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16
Dream Splash VI - Dream of Zeal [2018] / Voting: Category [Hacking and Interactive]
« on: September 23, 2018, 05:36:31 pm »
Let the voting of 2018 Dream Splash commence! This is for the Hacking and Interactive category.
The winner shall gain the custom Prodigy of Keeper Dome title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
The winner shall gain the custom Prodigy of Keeper Dome title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
17
Dream Splash VI - Dream of Zeal [2018] / Voting: Category [Sound and Music]
« on: September 23, 2018, 05:35:31 pm »
Let the voting of 2018 Dream Splash commence! This is for the Sound and Music category.
The winner shall gain the custom Synergist of Marbule title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
Each user can vote 3 times.
PS - CptOvaltine automatically wins this category. However, please vote and shower him with your votes so he can bask in the glory of his composing abilities. This dude absolutely deserves it.
The winner shall gain the custom Synergist of Marbule title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
Each user can vote 3 times.
PS - CptOvaltine automatically wins this category. However, please vote and shower him with your votes so he can bask in the glory of his composing abilities. This dude absolutely deserves it.
18
Dream Splash VI - Dream of Zeal [2018] / Voting: Category [Written Word: Short Form]
« on: September 23, 2018, 05:33:01 pm »
Let the voting of 2018 Dream Splash commence! This is for the Written Word: Short Form category.
The winner shall gain the custom Poet of El Nido title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
The winner shall gain the custom Poet of El Nido title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
19
Dream Splash VI - Dream of Zeal [2018] / Voting: Category [Written Word: Long Form]
« on: September 23, 2018, 05:32:02 pm »
Let the voting of 2018 Dream Splash commence! This is for the Written Word: Long Form category.
The winner shall gain the custom Chronicler of Time title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
Each user can vote 3 times.
The winner shall gain the custom Chronicler of Time title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
Each user can vote 3 times.
20
Dream Splash VI - Dream of Zeal [2018] / Voting: Category [2d Art]
« on: September 23, 2018, 05:29:30 pm »
Let the voting of 2018 Dream Splash commence! This is for the 2d Art category.
The winner shall gain the custom Artist of Termina title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
Each user can vote 3 times.
The winner shall gain the custom Artist of Termina title until the 2019 Dream Splash.
Each user can vote 3 times.
21
Submissions / New Remixes
« on: June 18, 2018, 10:42:50 am »
Hey all,
I wanted to make a quick thread to post new remixes and their associated links. Zeality, you can use this for your semi-regular updates if you'd like.
Mix - Chrono Trigger OC ReMix by Andrew Thompson, Kristy Mezines...: "Elements of Time" [medley] (#3746)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ELDCrSmSIE&list=WL&index=9
I wanted to make a quick thread to post new remixes and their associated links. Zeality, you can use this for your semi-regular updates if you'd like.
Mix - Chrono Trigger OC ReMix by Andrew Thompson, Kristy Mezines...: "Elements of Time" [medley] (#3746)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ELDCrSmSIE&list=WL&index=9
22
General Discussion / Boo's Thread of Multiple Existential Crisises
« on: June 03, 2018, 01:49:35 am »
I've toyed with the idea of this post for weeks. I ebb and flow both for against the post, as I don't want the message to be misinterpreted. It's so easy to misconstrue messages in digital format; there's no voice inflection or true human emotion within to drive the truth of the message.
Regardless, I'm going to get these thoughts off my chest. Please understand, these are late night musings. In the morning I recognize I'll feel differently. I'm a night person, and it's always at night I feel most alive, most creative, most isolated, most vulnerable. This isn't a cry for help, I'm not in any pain, it's just the continued working through my own existential views and trying to recognize what it means to be human in the human condition. I've touched upon these ideas with some of you, either in PM or email or thread, so hopefully it doesn't come off as too dark of a place to be thinking.
By why, in a world of seven billion people, do I feel so alone?
I don't ask this question directly only in my own condition. This is a question I think that many people feel... and it drives me mad in my pursuit of an answer that may never come. Maybe it's the human condition; it's something almost everyone suffers, but goddamn does life feel lonely as fuck. Even with a partner, that loneliness persists. Even with an entire familiar unit relying on you, it's a lonely road one walks alone.
I'm framing this as a sort of existential question, but it's a question I've wrestled with for two decades or more. I remember being about ten years old and crying myself to sleep thinking about loneliness as a whole, my own loneliness, and how so many others likely feel the same way. I remember wondering if the God I had been told about was false, wondering what made my God and more real than the other Gods out there. It was heartbreaking then and the memory of that realization still stings. It has nothing to do with a deity, but rather it's about the human condition that persists regardless of that facet of human pursuit.
We crave connectivity. We turn to the internet, but so many of the relationships are touch and go or fleeting, and they're very impersonal. They're real, but they lack that touch of reality. It's all binary. We all flock to Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat in pursuit of connectivity, and it's all pointless and false vanity and feeble attempts at chasing some sort of relationship with humanity. It's all we know these days. We keep checking our phones and we promise ourselves we'll stop but we KEEP DOING IT. We check and we check and there's nothing but we check and we check hoping it will be different. We say we'll quit and we don't. Hell, I don't even have a Facebook and I know this truth. It's why I gave it up about five years ago. Giving it up gave me freedom from unnecessary noise, but it's severely limiting when you are an outlier looking in.
Life feels like a train ride. We're surrounded by people that come and go at each stop. Then we wake up and we're at the end of the line and we're all alone in the cab. All alone. Not a soul in sight.
So many days I feel like I'm going through motions, through memorized routine. It's almost a dream; there's no point to it and it all feels random and pointless but we keep going because it's all we have or because we're told we have to ride it to it's rightful conclusion. We keep going because we chase that valuation of whatever we value and we hope for some kismet to make it all have worth and meaning that we didn't see until that magical moment.
We work all day, but what does any of it mean? We lose ourselves in the grind of money and pursuit of things and the whole routine is pointless. It's stupid and emotive and we overthink just like I'm doing now.
And here's the kicker: sometimes I love this loneliness. Like, it's both incredibly fulfilling on my creative aspect, I feel so many things that I would love to capture on paper (but fail). Some of these are even literal, visual scenes that play out but I am unable to capture them on paper. Then again they're horribly isolating on the other. And I keep coming back to that question: there are seven billion people, so why does anyone feel lonely? I feel like these emotions drive this creative epicenter to my persona, but at the same time eeks away at my sense of connectivity and in turn drives me into the Mountains of Madness, into the maw of Cthulhu or whatever unnamed entity awaits me.
Once I again, I'm not crying out, so please don't misinterpret this post. I fully recognize that it's sort of a dark place, and it's one I know (or rather believe) so many people suffer with. The question remains: why? SEVEN BILLION PEOPLE, almost everyone connected via technology. It's morbidly fascinating. It's almost an intangible feeling, but it's both beautiful and horrifying at the same time.
Anyway, that is all for today. Weight in below with your thoughts if you'd like.
EDIT: A few typos corrected.
EDIT2: I should add that this post now makes me think of the question as was presented to me in ~2007 for Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon. I was so excited for this game and the themes it claimed to tackle. However, in the end, although it explored themes of isolation and loneliness, it never really tackled it in the framework of today's standard. The game explored a single human, perhaps the last human, exploring humanity with AI and androids and engineered humans, and it did explore the theme of loneliness and survival in pursuit of another like oneself. But it was never framed against the modern day questions of loneliness among the entire human species at our fingertips; there were never seven billion (then six billion) people just beyond the horizon.
