When You First Visited Zeal...

[Zenning]

When you first visited Zeal, how did you feel?

In all honesty, at first, I thought I'd stumbled onto a secret time period.

Imagine my surprise, when I walk out of the cave with the Time Gate, and into a wintry wonderland?

Then, I travel east, and find this strange, futuristic dome-looking thing.

Perhaps this was either the world between 1999AD and 2300AD, after dust had been kicked up in the atmosphere, blocking out the sun, the world thus ushering a cruel ice age? Or perhaps, the planet was actually somehow getting its bearings back sometime after 2300AD?

I enter the dome, and am suddenly transported to what seems to be a tropical paradise. Then I walk away from the scene with the teleporter and mountainside, and find myself floating on an island in the sky!

I then proceed to the nearby town (Enhasa) and find that everyone in it has something interesting to say.

I then take the northern "Land Bridge," (why doesn't Enhasa's skyway connect directly with the skyway on Zeal's main continent? Did the Enlightened Ones actually like having to walk on the Earthbound land between Enhasa and Kajar?)

Then I find myself on Zeal's main continent, and take myself to Kajar and the Blackbird's dock. More interesting things, people have to say, and more interesting sights to behold.

Then I go up the mountain path to Zeal Palace; while the mountain trail was nice, again, why doesn't the teleport at the bottom just go to the teleport at the top?

Eventually, amongst my conversations with the people, I find out that they actually use Lavos as a source of power! In all other time periods, Lavos is feared, but in this time period, the people think no differently of Lavos than a mere appliance!

Eventually, I chance upon Janus and Schala, and I hear another great music from the game: Schala's theme.

And of course, I eventually run into the Queen Zeal, who kicks my ass and sends me away; then I'm convinced that Zeal really was a secret time period, and was only designed to stay open for a limited time.

After this point, I wandered the time periods trying to figure out what I needed to do next...

...and then I needed to return the game to Blockbuster. I must've rented the game four times just to get up to that point.

But, I heard some cool music, and saw some cool scenes; I knew was getting the game for Christmas, but now, I was even more excited to get it in my hot, rather-average-for-my-age-sized hands.

...

This was all the way back in the Autumn of 1995AD, that I was first exposed to the game, and took in these sights.

What were your thoughts when you first visited Zeal?

[ZeaLitY]

My mind was blown. What was an icy field of a time period became an unmatched heaven of enlightenment. Here, people lived in the greatest environment of beauty attainable on earth, soaring around on an archipelago on the sky. The outward beauty became moot after I stepped in and started talking to people. Enhasa was incredible; can you imagine a palace devoted to the art of dreaming? I would have killed just to peruse the books in this decorative libraries. Here was human actualization and perfection. While the people there dreamt away, carelessly engaging in their own fantasies, hobbies, or aspirations, the people of Kajar continued to innovate to make more wonderful objects and applications. Zeal Palace itself was quite the crowning gemstone. It was all totally breathtaking and ideal.

[Kazuki]

Being 11 years old, I really didn't put much speculation into what era this time period COULD be, but I was anxious to find out. After a few minutes of walking, I thought it was going to be a 65 million b.c. rip, except a bit more dull since the landscape consisted of only snow. So anyways, I continue walking for a minute, and then I see this strange building that immediatly intrigued me. I walked up to it, noticed the name "Skyway" and thought, "Wow, where is this going?" I went inside, noticed the interesting architecture that radiated scientific genius, yet didn't remind me of futuristic inventions, instead something of a more magical and enigmatic nature, which fascinated me. Up I go, and the first thing I notice is this beautiful piece of music begin to play and more importantly, that I was standing on green grass. I stepped outside, and then that's where it all took off...

Zeal for me, in many ways, made Chrono Trigger the great game it was at the time I'd been playing it (Now I have a bit of a different opinion, but Zeal's still special to me.) First of all, entering Enhasa, I was delightfully mystified at the people, dressed in elegant robes of vibrant colors. As I talked to the people, I was filled with their whole philosophy of dreams, and with Corridors of Time playing in the background, it gave me an image of something of great meaning and beauty. Enhasa, in my opinion, is what makes Zeal. Without it, Zeal would still retain some of it's splendor, but it would lose a great deal of mysteriousness and would not be as interesting.

