Chrono

Overview

The Chrono franchise, while only consisting of three games, are among some of the best critically received role-playing games of all time. The series has always been both critically and commercially well received. The franchise has received numerous "Best Game of All Time" rankings for Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, from publications such as IGN, GameSpot, Famitsu, Nintendo Power, and Electronic Gaming Monthly. Chrono Trigger ranks at 95% aggregate score (for both the DS and SNES versions) while Chrono Cross ranks at a 92% aggregate score (both scores according to Game Rankings).

The original Chrono Trigger, released in 1995, sold 2.36 million copies in Japan alone, while selling approximately 290,000 copies in other regions. The DS version of Chrono Trigger did not fare as well, selling 710,000 copies worldwide. Chrono Cross was met with success near to that of the SNES game, selling about 1.5 million copies worldwide, triggering it to be released as a "Greatest Hits" title for the PlayStation.

Development

 
The development of Chrono Trigger was a collaboration between two competing Japanese developers, Square and Enix (before their merger). A number of well-known individuals were also involved, creating what became known as a "dream team." Among these were Hironobu Sakaguchi (supervisor, and creator of the Final Fantasy franchise), Yuuji Horii (supervisor, and creator of the Dragon Quest franchise), Akira Toriyama (character designer, and creator of the Dragon Ball franchise), and Nobuo Uematsu (composer, well known for other Final Fantasy soundtracks).

Another writer who was working on Chrono Trigger, Masato Kato, worked with a portion of the Chrono Trigger staff in 1996 to develop Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Houseki. While not officially recognized as a sequel in advertisements, Radical Dreamers shares many key characters and helps link the plot of Chrono Trigger to Chrono Cross. Radical Dreamers is a text adventure with a variety of still and animated images, and limited player control; very different from other games in the franchise.

Despite not having the backing of the "dream team," several members of the original Chrono Trigger staff (including writer Masato Kato and composer Yasunori Mitsuda) went on to develop Chrono Cross in 1999. Chrono Cross, while sharing many themes, concepts (especially time travel and the related concepts), characters, and places, Cross is not a direct sequel, but (as Masato Kato put it) a "result" of Chrono Trigger. While Chrono Cross does retain the role playing game style, the battle system is very different from the active time battle system seen in Chrono Trigger.

Other Games

 
The success of the franchise caused Chrono Trigger to be included in a PlayStation compilation titled Final Fantasy Chronicles, which also included Final Fantasy IV. Final Fantasy Chronicles included full motion video cutscenes for Final Fantasy IV and new anime cutscenes for Chrono Trigger. These anime scenes were also added to the DS release of the game.

In addition to the three main games in the franchise, the series has seen three minor releases on the Japanese only SNES attachment known as the Satellaview. These three "add-ons" to the game were BS Chrono Trigger: Character Library, BS Chrono Trigger: Music Library, and BS Chrono Trigger: Jet Bike Special. While the first two games are merely collections of all of the music and character sprites, the third game is a racing minigame from Chrono Trigger. The Jet Bike Special also adds a few new features, such as a scoring system for the minigame.

Although no sequel since Chrono Cross has been officially announced, Square Enix owns two trademarks that allude to a fourth game in the franchise. Chrono Brake and Chrono Break were registered in Japan and the United States respectively in 2001. In addition, before filing for these trademarks Hironobu Sagaguchi announced that the team behind Chrono Cross was still interested in expanding the Chrono franchise. Despite this, there has been no other information since Square Enix dropped the Chrono Break trademark in 2003.

Gameplay

Gameplay in the Chrono franchise is that of a typical role playing game, although each game has a variety of twists to differentiate it from other role playing games. While Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross do have different battle systems, there are key concepts that remain the same. Rather than being completely turn based, battling is done in an order (although the way that order is determined differs between the two games). In battle, players can attack regularly with a weapon, perform a magical attack, use an item, defend, or run away.

Overworld gameplay remains almost entirely the same between Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross. Exploration of the overworld is done on a large map displaying key locations, such as towns, caves, and forests. Going inside of these areas, players can interact with objects and people. Non playable characters are essential to each game, providing information, items, and triggering key events. As such, there is a wide variety of locations to explore in each game.