See the trailer below: If nothing else, my God the music is stellar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENhS2lhNk-c
Despite a planet so vast...
and populated by a countless number of people.
Why is that I'm so alone?
This is dedicated to those that share the sasme feeling of isolation.
Regardless, I'm going to get these thoughts off my chest. Please understand, these are late night musings. In the morning I recognize I'll feel differently. I'm a night person, and it's always at night I feel most alive, most creative, most isolated, most vulnerable. This isn't a cry for help, I'm not in any pain, it's just the continued working through my own existential views and trying to recognize what it means to be human in the human condition. I've touched upon these ideas with some of you, either in PM or email or thread, so hopefully it doesn't come off as too dark of a place to be thinking.
By why, in a world of seven billion people, do I feel so alone?
I don't ask this question directly only in my own condition. This is a question I think that many people feel... and it drives me mad in my pursuit of an answer that may never come. Maybe it's the human condition; it's something almost everyone suffers, but goddamn does life feel lonely as fuck. Even with a partner, that loneliness persists. Even with an entire familiar unit relying on you, it's a lonely road one walks alone.
I'm framing this as a sort of existential question, but it's a question I've wrestled with for two decades or more. I remember being about ten years old and crying myself to sleep thinking about loneliness as a whole, my own loneliness, and how so many others likely feel the same way. I remember wondering if the God I had been told about was false, wondering what made my God and more real than the other Gods out there. It was heartbreaking then and the memory of that realization still stings. It has nothing to do with a deity, but rather it's about the human condition that persists regardless of that facet of human pursuit.
We crave connectivity. We turn to the internet, but so many of the relationships are touch and go or fleeting, and they're very impersonal. They're real, but they lack that touch of reality. It's all binary. We all flock to Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat in pursuit of connectivity, and it's all pointless and false vanity and feeble attempts at chasing some sort of relationship with humanity. It's all we know these days. We keep checking our phones and we promise ourselves we'll stop but we KEEP DOING IT. We check and we check and there's nothing but we check and we check hoping it will be different. We say we'll quit and we don't. Hell, I don't even have a Facebook and I know this truth. It's why I gave it up about five years ago. Giving it up gave me freedom from unnecessary noise, but it's severely limiting when you are an outlier looking in.
Life feels like a train ride. We're surrounded by people that come and go at each stop. Then we wake up and we're at the end of the line and we're all alone in the cab. All alone. Not a soul in sight.
So many days I feel like I'm going through motions, through memorized routine. It's almost a dream; there's no point to it and it all feels random and pointless but we keep going because it's all we have or because we're told we have to ride it to it's rightful conclusion. We keep going because we chase that valuation of whatever we value and we hope for some kismet to make it all have worth and meaning that we didn't see until that magical moment.
We work all day, but what does any of it mean? We lose ourselves in the grind of money and pursuit of things and the whole routine is pointless. It's stupid and emotive and we overthink just like I'm doing now.
And here's the kicker: sometimes I love this loneliness. Like, it's both incredibly fulfilling on my creative aspect, I feel so many things that I would love to capture on paper (but fail). Some of these are even literal, visual scenes that play out but I am unable to capture them on paper. Then again they're horribly isolating on the other. And I keep coming back to that question: there are seven billion people, so why does anyone feel lonely? I feel like these emotions drive this creative epicenter to my persona, but at the same time eeks away at my sense of connectivity and in turn drives me into the Mountains of Madness, into the maw of Cthulhu or whatever unnamed entity awaits me.
Once I again, I'm not crying out, so please don't misinterpret this post. I fully recognize that it's sort of a dark place, and it's one I know (or rather believe) so many people suffer with. The question remains: why? SEVEN BILLION PEOPLE, almost everyone connected via technology. It's morbidly fascinating. It's almost an intangible feeling, but it's both beautiful and horrifying at the same time.
Anyway, that is all for today. Weight in below with your thoughts if you'd like.
EDIT: A few typos corrected.
EDIT2: I should add that this post now makes me think of the question as was presented to me in ~2007 for Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon. I was so excited for this game and the themes it claimed to tackle. However, in the end, although it explored themes of isolation and loneliness, it never really tackled it in the framework of today's standard. The game explored a single human, perhaps the last human, exploring humanity with AI and androids and engineered humans, and it did explore the theme of loneliness and survival in pursuit of another like oneself. But it was never framed against the modern day questions of loneliness among the entire human species at our fingertips; there were never seven billion (then six billion) people just beyond the horizon.
See the trailer below: If nothing else, my God the music is stellar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENhS2lhNk-c
Despite a planet so vast...
and populated by a countless number of people.
Why is that I'm so alone?
This is dedicated to those that share the sasme feeling of isolation.
23
Chrono Trigger Modification / Chrono Concepts - How Do You Picture the Next Chrono Game?
« on: May 16, 2018, 04:12:43 pm »
Hey all,
I'm sure there are countless threads on this, but I'm interested in hearing how others envision the next hypothetical Chrono game. Feel free to consider it as a new game on current gen platforms, or a ROM hack a la Crimson Echoes.
I've come up with two concepts, one of which should be familiar to some of you.
1.) Nu and Kilwala's Great Adventure
The first would be a more light-hearted sidequel to Chrono Trigger a la Rosencrantz and Guildersten Are Dead, which follows a group of time travelers hopping around time at the same time as Crono and company (and are thus the 'visitors' mentioned at the End of Time).
The idea was that the nu and kilwala from the OVA have their own adventure, constantly one step in front of, behind, or alongside the Chrono Trigger crew, often accidentally helping them and pushing the plot along.
Mauron, Kodokami, and I had discussed this to some degree a few years back, and even put some sprites together as a potential ROM-hack. The option wasn't to continue the Chrono series, but rather create a fairly low-level ROM-hack where new maps and resource creation would be a minimal lift. Most maps, enemy placements, and all that could simply be reused with no edits outside of event changes.
2. Chrono Phase
My second idea was an untitled sequel/interquel in that it follows events in the ideal timeline AFTER Chrono Cross' ending, but impacts the Chrono Trigger crew greatly and highlights their struggles with counter-time. I wanted it to be a "best of" kind of game, that takes some from Chrono Trigger, some from Chrono Cross, and adds in some new.
I also intended this to be a natural evolution in the time travel theme of the Chrono series. Chrono Trigger revolved around changing a single timeline. Chrono Cross revolved around two parallel universes, and this game revolved around revisiting previously erased timelines and adding another layer of time travel on already existing time travel.
The story starts in a new time era, but quickly revisits old eras and old friends. It also deals heavily with the unrealized plot points of Counter-Time and the Assassin of Time (from Chrono Cross). While exploring multiple mysterious attempts to make adjustments to the timeline, the party is forced to deal with other time travelers and the threat of Lavos' enmity.
Counter-time is explained as the ability to revisit timelines previously erased and discarded to the Darkness Beyond Time, allowing for story events in both previous Chrono Trigger timelines and Chrono Cross. Through this the party is confronted by the moral quandaries that time travel presents. They also are able to fall back to some of the Chrono Cross friends by revisiting the Chrono Cross timeline(s).
