Summary: Brief visit with Frog. Traveled back to pre-history. Met the mighty, confident, radiant Chief Ayla. Party, theft, barter.
600 AD - Southern Continent
-Nothing new in Sandorino.
-Tata’s back home in Porre.
-OH SHIT HE’S NOT THE HERO! Frog dropped the Hero’s Medal somewhere and Tata picked it up. Frog is the hero.
-I don’t quite understand the dialogue from Tata’s grandfather. I feel like it’s a reference to something.
[Non-rhetorical question for y’all – if it’s a reference to something, what’s it a reference to?]
-Now it’s time for Frog.
---
Frog’s Home
-Frog says he has no right to wield Masamune. What happened to him? I can’t believe it’s just letting Leene get kidnapped.
-We find the other part of Masamune in Frog’s home. Etched into it is “Melchior” spelled backwards.
-Wait. Melchior is in Medina Village 400 years into the future. How did Frog get it now? Or maybe Melchior is just that old.
-Now we have a new destination.
---
End of Time
-Marle is the same level as us. Looks like she kept up with our levels.
This is EXACTLY the kind of leveling system that I wanted from FFVI, VII, and VIII. I really hope we get there soon in the FF series. I have feeling like party members who I don’t use enough become relatively powerless. It’s a disincentive to experiment with them later or use them situationally.
-Swapping Marle in place of Robo for some variety and to build up her techs.
---
1,000 AD – Melchior’s Hut
-Some trippy music kicks in.
-We’ll need Dreamstone to reforge it. It’s a red stone that used to be used as money. “Unfortunately, it hasn’t been available for a very long time.”
AND HELL YES 65,000,000 BC HERE WE COME
---
65,000,000 BC – Mystic Mountain
-We’re immediately beset by Reptites. Won one fight (and got a couple of new techs which I have to check out), but quickly overwhelmed.
-hahahha yes! Saved by the woman we met before whose name I can’t remember.
She jumps into the pack and starts kicking all KINDS of ass.
Her attack style is awesome too, crawling on all fours, pouncing like a panther and rolling like Sonic.
-uh.
uhhhh. What are you doing to Crono, new person?
-!!!!!!!!NEW PARTY MEMBER!!!!!!!!!!
-She likes strength, and finds all our party members strong.
-Crono is upfront about the whole “from the future” thing, but she laughs it off as a joke. Reasonably.
-Ayla basically invites us all to a party at Ioka Village. She is so exuberant, and there are few things I can imagine that sound more fun than partying with Ayla. She leaves and we follow.
-The two new techs are Ice Sword, a single-target ice hit from Crono/Marle, and Antipode, a dual tech of fire and ice magic between Lucca/Marle.
-I keep getting Petals and Horns from the monsters. Currently assuming that they’ll be used for trade in the village instead of gold.
---
Ioka Village
-Starting by heading to the various Ioka Huts.
-Dinosaurs are stunned by lightning. Good to know.
-The chief has red stone.
-I was wrong about using petal and horn for trade. They accept gold. The petal and horn sound like they have more interesting use. I can find those, plus Fang and Feather, at the Hunting Range. When it rains, a rare monster appears.
Both of those pieces of information come from the same woman. The cavewoman speak make it hard to tell whether these two concepts are causally related, but seems a good bet.
-Hey, Ayla’s the chief! Neat.
600 AD - Southern Continent
-Nothing new in Sandorino.
-Tata’s back home in Porre.
-OH SHIT HE’S NOT THE HERO! Frog dropped the Hero’s Medal somewhere and Tata picked it up. Frog is the hero.
-I don’t quite understand the dialogue from Tata’s grandfather. I feel like it’s a reference to something.
[Non-rhetorical question for y’all – if it’s a reference to something, what’s it a reference to?]
-Now it’s time for Frog.
---
Frog’s Home
-Frog says he has no right to wield Masamune. What happened to him? I can’t believe it’s just letting Leene get kidnapped.
-We find the other part of Masamune in Frog’s home. Etched into it is “Melchior” spelled backwards.