The second major thing about Zeal was that the civilization seemed so...educated, about the anamoly that is Lavos.  Now, up to this point of the game, you've gone slightly off course. After learning about him in the ruined future of 2300 A.D., you go back to 1000 A.D. to "go back to your own time." After that, you're taking part of the mystic vs. human war, and then to 65 mil. B.C. for dreamstone so the Masamune can be reforged so Frog will defeat Magus. Now, by no means am I saying that these parts of the game weren't interesting (Magus's castle is probably my favorite part of the game in terms of dungeon gameplay.) But I felt that, after learning of Lavos's ruination of the world and getting hyped up to learn more about him and defeat him, that I got slightly cheated, and my energy cooled after learning nearly zilch in this whole time (with exception to when he first crashes into Tyrano's Lair or whatever in the prehistoric era; that was cool to know.)

But now, that's not the case at all! The whole focus of the game seems to turn back to Lavos (now that he is being used for a source of power as opposed to the planet's energy.). And I was glad to finally learn some more about him.

In essence, Zeal was the catalyst for me completing the game, and Chrono Trigger would not be what it is without it.

[Sentenal]

I can't remmber, to tell the truth.  Most people have Zeal as their favorite part of the game, when I place my favorite part at the war agianst Magus.  I wouldn't say I was blown away by it, otherwise I would have remmbered it better.  It was probably similar to most of your reactions, but to a lesser degree.  Not enough conflict IMO, although that did change.  Although this was the part of the story that I felt compeled to do.  While with the Magus part, that seemed like a huge obsticale, something that would require preparation, and hardship.  Sorta like the feeling you get before you beat a Final Fantasy game, like: This is it!  This, it only felt like that at the Golem Twins.  Otherwise, it was me wanting to continue to see what happens next.  And thats not a bad thing.

[Eriol]

What was an icy field of a time period became an unmatched heaven of enlightenment. Here, people lived in the greatest environment of beauty attainable on earth, soaring around on an archipelago on the sky.
<snip>
Here was human actualization and perfection. While the people there dreamt away, carelessly engaging in their own fantasies, hobbies, or aspirations, the people of Kajar continued to innovate to make more wonderful objects and applications. Zeal Palace itself was quite the crowning gemstone. It was all totally breathtaking and ideal.

And yet tainted.  It almost epitomized "what will it cost you" for me.  It's a civilization that sold their souls to the devil (Lavos).  They were given paradise, but at what cost?  Ambition destroying paradise is also an undertone in that it is the desire for MORE power that helps bring the kingdom crashing down (literally).  They had paradise, but it wasn't good enough, and through desire destroyed it.

And to me it is significant that Lavos was the one to bring it down.  Sure Queen Zeal "triggered" it through bringing Lavos to the surface by turning the Mammon Machine all the way up, but still, the devil gave them paradise, and inevitably he took it away, since his gifts are ALWAYS fleeting.

Zeal, though briefly you visited it, was a perfect creation.  Perfect beauty, and perfectly flawed.

[Zenning]

What was an icy field of a time period became an unmatched heaven of enlightenment. Here, people lived in the greatest environment of beauty attainable on earth, soaring around on an archipelago on the sky.
<snip>
Here was human actualization and perfection. While the people there dreamt away, carelessly engaging in their own fantasies, hobbies, or aspirations, the people of Kajar continued to innovate to make more wonderful objects and applications. Zeal Palace itself was quite the crowning gemstone. It was all totally breathtaking and ideal.

And yet tainted.  It almost epitomized "what will it cost you" for me.  It's a civilization that sold their souls to the devil (Lavos).  They were given paradise, but at what cost?  Ambition destroying paradise is also an undertone in that it is the desire for MORE power that helps bring the kingdom crashing down (literally).  They had paradise, but it wasn't good enough, and through desire destroyed it.

