Part 5: Update Five: Losing My Religion

Update Five: Losing My Religion

Howdy, folks, and welcome back! Last time, on Chrono Trigger, we explored around Guardia Castle and found out where we should go next. Today, we'll be heading into Manolia Cathedral, so let's bounce.

Before we start, I went out and did a little bit of fighting to get Lucca's first Tech, Flamethrower. It's very handy for the next fight we'll get into.



This is where we'll be for the next little bit. It's the first dungeon proper, so it's not very long and the enemies will provide enough challenge to keep you from just floating through on your first time through.





Is it spoilers I told you this was a dungeon? I'm sure everyone reading this knew. If you didn't, sorry.



I would hope you're devout, being a nun and all. I think it's part of the job description.



The biggest secret here is that they worship Old Testament God.



: Oh, how delicious--I mean, delightful-looking you are!

...Moving on.



Well, this doesn't make me uncomfortable at all.



Talking to that nun triggers the flag for this shiny to appear.



"Get out of the light and lemme look at it."



Fun fact: Lucca's hair is a light purply-pink color. Fuchsia is the closest color I can think to compare it to. Maybe if I ever show me staying at an Inn I'll get a shot of it, as she sleeps sans helmet.



You can kind of see it in this shot.



Shit's about to get real up in here; we're going to have a Nun Battle.



JESUS CHRIST THEY LIT THEMSELVES ON FIRE RUN RUN RUN THEY'RE NUNS MADE OF APOCALYPTIC HELLFIRE



Oh, they're just monsters. Whew, I was scared for a second there.

These are Nagas, and they're one of the staple enemies for this area. They have 60 HP and are weak to both Light and Fire. We don't have any Light elemental attacks yet, but Lucca's starting Tech is Flamethrower.



And since I don't think I posted it before, here's the battle music. It's pretty rockin'.



But we don't give a fuck about that, not right now. One of the most awesome things this game does is give you the ability to combine character's Techs to form new attacks. Fire Whirl combines Chrono's Cyclone and Lucca's Flamethrower to make Fire Whirl. Both characters use their MP to power it, but MP recovery isn't too big a deal in this game, plus the costs are usually pretty low.



SUCK IT DOWN, NAGAS SUCK IT DOWN



LET FIRE CLEANSE YOUR SOULS



Before I forget, Nagas can attack, too. They can smack the shit out of you with their claws, or use this attack.



Hearts circle the character and deal small damage; Lucca took 1 damage here. This attack can also Slow a character, but that's not terribly inconvenient.



When someone is slowed, this white border surrounds them and their ATB bar charges up at half-speed.



8 exp a piece, with 1 TP a shot. Chrono gains a level after this fight.



Lucca actually adjusts her glasses through this entire dialog.



For the full effect, keep this is mind while you read her text.



But, suddenly, a flame appears!



Lucca gets shoulder-checked by a Naga out of nowhere!



And she's knocked on her ass.





But, before Chrono can spring into action, a new hero appears! Who is this mysterious frog-man?



A BAD MOTHERFUCKER, THAT'S WHO







I apologize, Froggy-One. Forgive me my trespass.



Unless you were going to do it first; I wouldn't want to get in the way.



ohmygodyes



A what, Lucca?



SHUT YOUR MOUTH, WE'RE GOING WITH HIM



: Very well. Do as you please. But I must save the Queen.



And he begins to walk away...



But look at that face; this motherfucker knew exactly what he was doing. He basically just conned Chrono and Lucca into helping him out.

I will never get tired of that smug face. It's just so...Magnificent.





No matter what, you'll end up with the frog, but I can't remember what happens if you refuse here. I also don't care to know what happens, since this guy is a badass.



If not, surely we can fake a murder here. I'm sure everyone would believe one of the monsters got you, Lucca.





And we'll call--Hmm? Oh, right, I do voting for these things. If you'd like, we can rename him. BOLD a vote for what you'd like to call our new companion.



His default name is Frog, by the by.





If it isn't already apparent, I'm pretty much gay for Frog here. He's a great character, both in battle and outside of it, he has some great Techs and is part of some great Double Techs, and he's also a Knight-Frog who carries a broadsword.

And this is his theme. Here's another version, as is this. There's a ton of different versions of his theme out there, and it is, bar none, my favorite song in all of video gaming. All of you reading this know how terrible I am at remembering music and remembering to post the proper links, and Frog's Theme is what I was waiting for; it's the only reason I remembered the other music links in this update.

I'll quit gushing now and get back to the game.



Lucca is so impressed with his massive man/frog-muscles, she's nearly speechless.





But, first, Frog's stats. He's one level ahead of Chrono and has similar Strength and Speed. He's got a bit more HP and MP and he's a very solid character and rarely out of place in the party.



Slurp isn't very impressive healing right now, healing around 50 HP, the same amount as a Potion. However, with a 1 MP cost, if you need to quickly restore someone's HP and don't have time to get to your Items, it's handy. (Note: That situation will rarely, if ever, pop up)



If possible, I'd make him party leader, but I'll settle for him being second banana.



To get out of here, we approach the organ, since it's the only thing that'll do. Besides, could you honestly expect an organ not to open a secret door?





Let's-a go!



All paths lead to the same spot, but there is some treasure scattered around these parts.



Most encounters are initiated by touching enemies, and sometimes, a new enemy joins up before the fight starts. In this case, another Diablo drops from the ceiling.



