Other notes: These Tropes will be written under the assumption that a fanfic and a fan game for this story was completed.
Obviously NOT the case, but I digress.
So let's start this bad boy!
General Tropes:
Adaptation Expansion - Of Antiquity as a whole out of necessity. The entire Kingdom of Zeal is overhauled into a City of Adventure, and characters such as Schala, the Gurus, and Dalton are given much more characterization as a result.
- Chrono Cross' search for the Dragon Crests in the altered timeline, and much of the post-Fort Dragonia adventure specifically for that matter, is expanded by switching between Serge/Lynx's party and Kid's.
Arc Words - “Ours is the power to shape reality.”
An Aesop - Power in itself is not good or evil, but it is easily corruptive, and it takes wisdom and a strong will to avoid said corruption. At the same time, those without power cannot protect what they hold dear, so do not be afraid to seek it out as long as one is mindful of the consequences.
And Man Grew Proud - The first half is the story of how.
And Now for Someone Completely Different - Beginning a New Game+ doesn't depict the prologue as normal. No, it puts you in the shoes of Kid post-Chrono Cross and her attempts to put things right when reality starts crumbling around her. Before that, you play as Crono during his Last Stand in the Fall of Guardia.
- In the altered timeline Schala becomes the controllable character when exploring the Lost Archives.
- Also in the altered timeline, during Serge's time in Lynx's body, the perspective will switch twice to Kid's perspective and the allies Serge left behind as they deal with the fallout of Fort Dragonia and aid in the collection of the Dragon Crests, with Schala as the liaison between both parties in the latter. In Serge's case, Cain steps back from the central protagonist spot after the body swap to give Serge his chance to shine until after the events of Chronopolis.
Anti-Frustration Features - Completing one of the bonus endings does not send you back to the title screen, but to the moment before entering the Green Gate with your progress saved and said ending unlocked.
- The Developer's Room is no longer tied to an ending, and is unlocked by beating the game once. However, it will be generally empty until the player unlocks all the different endings, in which it will be filled by bestiaries, music, character bios, and bonus artwork.
- The altered timeline version of Terra Tower is mercifully much shorter than in Chrono Cross, and the elemental mini bosses fuse to become a singular boss fight instead of having to search for all six.
Battle Couple - It takes an altered timeline and a time skip, but Cain and Schala eventually become this.
Beach Episode - The setting (an artificial beach in Tristan's territory) for a mid-game Side Quest, complete with the party in beachwear (which is even reflected by their dialog portraits). Besides being a source of fanservice, there's a more practical reason for the quest: The whole trip is a plot by Eiric to give Cain and Schala a moment to relax and reconnect without their respective burdens hampering them. (Despite a couple of setbacks, it works.)
Big Damn Heroes - In the altered timeline, Eric, Eva, Zhao, and Tristan come to Cain's aid during what was originally his Last Stand against Magus and giving him the opportunity to live to fight another day.
- In the altered timeline events of Chrono Cross, Serge's allies from before the body swap finally put aside their previous hang-ups and come to Serge's aid in Home World Fort Dragonia to Hold the Line against 'Dark Serge' when the latter proves to be more persistent than his previous timeline self.
Book Ends - At the beginning of the Prologue, Cain and Schala first meet and become friends as children during Zeal's Founder's Celebration. At the end of the Normal Path before the climax, Cain dances with and reveals that he's been in love with Schala ever since as adults during Zeal's Founder's Celebration.
Boss Rush - As it was with Trigger and Cross, the Very Definitely Final Dungeon in the altered timeline holds one of these courtesy of a demonified Arvis and the members of his Conspiracy escaping from Hell and preparing to wreak havoc. The three generations of heroes must stop them before they can reach Thanaton.
Cain and Abel and Seth - We have Cain, the anti-hero main protagonist. On each side of the morality spectrum is Abel, leader of the comparatively squeaky-clean Alphard Coalition who is upright to the point of concern that ends up ultimately hamstringing his own organization's efforts to avenge the king. On the other side, we have Seth, head of Zeal's Inquisitors, who in Cain's own words 'is a right dick', but is far more proactive and helpful in bringing Arvis to justice.