Each game has the ability to visit different worlds. In Chrono Trigger, the player explores a variety of time periods (e.g. the Kingdom of Zeal, 2300 A.D., 65,000,000 B.C., etc), while in Chrono Cross the player explores two parallel dimensions that exist simultaneously (but contain different places, people, items, and events). Traversing through these different worlds is a key part of Chrono gameplay, and the usage of it is imperative in order to achieve all of the games' multiple endings (twelve endings for each game).
 
Another key aspect found in every game in the franchise is that of New Game Plus. While the concept itself dates back to games such as The Legend of Zelda, Chrono Trigger coined the term "New Game Plus." When starting a new game (after having already finished the game at least once), the player has the option of New Game Plus, which opens up a variety of options. For the Chrono franchise, this means multiple endings. Chrono Trigger had thirteen endings in the original SNES game, with other releases adding endings. Radical Dreamers features a variety of different modes after completing the game, each with multiple endings. Chrono Cross also features thirteen endings. Endings vary from serious (although not canonical) to completely ridiculous (such as one Chrono Trigger ending where the human race has been taken over by dinosaurs).

Gameplay Differences

As previously mentioned, the battle systems are drastically different from each other. Chrono Trigger uses the Active Time Battle system first used in Final Fantasy IV. Each character has a timer, and upon performing an action that timer is drained. The timer refills at a speed dependent on the character's speed stat, at which point the character can perform another action. Chrono Cross' battle system expanded on this idea with the stamina bar. Each character in Chrono Cross has a stamina bar which players can then use to map out attacks based on how much stamina it will use up. This makes Chrono Cross' battle system much more turn based than Chrono Trigger's battle system.

Magic and special attacks are applied differently, particularly in Chrono Cross. Chrono Cross uses an Elements system. Elements can be purchased and collected, and then equipped to a character. Every character and enemy has a preexisting Element alignment. Elements of that color are very effective against Elements of the opposite color, whereas it is very weak to Elements of the same color. Therefore, if an enemy has a Red Element (fire) then the opposite Element would be the Blue Element (water).

Chrono Trigger uses the "Tech" (short for technique) system used in other Final Fantasy games. Each character can use a variety of Techs, even if they don't have a magical ability (as Techs are merely special attacks). Chrono Trigger expands the idea of Techs, and allows players to combine characters' Techs, creating massive attacks sometimes requiring all present characters. While dual and triple Techs do require a much higher amount of MP (magic power), the payoff is a much larger effect (either in affected area or general damage).

Radical Dreamers is the "black sheep" of the franchise, differing from the other games. Gameplay in Radical Dreamers largely consists of a text adventure. However, there are instances where the player must choose an action in order to fight or react in a situation. In some areas of the game, hesitation or choosing the wrong option results in the injury or death of the main character, Serge. In addition, damage inflicted upon Serge is tracked and factors into the main female lead, Kid, and her attraction towards Serge. This, in turn, factors into whether or not Serge lives in the final conflict.

Plot Outline

Chrono Trigger

 
Chrono Trigger follows the story of Crono and his companions ( Lucca, Marle, Robo, Ayla, Frog, and Magus) after discovering the end of the world. The game begins with Crono meeting his friend Lucca, and testing out her teleportation panels. When a freak accident sends Marle back to the year 600 A.D., Crono and Lucca investigate. The three manage to escape through a gate (essentially a portal to a different time period), and end up in the year 2300 A.D. Here, they discover a video of the end of the world--1999 A.D., the day of Lavos. Together, they vow to prevent this from stopping.

After a series of events, the team expands with Robo (a robot from 2300 A.D.), Ayla (a cavewoman from 65,000,000 B.C.), and Frog (a swordsman from 600 A.D. who is cursed to forever be a frog). The team discovers that Lavos came to the planet in 65,000,000 B.C., and has ever since then been extracting DNA from the planet and altering its course to Lavos' bidding. While researching how Lavos was triggered to the surface in 1999 A.D., they discover that Lavos has surfaced three times total. Once in 600 A.D. (triggered by Magus), once in 12,000 B.C., and last in 1999 A.D.

