Full Transcript for Choices and Divergences | Chrono Cross (Ep. 174)

heard, it's a great podcast to do that. They're 72 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:57.439 great fellows, all of them. Over there. Here's what John 73 00:03:57.479 --> 00:04:00.439 has to say. I knew nothing of Chrono Trigger actually 74 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:04.759 played this game. First, Surge's journey, the time travel, seemingly 75 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:08.960 limitless companion opportunities. Yeah, it sure seems that way to me. Sometimes, 76 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:12.240 elemental battles and some very underrated music make this game. 77 00:04:12.680 --> 00:04:15.000 Makes this game hold a special place in my heart 78 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:19.800 from my adolescent years. Yeah, I have no comment except 79 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:20.240 here here. 80 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:25.439 Yeah, absolutely it. I've always found that the perspective of 81 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:28.040 those who have played this game with no knowledge of 82 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:31.319 the of its predecessor to be to be interesting. And 83 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:33.920 I'm always shock. I'm shocked every time when I hear 84 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:37.040 somebody liked this game without without the Chrono Trigger context. 85 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:40.240 So that's good to hear, Oh yeah, I have somewhat 86 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:44.639 big feelings on that that we'll get to today. Another pin. Finally, 87 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:49.160 Matt Matt stormagedin from the quote Fun and Games Podcast 88 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:53.600 love the title every time. Matt is a noted Krono 89 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:56.240 Trigger fanatic, and here's what they have to say. Chrono 90 00:04:56.279 --> 00:04:58.399 Trigger is my favorite game of all time. So imagine 91 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:01.839 my excitement when Kronocross was announced and then my disappointment. 92 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:04.680 Oh no, when I played it. I just didn't like 93 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:07.160 it at all, wrote it off for many years, and 94 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:09.600 now twenty seven years later, I actually want to give 95 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:11.959 it another shot. I think my love of Chrono Trigger 96 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:14.600 might have clouded my judgment a bit. And Matt goes 97 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:17.000 on to say that they're excited to pick up the 98 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:20.759 remaster this year. I hope we can consider. I hope 99 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:23.560 we can convince Matt to give this another try and 100 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:24.920 to like it a little more. 101 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:28.759 I also have a personal friend who refuses to play 102 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:33.000 this play Crono Cross, who is a huge Chrono Trigger fanatic, 103 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:36.560 and we have a conversation about about this very dilemma, 104 00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:39.160 you know, like once every couple of years, and he 105 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:41.839 still doesn't pick it up to play it. And from

106 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:44.480 this friend's perspective, Chrono trigger is a perfect game. He 107 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:47.160 doesn't want to ruin that experience. Oh but you know, 108 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:49.920 from my perspective, it's like, I don't know if you can. 109 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:52.199 I don't think I don't think a sequel can ruin 110 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:55.680 a predecessor, because you can always just not acknowledge it, 111 00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:56.439 you know what I mean? 112 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:58.160 Oh totally, But. 113 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:01.120 I understand, like, if you've got those those memories kind 114 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:05.439 of wrapped up in your in the perfect blend of nostalgia, 115 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:08.040 then I could see why you wouldn't want to tarnish that. 116 00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:11.560 Yeah. Absolutely, it's a tough thing to either revisit that 117 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:14.480 nostalgia or play something for the first time that you 118 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:19.759 know is directly related to it, especially years later. But Matt, 119 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:22.800 we hope we can give you at least a case 120 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:25.480 or a reason to give it a chance. So this 121 00:06:25.639 --> 00:06:28.399 episode is going to cover a lot of stuff. Pacing 122 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:31.160 might be slightly different than before. There is so much 123 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:35.519 stuff here that's goofy, that's funny, that's very moving and serious, 124 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:38.199 So some sections of this might be a little bit 125 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:42.879 more compressed than others. I had a pre talk, a 126 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:46.120 list of pre talk pre episode talking points to get to, 127 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:47.959 but I'm just going to hold off on those because 128 00:06:47.959 --> 00:07:09.279 they're all relevant story stuff. So let's dive back in. Okay, 129 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:12.959 we left off last time getting into viper Manor. I 130 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:15.480 took this time? Who did I take? I took Gile? No, 131 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:19.079 I took Nicky, Chris, you took, Well, you've taken everybody. 132 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:20.920 I prefer Gile. 133 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:22.800 Oh yeah, because he's strong. 134 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:25.519 I prefer Gile just because I may have mentioned this 135 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:27.920 in the last episode, but I always secretly head Cannon 136 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:29.399 Gile into being Omegas. 137 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.000 Oh yeah, oh yeah, I think that's I think that's 138 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:36.160 a fan theory that has a lot of supporters. So 139 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:40.360 we're at viper Manor. Viper Manner is a very very 140 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:44.000 cool place. First of all, I know I want to 141 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.199 pass the ball to you, Chris, but before I do, 142 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:48.600 I just wanted to shout out the music here. I 143 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:54.199 absolutely love it. It is. It is sneaky and kind 144 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:56.360 of cool in the same way that like Pink Panther 145 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:58.959 kind of is like it's not cool enough that you 146 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:01.240 know it's gonna strike a cigarette, you know, and lean 147 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:04.279 on a lamppost, but it's it's almost as cool as 148 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:07.079 that can get while still being aimed at like adolescents, 149 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:13.000 you know, very cool. It's got this vibraphone, harmonic outline 150 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:16.439 in the in the vibraphone, and then this really funky 151 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:19.199 bass and plucked string section that kind of does a 152 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:22.279 metric modulation the same way that Zawbag's theme did. I 153 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:24.639 did a whole explanation on that. Go check out the 154 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:28.319 Final Fantasy Tactics podcast. It's very cool. It's very cool. 155 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:32.720 I love Mitsudas soundtrack so so much. Viper Manner. What 156 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:34.320 do you think about this place, Chris? How do you 157 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:35.000 like it? Well? 158 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:36.759 First of all, to comment on the music, I think 159 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:39.879 you're You're one hundred percent correct on that. If you've 160 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:44.159 got a really good sneaking music in an RPG, or 161 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:47.200 really in any kind of game, it goes a long way, 162 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:51.039 because sometimes sneaking sucks and it's hard to make sneaking fun. 163 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:55.039 But Coronal Cross doesn't necessarily make you sneak around, because 164 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:58.639 you're usually just doing battles and stuff. But it makes 165 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:01.000 you It makes it okay to be there, you know, 166 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:03.559 you know what I mean, It's okay that you have 167 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:05.919 to spend a lot of time in this place, and 168 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:10.200 it's well served by the fact that we are sort 169 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:12.559 of in the midst of the era of pre rendered 170 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.759 backgrounds because it allows us place to have, you know, 171 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:18.799 not just a tile set. It allows it to have 172 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:22.240 like a lot of a lot of personality just in 173 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:26.080 just in the environments, the environment itself. And then when 174 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:29.679 you throw in like this weird, as I said before, 175 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:32.919 delightful cast of characters that you're going to stumble across 176 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:37.360 during your your your exploits at viper manner, and tying 177

00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:40.039 it and tying all that in with sort of like 178 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:43.720 the lynchpin of the first act of this game. It is. 179 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:47.440 It is quite quite memorable to me. In fact, I 180 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:51.360 think probably more than more than a handful of times, 181 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:53.600 Like when I had set out to do a replay 182 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:57.759 of Chrono Cross, those replays didn't always come to fully 183 00:09:57.759 --> 00:09:59.919 come to fruition, but I would always at least play 184 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:00.679 this park. 185 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:04.080 Oh wow, that's how I praise. I'm with you though, 186 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:06.960 like sneaking, and yeah, you really don't have to sneak here, 187 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:10.240 you can, it's more like evading. You can get into 188 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:12.759 a lot of fights with these guards if you want to, 189 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.960 but you can also just choose to evade them. That's 190 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:18.799 about as sneaky as it gets outside of outside of 191 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:22.039 you know, the fiction, you do have to well you're 192 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:25.320 you're more so sneaky in character. At some point during 193 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:27.919 this manner, you get kind of got by a Scooby 194 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:30.360 Doo type trap. There's like a there's a statue with 195 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:32.120 a code on it. And the cool thing is, no 196 00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:34.480 matter what you guess this first time around, the code 197 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:40.000 will be wrong. You're dropped into a cage through a trapdoor. Kid. 198 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:43.200 If kid is with you, kid turns into the greatest 199 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:46.559 rage bader of all time and basically just shit talks 200 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:49.240 these adults into wanting to beat the hell out of children. 201 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:51.759 And I think that is very funny and cool. 202 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:52.639 It's wonderful. 203 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:56.759 She would she would be a menace on modern social media. 204 00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:00.279 But then you take the outfits of the guard after 205 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:01.840 you beat them up, and that's how you're gonna get 206 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:04.200 around this manner. Learn a lot of really cool information 207 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:07.840 and if you want to play a mini game that 208 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:11.559 I think is really fun, but I am convinced it's 209 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:14.720 not possible to get all the way up to one hundred, 210 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:16.480 which is the top level of this thing. 211 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:18.840 You're talking about feeding the dragons, right. 212 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:21.840 I am I am convinced you cannot do it. 213 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:24.759 I'm pretty sure I've done it. No, and I'm pretty 214 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:26.879 sure I did it last on my last play through 215 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:29.879 without cheating, but I may have false memories. That was 216 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:30.799 that was five years ago. 217 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.360 Well, man, you're the king gamer. What can I say? 218 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:36.440 That's what they call me. 219 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:40.120 It's true. I've heard there are rumors on the streets. 220 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:43.080 I'm gonna do what's called a pro gamer moved. Oh 221 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:46.000 there is. This isn't really super relevant to the story. 222 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:49.200 There are a team there. There is a duo of 223 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:53.960 enemies down here called the Boxer Boys, which a man, 224 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:57.519 I'm gonna keep saying it. This game is so freaking funny. 225 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:01.039 They're just like a pair of chests, treasure chest, one big, 226 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:04.039 one small, and they've got they've got like burly arms 227 00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:07.039 and like where are the Boxer Boys? Eh? And you 228 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:08.480 have to choose one of them during the fight. They 229 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:10.159 might give you a present, but if you choose wrong, 230 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:12.120 you have to fight them. Not a hard fight. I 231 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:15.840 just you know, the Boxer Boys. That's funny. You know, 232 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:18.919 this game's got a lot of fun enemies. The Acacia 233 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:22.879 Dragoons are here just in case we slash. I forgot 234 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:25.399 to mention the dragoons are. They're kind of like a 235 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:29.240 military force sort of. They're under the leadership of Lord Viper. 236 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:33.200 Lord Viper, to reiterate from before, is really well beloved 237 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:36.600 among Termina. He's got that statue that that one dude 238 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:40.919 is polishing, you know, to a pristine Sheen. Karsh is 239 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:43.360 here as well. Karsh is one of the Deva dragoons. 240 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:45.480 I don't remember. Oh yeah, we find that out here. 241 00:12:45.639 --> 00:12:47.720 Karsh is one of the Dava dragoons. He gives you 242 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:52.480 some lore, not a ton, but the notable things are 243 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.000 he refers to Surge as quote the ghost boy, and 244 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:00.840 also as quote Junior, which I thought was a very 245 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.759 peculiar way to refer to him, because he's not the 246 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:05.720 kind of guy like your gym teacher that just calls 247 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:08.679 you junior, you know. And also he says Lord Viper 248 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:11.639 ruse overall of El Nido. But we kind of covered that. 249

00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:14.519 Yeah, it's great to get to to get to meet 250 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:17.200 these people, and since you're in disguise, it sort of 251 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.720 gives you a different perspective. How are we feeling about 252 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:24.399 the the other dragons? Have we met them yet? I'm 253 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:26.559 I'm mostly thinking about Zoa. 254 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:29.679 I think you could meet Zoa depending on who you took. 255 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:31.919 I think with Nicky you definitely meet him, or maybe 256 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:34.679 it's guy. It's one of the two. He types and 257 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:37.679 he types. He talks in all caps, which is, you know, 258 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:41.120 pretty funny to me. Yeah, I personally, I don't you know, 259 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:43.080 I don't love him in terms of design. I mean, 260 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:47.240 he's fine. He eventually, I guess, mild spoiler, he eventually 261 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:50.159 joins you and I don't really take him, but you know, 262 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:51.000 he's he's all right. 263 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.159 There's two parts of to his personality that I really like. 264 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:56.720 First of all, as you mentioned, he speaks in all caps, 265 00:13:56.759 --> 00:13:59.480 which I guess you can use your imagination to determine 266 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:03.320 how that manifests whether he's shouting all the time, who knows. 267 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:06.639 But also he's like wearing a full plate helmet, but 268 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:09.440 then he's completely bare chested, and I think that's a choice. 269 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.480 I think I think it's great. I uh you know, 270 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:14.799 let's uh a, we can we can head cannon that 271 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:17.919 it was a commentary on armor that women wore in 272 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:19.360 the in these kinds of games. 273 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:22.720 Oh yes, yes, boo Barber, Yes. 274 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:25.440 If only he had some of that though, speaking of 275 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:28.679 uh speaking of Davis and dragoons. You eventually run into 276 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.240 this little girl named Marcy along with an old man. 277 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:35.200 She says no, He says, you must be Serge. You 278 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:40.559 have grown Marcy. The kid does not give a single shit, 279 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:43.360 and she says, like, can I kill them yet? We're 280 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:46.440 gonna get into a fight with her in a second. 281 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:50.200 But you get some really nice lore here. You might 282 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:53.039 be wondering how this guy knows Surge. Everybody seems to. Well, 283 00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:55.720 here's what he says. He says, the world is not 284 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:58.960 just a single entity. Another world similar to our own 285 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:02.360 exists in another dimension. There you will find what you 286 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:06.039 might have become, a world of possibilities that might have existed, 287 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:09.440 a whole history that has not been written yet. We 288 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:13.279 are simply unable to see, feel, or experience it. Then 289 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.879 some really neat visual effects happen where everything turns to 290 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:19.960 like space time, and he continues, ten years ago, something 291 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:22.879 happened that put your very soul teetering on the balance 292 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:26.159 of fate, with a fifty to fifty chance of life 293 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:29.600 or death. This is when your future was split in twain. 294 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:33.399 He's not sure how or why it happened. The particulars 295 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:36.639 are not known to him. However, he does know that 296 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:40.879 that is sort of the fulcrum angeles errare where angels 297 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:43.799 lose their way. That is how he refers to it. 298 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:46.559 It is said that there the borders of two dimensions 299 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.559 fluctuate in such a way as to make the passage 300 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:55.480 between the parallel realities of possibility end quote. What is 301 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:58.000 your How do you feel about these sort of time 302 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:01.840 travel stories where to parallel worlds are sort of put 303 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:02.759 up against each other. 304 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:06.639 I think it was a pretty bold choice to do 305 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:09.080 this sequel to Corona Trigger and not do time travel, 306 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:11.799 but do this this. I guess this is almost the 307 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:14.960 opposite of Trump time travel because cron Trigger very much 308 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:17.759 had like one timeline could be impacted by things that 309 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:21.320 happened in the past, etc. Where in this case we're 310 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:25.440 talking about timelines that split because of a very specific event, 311 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:29.519 in this case the death of Search himself. And so 312 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:31.840 I thought it was really interesting and really bold to 313 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:35.440 kind of play around with that. And also I think too, 314 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:37.679 especially when I was playing this game when I was 315 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:40.519 when I was much younger, I was like glad to 316 00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:42.320 be kind of punched in the face with all the 317 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:44.720 lore right here, because it wasn't quite cleaning for me yet. 318 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:47.080 I don't know if I feel that that's the most 319 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:49.279

