Chrono Trigger - Redreamt

[Yoko Endovale]

Chrono Trigger Redreamt
Co-authored with Verilligo, AKA my snugglebunny.

'A faithful retelling of a classic story... you'll still hate time travel, though.'
Chrono Trigger: ReDreamt is a journey through the CT storyline with new, carefully knit additions. While the flow of the story fits events outlined in the original, the new twists and turns add an extra sense of excitement and enlightenment to this vision of the plot. How would the story be viewed by outsiders? A time-tortured mage... the soundly beat-down member of a royal family... a time-traveler wandering the recesses.... This is Chrono Trigger, ReDreamt.

The FAQ Document (Spoilers)

Chrono Trigger ReDreamt FAQS + Plot Analysis (01 21 09)

CHAPTERS - Downloadable Form

Chapter 0 - In Anticipo
Chapter 1 - Comincia
Chapter 2 - Andare Indeitro
Chapter 3 - Salvataggio
Chapter 4 - Giudicato
Chapter 5 - I Prigionieri
Chapter 6 - Grande Inedia
Chapter 7 - Metallo di Sonno
Chapter 8 - Conclusione de Tempo
Chapter 9 - Casa, Presto...
Chapter 10 - Cambiamenti
Chapter 11 - Progettazione
Chapter 12 - Per Essere un Eroe...
Chapter 13 - Prima di Storia
Chapter 14 - Passare le Mani
Chapter 15 - Coraggio Ispiratio
Chapter 16 - La Nostra Riunione
Chapter 17 - Piccole Parti
Chapter 18 - Stella Rossa

New - The Archive
CT RD Archive / Feb. 04 2009 (Chapter 0 - 17)

FANFICTION.NET CHAPTERS

Chapter 0 - In Anticipo
Chapter 1 - Comincia
Chapter 2 - Andare Indeitro
Chapter 3 - Salvataggio
Chapter 4 - Giudicato
Chapter 5 - I Prigionieri
Chapter 6 - Grande Inedia
Chapter 7 - Metallo di Sonno
Chapter 8 - Conclusione de Tempo
Chapter 9 - Casa, Presto...
Chapter 10 - Cambiamenti
Chapter 11 - Progettazione
Chapter 12 - Per Essere un Eroe...
Chapter 13 - Prima di Storia
Chapter 14 - Passare le Mani
Chapter 15 - Coraggio Ispirato
Chapter 16 - La Nostra Riunione
Chapter 17 - Piccole Parti
Chapter 18 - Stella Rossa

The Reviews

Updated quite frequently.

For the curious, the subtitles are in Italian. Here are their translations:

In Anticipo - In Anticipation...
Comenica - Beginning
Andare Indeitro - Going Back
Salvataggio - Rescue
Guidicato - The Judged
I Prigionieri - The Prisoners
Grande Inedia - Great Starvation
Metallo di Sonno - Sleeping Metal
Conclusione de Tempo - End of Time
Casa, Presto... - Home, Soon...
Cambiamenti - Changes
Progettazione - Planning
Per Essere un Eroe... - For Being a Hero...
Prima di Storia - Before History
Passare le Mano - Passing Hands
Coraggio Ispirato - Inspired Courage
La Nostra Riunione - Our Reunion
Piccole Parti - Little Pieces
Stella Rossa - Red Star

Next projected chapter is: La Grande Isola Sulle Nubi (The Great Island On the Clouds)

[Yoko Endovale]

(Taken from a document written to cover FAQs! Download it here: CTRD FAQs)
   Wow. Writing this story, I didn't think I'd get so many interesting questions regarding little plot details in my story. Because I love to overdiscuss my plots, I've decided to record my long-winded answers in this FAQ format about things currently in the plot. The story's first chapter was published on 01-13-09.

ABSOLUTELY MAJOR SPOILERS.

As of 01-20-09 we are on the 9th chapter, and here's questions tossed at me.