From here, the group travels to 12,000 B.C., where they discover the technologically and magically advanced Kingdom of Zeal, whose crazed queen is attempting to harness Lavos' power with the Mammon Machine. Here, Queen Zeal is forcing her daughter, Schala, to use her incredible magical power to power the Mammon Machine. Schala is incredibly reluctant to help her mother, and even assists the group by keeping her mother's prophet from killing them. While gathering information in 12,000 B.C. the group attracts the attention of Queen Zeal, who commands her prophet to kill them, but he opts to banish them from coming to that era.

In an attempt to revisit that era, the group finds a time machine in 2300 A.D. known as the Epoch, which they use as their primary mode of transportation. They come in time to find the Mammon Machine awaking Lavos. Here, Magus attempts to kill Lavos a second time (his first attempt was thwarted by the group in 600 A.D). When everyone is wiped out, Crono attempts to kill Lavos in a final attempt, only to be brutally murdered.

From here, it is optional to regain Crono and gain the party member of Magus. If the player chooses to find Crono, they are given the Time Egg by Gaspar, a powerful magic user from the Kingdom of Zeal who was banished for opposing Queen Zeal. The team is able to use the Time Egg and a dopple doll of Crono to return to the exact moment where he died, and replace him with the doll. After saving Crono, the team can do a variety of optional sidequests, such as defeating a crazed artificial intelligence in 2300 A.D., creating a forest in 600 A.D., defeating the Mystics, dethroning the corrupt Chancellor, or recharging the mythical object known as the Sun Stone. 
 
Regardless of whether or not Crono is regained, the remaining members manage to defeat Queen Zeal, and subsequently fight Lavos. After defeating Lavos, the group celebrates in 1000 A.D. at the Millennial Fair, reconciling and then proceeding to leave their separate ways (if Magus is present, he leaves to search for his sister Schala, which he is still doing in the sequel, Radical Dreamers). Depending a variety of factors (especially whether or not the game is a New Game Plus), the ending can be one of thirteen different endings.

Radical Dreamers

Radical Dreamers follows Serge (a carefree magician who met Kid before the events of the game), Kid (a young thief who is literally the reincarnation of Schala from Chrono Trigger), and Magil (who is actually Magus, but has since changed his name), three treasure hunters. This team is searching for the Frozen Flame, a mythical object which is said to have the ability to grant any wish.

In order to get the Frozen Flame, they must infiltrate Viper Manor, home of Lynx. On the night that the group infiltrates Viper Manor, Magil explains how the Frozen Flame is, in actuality, a piece of Lavos that was blown off when he landed on the planet. Continuing to explore Viper Manor, they discover the underground Kingdom of Zeal, which sank into the earth long ago when Lavos emerged briefly. Here, Kid's true intentions are revealed; she wants to get revenge on Lynx for killing her foster mother, Lucca.

In possession of the Time Egg (also known as the Chrono Trigger), Kid shatters it in the presence of Lynx and the Frozen Flame. This causes time to literally stop while the group is able to see brief scenes from Kid's life. Her life as Schala is seen, and how she was forced to use her magical prowess to assist her mother, Queen Zeal, in her intentions to use Lavos' power. After the end of Chrono Trigger, Schala was incredibly guilt-ridden. The Frozen Flame was able to sense her guilt, and sent her forward in time as a child, where she was found by Lucca. Here, it is also revealed that Magil is Schala's brother, Janus (who also goes by the name Magus).

After the Chrono Trigger's power dies down, the nation of Porre sends an army into the mansion. Serge, Kid, and Magil escape before the army invades (searching for the Frozen Flame). The group then departs their separate ways.  
 
After the release of Chrono Cross, it was determined that the events of Radical Dreamers could be considered an alternate dimension, and thus the plot of that game is not necessarily considered canon in the overall Chrono universe.
 

Chrono Cross

Chrono Cross is the game where connections are really made. The game stars Serge, who slips into an alternate dimension at the beginning of the game. In this alternate dimension, he has died ten years before when he was killed by his corrupted father, Wazuki. After meeting up with Kid, he learns that when she came back in time to save him, it caused a split in space and time. Kid is in possession of an amulet which allows them to travel between the two dimensions (Home world and Another world).