effective way of telling the story now, because it's a 320 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:53.159 little I don't know, it's a little contrived here to 321 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:56.679 use phrases like where angels lose their way. I it's 322 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:00.000 just a little silly, But this game is a little 323 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:02.759 so I guess. I guess in a way it fits. 324 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:06.559 I'm glad you brought that up, and it's a great segue. 325 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:09.720 I did look into that. I wanted to see how 326 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:12.799 that was referred to in the Japanese script because it's 327 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:16.160 it's poetic and abstract in a way that you often 328 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:20.319 see I think in American or at least English literature 329 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:24.920 or stories. So the Japanese. The way that the Japanese 330 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:27.400 script refers to this where the angels looses their way 331 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:31.880 angelous errare. I hate pronouncing Japanese on this show man 332 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:38.359 is tokno mayoyo, which roughly translates to something like children, 333 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:42.039 the stray children in time time, straight children, the children 334 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:44.519 who have straight into time, things like that. I kind 335 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:47.079 of go back and forth on which I like more 336 00:17:47.880 --> 00:17:50.559 the America. The English kind of focuses on the place 337 00:17:50.759 --> 00:17:52.880 you know of Opasa Beach, which we'll get too soon. 338 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:56.440 The Japanese kind of focuses on the children, of them 339 00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:01.000 being these sort of wayward souls that are traveling between 340 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:06.279 worlds or crossing through chronos, you get it, And there might, 341 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.440 to be fair, there might be some poetic undertones to 342 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:12.160 that Japanese with the particular kanji that are used there. 343 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:15.440 I don't pretend to know that I can read it, 344 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:19.279 and you know it almost ends there, But what do 345 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:20.920 you what do you think about that? 346 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:24.240 That's really interesting. I did not know about the difference 347 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:25.960 in the English and the Japanese there, so that that's 348 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.839 really interesting. But it sounds to me like just off 349 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:34.720 off the cuff here that the Japanese fits better thematically 350 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:40.799 just by simply using the word children, because we see 351 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:44.000 children that have lost their way in this game, and 352 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:45.640 in the form of the ghost children. I don't know 353 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:47.880 if you've played that far

yet, but but there are 354 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:50.160 ghost children that in this game. And I'll leave it 355 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:52.720 at that until we get there. But that seems like 356 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:55.519 it kind of fits a little better. Otherwise it feels 357 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:56.799 kind of abstract. 358 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.720 I one hundred percent degree, I have got that far. 359 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.799 I agree completely and it sets up that really nice ambiguity. 360 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:07.680 This might be a mild spoiler, folks, you can skip 361 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.000 ahead like ten seconds, fifteen seconds. It sets up the 362 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:13.519 ambiguity of you asking if it's you, if it's your group, 363 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:18.039 and then that becomes clear later, really really nice stuff. 364 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:21.880 Despite all of this, though, despite how special Surge seems 365 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:26.000 to be and how interested this prophet is in figuring 366 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:29.400 out the house and the whys, he doesn't care, he 367 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:32.640 gives Marci the okay to just fight us. In retrospect, 368 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:34.240 it might just be a sort of like a testing 369 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:36.640 of will kind of deal, but it gets you into 370 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:39.599 a fight with Marcy, who turns out, despite being super 371 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:43.039 young is and by super young, I mean we mean like, 372 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:46.319 I don't know, eight to twelve, something like that. I 373 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:49.079 don't know. She's in a children a child's dress. She 374 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:51.079 is one of the four Davas of the Dragoons along 375 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.599 with karsh Zoa, and is the fourth one is Dario 376 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:56.519 Glenn's deceased brother. 377 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:59.240 Right, that's correct. I believe. I believe he hasn't been 378 00:19:59.240 --> 00:19:59.920 replaced yet. 379 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:03.279 Okay, that is something I was unclear on, thank you. 380 00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:06.279 So yeah, she must be incredibly strong for a child 381 00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:09.200 and she is. You know, it's a nice fight after 382 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:11.680 it's over. This is our introduction to a new character, 383 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:17.640 one whom I love, named Harlequinn. You might guess by 384 00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:22.000 that name she is a clown girl, not a jester. Really. 385 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:26.559 She is referred to in game as Horrl or Harley. 386 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:29.680 I you know, whichever I say harl I think you 387 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:33.119 say Harley. It's tomato, tomato. As far as I'm concerned, 388 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:38.119 she comes down. She is Links's right hand jester. What 389 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.160 else She's not going to fight us here? She suggests 390 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:46.079 we turned back, and she immediately wants to hug and 391 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:48.920 kiss Surge in an adult manner. 392 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:53.400 Yeah, she is sort of the the embodiment here of 393 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:58.079 like the collection of weirdos that this game has to offer. 394 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:02.559 Because you're right, she's very flirtatious and silly with Serge. 395 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:05.400 Not to mention she's also speaking with a French accent 396 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:12.680 via the powers of Richard Honeywood himself. And and like 397 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:16.720 you said, it's just another weirdo that acts weird and 398 00:21:16.920 --> 00:21:20.720 just gives that gives this game just another layer of 399 00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:25.880 a mystifying presence. And I think that she does a 400 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:30.559 really really good job of making sure that that mystifying 401 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:34.440 presence is kind of permeates throughout the course of this 402 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:37.079 game and all our all of our interactions with her. 403 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:39.559 And this is just the first, just this is just 404 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:41.640 the first time that we're going to have this kind 405 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:42.559 of interaction with her. 406 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:45.920 Yeah, first of many. She also does something that this 407 00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:49.640 game I think is extremely adept at doing. 408 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:49.839 That. 409 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:54.359 We'll see more of setting up these not conflicting ideas, 410 00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:58.680 these contrasting tones that when it pulls, when it decides 411 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:00.920 to reveal all of the cards it's holding to its chest, 412 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:05.039 when it wants to get really serious, the effect is 413 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:09.200 very strong. It's done with such verve that it's almost 414 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:13.680 hair raising in some scenes. I'm so excited to get there. 415 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:38.279 I love this game so far. Paarl is great. Clown girls, 416 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:42.799 They're all great. Everybody loves them. Sure why not? Kid, 417 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:47.200 kid meets back up, Kid meets back up? Oh goodness, gracious, 418 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:50.559 I love a podcaster that can't speak. Kid meets back 419 00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:52.960 up with you here if she's not already with you, 420 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:56.240 and we're going to meet a few folks here. General 421 00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:59.079 Viper just kind of an old looking guy, a little 422 00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:03.039 bit wide beard. He has no idea about any of this. 423 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:05.680 He doesn't know anything about the dragoons or capturing Surge. 424 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:09.000 He's kind of in the dark.

Lynx appears here as well. 425 00:23:09.079 --> 00:23:11.680 Lynx is a new character and is going to factor 426 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:16.240 heavily into this story. Linx is what you'd expect. He's 427 00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:18.880 a Lynx, body of a man, fur of a Lynx, 428 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:22.400 head of a Lynx. And this sort of it's not regalia, 429 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:24.240 and it's not like robes. It's kind of a mixture 430 00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:27.960 between the two. With a like a fancy three pointed hat. 431 00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:31.480 It looks like a clergyman's hat of some sort, not 432 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:34.680 any specific member of any specific clergy, but like you 433 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:39.000 see this hat and it's like this guy. He presides somewhere, right, 434 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:40.519 He does. 435 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:43.240 Some poseidon a little bit in a spare time. Yeah, 436 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:45.960 you're right, that's a good comparison. He's not a pope. 437 00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:49.920 He's not pope. Linx missed opportunity, I think. But he 438 00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:53.519 is behind things somehow. We don't know why, but kid 439 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:58.960 seems to. She is familiar. In addition to a slurry 440 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:02.440 of cat puns. He won't talk. Cac got your tongue links, 441 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:06.920 I've got you by the tail now, Firecracker. She wants 442 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:09.079 to kill him like straight up take his life. She 443 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:11.920 wants murder, she wants blood. He is aware of her 444 00:24:11.960 --> 00:24:15.400 as well. He knows that she is or was a 445 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:19.119 member of the Radical Dreamers, that thieving group that we've 446 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:22.119 heard whispers of. And I won't lie to you, Chris. 447 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:25.119 At this point in the game, I'm still pretty unclear 448 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:26.960 on what role they're going to play in the story. 449 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:31.920 I am going to read Radical Dreamers before the final recording, 450 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:34.720 but as of right now, I'm pretty in the dark 451 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:35.720 about a lot of this stuff. 452 00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:37.920 I'll just say that some of the stuff that you 453 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:43.319 are in the dark for you will remain there, Okay. 454 00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:48.680 In my opinion, the entire Radical Dreamers thing is builds 455 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:54.359 to a very very small possible one note, Lord dump, 456 00:24:54.559 --> 00:24:56.960 if you happen to interact with one thing later in. 457 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:59.799 The game, okay, do you happen to know like where 458 00:24:59.799 --> 00:25:01.160 that in case I miss it? 459 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:03.440 Yeah, it is. 460 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:06.119 It's more so if we get there and I neglect 461 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:08.440 to write it down, like can you save me? Would 462 00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:09.279 you be my savior? Chris? 463 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:11.680 Yeah, yeah, it's way later in the game. 464 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:15.839 Okay, fair enough. And sometimes you know, if they over 465 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:17.880 explain stuff like that and the lore, it takes away 466 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:20.119 some of the mystifying element. Like I wrote this down later, 467 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:23.279 but there is something about these JRPGs from this era 468 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:25.920 and games in general, that really put a lot of 469 00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:28.920 onus on you as the player to use your imagination 470 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:32.240 to fill stuff in. The easy example to say is like, well, 471 00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:34.640 your characters aren't actually standing in a line taking turns 472 00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:37.160 hitting the enemy. You know. It's that kind of abstraction 473 00:25:37.720 --> 00:25:41.839 that isn't present today because of the advancements in things 474 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:46.720 like presentation, graphics, stuff like that. And I think something 475 00:25:47.559 --> 00:25:50.799 indescribable in character and affect is lost now that we 476 00:25:50.839 --> 00:25:53.039 don't have to do that. Maybe I'm just being like 477 00:25:53.160 --> 00:25:56.119 old man yells at clouds or rose tinted glasses to 478 00:25:56.160 --> 00:26:00.559 the past, but I don't know that imaginative force isn't 479 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:04.480 expected anymore, not all the time anyway, and it's a bummer. 480 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:05.000 I don't know. 481 00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:08.519 Yeah, I think nowadays when games come from especially when 482 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:13.079 games come from big budget publishers, there seems to be 483 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:15.599 like some sort of edict that like, there needs to 484 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:19.200 be a way for the player to see everything that 485 00:26:19.240 --> 00:26:22.160 we put in this game, and we will put a 486 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:24.319 marker on the map to show them that they should 487 00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:27.920 probably do this. It leads to, you know, fewer games 488 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:32.799 of substance with with you know, secret lore in things 489 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:33.400 of that nature. 490 00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.480 Got to get your money's worth, man, that's the goal. 491 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:37.920 Check all the boxes. 492 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:42.359 Absolutely, Thank you, Jeff Keeley. I don't know if he 493 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:43.960 had anything to do with that. I just like picking 494 00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:45.960 on him. One more thing before we move on. I 495 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:48.480 just want to call this out. The Frozen Flame, I 496 00:26:48.599 --> 00:26:51.519 think is introduced here and is said to lie in 497 00:26:51.559 -->