General Story FAQs

What is this fanfiction? Is it a pure retelling, and of what version of the game?
   ReDreamt is a retelling of the story with a few additions to explain plot inconsistencies and give an edge to the story to make it interesting to work through again. It's native format is actually a set of 42 roleplaying logs that were done between me and my boyfriend, Verilligo. It's been several years since we've touched it, but with the release of CT:DS I decided to convert it into a novel-style format. This is based on the original English script released on the SNES, with the ending additions made canon by the release of the PSX version. There is no connection to the plot points in CT:DS because this was pre-written well before its release. Technically it is not a purist's retelling because of additions and different views of the events and how time works. Because of this we do not accept flames, but are willing to take intelligent discussions and questions.

How did you translate Roleplaying into Novel format, and what does it look like?
   Because Y-E is the major lead of the roleplay (Her list of characters is staggeringly long compared to Verilligo's) she is the one in charge of rewriting it as a novel. There are 42 logs of heavy dialog between the characters with little out of character notes in locations. Thus the dialog is already written, the actions must be completely done over. So far out of 42 logs, she has translated 4 into novel format, equalling about 8 and a half chapters. Thus this is going to be insanely long if she doesn't cut junk out.
   Here's a quick example for the difference between the logs and the novel. Let's take the opening sequence for example:

(LOG VERSION)
*ahem. Ding! Ding! Ah, the sound of Leene's bell to wake you up on a fine morning... nothing quite like it. Not to mention.. CARNIVAL 8D!'*
Mom: ^o^ Wake up, dear! *comes up the stairs*
Crono: <snore> Jussa little longer...
Mom: *throws open the shutters* Come on now, rise and shine!
Crono: <winces from the sudden sunlight> Hey, hey, do that slowly, please. o.<
Mom: ^o^ Oh, but you should be excited today! Remember the carnival, dear? If you don't hurry, you'll miss it!

(NOVEL VERSION)
   An air of jolity was steeped high throughout the kingdom of Guardia; it was a bright day and even the sky, sun, and animals seemed to be rejoicing the wonderful events taking place at the square... The sun was fixed at high-noon position and everyone was bustling about energetically... well, except for one soul. Locked away in unknown dreams, a young man clung to his pillows as a cat, perched atop him, purred and snoozed. Finally, from downstairs came a sharp call, though sounding ever so cheery: "Time to wake up!"
   "Jussa... little longer..." Crono snored. His mother walked upstairs and threw the curtains open, letting in the stinging, sleep-destroying light of the day. Both the cat and Crono winced viciously at the introduction.
   "Come on now, rise and shine!"
   "Hey, hey...!" He groaned, "Do that slowly..."
   The cat blinked a few times before hopping off the bed and circling the woman's legs and purring endearingly. Mom laughed and reached down, petting the feline before continuing, "Oh, but you ought to be so excited! Don't you remember what today is?"
   "Uh..."
   "Remember the carnival, dear?" Mom grinned, "If you don't get out of bed, you're going to miss it!"

   Notice how very few lines of dialog has suddenly exploded into paragraphs with descriptions. This is what I do with EVERY part of the dialog. There have been some changes from the original logs and the story, for various reasons. However, I will not present the original logs because of privacy.

What's this 'Dalton Didn't Do It' thing?
   The CT:DS plot did not exist at the time of this writing. Dalton dies in this story, and does not come back, and will not in any circumstances in this story. Neither does Magus lose his memory nor do we see Schala with the Time Devourer. Sorry, dudes. It just doesn't happen.

I hate your additions! Can I flame you?
   No. Sorry you don't like the additions. But they aren't going away, and exist in our original logs. You can discuss it with us intelligently WHY you don't like them, but don't flame us, cuz we ain't gonna listen.

Why does Y-E have such a huge list of character credits?
   Yoko acts as gamemaster. She's the one who controls the events and thus many major story characters that are affected by this.

I love your story! Can I borrow it/advertise it/rewrite it/quote it/draw art for it?
   Borrowing in our eyes means you host it elsewhere in its unchanged native format with all credits listed to who it is due. You may advertise it by all means but don't spam it. If you want to rewrite it, or translate it into another language, do ask first and include all credits where due. If you quote it, we'd like some credit. If you draw us art? We'll name our firstborn after you. We just want to know what you're doing with our hard work and where it goes.

What characters belong to you guys?
If you are meaning who did who, check out the intro. If you're asking about copyright issues, the only characters we honestly truly have claim over would probably be Alphonz, Reiz, Megumi, Morris, Dennis, and Houe. The rest of them we adore but do not have any claim to. Please don't sue us. PLEASE.