Events explore the following eras: post-65 million BC, 3 million BC, post-12000BC, post-600AD, post-1000AD, 1200AD, and post-2300AD. I say post to indicate that is is X amount of years after the events of Chrono Trigger. There are multiple events that also cover discarded timelines, but those are focalized events without worldmaps.
Playable characters included newcomer and protagonist Phase, Toma XXXIX, newcomer Ada from 2400AD (an agent of Balthasar and human avatar of FATE AI), Marle, Crono, Robo, and Schala. There were also two characters from Radical Dreamers/Chrono Cross.
A better understanding of the story is...
The idea is that Project Kid was successful in that it saved Schala from the Time Devourer, and the ideal timeline is created. After being freed, Schala travels to 2300AD and stops Balthasar and Project Kid, altering history (as it no longer serves a purpose -- her existence as the Time Devourer in the Darkness Beyond Time was outside of space-time). She warns Balthasar about the Assassin of Time and explains to him that the only way to save the universe from this metaphysical threat is to stop Project Kid, stopping El Nido from ever being created. She is then overcome with despair at having erased those millions of lives, and locks herself into a self-created pocket dimension in which she gives herself the a false perfect life, one that she can live in a dream El Nido with a dream Serge.
Thus, in this timeline, the events of Chrono Cross did occur, but were entirely undone... but Schala was still saved since the Darkness Beyond Time is beyond space-time and can't be affected by time travel; whatever happens there, happens. Still following?
The story actually follows a newcomer, Phase, a young archaeologist in 1200AD studying Guardia long after its fall. While exploring the ruins of Guardia Castle with a descendant of Toma, they find Marle's pendant (who is finally confirmed to be Doreen) and get caught up with Robo and Balthasar in this (yet another) version of 2300AD of the ideal timeline. Balthesar, having been stopped from creating Project Kid, has now established the Time Research Institute to help monitor space-time and keep it safe from farther incursions. Even in this new timeline, Lucca and Robo have joined Balthesar, and they've successfully tapped and enslaved the Frozen Flame to assist them. They monitor space-time "ripples" (changes in history) using their newest invention, the Chronoscope.
Throughout the story, there are sinister warnings against this Assassin of Time, and eventually the party is forced to retrieve Schala from her self-imposed exile in a false reality to understand what they're up against. She refuses to leave, preferring a false reality of her own making, but she explains in a turn of events what the Assassin of Time actually is.
She reveals that Lavos was a unique entity from beyond space and time, foregoing any sort of Lavos origin story in favor of it being a Cthulthu-esque monster from beyond imagination. It existed in a pocket dimension, manipulating and consuming both the planet and it's life in order to harvest and integrate genetic material to make itself stronger (as hinted at in Chrono Trigger). However, it was able to exist in a pocket dimension and thus see its own demise, and it set a plan in motion to save itself: it used the remains of Crono obliterated in the Ocean Palace disaster and instilled it with its own consciousnesses, creating a false human being. The plan was that this human (who wouldn't know that it was, in essence, Lavos-turned-human) - would live a human life, understand the strength/willpower of humanity, and then be reabsorbed by Lavos, giving itself the human experiences and thus those human strengths/values/willpower that can't be quantified by simple genetics. The only way this could work was if the Lavos-turned-human didn't realize what s/he was.
The imagery was a direct correlation to Jesus, in that Jesus was supposedly god-made-man. Phase, the hero, would in turn be Lavos-turned-human with religious allegory.
Phase, the protagonist, is this being, and ultimately rejects the call of Lavos and his eventually destiny as the Assassin of Time. He is devastated to learn that he is destined to become a part of Lavos and falls to despair, knowing that he will, in turn, help Lavos succeed.
Schala (who is also suffering from the knowledge that she was part of the Time Devourer and destroyed multiple timelines and millions of erased lives) and Phase bond and come to terms with their destines. Schala joins the party and they steel themselves for the future and take on the big bad. Another person, who I won't name, steps up to willfully become the Assassin of
Time and becomes the big bad for the last 1/4 of the game.
An individual does travel back to 3 million BC, revealing that all of the timeline incursions thus far were intentional. Phase is able to reject his calling to Lavos, so this individual decides to turn coat and become one with Lavos, becoming a flawed Assassin of Time. The heroes end up defeating this individual and everyone goes home.
The game ends with a coda showcasing Balthesar using the Chronoscope to realize that all this time travel is having negative effects on the structure of space-time, and he resolves to use his resources to present further changes to the timeline, for good or for bad.
Obviously there's too much to go into for one post, but that's the gist of it. I had some other ideas I was trying to incorporate:
1.) This idea that Serge really was another version of the Assassin of Time. His whole existence and contact with the Frozen Flame was actually fulfilling his prophecy as the Assassin of Time. Had Schala not erased El Nido (and Serge) from history, he would have eventually succumbed to his fate. She attempts to change the timeline multiple times to prevent this (since she is in love with Serge), but gives up, says eff it, and scraps the entire timeline in which El Nido exists. This is what causes her to fall into depression and isolate herself into a false reality.
2.) This idea that the Porre Republic (founded by Dalton and responsible for the Fall of Guardia) was propped up by Dalton, who was essentially immortal due to his contact with the Frozen Flame at the Ocean Palace Disaster event. The events in 1200AD ultimately take up a fairly large chunk of the story; it is like the 600AD of Chrono Trigger in regards to plot development and twists.
3.) The fall of Guardia is explored, with Crono and Marle (who are from post-1000AD, pre-1005AD) learn of this event and struggled with whether or not they should prevent it. We also learn how Dalton is able to manage this -- he holds an artifact from Zeal, the Forge. Whereas Gaspar has the Time Egg, Belthesar has the Epoch, Melchior had the Forge, which was lost when Zeal fell to the ocean. The Forge has quasi-life granting qualities and is intentionally left vague in description, although it allows for the manipulation and creation of life. Masa, Mune, and Doreen both fear and worship it, and Dalton is revealed to have used the Forge to corrupt the Masamune and overthrow Guardia. The question is, do Crono and Marle actually do anything when they learn of this?
3.) A later incomplete rewrite added a potential foil for Balthesar, his son Rouen, who exists in the new ideal timeline. He was an anti-hero character, akin to Magus, who had originally been used by a future version of our 2300AD Balthesar. His original role was to clean up various timeline incursions from post-Chrono Cross Schala and her attempts to manipulate history so that the Assassin of Time is never created. Rouen, meanwhile, has full control over counter-time and can travel to and fro multiple timelines at will, and his nefarious deeds are revealed to be his attempts to avoid a time loop paradox due to Balthasar's timeline tamperings. It's only at this point that we realize Balthasar hasn't actually had a son yet, and we learn that Rouen is from decades into the future. My attempt here was to better utilize the concept of counter-time.
I'm sure there are countless threads on this, but I'm interested in hearing how others envision the next hypothetical Chrono game. Feel free to consider it as a new game on current gen platforms, or a ROM hack a la Crimson Echoes.
I've come up with two concepts, one of which should be familiar to some of you.
1.) Nu and Kilwala's Great Adventure
The first would be a more light-hearted sidequel to Chrono Trigger a la Rosencrantz and Guildersten Are Dead, which follows a group of time travelers hopping around time at the same time as Crono and company (and are thus the 'visitors' mentioned at the End of Time).
The idea was that the nu and kilwala from the OVA have their own adventure, constantly one step in front of, behind, or alongside the Chrono Trigger crew, often accidentally helping them and pushing the plot along.
