Truce Village, 1000 AD
The scene is set. The main character, Crono, wakes up. The Kingdom of Guardia is celebrating its 1000 year anniversary, with a huge fair. Get up, and talk to your mom twice. Then you get to name your friend Lucca, and get a 200G allowance. That's one BIG allowance. If you have never done this before, explore the town. Novices should visit the Mayor's House for free advice, money and items. (best politician I've seen, that mayor...) Once you've talked around (feel free to visit Lucca's house, she's not home) go to the Millenial Fair.
Check out the fair! Balloons, banners, happy smiling people. One way to enjoy the fair is to collect Silver Points. There are two ways to spend silver points: Exchanging 10 for 50G, or at the Tent of Horrors. But there are MANY ways to collect silver points! Try hitting the bell at the left for 1 pt. Or bet on the racing people for 20. Or, do a soda guzzling contest, and even fight a robot battle trainer (Gato) for 15 points. Once you've checked everything out, go up to the northern area, by the bell. By bumping into the girl, you can choose a course of action. It depends on whether you want to be bad or good. Here is what you do...after you name Marle, of course...
GOOD:
*As soon as you bump her, talk to her FIRST. Then get the Pendant, and give it to her as soon as she asks.
*When she asks to join you, say "Sure."
*Go over to the cat, and give it to the little girl.
*When Marle tries to get candy, don't move at all. She will thank you for waiting.
BAD:
*Get the Pendant first, then refuse to give it back the first time. Try to sell it to Melchior.
*When she asks to join you, say "Sorry." Then say "No." (eventually she HAS to join)
*Don't return the cat, and eat the old man's lunch.
*When Marle tries to get candy, keep trying to run away.
No matter what you choose it will effect you later. Now, you can leave the fair and learn Cyclone and Aura in the forest. Also, introduce Marle (and all other new characters) to your mom. Once you are done, talk to someone down by the fountain. They will tell you that Lucca is set up (FINALLY) Go up to the Telepod.
Taban, Lucca's father, will announce the Telepod. They will mention how no wants to try it, and for good reason (her inventions explode a lot) Talk to the crowd (they'll comment on Lucca's glasses) and then talk to her. After testing the Telepod, which works perfectly, Marle will insist on trying it.
However, her Pendant reacts badly, and Marle is thrown into a portal!!! Oh NO!!!! Volunteer to rescue her (like you'd do anything else?) They will send you through the portal and you will end up in a strange place...
Ummm...where the heck are you?? Wherever it is, Marle sure isn't here. After a small, er, skirmish with three Blue Imps, get the treasure and leave. Ignore the two imps playing ball. Leave the canyon and check around Truce Village, which looks somehow....different.
Upon reading the heading you would know this, but talking around town you discover that you are no longer in your happy-go-lucky age of Millennial Fairs and such. You have traveled 400 years into the past, into the war-ridden age of Guardia. They are currently at war with the Mystics, led by Magus. In this age, Zenan Bridge is cut down, and you can't travel anywhere except the castle, so go there.
As soon as you enter the castle, the guards harrass you, wondering where you're from and how you got hair like that. But, as soon as you're about to be kicked out, Queen Leene comes and declares that you are her friend. How the heck are you someone from 400 years ago's friend? Go around the castle, and talk to everyone. Visit the Knight's Quarters, the kitchen, and talk to the king. He will mention the queen's strange behavior, and speaking of strange, talk to the Chancellor. He's awfully suspicious. Anyway, when you're ready go to talk to Leene. But, after she dismisses her attendants, she reveals that she is MARLE! Suddenly, Marle vanishes in a flash of light. What happened? Go downstairs and....it's Lucca! She followed you and now she will reveal her theory. She figures that Marle was mistaken for Leene because she's a descendant of Leene. That's right, she's actually Princess Nadia! Lucca figures that if you save the queen in time, you can save Nadia too. Go figure. Leave the castle and check out your options. Since there's no overly suspicious activities in town, your only option is the...
