Potential Game Mechanics
(If only I had the patience and knowledge to create code so that these ideas could become reality. Oh well, a man can dream.)
(Chances are, I'll probably be repeating a lot of these points when I write up the Tutorial dialog, but I wanted to get these done.)
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Damage Types
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Party Members have the normal stats of defense and magic defense. Simple bread and butter. However...
There are four different damage types that enemies can be affected by.
Physical Attacks - Attacking an enemy with your equipped weapon. Basic.
Element Attacks - Your normal magic attacks. The way Elements would work in this is a bit different from Cross, but more on that later.
Physical Techs - Harder hitting than normal physicals. Some come with an affinity while others can hit multiple times. Uses MP, so they're more situational.
Magical Techs - Far more potent than Elements, but far more costly. Hit a foe's opposite Innate and watch the fireworks.
That's right. Four different damage types. Not only do enemies have defense and magic defense, they also have tech defense stats for physical and magical Techs.
In short, some enemies are resistant to Elements, some are resistant to Physical Techs, and so forth.
In my personal experience, Chrono Cross, and arguably Chrono Trigger before it, eventually fell into the trap of certain attacks eventually becoming obsolete. By the end of Cross, aside from the odd Tech or Summon for Shiny Material farming, did you really need to cast Elements anymore? Especially once Serge gets the Mastermune?
And how many Gold Studs did you equip in Trigger and spam that 20MP SINGLE TECH over and over? Why did Double and Triple Techs become left by the wayside? Though Trigger did have more going for it with at least a couple of different endgame strategies, with Frog Squash/Dino Tail and the Fury Band/Rainbow <- (guilty) combo.
This damage system (hopefully) would force one to think more strategically, with no one attack type ever becoming obsolete. And each one has it's own strengths and drawbacks, but I'll get to that later.
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Element Drive
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*rubs hands together*
To anybody who's been following this topic from the beginning, I've been alluding to this for some time.
The Element Drive system would replace the old circular Element Guage from Cross. Instead, there is a bar that fills whenever you use an attack with an elemental affinity with that particular color. Due to the new way that Elements work, this may be easier than it was in Cross. Fill up the bar with one color, and...
Hello, Element Drive! From here on, the bar will gradually decrease as you take actions, and the field will change slightly in appearance (wind dancing around during a Green Element Drive, for example). Not only that, all Elements of that color will be instantly charged after use, and will become stronger as well. There are other beneficial effects, too.
But wait! I haven't told you the best part! Having a character in the battle party with the same innate as the Drive will put them into a sort of Super Mode (in Lark's case, he even transforms into a different form during a Red Element Drive). Their stats increase during the duration and so do their battle options. This is the only way for a character to use their Personal Summon or their Ultimate Tech. Enemies with the opposite color innate will also be weakened.
However, it's not without it's downside. The above goes for enemies, as they can get supercharged as well. Allies with the opposite innate color will have their stats lowered.
In short, weigh your options. Do you power up an ally at the possible risk of weakening another? Do you fire volley after volley of supercharged Elements? Or do you go for the Big Guns?
One day, I'd love to see this reach fruition in an official Chrono game... Oh well.
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Attacking and Stamina
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Attacking would basically be the same as in Chrono Cross. Light, Medium, and Heavy attacks with increasing hit percentages per successful attack, expending stamina for each attack. No big deal, right?
Stamina, on the other hand, is a bit different this time around. In Chrono Cross, every character had 7 Stamina, and that was it. In this game, how much stamina you start with depends on the character. Then, every 10 levels, you gain an extra point of Stamina, up to 10 by level **. Certain accessories and equipment can increase this number further.
This means that you can attack more times in one turn, cast stronger elements, and still have stamina left over for a Tech. However, you can still go into negative stamina, and if you're not careful, you may use up more stamina than you can recover in one turn. With poor planning, it's possible for a character to miss up to three turns.
Certain items can restore lost stamina, as well as most healing-based Dual Techs.
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Elements and the Element Grid
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In Crono Cross, Elements could only be used once per turn, and could not be recharged until the end of battle, except by using certain rare consumables and Techs. And they would use up ALL of your stamina.
This would no longer be the case. As Elements are classified as magic attacks, as long as you have enough Element Power in your Grid and enough Stamina, you can cast multiple Elements in one turn. Say for instance you had 5 Element Power and 5 Stamina; You could cast five Fireballs, Photonrays, Aquabeams, etc. Of course, Element Power and Stamina are linked. A level 4 Element would cost 4 Stamina.
The next big change is that Elements automatically recharge because they're now attacks. Of course, how quickly they recharge depends on the Element's level; A Bushwhacker Element recharges instantly compared to an Aeroblaster, which would take a bit longer.
Expanding on Cross' system of attacking then using an Element, you can go back and forth between the two in a single turn. This is called a Cross Combo, which I'll point out in more detail later.
Due to Items and Techs making a return, I figured Healing And Consumable Elements were no longer necessary.
Support Elements (HiRes, Strengthen, etc.) make a return. Because Elements and Techs are separate attack types, Support Elements stack with Support Techs (Strengthen and Lark's War Cry, for example).