-Wait. Melchior is in Medina Village 400 years into the future. How did Frog get it now? Or maybe Melchior is just that old.
-Now we have a new destination.
---
End of Time
-Marle is the same level as us. Looks like she kept up with our levels.
This is EXACTLY the kind of leveling system that I wanted from FFVI, VII, and VIII. I really hope we get there soon in the FF series. I have feeling like party members who I don’t use enough become relatively powerless. It’s a disincentive to experiment with them later or use them situationally.
-Swapping Marle in place of Robo for some variety and to build up her techs.
---
1,000 AD – Melchior’s Hut
-Some trippy music kicks in.
-We’ll need Dreamstone to reforge it. It’s a red stone that used to be used as money. “Unfortunately, it hasn’t been available for a very long time.”
AND HELL YES 65,000,000 BC HERE WE COME
---
65,000,000 BC – Mystic Mountain
-We’re immediately beset by Reptites. Won one fight (and got a couple of new techs which I have to check out), but quickly overwhelmed.
-hahahha yes! Saved by the woman we met before whose name I can’t remember.
She jumps into the pack and starts kicking all KINDS of ass.
Her attack style is awesome too, crawling on all fours, pouncing like a panther and rolling like Sonic.
-uh.
uhhhh. What are you doing to Crono, new person?
-!!!!!!!!NEW PARTY MEMBER!!!!!!!!!!
-She likes strength, and finds all our party members strong.
-Crono is upfront about the whole “from the future” thing, but she laughs it off as a joke. Reasonably.
-Ayla basically invites us all to a party at Ioka Village. She is so exuberant, and there are few things I can imagine that sound more fun than partying with Ayla. She leaves and we follow.
-The two new techs are Ice Sword, a single-target ice hit from Crono/Marle, and Antipode, a dual tech of fire and ice magic between Lucca/Marle.
-I keep getting Petals and Horns from the monsters. Currently assuming that they’ll be used for trade in the village instead of gold.
---
Ioka Village
-Starting by heading to the various Ioka Huts.
-Dinosaurs are stunned by lightning. Good to know.
-The chief has red stone.
-I was wrong about using petal and horn for trade. They accept gold. The petal and horn sound like they have more interesting use. I can find those, plus Fang and Feather, at the Hunting Range. When it rains, a rare monster appears.
Both of those pieces of information come from the same woman. The cavewoman speak make it hard to tell whether these two concepts are causally related, but seems a good bet.
-Hey, Ayla’s the chief! Neat.
---
Party Time!
-She welcomes us officially and publically.
Dance time!
-One of the dancers: “Oonga bunga/ Munga, meeple/ Dance with wind people!” This immediately makes me think of the wind kids, Masa and Mune.
WHAT IF WIND PEOPLE MEANS “SKAIKRU” AND WE JUST ENTERED INTO A 100/CHRONO TRIGGER CROSSOVER
-Another dancer mentions dancing with the Mountain People. Wind People and Mountain People.
-While Crono is walking around and talking to the dancers, it warms my heart to see Marle and Ayla laughing with each other, talking and having fun.
-AHA! THAT’S the woman I met before, “Kino.”
She seems unhappy, or at the least confused by our presence.
-The leader of the Reptites is Azala. She wants to destroy Ioka and Laruba Village.
-Ayla shows her the red rock. We can win it if we challenge her. Boss time?
-lol no, it’s a challenge to drink soup the fastest.
We button mash and win.
---
The Next Morning
-We wake up groggy. And alone. Where did everyone go?
-crap. The Gate Key is missing, and footprints are all around. Reptite footprints maybe.
-Everyone just went back home. Went to Ayla’s hut to see her, and she agrees that it was a Reptite thief. Pretty specific target for a thief.
-She joins us. This is so, so awesome. I love her already.
-Can I just take this moment to say how happy I am that Chrono Trigger has provided three wonderful, joyous, and completely different female characters? I shouldn’t be surprised I suppose. The FF series has been great with the last few games, since FFV.