Time Questions

How does time work in CT:RD? Does it fix any paradoxes?
   Time flows in a cycle in most of our stories me and my boyfriend work on. Thus, while eventually the story must end, it may start over again from the beginning and rework itself. Our story takes the idea of split timelines from Chrono Cross and the changes that occur in time in Chrono Trigger. The key words 'Fate', 'Luck' and 'Time' come up as descriptive nouns indicating that they are considered to be the unknown Entity or Entities mentioned in the game.
   Time tends to protect itself from changes, taking our example from the 'But the future refused to change' end screen if you fail to destroy Lavos. While technically something could have changed upon them finding Lavos, history still came out the same. Destroy Lavos and you get your happy happy ending of joy. We explained this instance among each other that in order to counteract Time's resistance there must be a significant, unignorable change.
   What about the Marle Paradox, then?
   Marle disappeared after Leene wasn't found. Technically this should have also erased the ability of everyone getting to 600 AD. After the group rescues Leene, Marle reappears with ease and complains of going to quite a scary place. While, in relation to the ability of the heroes coming to 600 AD is huge to their existance, it's a rather small blip in time. The heroes existing outside of their normal time remember Marle as existing. This causes the timeline to split in half, creating a frame of refrence where Marle is, and one where Marle isn't. To prevent this paradox, Time itself sealed Marle into a sort of bubble until things were fixed, which is why she came back with so little issue. This then allows Time to discard the newly created timeline that could cause damage into the Tesseract as a memory, since Marle and company are aware of the event happening.
   The Tesseract?
   The Tesseract is explored in Chrono Cross as a 'landing ground' for discarded futures. Any time a change was made, it caused time to split off into several threads of existance. Going back in time, when a person makes a change in history they remember this. But without that timeline existing, the memory would not be possible - Time, to prevent damage, would pass that into the Tesseract instead of having to undo itself for every little change. However in Chrono Cross, the
timestreams are merged by Serge's 50/50 chance of dying, causing the things in the Tesseract and current time stream to merge.
   Time bubbles?
   Let us take for example Marle's disappearance. It was sudden, and did not affect Crono and Lucca from existing or reaching 600 AD, except that by all means it should have. In this instance Time immediately swallowed her up in a bubble, displacing her from the timeline but leaving her as a memory, giving Crono a chance to fix the event. Upon doing so, Marle was returned very easily. This way a huge change that could pull Time apart by the seams was prevented in a tidy little fashion.
   
How does Alphonz travel through time without using gates?
   (See the answer in Addition Questions since it involves an additional character)

What technology exists in CT:RD's 1000 AD and why is there inconsistencies?
   For the most part, the technology available in 1000 AD we didn't think too hard about. You'll notice Crono and company refrences such things as TV shows, movies, and Crono is a fan of translated manga. However, upon traveling to the future they have no idea what a motorcycle is nor a roadway. Yet again, though, Lucca recognizes a computer and they all very much understand the robots. The original game has it's own little things like this, especially thanks to Lucca: we all know Gato and her Teleporter quite well. What we like to think is that time never actually comes to a true end (see 'How does the time work in your story?') and the presence of free time travel would allow technology to exist in times it simply could not. This is just a generic sort of idea, but also influenced some by the technology found in Chrono Cross later.

What is Fate, Luck, and Time? How are they different?
   These are our 'Entities', the unknown forces that help direct the plot. Time is the basis of which everything flows: that is history and it's makings. However, Time is very fragile. It wants to protect itself from damage and does so by creating bubbles and discarding old futures. Fate is a gatekeeper of sorts; it is often mentioned in the story that Fate destroys those with too much luck, good or bad. This is because if someone had too much in either way, it could wound time, so Fate surgically cuts them out of the picture, so to speak, in various ways. Luck is a less-explored entity but it favors change that Time is afraid of. One will notice Crono is very sheltered in the instance of luck, with things always balancing out. For example:
   Runs into Marle, makes a new friend / Marle disappears and needs rescuing.
   Witnesses Marle disappear / Lucca immediately shows up with explination.
   Runs into trouble at the Chapel / Gets assisted by Frog
   Even further on in the story, this continues:
   When going to Prehistoric times, surrounded by Reptites / Ayla instantly runs in.
   Lost the Gate Key / Azala is uninterested.
   Also, the biggest point of all:
   He dies / Of course, can be fixed.
Why is this? The only theory I can project is that for some reason Luck is very neutral around him. Perhaps without this minute balance there could be an extreme, damaging change in time. Luck is still a bit of an enigma in our minds, and we cannot explain it's workings or intent. The best I can say is that perhaps it is the mischevious child in the Three Entities.

