The Hero Arrives!

We learned last night that the villain from 600 AD, Magus, summoned Lavos in an attempt to win a war against mankind. If we want to stop Lavos, we should start there.

Not much has changed in 600, or at least it doesn't appear to have. Several townsfolk in Truce inform us that the King was attacked defending the country from Magus and is now recuperating. Soldiers manning the frontline at Zenan Bridge confirms this, but they also tell us their supplies are running low. They're in desperate need of food from the castle. That's two reasons to head to Marle's house, so head there. The King is alive but tertiary for this. Head down to the right where the kitchen is. We'll see the Head Chef running so fast, trying to cook food for the King and Queen as well as the frontlines, that he's making a small dust storm at his feet. When we talk to him, he'll tell us that his brother is an idiot. A main will scold him, but nothing much comes from it. As we leave the castle, the Chef will catch up to us. He finished the rations for the soldiers, so he asks us to tell his brother to stay safe. He hands us "1" Jerky. An entire army is expected to survive on a single stick of beef jerky. How did Guardia stand for 1000 years?

Return to Zenan bridge and hand the single jerky to the knight in golden armor, the Chef's brother. All the soldiers that remain get excited for food and have piped up! It's a good thing, too, as we're about to be under attack. A legion from across the bridge begins their assault. It's headed by Ozzie, who conveniently informs us that he's Magus' general. He then attacks us with skeletons. The undead aren't hard and slaying them causes Ozzie to flee. Attacking him enough to break his spell also works, which is how I ended battle two. Along the way, we see several soldiers die and get possessed by not John Michael. As we reach the end of the bridge, Ozzie summons a small horde of skeletons who combine into one. Meet Zombor.

Zombor is two targets: a top half and legs. The upper body is weak to fire and absorbs ice, while the legs are the opposite. Cyclone can hit both parts, so have Crono perform that while Marle and Lucca do their thing. He attacks, but I don't remember how. I'm pretty sure you need to defeat both parts to win, but I saved his legs for last. Ozzie promises we haven't seen the last of him before battle, so the chase ends here. All the soldiers at the start of the bridge congratulate us, and we can explore Porre now.

There's a large town just past the bridge that I have no idea how is still around. You'd think this would be Mystic Central by now? It's called Denodoro, named after the nearby mountain range, and the only thing of note here is we can see the great explorer, Toma, being paid to find the mythical Rainbow Shell. The Elder has his reservations about his choice, but it's too late now. This place doesn't exist in 1000 AD, but I'm sure it'll be fine. We also begin to hear rumblings that The Legendary Hero has arrived. Head past Fiona's Shrine for now and have a look-see in Poore. People tell us the Hero is from here, and it's a small child named Tata. His dad, especially, is excited. Tata's not around, though, so search around the forest path to the west. It's filled with frogs and snakes that eat frogs. At the very back is a ladder down that takes us to our old pal Glenn (not Frog). We inform Glenn of what's happened to the King, and he becomes sullen and depressed. He asks us to leave and stands guard near a green pot.

The only place I haven't looked yet is the Denodoro Mountains. An NPC in the town warned us about goblins with hammers. They're strong, but if we burn their weapon, then they become fragile. We'll need to make use of this often here. On the first screen is a small child being chased by two goblins. This is Tata, and he's in over his head. He asks us to leave, but we can't let a child wander around here, Hero or not. Denadoro is a winding mountain path filled form goblins and free lancers. Everything is weak to magic, so it's another Hecran's Cave scenario. Many of the battles are traps, of sorts, with the lancers waking up the goblins to attack us. It's annoying, but it's supposed to be annoying and unlike a lot of dungeons in other games. I can't wait to learn AoE magic spells... At the end is a small cave with a child in it. This isn't Tata, who we didn't find here, but someone named Masa. Behind him is a shining sword! As we approach it, the boy calls out to us to ask if we're here for the sword. Another NPC told us about the blade Masamune; could this be it? We respond yes, and Masa calls out for his brother, Mune, who appears from thin air behind the sword. The two scold us for not knowing that the blade isn't what makes it legendary, rather it's how you use it. But if we want it, we're gonna have to fight for it!

Masa and Mune counter every attack with an X-Slash. Both physical and magical blows trigger it, so we'll just have to eat it. Antipode, Lucca and Marle's combo tech, does nearly 400 damage, so spam that. have Crono use Spuncut if you've learned it. I got it after this battle, so good job, me! You'll only need to defeat one, so focus on whoever. Hopefully, you brought some heal items with you because these guys can cause confusion, indicated by a star over a character's head. But the battle isn't over yet. Masa and Mune say it's time to get real, and they form into one creature. I forgot Masamune looked like this, which explains why it looked so weird in Chrono Cross.
Round two is easier. I didn't get confused, there is no countering, and there's only one target/DPS. The only thing to watch out for is when Masamune begins to control tornado energy. Have Crono use Slash to dispel their field to prevent whatever they were planning to do. Thank you to another NPC in Denodoro.