00:26:54.039 the Sea of Eden, the place where the future and 498 00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:58.960 past collide. Sea of Eden, Garden of Eden. That should 499 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:02.079 be very Oh, we're going to be dealing with things 500 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:06.799 such as life, the birthplace of life, the birthplace of man, 501 00:27:07.319 --> 00:27:10.640 which is the Garden of Eden. That's all going to 502 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:12.880 come in a little bit later though, and it's still 503 00:27:12.920 --> 00:27:15.440 speculation on my part. For what it's worth, there's. 504 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:15.759 A little fight. 505 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:16.880 Oh yeah, go ahead. 506 00:27:17.160 --> 00:27:19.000 Oh, I was just going to say that that is 507 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:22.039 I think that's apt. I don't know foreshadowing is the 508 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:24.519 right word, because they're explicitly just telling you, telling you 509 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:26.559 that the Frozen Flame in the Sea of En are 510 00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:28.839 a thing. But but this game does do its fair 511 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:33.240 share of like proper noun introductions and it does, I think, 512 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:37.519 make good on most of those radical dreamers. Notwithstanding, I gotcha. 513 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:40.400 I think I think there is one very clear well, 514 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:43.400 there is another very clear biblical reference, I think, and 515 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:44.880 it's set up with the Sea of Eden in a 516 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:48.200 way that I don't know, I think pretty explicitly shows 517 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:50.319 you what it's trying to do. But that's a little 518 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:53.240 bit later. There's a little fight with links here or 519 00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:55.599 you know, his shadow, because he is, you know, a 520 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:57.359 big bad so he can do that kind of thing. 521 00:27:57.599 --> 00:27:59.960 It's not that bad. He does have a bad ass sight, 522 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:02.559 though I would have went crazy over this as a 523 00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:05.799 as a teen. Something about him though, something about his 524 00:28:05.880 --> 00:28:09.880 presence of either Linx or this jewel that's in the room. 525 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:13.799 The dragon tear causes Surge to sort of space out 526 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:16.880 and have a vision. He sees this city, which, by 527 00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:19.599 the way, is this Termina, Chris, I don't. 528 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:21.359 Think it's explicitly Termina. 529 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:25.480 I think it's just city, Okay. He sees this city 530 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:28.960 get engulfed and destroyed by this sort of black energy. 531 00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:31.599 Can it's unclear you could just call it energy. Maybe 532 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:36.119 it's a time compression sort of thing. Point is it's destroyed. 533 00:28:36.759 --> 00:28:39.480 It also shows a close up of Surge's face overlaid 534 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:43.000 with Lynxes and then going back. There is some connection 535 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:46.119 between these two. That is what it's clearly showing you here. 536 00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:49.720 Lynx says this. He says, listen to me, the end 537 00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:52.799 of the human world is nigh. When this time comes, Surge, 538 00:28:52.920 --> 00:28:55.680 there shall be a deep enmity between you and the world. 539 00:28:56.319 --> 00:29:00.440 Is this not speculation or prediction? This is history? And 540 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:04.599 I have two things, uh, well three things. One this 541 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:07.079 game really likes that word enmity, so if you don't 542 00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:08.920 know it, you're gonna you're gonna learn it. It comes 543 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:11.720 up like more than a couple of times. And the 544 00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:14.480 other thing, well, I made a little Slaughterhouse five thing 545 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:17.680 note here, but you know that's just something I'm rereading 546 00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:21.000 it great novel. But one thing that I thought about 547 00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:24.599 when Link said this, it's not threatening, you know, it's 548 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:27.680 it's worded in a way that almost sounds like he 549 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:29.400 wants us to consider this as a as a bit 550 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:32.440 of caution. He doesn't sound like a bad guy, capital B, 551 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:33.960 capital G at this moment. 552 00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:37.680 He doesn't. And I'm glad you pointed out about the 553 00:29:37.720 --> 00:29:39.680 word in the d because I was going to do 554 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:41.640 the exact same thing, and I'm not I've never really 555 00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:43.960 quite figured out why this game likes that word so much, 556 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:46.920 whether that's just like a thing about that the of 557 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:50.119 the of the localizers themselves, or if there was some 558 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:53.640 specific word in the Japanese text that they wanted to use, 559 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:57.720 a word that would be a little bit more intense 560 00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:00.720 than the word it's kind of in the general lexicon 561 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:04.359 for an English speaker. I've always found that very interesting, 562 00:30:04.359 --> 00:30:07.200 and I've never really quite got my finger on why. 563 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:09.359 But you're right, it does sound like a little bit 564 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:12.720 of a warning, because him saying that links telling Surge 565 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:16.519 that there shall be a deep enmity between him and 566 00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:19.799 the world, is not saying that he's going to destroy him, 567 00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:23.920 or he's going to calls him,

you know, forty Knights 568 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:26.519 of Terror or whatever. He's telling him that the world 569 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:29.079 is going to hate him, which is a really interesting 570 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:31.319 thing for the bad guy to say to the good guy. 571 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:33.200 If you pick up on that when you're first playing 572 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:35.880 through this game, it really does add a really interesting 573 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:41.079 layer of what this game could be about, and it's 574 00:30:41.119 --> 00:30:45.319 really it's impossible to determine it from this, which I 575 00:30:45.319 --> 00:30:48.799 think speaks well for the game because you're you've been 576 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:52.240 introduced to this conflict. He's obviously the bad guy, but 577 00:30:52.279 --> 00:30:54.519 why is he the bad guy? There's a reason, but 578 00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:56.559 I don't understand it. And I think that that's great 579 00:30:56.599 --> 00:31:01.519 in terms of how you're building the conflict between between 580 00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:03.039 the good guys and the bad guys here. 581 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:07.799 Absolutely, it's a nice wrinkle, especially from this Like I 582 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:09.920 don't want to paint with a rod brush and say 583 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:12.680 that all jerrpgs from this era and before were like 584 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:15.480 a monolith, but you see, you do see a lot 585 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:17.480 of bad guys that are just bad for the sake 586 00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:21.720 of being bad around this time. Like I know, Kefka 587 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:26.440 is beloved, but he's a great example his motivation and 588 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:28.200 this might be a hot take. I think his motivation 589 00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:31.759 is fairly flimsy. I don't know, he's kind of just 590 00:31:31.799 --> 00:31:35.240 bad for being bad here. I mean, they're kind of 591 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:38.319 setting up whether or not this plays out. I personally 592 00:31:38.359 --> 00:31:40.640 I am unsure, but they're setting it up that there 593 00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:44.720 is more two links his motivation and character than just 594 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:48.119 being this menacing sort of guy with a giant scythe 595 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:51.519 that is, you know, a badass, yes, but also very 596 00:31:51.559 --> 00:31:55.400 indicative of villains that just wants to wreak havoc. There's 597 00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:58.000 more to it than that. They're just not going to 598 00:31:58.079 --> 00:31:59.759 lay it out for you just yet. And I think 599 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:03.359 that is a great move for especially for video games 600 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:07.039 that often, especially back you know, in the past, are 601 00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:13.039 or were derided for being trite or derivative or you know, 602 00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:15.920 ham fisted or whatever fancy adjective you want to use. 603 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:19.680 Yeah. Absolutely, I think the Kefka comparison is really good. 604 00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:23.279 I mean, there's there's some layers to him, but his 605 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:27.200 motivations are always clear. He's just a psychopath. And even 606 00:32:27.240 --> 00:32:30.680 with like the lynch pin of all the JRPG villains, 607 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:35.640 seph Roth, his motivations become relatively clear relatively early on, 608 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:38.400 especially after you've first met him. You might not know 609 00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:39.960 exactly what he wants to do, but you can tell 610 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:43.279 he wants to fuck shit up. But links has shown 611 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:46.160 no indication that he wants to fuck shit up. And 612 00:32:46.200 --> 00:32:49.400 he's only speaking in these in these very strange riddles. 613 00:32:49.480 --> 00:33:15.680 And I think it's great. 614 00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:08.960 You are able to escape. Your gang is able to escape. 615 00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:13.079 Kid takes Riddle hostage. Can't remember if we mentioned Riddle. 616 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:17.599 Riddle is a viper's daughter Purple Hair. She was with Glenn. 617 00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:22.480 You may have seen her with Glenn honoring Glenn's deceased 618 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:26.480 brother out in the town. She comes in, Kid takes 619 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:29.559 her hostage. You know, everybody plays ball. They go up 620 00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:32.720 to the roof that is like outside, it's this balcony. 621 00:33:32.920 --> 00:33:35.240 Behind them is nothing but the sea and the cliffs, 622 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:38.440 and everybody knows that they have no choice here if 623 00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:42.519 they jump there, likely to die. Of course, Lynx takes 624 00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:44.559 this as an opportunity. He takes out this knife and 625 00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:48.200 he chucks it at Kid and it hits her and 626 00:33:48.359 --> 00:33:52.160 she falls into the sea. Presumably dead at this point 627 00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:54.319 in time. We don't know, but it seems like that 628 00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:56.640 might be the case. And Linx speaks to Surge here 629 00:33:57.279 --> 00:33:58.759 and I'm not gonna lie. This is a bit of 630 00:33:58.759 --> 00:34:00.920 a groaner, or at least I thought it was at 631 00:34:00.960 --> 00:34:03.799 this time in the game, Links says, I've been waiting 632 00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:07.240 for you for a long long time, and he beckons him. 633 00:34:07.359 --> 00:34:12.039 He calls him the Assassin of Time. The chrono trigger 634 00:34:13.559 --> 00:34:15.599 Surge then jumps off into the sea to you know, 635 00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:19.320 go towards Kid, and again Links is concerned about this. 636 00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:22.440 I can't remember if he says no or wait or something. 637 00:34:22.599 --> 00:34:26.159

He calls out like he didn't want this to happen anyways, 638 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:29.800 Link's complicated at this point in time. But the Assassin 639 00:34:29.880 --> 00:34:33.440 of Time, the Chrono Trigger Links, by the way, is 640 00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:36.000 framed on a black background in the center of the screen, 641 00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:38.559 staring at the player when he says this, And I 642 00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:41.719 think it's that combined with this being a proper noun 643 00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:44.519 that kind of made me go, oh, geez, like this 644 00:34:44.599 --> 00:34:45.239 is what they're doing. 645 00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:50.920 Is it a little contrived? Yes? Is it fan service 646 00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:55.480 to a certain extent, yes? But do I love it? Yes? Ay? 647 00:34:55.880 --> 00:34:58.559 And you know what I mean, Like it's like, oh, look, 648 00:34:58.559 --> 00:35:02.960 they're referencing the thing. That's great. Let's how how is 649 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:04.679 this all going to work? Let's figure it out. And 650 00:35:04.719 --> 00:35:06.840 that that's what got me, you know, like I was 651 00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:10.440 a little bit on on the edge about this game 652 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:11.920 when I first played it when it first came out, 653 00:35:11.920 --> 00:35:14.840 because I didn't, you know, for all the reasons that 654 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:17.079 that are often cited that this game doesn't feel like 655 00:35:17.159 --> 00:35:19.480 a sequel to chrona Trigger. But you said Chrono Trigger, 656 00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:21.239 so it's got to be a sequel, So let's play it, 657 00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:23.079 you know, like I've got to figure out what this 658 00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:27.760 means because getting deep into the shit with with with 659 00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:31.400 lore is exactly what I needed at that point in 660 00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:34.480 time when I first played this, and I appreciate it, 661 00:35:34.519 --> 00:35:36.920 but I do, I do largely agree with you, though 662 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:38.639 it is a little contrived, a little eye rolly. 663 00:35:39.400 --> 00:35:42.880 It's well maybe and maybe those are a bit too negative, 664 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:45.760 and maybe it's cheesy, you know, and cheesy isn't bad. 665 00:35:46.239 --> 00:35:48.880 There's good cheesy. You know. You can groan at this 666 00:35:48.960 --> 00:35:51.280 a little but still kind of laugh at it, giddaly 667 00:35:51.480 --> 00:35:53.800 or you know, smile ear to ear like a kid. 668 00:35:54.119 --> 00:35:56.840 I don't know, it's maybe growner was the wrong word. 669 00:35:56.920 --> 00:36:00.519 I take it back, any who's it turns out that 670 00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:04.159 we are okay, we're not dead. Surgeon Kid are well, 671 00:36:04.239 --> 00:36:06.079 they're not dead. I don't want to say fine, Surge 672 00:36:06.159 --> 00:36:09.519 is fine. Kid is in trouble, which I mean the 673 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:14.519 music here is really foreboding. I'm playing it now. I 674 00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:17.599 hope you hear it. Chris, you know there's it's just 675 00:36:17.719 --> 00:36:22.119 the piano especially is making this really really sinister. Kid 676 00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:25.519 has been poisoned. It was a Lynx's dagger was tipped 677 00:36:25.519 --> 00:36:29.880 with that. There's a doctor here. This is totally uh, 678 00:36:30.639 --> 00:36:33.000 this is totally a rick thing. The way he's dressed, 679 00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:35.280 kisses me off. He reminds me of like a hobo 680 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:39.440 Johnson fan and I don't like it. However, he is 681 00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:41.760 a doctor, and he says that she's got two days 682 00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:45.400 to live and the only cure would be something called 683 00:36:45.400 --> 00:36:48.599 the hydra humor, a humor you know, think of like 684 00:36:48.679 --> 00:36:52.679 the humors in Greek mythology. Right, it's you know, it's 685 00:36:52.679 --> 00:36:56.280 not haha. However, the hydras are extinct in this world, 686 00:36:56.800 --> 00:37:00.920 so she's gonna die, except she's not because we can 687 00:37:00.960 --> 00:37:04.480 get back to our world. And this is one of 688 00:37:04.519 --> 00:37:06.679 the two major things I wanted to sit on here 689 00:37:06.679 --> 00:37:09.920 for a second. Kid gives you this thing called the 690 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:14.119 astral Amulet. This is a device that lets you travel 691 00:37:14.159 --> 00:37:16.760 between these two parallel worlds, what we're going to call 692 00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:20.559 the other world, which is where we are now, and 693 00:37:20.679 --> 00:37:23.800 the home world, which is where you were before the 694 00:37:23.960 --> 00:37:27.480 inciting incident with Lena on Opasa Beach the Kingdom Hearts 695 00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:31.880 scene One, how in the world does Kid have this amulet? 696 00:37:32.239 --> 00:37:34.840 And two? How does she know what it does? To 697 00:37:34.920 --> 00:37:37.440 give it to Surge and say, hey man, this is 698 00:37:37.519 --> 00:37:40.599 the key. You know this? I think last time I 699 00:37:40.639 --> 00:37:42.639 was like, yeah, there's no way like Kid just comes 700 00:37:42.639 --> 00:37:45.599 in wants to really save Surge. Really gung ho, name 701 00:37:45.719 --> 00:37:50.280 is Kid? There's something more to this again right now, 702 00:37:50.320 --> 00:37:53.800 I don't know, However, I'm convinced. I'm convinced there's more 703 00:37:53.840 --> 00:37:56.119 to the story, even if it's in Radical Dreamers. Here's 704 00:37:56.119 --> 00:37:56.519 got to be. 705 00:37:57.119 --> 00:37:59.519 Yeah, this is really your first opportunity to get us 706 00:37:59.559 --> 00:38:01.960 to to get a sense of Kid in her larger 707 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:05.920 places in the story. She's not just some punk ass kid. 708 00:38:06.360 --> 00:38:10.239 She has