Addition Questions

Why is Crono's cat named Dog, of all things? And why is he starving?
   This is a long-running in joke between me (YE) and my little sister who is autistic. She needed names to refer to objects, and when we played CT, she thought it was funny to call the cat Dog. So the story goes that Crono wanted a dog but his mother didn't let him. So he got the cat instead and NAMED it Dog out of spite. The fact he's starving is a game reference, for the fact you can't BUY catfood, you can only win it. Here he was able to buy a tin but it was insanely expensive. So obviously poor Dog only gets his food when money isn't tight.

Where did this 'Zealian Royal Purple' cat breed come from?
   In the fair, Marle begs Crono to win her a cat. We're introduced to a certain purple one identified as a Zealian Royal Purple. This is a very obvious refrence to the famous purple cat of the game named Alfador. In-game, if Crono has cats and catfood, eventually the last kitten is purple akin to Alfador, establishing it may be a possible breed trait.
   So it's the result of extreme in-breeding?
   Absolutely. Most cat breeds are, especially in the case of visible mutations as in the Scottish Fold breed. Take for example the color orange in cats. The color is a mutation of the black gene. So somewhere in the world of Chrono Trigger the purple/silver gene was introduced way back in Zealian times. Given how much priority was given to their own hair color (artificially dyed blue - though note a later FAQ that will pop up later) it wouldn't be a surprise to me if they would quickly establish the coat mutation as the official royal breed. It later resurfaces as an interesting plot point as well. But do take note that Alphonz is artificially created - which would seem to nix the breed - except for the fact in game you may yet breed your own purple cat.

How does Alphonz travel through time without using gates?
   Alphonz is an interesting example of time displacement in our story. Alphonz was originally a mage who could animate stuffed animals - when he was murdered, his soul was snapped back to the cat. Thus time was fixed upon his disappearance. However, now as an inanimate object, Alphonz became immortal. He lived until the very End of Time. Now when Time began a new cycle at whatever point, his re-emergence into the streams could have been cataclysmic. Time immediately sealed him in his own bubble and now he exists in a frame of refrence outside of normal history. Technically 'Alphonz' only exists as his human form in history, and then his animated cat 'Hearth' replaces him without anybody knowing his existance. Alphonz the Cat does NOT exist and is sealed in his own bubble. This is made apparent when Flea seemingly kills him when they rescue Cecelia - his bubble collapses and whisks him away to be repaired, so his death does not get recorded in history. He reappears later in one piece but very sore from the experience. Because of this unwelcome immortality, he complains quite a bit about life in the story.

What are these Spectrum and Prism Elements?
All elements used as once in sort of the vein of the Chrono Cross. Because it's all elemented, it's strong as hell. Except that it is also weak against itself. It's very hard to master and is Alphonz and Flea's innate element type in this story.