- For bonus points, Seth outlives both Cain and Abel in the original timeline, surviving the Fall of Zeal and helping Eiric lead the remnants of humanity as his Number 2.
Central Theme - Justice, vengeance, and the razor-thin line that separates them.
- Power, and all its incarnations. The power to protect, the power to destroy, power's corrupting influence, and the pitfalls of overcoming said corruption.
Companion-Specific Sidequest- Each party member has a personal quest unlocked during New Game+ in which they have a problem that Cain can help solve, and completing each one is required to unlock Another Path.
- Eiric's involves him being forced to throw his hat in the ring concerning his family's Succession Crisis, and ends up fighting all four of his siblings to not only become head of the Guardia household, but to prevent it from joining Arvis' faction.
- Zhao's involves the forced closing of his forge due to 'royal decree', and has him confront a major proponent of the Anti-weapon law, a local lord (and former student) who enforces his personal views of pacifism even as monsters bleed his lands dry.
- Eva's involves the Coalition's spy network, specifically their leadership, switching sides to Arvis' camp, and Eva's conflicting loyalties between her mission for the Coalition and her duty to her organization.
- Tristan's involves the disappearances of his fellow empaths once employed by King Alphard, only to discover that the collective corruption of society has since transformed them into a hive mind.
- Schala is unique in that the entire first half of Another Path's story is this for her. In essence, because Cain survives his run-in with Magus, she is never driven to Nihilism, develops the inner strength to fight Dalton during the invasion of Guardia, and grows to become a worthy successor to her father's legacy.
Crippling Overspecialization - The Enlightened Ones wholly rely on their magic, with very few of their soldiers proficient in actual close-quarters combat due to their false pacifism. This naturally ends up biting them in the ass in Another Path when Cain gathers an army in rebellion. Turns out that all the magical shields in the world aren't so effective against an arrow or a stone axe to the face.
Damned by Faint Praise - Played with. When Eiric speaks with Schala to try and restore her and Cain's strained relationship, the princess ultimately says of the latter that despite her disagreements with him, his willingness to stick to his principals is a virtue. While this may sound like faint praise, considering that many of the Enlightened Ones at that point had sold their souls to worship Lavos, Cain's stubbornness seems like a genuine breath of fresh air.
Dance of Romance - Cain offers Schala a dance during the kingdom's Founder's Celebration gala near the end of the story. This happens regardless of story route.
Dangerous Forbidden Technique - Opening the Seventh Gate ends up being this. It's said that doing so unlocks the secrets of time and the universe, allowing the opener to achieve 'enlightenment'. Unfortunately, the reality is that the massive infusion of power and information shatters the mind and warps the body into something beyond comprehension, as revealed to be what happened to Norstein Bekkler. Cain takes the risk during the Final Battle, feeling that it's the only way to put down Thanaton. Thankfully, the Entity had other ideas.
Darker and Edgier - While the Chrono series is no stranger to heavy themes such as prejudice and existentialism, Origins puts them on the forefront and beyond with subjects such as genocide and the inevitability of death… as well as the lengths (or depths) some people would go to stave off the latter. It also has much coarser language, with Cain in particular as quite the potty-mouth.
Darkest Hour - Almost all of the major Conspiracy players are dead, but the Coalition failed to protect the fleeing Earthbound, and the Underground is in complete ruins. All of this cascades to the point where Chancellor Arvis finally has justification to crack down on our heroes. Weapons are outlawed across the kingdom and the Coalition's reputation is in shambles. Abel is under house arrest. Melchior, Zhao, Eva, and Tristan are arrested and sent to Mount Woe (with the latter three scheduled to be executed to make an example), while Eiric is spirited away by the remaining few sympathizers to parts unknown. Cain is utterly isolated, his only ally left being Schala…
Downer Ending - Due to being a prequel to Antiquity and most of the characters not appearing in Chrono Trigger, this was inevitable. A few of the bonus endings go down this road as well. Not so much in the altered timeline path, however…
Earn Your Happy Ending - Cain, Schala, and many others end up going through hell for it, but completing Another Path brings out the best ending possible for everyone.
Everyone Can See It - The painfully obvious attraction between Cain and Schala when the former first arrives as a ward can be seen by everyone, especially King Alphard. Even with the changes in attitude the two undergo after the king's death, Eiric and the rest of the party still comment on the tension.
