Let's Plot Chrono Trigger 2 (Just For Fun)

[ThatGuy]

How would you do it?

I was thinking the other day... I think it'd be cool if it stared Crono/Marle's kid(s). Let me say right off the bat that neither they nor Lucca are dead, and I'm completely willing to disregard everything that didn't happen in the original SNES version. So there, and nana-nana-booboo.

That said, you could have Guardia fall and Crono/Marle no longer royalty. That's actually not a bad start.

So anyway, stars Crono/Marle's kid, who is same age as Crono. (Boy? Girl? Hmmm...)

I was thinking this time (pun not intended, pun remains), maybe another Lavos could show up.  A stronger one, even, because the first was defeated. And the Lavos-es of the universe are like, aw hell no, whenever that happens.

Or! (And this still has nothing to do with Chrono Cross...), there can be a (or many?) dimension-hopping Lavos-es. Not that we keep creating new timelines and realities and whatever, just different dimensions, period. So instead of just traveling through time, Crono Jr. and/or Marle jr. go travelning through dimensions. Or... both?! Could be fun.

But the idea of Lavos would be the same. To collect all the DNA in order to- what do you think?- create the ultimate being, perhaps? Only this time it's not just all over the universe, it's all over every universe.

We could even consider winding this all the way back to Lavos's creator, if such a being exists. Alternatively, discovering how such a creature evolved.

Let's definitely not do it like some esoteric "the universe had to balance out life with death" or some shit, like in CC (according to one explanation I saw, anyway), just pulling the Dinopolis timeline (that never had reason to exist, ever, anyway, since in all the timelines, Lavos killed the reptites off!). That was ridiculous. It needs a cause and effect. Keep things Newtonian.

Anyway, I'm done rambling for the moment. Oh, except one more thing:

Since I'm happy to discard CC, we can do anything we want with Schala. I would LOVE it if she were the entity they talk about who created the gates. It makes so much sense. She should definitely be involved in the sequel, somehow, and maybe as the catalyst (again) to dimension-hopping, should the plot utilize that... or whatever else.

Okay, so now I'm really done rambling, who else wants to shoot the breeze and hope someone in Japan is listening?

[ThatGuy]

oh, one more quibble

no animal-people. i mean, frog was fine, but lynx the humanoid feline? and all that other nonsense? just... no.

i wouldn't mind a Nu or two, though. (rhyme not intended, rhyme remains.)

[Scintillating_Void]

Personally I would try to incorporate the fall of Gaurdia into the plot, if that is going to happen.  Maybe Dalton is going to play a huge role.

I personally like the idea of Schala being the main character, not Kid, but Schala.  Schala teams up with Chrono and Marle's son or daughter to save Guardia from Porre, but it uncovers some nasty revelations. 

It also uncovers a group of people who worship Lavos, or the Frozen Flame, they see Dalton as their prophet, and where able to sway the people of Porre to join behind him (also because the mayor was no longer an asshole thanks to that jerky you gave his ancestor).  The group was formed at first by some mystics who hoped for Magus to summon it, but later it became some undergound cult due to no support, but *something* happened in which is spread to a few mad humans, maybe Lavos, whose consciousness transcended time and space, spread nightmares and dreams to people in hopes of securing its legacy long after its demise.

Of course the thing that SHOULD be there is the Schala and Magus reunion.  Perhaps Magus could also be a main character as well.  Maybe Schala rescues Magus from some terrible fate, involving the Frozen Flame. 

The death of Lavos begins to attract the attention of some very powerful beings.  The origin of Lavos is explored, but not fully explained.  The "lavoids" from other planets begin to show up on the planet, a little different than their fallen brother/sister and weaker due to not landing on a habitable planet or having spent their energy reproducing already, but they don't burrow in the ground, they just barrage the world in a deadly meteor shower.

Destroying them then draws the attention of a dark being who created the lavoids, perhaps a being that wanted to reshape the universe in some way, by spreading hope and magic and only to end it wish despair and powerlessness-over and over again, a terrible cycle that cumulates into a greater, darker end.

And to boot, this being has secured its existence with a time loop, so that if it were destroyed it would break all of reality.  The group encounters many other time loops, but has to do something the break these loops (hence "Chrono Break" XD) and destroy the chains this being has on reality.

[ThatGuy]

The thing is, part of Schala's magic is that there isn't a lot of her. It's really a less is more thing. I think making her a playable character would ruin a lot. It'd take the wonder out of it.