Anyway, with so many real problems around how women are represented in games these days, it gives me lots of delight to see this kind of representation in these games specifically.
-New party time. Sorry Lucca – this time, it’s Crono, Marle, and Ayla.
-AHA!! (I feel like I’ve said that a lot this session, but whatever. The “aha” stands. :D ) The petals and horns and whatnot are not for the rare monster, but to trade (my first instinct was right) for weapons at the trade hut.
Three per item. No price listing, so I’ll have to experiment.
Three petals and three horns. Got a Sage Bow in return.
First experiment is to see whether the item is random. Probably not, but I don’t want to waste my time testing different things and accumulating stocks of various trade materials if the weapon I get in return isn’t impacted.
-Wow. Sage Bow is a MASSIVE upgrade for Marle. If that’s the precedent, I may have to farm.
-Ayla’s first tech is… “Kiss?” To heal and restore status. Yeah, she’s been shown to be quite forward already, and she’s just one woman among many in this game. (If she were the only one, it would likely make the “Kiss” tech much more problematic.)
[Later edit: seeing it in action, also helps that Ayla blows a kiss rather than running up to someone and smooching them.]
[Later edit: I thought about deleting that whole "kiss" paragraph. It's really not a big deal, and can fit her character and be just a silly fun touch. Also thought about deleting it because I'm a male with about seven billion blind spots I have as to issues of representation of women, so I could be getting this totally wrong or reading waaaaaay too much into this. Furthermore, it may not be my place to bring this up.
Ultimately, it jumped out at me as an honest reaction, and I figured it’d be better to try articulating this, get it wrong, and listen/learn than not bring it up at all. Would love to learn especially what the women among y'all think about Ayla's initial tech as a healing kiss.]
-The Reptites went south to the Forest Maze.
Party Time!
-She welcomes us officially and publically.
Dance time!
-One of the dancers: “Oonga bunga/ Munga, meeple/ Dance with wind people!” This immediately makes me think of the wind kids, Masa and Mune.
WHAT IF WIND PEOPLE MEANS “SKAIKRU” AND WE JUST ENTERED INTO A 100/CHRONO TRIGGER CROSSOVER
-Another dancer mentions dancing with the Mountain People. Wind People and Mountain People.
-While Crono is walking around and talking to the dancers, it warms my heart to see Marle and Ayla laughing with each other, talking and having fun.
-AHA! THAT’S the woman I met before, “Kino.”
She seems unhappy, or at the least confused by our presence.
-The leader of the Reptites is Azala. She wants to destroy Ioka and Laruba Village.
-Ayla shows her the red rock. We can win it if we challenge her. Boss time?
-lol no, it’s a challenge to drink soup the fastest.
We button mash and win.
---
The Next Morning
-We wake up groggy. And alone. Where did everyone go?
-crap. The Gate Key is missing, and footprints are all around. Reptite footprints maybe.
-Everyone just went back home. Went to Ayla’s hut to see her, and she agrees that it was a Reptite thief. Pretty specific target for a thief.
-She joins us. This is so, so awesome. I love her already.
-Can I just take this moment to say how happy I am that Chrono Trigger has provided three wonderful, joyous, and completely different female characters? I shouldn’t be surprised I suppose. The FF series has been great with the last few games, since FFV.
Anyway, with so many real problems around how women are represented in games these days, it gives me lots of delight to see this kind of representation in these games specifically.
-New party time. Sorry Lucca – this time, it’s Crono, Marle, and Ayla.
-AHA!! (I feel like I’ve said that a lot this session, but whatever. The “aha” stands. :D ) The petals and horns and whatnot are not for the rare monster, but to trade (my first instinct was right) for weapons at the trade hut.
Three per item. No price listing, so I’ll have to experiment.
Three petals and three horns. Got a Sage Bow in return.
First experiment is to see whether the item is random. Probably not, but I don’t want to waste my time testing different things and accumulating stocks of various trade materials if the weapon I get in return isn’t impacted.
-Wow. Sage Bow is a MASSIVE upgrade for Marle. If that’s the precedent, I may have to farm.