As for the Element Grid, it's mostly the same as in Cross, with a max Element Level of 8, except that every character's grid is unique.
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Cross Combo
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Cross Combos are basically switching between physical attacks and Element attacks in one turn. Certain enemies will have barriers that will reduce ALL damage to single-digits. Cross Combos can disrupt these barriers so you can attack them normally.
Another aspect of Cross Combos is Chaining. Every hit you make during a Cross Combo increases the Chain count. The higher it goes, the more damage you do. You can even switch to an ally mid-attack and have them continue the chain.
Enemies will not take this abuse lying down and will interrupt your chain sooner or later. If they are with other enemies, it's a guarantee. Certain Elements and accessories will lower the chance of interruption, but once you get to a higher count, it's best to end the combo either by defending or using a Tech.
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Summons
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There are a total of 12 equippable Summon Elements, just as there were in Cross. Some have been added, others removed. Level 7 Summons can be used when the Element Guage is 50% full, Level 8 Summons can be used at 75%.
And then there are Personal Summons.
Each character has a patron Summon that can be unleashed during an Element Drive. The other two members will leave the battle once a Personal Summon has been called. The summon will fight alongside their charge, and you can input commands for them. They can take damage and must be healed to keep them in the fight. Since all of their attacks have their Element Affinity, the Drive takes longer to empty.
If your character is incapacitated, they will revive you and immediately disappear from battle. They will immediately disappear if their HP falls to 0. In either case, the character loses concentration and cannot act for the next few turns, leaving them at the enemies' mercy until your party members return to battle.
Recalling a Personal Summon at a certain point in the Element Drive will cause that Summon to use a super-powerful Dual Tech with your character.
Enemies killed by any Summon drop Shiny Materials used in forging Rainbow Shell equipment.
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Techs, Tech Points, and the Growth Tree
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Techs make a return to the forefront. When an enemy is too fast to hit with physical attacks, or when an enemy deploys a barrier to absorb Elements, or if you just want to lay waste to a group bunched up in the corner of the battlefield, that's when you bring these out.
Single Techs you'll probably use most often, but Dual and Triple Techs are now more powerful, with some inflicting multiple hits or even exceeding the Damage Limit of 9999. This actually makes them remotely viable. What a concept!
Of course, like all good things, there are drawbacks. Techs cost both MP and Stamina, and using a Tech will end your turn, regardless of how much Stamina you have remaining. Not only that, but even the most basic of Techs costs at least 7 Stamina. So weigh your options.
Moving on...
Tech points are not gained at the end of battle, but collected during battle as soon as you defeat an enemy. Of course most enemies usually give only one or two, but some give you five or ten. Some Techs, because of this, can be learned and used immediately in the middle of battle!
The Growth Tree is where you can actually learn your Techs, among other things. Just choose a node, and that node will receive Tech Points until the skill is learned.
Now, characters gain a natural stat progression as they level up. There are nodes on the Growth Tree with personal skills and stat boosts related to that character type. (Reika has mage-related boosts and skills, Glenn has skills that boost healing, etc.)
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Ultimate Techs
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An Ultimate Tech is a special attack unique to only that character. Immensely powerful, they are usually used as a last resort. You can activate a character's Ultimate Tech during an Element Drive, but only when the last 15% of the Element Guage remains.
You can even activate it during your Personal Summon. This counts as a recall. Think about that for a moment.
Using an Ultimate Tech leaves you entirely without Stamina for a few turns, so be careful.
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Items
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Items make a comeback. Every restorative Consumable Element from Cross is reimagined as items, as well as some brand new ones and a few classics. Tablets, Capsules, and Nostrums restore HP, items such as Ambrosias restore MP, Braces cure Yellow Status Ailments, etc.
Using an item in battle costs no Stamina, but your turn is used up.
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Weapons, Armor, Shops, Materials, and Forging
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There are Element Shops and Item Shops around, which are self-explanatory, as well as Equipment Shops, which sell accessories. Equipment Shops are also where you can buy armor, but there's a trick to it.
You have to visit the Forge in each town, and you must have both a base material (Copper, Iron, etc.) and a secondary material based on the character's armor type. (Silks for Schala's gowns, for example.) Once you have the materials, speak to the NPC Zappa (no, not that Zappa) and he'll get to work. Just head to the World Map and come back. He'll be done and you can buy the finished product at the Equipment Shop for a reasonable fee since you provided the materials. Each secondary material will net you all four armors for that set.
The Forge is also where you'll get your weapons. Just speak to Zappa with the necessary materials and Gold, and he'll forge your weapons on the spot.
Characters can equip a weapon, armor for the head, body, arms, and legs, and up to three accessories.
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New Game and New Game+
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There are certain things one should know about a New Game. The level cap is 50. Once you reach that level, an entire mass of nodes appears on each character's Growth Tree, starting with Exceed HP/MP Limit. Yet you can't put any Tech Points into it. Why? Why are the HP/MP limits? Why can the damage limit be exceeded? Why are there so many ways to make your characters stronger than they should be for a main game?
