the door is now open!

Return to the main hall and save, then go into the door to fight Aquator. (Forgot there was one missing, right?) It can summon FrogPrince, but you already have that, so don't let him. (It uses BlueField, though, so be quick about using other Elements!) It's pretty weak physically, but uses some nasty Blue magic, including Nimble, Vigora, Deluge, and Iceberg (you can trap the last two). When you win you'll get a Star and BlueField.

Now the floor beneath you will light up (do those chimes sound familiar? Hmm, each chime has a color! Watch the order...) Go back and save, then return to this room and go up the left staircase and down to the teleporter. Use it, then go to the top left (the gate opens for you, wow, what a welcome) and top left again. If Kid's at the front of your party you'll get an interesting change in dialogue here. After that comes another mega-huge boss fight...

Here we go. This fight has rockin' cool music, and is most definitely the longest fight in the game. However, it's not particularly difficult, except that your Elements will start running out sooner or later. Use the ChronoCross (or, if you have Leena or Riddel, their techs). Have three different-colored characters, because this guy will change his innate Element to every single one throughout the fight (using a very weak multi-attack when he does so). His stats (including strength and HP) get bigger with every form. Glenn and Leena is an awesome party for this fight, because you have four different Element techs counting the X-Strike. Don't use strong Elements until you're fighting that Element's opposite (e.g. keep your Deluges for the Red form, don't waste them on the White form). You can steal yet another HolyHealing if you brought Kid/Fargo/Mel. Each form can use exactly four things: a single and multiple physical attack, the Omega attack for that Element, and all the spells in a specific level, as follows.

Remember this order: Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, Black, White. Should sound familiar already. Besides for being the order of this guy's forms, it's also the order in which he uses attack Elements. First form (white) doesn't count. Second form (yellow) can use L.1 attack spells and will use all 6 of them in order. Third form (red) can use L.2 attack spells, and will use the last 5 starting at Red. Fourth form (green) can use L.3 and does the last 4, etc., up until the final form, White, which can only use UltraNova. Bring a bunch of healing stuff, some traps for FreeFall, HolyLight (for Black form) and UltraNova (for White form), and use the Field Elements to help using Summons. When you finally beat it, you'll get a Star, an Earring of Hope, and then eventually the Time Egg. Oh, and the tower will break up, or something like that.

Memory Card Save: "For all the Dreamers - Our planet's dream is not over yet..."

Well, I'll put this in front. Go to the Earth Dragon Isle in Another World. Your opening the super-sand boil in the lower room in the Home World caused the same sand boil to open here, so go in and back to the room where the Earth Dragon used to be. A very strange fight will ensue.

There are two ways to finish this fight. Defend the first round, and the Criosphinx will babble some Latin and ask you a riddle. Respond by hitting him with the Element which answers the riddle, and write down the order of the riddles (er, whoops, already told you that one...) If you get them all right, he'll disappear.

To really fight him is pretty damn tough. In fact, impossible if you don't have the Yellow Plate. (He's kind of the Omega Weapon of Chrono Cross.) Give one character (preferably a Green one) the Yellow Plate and give the others up for lost. Oh, and give him high defensive items for the physical attacks. Just keep going at him and if you're lucky you'll win... after a very very long time. When you do win, you'll get the Sunglasses, which aren't as good as they're made out to be.

This trick was sent in by DeAd AnD bLoAtEd: Since the first color in the fight is Yellow, you can either set an Earthquake trap (you can get a whole bunch this way), or have Mel steal from him (you can steal a Rainbow Shell if you're lucky). Remember that you can run away if you miss the steal and try again.

Now for the End. Go to Opassa Beach in Another World. The three ghosts here will overload you with story info. When you're completely bug-eyed, give someone the Green Plate, take two different-innate characters (so you can use two different Summons using the Field Effects) and have the Chrono Cross equipped. Also try to take people with a high amount of Level 1 slots, and put one of every Element in the Level 1 slot (even healing/effect Elements, doesn't matter). Now go to the lower left of Opassa Beach, and use the Time Egg in the purple thingie.

This guy has a whole lot of HP. At the start, he'll only use Green attacks (hence the Green Plate). Just keep pounding him at this time. A Green innate character can do massive damage during this time. After a while, he'll switch his tactics to using different colored Elements... but he'll mostly use higher-level ones, including Omega attacks. Keep healing up...

