1,000 AD - Cursed Woods
-Even before entering, I discovered something new: I can swap party members! I thought I could only do that in End of Time, but lo and behold, I pressed a button and boom – party swap menu.
-Frog and snake monsters in here.
-I hurt one of the snakes, and the snake then jumped to a Gnawer (a squirrel or something, also my enemy in this fight), bit him, and drained 150 hp. That’s cold, snake.
-Woohoo! Found Frog’s secret lair, underneath a bush.
-We tell him that the King’s injured. He takes it hard, but says he can’t help. He’s still super guilty about not protecting Leene. Just says he’s “not the Hero.” Well… yeah, neither is Crono, but still you can help!
-Dang. I really hoped I’d be getting Frog back. I know I’ll get him back eventually, but hoped I’d get him NOW.
-I really thought the story would advance here. Not sure where to go now. Maybe I’ll go back to a place I was, like the Magic Cave, and Frog will meet me having changed his mind.
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Denadoro Mountains
-…how did I miss this place? I thought I fully explored the southern continent, and just flat out didn’t see this big ol’ mountain lol. Well, here now.
-hee! One of the enemies is a Bellbird, a bird carrying a bell. It cast “Ding-a-ling: Chaos,” which put a star over Lucca’s head. Not sure what that means. Either stuns her or causes her to attack us? The fight ended a second later so didn’t get to see yet.
-A little dude screams and runs past us, chased by a big Goblin. That must be Tata. The music turns all happy and bouncy.
-A named goblin approaches, Ogan. Fire disarms him (thanks, townsfolk, for the hint!).
-Interesting - the Ogans (not a named goblin, just a monster type) aren’t weak to Lightning until they get disarmed by fire.
-TECH BARRAGE!!!!! That one fight netted me Napalm (Lucca), Fire Sword (Crono/Lucca), Max Cyclone (Crono/Robo),
-Feeling comfortable with my strategy for this place now. Crono attacks the Free Lancers (birds dressed like knights XD), Lucca uses Flame Toss to disarm the Ogan, and Robo punches the Ogan with a single attack. Goblins just die to a regular attack – they’re like pre-disarmed Ogans.
-At the top of the mountain, there’s a gauntlet. A series of fights, each leading into the next. Makes me happy I sorted out my strategy beforehand.
Harmed and disarmed.
-Long place. We must be drawing close to Masamune.
-AH CRAPPITY DOO DA, I fell down the waterfall. Have to climb back up and refight the gauntlet probably… phew, I don’t. The gauntlet didn’t respawn.
-A Free Lancer is just sitting there, swinging at nothing. “Get lost!” I can’t engage him in combat, just watch him swing.
-LOLOL – there was a Poyozo at the top of the mountain who seemed so relaxed. I kept talking to see what else she’d say (“This is the life!” “Mountains’re nice.”). Eventually I just annoyed her too much.
She gave me a Magic Tab to make me go away.
-Save point. The new chapter title for this save is “Tata and the Frog.” Good to know we’re not done with Frog just yet.
-Arrived at a cave. A kid is playing here. The Masamune lies in the earth, hilt out, a bit deeper in. The kid stops us, and calls for his big brother. Smells like boss time.
-OH SHIT THE KIDS ARE MASA AND MUNE, HAHAHA
So are they the embodiment of the sword? Ancient guardians disguised as kids? My bet is on both at the same time.
-The more they talk, the more evident it becomes that they’re not human.
Silly humans. Ancient legendary swords are for kids!
-Time to test us.
-They transform into adorable little pig goblins!
AWWW I WANNA HUG YOU NOT FIGHT YOU
-Quick fight. The Fire Sword and Robo-Tackle techs obliterate one of them, and with one of them defeated the fight ends. Only took a few rounds.
“Only Cyrus made it this far.” Aha! So he’s been here.
-ruh roh. I spoke too soon I think. They say that now they mean business. Final form time?
-YIKES
-New special boss music, or have we heard this before?
-Same strategy. Fire Sword, Robo-Tackle when I can, and have Robo use Cure Beam as needed.
It’s needed a fair bit, and a tough fight, but we win.
-The monster splits apart into the two piglets which transform back into two kids.
MUNE: “Will they fix us? Will they find us an owner?”
MASA: “Yeah, it’ll be alright.”
There’s something bittersweet in this exchange. Melancholy. I wonder how long these “kids” have been waiting in here to be put to use, to be made whole and put to a purpose. I guess that Cyrus used Masamune last and came here to store it, but why?
-We approach the Masamune. It transforms into a star, a twinkle of light, floats high up and drops down. Turns into a crystal.
-Or not – not a crystal, but rather a piece of the Masamune. “Broken Masamune.” Where’s the rest? My bet is either Cyrus or Frog. Or perhaps the Hero’s Medal that Tata has is actually the rest of the Masamune.
-NOOOHDJOSFHDLS GRRRR DON'T FUCKING DOING THAT, GAME
The kids transform into a wind tunnel and take us back down the mountain, but there was an area to the right of the cave entrance I wanted to explore first. Tried the cave first because I was afraid it the other way would be a waterfall, but now I wanted to check it out before leaving and the game just teleported me away.
Ah well. Probably was no big deal. Just a personal pet peeve.
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Next time: back to the different town, Porre and Sanderino.
