Part 12: Update Twelve: Sewer Sidequesting

Update Twelve: Sewer Sidequesting

Howdy, folks! Last time, on Chrono Trigger, we traveled Site 16, destroying the mutants who lived there, and making our way to Arris Dome. Inside the Dome, we found the people living there are starving atop their stores of food, as they don't have the strength to fight the monsters to retrieve the food. We bravely volunteered to head down there and find the food for them, and there's a super computer down there with information that could help us figure out not where we are, but what happened to this era. Today, instead of doing that, we're going to be traversing the nearby Abandoned Sewers, so let's bounce.



If those people haven't starved to death yet, they'll live while we hit the sewer.



And if they do starve to death while we're gone, then that's one less worry on our minds.





As we climb into the sewers, this odd little fellow flaps on screen.



Krawlie? I wonder if he's the Splinter to a group of mutants down here.



I hope he is, so I can learn kung-fu from him.



Something tells me these aren't his mutant students.



And that fucker in the water pops out, too. He's an asshole.



These little guys have 160 HP to their names, and are weak to Shadow (which we still don't have).



Dondragos down there have 138 HP and are weak to Light, and can cast a couple of different kinds of spells. The bubble they're shooting out is the Water spell.





It's not super impressive, but it is the first instance of it that we'll see.



Dondragos are the more dangerous of these two, despite having lower health and a weakness we can hit. The Egg Oozes just slap you and take it like the French from Fire Whirl.



Hell, Egg Oozes don't like magic in general.



Or is Lucca just that good with her Flamethrower?



We're also getting a good chunk of exp down here. The monsters here are a little tougher than what we'll be seeing for a bit yet, but nothing too powerful.



And the first chest is $600, which is the least of the loot we'll find down here.



Fights are pretty frequent down here, so if you come here now, expect a level for everyone.



After clearing up those guys, we're treated to a scene of these two.



I feel the potential for a Silent Hill 2 joke, but not the drive.



These two are kind of like Biggs and Wedge in Final Fantasy VIII.





We'll be seeing these two a little more down here.





We follow them, as they're going the right way. They provide small hints and stuff to show us the way through puzzles.





Don't worry, ladies. We're going to crush everything down here.



Seriously; there are some spots here where you might get into trouble, but for the most part, if you keep your health up, you'll be fine.





Ooh, a document! Last time we read one of these, we found the secret to destroying a tank.



4.

Itchy.
Tasty.





If I knew things would be like this, I'd have taken the guillotine any day of the week. Think I'll go out with a good, loud scream--see how the soggy freaks like that!



So we've got our gimmick for this section of the sewer. If we make too much noise, enemies will attack.



However, that doesn't restrict us from running or anything. As you'll see there is a kitty here; there are other things around that will make noise if you interact with them, so you can just avoid them and rush through this section in less than twenty seconds.



But...



Kitty!



WHY HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME KITTEN



Dondragos can also hit you with Lightning, which smarts a bit. This and Water are their only attacks, and the girls fare better against it than Chrono does.



However, Lucca is more than willing to help Chrono get revenge.



If you kick the can into the bucket, more Dondragos appear.



As does interacting with the cheese. I don't remember what you do with it, but I think you eat it. Can someone in the thread inform me on this?



Edit: Shortly after posting the update, Derek Barona, Some Numbers, and The n00b Avenger all informed me that interacting with the cheese summons a rat, who swings by and squeaks, snitching you out to the other monsters.



Hey, alright, a save point. The boss must be near.



This one is the biggest trick down here; save points make a high pitched tone when you enter them. Apparently, this is an actual noise that everything can hear.



And the save point disappears after the fight, so you can't even save or pop a Shelter. It's actually a really neat trick and possibly my favorite thing down here. It's something you probably won't realize will happen unless you've been here before, as who honestly thinks about the save point noise as being something more than an indication that you're able to save?



You can actually walk past these Oozes without having to fight them.







However, it appears there's nothing we can do here.



And since this is a video game, clearly murdering the enemies around is the correct option.



Actually, it isn't. There's a hidden passage here.



Well, hidden by virtue of the camera angle. I think Chrono and crew could see it just fine from where they are.