While in Fort Dragonia, they meet Lynx, who (unbeknownst to Kid) switches bodies with Serge. Therefore, while Kid talks to Lynx, the real Serge stands by, completely helpless as he stabs her. Believing to be victorious, Lynx banishes Serge to the Temporal Vortex, and then takes Kid as his own, tricking her into believing that the real Serge is her enemy.

After managing to escape the Temporal Vortex with help from Harle, he discovers that he is now unable to travel between dimensions. Trapped in Home world, he visits the Dead Sea, where a man named Miguel is living (who is under control of a supercomputer named FATE, the same computer that corrupted Serge's father). With help from three visions of Lucca, Crono, and Marle, Miguel explains that if Serge were able obtain the Frozen Flame, Home world would be doomed to destruction. In order to prevent this from happening, the Dead Sea is destroyed by FATE.

After allying himself with the powerful six Dragons, Serge is able to make it to Another World. He is able to find the Dragon Tear of Another world, which allows him to transform back into his human form. While visiting Another world's version of the Dead Sea (Sea of Eden), he finds a research facility known as Chronopolis, which is researching time and space.

Inside Chronopolis, he finds Lynx and Kid. After defeating Lynx and the supercomputer FATE, the six dragons steal this dimension's Frozen Flame, and merge to form the Dragon God (creating a new villain). While Kid is trapped in a coma, Serge continues his adventure, using the power of several relics that he has since collected to create a powerful Element; the Chrono Cross. The power of the Chrono Cross is able to revive Kid from her coma.

Traveling to Terra Tower to challenge the Dragon God, Serge and Kid are met by Belthasar, a prophet of time. He explains that Chronopolis was pulled into time thousands of years ago. The fact that Chronopolis was pulled from the future forced the planet to counterbalance this by pulling Dinopolis from the past. Dinopolis, the city of Dragonians (a reptile-like race) was constantly at war with Chronopolis. Chronopolis managed to defeat Dinopolis, and took the Dragon God captive.

They split the Dragon God into six different pieces, each representing a different Element (explaining the Element system used in the battle system). FATE then created the island paradise of El Nido. The supercomputer sent the scientists of Chronopolis to live in the newly created island paradise, while also erasing their memories. Thousands of years passed while the supercomputer went unchallenged, until Serge was attacked by a demon and badly wounded. His father attempted to bring him to the city of Marbule, but unfortunately, they were not able to make it there due to a storm caused by Lavos, who was in the process of being merged with Queen Zeal's daughter, Schala.

Ever since Schala had been launched forward in time and turned into Kid, she had simultaneously existed in the Darkness Beyond Time, where Lavos was trapped. Here, she was being merged with Lavos to form the Time Devourer. The storm that she caused not only knocked the ship off course, but also caused Chronopolis' defenses to be knocked out, and allowed Serge to find the Frozen Flame, which healed him and corrupted his father (who became Lynx). This magical storm also put a lock on FATE's ability to use the Frozen Flame.     

Attempting to remove this lock, FATE sent Lynx to attack Serge. Kid caused the split in dimensions when she went back in time ten years to save Serge from drowning, locking FATE out of the Frozen Flame once again. Knowing that Serge would have to face him eventually, FATE began preparing for this inevitable conflict by sending Lynx to switch bodies with him. In the end, Belthasar reveals that all of these events were part of a project that he orchestrated, called Project Kid, in which he was attempting to make Serge powerful enough to free Schala from merging with Lavos (creating the Time Devourer, a creature able to destroy space and time itself).

Now aware of all of this, Serge uses the Chrono Trigger to teleport to the Darkness Beyond Time, where he defeats the Time Devourer and frees Schala. Not only does this free Schala, but it restores space and time as well, merging the Home world and the Another world into the Ideal world. In the ending scenes, Schala tells Serge that he will forget all of his experiences before he is returned to his home. However, some of the final images include a wedding picture of Serge and Kid.

