"The world is not just a single entity.
Another world similar to ours exists in another dimension."
Here are a few things you must know to understand the game easily. This is translated from Ultimania Translation. The analysis is good, plus interview with the Story Director, Masato Kato. These glossary seems good enough to satisfy you.
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FROZEN FLAME
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"The Frozen Flame, which is able to heal all illnesses and fulfill any
dreams." – Radius
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The Original Form
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"This is the essence of what descended from the heavens in the prehistoric
age. The living crimson stone... the Frozen Flame!" – Lynx
The Frozen Flame was a generic name of a fragment of a life form, and it
existed from somewhere in the ancient past. The Frozen Flame that was a point
of issue for this game was found in AD2300 in El Nido. And in this fragment,
contains immense power and is a very dangerous artifact.
It is said to have the power to manipulate time, and grant wishes. But that
power is only limited to the one who can master it. As if the stone itself
chooses its user, it is called the "stone that has a mind of its own."
Because it is seen on its outside as a red, shiny stone that seems to burn,
it also bears the nickname "Shiny Flame."
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The Arbiter of Time
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"It is now up to you, the one whom the Frozen Flame has chosen as its
"arbiter"..." - Marle
Other the person the Flame has personally recognized, the Frozen Flame cannot
be touched by anyone else. The "Arbiter", is the one who can do so – using
the Flame as a medium, he links with the Flame's original form, and he
mediates between that life-form and living things on the planet, he is "the
one chosen by the Flame." The Arbiter will gain immense power, using that
power to arbitrate the life of his fellow life-forms. That is to say, in the
case where the Arbiter fails to put a stop to the conflict between the two,
and his unable to turn the negative feelings of the ?ringleader? of the
conflict to nothing, then he (the Arbiter) will evolve with Lavos, and there
is the danger that the world will lead to destruction. In addition to that,
it is assumed Schala, from Chrono Trigger, who holds to power to control the
Mammon Machine, was near ???the Arbiter??? / ???being an Arbiter???.
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LINK TO TRIGGER: Dreamstone
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The red rock that appeared in Chrono Trigger, and the Frozen Flame are the
one of the same kind. The Dreamstone, has been confirmed since it is
BC65,000,000 year star where Lavos still floats on the sky, and has been
being valued highly from that time. In particular, the people of the magical
kingdom of Zeal who used Lavos power, and ?studied? prosperity, they used
this stone to its fullest. In all the various inventions, the biggest was the
Mammom Machine, but the for the sake of the Kingdom's prosperity the Mammon
was much used, as a result, the Mammom Machine went haywire, and the Kingdom
collapsed.
In addition to that, things like the Masamune and Schala's pendant, were made
in this era from the Dreamstone. Among these, Schala's pendant, Schala, who
was swallowed into the dimensional distortion, passed it on to another's
hands, into the Guardia's royal family and it became Marle's. In Another
Viper Manor, the story you can hear from Karsh about the Frozen Flame, is
related to this pendant. That kingdom in the north, about which the story has
been told generations after generations, is the Guardia Kingdom.
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Analysis
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The Frozen Flame is an amazing piece of artifact that could do almost
anything. It could grant wishes, heal wounds, control time and history. But
one interesting thing to note is that, no one, absolutely no one, had the
power the wake the flame, except for the Arbiter. FATE had the Flame, Harle
touched the Flame, and so did the Dragon God, but none had the ability to
open it up like Serge did when he approached the Flame. Does the awakening of
the Flame signify anything in particular?
Apparently, it seems that the Frozen Flame should not be of the same material
as the Dreamstone. For those who have played Chrono Trigger, you will know
that the Dreamstone already existed in prehistoric times BC65000000 –before-
Lavos fell and destroyed the reptites. However, we also know that the
Dreamstone has tremendous powers. In particular, using the Dreamstone, the
Zeal Kingdom is able to harness the power of Lavos and use it for their own.
So is this a mis-thought on the author's part? Or is there a more direct
connection between the Dreamstone and Lavos?
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SERGE AND THE TWO WORLDS
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"The world is not just a single entity. Another world similar to ours exists
in another dimension." – Prophet of Time.
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Basics of Parallel Worlds
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There are unlimited parallel worlds, but what became the theme of this story,
was when ten years ago, Serge's life/death split the world into two parallel
worlds. That is to say, all events in the world before ten years ago, ran
together. Or, if there were any the difference that occurred in these two
worlds, it started ten years ago.
So, why was Serge able to move between these two worlds? That is because, his
body was the key to the worlds' splitting, the environment is his dimension
was uncertain (unstable?). Furthermore, the first time he moved across the
dimensions, was related to the power of a girl who called him from another
dimension.
