Other notes: These Tropes will be written under the assumption that a fanfic and a fan game for this story was completed.
Obviously NOT the case, but I digress.
So let's start this bad boy!
General Tropes:
Arc Words - “Ours is the power to shape reality.”
An Aesop - Power in itself is not good or evil, but it is easily corruptive, and it takes wisdom and a strong will to avoid said corruption. At the same time, those without power cannot protect what they hold dear, so do not be afraid to seek it out as long as one is mindful of the consequences.
And Man Grew Proud - This is the story of how.
And Now for Someone Completely Different - Beginning a New Game+ doesn't depict the prologue as normal. No, it puts you in the shoes of Kid post-Chrono Cross and her attempts to put things right when reality starts crumbling around her.
Anti-Frustration Features - Completing one of the bonus endings does not send you back to the title screen, but to the moment before entering the Green Gate with your progress saved and said ending unlocked.
- The Developer's Room is no longer tied to an ending, and is unlocked by beating the game once. However, it will be generally empty until the player unlocks all the different endings, in which it will be filled by bestiaries, music, character bios, and bonus artwork.
Beach Episode - The setting (an artificial beach in Tristan's territory) for a mid-game Side Quest, complete with the party in beachwear (which is even reflected by their dialog portraits). Besides being a source of fanservice, there's a more practical reason for the quest: The whole trip is a plot by Eiric to give Cain and Schala a moment to relax and reconnect without their respective burdens hampering them. (Despite a couple of setbacks, it works.)
Book Ends - At the beginning of the Prologue, Cain and Schala first meet and become friends as children during Zeal's Founder's Celebration. At the end of the Normal Path before the climax, Cain dances with and reveals that he's been in love with Schala ever since as adults during Zeal's Founder's Celebration.
Central Theme - Revenge is Not Justice. However, while this is true, some people are so selfish and monstrous that any peaceful solution is outright impossible. In such situations, there is no other choice. The Villain Must Be Punished.
- Power, and all its incarnations. The power to protect, the power to destroy, power's corrupting influence, and the pitfalls of overcoming said corruption.
Companion-Specific Sidequest- Each party member has a personal quest unlocked during New Game+ in which they have a problem that Cain can help solve, and completing each one is required to unlock Another Path.
- Eiric's involves him being forced to throw his hat in the ring concerning his family's Succession Crisis, and ends up fighting all four of his siblings to not only become head of the Guardia household, but to prevent it from joining Arvis' faction.
- Zhao's involves the forced closing of his forge due to 'royal decree', and has him confront a major proponent of the Anti-weapon law, a local lord (and former student) who enforces his personal views of pacifism even as monsters bleed his lands dry.
- Eva's involves the Coalition's spy network, specifically their leadership, switching sides to Arvis' camp, and Eva's conflicting loyalties between her mission for the Coalition and her duty to her organization.
- Tristan's involves the disappearances of his fellow empaths once employed by King Alphard, only to discover that the collective corruption of society has since transformed them into a hive mind.
- Schala is unique in that the entire first half of Another Path's story is this for her. In essence, because Cain survives his run-in with Magus, she is never driven to Nihilism, develops the inner strength to actively fight Arvis and Lavos' corruption of her kingdom, and grows to become a worthy successor to her father's legacy.
Crippling Overspecialization - The Enlightened Ones wholly rely on their magic, with very few of their soldiers proficient in actual close-quarters combat due to their false pacifism. This naturally ends up biting them in the ass in Another Path when Cain gathers an army in rebellion. Turns out that all the magical shields in the world aren't so effective against an arrow or a stone axe to the face.
Dance of Romance - Cain offers Schala a dance during the kingdom's Founder's Celebration gala near the end of the story. This happens regardless of story route.
Dangerous Forbidden Technique - Opening the Seventh Gate ends up being this. It's said that doing so unlocks the secrets of time and the universe, allowing the opener to achieve 'enlightenment'. Unfortunately, the reality is that the massive infusion of power and information shatters the mind and warps the body into something beyond comprehension, as revealed to be what happened to Norstein Bekkler. Cain takes the risk during the Final Battle, feeling that it's the only way to put down Thanaton. Thankfully, the Entity had other ideas.
Darker and Edgier - While the Chrono series is no stranger to heavy themes such as prejudice and existentialism, Origins puts them on the forefront and beyond with subjects such as genocide and the inevitability of death… as well as the lengths (or depths) some people would go to stave off the latter. It also has much coarser language, with Cain in particular as quite the potty-mouth.