Cameos and References

What is (name here) referring to in (instance)?
Chapter 1:
Crono believes Marle is from the Funny Farm, aka the mental asylum.
Marle asks Norstein Bekkler if he's the Wizard of Oz, refrencing the fact in the book/show/whathaveyou Dorothy and co. see him as a big projected floating head.
The cat-food vendor says "Thank-you Come Again." This is a refrence to the Simpsons and Apu at the Kwik-e-Mart who says said phrase in a certain way.
Chapter 2:
Crono mutters "Holy bajeebus, Batman" in refrence to the old TV show. Robin always says something akin to this as a catchphrase. ('Holy batflaps, Grandma!')
Crono doesn't understand 'miao-ese'. This is simply like saying one does not understand Chinese.
Funny 'shrooms - hallucengenic mushrooms that cause strange drug trips.
Cecelia looks like she's from the Renaissance Faire - A fair staged in modern times to mimic life in the 'olde days' of knights and kings.
Arranged marriages are uncommon to Crono's time - in Cecelia's, it's not too uncommon for a girl to be sold or bought into a marraige for whatever reason.
Cecelia believes Crono's way of speaking is quaint - Catch you later is modern day slang.
Marle shouts 'YO YO YO WHAZZUP MY HOMIE!' - Stereotypical 'gangsta' speech that is actually sort of racistly applied to blacks.
"Here comes Lucca to save the day!" - "Here he comes to save the day!" A refrence to Mighty Mouse.
Crono bemuses over an epsiode of Star Wreck. This is a parody of the show Star Treck.
Chapter 3:
Alphonz speaks French - Miao is the French word for Meow.
Frog doesn't understand the term 'whoop some ass' - that's modern slang for the obvious.
'Party time down at Monster Mansion' - A refrence to the song 'The Monster Mash' and Mad Monster Mansion from Banjo-Kazooie.
Party snacks - Dorito chips and Twinkies are modern day fare. How'd those fools get them?
Pot roast - a certain type of cooking done to meat, in a pot. Considered old fashioned but hardy.
Guns aren't invented yet, yet Lucca has a new one. She says it's a hairdryer turned deadly.
Marle's cover is blown to 'kingdom come' - just a figure of speech to say it's not a secret at all.
Chapter 4:
A witch, his enchanted cat, and the witch burning era: Refrences to the Salem Witch Trials.
The people present at the trial are all cameos. See below.
Do It Yourself books - very common on the market. Most notably is the (subject) for Dummies series.
Seperate trials per person - It's a law, which obviously the Judge doesn't care about.
Chapter 5:
Crono says the cat knows kung fu - that's slang for martial arts.
A party float - The displays-on-wheels in parades.
Spritz Cookie press gun - A spritzer is a type of mold, to make spritz cookies. They come in various shapes and are uncommon, but traditionally made around christmas time.
Lucca gets tarred and feathered. A now outdated but once common punishment for various offenses.
Contact Billy for Repairs - The dragontank must be running Microsoft if it's calling for Bill Gates.
Ash fighting! Crono and the gang are treating it as if it were snow. Wonder if you could make an ash man.
Chapter 6:
The Mutants are reworked in description. They're a refrence to a certain type of gross deformity that is fatal in infants that were exposed to high radiation while in the womb.
Public relations - Lucca's too shy to engage in heavy conversation.
Sushi for dinner - Sushi is a japanese dish, consisting of rice and other ingredients both raw and cooked.
Domo Domo Domo - Marle is singing this song by Smile DK.
Crossbow is kept in Marle's pants. This is a refrence to the in-game sprite, where she always appears to pull the crossbow from her waist. Where else would she be keeping it if she has to pull it out there?
Alphonz digs out twinkies and instant ramen. Twinkies are joked of as never going bad, and instant ramen just needs some water to be cooked.
'Sube' = 'So under best examples...'
"Oooh, what does THIS button do?" The inevitable trouble-causing phrase uttered by DeeDee on Dexter's Lab.
Chapter 7:
Channel 5 news is a spoof of Space Channel 5
More fun to ride - This is a very, very naughty joke, and if you don't get it, you're not mature enough to know.
Johnny and the Gang are being stereotypically and quite racistly black. Don't be offended, please, it's just for the laugh.
Lucca's asthma attacks - She obviously has bad asthma and uses her inhaler alot in these chapters. She has an emergency shot as well in her bag to open her airways, which Crono gives to her. Asthma is a real disease, of course, and not to be taken lightly. She had a very strong possibility of suffocating in these chapters.
Chapter 8:
The Twilight Zone - Stories and a famous TV show about strange experiences, often fatal for the person involved.
Spekkio's 'Bunny' appearance is actually that of a Poyozo, as in line with the game.
Make me a latte! A latte is a high-caffienated coffee beverage. Robo is acting as a dispenser seen in offices and such.
Chapter 9:
Spam is lunchmeat or junk email. Take your pick.
Lucca suggests they buy the postcard. Common fare at tourist traps.
Handy with her hands, magic fingers... another naughty reference.
Alphonz's song is a slight reference to 'My Song' from Idolmaster.
Kentucky Fried Bug - what Lavos would be if Colonel Sanders got through with it.
Timmy's fallen down the well! Silly classic Lassie-style story fare.