Mauron, Kodokami, and I had discussed this to some degree a few years back, and even put some sprites together as a potential ROM-hack. The option wasn't to continue the Chrono series, but rather create a fairly low-level ROM-hack where new maps and resource creation would be a minimal lift. Most maps, enemy placements, and all that could simply be reused with no edits outside of event changes.
2. Chrono Phase
My second idea was an untitled sequel/interquel in that it follows events in the ideal timeline AFTER Chrono Cross' ending, but impacts the Chrono Trigger crew greatly and highlights their struggles with counter-time. I wanted it to be a "best of" kind of game, that takes some from Chrono Trigger, some from Chrono Cross, and adds in some new.
I also intended this to be a natural evolution in the time travel theme of the Chrono series. Chrono Trigger revolved around changing a single timeline. Chrono Cross revolved around two parallel universes, and this game revolved around revisiting previously erased timelines and adding another layer of time travel on already existing time travel.
The story starts in a new time era, but quickly revisits old eras and old friends. It also deals heavily with the unrealized plot points of Counter-Time and the Assassin of Time (from Chrono Cross). While exploring multiple mysterious attempts to make adjustments to the timeline, the party is forced to deal with other time travelers and the threat of Lavos' enmity.
Counter-time is explained as the ability to revisit timelines previously erased and discarded to the Darkness Beyond Time, allowing for story events in both previous Chrono Trigger timelines and Chrono Cross. Through this the party is confronted by the moral quandaries that time travel presents. They also are able to fall back to some of the Chrono Cross friends by revisiting the Chrono Cross timeline(s).
Events explore the following eras: post-65 million BC, 3 million BC, post-12000BC, post-600AD, post-1000AD, 1200AD, and post-2300AD. I say post to indicate that is is X amount of years after the events of Chrono Trigger. There are multiple events that also cover discarded timelines, but those are focalized events without worldmaps.
Playable characters included newcomer and protagonist Phase, Toma XXXIX, newcomer Ada from 2400AD (an agent of Balthasar and human avatar of FATE AI), Marle, Crono, Robo, and Schala. There were also two characters from Radical Dreamers/Chrono Cross.
A better understanding of the story is...
The idea is that Project Kid was successful in that it saved Schala from the Time Devourer, and the ideal timeline is created. After being freed, Schala travels to 2300AD and stops Balthasar and Project Kid, altering history (as it no longer serves a purpose -- her existence as the Time Devourer in the Darkness Beyond Time was outside of space-time). She warns Balthasar about the Assassin of Time and explains to him that the only way to save the universe from this metaphysical threat is to stop Project Kid, stopping El Nido from ever being created. She is then overcome with despair at having erased those millions of lives, and locks herself into a self-created pocket dimension in which she gives herself the a false perfect life, one that she can live in a dream El Nido with a dream Serge.
Thus, in this timeline, the events of Chrono Cross did occur, but were entirely undone... but Schala was still saved since the Darkness Beyond Time is beyond space-time and can't be affected by time travel; whatever happens there, happens. Still following?
The story actually follows a newcomer, Phase, a young archaeologist in 1200AD studying Guardia long after its fall. While exploring the ruins of Guardia Castle with a descendant of Toma, they find Marle's pendant (who is finally confirmed to be Doreen) and get caught up with Robo and Balthasar in this (yet another) version of 2300AD of the ideal timeline. Balthesar, having been stopped from creating Project Kid, has now established the Time Research Institute to help monitor space-time and keep it safe from farther incursions. Even in this new timeline, Lucca and Robo have joined Balthesar, and they've successfully tapped and enslaved the Frozen Flame to assist them. They monitor space-time "ripples" (changes in history) using their newest invention, the Chronoscope.
Throughout the story, there are sinister warnings against this Assassin of Time, and eventually the party is forced to retrieve Schala from her self-imposed exile in a false reality to understand what they're up against. She refuses to leave, preferring a false reality of her own making, but she explains in a turn of events what the Assassin of Time actually is.
She reveals that Lavos was a unique entity from beyond space and time, foregoing any sort of Lavos origin story in favor of it being a Cthulthu-esque monster from beyond imagination. It existed in a pocket dimension, manipulating and consuming both the planet and it's life in order to harvest and integrate genetic material to make itself stronger (as hinted at in Chrono Trigger). However, it was able to exist in a pocket dimension and thus see its own demise, and it set a plan in motion to save itself: it used the remains of Crono obliterated in the Ocean Palace disaster and instilled it with its own consciousnesses, creating a false human being. The plan was that this human (who wouldn't know that it was, in essence, Lavos-turned-human) - would live a human life, understand the strength/willpower of humanity, and then be reabsorbed by Lavos, giving itself the human experiences and thus those human strengths/values/willpower that can't be quantified by simple genetics. The only way this could work was if the Lavos-turned-human didn't realize what s/he was.
The imagery was a direct correlation to Jesus, in that Jesus was supposedly god-made-man. Phase, the hero, would in turn be Lavos-turned-human with religious allegory.
Phase, the protagonist, is this being, and ultimately rejects the call of Lavos and his eventually destiny as the Assassin of Time. He is devastated to learn that he is destined to become a part of Lavos and falls to despair, knowing that he will, in turn, help Lavos succeed.
Schala (who is also suffering from the knowledge that she was part of the Time Devourer and destroyed multiple timelines and millions of erased lives) and Phase bond and come to terms with their destines. Schala joins the party and they steel themselves for the future and take on the big bad. Another person, who I won't name, steps up to willfully become the Assassin of
Time and becomes the big bad for the last 1/4 of the game.
An individual does travel back to 3 million BC, revealing that all of the timeline incursions thus far were intentional. Phase is able to reject his calling to Lavos, so this individual decides to turn coat and become one with Lavos, becoming a flawed Assassin of Time. The heroes end up defeating this individual and everyone goes home.
The game ends with a coda showcasing Balthesar using the Chronoscope to realize that all this time travel is having negative effects on the structure of space-time, and he resolves to use his resources to present further changes to the timeline, for good or for bad.
Obviously there's too much to go into for one post, but that's the gist of it. I had some other ideas I was trying to incorporate:
1.) This idea that Serge really was another version of the Assassin of Time. His whole existence and contact with the Frozen Flame was actually fulfilling his prophecy as the Assassin of Time. Had Schala not erased El Nido (and Serge) from history, he would have eventually succumbed to his fate. She attempts to change the timeline multiple times to prevent this (since she is in love with Serge), but gives up, says eff it, and scraps the entire timeline in which El Nido exists. This is what causes her to fall into depression and isolate herself into a false reality.
2.) This idea that the Porre Republic (founded by Dalton and responsible for the Fall of Guardia) was propped up by Dalton, who was essentially immortal due to his contact with the Frozen Flame at the Ocean Palace Disaster event. The events in 1200AD ultimately take up a fairly large chunk of the story; it is like the 600AD of Chrono Trigger in regards to plot development and twists.
3.) The fall of Guardia is explored, with Crono and Marle (who are from post-1000AD, pre-1005AD) learn of this event and struggled with whether or not they should prevent it. We also learn how Dalton is able to manage this -- he holds an artifact from Zeal, the Forge. Whereas Gaspar has the Time Egg, Belthesar has the Epoch, Melchior had the Forge, which was lost when Zeal fell to the ocean. The Forge has quasi-life granting qualities and is intentionally left vague in description, although it allows for the manipulation and creation of life. Masa, Mune, and Doreen both fear and worship it, and Dalton is revealed to have used the Forge to corrupt the Masamune and overthrow Guardia. The question is, do Crono and Marle actually do anything when they learn of this?