Darkest Hour - Almost all of the major Conspiracy players are dead, but the Coalition failed to protect the fleeing Earthbound, and the Underground is in complete ruins. All of this cascades to the point where Chancellor Arvis finally has justification to crack down on our heroes. Weapons are outlawed across the kingdom and the Coalition's reputation is in shambles. Abel is under house arrest. Melchior, Zhao, Eva, and Tristan are arrested and sent to Mount Woe (with the latter three scheduled to be executed to make an example), while Eiric is spirited away by the remaining few sympathizers to parts unknown. Cain is utterly isolated, his only ally left being Schala…
Earn Your Happy Ending - Cain, Schala, and many others end up going through hell for it, but completing Another Path brings out the best ending possible for everyone.
Everyone Can See It - The painfully obvious attraction between Cain and Schala when the former first arrives as a ward can be seen by everyone, especially King Alphard. Even with the changes in attitude the two undergo after the king's death, Eiric and the rest of the party still comment on the tension.
Fantastic Racism - Played with in the fact that it's the magically empowered people abusing those without it. Unfortunately, unlike how it's glossed over in Chrono Trigger, Origins pulls no punches depicting how much it sucks to be an Earthbound One in an Enlightened-controlled society.
Five-Man Band - Cain's party runs with this dynamic.
- The Leader: Cain
- The Lancer: Eiric
- The Big Guy: Zhao
- The Smart Guy: Tristan
- The Chick: Eva
- The Sixth Ranger: Schala
Fix Fic - Of epic proportions. New Game+ outright establishes that the primary goal of the story is to save the lives of everyone screwed over by Thanaton, with Cain, Schala, Crono, and Serge in particular.
Foreshadowing - During the Final Battle of the Normal Path, blue flames begin sparking around Cain, and his actions start becoming more feral, causing Magus to take off the kid gloves and deliver a fatal curb-stomp battle to Cain. This foreshadows the Final Battle of the altered timeline where Cain fully awakens the Seventh Gate against FATE and Thanaton.
Garden of Love - Cain first falls for Schala in the palace gardens during the Prologue. Thus, it ends up being the place where most of the more romantic scenes in the story take place.
Golden Ending - This is one that takes a while to pull off. One has to complete the Normal Path, complete all of the bonus endings, and complete the New Game+ sidequests to unlock Another Path.
Grand Finale - Of the Chrono Trigger mythos. At least of the 'Lavos Saga'.
Happy Ending Override - For Chrono Cross due to a rather cruel case of Surprisingly Realistic Outcome. The Chrono Cross in fact didn't magically retcon Lavos out of existence, only deprived it of its food source. The means, of course, that the origin event of Schala being absorbed still happens, so the Time Devourer still exists in some timeline. Cue Serge popping out of existence and reality coming apart at the seams, and it takes a desperate gamble between Guile and Kid to put things back together.
Hotter and Sexier - Going hand-in-hand with the mature themes depicted in Darker and Edgier above. Eva is the story's resident Ms. Fanservice while Schala seems to be packing more than is advertised, with both girls having alternate outfits and swimsuits that emphasize their curves. The boys are no slouch in the fanservice department either, as Cain is somewhat Tall, Dark, and Handsome, Zhao has some impressive muscles despite his advanced age, and Tristan is straight up Bishounen. Even King Zeal is depicted as a Silver Fox.
In Spite of a Nail - In the altered story path, Schala still stays behind in the crumbling Ocean Palace. The difference is that Cain stays with her… putting him in the perfect position to thwart the creation of the Dream/Time Devourer.
- Even in the altered timeline, Lynx still manages to burn down Lucca's orphanage. However, Cain and Schala's presence ensures that he's at least driven off before he can harm Lucca.
Irony - The Enlightened Ones spent their lives in the pursuit of mystical fulfillment and Nirvana, and sacrificed their collective morality to try and achieve it once Lavos worship became widespread. In the altered timeline, Cain, who had long since been ostracized by the people and considered lower than an Earthbound, is the only person out of all of them to ever actually attain it.
Loyalty Mission - Cain privately fears that the allies who end up joining him are Fair-Weather Friends at best, and unfortunately, that view is not without merit; Eva and Tristan join with noticeable hangups against Cain, while Zhao holds sympathies but worries that Cain's actions may bring more trouble than they're worth, and while Eiric personally has Cain's back, his household in general does not. These all lead to Cain's inevitable isolation during the Normal Path, and it is only after beginning a New Game+ and completing all other side quests that four new Companion-Specific Sidequests appear, in which all are required to unlock Another Path.