And to me it is significant that Lavos was the one to bring it down.  Sure Queen Zeal "triggered" it through bringing Lavos to the surface by turning the Mammon Machine all the way up, but still, the devil gave them paradise, and inevitably he took it away, since his gifts are ALWAYS fleeting.

Zeal, though briefly you visited it, was a perfect creation.  Perfect beauty, and perfectly flawed.

Eriol, man! Glad to see that, at some point, you actually found your way here!

Yeah, I probably didn't get this through in my first post, but at first, Zeal seemed like that culture that was different from everyone else, with it's one very different way of thinking.

Everyone else who knew about Lavos in the other time periods knew that Lavos was entity to be feared, and then here are those people in Zeal who just think he's a power plant, and that Lavos is just commonplace.

To be honest, I never foresaw Zeal's demise, although, it had to happen, as it certainly didn't exist anytime after 12000BC.

[SilentMartyr]

I wish I could remember 10 years ago...

But I guess I have similar thoughts as Sentinal. Zeal wasn't what grabbed me, Crono did.

[V_Translanka]

I thought it was neat...But by that time in playing Chrono Trigger, what didn't I think was neat?

[jthomp1286]

Zeal instantly became my favorite area. I'm always sad to see it fall from the sky *tear*. When I first got there, I was like, wow, an Ice Age, must be a post-65m BC time. Then I found the skyway and was like "woah, what's up with that?" I said "Wow," as it teleported me into the sky. The main theme was an instant fave for me as well. Then I see the islands in the sky, the clouds flowing beneath you, the waterfalls pouring down into sky... (wow, that sounds weird doesn't it?). I start to converse with the people, here they sleep and do nothing else! Just the mystery and the majesty of this place takes your breath away. The people were really delightful to talk to. I loved the conversation with the Poyozo Doll about fate. I always tell it I don't believe in fate, and that part of the game really inspired my feelings about fate.

I come to Kajar, city of magic and you find your among scholars, the brightest and best, who study magic! You learn the mystery of the Sun Palace and the blue pyramid to the east. And you instantly want to go there! I long to be able to visit the Sun Palace in that time, just to see if its any different from what you see in the future. It appears they have reached the highest of human existence, the way the speak, dress and act makes you awe. Then, you find they are using Lavos as a power source and you wonder just how they managed to build a machine (the MM) that is able to do that!

I used to borrow CT from my friend all the time just so I could get to Zeal...and I never wanted to leave. I almost did cry the first time I saw it destroyed. Its sights, sounds, people and eventual downfall are forever etched in my memory.

Ahh...Zeal

[Mystik3eb]

My first time seeing anything about Zeal was when a friend was playing it right as it was being destroyed. Can you image what I was thinking seeing this? Whoa, there's this totally cool, huge island in the air that's incredibly powerful, or so this guy says, and it's being destroyed?! Holy crap I NEED to play this game!

I first saw CT when I was around 8 or 9...it's changed my life. I rented that game so many freaking times from the downtown store, it was, like, $2 to rent it for two days during that point, so I just did some chores and had a ball...

...oh God...the nostalgia...

[Dragoness]

I think I saw it first when my brother play the game... at the age... um... don't remember. o.o

I think I was thinking," IT IS FLYING! Cool......o.o ...How in the name of heck is IT FLOATING!?" or something like that. o.o

(Off topic: ...Is it me? or does anything that is a flying mass of ground, always FALL into the ground? >_>)

[Kazuki]

It's implied that the magical properties are defying the laws of gravity. Well, not implied more as outwardly showed, but yeah.

[NeoEpoch]

12,000 B.C. was definently my favorite time period in the game. I loved Zeal so much, still do. I always liked the thought of a city in the sky, like Zeal, and Shevat, etc. Zeal was also a very interesting place storywise in the game, what with the whole Ocean Palace, Queen Zeal and stuff.