The answer is that New Game+ is a lot harder. Enemies receive massive level boosts, and bosses have revamped AI scripts. Every skill and power-up you get will be needed. Thankfully, as with every New Game+ before it, you get to carry over your levels, Elements, Techs, and equipment. And each character can aquire a set of brand new Ultimate equipment to help take on even the hardest of superbosses. Of course, the level cap is removed, as well as the growth tree cap.
You also receive the mighty Time Shifter Key Item. Anyone who's played Chrono Cross will rejoice.
Of course there are multiple endings to this game. However, the Bad Ending is mandatory for the initial playthrough for storyline reasons. And you can't get the extra endings until you get the Normal Ending, also for storyline reasons. There's got to be a Golden Ending somewhere around here, right? And why is everything so much more difficult?
Well, let's just say that there's a reason the Trope is called Earn Your Happy Ending.
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Command Sequence
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Chrono Saga: To the Sea of Dreams is not just a story about Schala. It's also a story about war, and there will be times during the game where you will be suddenly thrust into command of various groups opposing the militaristic nation of Porre.
Command Sequences are a bit of a genre-shift from RPG to RTS. One of the characters will end up taking the role of Commander and will be responsible for leading your allies to victory. The commander is fixed for each sequence due to storyline purposes.
Your other characters and certain NPCs lead specialized units which must be given commands throughout the battle.
The Commander can move freely over the map, and can engage enemies at any time. They can also choose from specialized units to aid them during combat.
Initiating combat leads to a separate battle screen. Depending on how many turns it takes to win, the enemy could gain ground. Use your allied units to hold them off.
Allied units can be moved to certain locations, useful for ambushing the enemy. Depending on the type of unit they lead and the enemy they fight, your allies can either take the enemy down themselves or struggle. If they struggle, it is up to the Commander to save them.
If an ally is defeated, they start back at the Home Base minus one of their units. If an ally is defeated when they have no units left, the battle will be lost. If an enemy unit reaches Home Base, the battle will be lost. If the Commander is defeated, the battle will be lost.
Thankfully, you can restart the battle with all previous normal enemy units defeated.
The Commander and certain allies will also have access to Area Effect techniques unique to their character type. However, there is a sizable recharge period after use, so know when to use them.
Some battles will have scripted events such as reinforcements or enemy ambushes. Make sure you know how to deal with changing battle conditions.
The battle will be won when you defeat the enemy General or achieve a certain condition. Generals are powerful foes and should be swarmed by your main character allies before initiating combat.
Combat in Command Sequences takes place on a separate screen, with the Commander and four other units (or allies if you're aiding them). Main characters have access to all of the techs they've currently learned. Your units or battle allies have no HP bars, as only the Commander's health matters.
Victory will net you Gold, Experience, Materials, and Tech Points.
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Missions
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The Zweibreicht Company are, needless to say, mercenaries. As such, they need regular work in order to continue operations... or at least keep themselves fed.
In the towns of San Dorino, Truce, and Termina, there are liaisons from the Mercenaries' Guild with available jobs to undertake in-between major story events. Some missions are simple search or fetch quests, while others offer deeper insight into certain characters, while others are bounty hunts, and some actually tie into the story.
All missions must be completed before you can move on to the next story event, and unlike other games with mission mechanics, they cannot be failed nor are they ranked.
Completing missions will net you money, Tech Points, valuable Elements, and Materials for forging.
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World Map
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Upon leaving the initial dungeons, you will have access to the world map. Taking cues from Trigger and Cross, there are Towns, Dungeons, and Transition Areas.
With Transition Areas, you must enter through it before you can go anywhere else. After completing a Transition Area once, you can pass through it on the world map safely without entering.
You can save your game anywhere on the world map.
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Skits
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Taking a cue from Namco's Tales Series, Skits are optional mini-scenes that offer insight to the world, to characters, and generally show the bonds between them.
(Some of them can just be entertaining.)
Skits can be seen at Save Points and by standing near certain landmarks or events.
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The Codex
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Basically an in-game encyclopedia. One can look through story synopsis by event; mission synopsis; bestiary; tech, element, and summon info; location info; character bios... etc.
Later in the game, you can help Techno reconstruct the original timeline from before it was ruined. Doing so is required for the True Ending. You also get other rewards for completing various sections of the Codex.
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The Developer's Office
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There is no Developer's Ending this time. *Dodges pitchforks.* Instead, the Developer's Office counts as the game's Extras Menu. You can listen to music, watch in-game FMVs, basically anything you can do in the CTDS Extras Menu.
You can also go into the Developer's Office itself, but at the beginning of the game, you may find it to be woefully empty.
Going through the game, you can aquire new tunes and movies, and with every ending you get, more of the Office fills up with people and things. You can bring along up to three of the 7 main characters. Different combinations will react to different things, all in the name of entertainment and relaxation.
Just be sure to avoid the guy who does the 'Reset Gag'. He just may have a nasty surprise waiting.
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(*phew!* So what do you all think? Would this work? Anyway, I think that's all of it. Let me know if there's something I'm missing.)