Multiple Endings - It wouldn't be a Chrono story without them. To be more specific, there are two main story endings and eleven bonus endings.
Mythology Gag - Some among the fandom dictate that the people of Zeal, especially the royals, dyed their hair. Turns out there is one who did just that. (It's Cain, who started off blonde but dyed his hair black in mourning for the King's death.)
Once More, With Clarity - At the start of the game, we see the massacre that is the Benedict Estate Incident, and a younger Cain slaughtering everyone he can find. All of this is from Schala's perspective, and is the cause of her 'power is evil' mentality, as well as the cause of her and Cain's strained relationship. However, upon witnessing the slaughter of countless Earthbound Ones at Priestess Olivia's hands and Cain's subsequent fury causes her to remember that the former incident only happened after Cain was wounded trying to protect her.
One-Winged Angel - Remember Queen Zeal's final form on the Black Omen in Trigger? This story reveals it to be a corruption of the Sixth Gate when the wielder is overcome by extreme negative emotion. Each consist of a disembodied face/head and cognizant limbs. The Queen naturally undergoes said transformation when fighting her for the bonus endings. Lynx naturally has the FATE interface as well.
Pre-Climax Climax - Due to the events described in Darkest Hour above, Cain is ready to die in a last stand against the Chancellor and the kingdom. Schala, desperate to stop him from throwing his life away recklessly, gives him a reason not to by invoking the arranged marriage her father set up for them. The brief exchange after their honeymoon and events depicted after the Normal Ending all but outright spell out (that Kid is the result of this union).
Prophecy Twist - Cain is prophecized from a young age to be the cause of the world's end (i.e. the Fall of Zeal), which is one of the many reasons he's ostracized, and implied to be the reason there are so many overworld fights with bandits and mercenaries in the so-called 'peaceful' Zeal Kingdom. The twist is that aside from ultimately inciting rebellion he never does anything that leads to Zeal's destruction while alive. It's his death that brings everything into motion, as it drives Schala head-first into nihilism and ultimately summoning Lavos at the Ocean Palace.
Stealth Sequel - The story is initially presented as a prequel to the events of Antiquity in Chrono Trigger. Once you start New Game+ however, the fact that Kid becomes a focal point reveals the story as a sequel to Chrono Cross.
Super Mode - Anyone who has fully mastered the Six Gates of magic theory is capable of incredible power, manifesting in-game as a colored aura tailored to the character's personality. (We only see it briefly in a flashback but King Zeal has a multicolored aura, Queen Zeal has a sickly green one with jutted spines not unlike Lavos during her fights in the bonus endings, Schala has a golden aura that occasionally manifests as dove wings befitting her otherwise gentle personality, Sigmund has a deep red aura with phantom swords representing his bloodlust, Cain has a royal blue aura with six phantom arms depicting his righteous fury towards the cruelty and corruption plaguing the kingdom, and finally, Magus has a dark purple aura that he can channel into a phantom red scythe.)
- Cain uses a minor version of this during the Normal Path. Yes, it makes him powerful as all get out for a few turns, but it doesn't have the aura, representing his stubborn nature and lack of focus at the time, which bites him in the ass when he becomes no longer of sound enough mind to control it.
The Very Definitely Final Dungeon - The story has two of them, dependent on story path.
- Normal Path: Zeal Palace. Having been framed for Abel's murder, Cain fights through five floors in a Last Stand before confronting the Prophet (and his own demise) in the Grand Hall.
- Another Path: The Frozen Sea of Dreams. With Cain's survival altering the timelines of both Trigger and Cross, the three parties of heroes across time are forced to do battle with the God of Death Thanaton for the right to survive and change their fates.
Tragic Keepsake - The Astral Amulet that Kid wears in Chrono Cross retroactively becomes this during the normal ending, as it once belonged to Cain.
Wham Line - “Inquisitor Cray! You are under arrest on suspicion of the murder of Commander Abel!”
Wretched Hive - The Underground of Zeal has this reputation, being a hiding place for thieves and killers, as well as being a 'red light district' where the citizens above indulge in various vices. Ultimately subverted in that in spite of the above, many of its denizens are simply exiles, social pariahs, and non-mages just trying to make a living.
Xanatos Gambit - Guile's plan to save reality post-Chrono Cross is for Kid to not only save Serge through time, but to save Cain as well, banking on the latter's loyalty and devotion to Schala to be at her side when Lavos attempts to absorb her. It ultimately pays off with the threat of the Time Devourer ending for good.
(To be continued)