some device, some Lord device that will allow 709 00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:13.239 us to activate the primary mechanic of the game, basically, 710 00:38:13.239 --> 00:38:17.239 which is hop between these two parallel dimensions. And I 711 00:38:17.280 --> 00:38:20.239 think it's the choice that we're going to have to make. 712 00:38:20.239 --> 00:38:21.800 I think it's a little bit at odds with that, 713 00:38:21.880 --> 00:38:23.599 but we'll get there. 714 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:26.960 I okay, I'm really glad that you brought up the choice. 715 00:38:27.519 --> 00:38:30.159 Is This is actually where I made the decision to 716 00:38:30.239 --> 00:38:34.000 use a guide. I really don't love using guides in 717 00:38:34.079 --> 00:38:36.760 general on first plays, like it takes some of the 718 00:38:36.760 --> 00:38:39.079 magic out of it for me, and I like to 719 00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:42.159 reclaim that magic as an aging man. I don't want 720 00:38:42.159 --> 00:38:44.719 to be reminded of my mortality, which this game loves 721 00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:47.559 to do. And I made more than a couple of 722 00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:50.719 notes about that. But you get a major decision here. 723 00:38:50.760 --> 00:38:54.280 You don't have to save Kid. You can choose not to, 724 00:38:54.599 --> 00:38:57.840 and a couple of your party members, specifically Cortia, kind 725 00:38:57.880 --> 00:39:00.199 of look at you as like a monster. But you 726 00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:04.119 don't have to. And it is perplexing to me that 727 00:39:04.239 --> 00:39:09.320 this is a choice. If listeners don't know Chris's podcast 728 00:39:09.400 --> 00:39:13.320 Retrograde Amnesia, you guys cover literally everything. You've got forty 729 00:39:13.320 --> 00:39:17.039 one episodes on Chronocross, so you covered both routes. The 730 00:39:17.119 --> 00:39:20.719 route where you choose not to save Kid, at least 731 00:39:20.719 --> 00:39:23.559 for a large portion, kind of just feels like a 732 00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:24.480 worse game. 733 00:39:24.880 --> 00:39:28.480 A little bit. First of all, you feel bad for 734 00:39:28.559 --> 00:39:32.079 even making that decision. And my big criticism of this 735 00:39:32.280 --> 00:39:35.840 point in the game is that I'm okay with decisions 736 00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:38.639 that sort of split games in two directions. I think 737 00:39:38.679 --> 00:39:42.280 that like The Witch or Two, for example, like you 738 00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:46.119 have to make a very important decision halfway through that game, 739 00:39:46.159 --> 00:39:50.119 and it largely just gates off one entire section of 740 00:39:50.119 --> 00:39:52.000 the game, and I think that's really bold and interesting. 741 00:39:52.679 --> 00:39:56.719 Here you have to make it a decision that does 742 00:39:56.800 --> 00:40:00.480 that a little bit, but the decision itself kind of 743 00:40:00.599 --> 00:40:04.960 sucks because who in their right mind is going to say, no, 744 00:40:05.119 --> 00:40:08.000 I'm not going to save Kid. Like, give me an 745 00:40:08.039 --> 00:40:11.400 interesting decision that I have to make, Like the I 746 00:40:11.480 --> 00:40:14.239 think the the one that always that I always use 747 00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:17.559 it as an example for a reasonable decision to make 748 00:40:17.559 --> 00:40:20.119 a player. To make a player make is like in 749 00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:23.559 Mass Effect when you have to choose Ashley or Caden, 750 00:40:23.960 --> 00:40:26.239 and of course everybody chooses Ashley, but at least you're 751 00:40:26.280 --> 00:40:29.639 choosing between two people and you have to like make 752 00:40:29.719 --> 00:40:33.079 some sort of value judgment in that decision. There is 753 00:40:33.079 --> 00:40:35.199 no value judgment here. Why would I not want to 754 00:40:35.239 --> 00:40:39.519 save Kid? However, if you don't save Kid, it gets 755 00:40:39.559 --> 00:40:42.320 you access to one of the best characters in the 756 00:40:42.400 --> 00:40:45.920 game and one of the few sort of optional party 757 00:40:45.960 --> 00:40:49.679 members that is interesting and has like story in Glenn. 758 00:40:50.199 --> 00:40:52.400 So it's it's really it's it's a really strange way 759 00:40:52.440 --> 00:40:53.280 to divide the game. 760 00:40:53.199 --> 00:40:55.519 Up, so you can't get Glenn at all if you 761 00:40:55.920 --> 00:40:58.880 choose to save Kid. That's correct, huh. 762 00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:02.320 I think one of the one of the things that 763 00:41:02.360 --> 00:41:05.920 they that they did to create the I don't know 764 00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:08.519 if replay values the right word, but I guess we'll 765 00:41:08.599 --> 00:41:10.960 use that term is if you want to get every 766 00:41:10.960 --> 00:41:13.639 single character, you have to play the game three times. 767 00:41:13.679 --> 00:41:15.639 You've got to do the Guile path, the pier path, 768 00:41:16.159 --> 00:41:20.639 and the Nikki path in the Viper Manner section, and 769 00:41:20.679 --> 00:41:22.559 then you've got to do these save kid path and 770 00:41:22.639 --> 00:41:24.920 the don't save Kid path in order to be able 771 00:41:24.960 --> 00:41:27.440 to collect every character in a single play every character 772 00:41:27.480 --> 00:41:29.960 on your file basically through new game plus. 773 00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:32.639 Do your party members carry over on new game Plus. 774 00:41:32.960 --> 00:41:35.039 Yeah, there's a certain point in the game in which 775 00:41:35.239 --> 00:41:38.079 you get the ability to reclaim characters that you had 776 00:41:38.119 --> 00:41:41.159 in a new game previous game, So that's the only 777 00:41:41.199 --> 00:41:43.679 way to get like the complete file or whatever. But 778 00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:46.760 they don't make that that that's that second middle, that 779 00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:49.880 second choice in saving kid. They don't make that choice 780

00:41:49.920 --> 00:41:53.840 interesting for the first play through, which is unfortunate because 781 00:41:53.840 --> 00:41:56.000 if you don't save kids, somebody else does it, and 782 00:41:56.119 --> 00:41:59.000 so it doesn't really change anything. Anyway. She's fine, you'll 783 00:41:59.000 --> 00:41:59.599 see her later. 784 00:42:00.199 --> 00:42:02.559 That's a really good point, like putting such a weighted 785 00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:07.599 decision really something that makes you grapple with you know, 786 00:42:07.960 --> 00:42:10.159 there is a human's life in my hands, and like 787 00:42:10.199 --> 00:42:12.599 you said, nobody is going to choose yes. But if 788 00:42:12.639 --> 00:42:15.119 you do the thing in games where you choose like 789 00:42:15.360 --> 00:42:19.400 the more sinister, morally depraved, whatever, whatever option, there has 790 00:42:19.440 --> 00:42:21.519 to be some sort of a balancing of the scales 791 00:42:21.880 --> 00:42:24.719 with that in terms of, you know, things that you get, 792 00:42:24.760 --> 00:42:27.400 things that you get to see or whatever. But to 793 00:42:27.960 --> 00:42:30.679 then take a step back from that and have Kid 794 00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:32.960 come back, you know what a gosh darn it, this 795 00:42:33.079 --> 00:42:36.519 is just like, folks, I'm about to say something from 796 00:42:36.599 --> 00:42:39.559 Chrono Trigger. You do not want to hear that. I 797 00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:42.039 don't know, fast forward a minute or so. This is 798 00:42:42.199 --> 00:42:45.159 just like in Chrono Trigger where Chrono dies and you 799 00:42:45.159 --> 00:42:48.400 can just save them, you know, like they make this 800 00:42:48.519 --> 00:42:50.760 really it's not just like that, but they make this 801 00:42:51.960 --> 00:42:56.159 really emotional and impactful story beat that is meant to 802 00:42:56.280 --> 00:42:59.719 affect the players emotionally, but then they reel it back 803 00:42:59.719 --> 00:43:02.119 because like, that'll make the players happy, And it's like that, 804 00:43:02.599 --> 00:43:05.800 yes it will, but it hurts the fiction. I think 805 00:43:06.320 --> 00:43:11.440 I'm really against that idea of rolling difficult and harsh 806 00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:14.079 story beats back to make players happy. 807 00:43:14.719 --> 00:43:17.360 Yeah, and I think they It's almost thought they painted 808 00:43:17.360 --> 00:43:20.880 the painted themselves into a corner here because you can't 809 00:43:20.880 --> 00:43:23.280 have Kid die here. She's too important to the story. 810 00:43:24.360 --> 00:43:26.519 And like you said, she's a you want to make 811 00:43:26.519 --> 00:43:28.760 the player happy here because she is one of the 812 00:43:28.800 --> 00:43:31.400 more interesting characters in the game anyway, And it feels 813 00:43:31.440 --> 00:43:34.599 like when the decision was written to force the player 814 00:43:34.719 --> 00:43:37.920 to savor or not it should be. It was thought 815 00:43:37.960 --> 00:43:41.679 to be save Kid or I have to return to 816 00:43:41.760 --> 00:43:45.159 my own world. But if you choose not to save Kid, 817 00:43:45.559 --> 00:43:47.679 implying that you need to get back to your own world, 818 00:43:47.800 --> 00:43:51.320 Cortia takes the astral Amulet from you, so you can't 819 00:43:51.320 --> 00:43:52.920 go back to your own world. You just have to 820 00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:55.519 get involved in some other high jinks until Korcia saves Kid. 821 00:43:55.960 --> 00:43:58.800 It's very odd, so like at that point in time, 822 00:43:58.840 --> 00:44:01.599 if you say don't say Kid, Bortua takes it, and 823 00:44:01.639 --> 00:44:03.760 then you have to go on a separate quest to 824 00:44:03.800 --> 00:44:05.039 try to figure out how to get back to your 825 00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:09.079 own world without the astro Ambula until the game reconverges. 826 00:44:09.559 --> 00:44:12.199 This is just a little aside, But if you, like 827 00:44:12.239 --> 00:44:14.039 you said, if you choose not to save Kid, Korchik 828 00:44:14.039 --> 00:44:16.440 gets really pissed. But the first thing that he says 829 00:44:16.519 --> 00:44:19.800 after hearing about Kid's condition, he says, you know hydras 830 00:44:19.800 --> 00:44:21.920 are extinct. This is impossible. Are you really going to 831 00:44:21.960 --> 00:44:23.679 take a one in a million chance just to save 832 00:44:23.760 --> 00:44:26.159 some girl you just met. It's like pick a lane due. 833 00:44:26.760 --> 00:44:48.000 Oh wow, forgot about that. We're in the town of Goldova. 834 00:44:48.119 --> 00:44:52.000 This is a courtous hometown. Music here reminds me of 835 00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:55.440 of Shima Mora's stuff, like particularly in Kingdom Hearts. It's 836 00:44:55.480 --> 00:44:58.199 really beautiful Shima Mora trying not to get off on 837 00:44:58.199 --> 00:45:01.039 too many tangents. She is. She is one of my favorites. 838 00:45:01.079 --> 00:45:03.440 She is my favorite JRPG composer, depending on the day 839 00:45:03.480 --> 00:45:06.519 you ask me. This is like a really nice village. 840 00:45:06.519 --> 00:45:10.239 It's a series of huts on wooden walkways on the sea. 841 00:45:10.599 --> 00:45:14.599 There are tiers to this little town. We are going 842 00:45:14.639 --> 00:45:19.920 to learn some neat universe lore from a shrine maiden 843 00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:23.360 named Stina and the chief shaman of the area named 844 00:45:23.599 --> 00:45:26.079 de Rehea. They're up in the dragon shrine and they're 845 00:45:26.079 --> 00:45:28.840 going to tell us about a couple of tree things. First, 846 00:45:29.239 --> 00:45:32.159 the land of Genesis. She doesn't know where this is, 847 00:45:32.199 --> 00:45:35.000 but she thinks that quote some other will is acting 848 00:45:35.039 --> 00:45:39.599 behind this, this as in our situation. And she hints 849 00:45:39.679 --> 00:45:43.199 that we need a key item,