I really never liked Dalton, but I could see his bringing down Guardia as a good plot thread. In fact, maybe part of the plot is restoring Guardia 10 years after the fact or something?

Now there's an idea too, incorporating mystics into things...

Yeah, I think Magus and Schala reunion would be great. But how should it go? Is this a comedy or a tragedy?

Now, we have to think, what's the new Lavos's motivation? Why destroy the planet? Out of spite? If the thing's goal was to create an ultimate being of some sort... why just kill the planet that actually managed to defeat it? It should be very interested in what that planet has to offer. (And the old "kill them off because they're too big a threat" thing is soooo cliche. #titanae.)

I think we should start there: the new Lavos. What is it doing? How is it different from the old one? Are we not in love with dimension hopping? 

And this "being" that's in charge of the Lavos-es. That needs hashing out, too.

Also, I think dropping in playable characters from the last one to this one would be a mistake. Crimson Echoes is one thing, because they're all reassembled as I understand it, (haven't played it yet, but intend to), but otherwise it's just too awkward. And think about it. Crono, Marle, Lucca... they defeated Lavos. They've already leveled up, so to speak. You can't start from scratch. New characters that interact with the old ones, however, make things fresh, but still have a direct enough connection with the old.

And I'm telling you... Playing as Crono's kid, maybe not even seeing him at first... that would drive players crazy with anticipation.

Speaking of which, we should hash out where Crono/Marle/Lucca (and maybe others) are at this point. Crono and Marle could be in exile, Lucca could be doing damn near anything (leading a resistance would be cool...), Crono's mom could even be living with them, all grandmotherly, still fretting about the cat being fed...

Oh, this introduces another problem. Crono would have dialogue. We reeeeally have to do the less is more thing there.

[ThatGuy]

Oh, and a side note: I'd love to have an influential character that's a Nu. (Again, I wouldn't make it playable, it kills the wonder.) 

[ThatGuy]

Oh, more thoughts!

The time that used to be the Day of Lavos is no longer where you go to face Lavos. So, if it's 2009 or whatever, that's a whole new time period that's advanced to go and explore. Not to mention the even more advanced 2310.

(It occurs to me maybe 20 years later is better, so Crono/Marle's kid can be older than a small child...)

And somehow this could link right in with Guardia's fall. Maybe they determine that Porre taking over is bad for the future ala the new Lavos, and that if Guardia were to remain in power it would somehow, someway, give the future a better fighting chance? (And maybe it even fails, but that's the first part of the story, kind of like how they decided to take Magus out only to discover he didn't create Lavos.)



And!

What if Crono/Marle's kid didn't know he/she was royalty? Or, formerly royalty? They didn't tell because they wanted to protect.

(What happened to Marle's dad, by the way? Seems like him dying would be totally acceptable.)

[ThatGuy]

Okay, I'm having an imagination-running-wild moment here. The opening scene/sequence as I currently see it (outlined)...

Main Character, another silent protagonist, is out doing something. (More interesting than collecting dragon scales.) Maybe checking out the ruins, because they live in Choras. Along the way, MC runs into Crono/Marle Jr. (who actually isn't the "main character") and they, whatever, relate to one another. Maybe they're best friends, maybe it's a love interest thing, maybe both.

They get back home as the sun is setting and see some unusual piece of technology (a mini robo, a car of some sort, doesn't matter), and wonder what's going on. Crono/Marle Jr. decides to sneak up and eavesdrop.

Inside is a purple haired stranger (Lucca, duh), telling of her dire straights in Guardia. The resistance is faltering, she says, but if they were to just come back, they could turn things around. The site of her and Crono... ("what," junior thinks, "my dad's name is Mike [or whatever] not Crono.")... would invigorate the entire kingdom.

Marle says it wouldn't be enough.

Lucca says she has a plan. She's been revamping her telepod. She no longer needs a second fixture to teleport to, etc. They could execute a daring plan to kill Dalton (or whatever), and put the Porre army in disarray. Blah blah, she needs their help, though. They know the castle, they can fight, etc.

Marle says that her magic has been fading over the years. ("What?" Junior thinks. "Mom can use magic???")

Lucca admits hers has too, but it doesn't matter.

Marle says she isn't the same person she was back then.

Lucca says you're a hero, and a fighter.