3.) A later incomplete rewrite added a potential foil for Balthesar, his son Rouen, who exists in the new ideal timeline. He was an anti-hero character, akin to Magus, who had originally been used by a future version of our 2300AD Balthesar. His original role was to clean up various timeline incursions from post-Chrono Cross Schala and her attempts to manipulate history so that the Assassin of Time is never created. Rouen, meanwhile, has full control over counter-time and can travel to and fro multiple timelines at will, and his nefarious deeds are revealed to be his attempts to avoid a time loop paradox due to Balthasar's timeline tamperings. It's only at this point that we realize Balthasar hasn't actually had a son yet, and we learn that Rouen is from decades into the future. My attempt here was to better utilize the concept of counter-time.
24
Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Final Fantasy Dimensions II
« on: May 08, 2018, 11:24:38 pm »
Hi all,
Since we've heard that elements of Final Fantasy Dimensions II are potentially unrealized aspects of Chrono Break (well, at least Takashi Tokita's version of Chrono Break), I've bit the bullet and bought the game. I'll be playing through it slowly over the next few months and bringing tidbits back to this thread for discussion and analysis.
Just wanted to get the ball rolling.
EDIT: I'm restarting this effort because I love ya'll and we all want to see what the story really looks like on this game, especially now that we all know it's a version of the Chrono Break story-that-was. I'm going to go back through and edit some posts to make them more user friendly, and I'll include a few screenshots here and there.
Since we've heard that elements of Final Fantasy Dimensions II are potentially unrealized aspects of Chrono Break (well, at least Takashi Tokita's version of Chrono Break), I've bit the bullet and bought the game. I'll be playing through it slowly over the next few months and bringing tidbits back to this thread for discussion and analysis.
Just wanted to get the ball rolling.
EDIT: I'm restarting this effort because I love ya'll and we all want to see what the story really looks like on this game, especially now that we all know it's a version of the Chrono Break story-that-was. I'm going to go back through and edit some posts to make them more user friendly, and I'll include a few screenshots here and there.
25
Chrono Compendium Discussion / Whatever Happened to the Old Timers?
« on: May 08, 2018, 02:55:21 am »
So I've been re-reading some old threads for shits and giggles (if you want a real hoot and hollar, go check out the "Buzz Tracking Thread" under the Prophet's Guile section of the forum -- a lot of hooplah in 2008 over the fact that Square Enix wouldn't shut Crimson Echoes down, and I was definitely one of those who said it would never happen, hahaha)...
It's made me wonder what happened to some of the old guard. Just a few names off the top of my head, and I'm sure more will come to me:
Does anyone know whatever happened to...
Agent12?
Vehek?
Chrono'99?
BROJ?
Geiger?
Justin3009?
Some of these guys I knew fairly well, some of them by peripheral and through their work. Just curious where some of these guys ended up. Despite moving on from the Compendium, I hope they're well!
It's made me wonder what happened to some of the old guard. Just a few names off the top of my head, and I'm sure more will come to me:
Does anyone know whatever happened to...
Agent12?
Vehek?
Chrono'99?
BROJ?
Geiger?
Justin3009?
Some of these guys I knew fairly well, some of them by peripheral and through their work. Just curious where some of these guys ended up. Despite moving on from the Compendium, I hope they're well!
26
General Discussion / Dungeons and Dragons 5e
« on: May 02, 2018, 12:58:07 pm »
Are there any other players of D&D 5e?
I'm currently several weeks into a new campaign. I've always played rogue characters, but this new campaign we were asked by our DM to build based on our rolls. He then gave us the choice to either:
1.) Do a point buy to switch our stats (but had to keep the total of all rolls the same).
2.) If we didn't change anything, we got an extra feat at level 1.
I was originally going to play as a rogue/swashbuckler or rogue/scout (new subclasses thanks to Xanathar's Guide to Everything), but I ended up rolling insanely high WIS/INT/CHA. I knew my buddy was really wanting to be a bard, so I opted to go a spellcaster route for the very first time.
Despite this being the first time I'm a spell caster in almost any game based on or around d20 rules (this includes video games like Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age, etc), this was originally super overwhelming. I chose to be a warlock/hexblade, so there's ton to manage -- special feature curses, spells, invocations, level bonuses, etc. It sounded fun to have a patron deity in conflict with my NPC and the whole hexblade (aka lightsaber) aspect made it sound fun. A mage that is high physical DPS? Sign me up!
So my current character ended up being:
Grimm Alghetty
Dragonborn (Gold Dragon family history)
Warlock-Hexblade (likely to go Pact of the Blade)
Archaeologist background
His egg was found by archaeologists, who ended up taking him in and made him one of their troupe. Eventually, they were all exploring some ruins in search of a particularly high level artifact, when an evil sorcerer attacked, murdered most of the group, and bound Grimm to his Shadowfell patron (intentionally inspired by Frog/Cyrus' storyline in Chrono Trigger).
Grimm is now bound to some sort of entity from the Shadowfell, an entity of green that constantly forces Grimm to act against his normal, generous nature. This entity makes him greedy and constantly pursue physical wealth.
Grimm is also on a hunt for both the villainous sorcerer and the artifact, which is sort of his end-game type campaign material. The sorcerer also has three lackeys to conquer between now and then, inspired mostly by Ozzie, Flea, and Slash.
To keep the character more charming (he does have a level 1 CHA of 19!) and akin to my light-hearted playstyle, I am making the interactions between both the PC and NPCs light. As a dragonborn AND a warlock, he's naturally distrusted everywhere he goes and combats the stigma with a flair for overdone friendliness (constantly smiles and shakes hands, hugs strangers, often going overboard).
He also has a goal to help drive his pursuit of money -- he is saving money to buy a folding boat and a bag of holding so he can build a traveling pop-up bar/food boat (essentially the D&D equivalent of the food truck). He only has about 200G right now, so he has a long way to go!
I'm currently several weeks into a new campaign. I've always played rogue characters, but this new campaign we were asked by our DM to build based on our rolls. He then gave us the choice to either:
1.) Do a point buy to switch our stats (but had to keep the total of all rolls the same).
2.) If we didn't change anything, we got an extra feat at level 1.
I was originally going to play as a rogue/swashbuckler or rogue/scout (new subclasses thanks to Xanathar's Guide to Everything), but I ended up rolling insanely high WIS/INT/CHA. I knew my buddy was really wanting to be a bard, so I opted to go a spellcaster route for the very first time.
Despite this being the first time I'm a spell caster in almost any game based on or around d20 rules (this includes video games like Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age, etc), this was originally super overwhelming. I chose to be a warlock/hexblade, so there's ton to manage -- special feature curses, spells, invocations, level bonuses, etc. It sounded fun to have a patron deity in conflict with my NPC and the whole hexblade (aka lightsaber) aspect made it sound fun. A mage that is high physical DPS? Sign me up!