which uh key item 850 00:45:43.679 --> 00:45:47.519 to travel back and forth. Okay, that kind of clears 851 00:45:47.599 --> 00:45:50.039 up a little bit of what's going on home world, 852 00:45:50.119 --> 00:45:53.800 Land of Genesis, maybe also Genesis Bible. That's where the 853 00:45:53.800 --> 00:45:57.079 Garden of Eden takes place in the Dragon Tier. It's 854 00:45:57.079 --> 00:45:58.719 another thing she tells us about a one of a 855 00:45:58.760 --> 00:46:03.039 kind orb that the ancestors received from the now extinct Dragonians. 856 00:46:03.400 --> 00:46:06.800 It's been stolen, supposed to reside with the Shamans and 857 00:46:06.840 --> 00:46:10.039 it's been stolen. It has to do with Fort Dragonia. 858 00:46:10.599 --> 00:46:13.599 Put a pin in that the Dragonian ruins speaking of 859 00:46:14.199 --> 00:46:16.519 are where the dragon gods used to live prior to 860 00:46:16.519 --> 00:46:20.480 the humans coming. There really aren't many left standing. We 861 00:46:20.559 --> 00:46:23.079 also learn of the dragon gods. There are six of them, 862 00:46:23.239 --> 00:46:26.159 and they correspond to our elements. The last thing she 863 00:46:26.239 --> 00:46:30.679 tells us about is the frozen Flame. She has no idea, 864 00:46:31.079 --> 00:46:33.920 She has no idea. She shares a home with us 865 00:46:34.159 --> 00:46:37.280 that kind of speaks around it. All they know is 866 00:46:37.280 --> 00:46:40.559 that it might be evil a little bit, and they 867 00:46:40.639 --> 00:46:43.199 get a little Nietzsche adjacent when they say, like, be 868 00:46:43.320 --> 00:46:45.559 very careful when you stare into the flame, for the 869 00:46:45.559 --> 00:46:47.719 flame will stare back at you. One of those sorts 870 00:46:47.719 --> 00:46:51.440 of things. We're introduced to a very mysterious item here. 871 00:46:52.599 --> 00:46:55.000 I like this, I know j RPG Lord Dumps get 872 00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:57.440 a bad rap, but I've always kind of liked him. 873 00:46:57.639 --> 00:47:01.320 You know, I'm the guy that liked Zenosaga's data entry 874 00:47:01.719 --> 00:47:04.599 system where you just read about the universe and tech, 875 00:47:04.599 --> 00:47:06.000 and for for some reason. 876 00:47:07.199 --> 00:47:12.360 Yes, I love getting emails from Kazuoya Mashima. I always 877 00:47:12.400 --> 00:47:18.480 really like the library in Chavat in Zenel Gears, there's 878 00:47:18.559 --> 00:47:22.679 like so much more about so many of the different 879 00:47:22.679 --> 00:47:25.440 things that the game will never get to, and I 880 00:47:25.440 --> 00:47:28.559 always found that really really, really really interesting. So I 881 00:47:28.599 --> 00:47:31.239 think you're right, like Lord dumps are good if you 882 00:47:31.360 --> 00:47:33.599 deploy them correctly, and I think like in an optional 883 00:47:33.679 --> 00:47:36.840 little menu when speaking to a chieftain is perfect because 884 00:47:36.880 --> 00:47:39.079 you don't have to sit through if you don't want to. 885 00:47:39.719 --> 00:47:43.159 Yeah, and it doesn't you know, it doesn't do it 886 00:47:43.320 --> 00:47:46.280 as definitely as like Final Fantasy ten does, with Titus 887 00:47:46.320 --> 00:47:49.039 being the sort of a fish out of water the 888 00:47:49.079 --> 00:47:51.679 Isekaide protagonist, so he doesn't know the world at all, 889 00:47:51.880 --> 00:47:54.280 but it's pretty similar. You know, this isn't a one 890 00:47:54.320 --> 00:47:57.360 to one world. Not only that, but this is history 891 00:47:57.360 --> 00:48:00.400 that Surge wouldn't have known in his home world either, 892 00:48:00.880 --> 00:48:03.679 So it's it's good for both the player and for search. 893 00:48:03.760 --> 00:48:07.760 It makes sense. It's it's not just you know whatever, 894 00:48:07.840 --> 00:48:11.280 you know what I mean. Right, So we're gonna save Kid. 895 00:48:11.360 --> 00:48:14.320 That is the route that we're going to take here, Chris. 896 00:48:14.320 --> 00:48:16.440 If anything comes up on the non kid route that 897 00:48:16.480 --> 00:48:19.199 you happen to remember by all means, you know, flag 898 00:48:19.519 --> 00:48:22.960 flag the showdown and jump in. But I think most 899 00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:25.719 folks would take this route on their first time anyways. 900 00:48:25.800 --> 00:48:29.039 So we're going to go back to the Hydra marshes. 901 00:48:29.519 --> 00:48:31.599 Yeah. I don't think there's a whole lot to discuss 902 00:48:31.639 --> 00:48:35.039 on the don't save Kid path, except for I do 903 00:48:35.159 --> 00:48:39.119 believe they head that surge somehow decides to head towards 904 00:48:39.920 --> 00:48:42.320 for Dragonia to try to figure out a way to 905 00:48:42.360 --> 00:48:46.239 get back, and then Glenn accompanies him, accompanies him on 906 00:48:46.280 --> 00:48:50.000 this quest, and then the game will reconverge when both 907 00:48:50.360 --> 00:48:54.559 routes reach for Dragonia. I think you can pretty much 908 00:48:54.639 --> 00:48:56.079 leave it that, huh. 909 00:48:56.119 --> 00:48:58.000 All right, I have to look up a playthrough or 910 00:48:58.039 --> 00:49:01.159 at least a summary of that at some point. Okay, 911 00:49:01.320 --> 00:49:04.800 So home world is where the Hydras are not extinct. 912 00:49:04.840 --> 00:49:07.079 You can learn that if you decide to just poke 913 00:49:07.119 --> 00:49:09.840 around on the world map whenever you're back there. At 914 00:49:09.880 --> 00:49:12.920 some point before all this, you go to it. This 915 00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:14.119 is the first time we do this. 916 00:49:14.199 --> 00:49:15.679 Right, Chris, that's correct. 917 00:49:15.800 --> 00:49:18.639 Yeah, So you go to the beach where angels lose 918 00:49:18.679 --> 00:49:22.000 their way. This is where Surge got Kingdom. Hearts into 919 00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:25.280 this world. That opens up a lot of questions about 920 00:49:25.360 --> 00:49:28.559 Surge's

role and this beach's role in the story. Is 921 00:49:28.599 --> 00:49:30.920 Surge the angel that has lost his way? Is Surge 922 00:49:30.960 --> 00:49:33.960 the stray child? In time, a lot of this stuff 923 00:49:34.000 --> 00:49:38.880 gets well clarified but introduces more answers as we go along. 924 00:49:39.280 --> 00:49:42.199 But you come here and you use your astral amulet 925 00:49:43.000 --> 00:49:46.280 and you're kind of just warped here. You get a 926 00:49:46.320 --> 00:49:49.079 cut scene every time that you can skip. It's very brief, 927 00:49:49.239 --> 00:49:52.960 but it takes you to this other world. And I 928 00:49:53.000 --> 00:49:55.039 know what you're thinking, can't you just talk to the 929 00:49:55.039 --> 00:49:58.639 same characters with their doubles in your party? And yes 930 00:49:58.679 --> 00:50:03.480 you can. I talked with Lena at a certain point 931 00:50:03.519 --> 00:50:07.400 with Lena in my party and she barely like She's like, 932 00:50:07.440 --> 00:50:10.199 whoa you look like me? And she's like, yeah, it's 933 00:50:10.199 --> 00:50:13.440 a long story. And then the other Lena's like, oh, okay, 934 00:50:13.800 --> 00:50:15.400 you better tell me at some point, Serge. 935 00:50:16.440 --> 00:50:18.719 It's very clear that they did. It's very clear that 936 00:50:18.760 --> 00:50:23.199 they did not have the resources to like really flush 937 00:50:23.280 --> 00:50:25.840 that out. But in my opinion, that makes it funny 938 00:50:25.920 --> 00:50:27.519 that they just kind of handwave it on some of 939 00:50:27.559 --> 00:50:28.320 these characters. 940 00:50:28.639 --> 00:50:30.760 Oh yeah, there's a lot of hand waving in this 941 00:50:30.920 --> 00:50:34.159 and and like it. I guess on some some points 942 00:50:34.159 --> 00:50:37.239 it feels a little bit like eah okay, but a 943 00:50:37.239 --> 00:50:39.960 lot of it is just funny, like people like like 944 00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.679 this or when well, there is a whole thing coming 945 00:50:44.760 --> 00:50:50.719 soon that is very very unbelievable and surprising and shocking, 946 00:50:50.880 --> 00:50:53.039 and we just explained it to folks and they're like, hmm, 947 00:50:53.639 --> 00:50:56.840 I see, well I don't understand it, but I believe you. 948 00:50:57.920 --> 00:51:02.239 It's like great. I I like to think that they're 949 00:51:02.280 --> 00:51:05.000 doing a light parody of other fantasy stories like this. 950 00:51:05.679 --> 00:51:06.800 I think I like it. 951 00:51:06.840 --> 00:51:32.320 I like that that mentality. 952 00:51:24.079 --> 00:51:26.760 The hydro Marshes. I don't know about you, Chris. If 953 00:51:26.800 --> 00:51:31.679 you wanted to sit on anything here, we can. Otherwise 954 00:51:31.719 --> 00:51:34.760 I'm cool with moving through them a bit quicker. 955 00:51:35.880 --> 00:51:38.559 Yeah, I think we're just it's a cool place with 956 00:51:39.199 --> 00:51:42.039 a really vibrant environment, but it's basically just you know, 957 00:51:42.159 --> 00:51:43.559 kill a boss and get an item, right. 958 00:51:43.760 --> 00:51:46.400 Pretty much. Yeah, the music here is very funky. I 959 00:51:46.480 --> 00:51:49.639 like when it suited as funky things with the bass. Oh. 960 00:51:49.679 --> 00:51:51.920 You can get a character here named Rasley that I 961 00:51:52.000 --> 00:51:54.960 really really like using. She's a little fairy. 962 00:51:55.559 --> 00:51:58.480 Yeah, this is like the part correct me if I'm wrong, 963 00:51:58.480 --> 00:52:00.719 But this is the part where we get a little 964 00:52:01.079 --> 00:52:05.000 introduction to the weird large nosed dwarves, right, the hi 965 00:52:05.119 --> 00:52:05.800 Ho dwarves. 966 00:52:06.400 --> 00:52:09.679 Yes, And this is where I'm wondering if this is 967 00:52:09.800 --> 00:52:13.840 a quote humans are the real virus kind of game. 968 00:52:14.360 --> 00:52:16.400 I don't know if it's the if it's the whole game, 969 00:52:16.440 --> 00:52:22.559 but it does like have this little environmentalism message buried 970 00:52:22.559 --> 00:52:25.119 within it, but it never really gets too deep into 971 00:52:25.159 --> 00:52:28.239 it because this place was colonized, right, the al Nido 972 00:52:28.840 --> 00:52:32.119 Islands or whatever was colonized. At least it's heavily implied, 973 00:52:32.519 --> 00:52:35.599 but it doesn't really interface with that in a meaningful 974 00:52:35.599 --> 00:52:39.320 way other than like the occasional taunts of the dwarves 975 00:52:39.320 --> 00:52:39.840 and whatnot. 976 00:52:40.559 --> 00:52:44.320 Yeah, the dwarves especially seem to be affected by this. 977 00:52:44.880 --> 00:52:46.719 You know, we're going through here and we're fighting them. 978 00:52:47.360 --> 00:52:50.800 We even see them cause some violence later on another 979 00:52:50.880 --> 00:52:54.639 group on the fairies, solely because of how they were 980 00:52:54.639 --> 00:52:57.320 treated by the humans basically, and every time we fight 981 00:52:57.360 --> 00:53:01.000 them here, they're not like malicious towards us. They're basically 982 00:53:01.000 --> 00:53:03.840 just saying like, hey, like this is our forest, Like 983 00:53:03.840 --> 00:53:06.800 haven't you done enough? Like what is your problem? What 984 00:53:06.840 --> 00:53:08.719 do they say, what do you intend to do with 985 00:53:08.719 --> 00:53:10.960 the mother planet? Not thinking of the future, cutting down 986 00:53:11.000 --> 00:53:13.920 trees like there's no tomorrow, you're nothing more than freaks 987 00:53:13.960 --> 00:53:16.440 of evolution. And then all of that is also punctuated 988 00:53:16.440 --> 00:53:18.840 by a lot of high ho because. 989 00:53:18.559 --> 00:53:20.639 That's not Yes, the high house STEP's pretty good. 990 00:53:22.039 --> 00:53:25.679 It is really good, but yeah, that's peppered throughout a 991 00:53:25.679 --> 00:53:29.079 lot of this, and I'm glad to hear that