It lets us get to this switch and flip it, opening that door.



And we get to head through another "hidden" spot.



Which lets us come out here.



And leads us to another scene with these two.



I'm kind of surprised we don't see a shot of one frog hitting the other. It seems like the kind of thing this game would do.



You're a frog, can't you jump up there?



Or one of you could stand on the other and flip it.





I included that .gif just because I like it. I don't know why.



And they run off again.



North of where we came out of that door, we spot a treasure chest, and the Egg Oozes that we first met when we came in the Sewers themselves.



This thing is pretty cool, or so I've been told. I've never used it much myself, but I can see why it'd be very handy and useful for most of the game.



That 50% counter rate isn't just for physical attacks, either. From what I can tell, any sort of attack can be countered, except for maybe a few we'll see down the line. I don't know a ton about this thing, but I equip it on Chrono.



And to the right are these two chuckleheads.





I'm going to post the shots for this next section of dialog, just so you don't think I'm trying to pull foolsies on you.















And then the Lookout flees, while Krawlie does this for a little bit.





Krawlie clearly doesn't expect us to be here, listening, but it doesn't really throw him off his stride. He's ready to throw down.

In the SNES version, he was called Sir Krawlie, which I think is an infinitely superior name.



And now we get to throw down with Sir Krawlie. If you want to see it in video, click here.



When he speaks the line, "I'll mash you to goo!" it's the indication he's about to use this attack, which is his most dangerous.



It'll automatically reduce a character to a single hit point. Thankfully, your characters are quick enough that healing won't be an issue, but if this comes at a bad time, someone could get killed.



Sir Krawlie is weak to Shadow, but even if we had it, we don't need it.





As he only has 500 HP and three people whaling on him.



This is his other attack, where he smashes the shit out of you.



It does a fair amount of damage, but with your health kept high, you'll be fine.



Before long, Sir Krawlie goes down, and we gain 100 exp and $500.





South of there brings us to another ladder.



And the real reason I came down here.



A small Attack boost from a new sword for Chrono.



Despite the name and the description, there is no Light element attached to this blade. It's just a new sword, with no elemental properties. I came to get this sword solely because I thought it was an elemental blade. It'll still be helpful, but not as helpful as I expected.



Flipping this switch opens up a new bridge, which will come in handy later.





We come out here, near another Dome and a bigass mountain.







Whoa, hey, a computer. Maybe we can learn something here.



...Or not. I guess we can't do shit with this computer. Assume I made a joke about Windows 8 or some other bad OS.



The computer flickers, but nothing comes of it.



What in the fuck is this? Does this guy, dressed like fucking Merlin or some shit, seriously live in the terrible Future with some big blue tadpole looking motherfucker, hidden past a dangerous sewer, all by himself?

Jesus Christ, I can hear the fanfiction mills churning.



Oh, God, he's lamenting over a woman!



Whoa, hey, don't yell at me. I'm just calling it like I sees it.



You know I now have no option but to go there.



Seriously, man, how can I avoid this place now? He's practically putting a bomb collar around my neck that will explode if I don't reach the peak.



"Lick me!"



...Uh, I have no idea what those are.



Must...Resist...Wang...Jokes...



Says the guy as he's posting on whatever forum still exists here. Probably something from GameFAQs, like their Poll of the Day board or that weird fanfiction board they have.





That does it for the Keeper's Dome. We've been fed a few more threads here, but nothing that will have a pay off for a while. Just keep those things he mentioned in the back of your mind.



And while the people in Arris Dome starve to death, we're going to climb a mountain.



Oh, yeah, so scary, no wonder we can't climb up here.



It's hard to tell through a still shot, but there is a fierce wind blowing here. There's no music, just the sound of the wind blowing.



Eventually, a massive gust of wind blows us off the mountain.



We've done all we can over here, so back to Arris Dome.



And with those bridges we extended, we now have a quick and easy path back through the sewers.



The Thunder Blade has a new color with it, but still no elemental property. I'm so sad.



This is still a trap. However, it's still tempting to hit it, since it's a save point in an RPG.









Before heading below the Dome, we rest up (but we're still hungry).



And next time, we'll head down below Arris Dome.

Stay tuned!