Plot Connections 

Project Kid

 
Masterminded by Zeal's Guru of Reason, Project Kid is an enormous plan in which Belthasar plotted out the exact events of Chrono Cross in incredibly excruciating detail. Not only did he design the supercomputer, FATE, but he also manipulated the lives of thousands of people spanning over thousands of years (aided by a time machine he created, the Neo Epoch). The ultimate goal of his incredible project was to assist Serge in becoming powerful enough to face Lavos and defeat the Time Devourer.

The plan encompasses a wide array of factors, including FATE, the Dragon God, the Prometheus Circuit, and even requiring direct actions of people, such as Kid. In Chrono Trigger, when he is launched through the temporal distortion caused by Lavos, he is sent to 2300 A.D. Instead of a desolate future (as found in the game), he finds a new future, which has been forged after the defeat of Lavos. After learning of the Time Devourer, he set out on forging Project Kid.

After founding Chronopolis, a city where time and space are researched, Belthasar succeeds in sending the entire city back in time in the "Counter-Time Experiment," a portion which came to be called the Time Crash. Dinopolis was sent along with Chronopolis, triggering the battle between FATE and the Dragon God (all part of Project Kid).

In addition to time manipulation on a massive scale, Belthasar was present in individual lives as well. He approached Kid sometime after 1015 A.D., instructing her to, at some point, return back to 1010 A.D., where she saved Serge from being murdered by his corrupted father. Although FATE did play a part in the corruption, this was all part of Belthasar's plan to prepare Serge for the ultimate goal of forging the Chrono Cross and saving Schala.

Almost all of the events of Chrono Cross are orchestrated by Belthasar, giving him ultimate--almost godlike--power. As such, his motives have been questioned, with some speculating that he reached a level of insanity breaching on megalomania. Regardless of whether or not he went insane, his intent on freeing Schala is generally accepted to be noble.

Time Devourer

The Time Devourer is a culmination of many concepts over the span of Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross. After being overcome with grief and guilt, the Frozen Flame sensed Schala and sent her to the Darkness Beyond Time. She was trapped here, merging with Lavos to form the "Dream Devourer" (the first stage, which is explained in Chrono Trigger DS). After years of transformation, the two culminate to from the Time Devourer, a beast capable of destroying time itself.

Schala, in a brief moment of self-consciousness, feels that she is losing her identity and any sense to Lavos. To combat this, she sends a child clone of herself to the future, along with a pendant. This child, named Kid, is found by Lucca, who continues to care for the child for several years.

Prometheus Circuit

A creation of Lucca's after the events of Chrono Trigger, and part of the massive Project Kid, the Prometheus Circuit is essentially a device which protects the Frozen Flame. Belthasar convinced Robo, a main playable character from Chrono Trigger, to become the Prometheus Circuit. The Prometheus Circuit's key role in Chrono Cross is to protect the Frozen Flame, locking FATE out of using it once Serge has touched it. When Serge touched it, he became the Arbiter of the Frozen Flame, preventing anyone else from using it. This accounts for a large part of Serge's initial progression in Chrono Cross, as FATE acts as the main villain for some time in the game.

Frozen Flame

Although the Frozen Flame is never directly referenced in Chrono Trigger, its origins can be traced back to the first game. In 65,000,000 B.C., when Lavos first crashed down to earth, a fragment broke off. This fragment lay dormant until millions of years later, when in 3,000,000 B.C., when it made contact with early humans and launched the evolutionary cycle forward.

From that point until 2300 A.D., the Frozen Flame's usage is unknown. It has been speculated that it was used in the rise and fall of Zeal, but nothing solid in the games or related media has alluded to this. Regardless, in 2300 A.D., Belthasar used the Frozen Flame as Chronopolis' primary power source. In researching the Frozen Flame, Belthasar used it in experiments in manipulating time.

The Frozen Flame is used as a central part of Chrono Cross' plot, as well as Radical Dreamers' plot. In Radical Dreamers, the group is searching for it in Viper Manor, Lynx's mansion. The team (and Lynx) believe that when using the Frozen Flame and the Time Egg in conjunction, the user can control time.

Characters

Crono

 
The main protagonist of Chrono Trigger, Crono is a young boy from the town of Truce. Here, he is best friends with Lucca, an intelligent inventor. When he wakes up one morning for the Millennial Fair, he meets Marle, a beautiful young woman who decides to explore the fair with him. After an accident involving Lucca's teleportation panels that sends Marle back in time 400 years, Crono goes after her.