that's 992 00:53:29.159 --> 00:53:31.440 not like that doesn't become the focus. I was a 993 00:53:31.440 --> 00:53:33.519 little concerned it wasn't. I mean, it also wasn't a 994 00:53:33.519 --> 00:53:36.280 cliche to do that back in the early two thousands, 995 00:53:36.280 --> 00:53:39.840 I don't think, right, But we get the humor and 996 00:53:39.880 --> 00:53:45.119 we kill the Dwarf's god, the Hydra, which I love this. 997 00:53:45.239 --> 00:53:47.320 There's a local at the at the front of the 998 00:53:47.320 --> 00:53:49.320 marshes that kind of like warn you, like, hey, don't 999 00:53:49.360 --> 00:53:51.719 go in there, and at the end he's like, yeah, 1000 00:53:51.760 --> 00:53:54.960 bad vibes are in the air. Yeah, we did just 1001 00:53:55.159 --> 00:53:57.760 slaughter a lot of dwarfs, so I guess. 1002 00:53:57.519 --> 00:53:58.880 That's why these things happen. 1003 00:53:59.400 --> 00:54:02.400 But that let's go back and save Kid. The doctor 1004 00:54:02.559 --> 00:54:06.280 who calls us dudes, he's a surfer guy. He cures Kid. 1005 00:54:06.559 --> 00:54:09.360 We tell him about traveling to a different world. His 1006 00:54:09.440 --> 00:54:14.679 only response is, quote, that is far out, man, and 1007 00:54:14.760 --> 00:54:16.599 I don't remember if it's here. But there's another point 1008 00:54:16.599 --> 00:54:18.559 where he starts to think about it, and Courcha's like, 1009 00:54:18.920 --> 00:54:21.239 don't even try and think about it, just accept it, 1010 00:54:21.679 --> 00:54:23.000 which I. 1011 00:54:22.920 --> 00:54:26.480 Mean, I feel like that's an explanation that I feel 1012 00:54:26.480 --> 00:54:28.360 like is used in this game a lot. It's like, 1013 00:54:28.519 --> 00:54:31.719 you know, I have been to an alternate world, yes, 1014 00:54:32.519 --> 00:54:35.280 but you got to stop thinking about it, don't think man. 1015 00:54:35.960 --> 00:54:37.320 I think that's sometimes good advice. 1016 00:54:37.800 --> 00:54:41.679 Oh absolutely, it's And like you said before, it's hand 1017 00:54:41.719 --> 00:54:44.639 waved in a way that's pretty funny. Serge does have 1018 00:54:44.760 --> 00:54:48.239 another vision here. Just by the way, we're gonna head 1019 00:54:48.280 --> 00:54:51.480 back to Termina for a minute. The gang catches wind 1020 00:54:51.519 --> 00:54:55.840 here that the Eastern well, that the nation to the east, 1021 00:54:56.079 --> 00:54:59.320 poor p O r r E poor Pore. However, you like, 1022 00:55:00.079 --> 00:55:02.599 bring in their army around here. They're snooping around because 1023 00:55:02.639 --> 00:55:06.360 of the Frozen Flame rumors. Meanwhile, Viper and his company, 1024 00:55:06.480 --> 00:55:10.119 the Draguons, have moved up to Fort Dragonia, and I'm 1025 00:55:10.119 --> 00:55:12.679 pretty sure that's because that's the rumors of where the 1026 00:55:12.719 --> 00:55:14.440 Frozen Flame is, right, Chris. 1027 00:55:14.480 --> 00:55:16.920 I do believe that's correct. I think too. And do 1028 00:55:16.960 --> 00:55:19.719 you recognize the term Poret from Chrono Trigger? 1029 00:55:20.159 --> 00:55:22.480 Oh gosh, I knew this would happen. No, I don't, 1030 00:55:23.239 --> 00:55:24.199 So this is interesting. 1031 00:55:24.719 --> 00:55:29.760 I always considered Pore to be one of Kronocross's big 1032 00:55:30.760 --> 00:55:35.039 missed opportunities to really continue to explore some of the 1033 00:55:35.079 --> 00:55:37.280 ideas they put forth with the nation of Pore. So 1034 00:55:37.360 --> 00:55:38.840 it's like a small and cronal Trigger. It's like a 1035 00:55:38.840 --> 00:55:42.559 small village. It's just one one village. It's nondescript, okay. 1036 00:55:42.639 --> 00:55:46.280 But in the time since the end of Chrono Trigger, 1037 00:55:46.280 --> 00:55:49.599 and I think this is I think this is twenty 1038 00:55:49.719 --> 00:55:52.760 or fifty years after Chrono after one thousand and eighty, 1039 00:55:53.280 --> 00:55:55.679 it has become like an imperial power. So that Pore 1040 00:55:55.920 --> 00:56:00.639 is I think who originally colonized al Nido And it 1041 00:56:00.679 --> 00:56:04.199 is said, and I do believe this is from the 1042 00:56:04.280 --> 00:56:07.079 Chronal Trigger DS remake, or maybe it was from the 1043 00:56:07.119 --> 00:56:10.719 PlayStation anime cut scenes, but there is a like a 1044 00:56:10.719 --> 00:56:14.519 an anime epilogue, and let's just say it's in the 1045 00:56:14.599 --> 00:56:18.280 DS version called The The Fall of Guardia. Are you 1046 00:56:18.280 --> 00:56:18.920 familiar with this? 1047 00:56:19.599 --> 00:56:21.400 No? No, I'm hearing this for the first time. 1048 00:56:21.960 --> 00:56:24.840 Where do you remember the character from Chrono Trigger Dalton? 1049 00:56:25.679 --> 00:56:26.159 Vaguely? 1050 00:56:26.440 --> 00:56:30.960 Vaguely he was one of the captain He had like 1051 00:56:30.960 --> 00:56:32.480 a cape and you had to fight him. I think 1052 00:56:32.519 --> 00:56:34.039 he was he might have been a member of the 1053 00:56:34.079 --> 00:56:36.119 Kingdom of zeal but somehow he ended up back in 1054 00:56:36.320 --> 00:56:38.400 or maybe he was I'm not exactly sure where what 1055 00:56:38.840 --> 00:56:41.400 timeline he was from, but at some point he became 1056 00:56:41.920 --> 00:56:46.880 intertwined with this state of of of Pore and they 1057 00:56:47.039 --> 00:56:51.960 attacked Guardia, which was like the main kingdom, and Chrono 1058 00:56:52.000 --> 00:56:58.159 Trigger and stole the massome Una. And so Cronal Crosses 1059 00:56:58.239 --> 00:57:01.719 is sort of peppered with characters from Pore. We'll meet 1060 00:57:01.760 --> 00:57:04.119 some of them later. The character I think we may 1061 00:57:04.119 --> 00:57:08.000 have glossed over her, but Lucia, the mad scientist woman 1062 00:57:08.039 --> 00:57:10.199 I think was at one point was buying parts from Pore, 1063 00:57:10.440 --> 00:57:13.440 or

maybe she is from Pore. And so there's a 1064 00:57:13.480 --> 00:57:16.559 lot of lore that kind of connects back to this 1065 00:57:17.280 --> 00:57:21.800 the rise to power of this country, which I believe 1066 00:57:21.840 --> 00:57:24.079 happened when Dalton was like sucked into a time warp 1067 00:57:24.079 --> 00:57:26.840 when you beat him in chrono in chrono trigger like 1068 00:57:26.960 --> 00:57:29.079 during the zeal Kingdom or something. I think I think 1069 00:57:29.119 --> 00:57:30.880 that's how it worked out, and then he rose to power. 1070 00:57:31.400 --> 00:57:34.679 And so anyway, this game is, it's full of references 1071 00:57:35.480 --> 00:57:37.760 to Perey. Well, I think we'll fight some soldiers from 1072 00:57:37.760 --> 00:57:42.239 there at some point. There's there's a specific character from there. 1073 00:57:43.199 --> 00:57:47.519 And I think that that there is like a community 1074 00:57:48.079 --> 00:57:50.519 for lack of a better term, of characters that are 1075 00:57:51.800 --> 00:57:55.000 involved or members of the pore military that I think 1076 00:57:55.599 --> 00:57:59.480 they're left their relationships are left unexplored, whereas we do 1077 00:57:59.559 --> 00:58:01.519 get some like exploit, we do get some exploration of 1078 00:58:01.599 --> 00:58:05.400 characters of that are like members of the acase you 1079 00:58:05.400 --> 00:58:10.679 had dragoons like that whole community carsh Riddell, Glenn, et cetera. 1080 00:58:11.400 --> 00:58:13.119 Whereas with the poor A characters, we don't really get 1081 00:58:13.119 --> 00:58:14.480 a whole lot. And I always found that a little 1082 00:58:14.480 --> 00:58:16.239 bit unfortunate. I think it would have been a good 1083 00:58:16.239 --> 00:58:20.519 opportunity to be to be able to develop characters outside 1084 00:58:20.519 --> 00:58:22.519 of the main two or three. 1085 00:58:22.880 --> 00:58:25.960 Interesting Okay, I'm glad that you're here. I was very 1086 00:58:26.079 --> 00:58:29.519 upfront that I remember. I mean the main big plot 1087 00:58:29.559 --> 00:58:34.280 beats of Chrono trigger, not a lot of the detailed 1088 00:58:34.480 --> 00:58:37.679 world stuff that I would like to It's just been 1089 00:58:37.719 --> 00:58:41.320 a little bit and it happens. But the big stuff 1090 00:58:41.360 --> 00:58:43.960 I remember, and that plays into the plot. So yeah, man, 1091 00:58:43.960 --> 00:58:45.760 I appreciate it. Feel free to call any of that 1092 00:58:45.760 --> 00:58:46.719 stuff out if I miss it. 1093 00:58:47.159 --> 00:58:49.239 Sure. Yeah, And like I said, like most of that 1094 00:58:49.320 --> 00:58:51.480 stuff that I mentioned is like footnote stuff or stuff 1095 00:58:51.480 --> 00:58:54.920 that was added to the REMAKEX So not huge stuff, 1096 00:58:54.960 --> 00:58:57.920 but just little references sprinkle here and there. 1097 00:58:58.239 --> 00:59:01.360 Sure, but little references that it kind of makes it 1098 00:59:01.400 --> 00:59:02.800 a little more impactful I think. 1099 00:59:03.199 --> 00:59:03.480 Yep. 1100 00:59:04.280 --> 00:59:07.880 So this next part is optional. I don't know why, though, 1101 00:59:08.000 --> 00:59:10.639 so I want to talk about it. There are some 1102 00:59:10.760 --> 00:59:13.960 rumors Glenn gives us a piece of advice to seek 1103 00:59:14.000 --> 00:59:17.119 out a former dragoon in this place called Hermit's Hideaway. 1104 00:59:17.719 --> 00:59:19.960 It's burnt to a crisp. You can find it using 1105 00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:22.800 Corchio's boat. Oh which, by the way, Korchia does give 1106 00:59:22.880 --> 00:59:25.760 us his boat on the conditions that we won give 1107 00:59:25.840 --> 00:59:28.199 him the dragon teer if we find it, and two 1108 00:59:28.280 --> 00:59:31.480 if kid becomes his wife, which is like the one 1109 00:59:31.519 --> 00:59:34.119 thing in this game to really get her flustered. And 1110 00:59:34.599 --> 00:59:38.199 if Surge goes along with this and you know, encourages it, 1111 00:59:38.280 --> 00:59:41.719 she kicks him. Dragon kicks him right in the sternum. 1112 00:59:43.360 --> 00:59:46.199 I love this little scene. It's it's so good, it's 1113 00:59:46.199 --> 00:59:50.119 so funny. But anyways, Korchia does give us his boat 1114 00:59:50.280 --> 00:59:53.840 and we're going to this place, Hermit's hideway. It's burnt down, 1115 00:59:53.920 --> 00:59:56.960 and it was Horror that did it. She's still flirting 1116 00:59:56.960 --> 00:59:59.559 with Surge a whole lot, and we ask her why, 1117 00:59:59.559 --> 01:00:03.000 like why did you you do this? And she says, well, 1118 01:00:03.000 --> 01:00:04.719 first of all, to teach you a lesson, which I 1119 01:00:04.760 --> 01:00:07.559 still I still don't really understand, but second of all, 1120 01:00:07.800 --> 01:00:09.760 to get rid of that geezer who lives here, the 1121 01:00:10.159 --> 01:00:13.119 dragoon that Glenn had mentioned. And she is very clear. 1122 01:00:13.159 --> 01:00:14.800 She says, I'm not supposed to kill you. I'm just 1123 01:00:14.840 --> 01:00:17.039 supposed to slow you down. And what I love about 1124 01:00:17.079 --> 01:00:19.920 this too is the fight's very easy because she's not 1125 01:00:20.320 --> 01:00:22.360 she's not trying, and I feel like that's a really 1126 01:00:22.440 --> 01:00:26.320 nice touch. And I couldn't cite any right now, but 1127 01:00:26.639 --> 01:00:28.199 it just seems like something that a lot of j 1128 01:00:28.320 --> 01:00:31.239 RPGs would just make it a normal battle and you know, 1129 01:00:31.280 --> 01:00:33.400 win the battle, lose the cut scene kind of. Do 1130 01:00:33.519 --> 01:00:36.159 I like that they made her pretty weak and made 1131 01:00:36.159 --> 01:00:37.000 this battle easy. 1132 01:00:37.480 --> 01:00:40.320 Oh yeah, that's a good call out, because sometimes it's 1133 01:00:40.760 --> 01:00:43.480 hard to tell if a boss is meant to be 1134 01:00:44.000