Check out the nuns. By talking to the top one, a sparkle will appear on the steps. Examine it. A hair pin? Big deal. However, that's the Queen's hairpin, so something must be up. I'd say the nuns bursting into flames and becoming monsters is a big clue. Having Fire Whirl (Cyclone, Flame Toss) will make this a lot easier. Once they've been defeated, Lucca will breathe a sigh of relief. But then, a Naga-ette appears and slashes her! Oh, doom! But no! A frogman jumps down and rescues you. Name him (Frog) and he will join. Enter the Cathedral by playing the organ.
Check around the place, get treasure and stuff. The bottom left room has three treasures, and check the drawers for the "secret" Naga-ette Bromide. This will later yield a magic tab. The top left room (open it by hitting the switch) has some captive soldiers and a magic tab. The bottom right room has three monsters (who think you're a monster in disguise) Talk to them, and follow the Diablos to the top right room. What's this? It's Queen Leene, King Guardia and a soldier! They're all right, and they want to stay here with some guy called Yakra. Well, follow the Diablos into the next room, where there is a statue of Magus and some treasure. But, as you try to leave the room, "Leene" and her friends turn into snakes. By now you've probably had it up to here with fake Queen Leenes, but don't worry, that was the last. Go into the upper room. Fall down the stairs on the LEFT, and don't press the switch. Go over to the right, press that switch. Some spikes will lower. Go back up, and fight the Henches in the room straight up. Then play the organ. Go to where there was previously a note and go throught he door. Run straight up and avoid the enemies. Then save and enter the door. The Chancellor will talk about "Preparing" Queen Leene. She will get out of the way. For this battle, have at least X Strike (Cyclone, Slurp Cut) . The Chancellor will babble and then revert to his true form: Yakra! Enter the Boss battle. Have Crono and Frog use X Strike and Lucca should heal everyone. Once the battle is over, check the treasure chests (one contains the REAL Chancellor) and then return to the castle.
The King will congratulate you, and then Frog will consider himself disgraced and leave. Leene will mention the girl who was mistaken for her. Go back to the queen's room and get Marle! After a short dialogue involving them telling her they figured out she was a princess, she will join. Equip her and leave, first talking to Frog. Return to the place where the mysterious portal was.
After a short dialogue, Lucca will introduce the Gate Key, which she says you can use to control the portals, or Gates. But what is creating the Gates? Who knows...
Another short dialogue. Lucca leaves on an errand. Marle will ask you to escort her to the castle. Who knows what this could portend? Dinner with the king, or a reward maybe? Find out!
Well.....it's no reward. As soon as Crono and Marle set foot in the castle, the Chancellor accuses you of kidnapping her and sets an entire leagion of troops to detain you. Some welcome! You are then put to trial. A number of things will affect the outcome. Mostly it is the events in Leene Square.
*If you ate the old man's lunch, he will testify against you, hurting your verdict.
*If you rescued the girl's cat, she will vouch for you and portray you as a hero. Good.
*The Chancellor will ask you a number of questions. How you answer will affect the outcome.
***When he asks you who started the mess, say "I did." DO NOT BLAME MARLE!
***When he asks if her fortune tempted you say no, and then he'll ask again. Again say it did not tempt you.
NOTE: If you want a bad verdict, go ahead and say the bad stuff. The verdict doesn't actually affect anything. You heard me, it's just for show. If you are Guilty, you're sentenced to be executed. But if you're Not Guilty, you are sentenced to three days solitary confinement (because you still RAN OFF with Marle).....but no matter what, the treacherous chancellor tells the warden that you have been sentenced to death. He'll believe the Chancellor. Wake up in your cell. (if you weren't guilty, there is a Mid Ether).
Now you have a new choice. You can break out, or wait to be executed.
TO BREAK OUT:
Rattle the bars of your cage twice. As the guard walks away, go up behind him and press A, knocking him out with your sword. After fighting the other guard, sneak around the dungeons. Be sure to get the Lode Sword and (if you want) rescue Fritz.
TO BE EXECUTED:
Wait for three days (not very long) and the guards will escort you to the guillotine. But just when you think it's all over, Lucca shows up and blows the guards away. You can then collect treasure and save Fritz.
No matter what you do, Lucca joins and then you fight the Dragon Tank. Have Lucca attack and cure, and make Crono use Cyclone on the head until it dies, then attack the other parts normally.
