I read a bit of the CTRP forums; there are a few guys there who've said that anything made with Temporal Flux will suck. That gives us (or me, at least) more incentive to prove them wrong.
OK, now that we're pretty far into the plot and only have a few things left to go, it's time we came up with whatever alterations to the gameplay we're going to put in. They'll be very minor ones, for sure. One crucial thing came to my mind last night, the characters' weapons. It'd be kind of boring (not to mention a stretch of credibility) if the characters got the same old weapons again. Therefore, I've come up with a few new twists to put on the weapons system.
Instead of continually gaining new weapons, Melchior can improve some existing ones. Several of these "series" of weapons are available. Some of them have close to the same damage but special properties, such as enhanced criticals or elemental damage; this lends more strategic options to the characters.
For example, the weapon list I came up with for Crono is as follows:
~Vibrosword – This sword is gained after the party loses all their uber-weapons from using the Chrono Trigger to escape Porre. It vibrates its blade for increased damage, but this can interfere woefully with accuracy.
~Vibrosword 2 – After a bit of experimentation, Melchior has solved the dexterity issue. By doing this, he was also able to safely add to the attack power of the blade. The sword has also been laced with nerve toxins, poisoning enemy victims.
~Vibrosword 3 – The final Vibrosword model, this one incorporates a solar battery with a powerful electrical discharge accompanying a strike, though this comes at the cost of the poison element of the previous version. It’s useful for enemies that are resistant to physical damage, and those that fly, are machines, or are based on water. This is a good weapon to keep around even late into the game.
~Wakizashi – This is a small version of a katana. Though its damage leaves something to be desired, it’s graced with extremely high accuracy and chance for a critical hit. Couple this with a critical hit-increasing accessory and you’ve got yourself a good weapon against highly evasive enemies, such as flying ones, where the vibrosword would tend to miss. It won't hold up against enemies later in the game, though.
~Wakizashi 2 – This wakizashi gives the same electrical discharge as the Vibrosword 3, in a more compact version, though it still lacks the physical damage of the bigger weapon.
~Daikatana – A large and powerful sword. Midway through the game, Crono has regained enough of his former strength to use it with the same dexterity he can use a wakizashi with, though without the critical hit bonuses. The dai-katana inflicts substantial damage and is the last of the “conventional” weapons Crono obtains. It comes laced with Hydra venom.
~Daikatana 2 – In short order after you’ve obtained the daikatana, Melchior will upgrade it with an electric shock package. Coupled with its sturdy construction and considerable physical damage, this makes it very effective against both flying enemies and machines.
~Phaseblade – A weapon constructed with Zealian magic and technology. It is an ethereal weapon; part of it exists on the mortal plane, and part of it inhabits the spirit world. It is an extremely damaging piece of equipment, though it has no added bonuses. It’s weak against mechanical enemies, as they lack souls to damage.
~Beamsaber – Oh, come on. You don’t think we’d let him get away without something like this, do you? As you’d expect from something that looks like a lightsaber, it does massive damage. Its color, and its damage, is based on Crono’s current percentage of hit points and ranges the full gamut of visible light, from blue at the top down to red at the bottom. The weapon vanishes completely if Crono is knocked out.
~Arco Iris – A weapon created from Rainbow Shell refined by Magus and Melchior after the El Nido scenario. It’s essentially an upgraded Rainbow Sword, even more powerful than the last because of the increased purity of the ore used to construct it. A classical piece of elemental magic, it is the last weapon one can obtain from Melchior, and as such it is one of the best.
~Ara Dei – This is an upgraded version of Arco Iris, endowed with temporal magic. The weapon’s name means Altar of God, and it can dish out the righteous fury like no other. It has almost a 100% chance of dealing a critical hit. It is Crono’s ultimate weapon, and requires completion of the Calasperan sidequest to be accessible.
The only problem is that the screen won't fit some of the names.
