Part 31: Era of Ambition

We've explored the rest of this wonderful kingdom, so let's explore the capital!

Zeal Palace



The music is...different. Definitely not the lighthearted tune we've had before.



Which makes THIS, the center of the universe.

This guy's a tad arrogant.



We have to go through the Queen to reach the Ocean Palace. You know, if we had any interest in doing so.



Now that its exact location has been found, the Ocean Palace will be built.

Like, say, if that mysterious limitless energy source at the bottom of the ocean may end up being dangerous or something. Surely it's not that bad, though...



If only Janus would open up to others...

Pretty much repeating that Janus distrusts everyone outside his sister and cat.



It looks like Schala's, but it doesn't glow.

Hmm.



But just between us, she probably won't give you the time of day.

We've already learned a decent bit about the Ocean Palace, so I'm sure other people here will be more than glad to tell us about the Mammon Machine.



Yep, already found them.



He's a drifter... He's not one of us Enlightened Ones, nor of the Earthbound Ones either. Hmmm...

Doesn't really leave many options.



Umm! Thanks!



Phew... Thank you!



If we go back to Kajar, we can scratch a Nu to make it cough up a Magic Tab.

I'm too lazy to backtrack though so I'm not gonna bother.



It's as if he knows the future! How eerie...

Hey, we know the future too! A giant space porcupine pops out from the ground and destroys the world until it's nothing but mutants and robots and... hey, where're you going?



Uh, you can say that.



sure why not

Oh, you're just like me! But the Queen ordered me to burn this sapling I received from the Guru of Life. He said it was a magical sapling, with powers to cure the environment.



The Queen sounds like a jerk, so plant it.

You're right! Even if it IS the Queen's command, the Guru of Life gave it to me. I can't burn it... I'm going to grow it with love. Someday it may save the environment.



This actually opens up a side quest. Telling her to burn it would simply mean we couldn't do the side quest until later.

Granted, I won't be doing the side quest until later anyway, so this doesn't really matter.



How strange that the 3 Gurus who guide Zeal have all disappeared.

Yeah, it's strange that the three people that the populace may love more than the queen have been mysteriously deposed. Hmmmmmm...





A...wait, what? The name of the game is actually relevant? You mean our main character's name isn't Chrono "Crono" Trigger?



He's in a bad mood so you should avoid him.

Dalton seems the type to always be in a bad mood.



And there will be no fear or sadness, just eternal peace.

A reminder that Zeal doesn't exist in 600AD or later, sooooooooo...



No pain, no gain... Zeal, too, was born out of much sacrifice and work.

I wonder if this has anything to do with a never-mentioned King of Zeal, or some other tragedy. The game never really elaborates on Queen Zeal's backstory.



The power of Lavos can make hopes and dreams come true...

That's...what!?

Oh boy. I mean, I think we all knew that the power these fools were using was actually that of Lavos, but it's "nice" to have that confirmed. Though it's unfortunate that we need to kill their energy source, for the sake of the future.



Apparently there's also a Melchior in 12000BC. Since two people can't have the same name in a game as a simple coincidence, 1000AD's Melchior must be a descendent. Still, a neat little detail.



Oh, you will some day.
Big sister Doreen's at Enhasa again.
Yeah... That's 'cause she likes dreams.
I like the wind better! Whoosh!

Also Masa and Mune are here. Sure, why not.

That similar person we met in Enhasa was their sister, Doreen.



You may find THE WAY... That is, if you could pass aeons of time at the forbidden palace, or the Sun Keep.

Trust us, passing by aeons of time is a thing we excel at.



There are three other areas to explore, first of which is the hallway to where the Queen resides.





Looks like we're not going in that way.



Though that door does look familiar...



Might as well check out that Mammon Machine, then.



He'll destroy himself, and those he loves.

Wow! Maybe you should be the prophet here.





Yes:

I thought so! Feel the flow of the might Lavos's power? Oh...I feel faint.

No:

Oh, but you MUST feel them! The last of the great Lavos's emanations!



Uh...Well then.



And you guys never thought to think of what would happen if something went wrong? Like, if the "limitless" energy has a limit, or if the creature gets angry and retaliates...?



The Japanese version states here that the only people who can control that energy are the three Gurus and Schala.



Melchior, who has studied much about Lavos, was in charge of the plans. But then he disappeared...

Apparently this rock has some sort of power that interacts with the energy of Lavos, or something, able to harness that energy into something to fuel the entire kingdom.



I am thinking that, actually.



Just between us, I heard that ANYONE who opposes her, and not just the Earthbound Ones, vanishes.

Is it a side effect of being exposed to such power, or has said power revealed the true intentions and desires of the queen?



The ultimate dream of eternal youth and life, is now possible! Oh, almighty Queen, our kingdom of Zeal will reign forever!