So my current character ended up being:
Grimm Alghetty
Dragonborn (Gold Dragon family history)
Warlock-Hexblade (likely to go Pact of the Blade)
Archaeologist background
His egg was found by archaeologists, who ended up taking him in and made him one of their troupe. Eventually, they were all exploring some ruins in search of a particularly high level artifact, when an evil sorcerer attacked, murdered most of the group, and bound Grimm to his Shadowfell patron (intentionally inspired by Frog/Cyrus' storyline in Chrono Trigger).
Grimm is now bound to some sort of entity from the Shadowfell, an entity of green that constantly forces Grimm to act against his normal, generous nature. This entity makes him greedy and constantly pursue physical wealth.
Grimm is also on a hunt for both the villainous sorcerer and the artifact, which is sort of his end-game type campaign material. The sorcerer also has three lackeys to conquer between now and then, inspired mostly by Ozzie, Flea, and Slash.
To keep the character more charming (he does have a level 1 CHA of 19!) and akin to my light-hearted playstyle, I am making the interactions between both the PC and NPCs light. As a dragonborn AND a warlock, he's naturally distrusted everywhere he goes and combats the stigma with a flair for overdone friendliness (constantly smiles and shakes hands, hugs strangers, often going overboard).
He also has a goal to help drive his pursuit of money -- he is saving money to buy a folding boat and a bag of holding so he can build a traveling pop-up bar/food boat (essentially the D&D equivalent of the food truck). He only has about 200G right now, so he has a long way to go!
27
Dream Splash VI - Dream of Zeal [2018] / Dream Splash VI -- Welcome, Rules, and So Forth
« on: April 29, 2018, 11:23:07 pm »
Welcome to the Chrono Compendium Dream Splash VI Fan Art Contest! It has been quite some time since we've operated such a competition, so I'd like to warmly welcome both old and new faces.
For those new to the competition, the concept is simple: Chrono fans can create a themed fan art in any medium of their choice, pick a category, and enter it by posting to the Compendium (an in-depth entry explanation is below) between May 1st and July 31st. On or around August 1st we will release a voting poll for each category.
This year, the theme is the Dream of Zeal! This category could mean multiple things to multiple people, and that's intentional. Thinking on the Dream of Zeal, that may be a vision of the literal, physical kingdom floating far above the frozen wastes of the ice ages. It may mean the Dream of immortality as pursued by Queen Zeal and her minions using the Mammon Machine and Lavos' power. It may also mean the Dream of the planet, the Dream of Melchior with Masa, Mune, and Doreen, or a thousand other different interpretations.
To me, for example, the Dream of Zeal is legacy. The Dream is to keep the Chronoverse relevant almost 25-years after Chrono Trigger's release and nearly two decades since the last official new entry into the series. The Dream is a symbolic interpretation of Queen Zeal's pursuit of power and immortality; however, I want to keep Chrono Trigger alive in our hearts and to keep showing Square Enix that the Chrono community is alive and well.
But that's just how I view things! You should interpret it however the theme makes you feel.
RULES:
1.) The contest begins May 1st, 2018 and runs until July 31st, 2018. Any entries outside of that date range will not be considered.
EDIT: However, the acceptance period has been extended to August 17th, 2018 as a surprise gesture of goodwill to those with unfinished entries.
2.) You can use any character or setting from the franchise, regardless of source game.
3.) Any medium is welcome, just make sure you categorize it properly when submitting.
4.) If you use any sort of art component from another artist, please remember to credit them appropriately. For example, if you create a video and use a remixed song, please credit the remix author.
6.) With your submission, you must make a short description of your interpretation of the piece and how it applies to the Dream of Zeal.
5.) Have fun and keep the Dream of Zeal alive!
HOW TO ENTER:
The submission process is quite simple and straightforward and must be done here at the Chrono Compendium.
1.) If not already registered, please do so.
2.) Once in the forums, scroll down to Termina Esplanade - Special Events and Feedback. Here is a direct link: https://www.chronocompendium.com/Forums/index.php?board=104.0
3.) Once here, choose to create a "New Topic." Please provide the title of your post and the category for which it is to be entered into. Also, in the message of the post, please post your submission along with a short descriptor indicating how it applies to your interpretation of the Dream of Zeal.
Please format the post appropriately, as such: INSERT TITLE HERE [CATEGORY GOES HERE].
For example, let's say I make a painting using oil-based paints. I can capture that however I see fit (photograph, computer scan, etc). This would fall under the 2D art category, so I would post it as:
Quote
The Fall of Magic [2D Art]
Just a reminder, but you can submit multiple entries in each category! Just make sure each submission is a unique forum post.
CATEGORIES:
2D Art: This may be paintings, drawings, etc. (may be traditional or digital)
3D Art: This may be sculptures or anything in the 3D medium. (may be traditional or digital)
Moving Art: Any sort of moving art; this may be functional sprites, animated .gifs, video edits, or even custom animation. If it moves, it's to go here.
Written Word (Short Form): This may be poetry, fan fiction, or an article (less than 500 words)
Written Word (Long Form): This may be poetry, fan fiction, or an article (of equal to or more than 500 words)
Sound and Music: This may be remixes, original music related to the Chronoverse through lyrics, or music heavily inspired by the Chronoverse
Hacking and Interactive: This may be a ROM hack or interactive fan game via another means (ie, Java-based, RPGMaker, etc), may also be a fan-creation tool (such as a custom addon for Geiger's Temporal Flux)
VOTING AND PRIZES:
As previously stated, the contest begins May 1st, 2018 and runs until July 31st, 2018.
On or around August 1st, 2018, six voting posts will be created, listing each registered entry. Each registered user at the Compendium may make one vote per category.
Voting will remain open until August 15th, 2018, in which voting polls will be locked and all submitted votes will be considered final. A final thread will be created announcing each category's winner.
No financial awards will be rewarded, however, each category's winner will receive:
1.) Bragging rights, here and elsewhere.
2.) A small, uniquely themed .gif trophy.
3.) A special, one-of-a-kind forum title befitting the champions of their respective art mediums.
Those unique titles are:
Quote
2D Art: Artist of Termina
3D Art: Sculptor of Kajar
Moving Art: Shaper of Zurvan
Written Word (Short Form): Poet of El Nido
Written Word (Long Form): Chronicler of Time
Sound and Music: Synergist of Marbule
Hacking and Interactive: Prodigy of Keeper Dome
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
This seems pertinent, but a rehash of thoughts from a previous competition:
Quote
Quote from: Ramsus on February 27, 2007, 03:53:05 pm
...some things every artist should consider when making their entry:
1. It will be judged as seen on a computer screen.
The exact size and type of screens used will be released at a later time. Images that are too big to be viewed on the screen will not be resized. The judges will have screens that are at least capable of 1024x768, so you can feel safe with anything up to about 1000 pixels wide or 600 pixels tall.
For example, if you're creating something for an art gallery exhibit in a narrow hall as part of a competition, you wouldn't make a painting that requires the viewer to step back 20 feet. Also, many artistic works are meant to be experienced in a certain environment, like a fountain statue in a garden. It's only fair to the artist if we let them know in advance that, regardless of how they make the image, it will be rated solely as it looks on the judge's screen.
We should also limit entries to digital images, so that a photo of a plush doll is a photo of a plush doll, and won't be judged by the quality of the plush doll (which would be unfair to the plush doll, since such a thing is meant to be held and felt). It's either that, or actually set up some way to send physical entries to the judges.