Evil Only has to Win Once - Thanks to Thanaton's interference (and Balthesar's ignorance), the Time Devourer is still in play even after its defeat in Cross. All it will take is one reality where Serge gives up and doesn't use the Chrono Cross to stop it. Lo and behold, Serge is wiped from history and the world is sliding into chaos, forcing Guile and Kid to set up a massive gambit to save the one person who could possibly prevent all of this.
Family Unfriendly Aesop - Revenge is Not Justice. However, while this is true, some people are so selfish and monstrous that any peaceful solution is outright impossible. In such situations, there is no other choice. The Villain Must Be Punished.
Fantastic Racism - Played with in the fact that it's the magically empowered people abusing those without it. Unfortunately, unlike how it's glossed over in Chrono Trigger, Origins pulls no punches depicting how much it sucks to be an Earthbound One in an Enlightened-controlled society.
Five-Man Band - Cain's party runs with this dynamic.
- The Leader: Cain
- The Lancer: Eiric
- The Big Guy: Zhao
- The Smart Guy: Tristan
- The Chick: Eva
- The Sixth Ranger: Schala
Fix Fic - Of epic proportions. New Game+ outright establishes that the primary goal of the story is to save the lives of everyone screwed over by Thanaton, with Cain, Schala, Crono, and Serge in particular.
Foreshadowing - During the Final Battle of the Normal Path, blue flames begin sparking around Cain, and his actions start becoming more feral, causing Magus to take off the kid gloves and deliver a fatal curb-stomp battle to Cain. This foreshadows the Final Battle of the altered timeline where Cain fully awakens the Seventh Gate against FATE and Thanaton.
- Near the start of the story, Cain witnesses on of Gaspar's lessons in which under very specific circumstances, the timeline can tweak itself to prevent possible paradoxes. Sure enough, in the altered timeline, to keep Chrono Cross! Kid's cessation of existence from creating a paradox and sending the timeline into the DbT, events have been tweaked so that Eiric had rescued Cain. Cain is understandably confused at first because he remembers Kid's presence, but then remembers Gaspar's lesson and stops questioning.
Free-Range Children - There seem to be a lot of children in Zeal allowed to roam around without any adult supervision whatsoever, with Cain having grown up as such. Slightly justified in that 500 years of royal decree state that no citizen of Zeal is to be denied food or healing, more so in that the majority of these kids hail from the Enhasa area.
Gameplay and Story Integration - Origins actually has quite a few good examples of this, especially concerning the altered timeline.
- During certain heated or emotional battles, Cain is in permanent Super Mode.
- In the normal story path when fighting the Prophet, not only does the above Super Mode apply, but Cain's HP bar shatters as he keeps fighting, showing that he's not going to survive the battle. On a related note, once he's down to a certain HP threshold, Magus counters every attack Cain makes for 9999 damage, further emphasizing the inevitable.
- Completing all sidequests being a requirement to unlock the altered timeline story route becomes this. By performing these goodwill deeds, Cain proves to many of the Enlightened Ones that he isn't quite the demon their peers paint him as. In addition, the testimonies of his allies and those he's helped upon returning to Zeal ultimately convinces those fearful of reprisal from Queen Zeal and Arvis to rise up and oppose them.
- Getting (almost) all of the bonus endings to unlock the alternate story path is this as well. (Cain ends up viewing these endings in Chronopolis and comes to the realization of not only that he dies in every other timeline he exists in, but that it's by design, officially kicking off the endgame meta-plot with Thanaton.)
Garden of Love - Cain first falls for Schala in the palace gardens during the Prologue. Thus, it ends up being the place where most of the more romantic scenes in the story take place.
Golden Ending - This is one that takes a while to pull off. One has to complete the Normal Path, complete all of the bonus endings, and complete the New Game+ sidequests to unlock Another Path.
Grand Finale - Of the Chrono Trigger mythos. At least of the 'Lavos Saga'.
Happy Ending Override - For Chrono Cross due to a rather cruel case of Surprisingly Realistic Outcome. The Chrono Cross in fact didn't magically retcon Lavos out of existence, only deprived it of its food source. In addition, it's revealed that the Schala Serge and co save isn't Schala at all. That means, of course, that the origin event of Schala being absorbed still happens, so the Time Devourer still exists in some timeline. Cue Serge popping out of existence and reality coming apart at the seams, and it takes a desperate gamble between Guile and Kid to put things back together.
