Extrapolations for Chrono Break

[Thought]

We knew almost nothing about the canceled third canonical game of the series except its name (actually, I think that was the only thing we knew); however, not much has been said about that so I thought I’d go ahead and throw the obvious out there. The title of the game reveals to us an item and its guiding concept.

In Chrono Trigger there was the titular item, which could be used to save Crono. Same with in Chrono Cross, except this time to save Schala. Given this pattern, it seems likely that in the third game there would have been a Chrono Break item that could have been employed to save someone.

The guiding concept of each game, however, is also revealed in the title. In Chrono Trigger the party focuses on an end goal of triggering a change to the timeline (and thus the use of the Chrono Trigger to save Crono is an analogy in minor of this). In Chrono Cross, there is a focus on crossing between dimensions and eventually crossing them into a single unified whole (and the formation of the Chrono Cross itself hints at the eventual ideal outcome of the game, the merging of the two dimensions). In short, “Trigger” and “Cross” can be understood as both noun and verb, both object within the game and an action within the game. Thus is seems likely that Chrono Break would have been the same: a “break” as an item and a “break” as an action.

At this point this modest speculation, however, would have to degrade into wild speculation to really go any further. But to offer a singular possibility, since a trigger is the start of something, and a crossing indicates continuation, it seems that a break would be the cessation of that. What would get “stopped” in the is utterly unknown, but given Lavos’ appearance in the first two games, it seems likely that he would be the threat that finally ends (though I have no idea how it would have made a comeback yet again to be broken).

[Mr Bekkler]

When I think of a timeline breaking, I think about things happening in a convoluted and unnatural order. Like (to an extent) Benjamin Button maybe, time reversing while perception remains linear, which I think would be a clean and quick way for Lavos to come back into the mix, perhaps as a Death Devourer or some other sort of new incarnation.

[utunnels]

Good theory.

It would be better if Lavos never comes back, again. LOL
Perhaps human versus human is a better idea, for example, Dalton can replace Blethasar to be the main antagonist.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Wait. Belthasar was a protagonist? 

[Thought]

Just to empahsise, I think everything I am about to say reaches that "wild speculation" level. Which is to say, it is probably all bunk.

@ Bekkler: aye. Personally I figure that if Break had been made, it would have involved a breakdown of the timeline in general. While the TD threatened to consume Space-Time, it seemed like this would have been a collapse of the entire structure. Sort of like the White Light in the 5th season of the new Dr. Who: it wouldn't just kill things, it would stop them from having ever been.

@ utunnels: I suspect if a CB game had been made, they would have essentially pulled another CC. Which is to say, while Lavos would have been included, it wouldn't be clear main enemy. As Bekkler suggested, it might be that if the game focused on an unstable universe (for lack of a better word to get at temporal and dimensional breakdowns), then just as the game is getting resolved our old screechy pal pops out of nothingness to attempt to get one more stab at killing everything. But I suspect "human v human" would be the main focus of the game. Or, at least, human-like beings v human-like beings (starky may have been a hint that they were thinking about expanding the "world" in which the game was played to include a galactic scale). Though Dalton as an antagonist would probably be more for an interquel than a sequel. Just like they'd probably give us a new cast, I'd think the main villains would be largely different as well.

@ Boo: Belthasar was a punk. I'm not sure he counts as an antagonist, protagonist, or just a reagent, or if he can even be so classified. Well, he's f-ing insane, but beyond that, who knows...

[Syna]

IMHO I think Lavos should remain a presence -- it is a kind of foil for humanity, and proves to be a very powerful one for the series. I'm not sure if it would feel sufficiently Chrono without Lavos.

I admit that I don't see a way to do that without it being completely hackneyed, as the Time Devourer was pushing it; but one option would be to delve into more of Lavos' mysteries, or, to go with the suggested humanity-centric theme, to use Lavos to explore questions about humanity's future rather than act as a looming threat.

Hah, @Boo, I am also fond of the Belthasar is At Least Partially A Raging Megalomaniac characterization. IMHO he is a much more intriguing and deep character that way. I like my Gurus of Reason crazy!

Another thought I've had, and one that may play into the fanfic idea I'm playing with, is that Gaspar was the characters' "guide" for CT and Belthasar kind of served that function for CC. That would suggest Melchior as a guide for CB; "life" dovetails nicely with a more humanity-focused plot. Melchior didn't have much of a role in CC that I observed, and I'd love to see more of him.

[Mr Bekkler]

Another thought I've had, and one that may play into the fanfic idea I'm playing with, is that Gaspar was the characters' "guide" for CT and Belthasar kind of served that function for CC. That would suggest Melchior as a guide for CB; "life" dovetails nicely with a more humanity-focused plot. Melchior didn't have much of a role in CC that I observed, and I'd love to see more of him.

That's actually really cool and would work with my stated "reverse/broken time Death Devourer" idea above.

People would be coming back from the dead all over the place. Babies disappearing, presumably being "unborn". Physical healed wounds and scars open back up. That'd make for one CRAZY apocalypse scenario, and would inevitably have some great big-picture healing the world (environmentalist/humanist) themes.
 