--> 01:00:46.719 that sort of lose the battle when the cut scene. 1135 01:00:46.760 --> 01:00:49.519 But I guess with a leveling system like Coronocross has, 1136 01:00:50.239 --> 01:00:53.440 where the game very much controls like the level of 1137 01:00:53.440 --> 01:00:55.719 star the star levels that you have, they can do 1138 01:00:55.800 --> 01:00:57.920 things like that, they can tune the difficulty to be 1139 01:00:59.159 --> 01:00:59.920 how they want it to be. 1140 01:01:00.599 --> 01:01:05.800 Yeah, And speaking of the kid Slash not Kid route, 1141 01:01:06.559 --> 01:01:08.599 and the fact that you know, just like viper man or, 1142 01:01:08.679 --> 01:01:11.119 you might get some branching paths that ultimately lead to 1143 01:01:11.159 --> 01:01:14.199 the same place, but you know, take different paths through 1144 01:01:14.239 --> 01:01:16.480 the woods to get there. You are going to have 1145 01:01:16.480 --> 01:01:20.320 different star levels, not different star levels, but you gain 1146 01:01:20.400 --> 01:01:22.639 them at different points depending on what route you take. 1147 01:01:22.800 --> 01:01:25.800 But as you said, it doesn't let any one route 1148 01:01:25.800 --> 01:01:29.039 get too egregiously more or less powerful than any other. 1149 01:01:29.400 --> 01:01:32.880 It's really nice. Cronocross does a lot of really cool things. 1150 01:01:33.159 --> 01:01:35.519 And I think you had said this, Chris, it's a 1151 01:01:35.519 --> 01:01:39.760 shame that more games haven't at least taken some inspiration 1152 01:01:40.039 --> 01:01:40.519 from here. 1153 01:01:41.119 --> 01:01:42.360 Absolutely. Yeah. 1154 01:01:42.400 --> 01:01:45.599 So this old man, this is Radius, who at the 1155 01:01:45.639 --> 01:01:47.920 time I played through this, I had just forgotten. This 1156 01:01:48.000 --> 01:01:50.000 is the village chief in the beginning that gives you 1157 01:01:50.079 --> 01:01:53.480 the very long tutorial and kicks your ass, revives you, 1158 01:01:53.519 --> 01:01:56.639 and kick your ass again. He is in this world. 1159 01:01:56.679 --> 01:01:59.400 He's a former Dragoon. He kind of had a feeling 1160 01:01:59.400 --> 01:02:02.280 that this was all all gonna, you know, happen. After 1161 01:02:02.360 --> 01:02:06.599 Glenn's dad and the Dragoons died, he Radius retired to 1162 01:02:06.679 --> 01:02:09.679 keep an eye on Glenn and Dario, and he tells 1163 01:02:09.719 --> 01:02:13.000 us that four years ago is when Lynx approached Viper 1164 01:02:13.079 --> 01:02:16.039 about the frozen Flame, saying that it could quote heal 1165 01:02:16.239 --> 01:02:22.480 all illnesses and fulfill any dreams. This is probably why 1166 01:02:22.639 --> 01:02:27.199 Viper is going to try and overflow, overflow, overthrow the 1167 01:02:27.760 --> 01:02:31.079 Nation of Pore. That's maybe why he wants that flame. 1168 01:02:31.960 --> 01:02:33.679 I don't know how this is all optional, but this 1169 01:02:33.760 --> 01:02:36.280 made me think too, like, yeah, that last part fulfill 1170 01:02:36.320 --> 01:02:39.440 any dreams. That's tacked on, But I don't think they 1171 01:02:39.480 --> 01:02:42.800 would say heal all illnesses just as a throwaway line. 1172 01:02:42.800 --> 01:02:44.760 And it made me wonder, like is you know, thinking 1173 01:02:44.800 --> 01:02:47.639 about Links in his motivations? Is he looking to cure 1174 01:02:47.760 --> 01:02:50.840 himself or somebody? Like? What's going on with that? 1175 01:02:50.840 --> 01:02:54.519 That's interesting and interesting read there. Yeah, because the Frozen 1176 01:02:54.559 --> 01:02:59.119 Flame very much is a I don't know, a heavenly item, 1177 01:02:59.199 --> 01:03:02.840 so to speak, a worldly item that we don't really 1178 01:03:02.840 --> 01:03:06.000 know much about. Like why is it here? We're in 1179 01:03:06.039 --> 01:03:11.119 a very small set of islands with very little geopolitical power, 1180 01:03:11.760 --> 01:03:15.760 yet there is this amazing piece of treasure here? What 1181 01:03:15.920 --> 01:03:17.639 is it? Why does it exist? 1182 01:03:18.039 --> 01:03:18.239 Right? 1183 01:03:18.239 --> 01:03:19.239 And who the hell is Lynx? 1184 01:03:20.559 --> 01:03:23.400 Who the hell is Lynx? I? I always crack up 1185 01:03:23.440 --> 01:03:27.639 whenever folks say like, that's an interesting read, because what 1186 01:03:27.679 --> 01:03:32.920 it says to me is Nope. 1187 01:03:31.800 --> 01:03:34.480 Nope, I'm saying nope, You're right. I'm saying nope, you 1188 01:03:34.559 --> 01:03:37.239 got me figure it out? Links Is Lynx is not 1189 01:03:37.440 --> 01:03:39.559 ill in in in in. 1190 01:03:39.480 --> 01:03:41.920 That manner now, but he is sick, dude. 1191 01:03:42.719 --> 01:03:46.639 He is definitely sick. Guy. Have you have you seen that? Sithe? Yeah? 1192 01:03:46.719 --> 01:04:05.719 Dude, he's badass, Okay, I Chris, I don't have really 1193 01:04:05.760 --> 01:04:08.480 actually a ton to say about these next two sections. Uh, 1194 01:04:09.000 --> 01:04:12.559 what with the ghost ship and Fargo, this character that 1195 01:04:12.840 --> 01:04:15.719 we're actually gonna learn a lot more about after this part, 1196 01:04:16.360 --> 01:04:19.880 as well as a shrine belonging to the water Dragon. 1197 01:04:20.760 --> 01:04:22.639 There any things that you wanted to call out in here. 1198 01:04:23.199 --> 01:04:25.760 I think Fargo's cool as hell, Like I really enjoy 1199 01:04:26.440 --> 01:04:30.960 having a relatively stereotypical pirate. But he just he works 1200 01:04:30.960 --> 01:04:33.960 real well. Like that, He's always he's packing that stokey 1201 01:04:33.960 --> 01:04:37.079 in his mouth at all times. He's wearing tight jeans. 1202 01:04:37.079 --> 01:04:40.039 I think I'm not mistaken. You know, there's another community 1203 01:04:40.079 --> 01:04:43.280 of characters. I like think the the group of weirdos 1204 01:04:43.320 --> 01:04:46.679 that we

find on this on this not ghost ship 1205 01:04:47.119 --> 01:04:49.440 is pretty interesting. Interesting. 1206 01:04:50.000 --> 01:04:52.719 Yeah, you get to see this ship too in the 1207 01:04:52.760 --> 01:04:56.159 other world, and it's it's a little bit different. This 1208 01:04:56.239 --> 01:04:58.960 is a ghost like, you know, Pirates of the Caribbean style. 1209 01:04:59.039 --> 01:05:03.280 You're gonna be fighting a lot of ghosties and monsters 1210 01:05:03.320 --> 01:05:06.320 like that. Fargo is here. He does put you through 1211 01:05:06.360 --> 01:05:09.239 the ringer. He fights you a little bit just to 1212 01:05:09.280 --> 01:05:11.159 make sure that you're not with links. He thinks that 1213 01:05:11.199 --> 01:05:13.840 you're with links at first. He actually doesn't believe you 1214 01:05:13.880 --> 01:05:16.159 for quite a bit. And that's how this whole thing 1215 01:05:16.440 --> 01:05:18.719 goes about. I don't know, in the in the moment, 1216 01:05:18.880 --> 01:05:21.400 it felt to me a little bit like padding. I 1217 01:05:21.400 --> 01:05:22.559 don't know. I think I was being a little bit 1218 01:05:22.599 --> 01:05:24.440 cynical at the time when I wrote all this stuff. 1219 01:05:24.840 --> 01:05:27.360 I think you're right, though, there is some padding in 1220 01:05:27.400 --> 01:05:30.280 this in this game as you're moving from A to B. 1221 01:05:30.360 --> 01:05:34.519 But I think that games need padding, interesting padding, I 1222 01:05:34.559 --> 01:05:37.559 guess I should say. Actually Eric and I were recently 1223 01:05:37.559 --> 01:05:40.079 talking about this, but as it relates to Fantasy Star four, 1224 01:05:40.119 --> 01:05:43.840 which has like very very little padding, it's a proper 1225 01:05:43.920 --> 01:05:46.239 down is introduced and then within like five minutes you're 1226 01:05:46.280 --> 01:05:48.599 on your way to the next proper down to do 1227 01:05:48.639 --> 01:05:52.280 the next thing, and there's not there's very little things 1228 01:05:52.360 --> 01:05:55.920 of consequence that happen in between A and B. I 1229 01:05:55.920 --> 01:05:58.320 think when you can do that in a really thoughtful, 1230 01:05:58.480 --> 01:06:01.760 interesting or even funny man in a game like this, 1231 01:06:02.039 --> 01:06:06.000 it it helps, like it fills the world, like there 1232 01:06:06.079 --> 01:06:08.519 is there's another group out here that is a sort 1233 01:06:08.519 --> 01:06:12.239 of fearful of links or aware of links in his 1234 01:06:12.360 --> 01:06:15.719 is and how he's operating here in Elnito, And I 1235 01:06:15.760 --> 01:06:18.280 think that matters if you if you're boring when you 1236 01:06:18.320 --> 01:06:20.639 do stuff like that, I think that that can hurt 1237 01:06:20.639 --> 01:06:23.280 a game. But I mean, Fargo, he's sick, dude, have 1238 01:06:23.320 --> 01:06:24.079 you seen that stogy? 1239 01:06:25.480 --> 01:06:26.599 He does have a stogy. 1240 01:06:27.079 --> 01:06:29.480 I just like saying stogy? Sorry, what did I. 1241 01:06:30.159 --> 01:06:33.039 I can't remember what does? What does Arnold say? He's 1242 01:06:33.079 --> 01:06:34.960 I think he's he's talking something about being a man. 1243 01:06:35.039 --> 01:06:37.199 He's like, I smoke my stogy wherever I want. 1244 01:06:37.599 --> 01:06:41.079 I can smoke stogas in my house. Because I'm a stud, 1245 01:06:41.360 --> 01:06:44.400 I'm ballsy. I don't take no shit from anyone. I 1246 01:06:44.480 --> 01:06:47.599 smoke my stogi anywhere I want. I don't have to 1247 01:06:47.639 --> 01:06:49.679 find a hideout place like you. 1248 01:06:52.280 --> 01:06:54.440 It's good stuff, Rick. 1249 01:06:54.840 --> 01:07:00.280 The way I got into smoking stogus, it's very simple because. 1250 01:07:00.079 --> 01:07:01.079 Fargo's cools hell. 1251 01:07:25.320 --> 01:07:27.360 I agree with you. That is a good point. It 1252 01:07:27.400 --> 01:07:30.599 is good to see other factions that aren't just directly 1253 01:07:30.599 --> 01:07:34.199 related to our plot beats be aware of what's going on. Again, 1254 01:07:34.280 --> 01:07:36.320 I think I was being a little cynical when I 1255 01:07:36.360 --> 01:07:40.039 was doing this part of the game. That's on me. However, 1256 01:07:40.599 --> 01:07:44.079 I don't remember why we're going to Mount Higher that 1257 01:07:44.159 --> 01:07:46.119 did Radius suggest we go there? 1258 01:07:46.679 --> 01:07:46.920 Yeah? 1259 01:07:46.920 --> 01:07:50.760 I think this has to do with trying to get 1260 01:07:50.800 --> 01:07:54.039 to for Dragonia, because I think we're chasing after Viper 1261 01:07:54.079 --> 01:07:56.320 and his crew because they're going to Fort Dragonia and 1262 01:07:56.400 --> 01:07:59.800 perhaps that might have some sort of key to help 1263 01:07:59.880 --> 01:08:03.719 us get back to our world or something. I don't remember. 1264 01:08:04.199 --> 01:08:05.760 I mean, I guess we are in possession of the 1265 01:08:05.760 --> 01:08:10.079 astral Amulet though, right so, I'm not exactly sure why 1266 01:08:10.119 --> 01:08:13.360 we're chasing after them, other than the fact that Kid 1267 01:08:13.400 --> 01:08:16.239 is still on her sort of revenge quest for to 1268 01:08:16.319 --> 01:08:16.800 kill Links. 1269 01:08:17.319 --> 01:08:19.199 Yeah, and I think at this point Surge is probably 1270 01:08:19.279 --> 01:08:24.119 pretty invested as to why Links basically tried to kill them, 1271 01:08:24.119 --> 01:08:27.800 but also seems to want Surge alive and with him. 1272 01:08:28.319 --> 01:08:31.319 It's all very complicated. There is a pit stop you 1273 01:08:31.319 --> 01:08:34.359 could do before Mount Pyre that involves the whole dwarf 1274 01:08:34.399 --> 01:08:37.720 and fairy thing that I mentioned before, at the water 1275 01:08:37.800 --> 01:08:41.960 Dragon Shrine. This is totally optional, but it's recommended. Imo. 1276 01:08:43.039 --> 01:08:47.239 The water Dragon

looks like a giant fat toad, and 1277 01:08:47.359 --> 01:08:49.800 we'll give you this special ability as well as a summon, 1278 01:08:49.960 --> 01:08:52.920 like a really nice summon to It gives you this 1279 01:08:53.000 --> 01:08:55.720 ability to freeze lava, which you'll need through Mount Pire 1280 01:08:56.399 --> 01:08:59.039 because otherwise you're going to be walking through lava and 1281 01:08:59.119 --> 01:09:01.600 it takes your h as far as down to one, 1282 01:09:02.159 --> 01:09:04.800 which does happen. It did happen to me because I 1283 01:09:04.800 --> 01:09:06.760 couldn't quite get the hang of like how close to 1284 01:09:06.760 --> 01:09:09.560 get to the lava before using it, and my first 1285 01:09:09.600 --> 01:09:12.600 battle I had one HP, so I just turned the 1286 01:09:12.680 --> 01:09:15.000 game off and reloaded. I was right outside. 1287 01:09:15.479 --> 01:09:17.840 Yeah it is. It is kind of strange they make 1288 01:09:17.880 --> 01:09:19.760 this optional, but also I think the game's a little 1289 01:09:20.279 --> 01:09:20.960 better for it. 1290 01:09:21.479 --> 01:09:24.840 Oh yeah, yeah, no, don't don't get me wrong. It's 1291 01:09:25.039 --> 01:09:26.840 cool that they did it. I like that they did it. 1292 01:09:27.239 --> 01:09:31.000 I just couldn't get the hang of quite how close 1293 01:09:31.039 --> 01:09:33.359 to get to the lava to freeze it. I do 1294 01:09:33.399 --> 01:09:35.840 think it's very cool. I also think it's extremely cool 1295 01:09:36.079 --> 01:09:38.960 that if you just go around freezing every bit of lava, 1296 01:09:39.279 --> 01:09:41.840 you're giving up some of the nicer treasure because you 1297 01:09:41.880 --> 01:09:43.439 do have to walk through it if you want some 1298 01:09:43.600 --> 01:09:44.600 really nice pickups. 1299 01:09:45.119 --> 01:09:46.199 Oh yeah, I forgot about that. 1300 01:09:46.640 --> 01:09:48.479 Mm hmm. I didn't get all of them, but I 1301 01:09:48.520 --> 01:09:50.439 did make sure to get some of them. I don't 1302 01:09:50.479 --> 01:09:52.119 have a ton to say about that place either. It 1303 01:09:52.199 --> 01:09:54.840 kind of felt outside of that mechanic, which I do 1304 01:09:54.880 --> 01:09:57.479 think is very cool. It did feel a little bit, 1305 01:09:57.560 --> 01:09:59.960 you know, it's just a JRPG passed through. To get 1306 01:10:00.039 --> 01:10:03.039 to where we're going. You do fight salt and Pepper 1307 01:10:03.119 --> 01:10:06.279 again with one of the one of my favorite jokes 1308 01:10:06.279 --> 01:10:08.039 that they do throughout this game is, you know, they're 1309 01:10:08.159 --> 01:10:12.680 up to their shenanigans and tom foolery being buffoons in combat. 1310 01:10:13.119 --> 01:10:17.399 And I don't remember why this happens, but and I 1311 01:10:17.439 --> 01:10:20.760 also don't remember who's who. Pepor is the lanky one, right. 1312 01:10:21.119 --> 01:10:22.079 I do believe you're correct? 1313 01:10:22.119 --> 01:10:25.439 Yes, well he he bumbles around again, you know, and 1314 01:10:25.479 --> 01:10:29.279 he uh he says something like his whole thing is 1315 01:10:29.319 --> 01:10:31.680 like using two adverbs in a row, like an adverb 1316 01:10:32.239 --> 01:10:35.680 and at adjective to modify an adverb. That's just that adverb. 1317 01:10:36.439 --> 01:10:39.199 It's terrifyingly terrifying, that kind of deal. But he's being 1318 01:10:39.239 --> 01:10:42.920 a bozo, and Salt gets a little bit pissed at him, 1319 01:10:43.439 --> 01:10:48.439 and he yells what But like with several ws like before, 1320 01:10:48.439 --> 01:10:50.680 it whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa what? 1321 01:10:50.960 --> 01:10:53.840 But it paces them out so slowly and you can't 1322 01:10:53.920 --> 01:10:56.640 skip it, and it goes on way longer than you 1323 01:10:56.760 --> 01:11:00.880 think it would. And I, man, this got such a 1324 01:11:00.920 --> 01:11:04.079 big laugh out of me. This is so good. I 1325 01:11:04.119 --> 01:11:05.159 love these little dudes. 1326 01:11:05.880 --> 01:11:08.439 They are great for breaking up the pace. I mean, 1327 01:11:08.560 --> 01:11:11.520 if you're in a very I mean, like, like you said, 1328 01:11:11.640 --> 01:11:15.880 very standard JRPG volcano place, yet you are your boss 1329 01:11:15.920 --> 01:11:19.079 fight here is is the is salt and Papoor and 1330 01:11:19.119 --> 01:11:22.000 then shortly to be followed by the occasion dragoons. I 1331 01:11:22.000 --> 01:11:25.479 think that's a really good idea. Rather than just being 1332 01:11:25.560 --> 01:11:27.840 this lava beast, you know what I mean, it just 1333 01:11:27.880 --> 01:11:30.960 gives you a better sense of the of the the 1334 01:11:30.960 --> 01:11:35.720 interconnectedness of this world and reinvigorates you on on the 1335 01:11:35.720 --> 01:11:38.119 the path that you're on, you know, remember, and sort 1336 01:11:38.119 --> 01:11:40.640 of reminding you that you're you're you're chasing these dragons. 1337 01:11:41.239 --> 01:11:44.079 So we're heading back to Fort Traconia. I say back 1338 01:11:44.159 --> 01:11:46.159 because that was the opening of the game, and that 1339 01:11:46.199 --> 01:11:49.319 becomes pretty clear here. It even has the same rooms 1340 01:11:49.359 --> 01:11:52.800 and the corridors and the landings as the opening. I 1341 01:11:52.840 --> 01:11:56.560 know that in medias res bothers some people and can 1342 01:11:56.600 --> 01:12:00.560 be seen as kind of cliche, it almost always works 1343 01:12:00.640 --> 01:12:03.079 for me. I really like. 1344 01:12:03.079 --> 01:12:06.079 It is that. Sorry, can you could clarify that term 1345 01:12:06.119 --> 01:12:08.960 for me? In mediasres that's. 1346 01:12:08.840 --> 01:12:11.199 Oh sure, that's when you start in the middle of 1347 01:12:11.239 --> 01:12:13.800 a story and then it goes back to the beginning 1348 01:12:13.840 --> 01:12:15.000 of catch up. 1349 01:12:15.359