Who are those people at Crono's trial?
Bob Villa is a real person, a rather famous do-it-yourself-er, hence his constant refrences to home improvement during the trial and his misunderstanding of law. Gary is Gary White of the Phoenix Wright games, which entirely revolve around court preceedings. Miki Hoshii was a late addition, being a character from the japanese game IDOLM@STER, who while being pretty smart has never worked for a thing in her life. Originally Gary and Miki were non-incidental characters with no importance.

The Authors

Yoko Endovale
   I am a college student currently, as of this writing, on medical leave for acute post-traumatic stress disorder. I've written several other fanfics, probably most dramatic being In Wake. This project will definitely be the longest one I've ever worked on. On average I churn out one chapter a day, which is 7 pages long in 10 point Arial font, no double spacing. That's huge, man!

Who is your favorite character in Chrono Trigger and why?
   Undoubtably my favorite character is Lucca Ashtear, for many reasons. First of all, when my mother got the original game she named Lucca after me and had me read her lines. Because I was learning how to read, it really helped me get interested and I like to think partially because of that, I'm a good writer and reader now. But also, Lucca is very much like I used to be: shy, but excitable when presented with topics she enjoys. Very hard-driven and handy with technology, and wickedly smart. But her insecurities are particularly crippling, making Crono her probably only friend for a long time, a situation I went through as well.

Who was a challenge to write for?
   I had a hard time actually balancing for Marle. I'm not an optomistic individual so having her so perky and joyful was really odd (LOL). However she was particularly interesting too because while she seems like a ditz on the outside she does have a thinking mind behind it and it comes through now and then. She's really overblown in the beginning because she's scared about being alone at the fair. I really do love her energy now though.

Who was the easiest for you to write for?
   Undoubtably Lucca, because we think in much the same way. Alphonz also was laughably easy to write lines for, since he's pretty much an embodiment of my depression. However, one of the most fun people to write for was Spekkio. Who else would get away with calling the main character a pissbag?

Of Verilligo's characters, which one was your favorite to interact with?
   Oh man (LOL) they're all a riot. I particularly love the interactions between Robo and Lucca for the most part, because they just obviously adore each other and several things they do are quite clever. It's like somehow they were just the people each other was missing. I also love talking to Frog because of how fantastic Verilligo got his speech down. Also having little negative Janus was funny, and it was fun being his cat.

What did you dislike most about the story or the game?
   Huh. I really dislike writing combat in story format. It's long, annoying, and just ew. But as for storyline details, I really didn't like how Magus had nothing resolved for him, really, and that the Zeal family was pretty much made out on first glance to be pretty awful. To give that entire story thread a facelift I added in Reiz Zeal, sister to the Queen. Also, as I've more recently discovered, it seems odd that if you bring Magus to see Alfador after Zeal falls that he doesn't take his kitty. He totally would, man. Alfador is somewhere else in the story...

Verilligo
Hey, guys! I’m Verilligo, sometimes known as Vert when the name isn’t taken. I’m presently a graduate student in college working on my Master’s degree, so this writing stuff is one of those things I do to take the edge off the end of the day. Unlike Yoko, CT isn’t one of those games that define my childhood. Tip of the hat goes to Breath of Fire for that. But I do love the game dearly and going through the process of reliving the game in the roles of its characters was a lot of fun. I’m also sure I’m just about the sixth thousandth person to say that, too. But hey, fun is fun.

Who is your favorite character in Chrono Trigger and why?
Heh, easily Frog. There’s just so much charm to his character that you can’t help but sympathize with the guy. What’s their not to love about a giant talking frog with a sword that shows off his muscles as his victory animation? Silly as all hell, but totally awesome. The Middle English was probably the biggest thing here that I enjoyed, though, I’ve always had a real love for that sort of accent style. It was also the biggest thing that turned me off the DS version. I can live with the added canon if I don’t actually have to believe or see it, but totally changing Frog’s dialogue was assaulting a holy grail.