[Lady Marle]

I agree with Bekkler. It's kind of something I've thought about a similar type of thing. I think Lavos should remain present in the Chrono games, maybe not directly but an essence, you know? It was a parasite. Parasites don't disappear so easy and spread rapidly. In the current fan-sequel I'm writing "Chrono Sovereign", Lavos's essence is the main evil. Its desire to consume and destroy the world infects those of weak mind and soul and transforms them, hence continuing to spread destruction and chaos throughout the ages.

I always envisioned Chrono Break as being sort of the connector of CC and CT in a sequel sense. In CC, it's a world where Crono, Lucca, and Marle are presumed dead, what if that wasn't 'supposed' to happen? I kind of envisioned the Chrono Break being a way to reset certain events in history and dimensions to heal the world so to speak.

[Acacia Sgt]

That's actually really cool and would work with my stated "reverse/broken time Death Devourer" idea above.

People would be coming back from the dead all over the place. Babies disappearing, presumably being "unborn". Physical healed wounds and scars open back up. That'd make for one CRAZY apocalypse scenario, and would inevitably have some great big-picture healing the world (environmentalist/humanist) themes.
 

Oh man, time being reversed... that'd be very scary to imagine...

But would make for a totally cool idea! Heh, I like it!

Problem I see... would be how it would be possible for stuff like the dead coming back and such, even if time were to flow backwards...?

[Mr Bekkler]

The same way it's possible to have an Egg that let's you travel through time? I don't understand the question.

[Acacia Sgt]

The same way it's possible to have an Egg that let's you travel through time? I don't understand the question.

Well, your idea was around...

Like (to an extent) Benjamin Button maybe, time reversing while perception remains linear,

People would be coming back from the dead all over the place. Babies disappearing, presumably being "unborn". Physical healed wounds and scars open back up. That'd make for one CRAZY apocalypse scenario, and would inevitably have some great big-picture healing the world (environmentalist/humanist) themes.
 

That'd be it. Perceptions remains the same while time reverses. With idea of dead reviving and people then becoming 'unborn'... I don't get that either...

[Mr Bekkler]

Oh, well I was just tossing out ideas

[Thought]

Acaia, if I am understanding Bekkler correctly, then it would be because the defining events were undone.

For example, a child's timeline looks like this: gestation, birth, childhood. If time runs backwards, then the child's timeline might look like this instead: childhood, birth, gestation. If this is a localized effect, the child would have gone backwards in time while everyone else went forwards. Thus, from the general perspective, the child's birth would have been undone. Hence, unborn. As for the living dead, similar instance. Of course, we might also imagine that these defining moments might be entirely erased. So the dead person's timeline might have originally looked like: live, die, remain dead. Under the new order, they would have lived, ---, and thus "remaining dead" would be rewritten.

Of course, as noted, all this enters into the realm of wild (but fun) speculation.

[Manly Man]

Hence, the username 'Thought.'

Kinda a lame idea, but my first thought was that the resilient little Time Devourer, although what was left of it physically had been destroyed, the last of its essence had been spread among choice people for 'safekeeping', sort of. Lavos would have trusted the remainder of its essence to these people (human, Mystic, any others that might be put in), knowing that at least one of them would be able to utilize this power and amplify this strength, whether it would be done by killing the other possessors and taking their 'gift', or by simply gaining strength through more mundane means. Either way, at a certain point in the storyline, regardless of how strong they are, the essence inside of them would begin to rebel and take over the possessor, becoming a new being with at least most of its power back, and it wouldn't be until then that they would have a chance to actually fight Lavos, since it wouldn't have bothered showing itself until it deemed the time was right.

Just to make things easily familiarized, the 'gift' would have been spread throughout time, and there would only be a couple people at most for each era to be 'blessed.' Maybe something like Ayla's grandson, a lone shepherdess from the Middle Ages, a sailor and a mercenary that are from the present, a technician from the future, and a medicine woman from the Dark Ages. Obviously, time travel would be involved, considering the fact that there would be people from all those different eras, and it seems to be a favorite thing of Lavos's to mess with time anyway. Given that you could also choose to either let the other 'blessed' ones you meet to live or kill them, there would be an almost infinite amount of endings, especially if you were given the choice to play as one from whichever timeline you'd like.

[Licawolf]

People would be coming back from the dead all over the place. Babies disappearing, presumably being "unborn". Physical healed wounds and scars open back up. That'd make for one CRAZY apocalypse scenario, and would inevitably have some great big-picture healing the world (environmentalist/humanist) themes.
 

This kinda made me think of Philip K. Dick's Counter-Clock World... I always found stories about reversed time taken literally a little too disturbing for my liking, he he

Maybe the Chrono Break is an artifact that breaks apart the dimensions again, for some reason. The fusion was done unproperly, the ideal timeline was not so ideal, or there were some unplanned consequences. Maybe Balthazar's crazy scheme backfired. There could be a lesson about the consequences of playing god with the lives of so many people.  maybe Kid and Schala get separated into different persons again, hence the theme of breaking apart... dunno, just playing around with the idea.