The Let's Play Archive

Chrono Cross

by The Dark Id

Part 90: Overtime B: Separate Ways (Part 1) - Ze Hero

- Ze Hero


Alright, I said I wasn't gonna do this but eh...fuck it! Let's take a look at what we skipped long ago. Not counting ditching Kid at Cape Howl. All that happens there is Kid goes "We're mates now!" and she joins your party. And poor Leena is stuck in a NPC loop of "you should go check out Cape Howl" for all eternity.

Music: Another Termina


The first real big decision was how we were going to break into Viper Manor for the most flimsy and vague reasons possible. You jerks voted on Nikki Ziggy way back when. So, let us take a look at the runner-up, Pierre...

Continued from: Episode X (Part 1): Break-in Plans Are Made


"Alone, of course, moi would have no problems, but you could also be useful... After all, thorns like you are necessary to add charm to a rose..."
"Are we seriously going with Pepé Le Pew for this...?"
"What? You wanna spend all soddin' afternoon lookin' in the woods for some drugged up singer that probably choke to death on his own vomit hours ago...?"
"Meh... I guess not..."
"Now, come with moi!"
"OK, let's go."




And so we gain our first member of Team Rejected Characters, and one of the very most useless characters in the entire game: Pierre.


"I am regretting this decision almost immediately..."


Pierre's path is the quickest and most direct of the three paths into Viper Manor. We'll just be waltzing through the front door this time. No side dungeons through forests required.


"Moi have come here to do you a favor and join the Dragoons. Open the gates, mon frère. Ta-ta-tah!"
"......"
"We don't need any street performers. "
"Non, non, non... Moi am a hero..."
"Now go on home. Get!"


"I am beside myself in shock and amazement. Truly."
"Even mon hero's medal didn't work. Ahh la lah...? What should we do? We can't just barge in..."


Actually, we can. But...let's see Pierre's perfect military mind and startling heroism in action, shall we?


"What's he goin' to do?"
"10G says it is going to be idiotic and we're going to end up fighting half a dozen dudes within the next three minutes."
"I ain't that eager to part with my coin."
"You are ready, non? Moi will act like I am malade. You two just follow moi inside."
"..."
"What...?"




"..."
"Hey! Somebody come out here!"

The guard captain rushes over...


Sentry: "This joker fell sick. What should I do?"
Captain: "Ahhh, whatever. Just get rid of him."
"Huh?"

The gates open and the captain and his assistant come out to help the other two toss Pierre in the woods.


<hops to his feet> "CHARGE!!!"
"Oh for fu-"




So, we're tossed into a pair of battles against the Acacia Dragoons. Seeing as this is New Game +, the each go down in a single Medium strike. Except from Pierre. It takes nearly all of his stamina to kill one of these enemies from the couple of hours of the game whilst equipped with the best end game equipment. Did I mention Pierre is fucking terrible...?


It is a two-wave fight, with the second round earning a new Star Level. Beating Karsh up again finally got us to the 50 star mark, if you were interested.


After the battle, Solt and Peppor come to investigate the unstoppable end game squad that could murder their entire army busting through the front gate. And Pierre.


"You are...!?"
"Serge!"
"You cannot seriously be serious about coming through the front gate!?"
"W-We're gonna shake it to you good and get our revenge!"
"Why do I feel like I've heard that many times before...? To the point I'm just irritated even thinking about it..."

Music: Between Life and Death


"This time we ought to give them the shaking they deserve!"
"I agreeingly agree!"
"Today we brought along a helping hand! He's tough! He's mean! And he's really, really big, too! Show them what you can do!!!"
"..."
"......"
"I said show them what you can do!"
"I know I'm gonna sound like a broken record here...but, this is gonna be dumb, isn't it...?"
"Probably..."
"Yoo~hoo~! Oh, Ketcho~p! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
"Ketchop...really...? Wouldn't like...I dunno...Sugor or...Paprika make more se-"


"-SHOOOOOLY CRAP!"






Ketchop will immediately kick the living shit out of Serge, regardless of his level, with a pair of attacks that do 500 HP a piece.


"This time we're going to beat you for sure!!!"
"What a manly man!"
"S-S-S-SSAAAAUUUUCCCEE!" (He seems happy...perhaps?)
"Yes, that's the spirit! Show us what you can do!"
"Go! Go! Ketchop!!! Try out your special Karate-Ket-Chop action on them!"
"Ugh...th-the puns... The puns... Make it sto...p... Just...just finish me off..."
"T-T-TOOOMMMAAATTTOOO!!!" (He seems pumped...perhaps?)




Solt is a nice fellow and decides to revive Serge after he got one-shot at the onset of the round.


"Well... I thought that we all wouldn't get to see how fiercely fierce Ketchop is if they were left exhausted like that!
"......"
"......"
"Doesn't that defeat our whole purpose?! Do it again, and you're shaken dead meat, Solt!""


Following that, the battle begins proper. Ketchop still does a pretty obscene amount of damage (were it our first time playing. None of the three break double digits now.) but all you've got to do is knock Solt or Peppor down to near critical health for the next scripted event to kick in.


"Hey! Ketchop! Why don't you shaking-well do something?!"


"Huh??? Wwaaaaaah!?! What are you doing?!"


Ketchop is firmly over Solt and Peppor's shit at this point and takes matters into his own massive bear-like hands.


Mostly by pounding the shit out of Peppor into the ground.




And then grabbing Solt by the head and using him as a makeshift baseball bat.


The attack is kind of lost a lot of its muster to a Level 52 Team Serge. But, it would have probably killed Pierre on a fresh playthrough. Unfortunately for our adversaries, both Solt and Peppor are instantly knocked out from being human baseball equipment.






After that, the battle finally begins normally and Ketchop can finally be killed at this point. A shame, really. I'd have preferred to have him instead of about 2/3rd of the playable cast. You know he'd get a Double-Tech with ZOAH.


And that battle too earns another level-up. All three paths will gain the party two stars. This one is just basically the path of least effort.


Following busting through the front gate and killing several soldiers in a forced break-in in broad daylight, the party decides to hide for the next six hours or so in a bush until night arrives. Hopefully, there is no changing of the guard or anyone walking by on rounds or...just visiting, really to find the massacre at the front gate in the meantime.


The rest of the scenario progresses exactly the same, only with a floppish faux Frenchman instead of a gaudy androgynous bard as a sidekick. Huh...I wonder what the Sky Dragon was doing hanging out around Viper Manor...






TOMATO!!! (You should probably watch this.)


Pierre's Techs