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Serge's Fate
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"The end of the human world is nigh! When this time comes, Serge, there
shall be a deep emnity between you and the world!" - Lynx
What does this ominous sentence hints? Does it mean that Dark Serge will
carry out his destruction at different places? Does it mean that when Serge
defeats FATE, he will revive the Dragons who are the enemies of the humans,
and lends the humans into crisis? Or is it that, if Serge does not carry out
his task as an Arbiter, and he eventually merges into the Time Devourer,
leading to the world's destruction? The sentence "deep emnity between you and
the world" takes that many meanings.
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Memories as a Child
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Actually Serge, should have died ten years ago. Chronopolis existence in the
Sea of Eden, exists far into the timeline after his death. But he was saved
from the fate of death, and a new dimension called the Home World was born.
This is not a coincidence. This irregular world, to the person who was aware
of the danger of the invitation of destruction to the world (refer to the
Dead Sea), and who also wishes Serge to exist, the split was systematically
planned.
At the time when Serge was saved, he was only a small 7 years old, but the
memory at that time remains. Sometimes images of the beach that pops up, is
the event that stays and burn in the depths of Serge's heart, the event ten
years ago.
{A image of the FMV of Kid on the beach}
Looks like a movie that doesn't tell much. But in fact, it hides a very
important meaning to the story.
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Analysis
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That movie, shown after the Kid has been stabbed in Fort Dragonia,
immediately before Serge enters the Temporal Vortex, bears some interesting
meaning. First of all, you see Kid on the beach. That should actually signify
Kid saving Serge ten years ago. Secondly, you see a first-person perspective
of someone falling very deep into the ocean. That should actually signify the
drowning of Serge that very same time, in the other world. The movies, placed
side by side at each other indicates that Serge was able to 'see' the both of
him in the two worlds at the most crucial moment in his life. There might be
more meanings to it. But it's an interesting subtlety, nevertheless.
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KID
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"When I think of you, I remember someone I once met a long, long time ago in
the distant past..." – Lucca (in her letter to Kid)
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Radical Dreamers
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"On the central continent, the scary band of thieves are disturbing the
society. [can't remember exact script]" – Arni villager
The band of thieves "Radical Dreamers", actually only has one member, Kid.
But Kid, gave her band a plural form. This, isn't a mere name "Radical
Dreamers" that she gives to her band. A general term that means radical [=
revolutionary] people who dreams, and she, too, thinks of herself as one of
them.
The background of this naming, was taught by the Lucca who adopted her. Lucca
had once explained to Kid about the evolution of life. "All life was born
from the sea. The ones who dreams of the outrageous dream of going up to the
lands, after a long time passed, their dreams were fulfilled. We ourselves,
are the descendants of those dreamers." This was not mentioned in the story,
but the story of evolution can be heard in the ritual room in Home Fort
Dragonia.
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Another Personality
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"Ze urge to bring everyt'ing to not'ing iz now stronger zan your dezire
to save everyone." – Harle.
Inside Kid, she has a personality that she does not even know herself lurking
inside. In Chronopolis, the person who explained the Time Crash was that
other personality. It was the one different from "the Kid" who is egoistic,
greed of living [not sure about this]; it was "the other Kid" who is
dedicated, and does not want to see everything go to nothing. Has Kid been
carrying this side of her? Or is "that other person," who was about walk on
and bring forth a different path from herself, "Kid?"...
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A Body that Never Dies
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Kid holds two treasures. One is the Astral Amulet given by Lucca. The other,
was the pendant that Kid carried before she was picked up by Lucca. This
pendant, actually, was used in the previous game to allow to time travel, and
is the same pendant as Marle's. The participation with time in this game is
the same; when Kid's on the verge of a dangerous, life-threatening situation,
the pendant holds the power to rewind time back.
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LINK TO RADICAL: "Radical Dreamers"
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In Chrono Cross, Radical Dreamers had only one person Kid. But in the game
"Radical Dreamers," it was a 3-person band of thieves. The members were Kid,
Serge and Gil (whose true self was the character Magus/Janus who appeared in
Chrono Trigger). Regretfully, him, who did not appear in Chrono Cross, his
trace is somewhere...
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Analysis:
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According to some people, Kid was –never- actually given by Lucca. You can
find out whether she actually did if you show the Astral Amulet to Lucca at
the very last part of the game at Opassa Beach.
So what happens to Kid after Serge released the Time Devourer? Some think she
merged with Schala, which the game seems to subtly imply. Others think that
she would continue life on her own, which actually sounds a little more
realistic. The ending didn't show enough of her for us to conclude what
happened to one of the most important characters in the game