Throughout the rest of the game, his role is center and singular as the main protagonist, until the near end of the game. When the group faces Lavos for the first time in 12,000 B.C., Crono is killed. Here, it is optional to go through a process to save him and regain him as a party member.

Crono appears and is referenced several times in Chrono Cross. Several characters talk about how the Kingdom of Guardia (Crono's home kingdom) is now unsafe, alluding to his fate. However, a letter from Lucca talking about her friends could possibly mean that he is still alive. Regardless, he appears three times as an apparition, assisting Serge in his journey.

Lucca

Lucca is a young, intelligent inventor and the best friend of Crono. She plays a major role in Chrono Trigger and minor roles in both Radical Dreamers and Chrono Cross. Her inventions help the plot of Chrono Trigger, particularly her teleportation panels (the Super Dimension Warp machine) and her large robot, Gato. She develops a bond with Robo, the robot she repairs in 2300 A.D.

Her desire to know technology and science is stemmed back to an incident when her mother lost her legs. Her mother yelled for Lucca to help, but she was unable to because she did not have enough knowledge of the machine to stop it in time. At one point, Lucca is able to return to this moment and save her mother, going through a red gate. This red gate is presumed to have been provided by Entity, a living creature which is directly referenced in Chrono Trigger, but is never given any clear details. Some fans speculate that Entity may even be the planet itself, or an unnamed deity.

After the events of Chrono Trigger, Lucca founded an orphanage in the city of Regiorra. It was here that she raised Kid in 1004 A.D., the clone of Schala. As she continued to research circuit boards and temporal science, she was able to develop technology that is used in Chrono Cross, such as incomplete Time Eggs. After designing the Prometheus Circuit (an altered version of Robo which prevented FATE from using the Frozen Flame), she was murdered by Lynx and Harle when they burned her house to the ground.

Magus

Magus is a key player in the events surrounding the Kingdom of Zeal, as well as being a main playable character in Radical Dreamers. He was born as Janus, the son of Queen Zeal, brother of Schala, and a powerful magic user. As a child, he was quiet, but this was largely due to grief from his magical abilities (which allowed him to see into the future). He cared for few people, only his family and his cat, Alfador. When Lavos is encountered in 12,000 B.C., Janus is swept up in temporal distortion and warped to the year 600 A.D.

Here, he allied himself with the Mystics, and became their ruler. It was here that he changed his name to Magus. Despite this, he retained the goal to defeat Lavos and find his sister Schala (which remains his singular goal for the larger part of the series). Magus is responsible for killing one of Guardia's top soldiers, Cyrus, and transforming Glenn into Frog.

In Radical Dreamers, Magus one of the three main characters, however he has since changed his name to Magil (or Gil). Magil has discovered how Schala was merged with Lavos. After saving Kid from an ill-conceived revenge attempt on Lynx, he continued to travel with her, and eventually Serge as well. During the final battle with Lynx, Magil saves Kid after she uses the Chrono Trigger and learns of her past as Schala.

Serge

Serge is a main character in both Radical Dreamers and Chrono Cross. Born in Arni Village, Serge was nearly killed at the age of three. In a desperate attempt to heal him, his father brought him to the Frozen Flame. This designated Serge as the Arbiter, and made the artifact unusable to the supercomputer FATE. Enraged, FATE was able to corrupt both Miguel (a friend of Serge's father) and Serge's father, Wazuki. This caused Wazuki to later become Lynx, a major villain in the franchise.

In 1010 A.D., Wazuki nearly succeeded in killing Crono, although Kid came back in time to stop him. Due to this series of events, Wazuki's transformation into Lynx was complete, and he was called by FATE to the futuristic city of Chronopolis. Also as a result of Kid's time travel, she split the world into two dimensions; one where Serge lives, and one where Serge dies.

