Welcome back! When we last left our heroes, they were heading to Termina, the largest city on the El Nido archipelago. But to get there will require a brief journey through Fossil Valley, a place that sounds like a track from Mario Kart.
Turns out there are some soldiers who are excavating the area and apparently are in need of an exorcist? A few lies later and I am past the guards, who clearly have no idea what an exorcist looks like. PROTIP: They’re usually wearing a white collar and carry a crucifix. It seems there is a spooky howling noise and the soldiers want me, the alleged exorcist, to make it stop. Personally, it sounds like the wind to me, but maybe that is due to the limitations of the PS1’s sound card.
Walking up to a very large fossil of a dragon, when a skull bounces up to greet me. Suddenly, I wish I had done more drugs in my youth.The skull claims that he can tell Serge is dead, which is partially true, at least in this world. He wants me to help him find the rest of his body. Sounds like Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest but with slightly better graphics. How do I know this guy is on the up and up? Answer: I don’t, but what the hell else am I going to do right? It’s not like I’m stuck in a parallel dimension or anything, far away from home and my loved ones. So now I have a HEAVY SKULL. Jealous, much?
After some more exploring, I find a BIG EGG and a BELLFLOWER, two items that currently have no use, but are likely meant to help me recruit more characters that are also superfluous later on. I make for the exit and look who it is: Solt and Peppor, the punniest guys I know. They’re whining about how I whipped their candy-asses and are clamoring for a rematch. Well, I came here to do two things: write a game blog and kick some ass. And I’m almost out of blog. So here…we…go!
This is another tutorial battle, which I will spare you the details for right now. Suffice it to say that I won rather handily. And by handily, I mean with a spell so overkill that it involved the whole solar system in the animation. I exit and come again to the world map, where I can go to Termina, Viper Manor or the Shadow Forest. Termina it is!
A rather pleasant city, I must say, white streets and tiered layers. Reminds me of Minas Tirith from Return of the King, but with less murderous orcs and suicidal rulers. Upon entering, we learn that Karsh, who was hunting for Serge, is a member of the Acacia Dragoons and they were the ones in Fossil Valley as well. One townsperson tells me of Glenn, also a Dragoon and very popular with the people of the city. I show the BELLFLOWER I found to a lady selling flowers and she tells me that Glenn would love to see that. Duly noted.
I stay at the local inn, as is customary to do when in RPGs. Someone tells me about something called the Frozen Flame, which is “the treasure of treasures.” The thieves known as the Radical Dreamers are looking for it. I’m sure our paths will meet before long. Other people keep telling about someone named Dario, who died. He was one of the Acacia Dragoons, a “Deva” which is a high rank I reckon. There are only 4 Devas and his spot remains vacant, so now there are only 3. This better be pertinent information!
Some dude tells me about a secret entrance into Viper Manor by way of the Shadow Forest, which seems like an odd thing to tell someone you just met, but what do I know? I’m dead in this world. There’s a very nice house on the top tier where an old lady laments about her missing grandson. He joined the circus to become a clown and used to write all the time, but one day, the letters stopped coming. His name was Skelly!!! Skelly is the name of the skull I found in Fossil Valley! Well, that didn’t take long to become relevant, did it? Sadly for Skelly, nothing can be done right now, but if I find the rest of him, Grandma will be in for a shock.
Standing alone in a corner of the bar is a white-haired dude with a mask covering his eyes, like the Lone Ranger. Guile is his name, but you won’t find any Sonic Booms here. He says that he has a bet with someone that he can break into Viper Manor and steal an item as proof of the deed. He seems kind of arrogant. Now, I have to reveal something about Guile: he has white hair, floats in battle and uses Shadow Magic. JUST LIKE MAGUS FROM CHRONO TRIGGER! OMG!
Calm down. It’s not him. Originally, Guile was supposed to be Magus, but in their one act of self-restraint while making this game, Square decided that it would be too complicated and only add to the game’s already dizzying story. So Magus, Schala’s sister, the reason for this game’s existence, is not in the game, but this guy looks just like him. Bitter does not begin to describe how this makes me feel. Finding Magus in this game was pretty much something I was banking on since it was first announced. We have come to THING THAT PISSES ME OFF ABOUT CHRONO CROSS #1. Make a note of it, there will be a quiz later.
There’s some guy polishing a very large statue of Lord Viper, that I’m sure is not to meant to compensate for anything in anyway. He tells me something called the Viper Festival is coming soon and the benevolent ruler, Lord Viper is the one responsible for it. He is the leader of the Acacia Dragoons and lives in…Viper Manor! Well, duh! The polishing dude goes on for a bit about how no one can break in and yadda yadda yadda.
Naturally, Kid decides that’s our next goal since we have to find out why Karsh was after Serge. So now I have to find a way to break in. Guile at the bar was also looking to sneak in, but Kid tells me to explore a bit more before deciding.
Well, I think that’s enough for right now. Next week, more exploring of Termina and I will have one of three people to choose from to help me break into Viper Manor. See who they are and who I choose then!
But before I go, if you have any questions or suggestions about what you would like to hear more about, I am happy to hear them. Without your feedback, I have no idea if I am doing a good job, so please let me know what you like about this! Thanks for reading!
I don’t have anything that I’d like to see added. They’re funny and informative enough, so just keep up the good work!
Agreed. This blog is pretty kickass. Keep it up!