Furthermore, all entries should be kept completely anonymous from the judges. No entry should have any identifying marks or data on the image or in the meta-data. This makes it difficult to create to create a context based on who created the work, but it's necessary to prevent personal bias from interfering with the contest.
2. The work will be judged in isolation of the artist's identity, by judges of varying levels of familiarity with the Chrono series.
This means you can assume some common background knowledge of the Chrono series and use it in your works. I can't say the same for any subculture or slang references, since some of the judges may not be from the same country, or might not be familiar the online gaming culture. In other words, "O Rly?" or "pwned!" might not make sense to some of the judges. The same goes for SNL references.
3. While technique is important, the perceived "difficulty" or "effort" of an angle, pose, or technique will not be a basis for judging any of the works.
This is an easy one to understand. If you try something challenging just because it's hard, but it doesn't make the work any more interesting or appealing (or you flat out failed with it), then all it shows is bad taste in entering it as an example of "your best" work. This isn't kindergarten, so we won't feel bad for you and give you points for trying harder. If you want to try something, find a feeling, theme, or story and try communicating it with your character's poses, the angle of the scene, the lighting, the colors, and the characteristics of the techniques you decide to use... That's much more important than trying a "hard to draw" pose.
After all, you wouldn't expect a master croissant chef, if given the opportunity to cook whatever he wants for a contest, to compete by making some new type of pie he's still trying to master.
While you should always push yourself as an artist, remember that you should also be mindful of what you show the world, and what you do for practice or experiment. A good photographer will often take thousands of photos only to end up showing people a few dozen.
So try a few things first (brainstorm -- draw lots of thumbnails and rough drafts, look at some references, experiment), use the techniques you've already mastered (even if they're still few in number) in place of the ones you're still learning to do your best work, hide it for a week, fix it, and then enter...
Also, feel free to change, update, or remove your entry at any time, so if you notice a few problems or have a completely new and better idea, you can fix it before the deadline.
Special thanks to:
ZeaLity for helping found the Chrono Compendium
Ramsus for keeping the lights on in this place
Tushantin for the lovely original artwork and banner
28
General Discussion / Radiant Historia
« on: April 17, 2018, 12:40:47 am »
So I played Radiant Historia for the DS back in 2011, and am almost finished playing the re-release/expanded edition for the 3DS. I don't know if anyone else here has played it, but I highly recommend it.
Radiant Historia is pretty much what I envisioned a third Chrono game to be like. I figured that Chrono 3 would have either involved:
1.) Anti-time, as mentioned during the Counter-time Experiments at Chronopolis, which somehow backfired and threw Chronopolis back into ice age. Although there's no official explanation for how counter-time works, my personal interpretation is that it allowed one to literally travel to previously erased timelines, essentially sidestepping the Darkness Beyond Time entirely. This means we would have seen characters crossing back and forth across the various timelines of the Chronoverse, including Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, along with the Ideal Timeline created at the end of Chrono Cross.
2.) Multiverse. Multiple timelines and "what if scenarios" darting to and fro amongst a myriad of potential timelines, constantly causing changes to the timeline to create an optimal outcome. This is ultimately what Radiant Historia explores.
For those unfamiliar with Radiant Historia, you play as a hero who is gifted a magic tome that allows him to traverse back and forth across two timelines, where events in one timeline can subtly affect the other. The two timelines begin relatively similar, but gradually go into completely different directions. The game also has a backdrop of war, so even the enemies/allies changes in each timeline due to the rippling change of history.
One of the things I love about this game is the constantly need to jump from timeline to timeline to solve puzzles and blockers. Sometimes that means traveling back in time in one timeline to make a new change farther down the timeline.
For example, one NPC you meets reveals he was injured in a battle. You then have to retrace this NPCs steps at various points in history and find him at a certain point in time, warning him of his upcoming injury. Then, when you return to the original point on the timeline, he's heeded your warning and avoiding the catastrophic injury and rewards the party with an item.
All-in-all, this is a great game and one of the best jRPGs I've played in the past decade. I highly recommend it, especially if you love the whole time travel motif.
Has anyone else played it?
Radiant Historia is pretty much what I envisioned a third Chrono game to be like. I figured that Chrono 3 would have either involved:
1.) Anti-time, as mentioned during the Counter-time Experiments at Chronopolis, which somehow backfired and threw Chronopolis back into ice age. Although there's no official explanation for how counter-time works, my personal interpretation is that it allowed one to literally travel to previously erased timelines, essentially sidestepping the Darkness Beyond Time entirely. This means we would have seen characters crossing back and forth across the various timelines of the Chronoverse, including Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, along with the Ideal Timeline created at the end of Chrono Cross.
2.) Multiverse. Multiple timelines and "what if scenarios" darting to and fro amongst a myriad of potential timelines, constantly causing changes to the timeline to create an optimal outcome. This is ultimately what Radiant Historia explores.
For those unfamiliar with Radiant Historia, you play as a hero who is gifted a magic tome that allows him to traverse back and forth across two timelines, where events in one timeline can subtly affect the other. The two timelines begin relatively similar, but gradually go into completely different directions. The game also has a backdrop of war, so even the enemies/allies changes in each timeline due to the rippling change of history.
One of the things I love about this game is the constantly need to jump from timeline to timeline to solve puzzles and blockers. Sometimes that means traveling back in time in one timeline to make a new change farther down the timeline.
For example, one NPC you meets reveals he was injured in a battle. You then have to retrace this NPCs steps at various points in history and find him at a certain point in time, warning him of his upcoming injury. Then, when you return to the original point on the timeline, he's heeded your warning and avoiding the catastrophic injury and rewards the party with an item.
All-in-all, this is a great game and one of the best jRPGs I've played in the past decade. I highly recommend it, especially if you love the whole time travel motif.
Has anyone else played it?
29
Characters, Plot, and Themes / Was Magus Part of Balthasar's Project Kid?
« on: April 16, 2018, 02:56:27 am »
So on a whim I was responding to the oldest thread in the Chrono Trigger Analysis - Characters, Plots, and Themes section regarding Schala and why we don't see her look for Janus/Magus after the events of Chrono Cross, and yet she diligently vows to seek Serge.
What's up with that, amiright?
Despite that, I realized something... First, let me refresh your memory of the Dream Devourer ending of Chrono Trigger DS.
In this ending, if you recall, the party arrives to confront the Dream Devourer and finds Schala has already succumbed to despair and is being attacked by a version of Magus from sometime after the events of Chrono Trigger. He is attempting to free Schala by attacking it and fails miserably. Once he is blasted away, the party engages the Dream Devourer in battle...
...and eventually they, too, lose the battle in an out-of-battle 1-hit TKO. But the battle was apparently enough to free Schala's mind for a moment. Schala recognizes her plight and sends the heroes away, and future-Magus crawls back onto the scene to once again attempt to free Schala. He is ultimately left heartbroken as Schala tells him that his efforts are ultimately impossible. As the Time Devourer, she is simply too powerful, and she warns that the will of Lavos will ultimately consume her entire being. She pleads with Magus, and when he proves unrelenting, she sends him away via a solid black gate.
Here, Magus muses to himself:
Magus, now an amnesiac, wakes up in a forest and recognizes that, deep down, there was something he still had to do. And off he goes to try and remember what that was... This may or may not have intended for him to become Guile, which was the original intent in the early stages of Chrono Cross. Despite the fact that I hate this idea with a passion, it's likely the closest version to truth.