In Radical Dreamers, Serge is a traveling musician who joins Kid and Magil in a search for the Frozen Flame. During this adventure, he falls in love with Kid (the character's actions determine whether or not she returns these feelings). During Radical Dreamers, he is only able to perform basic magic, but he always keeps his trusty knife on himself. In the final battle, he is thrust into an alternate dimension when the Chrono Trigger shatters, although he is shortly returned to the real world.

Kid

The clone of Schala who was sent to the modern world, Kid was raised by Lucca in her orphanage. It was here that Kid was given a Time Egg and an Astral Amulet, both of which she later uses in her adventures. In 1015 A.D., when Lynx murdered Lucca, Kid began to sought up revenge by forming the raiding group, Radical Dreamers.

Although initially only containing herself, she was later joined by Magil and Serge. Together, they travel to the Viper Manor in search of the Frozen Flame. It is possible for Kid to fall in love with Serge (the player character), although there are a variety of factors determining this. It is during the final battle with Lynx that she shatters the Time Egg, and her true origins as Schala are revealed.

Kid's timeline after 1015 A.D. is slightly complicated. It is speculated that Belthasar had to have contacted her sometime after 1015 A.D., instructing her to save Serge in 1010 A.D. This singular act caused the dimensions to split, and led to many of the events of Chrono Cross. She plays a major role for almost all of Chrono Cross, and in the final scenes of the game, it is hinted that she marries Serge.

Lynx

A major villain in both Radical Dreamers and Chrono Cross, Lynx is a cat-like servant of the supercomputer known as FATE. Although he was previously Wazuki, father of Serge, his contact with the Frozen Flame corrupted him, and he became a willing servant of FATE. After attempting to murder Serge in 1010 A.D., and failing, Wazuki left to Chronopolis, the home of FATE. It was there that he finished his transformation into Lynx.

After this, he carries out FATE's orders, attempting to restore the control of the Frozen Flame to FATE. In 1015 A.D., he murders Lucca, who helped create the Prometheus Circuit, which was locking FATE out of using the Frozen Flame. When Serge traveled across the split dimensions, he found Lynx, who used the Dragon Tear to switch bodies with him. After Serge managed to restore his body, Lynx hid until their final confrontation, where Lynx met his end.

In Radical Dreamers, Kid, Serge, and Magil are searching for the Frozen Flame in Viper Manor, which is owned by Lynx. It is here that they learn of Kid's past as Schala. After Viper Manor is stormed by the army of Porre, Lynx escapes and flees into the night, not seen again until Chrono Cross.

FATE

A supercomputer which Belthasar uses in Project Kid, FATE serves as a mediator for many of the events in Chrono Cross. FATE is responsible for corrupting Wazuki into Lynx, many attempts on Serge's life, and the creation of the island paradise, El Nido. When Chronopolis was sent to the past, and Dinopolis sent to the same time, FATE captured the Dragon God and split it into six Elements. He proceeded to take the inhabitants of Chronopolis, erase their memories, and send them to a newly created island paradise, El Nido.

When Serge became Arbiter of the Frozen Flame in 1006 A.D., FATE was locked out of its usage. Now unable to use the Frozen Flame due to the Prometheus Circuit, FATE sought after unlocking the Frozen Flame. Initially, he tried to kill Serge, but when that failed he waited until the boy traveled between split dimensions. In 1015 A.D., FATE was also responsible for murdering Lucca, the creator of the Prometheus Circuit.

Possibly as a necessary part of Project Kid, FATE was defeated when Serge made it to Chronopolis. When FATE was killed, his hold on the Dragons subsided, and they managed to steal the Frozen Flame, becoming the Dragon God (and the primary villain for a time in Chrono Cross). FATE's true intentions are never incredibly clear. There are parts of the game where it seems that FATE contradicts Belthasar's programming, and yet other times where FATE seems to display emotion.

Lavos

The main antagonist for the majority of the franchise, Lavos initially came to the planet in 65,000,000 B.C. Lavos' true purpose is to gather DNA and, basically, devour the planet. He continued to devour the planet for millions of years, emerging in 1999 A.D., effectively ending life on the planet. When Crono's team discovers this, they vow to stop Lavos.