Hotter and Sexier - Going hand-in-hand with the mature themes depicted in Darker and Edgier above. Eva is the story's resident Ms. Fanservice while Schala seems to be packing more than is advertised, with both girls having alternate outfits and swimsuits that emphasize their curves. The boys are no slouch in the fanservice department either, as Cain is somewhat Tall, Dark, and Handsome, Zhao has some impressive muscles despite his advanced age, and Tristan is straight up Bishounen. Even King Zeal is depicted as a Silver Fox.
If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him - Deconstructed in regards to the Conspiracy, as vengeance issues aside, Cain is an agent of the crown dealing with what amount to terrorist threats from within the kingdom, and killing Arvis in the altered timeline is seen as overthrowing a tyrant.
- Reconstructed in the story path where Cain fights Magus in the Ocean Palace, as both men continue to fight despite the fact that said palace is crumbling around them, and Cain continues pummeling Magus long after it's clear that the latter can no longer fight back. If it wasn't for Schala and Frog, Cain would have ended up sacrificing his friends, allies, and loved ones for the sake of his revenge, just as Magus had done in the original timeline.
In Spite of a Nail - In the altered story path, Schala still stays behind in the crumbling Ocean Palace. The difference is that Cain stays with her… putting him in the perfect position to thwart the creation of the Dream/Time Devourer.
- Even in the altered timeline, Lynx still manages to burn down Lucca's orphanage. However, Cain and Schala's presence ensures that he's at least driven off before he can harm Lucca.
- With the above in mind, Balthezar's counter-time experiment still splits the timeline, thus the events of Chrono Cross still happen. Only this time, it's due to a genuine miscalculation instead of it being Balthezar's design.
- This is actually an in-universe phenomenon. Circumstances behind them may change, but some things in history will always be set in stone. Zeal will always fall, Guardia will always end up warring with the Mystics in 600AD, and Mother Brain/FATE will always attempt to seek absolute dominion.
Irony - The Enlightened Ones spent their lives in the pursuit of mystical fulfillment and Nirvana, and sacrificed their collective morality to try and achieve it once Lavos worship became widespread. In the altered timeline, Cain, who had long since been ostracized by the people and considered lower than an Earthbound, is the only person out of all of them to ever actually attain it.
- Doubly ironic is Cain, who for most of the Origin arc believes that Humans Are Bastards, is the one to ultimately champion humanity against Thanaton.
- Zeal was founded by six noble families who wanted to create a land that could withstand both the eternal winter and the test of time. 500 years later, their descendants all end up playing a part in its destruction.
Jurisdiction Friction - Plenty of it between the Alphard Coalition and the Inquisitors whose leaders can best be described as oil and water. Cain was assigned as an attaché to try and smooth relations and work together, but… well… It's Cain.
Lady and Knight - Cain and Schala's dynamic, especially during the prologue. After the first time skip into the story proper with Cain adopting his Terror Hero outlook, their dynamic transforms into that of the Light Leige, Dark Defender variety.
Loyalty Mission - Cain privately fears that the allies who end up joining him are Fair-Weather Friends at best, and unfortunately, that view is not without merit; Eva and Tristan join with noticeable hangups against Cain, while Zhao holds sympathies but worries that Cain's actions may bring more trouble than they're worth, and while Eiric personally has Cain's back, his household in general does not. These all lead to Cain's inevitable isolation during the Normal Path, and it is only after beginning a New Game+ and completing all other side quests that four new Companion-Specific Sidequests appear, in which all are required to unlock Another Path.
Mood Whiplash - In universe. For much of the story past the prologue, Cain is seen as an insufferable, hateful, and violent anti-hero, almost deserving of Schala's increasing wariness of him. However, when Eiric prods her to follow Cain to Alghetty, Cain shows for the first time in the story actual kindness, humility, and charity around the Earthbound, and that his negative traits and disdain are reserved solely for the Enlightened Ones and their society. The contrast is so jarring that Schala has no idea what to think or how to react.
