Author Topic: Did Mitsuda Resolve the Schala-Kid Debate with the To Far Away Times album?  (Read 3264 times)

Michael Zeal

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I know that this topic- what happened to Kid and Schala at the end of Chrono Cross- is hardly new. If anything, it seems to be one of the most frequent debates in the fandom... But I couldn't help but notice something as I was listening through the "To Far Away Times" arrangement album, and then came onto the site and read Yoshida's insert.

   
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To Far Away Times
    Come to think of it, I've wanted to make an album like this for a while now. Of course, it didn't always have a title like To Far Away Times. When Chrono Cross was released, I wondered, "What happened to Kid, or Schala, after the ending? Was she able to cross time and meet Serge?" I was sure the players felt the same way. The characters, each with his or her own grand story to tell, are what make the Chrono series unique. Kid and Schala, however, were particularly prominent characters in both games and are very special to me; so, for a long time, I waned to reapproach them from a musical standpoint. The Chrono Cross soundtrack has three discs entitled "Cause," "Unveiling," and "Change," and I dreamed of one day adding another called "Connection" as Kid and Schala's album. That dream has at last been realized here as To Far Away Times. This album, connected to my own feelings towards Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, has finally given me closure. Kid's journey doesn't end here, though. It transcends time and continues on into eternity. Until the day we meet again, Kid.
    Yasunori Mitsuda

Perhaps it's just my imagination, but Mitsuda doesn't appear to be referring to Kid and Schala as separate people in that last sentence. The album's theme being "Connection"; specifically i.e. Schala and Kid's connection, though less specific as to what it means as the implication of those highlighted words in my eyes. What do you think: is Mitsuda telling us that the official stance of the developers is that Kid merged with Schala at the end of Chrono Cross?

EgyLynx

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Good points... i canīt say more...

xcalibur

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Schala is a tragically screwed-over character.

Michael Zeal

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Schala is a tragically screwed-over character.

Yeah, the Schala "Kid" Zeal merger is kind of disturbing since the game doesn't really give us a solid explanation as to why that needed to happen. I mean, it's said that Schala created Kid because she realized that she was losing her sanity, so maybe she transferred that mind to Kid in lieu of the Frozen Flame turning her into an infant in the game Radical Dreamers? Which would make the fusion akin to RD Kid regaining her memories as Schala in that same game... Hrm.

Although speaking of Schala getting tragically screwed over, the album has an official English version of the song Radical Dreamers (a very beautiful I'd recommend giving a listen on YouTube, btw) whose lyrics make it a lot clearer as to what happened to her after the ending:

Quote
Radical Dreamers Lyrics (English):

The shadows of the past consume my heart
A knowing light is trembling in those tender arms
I've come so far only to be apart
Wandering to every corner of time

Your sorrow found its way into my life
A million years across another sky
A nameless face searches for you day and night
Treading alone into the edges of time

Hope is fleeting, fainter than evening dew
Through the gloom I search for you
Endless darkness echoing far and wide
But I'll always be here on your side

A promise lies behind an open door
The faintest glimmer of the light to your soul
The name you used to call me you know no more
Precious I know, you'll be wherever I go

Let this silent prayer reach beyond the stars
Through the dark to where you are
Hope is fading, memories washed away
Still I'll find you one day

Chrous
Dreamer, dreaming, dream
Live the life you dream
Dreamer, dreaming, dream
Searching for you, till I find you

Dreamer, dream your dream
Live the life we dreamed
Dreamer, dreamed about you, dreamed
Searching for you, till I find you

Let this burning flame light the frozen stars
Take me now to where you are
Ever searching, wandering into the vast
Till I find you at last

Lead me to your heart

xcalibur

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She always tries to be a good person and do the right thing, but her life gets ruined in almost every timeline, and through no fault of her own.

The only exception I can think of is the Zeal timeline, in which Ocean Palace Lavos is defeated. In that case, Zeal never falls, the malignant influence of Lavos is ended so the Queen goes back to normal, and the Zealians are forced to revert to elemental power and a more sustainable lifestyle. However, this is not canon and it's highly unlikely.

skylark

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She always tries to be a good person and do the right thing, but her life gets ruined in almost every timeline, and through no fault of her own.

The only exception I can think of is the Zeal timeline, in which Ocean Palace Lavos is defeated. In that case, Zeal never falls, the malignant influence of Lavos is ended so the Queen goes back to normal, and the Zealians are forced to revert to elemental power and a more sustainable lifestyle. However, this is not canon and it's highly unlikely.

I've probably said it already, but the merging/reincarnation angle never sat well with me.

Thankfully, the fact that multiple realities can technically exist helps take the sting out of the whole thing. With the Time Devourer technically ceasing two exist, Schala would probably be whisked straight to 1000 AD in stead of the gap between dimensions. From that point, there are at least two outcomes for future timelines:

1. One where Schala's prayers are heard by the Frozen Flame before she's whisked out of the Ocean Palace and she reincarnates into Kid mid-transit.

2. One where Schala is whisked away before the Frozen Flame can grant her prayers, and she arrives in 1000 AD as herself.

The first option may ultimately be the kinder one, as she'll have a life unrelated to her old one, gaining the necessary life experience that will ease the transition of her eventual returning memories.

The second one would be far more difficult for her, as she would end up living with the knowledge that the blood of her kingdom is technically on her hands without the emotional buffer of reincarnation.

We've seen in Radical Dreamers how the former would eventually resolve However, I feel the latter would have more of a payoff as Schala learns to accept the past and eventually learns (the hard way) how to forgive herself and seek her own happiness, and I hope they go this route in a future game or story.