Marle says that's who I was. I'm a mother now. Look what they did to Daddy... (and play this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwi9cjQkteA). They killed him, just like they'd kill me, and Crono, and junior! Just to wipe out our bloodline. It's all so stupid, I want no part of it!

Lucca says her people are suffering.

Marle says I can't help that anymore, and they're not my people anymore. Junior's my responsibility now. I won't let them take him/her too!

Crono, meanwhile, is silent during this whole thing. Lucca appeals to him, and he drops his head in defeat and leaves the room.

Junior's like... what the shit? I thought we were simple common folk! Lucca leaves after giving them a good scolding, and Junior meets her outside, wanting to know the truth. Lucca tries to tell them it's nothing, but there is no dissuading. Still Lucca doesn't divulge anything. Junior pulls some kind of stowaway, possibly after confronting Marle about things, maybe just leaves a note, maybe both; and maybe Marle reveals who she and Crono were at this point (without the whole Lavos thing), or maybe she doesn't. Anyway, main character naturally follows...

Annnnnd that's how we start!

[Metalraptor]

I mentioned in my Schala theory topic, that I believe it's possible Schala may have been transported to the future, where she met with Belthasar before climbing Death Peak and opening a gateway to the Darkness Beyond Time.
Well, I also thought up a short idea for a new game based around this, taking place between both Trigger and Cross (before Schala cloned herself as Kid).
After the Ocean Palace incident, Schala is transported to the future, where she witnesses the outcome of Lavos' devastating strike on the world, and sets out on her own adventure to change history.
Schala manages to travel back in time to 1999, before the destruction occurs, as well as several other times that did not appear in Trigger.  But over the course of the game, she would be unable to prevent Lavos from emerging, and would travel back to 2300 A.D, climb Death Peak and travel to the Darkness Beyond Time, where she would learn that Crono's party could potentially save the world from Lavos, and open up gateways through time as a means to support their efforts.
I think that this could also have a silent protagonist, who is possibly connected to Serge in some way, like a reincarnation or preincarnation so to speak. ^_^;
I also think it would be interesting if it covered the rise of the Mother Brain, and had an early version of Robo, back before all of the other robots were taken over.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I've toyed with a Chrono Trigger 2 that was technically a sequel to both Chrono Trigger AND Chrono Cross.

It's set up like Chrono Trigger in that you travel through different time periods, but a lot of what is seen is referenced in Chrono Cross. It follows AFTER the events of Chrono Cross, where we find Schala was freed from the Time Devourer.

The story follows an archaeologist/historian and his pupil, PHASE, in 1200AD -- well after the fall of Guardia. They are studying the history of Guardia because many details have been lost from history due to the sinister Porre Regime. While exploring the ruins of Guardia of Castle, our lead finds Marle's pendant and gets swept up in a time travel adventure that leads to time eras both new and old.

Ultimately, it turns out Phase is the Enmity of Lavos, which is to say a psuedo-human avatar for Lavos. Lavos, having some sort of pocket-dimension and time dilation abilities, is revealed to be aware of its' death even before it happens. As a result, it has the ability to break of metaphysical elements of itself (one of them being the Frozen Flame, another being the Time Devourer). Our hero is yet another one of these pieces; since Lavos was destroyed by the sheer will of mankind, he recognizes willpower as a trait he can't obtain through genetic absorption (like he does as witnessed in Chrono Trigger), so he sends a piece of himself to become human, experience humanity, and become reabsorbed. Our hero ultimately rejects his role as a piece of Lavos and views himself as fully human, so he turns against Lavos. Should Phase be reabsorbed into Lavos, he would become the Assassin of Time, a sort of existential threat to space-time and capable of consuming entire timelines.

The game would also explore more of what Lavos actually is; it's more than just an animal that feeds on planets, guiding life's evolution so it may become stronger. It is the source of the big bang, constantly destroying and reinventing the universe so it can continue to grow in strength.

Dalton is also a major villain of the story, having obtained immortality during the events of Chrono Trigger in the Ocean Palace's rise of Lavos. As a result, he still rules the Porre Regime for hundreds of years as a short of shadow ruler. He ultimately finds out about Phase and, towards the end, chooses to merge with Lavos in the place of our lead, making him the penultimate bad guy.