Who was a challenge to write for?
You know, it’s a toss-up between Robo and Magus. The problem I had with Robo was that I always felt he was a little too… humanized in the original. So my goal was to make him a little more mechanical in nature, but not go so far that he was just another robot. Hitting the right balance was a little tricky. I borrowed a few influences from other sources while writing for him; a little Battletech, a few Asimovian directives, even a little Star Trek from time to time. And then Magus was just hard because he doesn’t say much in the game even. He’s pretty quiet and brooding, a little cliché. Livening him up a little wasn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world.

Who was the easiest for you to write for?
Crono, actually! Probably because since he doesn’t have any lines in the game (save one small ending) you can alter his character however you feel. It just so happened at the time I was feeling like a snarky jackass. So I made Crono into as big of a smartass as I could for the heck of it. It was probably the most fun I’ve had in a while! I’ll also admit that his character received a lot of influence from Richard Dean Anderson’s character of Jack O’Neill on Stargate SG-1. I happen to have an undying love of people that can make light of any situation, even when potentially inappropriate.

Of Yoko’s characters, which one was your favorite to interact with?
Probably Lucca, to be honest. She’s just so different from Crono and yet even in the game they’re the best of friends. Their little jibs and jabs always made me grin while writing. When Lucca, Marle, and Crono were all together, it made for some high times. This meant the early part of the story was a total blast for me.

What did you dislike most about the story or the game?
Probably what I disliked most was that not all of the characters got as much face time as I would’ve hoped for. Some characters (poor Ayla) got stuck in the End of Time an awful lot. Part of that is just due to my own issues with writing and dealing with large numbers of characters. I just can’t pull it off well at all. This, incidentally, is part of the reason that Yoko has so many of the characters. I could ask for more, I just don’t because I’d be flustered by the end of it. This may or may not get fixed as part of the rewrite. Other than that… combat scenes are always a pain. We do our writing for those without rules or dice or anything, so it’s always a challenge saying just how good the characters are at beating the pants off the forces of evil.

And Finally, a Rant

Chrono Trigger: DS.
   A new release of one of my favorite roleplaying games. When it was first announced I about died with happiness - a portable version of CT? That was a DREAM! Whipping it out at the doctor's office or when I was stressed, especially after being diagnosed with APST Disorder. It really got me excited.
   That was until I heard a bit about the retranslation. Well, alright, I figured. That's not so bad. A touchup of the script here and there would make things interesting. So I waited with glee but empty wallet since I couldn't hold a job during treatment.

   So it's released. Happy and spanky! Normally I don't read reviews on games but I really wanted to know what was going on. What I read and found out elsewhere absolutely horrified me. While the changes to the script bothered me enough, the added canon was absolutely terrifying.
   First off, while people keep insisting to me that the script sounds more 'authentically medeval', I am extremely, extremely disappointed. It's so dumbed down it's like reading a a required school novel you have to write a report for. All of the magic of the interesting script was gone. Now it has become a generic current-release roleplay, which have most recently rather stunk. (Really, when's the last time we've had a game you could consider a timeless classic? The only thing even close enough is probably the first Kingdom Hearts and most people don't agree with me.) What the hell is up with that?
   But the real kicker is the added canon. So now Magus is actually planning on destroying everything because he's just a vacant emo bastard. But good news, everyone, he forgets everything! And the wounds we received in Chrono Cross were torn back open with salt poured in. Let's see, Crono and Marle are killed by an outsider of time... Dalton!

   ... Dalton?
   .... DALTON?!?

   What. The. Hell. Dalton was a vapid, blonde buttwipe of a character who's only existance was to make you hate him and get the wings for the Epoch. How someone so devoid of brain matter could somehow get outside of time is BEYOND mind-boggling. It's INFURIATING to the senses. It doesn't even make any FUCKING SENSE because don't you kill the bastard to begin with? His final attack is to -belch- on you. I completely DISBELIEVE.
   I can understand what they did with Lucca in Chrono Cross. That was a pivotal plot point. I was hurt by the idea Marle and Crono could have died, but there was that lingering chance they didn't. But with this release with the new 'canon' that's pretty much all torn to pieces. And why? Why are they doing this to something I adored so much?