...of course, one could always just ignore the above and go the fanfiction route.

*cough*shamelessselfpromotion*cough*

Michael Zeal

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She always tries to be a good person and do the right thing, but her life gets ruined in almost every timeline, and through no fault of her own.

The only exception I can think of is the Zeal timeline, in which Ocean Palace Lavos is defeated. In that case, Zeal never falls, the malignant influence of Lavos is ended so the Queen goes back to normal, and the Zealians are forced to revert to elemental power and a more sustainable lifestyle. However, this is not canon and it's highly unlikely.

Yeah. It says a lot when Schala's happy ending is being reborn as someone else- a decision she herself made in Radical Dreamers... Although even as Kid, tragedy follows her like the plague. At least she gets Serge at the end.

Saving Zeal would be a cool ending, but the effect it would have on the timeline would be too extreme to fathom. They'd have to make completely new locations since the art of magic was never forgotten by mankind, Zeal would still be around in some form... That's probably one of the reasons they never made an ending of beating Lavos at that point in the game.


I've probably said it already, but the merging/reincarnation angle never sat well with me.

Thankfully, the fact that multiple realities can technically exist helps take the sting out of the whole thing. With the Time Devourer technically ceasing two exist, Schala would probably be whisked straight to 1000 AD in stead of the gap between dimensions. From that point, there are at least two outcomes for future timelines:

1. One where Schala's prayers are heard by the Frozen Flame before she's whisked out of the Ocean Palace and she reincarnates into Kid mid-transit.

2. One where Schala is whisked away before the Frozen Flame can grant her prayers, and she arrives in 1000 AD as herself.

The first option may ultimately be the kinder one, as she'll have a life unrelated to her old one, gaining the necessary life experience that will ease the transition of her eventual returning memories.

The second one would be far more difficult for her, as she would end up living with the knowledge that the blood of her kingdom is technically on her hands without the emotional buffer of reincarnation.

We've seen in Radical Dreamers how the former would eventually resolve However, I feel the latter would have more of a payoff as Schala learns to accept the past and eventually learns (the hard way) how to forgive herself and seek her own happiness, and I hope they go this route in a future game or story.

...of course, one could always just ignore the above and go the fanfiction route.

*cough*shamelessselfpromotion*cough*

Nothing wrong with a little self-promotion; that is why I almost always use my FanFiction.Net pen name (Michael Mario) as my username whenever I can ;)... except here; though not out of trivial concerns. I'm an fan fic author myself planning out a potential 10-chapter Chrono fic loosely based on this album.

My head-canon is that Kid/Schala/Schala "Kid" Zeal is stuck in the Darkness Beyond Time for a little while as per the song because apparently, Belthasar planned out everything but getting her out of there immediately, but frees herself... Or either Belthasar or Janus personally intervene to rescue her. Or going with a more fan fiction-y route, Serge does it with the Chrono Cross to weave her back into the main timeline.

Acacia Sgt

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Saving Zeal would be a cool ending, but the effect it would have on the timeline would be too extreme to fathom. They'd have to make completely new locations since the art of magic was never forgotten by mankind, Zeal would still be around in some form... That's probably one of the reasons they never made an ending of beating Lavos at that point in the game.

I doubt that's the reason. The Reptite Timeline ending was more extreme I'd think, and yet it did had an ending. And even then, they reused maps and even the early game events, only difference was just with reptites instead of humans (except the reptite runner in the fair who was now a human).

As an aside, I've most likely forgot previous discussions over the years, but at the moment I do find it a bit surprising that point of the game didn't had a custom ending. Ah, would've been interesting to see...

Michael Zeal

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I doubt that's the reason. The Reptite Timeline ending was more extreme I'd think, and yet it did had an ending. And even then, they reused maps and even the early game events, only difference was just with reptites instead of humans (except the reptite runner in the fair who was now a human).

As an aside, I've most likely forgot previous discussions over the years, but at the moment I do find it a bit surprising that point of the game didn't had a custom ending. Ah, would've been interesting to see...

Good point... Hrm; it's hard to gauge what exactly would have changed about the world in that ending. Schala probably took over the throne since Queen Zeal probably would be comatose after losing Lavos, so she probably would have fired Dalton and stopped the enslavement of the Earthbound Ones. Still... the world would probably still be ruled by the Kingdom of Zeal in some form, so Guardia, Porre, Choras, etc. wouldn't exist as we know them.

The topic of Zeal ending has been discussed previously, though :P.

xcalibur

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Yes, I've brought it up before.

Zeal would continue, but they'd be off the path of hubris and destruction. They'd go back to sustainable elemental power, tyranny would end, there'd be a rapprochement with the Earthbound, etc. Maybe they'd even end the ice age and build cities on the surface. In any case, without the collapse of Zeal, history would be radically different as humans retained the use of magic.

I assume they added the programmer's ending at that point because it's such a large avenue for speculation that they didn't want to deal with it.

Spekkio points out that humans were barred from using magic as a result of the fall of Zeal. I've probably said this before, but when he mentions "except for wizards", he was referring to the Mystics. It was one of the few lines that were mangled by Woolsey, who was competent most of the time.

Scintillating_Void

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If Zeal never fell, the changes would be drastic enough that it would be likely that Guardia, and the protagonists except for Ayla would not exist.  It may be possible for Lavos to be defeated anyway without them, but they are too integral to the timeline(as Gaspar pointed out that the Chrono Trigger would only work for someone "important" to time) for that to happen.