Schala would also be included. She was freed from the Time Devourer at the end of Chrono Cross, and since the Darkness Beyond Time exists outside of time itself, she arrives in the ideal timeline. However, the Assassin of Time - an unresolved plot hint from Chrono Cross - is still a threat, so she starts using the Darkness Beyond Time to try and manipulate history. She is forced to create and destroy multiple timelines in order to stop the Assassin of Time and fails each time. These events erase El Nido from the timeline, as the ideal timeline's existence only hastens the rise of the Assassin of Time. She ultimately recognizes her efforts as fruitless and falls into a deep depression (seeing that she has murdered billions in her efforts to constantly erase and create new timelines); she uses the last of her powers to create her own pocket dimension in which she shapes a perfect world in which she can be with Serge in a fake version of Arni Village. She then disposes of her powers.

Phase, who is destined to become the Assassin of Time should be merge with Lavos, ends of meeting Schala and convinces her that her reality is a false one. He gives her the strength to fight once more and she joins the party for one last stand against Lavos and his machinations.

Together, with Crono and an assortment of new and old characters, they stop Lavos once and for all and close the door on Lavos coming back. Phase remains fully human and he and Schala end up together, where it's revealed that somehow Serge's soul lives on within him.

The ending would hint at new adventures in a new universe, one either before or after the Chronoverse's current Big Bang.

[froodo]

This post makes me more happy about how Chrono Cross was made... 

[Redline57]

Maybe I missed something, isnt Crimson Echoes..Chrono Trigger 2? That's what my friends and I refer to it as.

[ThatGuy]

^ It was an unofficial sequel made by fans

[skylark]

I get so many ideas for a lot of different fandoms running through my head at a time. I've had two fully-fleshed ideas for a Chrono sequel, one of which has been realized (if only in story synopsis format).

The other, one which I'm now starting to hammer down the finer edges, is a sort of remake/reimagining of Radical Dreamers, using characters from my previous work (*cough*sorrynotsorry*cough*).

It's been said by Kato that Radical Dreamers was Schala's story. So why not have some consistency and have it star Schala? Not Kid. Not some 'daughter-clone'. Schala.

If I had more time, I could make a brief synopsis later since I have the general story outline finished.

[ThatGuy]

So, I think CT2 would need to have Magus show up, still searching for Schala. This post is me pondering how he's involved.

First, I think it'd be cool if he slowly got his memory back, at least enough to remember what he's up to. That would make for a more dramatic scene when he finds Schala.

Alternatively, he could still be lost, and it isn't until our new characters show up and help him somehow that he regains his memory. Hmmm, that's a good one.

And if we keep with the fall of Guardia, it's not crazy that he could be somehow involved with the new regime. Especially with his abilities. In fact, maybe, unlike Crono, Marle, Lucca... he retains all his magic powers (or even regains some when his memory is returned) and is a real force to be reckoned with.

So, either way, let's say he regains his memory, and, despite being a villain or some sort, leads our party to Schala through his own need to find her. (Schala, of course, will be integral to finishing this new game.) How will that reunion look? I'd think it still has to be tragic, but maybe he gains some peace, as does she, in their reuniting? Or not?

Ooo, I think he should sacrifice himself for her. Like maybe she needs to take physical form again to [insert plot point I haven't thought of] in order to save the universe and all that. And he gives himself up so she's embodied once more. Not to be a playable character, though. And the irony is that Magus doesn't care about her quest at all, in fact, he disapproves and says the universe deserves to be destroyed because it's weak, or something... but his love for his sister makes him still die, so that she may live again.

Yeah... that's my rambling thought process, but I really like the idea of him finally finding her, and saving her, and them having about a minute together again before he dies so she can live. Yeah, good stuff...

[Redline57]

Maybe unofficial, but for 95 percent of it, Crimson Echoes is basically a canon 'chrono trigger 2' being a CT sequel, but before Cross. Personally I'd like a sequel to THAT, ie CT3, 5 years after CE, so it would be the events leading upto the Cross events, IE the fire at Lucca's orphanage, the dawn of Lynx, the destruction of Time Devourer/Dream Devourer's eating timelines, and if anyone can do the math, the Time Crash and what happened with chronopolos. How Lucca, Crono and Marle ended up dead at Opassa beach and if that was the 'truth', meaning that may have been in dimension 2  of Timeline X, which there may have been more. Like they try in vain to stop the timecrash by saving Marle, Crono and Lucca from their fate, you could see the Dragon Islands, the continued evolution of Dinopolous. That would be fun.