In the events of Chrono Trigger, they manage to stop Lavos by defeating him, banishing him to the Darkness Beyond Time. It was here that Schala ended up after her grief became too much for her and the Frozen Flame teleported her there. Schala and Lavos merged to form the Time Devourer, although an alternate event in Chrono Trigger DS allude to a previous version, the Dream Devourer, that Magus attempts to face.

In Chrono Cross, Lavos has completed his transformation into the Time Devourer. Belthasar creates Project Kid, a massive temporal project involving a wide variety of factors in which he plans to make Serge powerful enough to free Schala and defeat the Time Devourer. His plan succeeds, and in the end Lavos is defeated, freeing Schala.

Schala

Schala is the daughter of Queen Zeal, and the sister of Janus. Possessing incredible magical abilities, Schala is forced by her mother to power the Mammon Machine, which is being used to harness Lavos' power. Due to this, Schala suffers from incredible guilt and grief from the pain that she caused by forcing Lavos to emerge in 12,000 B.C.

After the events of Chrono Trigger, Schala is sent to the Darkness Beyond Time. Here, at an unknown time and by an unknown origin, Schala is able to send a clone of herself to the future in a brief moment of lucidity, fearing that she is losing herself to Lavos. The clone, Kid, plays a major role in both Radical Dreamers and Chrono Cross.

During Chrono Cross, Belthasar forms Project Kid, which has the singular goal of freeing Schala. This plan succeeds, and Schala thanks Serge in the final moments of the game, stating that he will not be able to remember anything after he is sent back to his home. Despite this, the final images seen in the game include Schala writing in her diary, and then an picture of Serge and Kid on their wedding day.

Music

The music of the Chrono franchise is very well-known, and essentially launched composer Yasunori Mitsuda's career. Despite the fact that he contracted stomach ulcers and had a hard drive crash losing much of his work (prompting Nobuo Uematsu to step in), he composed many of the songs in Chrono Trigger. A variety of compilations of the music were released, including a recent promotional soundtrack included with the DS release of Chrono Trigger.

Yasunori Mitsuda continued to compose the music for Radical Dreamers. Despite never being commercially released in album form, Radical Dreamers' music was accessible in a hidden sound test in one of the game's many extra modes. Although the songs were never officially named, the fan translation gave them names based off of the naming conventions in Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross (e.g. Far Promise ~ Dream Shore).

The same composer, Yasunori Mitsuda, returned to compose a 65 track soundtrack for Chrono Cross. The music of Chrono Cross differs from other games in the franchise, taking many of the themes found in the songs from older music, such as Mediterranean, Celtic, or African music. The expansive soundtrack featured many other artists as well, including Tomohiko Kira (who plays guitar in many of the songs) and Noriko Mitose (who sings vocals in one song--Radical Dreamers ~ Le Trésor Interdit). In addition, the Chrono Cross soundtrack features a wide variety of motifs found in previous games, including remastered Radical Dreamers songs and short clips from several Chrono Trigger songs.

Other Media

Anime

 
The only anime created based on the Chrono franchise, Time and Space Adventures: Nuumamonjaa is a 16-minute anime short which premiered on July 31, 1996 at a V-Jump Festival. The short was created by Production IG. Based on Chrono Trigger, Time and Space Adventures is a humorous short starring a Nu and a Kilwala (two creatures from Chrono Trigger). It shows their adventures through Chrono Trigger's Millennial Fair, and features a variety of characters from Chrono Trigger, including Gato and Johnny (Crono and Lucca do not appear until after the credits have rolled).

Card Game

Released simultaneously with the release of Chrono Cross, Bandai produced 60 cards based off of the game. Little is known about the game, due to its rarity, but it is presumed that the cards were sold through Bandai's Carddas vending machines. These vending machines were commonly used to sell trading cards based on video games, anime, and other forms of media.

Figurines

As with many other popular franchises, the Chrono franchise has had numerous sets of figurines released. Chrono Trigger has a four figure set that was released in 2010 only in Japan. Among the figures are Crono, Ayla, Robo, Frog, Magus, Lucca, and Robo (some of which are paired together). Chrono Cross had three figures released shortly after the game's release (these were advertised in the Japanese player's guide). Created by Kotobukiya, the figures are of Serge, Kid, and Lynx.