   Purity of plot can mean alot of things to alot of people. It is understood when something is brought out of it's original language it's going to undergo changes. Jokes are very hard to translate, as are refrences to speech. Also it is very understood video games in America are censored to bits, especially in the golden SNES era.
   So those who claim purity issues... couldn't you have just played your stupid Japanese version and left the rest of us out? This is NOT the game we knew when it came out. I was, what, 6? I didn't know about Japan to begin with. So turning this game into a 'pure' translation (Which it STILL isn't, according to many people) has morphed it into something so unrecognizable it makes me HATE the fact it exists.

   What makes me more upset is now that since it IS canon, I seemingly am unable to reject the plot changes that never happened in my world. All my nicely planned theories are now worthless because of the DS version.

   I hate, hate HATE the fucking DS version of Chrono Trigger.
   So, in short:
   DALTON DIDN'T DO IT.

[TriforceofEternity]

I read the intro and you said you don't like complaints so I am  not sure how well you equaly handle questions.   I'll just test-drive it with something very easy and not that controversial. 




How come Chrono didn't get his 250G fair money?   

In the game you go back in the house and his mom says something like.  "Whoops I almost forgot your allowance dear receives 250G* and I think you can buy yourself a wooden sword or fight a tiny bit and you get one from earning just a bit more.   

I always do that when I play and it makes a real difference in battles to come.   


"Welcome ladies and gents, to a show you'll never forget!" Lucca's father, Taban, spoke loudly. The crowd looked uneasy. "Today we have a TREAT for you, a great invention created by my lovely daughter!"

Yep they'll never forget it all right.   Looks like Taban was true to his words. 

[Yoko Endovale]

He didn't get it because I think he had his money stashed under his bed, and then he used most of it to buy Dog's food. Besides, did he have the time to buy a sword with Marle dragging him around? Haha. It's just how things worked out. We didn't stick close to the things in the game you can do for strategy.

Taban speaks a sage's words right there. 

[TriforceofEternity]

Thanks for the response and not screaming at me bout how I should STFU it about the money as I reallly like your story and I think purists (in general) take things too seriously for their own health.   

Wahhhhhhhhh I can't download the d--n thing as rapid share things I am download something when I am not.  I am so upset I can barly type this. 

[Yoko Endovale]

Oh no, sorry about that! The main difference in the downloaded ones is my original text formatting survives.

Someday I'll throw them into a zip file for batch downloading. But I just happen to have a Rapidshare Premium account to use.
But the story is the exact same as in the Fanfiction.net pages. And as for asking questions, everyone deserves to be treated kindly no matter what. Questions are good, after all!

[TriforceofEternity]

Thanks.  I hope it gets zipped soon.   ChronoCompendium thanks you.

[Yoko Endovale]

Beeettter add this since it's rapidly becoming an FAQ.

Why did you miss (plot or strategy detail?)
   Because of the nature of the original format of the story, there were bound to be details assumed and skipped over. For example, in the native format we never did the sidequest with the forest, yet the quest to save Lara's legs still existed. Why? Because Yoko never triggered it in her version of the game! Anyway, strategy detail is overlooked quite often because again, we're not arming our characters for a RPG fight. It's all text done without dice rolls and numbers.

Why did you not fight (monster/person name here?)
   Combat in story format can really, really, really be awful. Even in the roleplay format we avoided it where possible. While in a game this is basically your essential, in a story, it is not. Translating fighting scenes is something I hate to do anyway, because the placement of each character is hard to keep in order. What happens if you accidentally move a character right into the path of another? Off goes a limb or something. It's really, really unpleasant. So we skipped as many minor bossfights as possible.

[TriforceofEternity]

Tetraforce 2009-02-17 . chapter 15
LOL. Marle should make her own hug theropy place to make people happy.

[TriforceofEternity]

Chapter 16 review also from fanfiction.net:


Tetraforce 2009-02-17 . chapter 16


Robo: "Correction Author: According to my calculations the doors to Magu's lair were not locked."

Tetraforce: Thank you Robo for pointing that out to the author. Are you done so I can review?

Robo: "certinaly."

Good chapter though I am sad that Marle isn't going to Frog to hug him. Oh well.

[TriforceofEternity]

Tetraforce 2009-02-17 . chapter 17
Robo: "Are you feeling well Author? You appeared to have done two boss fights which you usually decline though I am not complaining:

Tetra: Robo I wholy agree with you. I still want an explanation of the record player in 600AD please and of Reiz?

Robo: "Yes indeed. I want to know about that too"