600 AD - Chez Frog
-Frog is clearly shocked by our returning the Masamune to him. He has a lot to consider.
-Rest.
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Guardia Castle
-Cutscene of Guardia Castle. Not exactly sure when.
-The throne room. King and Queen, with Cyrus in front of them. He’s off on a mission to retrieve the Hero Medal from Frog. Hm. Is this the present, and they are tired of him being out of action? I’m not so sure. After all, I thought Cyrus was long gone.
-The King wants him to stay, but Cyrus feels the need to leave: “As long as there is life in these bones, I shall return!” OK I’M CALLING IT – UNDEAD SKELETAL VILLAIN CYRUS! Even his name is villainy. Cyrus was a villain in Thirteen Ghosts and Con Air among other places, ergo he will be a villain here. LOGIC.
-His knights, the Knights of the Square Table, see Cyrus off. Clear adoration.
-A boy, Glenn, goes with Cyrus. The boy has green hair which makes me think he’d turn into the Frog before I remembered that Cyrus just said he’s going after Frog. Glenn is someone new.
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Forest and Mountain
-This is fascinating! The flashback (which I’m now certain this is) continues. Cyrus and Glenn fighting through Nagas, and trying to take the Badge of Courage – unclear whether it’s red or not – from a frog king.
-Cyrus busts out his tech, Nirvana Strike, and defeats the frog king. She flees, dropping the Badge of Courage behind her.
-The flashback continues in a different place. Ozzie is there, along with Cyrus and Glenn and a dude with a cape and long white hair. Something about Masamune.
-Oh shit, Glenn’s dying.
-THE CAPE GUY IS SIR MAGUS! I feel 73% sure he’s the Big Bad and it’s cool to see him now.
Okay, Heidegger.
-Cyrus tries to buy Glenn time to escape by charging Magus, but Magus smacks him down with lightning. Glenn weeps over Cyrus’s dying body.
-!! Cyrus’s body is now on fire.
Must be Magus’s doing. The music is creepy af.
-So much for my Evil Zombie Cyrus theory. Cyrus’s sprite disappears, as close to certain death as these games get.
-Magus provokes the apprentice to attack. Don’t do it, Glenn!
-OH GOD I’M THE SLOWEST PLOT GETTER EVER
THE FROG THEY WENT AFTER BEFORE WAS THE FROG QUEEN
GLENN REALLY IS FROG AND THIS IS HOW HE BECOMES FROG
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Chez Frog
-That was ten years ago.
He’s now ready to take up Cyrus’s mantle and take on Magus.
-So Frog thinks this is final boss time, that it’s time to head to Magus’s lair to the east. I feel reasonably confident then that we’re near the halfway point of the game because no WAY is this actually final boss time.
Side note: Lucca’s got a wonderful battle cry: “Nothing can beat science!”
-Party time: Marle, Crono, and Frog.
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Castle Guardia
-Before trying to head east, I want to see if there are any interactions between Frog and Leene. Headed to the castle.
-Wait, what? Everyone says “the Hero arrived” to meet with the King just now. Before we got here. But… Frog is the hero. And I checked out Porre, Tata is still there.
-Ah. Never mind. The dialogue just hadn’t changed from before. No new info here.
-Though now that I think about it, everyone acts as if Cyrus is still alive. Did Frog just not tell them about Cyrus? Makes sense I suppose. I don’t know that Frog told anyone that he is Glenn.
-As I ran through the castle to the Queen’s room, it also hit me: we still have no idea what it was that pulled Marle to that dark area she mentioned, back in like the third session. I suppose it could’ve been End of Time, but I kind of doubt it.
-Brief pit stop now back to the End of Time to get Frog magic. He gets (of course) water magic.
The sound effects for the Water spell are my favorite of anything in the game so far.
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Magic Cavern
-Nothing new at Fiona’s Villa, so onto the next place: the Magic Cavern. After all, the townsfolk of Porre mentioned that Magus’s ghouls were hanging around.
-Sure enough, we arrive and Frog walks up to the cliff wall. Flashback time.
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A Forest, Somewhere, Somewhen
-Kids are playing when one of their friends warns them of
OF CYRUS?? Was my Zombie Cyrus theory right?
OH GOD NO IT’S SEVEN BILLION TIMES MORE HEARTBREAKING THAN THAT BECAUSE THIS WAS KID GLENN BEING BULLIED AND THE BULLIES YELLING IN FEAR OF CYRUS BECAUSE HE CAME TO SAVE GLENN
-Cyrus thinks Glenn is too soft, needs to toughen up and stand up to the bullies.
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Bridge of Zenaan – Still Flashback
-They’re adults now. Cyrus in full knight gear, Glenn in regular clothing.
-Btw, I’m getting more than a few Cloud-Zack vibes from this relationship. I wonder if it was an influence in the development of FFVII.
-Cyrus is enlisting in the military, but Glenn is not. And not because Glenn can’t fight! He’s apparently a better swordsman now than Cyrus. But he doesn’t want to fight, doesn’t think he’d be good in the pressure of actual combat.
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The Worst Moment – Flashback
-Frog continues flashing back, now back after Cyrus’s death with Ozzie and Magus.
-THAT’S HOW HE GOT THE HERO MEDAL? FHDJKLSHFDFHDS
-He was knocked off the mountain after his transformation. The Hero Medal fell from the fallen Cyrus down the waterfall and landed at Frog’s feet. Chance passed it from his dead friend and protector onto him.
God, no wonder that Frog took Yakra kidnapping Leene so hard. He saw himself distracting Cyrus and causing his death and being unable or unwilling to fight Magus right then. Might have seen the Leene thing as a repetition of his failure.
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Magic Cave – the Present
-Up until now, Frog had been using a crappy Bronze Sword. But now he’s gone through these memories. He knows who he is. He knows what he has to do.
-He calls for the Masamune.
-Crono stabs it into the ground (kind of a dick move not to just hand it to Frog, but I guess he was going for drama lol). Frog approaches it.
-HELL
YES
HFDJKLSFHDJKLSFHL HAHAHAHAHA THIS IS SO AMAZING
FROG’S THEME MUSIC BLASTS ONTO THE SOUNDTRACK AS HE DECLARES WAR ON MAGUS, TEARS THE SWORD OUT OF THE GROUND INTO THE HANDS OF ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER, AND LIGHTNING CRACKLES
-CAMERA PANS OUT TO THE OVERWORLD MAP WHERE THE ENERGY DISCHARGE IS VISIBLE AS AN EXPANDING ORB OF AWESOMENESS AND POWER
-LIGHT FIRES OUT INTO THE SKY FROM THE SWORD
-FROG LEAPS AT THE CLIFF FACE, SWINGS MASAMUNE, AND TEARS THE THING ASUNDER
THIS IS GLORIOUSLY EPIC BEYOND WORDS I LOVE THIS SO MUCH
FROGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!
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Next time: into the Magic Cavern.