They'll say that they accept us, and the shining sword behind them will turn into a battle worn, broken blade. It's chipped and has no hilt, so we're going to need to repair it somehow. Before going anywhere else, I went back to Porre. Tata informs us he found the Hero Badge in the cafe. It was dropped by a frog, and he wanted to return it. However, everyone made a big deal about it, so he kinda just went with it. He's ending the charade and giving it to us. I go back to Glenn, and he's even more bummed now. But he does move from his green pot, allowing us to open it. Inside is a hilt with "M E L C H I O R" written on it. Why does a weapons dealer in 1000 AD have his name engraved on a legendary sword? But I guess we're going to him. As we enter his hut, the music will change to something strange... But he does know that this is the Masamune. He says he'll repair it, but there's no way to do so anymore. The Dreamstone that the blade is made out of has been gone for centuries. I have more questions... And then I remember the other teleporter at the End of Time. It takes us to 65 Million BC!

We go through the pillar of light and come to a cliffside or the air just beyond the cliff. Alas, we fall down said cliff. Good job to whoever made these portals! As we land, we see a platoon of green lizards. They immediately attack us! They're not that hard. They're grouped up, so Cyclone and Fire Throw do good work. After we take them out, even more show up! But behind them is the second anime cutscene. A blonde woman wearing the purple pelt of an animal jumps into the fray. She takes out a handful of the lizards and gets chased away by several more. This leaves us to clean up the remainders, which we do with ease. The woman returns and pins Crono against the war. Tension rise for a moment before she, in broken English, says how strong Crono is. She only respects strong people like her and introduces herself as Ayla. Marle and Lucca give backhanded remarks towards her, but Ayla says how strong they are, too. We'll ask her if she has any Red Rock, to which she replies yes. She then invites us to her village for a party!

Cross the bridge, and her hut is on the left side. We'll all head to Ioka Village's common area and enjoy the music, beverages, and soup. Probably too much soup... A blond guy is off to the side, being jealous, but Ayla eventually challenges Crono to a soup eating contest. Mash the X button to win! The winner gets the Dreamstone, so job well done! We might as well enjoy the rest of the party, right? We'll wake in the morning feeling ill, and I'm starting to think that wasn't soup, translators! Somehow, even Robby wasn't feeling right. We'll quickly notice footprints are around us, and our stuff is missing. Most importantly, the Gate Key is gone! A villager says she saw Reptites, the sworn enemy of the humans, going south to the Forest Maze.

When we enter the forest, we'll see the blond guy, Kino, standing there. Ayla will ask him what happened, and we'll learn he stole our stuff. He really was jealous because Ayla showed us too much attention for his liking. Ayla punches him for being dumb. These two are dating, it seems, but Ayla has her emotions under control, and "Ayla likes Kino most so Kino shouldn't steal." ... or something like that. Ayla asks Kino to hand over our stuff, but he'll say the Reptites took it and ran off. We'll now have to follow the footprints before us in this area that's hard to see. Fortunately, it's straightforward enough.

On the otherside is the Reptite's Lair. It's filled with dinosaurs, who don't like being struck with electricity and holes. EvilWeviles can make holes if we let them on the map, which we can use to get to treasure or deeper into the dungeon. Robby and Crono's Max Cyclone and Rocket Roll can take care of the small fries, but watch out for the winged apes and their shiitake partners. Take out the mushrooms first. At the very end of this cave is the Reptite leader, Azela, holding our Gate Key. She'll ask us what this is for, and I happily tell her. She doesn't believe anyone would give up any information that easily, so she attacks us with Nizbel!

Robo was the correct choice to bring for this battle. Nizbel is similar to other dinosaurs in that he's strong upfront but weak when struck by Lightning. He won't get stunned, though, so he's always dangerous. What's worse is he can shake off the electrical blasts, which hurt us more than him. Keep your HP over 200 if you've hit him with Lightning, and use a Mid Tonic after he releases it. Use Lightning once to lower his defense, and then spam Crono and Ayla's Drill Kick combo. It does nearly 500 damage, so it works better than spamming attacks. Robo can do whatever. He can heal off Nizbel's single target attacks at the very least. Watch out for his earthquake move. It doesn't hit hard but can set up a wipe if he's been electrified recently. Azela will be shocked (sorry) that we defeated Nizbel. But she'll throw us the Key, and it'll be undamaged. We'll all return to Ioka with the Key and Dreamstone, so we can fix the Masamune...

...tomorrow!

I want to use people I don't normally do. I've used Robo the least out of everyone in the game despite him being one of the best. He's got great utility, HP, defense, attack, and can cure, so a lot of people like him. I've always found him too slow, though. But I also want to level up Lucca for once, too. I also want to try to Charm with Ayla this playthrough, so what am I going to do!?