They attack by kicking the shit out of you. They also have a spinning multi-kick (think a grounded version of Ryu/Ken's Hurricane Kick) to deal more damage.



However, their damage dealing capabilities are nothing to worry about. If three ganged up on one person, then maybe it'd be an issue, but they don't usually do that.



Chrono and Frog deal around the same amount of damage; Chrono's Strength is a touch higher, so he'll hit harder.







But not much harder. A Diablo has 50 HP, so we won't be one-shotting them for a little bit yet.



There are two chests down the hall from that fight; the other contains a Potion.



Two more Diablos (which is Spanish for Devil) are at the end of the hall.



You can see the door we went through in the last shot; we're heading north from there.



Nothing seems suspicious about this room. Nothing at all.



The other two chests contain a Potion and an Ether (10 MP refill).



The Maiden Suit is for Lucca only (as she's our only maiden) and provides a nice Defense boost. Lucca is our squishiest party member at the moment, so any boost to her Defense is welcome.



In this otherwise unremarkable drawer, we find something horrifying. For those of you who aren't sure what a bromide is:


In this case, I'm pretty sure we just found some monster's porn stash.



"And they're stealing the porn!"



"I spent days at an online auction for that!"





Underlings here have 49 HP and very solid Defense. Our physicals will only do about a third of what we're doing to other monsters.

Lucca was a touch low on HP, and Underlings hit pretty hard, so we try out Frog's Slurp.





Potions still heal more, but they also don't let the person afraid of frogs get licked by one.

And now that I typed that sentence, I feel dirty.



The best thing to do with these guys is to nuke them with magic; their Magic Defense is terrible, and they're weak to every element.







Here's a physical hit for comparison.



That was a critical strike from Chrono, by the by. These guys are pretty hardy.









North of that room is a new weapon for Chrono.



He's now able to kill a Diablo in one shot.



The solution here is pretty obvious, but if you can't figure it out, I'll give you a couple of minutes to do so.



All caught up? Good, let's move on.



Humans? In here? What is this?



Ah, they must have been captured when looking for the Queen.



How did you hear this? Did one of the monsters mention it off-handedly to you?

“Hey, buddy, I'm going to worship. By the by, if you ever make it there, there's treasure. Byeses!”



There's also treasure in here.



Chrono gets it, as he'll never leave the party and I always want my stuck-in-party guy to hit hard.



There's a balcony on the other side with a couple of rooms. We fight a Diablo on the way over.



On these stairs, if the text box weren't blocking them, you could see the new enemies, the Viper.



I'll have a better shot and more to say about them later.



But here's Frog hitting a critical!



But they can drop Athenian Waters.





We interrupt a trio of monsters during their dinner. Man, I'd hate to get killed while I was eating.



Disguises?



So the monsters have been impersonating people? Good to know.



Yeah, they're the repulsive ones.

Says the guy who recorded a belch for an Earthbound LP.





Hmm. So it's not the Chancellor himself that's an evil dick, but he's being impersonated. Even so, not surprising. Chancellors don't seem to fare very well in video games.



Just what does that accomplish for you, by the by?



Diablo: Devout church-goer and worker.



He actually goes off somewhere, too. It's not one of those cases where he leaves the room and disappears completely.



We follow him inside.



Oh, no, they got the King, too! And another soldier. But, who cares? I think soldiers come in Cracker Jack boxes or something.



Mission accomplished! She's right over there.



But why aren't you saving her? Unless walking in place is a rescue maneuver I'm unaware of.



You wouldn't think that if you'd seen the porn I stole from them, Majesty.



Well, now, what seems off about this?



Yakra? Barely knew 'im!



I suppose I can spare a couple of minutes.



The other chest has an Ether in it.



When you try to leave this room...



Gasp! They're monsters!



Here's a better shot of the Viper. They're weak to all elements, and have 90 HP. They attack by biting you for small damage, or by using a bite that can also inflict Poison. Poison is...Barely something we'll see in game, and when we do, it's not worth worrying about.



Just as the description of the attack says, Flamethrower can hit enemies who are in a line with each other. It costs 1 MP and Lucca has pretty good Magic, so these two don't stand a chance.





After the fight, Frog learns Slurp Slash, which we'll see next update.



However, Chrono and Frog learned their first Dual Tech, and just wait until you see this bad motherfucker.



Remember the shrine that Diablo mentioned? It's not exactly hidden, but if you're rushing around, you might miss this entrance.





Well, at least it's not one of those unfun churches where you get up, sit down, kneel, and not sing.



I like to imagine this song, despite the background music, as an inspiring sea shanty or something.



We've heard about the Fiendlord before, but now we've finally a name to put to the title.



The other chest contains a Guardian Bangle.



Lucca isn't exactly quick, so she had Chrono's old headband to help her out. It would be the logical next step to give her the Speed Belt, which adds +2 to Speed, but she needs help not being crushed. A +2 Stamina boosts equals to +2 Defense.





This must be Magus; he doesn't look so impressive to me.





Sing on, fucker. I'll meet you at the chorus.







Before we can get to the next room, we've a pair of Vipers to avoid. Nagas are also up there.



They immediately regret the decision to engage in battle, as well as every decision leading up to that.







Frog and Lucca level up from this fight.





We hit this save point, use a Shelter (no cool sprite of the Shelter itself; we just use it and everyone recovers HP and MP) and save up.



Next time, we'll finish this son of a bitch out. Stay tuned!