Am I missing something?

[Metalknight]

This has been bugging me for a while, and I had hoped that reading through the theories about time travel and paradoxes on this site would help, but they've only compounded my confusion.

If the grandfather paradox doesn't exist in Crono Trigger, where the hell does that leave Magus? It seems as though Magus exists in 600AD, then goes back to the Ocean Palace and Zeal  in 12000BC, then his actions cause the younger him to be thrown to 600AD, with absolutely no differences from how it originally happened. Thus it would seem that it is fated for Janus to show up in 600AD, and be raised by Ozzie, eventually becoming the warlock Magus, even though the whole point of Chrono Trigger is that there is no fate.

In short, how does Janus come to 600AD in the original timeline, BEFORE Crono and those starting running through the fourth dimension all willy-nilly?

[Kilfer]

CT is abundant with plot holes and issues like these, luckily

1: Most games that revolve around time travel and the such, end up with these plot holes
2: CT is such a kickass game, most people don't notice anyways.

[ONSLAUGHT]

It is Chrono Trigger, there is your explanation.

[V_Translanka]

It seems as though Magus exists in 600AD, then goes back to the Ocean Palace and Zeal  in 12000BC, then his actions cause the younger him to be thrown to 600AD, with absolutely no differences from how it originally happened.

That's not what happens. They aren't thrown to 600 AD (besides the fact that originally Magus would have been thrown somewhere like 565~580 AD)...It's just said that Janus & Melchior are sucked into the same portal or what-have-you (anyone got the quotes?)...It's been hypothesized that this is them being Time Bastard'd, I believe (I'm no expert on this theory)...*shrugs*

[ONSLAUGHT]

His actions do cause him to get messed up but as he explains on North Cape, he tells of what happened the first time. You can see in his story's flashback that theProphet isn't there. Janus just got sucked up for jumping in at wrong timing(one of his dumb mistakes, every makes em) and so he was warped a few years before 600 AD where he came to be known as Magus.

[EclipsedExistence]

even though the whole point of Chrono Trigger is that there is no fate.

It isn't that it is fated to happen, just that Crono and team failed to change it. If they had gone about it differently, things might've been different. But we can also see that, as the Prophet, Magus is making sure the end results are the same. He essentially prevents Crono and co. from interfering in the timeline of Zeal.

Also, in Chrono Trigger, much ofhistory remains the same, except for everything 1999 onwards. The reptites still fell. Zeal still fell. The Mystic army still fell.

[V_Translanka]

He (Magus) essentially prevents Crono and co. from interfering in the timeline of Zeal.

So HE can change it.

The reptites still fell. Zeal still fell. The Mystic army still fell.

Those are a few major occurrences that didn't change...Why would they have changed any of that from happening anyways? One major change because of their actions we see through the events of Chrono Cross.

[EclipsedExistence]

So HE can change it.

Those are a few major occurrences that didn't change...Why would they have changed any of that from happening anyways? One major change because of their actions we see through the events of Chrono Cross.

Sorry if my post was confusing. I meant to imply that nothing is set in stone, while at the same time nothing changes with the snap of a finger. 

And I only used those examples to show that not everything changes fluidly. Take Fiona's Forest. It wasn't something that was easily changed. It required a lot of effort and energy.

[V_Translanka]

And yet someone's entire personality is changed...with jerky...>_>

[EclipsedExistence]

This is true. So can we agree that somethings are incredibly easy to change, and others less so?