Multiple Endings - It wouldn't be a Chrono story without them. To be more specific, there are two main story endings and eleven bonus endings.
Murder Inc. - Downplayed. The Royal Inquisitors are essentially Zeal's secret police, given an official license to kill and the authority to be considered above the law. Granted, they are considered a last resort, and they are only allowed to kill insomuch as to expedite malcontents on which the death penalty already apply. At least they're supposed to. Abel fears Cain gaming the system to enact revenge fantasies upon the Enlightened.
Mythology Gag - Some among the fandom dictate that the people of Zeal, especially the royals, dyed their hair. Turns out there is one who did just that. (It's Cain, who started off blonde but dyed his hair black in mourning for the King's death.)
Never the Selves Shall Meet - Just as with the original timeline, the altered timeline events of Chrono Cross completely avert this trope. Cain actually encounters his Home World counterpart, which goes far in convincing Norris of Serge's plight and Lynx's duplicity.
Once More, With Clarity - At the start of the game, we see the massacre that is the Benedict Estate Incident, and a younger Cain slaughtering everyone he can find. All of this is from Schala's perspective, and is the cause of her 'power is evil' mentality, as well as the cause of her and Cain's strained relationship. However, upon witnessing the slaughter of countless Earthbound Ones at Priestess Olivia's hands and Cain's subsequent fury causes her to remember that the former incident only happened after Cain was wounded trying to protect her.
One-Winged Angel - Remember Queen Zeal's final form on the Black Omen in Trigger? This story reveals it to be a corruption of the Sixth Gate when the wielder is overcome by extreme negative emotion. Each consist of a disembodied face/head and cognizant limbs. The Queen naturally undergoes said transformation when fighting her for the bonus endings. Lynx naturally has the FATE interface as well.
Perfectly Arranged Marriage - It's revealed halfway through Origins that King Zeal planned one of these between Cain and Schala ever since the prologue through his final will, and not without good reason. Granted, his death and the conflict of ideals between the two of them over the next couple of years threatened to undo this, but by the end of the story arc, they manage to find enough middle ground to make it work. Or, at least in the original timeline, agree to disagree.
Poor Communication Kills - Ultimately happens between Abel and Cain throughout the story. Abel constantly criticizes Cain for his recklessness, Cowboy Cop antics, and vigilantism. Cain in turn accuses Abel for dragging his ass on solving King Alphard's murder and selling out his Earthbound roots. It all comes to a head after the destruction of the Underground when the two engage in a brief fist fight and are both forced to be held back by security on Schala's order. This ends up being that last time the two see each other as Abel is found dead in his office within the next few days.
Pre-Climax Climax - Due to the events described in Darkest Hour above, Cain is ready to die in a last stand against the Chancellor and the kingdom. Schala, desperate to stop him from throwing his life away recklessly, gives him a reason not to by invoking the arranged marriage her father set up for them. The brief exchange after their honeymoon and events depicted after the Normal Ending all but outright spell out (that Kid is the result of this union).
The Promise - In the altered timeline, Schala has Cain promise not to lose himself (as part of their wedding vows). Later, during Cain's rematch with Magus in the Ocean Palace, that promise becomes very sorely tested.
Prophecy Twist - Cain is prophecized from a young age to be the cause of the world's end (i.e. the Fall of Zeal), which is one of the many reasons he's ostracized, and implied to be the reason there are so many overworld fights with bandits and mercenaries in the so-called 'peaceful' Zeal Kingdom. The twist is that aside from ultimately inciting rebellion he never does anything that leads to Zeal's destruction while alive. It's his death that brings everything into motion, as it drives Schala head-first into nihilism and ultimately summoning Lavos at the Ocean Palace.
Punished for Sympathy - One of the major reasons why otherwise decent Enlightened Ones end up looking the other way towards the suffering of the Earthbound.
The Reveal - Being the saga's Grand Finale, there are plenty of these to go around.
- Those chosen to be Arbiter have their life force siphoned by the Frozen Flame, meaning that every interaction Schala had of communing with the Mammon Machine was slowly killing her. This also means that Serge was ultimately doomed regardless of the aftermath of his quest.
- The Entity, once the subject of discussion between Crono's party, is confirmed to exist, and that it has an Evil Counterpart in the form of the God of Death Thanaton… and that both are fragments of Zurvan the Dreamer's soul torn away when Lavos crash-landed on the planet.