Bust out (using the Chancellor as a bridge, ha ha!) and Marle will show up too. King Guardia XXXIII sends soldiers after you, and you're forced into a dead end forest clearing.
The group, surrounded by soldiers, spots a Gate. Marle suggests you use it, Lucca warns you of the risks. What do you do? Take it, of course.
On the other end of the Gate, the group finds advanced civilization. Unfortunately, some calamity seems to have destroyed most of the world. They leave the dome to find out what happened.
In Trann Dome, the party finds despairing humans, left helpless after whatever disaster struck the planet. You can buy supplies, Iron equipment is recommended, and heal up in the Enertron. (But you're still hungry!)
Lab 16 is filled with mutated monsters, rats and parasites. Weave your way through the ruins and monsters (avoid the rats, they'll steal your Tonics) and make your way through the ruins. You can pick up a Bolt Sword for Crono and a Lode Bow for Marle here. Defeat Shadows by using Fire Whirl or Flame Shot, physical attacks do no damage.
In between Lab 16 and Lab 32 are two domes: Arris Dome and the Sewer Entrance. The truly bold can attempt the sewers now, but you won't accomplish anything yet. (The sewers will be covered later in the walkthrough.) For now, go to Arris Dome. There, the party finds more hopeless humans, starving without food. The party volunteers to find some food, and ventures below. One of the paths is blocked off for now, so go straight. The party will be stopped by the Guardian. This boss is accompanied by two Bits. Destroy the bits first, then have Lucca and Marle attack, and have Crono use Cyclone. Don't use Fire attacks, they don't do any good. After a countdown, the Guardian will revive the Bits. If it does, kill them again before attacking the Guardian. After a few rounds of this, it will die. Continue on into the food storage area. Unfortunately the food is all rotten, but the party finds a seed. Read the dead man's note about the rat, the go back and catch it (it may take a few tries). Once the rat is caught, he will fess up about opening the blocked passage---Hold L and R, and press A. And sorry, even if you know this beforehand, it won't work until you fight the boss and all that. Go through the blocked passage and then weave your way through the enemies. Once you reach the control room, the party will learn of the Day of Lavos (1999 AD) when the world was destroyed, basically. They vow to stop it, and also locate a Gate at Proto Dome, to the east. Return upstairs, give the seed to Doan, and get the Bike Key. Leave.
There are two ways to cross Lab 32. The first and best, is to use the Bike Key on the JetBike, and race the robot that challenges you, Johnny. If you beat him, you cross the lab easy. If not, you have to try again until you win. If you don't want to bother with racing, or you can't win, you can walk through the ruins, but it's much more difficult because there are Mutants there, and they can be harder to beat at this stage. If you choose not to walk across, at least remember to later return and get the Race Log from a treasure box there, so you can see your top scores against Johnny.
Ignoring the Factory to the north for now, the party enters the mostly empty Proto Dome to find the door to the back room (where the Gate is) sealed tight. However, they activate an R-Y variety robot, who then offers to help them. Name him Robo, and he joins. He offers to go turn on the dome's power so they can open the door, but this must be done from the Factory. Since Crono and Robo are both required, you can take either Marle or Lucca as a third member. It really doesn't matter, take who you prefer. Marle has healing capabilities, and so does Robo, but Lucca's just cool! ^_^ Anyway, There are new weapons for both girls at the factory, so pick, and go.
Enter the factory. Robo can operate any of the computer consoles you see, so click on them to activate certain factory features. Off to the right, down the elevator, is the factory/conveyor belt section of the place. To get through here, you have to operate a crane to move barrels blocking the way. The two crane passwords are B,B and X,A. By doing all of this, I believe you figure out a door lock code, 'XABY'. Now go into the left section. You can turn on more computers, etc, and find weapons for Lucca (Plasma Gun), Marle (Robin Bow), and Robo, I think. There's also a Titan Vest. Once you've turned off security, and thus opened the door at Proto Dome, the factory will go berserk. Run towards the exit, but don't use any elevators. Just ladders. Halfway out, you are stopped by the R-Series. Have Crono use Cyclone on each row twice to kill them. If you brought Lucca or Marle, have them cure. Robo is out of commission for this boss battle. After you win, they will take Robo back to Proto Dome.