We start our trek of Terra Tower, the final dungeon, out on the deck. This is my last chance to turn back, but I am as prepared as I can be, so I go inside.
The first thing the party sees is a Yellow Orb. As we approach, it yells at us for destroying the world and sucks us in. Here we find boss number one. And then we immediately kill boss number one. A yellow innate has no chance against Einlanzer Glenn.
In actuality, nothing in this dungeon can be seen as a threat. Every trash mob is a white innate, but Serge can still one round kill everything, or at least leave them open for Kid and Glenn to finish them off. All the bosses, except the final, fall in a few rounds, as well. The only thing to note about their battles is they only have one large, single target attack. It hits hard, but not enough to kill.
The hardest thing about this place is how boring it is. There’s no music, jaunty or otherwise. The bosses have a rather ominous tune behind them, but they’re finished off too fast to really enjoy it. And it’s a maze. Bleh. I was struggling a few nights ago, but now I am a god! What happened? On a side note, I failed to find out to open most of the chests. I’m a terrible gamer.
We make our way through the dungeon until we come to the Viper Manor skybridge and library. It's the area we first met Marcy, the first speed bump of the game. Inside, we see the ghost kids from the Tower of Geddon and the Prophet from the manor. The prophet reveals himself to be Balthazar. The same Balthazar who founded Chronopolis, created the Epoch, and is the Guru of Time. Bal' tells us the story of Terra Tower. This was once the home of the Repitites until the Time Crash bought about by Chronopolis. A war ensued where mankind triumphed and brought the fortress into the sea. The Dragon God was separated into six beings, the ones we’ve seen, and subjugated by FATE. At some point, the dragons concocted a plan to free themselves. They created a seventh god who we've met before. Balthazar says her name is Harle. This explains why Harle wanted the Frozen Flame; to weaken FATE. Why she worked with Lynx; to lead the Arbiter, Serge, to FATE. And where she’s at now; in the Dragon God. The ghost children proceed to tells us about the Chrono Cross element. It activates a song that can bring peace to all living beings and is the key to saving the Timelines. Everyone disappears, and we carry on. The room was just an astral plane made by Bal' somehow.
We reach the top, which is the top of Sky Dragon Isle, and fight The Dragon Go, itself. It chastises us for being humans who always destroy things. The battle is long, but another easy one. DG doesn’t have a permanent innate rather, it changes based on what level we’re at. They randomly shift battlefields, isle to isle, and where we’re at will change it’s innate. For example, if we’re in the same room we fought the Blue Dragon, then the innate will he blue. It doesn’t do much damage to us, so, in time, we fell the last of the Repitite Timeline. I then wonder, how did it exist in the first place? Lavos would always land on the planet, which should always lead to a reptile extinction. How is there a timeline where they win?
Anyway, after we win, we take the Frozen Flame, and Terra Tower falls back into the sea and becomes a permanent statue to our victory. You can’t interact with it, but it’s just there. It didn’t break apart, but it actually evolved more. Go figure. The camera cuts to the party on the boat. We set the goal to finish this and defeat the Time Devourer, who is Lavos fused with Schala. He is the cause of everything and on the verge of eating time and space. I don't remember when we first heard of him, but I think Balthazar talked about him the astral plane. Kid reminds us that it’s not IF we defeat it, but HOW. We have to win in a way that can bring peace to all creatures across all timelines. She’s alluding to using the Chrono Cross.
Before returning to Opassa Beach, where everything began, I make a pit stop at the manor one more time. Balthazar is gone, and the door to his workshop is closed. He’s one of the most important characters in the franchise, so I wonder what’s up? We also get Draggy his best tech by having him meet his long dead, fossilized mother in Fossil Valley. I don’t know why I did it. I just dug the little guy, I guess.
I say goodbye to my mom and go to Opassa Beach. There I see a new wormhole and the ghost kids.
We first talk to Ghost Lucca, who tells Kid that she’s the daughter-clone of Schala. Project Kid was created by Balthazar to make sure Kid met Serge. Balthazar knows a lot more than we're led to believe...
Chrono informs Serge of his reality. Serge should be dead and would be if it weren't for Schala. When he was attacked by the Panther Demon ten years ago, Schala heard his cries. Hearing his cries caused her to appeal to her caring, human side, which hadn’t been corrupted by Lavos. Those cries sent everything into motion by causing the storm that sent Wazuki and Miguel off course. Not only that, but we also learn of Lynx. In short, Lynx is Serge’s dad, Wazuki. When he came near the Frozen Flame, it messed with him and began to brainwash and twist him into what Serge feared most, a panther. In time, FATE took total control and became what we defeated. So, I'll ask again, why did FATE resemble a human female in our fight?
Marle reminds us to use the Chrono Cross for full effect.
Why was there such a massive, noncontextual lore dump right here? Regardless and lastly, Lucca talks to Kid as though Lucca were real and pretty much tells Kid she loves her. We walk over to the new, purple wormhole, activate the Time Egg Balthazar gave us in Terra Tower, and we go to the Darkness Beyond Time. We see a being that looks like Lavos and another who resembles Kid fused ontop of him. If that's Schaa, why is she blonde? This boss, and game, can end in two different ways. You get the bad ending if you treat the boss like a conventional fight. The good ending is, rather than brute force this fight, do what Queen Nadia says and use the Chrono Cross. To use it properly, you have to use a code of elements. The code is revealed in Terra and isn’t too hard to trigger. Yellow-Red-Green-Blue-Black-White-Cross. Upon activation, Schala breaks free, and Lavos turns to dust.
The ending scenes begin as Schala waxes philosophically about Life and Death. We all live to be a universe unto ourselves. To make our lives as expansive, relevant, and prestigious as we can, or want. At least, that's how I interpreted it.
She then informs everyone about the future of our lives. I think she implies the timelines will merge, and we’ll all forget about the whole journey. But, even so, everyone promises to reunite. Schala promises to find Serge, “Somewhere, sometime”. If she weren’t a kind and just princess, and one of my favorite secondary characters ever, I’d consider this a threat. Serge wakes up on Opassa Beach next to Leena before he crossed dimensions. He tries to tell her what happened, but she says he just passed out and should rest.
The credits roll, and we see scenes from the game interloped with a woman who resembles Kid walking through modern day. In the end, Kid signs the journal from the opening menu cutscene, Kid "Schala" Zeal. We then cut back to what appears to be Opassa where Kid, in a white dress, stands. She’s smiling. I’m smiling.
.fin
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