A shame we don't see this guy in future eras, then.





The last area has the bedrooms.



When she chants, the pendant glows.

The left branch has a NPC that explains the relationship between the Mammon Machine and Schala's Pendant.

The right branch...

LISTEN TO THIS

Schala's Theme



There's Janus and his cat, which can only mean that woman is...





The black wind...
You feel it too? Don't worry, it'll be alright.



What is it?



I wish I could be with you always... But mother has other plans.





Still I can't... Janus, I'm sorry.





A random woman appears from off-screen.



All right.







Miss Schala, please hurry. If you're late, I'll be punished!
Oh yes, I'm sorry.

So that's Schala. The music alone says there's something special about her, and beyond that all the NPCs talk a lot about her and how powerful her magic is. It seems she has a major role in the Queen's plans to make use of Lavos's energy, likely due to her ability to use the Mammon Machine.

Janus meanwhile does not trust his mother at all. It's pretty likely now that her interactions with Lavos has warped her somehow.



The important takeaway from all of this is that the cat's name is Alfador. This is very important for very important reasons.

Zeal Palace



We can now follow Schala to the Queen's Chamber.



It seems the key to this door is the pendant.



...Unfortunately, ours doesn't seem to do the trick.





Guess we'll need to find an alternative. Though these two NPCs now have new additional dialogue...



I heard that when Schala communes with the Mammon Machine, her pendant starts to glow.

Another NPC also mentioned the striking similarity between Schala's pendant and Marle's.



Worth a try, right?



That...seemed to do something.

Also, there's an ending that literally can only be accessed after watching Schala unlock the door, but before using our pendant on the Mammon Machine. No other ending is so strict in its timing, oddly enough. Don't worry, I'll show that off next, since the other ending's a bit spoilery still.



At any rate, it seems this did the trick!





I had Robo here because of this insightful line. This pendant's more powerful than we thought...

At this point, I swap in Marle and Lucca for dialogue.



It's time we meet this queen.





How DARE you think you could oppose me, you...foreigners! You're worse than the Gurus!



Yes ma'am! By your leave...





Boss Battle 1



Golem is an interesting boss fight. This one's actually optional to win, but might as well, right? 7000HP, standard defenses. Starts off using Iron Orb to halve current HP.





Its trick is copying the element you use against it.



So using Fire encourages it to use Fire attacks, and physical attacks net physical attacks. This means it can be a bit difficult to keep up with its strong offense, but it also means there's a couple ways to cheese it.



The first is to make use of gear that reduces elemental damage, like those Ruby Vests we have, and use solely that element against the Golem so it can't do much to us.









The second is to stunlock it by alternating elements. When Golem changes weakness, it also resets its turn, so as long as you alternate at a good pace Golem will never act.



Well, other than its final attack.



A foe that's utterly dangerous until you learn to exploit its gimmick, then it's a pussycat.

SILENCE





Anyway this is why our victory doesn't matter.



But by the time we're through with you, you'll be begging us to end your suffering.





-----



The gang's trapped in a nasty little pillar. This is bad.

Schala's Theme



Our savior...?





I think it's useless. Besides, if they escape, you'll be in trouble.
Don't worry about me. They just might be able to rescue the Gurus.





Whew!



And if you can, please rescue Melchior! He was sent to the Mountain of Woe for opposing the Queen.



Sounds reasonable to me. Melchior probably can tell us more about what's going on in this era and perhaps give us a clue as to how to stop Lavos. Also, considering Schala risked her hide to save ours, we owe her one.



Zeal Palace



Well, crap.





......!





Even the cat's willing to stand up to the prophet.



But in return, you WILL cooperate, Schala!



-----



Now Schala! After I throw them in, I want you to seal the portal shut.
N, no! You can't make me!









-----

Rhythm of Wind, Sky, and Earth





Welp, looks like we're not going back in that way.



There was something odd about how the prophet reacted to Schala and Janus. Personally, I think he was just won over by the cat's plea more than anything.



Robo comes to the same conclusion, Ayla mentions that Lavos might be weaker in that era due to its power being sapped away, and Frog's still worried about Magus, which, seriously who cares at this point, we've got bigger fish to fry right now.







Reminder that this area is optional, so chances are this won't make sense if you skipped it unless you have Robo with you, who might have better knowledge of that era's mysterious doors (despite being deactivated since 1999AD or so).

Also you can have Frog and Ayla, in which case Frog says something along the lines of, "You've certainly seen these doors elsewhere, yeah?"





But it looks like we can now open that with our pendant.

Buuuuuut... That's far from the only thing we can open now. Remember there were many such doors and chests with that emblem... And we can open them all now... And get lots and lots of great loot...

Next time, we get everything.