Ah, but now we come to the crux of the matter. If you wish to see the so-called "bad" ending, you will keep pounding away using summons, high-level spells, etc., etc. until this thing is a heap of dust. But, but! If you want to see the so-called "real" ending, violence is not the answer. Now all those hints about order of Elements will come to fruition.

To beat him the "real" way, you must have the Chrono Cross equipped as an Element. After the Elements are used in a certain order, using the Chrono Cross will "harmonize" them all and repair time. The order (in case you STILL haven't gotten it) is Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, Black, White. This is practically impossible while he's still in his "Green-only" mode, but once he switches it becomes easier... I've even heard reports of him completing the sequence or doing it all himself. It can get annoying, but since the Chrono Cross recovers all Elements, including itself, you have plenty of chances. Good luck, man!

Save your game onto a new save slot; this one has yellow text. When you continue from this slot, you can start a new game using your old stats and Element grids! You do not keep Key Items, found techniques, or Summon Elements. You DO keep all equipment, Elements, money, and window frames, with a few exceptions: any piece of equipment or Element that's also a key item is not carried over, nor are any Dragoon's Honour items (since they're important in Guile's section of the game). You'll also lose any Summons and found techniques (i.e. not ones that you learn automatically). The game also keeps track of which characters you used to have. You can also use the Continue+ feature to do the same thing, but instead of starting a new game, you can start from any point in the game (provided you have a save file, of course) using the stats and equipment you had in your end-of-game save file!

At the very start of the game you'll have two useful Key Items. The Time Shifter lets you change the speed of the game; L2 slows it down (slow-mo battles!) and R2 speeds it up (very useful for moving around quickly). The Relief Charm lets you change another character for Serge during battles (Serge will be shown on the field screen, but another character will be there instead of him during battles). If the other character is already in Serge's party, the Relief Charm doesn't take effect. A neat glitch is that if you use the Relief Charm when you first get Kid and put her as Serge's replacement, then she can still fight when she's supposed to be incapacitated! You can't equip her or fool around with her Elements, though.

Next: After the opening sequence, you'll get the Time Egg. You can now fight the final boss at any point in the game. First off, you'll get different endings depending on when you fight him. Secondly, you can save another New Game+ using your new stats, Elements, etc.

Next: The Bend of Time (just southeast of the main island) now has a new challenge. Remember that locked door on the left? It's open now. Go in and talk to the giant land octopus, who should remind you of someone. Do what he says and walk around the room three times (hug the walls) to open a fight with the three Mystics, Flea, Ozzie, and Slash!

These guys aren't very tough when it comes to damaging you, but it'll be a long fight. Take out Ozzie first, because his MaxShield means you can't damage ANY of the enemies at all (physically OR magically) for several rounds. And he'll use it again as soon as it runs out. Once he's gone, take care of Flea, because he (I said HE, got a problem?) can confuse everyone at once. HolyHealing is useful. After that, Slash is simple. Try stealing from Flea; you might get his Flea Vest (although he seems very loathe to give it up... perseverance, my friend!). Also, take Sprigg or Forget-me-nots, because Sprigg can morph into all three of these dudes... in fact, her Slash morph has a special triple tech ability! When you win, you'll get Slash's Slasher, Flea's Dreamer's Sash, and Ozzie's Ozzie Pants.

Still not done, though... talk to the land octopus again for a challenge. Run around the room several times. You can talk to him three times and he'll give you hints telling you how close you are to the number he's thinking of (1-20). After your three chances, if you're still off, you lose and have to start again with a different number. If you hit the number right on, you'll get an unbelievably useful (especially for getting Rainbow equipment) Dreamer's Sarong.

Finally: Once you get the Chrono Cross, go to Sprigg's house using the dimensional portal in Hydra Marshes (Home), one screen up from the start. Use the Chrono Cross and all your characters from your old game will join you! You can even get Harle this way, and you can use her to fight through Terra Tower. (I think that's a glitch, though. 8-))

One last note: If you start a New Game+ from data when you finished as Lynx, any items you gave to Serge's characters before getting Lynx will be completely gone, never to return, so watch it!

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