- The purpose of the Chrono Trigger/Assassin of Time being to break the chains preventing the planet's salvation and restoration of Zurvan's mind. Or in layman's terms, ensure that Cain lives long enough to fulfill his destiny.
- The 'Schala' that Serge and his allies save at the end of Chrono Cross is actually a homunculus created by the Time Devourer to keep its existence going after the real Schala's sacrifice in creating Kid. Because of this, Project KID was ultimately doomed to fail.
Stealth Sequel - The story is initially presented as a prequel to the events of Antiquity in Chrono Trigger. Once you start New Game+ however, the fact that Kid becomes a focal point reveals the story as a sequel to Chrono Cross.
Super Mode - Anyone who has fully mastered the Six Gates of magic theory is capable of incredible power, manifesting in-game as a colored aura tailored to the character's personality. (We only see it briefly in a flashback but King Zeal has a multicolored aura, Queen Zeal has a sickly green one with jutted spines not unlike Lavos during her fights in the bonus endings, Schala has a golden aura that occasionally manifests as dove wings befitting her otherwise gentle personality, Sigmund has a deep red aura with phantom swords representing his bloodlust, Cain has a royal blue aura with six phantom arms depicting his righteous fury towards the cruelty and corruption plaguing the kingdom, and finally, Magus has a dark purple aura that he can channel into a phantom red scythe.)
- Cain uses a minor version of this during the Normal Path. Yes, it makes him powerful as all get out for a few turns, but it doesn't have the aura, representing his stubborn nature and lack of focus at the time, which bites him in the ass when he becomes no longer of sound enough mind to control it.
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome - According to sources, the Chrono Cross was meant to pull Schala from the Time Devourer before its creation, leading it to be ultimately ret-gone. Unfortunately, Serge and his allies had never met Schala, and thus never knew what she looked like. With the reveal that what they saved was a homunculus in Kid's image, this means that the origin point of the Time Devourer's creation remained intact, and that Serge's party wasted their one chance to make things right, leading to the dire straits necessitating the altered timeline.
The Very Definitely Final Dungeon - The story has two of them, dependent on story path.
- Normal Path: Zeal Palace. Having been framed for Abel's murder, Cain fights through five floors in a Last Stand before confronting the Prophet (and his own demise) in the Grand Hall.
- Another Path: The Frozen Sea of Dreams. With Cain's survival altering the timelines of both Trigger and Cross, the three parties of heroes across time are forced to do battle with the God of Death Thanaton for the right to survive and change their fates.
Three Faces of Adam - By the time of the altered events of Chrono Cross, Serge is the Hunter, Crono is the Lord, and Cain is (ironically enough) the Prophet.
Tragic Keepsake - The Astral Amulet that Kid wears in Chrono Cross retroactively becomes this during the normal ending, as it once belonged to Cain.
Wham Line - “Inquisitor Cray! You are under arrest on suspicion of the murder of Commander Abel!”
Wham Shot - In the altered timeline battle with Lavos, it fuses with an alternate Time Devourer, becoming Lavos Terminus. Unlike the normal Time Devourer, its fused humanoid host is pointedly male, and then it unsheathes a corrupted yet familiar double-bladed spear/boat oar…
Would Hurt a Child - As Cain can personally attest to, yes, the Enlightened Ones can and will hurt a child if and when it suits them. In the altered story path, Dalton threatens this upon Janus to force Schala to return with him to the Ocean Palace.
Wretched Hive - The Underground of Zeal has this reputation, being a hiding place for thieves and killers, as well as being a 'red light district' where the citizens above indulge in various vices. Ultimately subverted in that in spite of the above, many of its denizens are simply exiles, social pariahs, and non-mages just trying to make a living.
Eiric: Welcome to the Underground: our fair Kingdom of Zeal's biggest, dirtiest secret.
Xanatos Gambit - Guile's plan to save reality post-Chrono Cross is for Kid to not only save Serge through time, but to save Cain as well, banking on the latter's loyalty and devotion to Schala to be at her side when Lavos attempts to absorb her. It ultimately pays off with the threat of the Time Devourer ending for good.
(To be continued)