-Ayla’s first tech is… “Kiss?” To heal and restore status. Yeah, she’s been shown to be quite forward already, and she’s just one woman among many in this game. (If she were the only one, it would likely make the “Kiss” tech much more problematic.)
[Later edit: seeing it in action, also helps that Ayla blows a kiss rather than running up to someone and smooching them.]
[Later edit: I thought about deleting that whole "kiss" paragraph. It's really not a big deal, and can fit her character and be just a silly fun touch. Also thought about deleting it because I'm a male with about seven billion blind spots I have as to issues of representation of women, so I could be getting this totally wrong or reading waaaaaay too much into this. Furthermore, it may not be my place to bring this up.
Ultimately, it jumped out at me as an honest reaction, and I figured it’d be better to try articulating this, get it wrong, and listen/learn than not bring it up at all. Would love to learn especially what the women among y'all think about Ayla's initial tech as a healing kiss.]
-The Reptites went south to the Forest Maze.
---
Hunting Ground
-Decided to stop by here to farm up some items for trade.
-Lots of wildlife here and got lots of items.
-I love fighting with Ayla. She’s a physical powerhouse.
-It rained and I ran around frantically looking for a rare monster, but no luck.
-A few more rainstorms pass without me seeing it, but eventually I found it. A fish thing on the upper level, the same type of monster that accompanied the hermit in 2,300 AD.
Nu.
-A goofy looking beast. The FF series has taught me not to be deceived by goofiness. Thinking especially of Ultros and Jackanapes.
-Nu hit twice, knocking Marle and Crono down to one. But we made short work of her. Two Ice Swords obliterated her health, over 500 damage per hit.
-30 TECH POINTS?? HOLY CRAP
Also got a ridiculous accessory, “Third Eye,” which double evade rating. Tempted to give it to Marle who has the lowest HP, but I instead opt to give it to Ayla. Ayla has the highest evade, so while giving it to Marle would increase her evade by 15, giving it to Ayla increases her evade by 25.
If Marle really starts taking some damage, I may change my mind.
---
Ioki Trading Post
-Time to cash in.
Petal + Fang = Ruby Gun
Petal + Horn = Sage Bow
Petal + Feather = Stone Arm
Fang + Horn = Flint Edge
Fang + Feather = Rock Helm
Horn + Feather = Rock Helm
-Bought all of these, as well as a couple of extra Rock Helms and one extra Flint Edge in case I get Frog back soon.
---
Next time: the forest maze.
Hunting Ground
-Decided to stop by here to farm up some items for trade.
-Lots of wildlife here and got lots of items.
-I love fighting with Ayla. She’s a physical powerhouse.
-It rained and I ran around frantically looking for a rare monster, but no luck.
-A few more rainstorms pass without me seeing it, but eventually I found it. A fish thing on the upper level, the same type of monster that accompanied the hermit in 2,300 AD.
Nu.
-A goofy looking beast. The FF series has taught me not to be deceived by goofiness. Thinking especially of Ultros and Jackanapes.
-Nu hit twice, knocking Marle and Crono down to one. But we made short work of her. Two Ice Swords obliterated her health, over 500 damage per hit.
-30 TECH POINTS?? HOLY CRAP
Also got a ridiculous accessory, “Third Eye,” which double evade rating. Tempted to give it to Marle who has the lowest HP, but I instead opt to give it to Ayla. Ayla has the highest evade, so while giving it to Marle would increase her evade by 15, giving it to Ayla increases her evade by 25.
If Marle really starts taking some damage, I may change my mind.
---
Ioki Trading Post
-Time to cash in.
Petal + Fang = Ruby Gun
Petal + Horn = Sage Bow
Petal + Feather = Stone Arm
Fang + Horn = Flint Edge
Fang + Feather = Rock Helm
Horn + Feather = Rock Helm
-Bought all of these, as well as a couple of extra Rock Helms and one extra Flint Edge in case I get Frog back soon.
---
Next time: the forest maze.