But still... does this then mean that Magus is part of Balthasar's Project Kid?
If you remember, Balthsar arrives in the new 2300AD due to the fact that Crono and company killed Lavos and the apocalypse was prevented. Using the technology of this new era, he became aware of Schala's plight and put a plan into motion to rescue. A very convoluted plan involving Chronopolis, the Mother AI-turned-FATE AI, and a multitude of events that involved:
-El Nido being created,
-Thus Serge is eventually born,
-Thus Serge is eventually attacked by a panther-demon,
-Thus Serge is rescued by Schala and Kid is created,
-Thus the timeline is split in two,
-Thus Serge goes through all the events of Chrono Cross in order to become strong enough to face the Time Devourer and save Schala
-And Project Kid is successful when Schala is saved
Due to the explanation for Chrono Cross, we are to assume that literally all the events of Chrono Cross were the carefully predicted events laid out in Project Kid. I mean, hell, the project was named was for a hypothetical Schala-clone that was nothing more than an idea in Balthasar's head. Long before the Time Crash, even. How's that for a mind bender?
If we assume the above to be true, then Magus' penultimate fate had to have been tied to Project Kid as well. Balthasar knew that a post-Chrono Trigger version of Magus would try to rescue her, fail, and willingly shed his identity... only to continue on in the recognition that he has someone to save, some journey to complete.
Not only that, but how poetic that Magus would desire to have some greater purpose than to fail at saving Schala... only to once again be a tool within Project Kid to help save Schala. A greater purpose. By helping Serge, he would be saving all of space-time, not just his sister (although he'd be saving her, too).
This theory is strongest if we assume Magus=Guile, but it likely still fits that he could end up as part of Project Kid regardless. I'm not sure if anyone else has considered this, but I wanted to point it out and open up the topic for discussion.
I mean, hell, there could be a story out there that follows amnesiac Magus post-the Dream Devourer ending but before he becomes Guile. Or perhaps, if Magus is not Guile, he skips the entire events of Chrono Cross and finds Kid/Schala after the events of Chrono Cross!
What's up with that, amiright?
Despite that, I realized something... First, let me refresh your memory of the Dream Devourer ending of Chrono Trigger DS.
In this ending, if you recall, the party arrives to confront the Dream Devourer and finds Schala has already succumbed to despair and is being attacked by a version of Magus from sometime after the events of Chrono Trigger. He is attempting to free Schala by attacking it and fails miserably. Once he is blasted away, the party engages the Dream Devourer in battle...
...and eventually they, too, lose the battle in an out-of-battle 1-hit TKO. But the battle was apparently enough to free Schala's mind for a moment. Schala recognizes her plight and sends the heroes away, and future-Magus crawls back onto the scene to once again attempt to free Schala. He is ultimately left heartbroken as Schala tells him that his efforts are ultimately impossible. As the Time Devourer, she is simply too powerful, and she warns that the will of Lavos will ultimately consume her entire being. She pleads with Magus, and when he proves unrelenting, she sends him away via a solid black gate.
Here, Magus muses to himself:
Quote
"So, you mean to say that no matter how
hard I strive - no matter how strong I grow - there
is nothing I might do to save you?
What purpose, then, does this existence serve?
Hmph. If this is to be the way of things,
then let me abandon all that was and fade away as well.
Should a part of me somehow even then remain,
then perhaps that will be the birth of something
new - something with greater meaning than all this."
Magus, now an amnesiac, wakes up in a forest and recognizes that, deep down, there was something he still had to do. And off he goes to try and remember what that was... This may or may not have intended for him to become Guile, which was the original intent in the early stages of Chrono Cross. Despite the fact that I hate this idea with a passion, it's likely the closest version to truth.
But still... does this then mean that Magus is part of Balthasar's Project Kid?
If you remember, Balthsar arrives in the new 2300AD due to the fact that Crono and company killed Lavos and the apocalypse was prevented. Using the technology of this new era, he became aware of Schala's plight and put a plan into motion to rescue. A very convoluted plan involving Chronopolis, the Mother AI-turned-FATE AI, and a multitude of events that involved:
-El Nido being created,
-Thus Serge is eventually born,
-Thus Serge is eventually attacked by a panther-demon,
-Thus Serge is rescued by Schala and Kid is created,
-Thus the timeline is split in two,
-Thus Serge goes through all the events of Chrono Cross in order to become strong enough to face the Time Devourer and save Schala
-And Project Kid is successful when Schala is saved
Due to the explanation for Chrono Cross, we are to assume that literally all the events of Chrono Cross were the carefully predicted events laid out in Project Kid. I mean, hell, the project was named was for a hypothetical Schala-clone that was nothing more than an idea in Balthasar's head. Long before the Time Crash, even. How's that for a mind bender?
If we assume the above to be true, then Magus' penultimate fate had to have been tied to Project Kid as well. Balthasar knew that a post-Chrono Trigger version of Magus would try to rescue her, fail, and willingly shed his identity... only to continue on in the recognition that he has someone to save, some journey to complete.
Not only that, but how poetic that Magus would desire to have some greater purpose than to fail at saving Schala... only to once again be a tool within Project Kid to help save Schala. A greater purpose. By helping Serge, he would be saving all of space-time, not just his sister (although he'd be saving her, too).
This theory is strongest if we assume Magus=Guile, but it likely still fits that he could end up as part of Project Kid regardless. I'm not sure if anyone else has considered this, but I wanted to point it out and open up the topic for discussion.
I mean, hell, there could be a story out there that follows amnesiac Magus post-the Dream Devourer ending but before he becomes Guile. Or perhaps, if Magus is not Guile, he skips the entire events of Chrono Cross and finds Kid/Schala after the events of Chrono Cross!
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Welcome / Birthday / Seeya! Forum / Goodbye...
« on: April 12, 2018, 11:56:11 pm »
So guys, I gotta get something off my chest... I've been thinking and trying to figure out the best way to do this. I had hoped that I had created an original Welcome thread when I first joined, as it seemed like the best avenue for this somber message, but alas. I never did any kind of formal welcome.
So yeah, I'm not sure how to say this. I've been searching my emotions a lot, and this I have to say sayonara.
I've really enjoyed coming back here and getting reacquainted with old friends, while also making some new ones along the way. The recent increase in activity here has really been great, and I hope that each and every one of you is able to help make Dream Splash VI a fun, memorable, and exciting event.
With all that being said, I have to officially announce that I'll be leaving...
...until Sunday night...
...for a little weekend vacation, so I won't be posting for a few days. I'm going to the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival with my kiddos and wife. Gonna shove so much Japanese culture down their throats they'll be in wa mode in no time.
Sorry for the scare (assuming anyone actually bought it in the beginning).
So yeah, I'm not sure how to say this. I've been searching my emotions a lot, and this I have to say sayonara.
I've really enjoyed coming back here and getting reacquainted with old friends, while also making some new ones along the way. The recent increase in activity here has really been great, and I hope that each and every one of you is able to help make Dream Splash VI a fun, memorable, and exciting event.
With all that being said, I have to officially announce that I'll be leaving...
...until Sunday night...
...for a little weekend vacation, so I won't be posting for a few days. I'm going to the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival with my kiddos and wife. Gonna shove so much Japanese culture down their throats they'll be in wa mode in no time.
Sorry for the scare (assuming anyone actually bought it in the beginning).