--> 01:12:18.720 Yeah, I think here, it's used in a pretty interesting way. 1350 01:12:19.520 --> 01:12:21.279 Well interesting it's not the right word, but I think 1351 01:12:21.279 --> 01:12:24.119 it's using in an effective way because we start you're 1352 01:12:24.119 --> 01:12:27.159 you're able to start this game off with showing everybody 1353 01:12:27.199 --> 01:12:30.359 that there is a fully fledged battle system. Sort of 1354 01:12:30.479 --> 01:12:33.039 starting in the middle of the action. Is I think 1355 01:12:33.119 --> 01:12:37.039 pretty effective for a freaking video game, because you want 1356 01:12:37.039 --> 01:12:39.079 people to play the video game before they have to 1357 01:12:39.079 --> 01:12:41.039 watch the video game in the case of some of 1358 01:12:41.039 --> 01:12:43.920 these rbgs that have slow builds. So I think it 1359 01:12:43.920 --> 01:12:46.560 works pretty well. Yeah, and I think this this environment 1360 01:12:46.600 --> 01:12:49.079 is memorable enough that most people by the time they 1361 01:12:49.079 --> 01:12:53.840 get here well remember being in for Dragonia. Thus they 1362 01:12:53.840 --> 01:12:58.319 will know that they are there is an impending important moment. 1363 01:12:58.920 --> 01:13:01.720 Oh yeah, and important moment that you might have been 1364 01:13:02.239 --> 01:13:05.199 like me thinking about this whole time, like how are 1365 01:13:05.199 --> 01:13:08.359 we gonna get here? Especially after you save kid like 1366 01:13:08.439 --> 01:13:11.079 the beginning, why would we have resons of stabbing her? 1367 01:13:11.760 --> 01:13:15.560 We're gonna find out. I you know, I thought that 1368 01:13:15.680 --> 01:13:18.239 this dungeon went on a little too long. I liked it, 1369 01:13:18.319 --> 01:13:19.720 but I thought it went on too long. But I'm 1370 01:13:19.720 --> 01:13:21.399 also not sure if that was just me breaking this 1371 01:13:21.520 --> 01:13:23.079 up into too many play sessions. 1372 01:13:23.399 --> 01:13:25.199 Yeah, there are a lot of puzzles here. Don't we 1373 01:13:25.239 --> 01:13:28.520 have to fill a bunch of dragon statues with light 1374 01:13:28.640 --> 01:13:32.520 or something by doing various puzzles. I didn't always think 1375 01:13:32.560 --> 01:13:37.840 that the puzzles were the most thought provoking, but I 1376 01:13:37.880 --> 01:13:41.279 suppose that the entire sort of ethos of this game's 1377 01:13:41.359 --> 01:13:45.720 design philosophy is sort of breaking what we're used to 1378 01:13:45.880 --> 01:13:49.359 in RPGs in terms of like getting rid of traditional 1379 01:13:49.399 --> 01:13:53.119 leveling up systems and random encounters and the like. So 1380 01:13:54.119 --> 01:13:55.720 I think they did what they set up to do, 1381 01:13:55.840 --> 01:13:57.800 but I do to sort of agree with you. It 1382 01:13:57.920 --> 01:14:00.840 is long, but maybe it's supposed to be long. It's 1383 01:14:00.840 --> 01:14:02.439 supposed to feel sort of epic. 1384 01:14:03.039 --> 01:14:07.960 There's one puzzle that deals with how your party is organized, 1385 01:14:07.960 --> 01:14:10.800 like in what marching order you are, and I don't 1386 01:14:10.800 --> 01:14:12.680 think i've personally ever seen that before. 1387 01:14:12.760 --> 01:14:15.640 I thought that was really creative that I loved it, 1388 01:14:15.720 --> 01:14:17.640 that's right. I forgot about that. That's like the lizard 1389 01:14:17.640 --> 01:14:18.399 head or something. 1390 01:14:18.960 --> 01:14:22.199 Yeah. Yeah, it assigns each of your dude's a headbody, 1391 01:14:22.279 --> 01:14:25.000 or tail, and you have to like reorder them with 1392 01:14:25.079 --> 01:14:27.399 both with the select button and by mixing them up 1393 01:14:27.399 --> 01:14:31.880 with the little teleporter thing outside. I thought that was great, right, yeah, 1394 01:14:32.840 --> 01:14:34.760 but you're otherwise making it through your right You do 1395 01:14:34.880 --> 01:14:37.000 like six of these, not all of them are the 1396 01:14:37.039 --> 01:14:41.199 same quality. It's a bit long, but it's not too tedious. Again, 1397 01:14:41.319 --> 01:14:45.199 cool music to up at the top. Links and I 1398 01:14:45.239 --> 01:14:48.880 wrote carsh but it's Viper. Links and Viper are at 1399 01:14:48.960 --> 01:14:51.079 the top, and you get some typical bad guy shit 1400 01:14:51.159 --> 01:14:53.720 from Links for the first time, that kind of cliche 1401 01:14:53.800 --> 01:14:57.680 bad guy stuff. He betrays Viper, literally stabs him in 1402 01:14:57.680 --> 01:15:00.800 the back, and this leads to a fight. Pretty lackluster, 1403 01:15:01.119 --> 01:15:06.439 but this proceeds into some scenes that when I say 1404 01:15:06.560 --> 01:15:10.119 jaw dropping, I mean it. And I have to say, 1405 01:15:10.680 --> 01:15:13.159 for the first time ever, this is a good use 1406 01:15:13.159 --> 01:15:17.520 of a silent protagonist. It is I'm serious, man, My 1407 01:15:17.600 --> 01:15:21.039 jaw was on the floor. This is awesome. So let's 1408 01:15:21.319 --> 01:15:23.319 get into it. I want to hear you talk about this, 1409 01:15:23.359 --> 01:15:27.960 so let's set it up. Links will speak to you, 1410 01:15:28.319 --> 01:15:31.000 he says, Surge, have you ever questioned who you really are? 1411 01:15:31.319 --> 01:15:33.880 What has been the significance of your existence up until now? 1412 01:15:34.039 --> 01:15:36.800 On that ominous day ten years ago, the boundary of 1413 01:15:36.840 --> 01:15:40.359 space and time was torn, and part of me, in fact, died. 1414 01:15:40.840 --> 01:15:42.880 You get a cut scene here of a prowling panther 1415 01:15:43.039 --> 01:15:46.439 through the woods, attacking something from POV, and he continues, 1416 01:15:46.920 --> 01:15:50.279 you cannot defeat me because denying me is the same 1417 01:15:50.319 --> 01:15:54.159 as erasing your very existence, which to me implies that 1418 01:15:54.199 -->

01:15:57.039 they are linked in some way. One can't survive without 1419 01:15:57.079 --> 01:16:02.399 the other. Maybe it maybe one gay gave existence to 1420 01:16:02.439 --> 01:16:05.319 the other. I'm not sure. The dragon tear is in 1421 01:16:05.359 --> 01:16:08.399 the center of the room. It glows and surges, reflection 1422 01:16:08.600 --> 01:16:12.640 on the glass starts to fade in and out of Lynxes, 1423 01:16:13.239 --> 01:16:16.479 and what's gonna happen is links and Surge switch bodies. 1424 01:16:17.159 --> 01:16:19.760 But the way they depict it is solely through shadows 1425 01:16:19.800 --> 01:16:22.600 being projected onto the wall. That's how you see the transformation. 1426 01:16:23.560 --> 01:16:26.239 It's not like a werewolf kind of deal where you 1427 01:16:26.279 --> 01:16:29.079 just see it. It's through the shadows. The camera is 1428 01:16:29.119 --> 01:16:31.600 also not totally static. It's kind of moving as if 1429 01:16:31.600 --> 01:16:36.279 someone's holding it. That's a beautiful way to shoot this. 1430 01:16:36.279 --> 01:16:38.279 This is all just really terrific. And it ends with 1431 01:16:38.319 --> 01:16:42.479 the close up of Surge's face morphing into this grotesque 1432 01:16:42.680 --> 01:16:46.359 grin that looks like almost like it should have fangs. 1433 01:16:46.920 --> 01:16:47.680 It's kind of. 1434 01:16:47.680 --> 01:16:52.199 Scary, it really is, And well, keep going. I really 1435 01:16:52.239 --> 01:16:55.800 like what you said about the usage of the silent 1436 01:16:55.840 --> 01:16:59.399 protagonist as a shocking moment, and we're upon that now, 1437 01:16:59.479 --> 01:17:00.760 so keep going and we'll get there. 1438 01:17:01.319 --> 01:17:04.479 Okay, I will. This is it. A kid is pissed 1439 01:17:04.720 --> 01:17:08.640 and she asks Surge if he's okay, and he talks. 1440 01:17:09.039 --> 01:17:14.520 You get a dialogue box from Surge and he's like, yes, 1441 01:17:14.640 --> 01:17:19.399 I'm fine, I'm fine, and then they just stand there 1442 01:17:20.039 --> 01:17:21.880 and this is what I'm doing. I'm waiting for the 1443 01:17:21.880 --> 01:17:24.079 next dialogue box because Surge just talked, and I'm like, 1444 01:17:24.119 --> 01:17:29.239 oh my god, our protagonist, silent protagonists just talked like 1445 01:17:29.279 --> 01:17:31.520 this is a big deal, and it's even a it's 1446 01:17:31.720 --> 01:17:34.920 a bigger deal when you realize, okay, I should be 1447 01:17:35.000 --> 01:17:38.560 playing now. So you move your controller, you move links, 1448 01:17:39.199 --> 01:17:42.119 and it only lets you move a tiny bit, just 1449 01:17:42.239 --> 01:17:44.439 enough to let you see like you are not Surge. 1450 01:17:44.439 --> 01:17:49.479 You're controlling links now, and I'm like, whoa, whoa, this 1451 01:17:49.680 --> 01:17:52.800 is really cool, And of course Surge is taunting. What 1452 01:17:52.880 --> 01:17:55.520 are you doing links? Get him, kid, now's your chance

1453 01:17:55.560 --> 01:17:58.000 to get him kill him and you're thrown into it. 1454 01:17:58.039 --> 01:18:00.079 Really it's oh yeah, sorry, I. 1455 01:18:00.079 --> 01:18:02.119 Would call like when you're able to move links a 1456 01:18:02.159 --> 01:18:06.840 little bit it's a sort of a hitaoko Jima adjacent moment. 1457 01:18:06.960 --> 01:18:09.119 Don't you think like it is something that is that 1458 01:18:09.239 --> 01:18:13.920 is so subversive by using the sort of verbs of 1459 01:18:13.960 --> 01:18:18.720 playing video games to enhance the story. I really think 1460 01:18:18.720 --> 01:18:21.640 you're spot on in your praise. 1461 01:18:22.079 --> 01:18:25.359 Yeah, exactly, So this is this is a perfect example. 1462 01:18:25.439 --> 01:18:28.000 You know, when folks talk about video games, you know, 1463 01:18:28.199 --> 01:18:30.239 being in art form, blah blah blah blah blah. This 1464 01:18:30.279 --> 01:18:32.960 is a perfect example of something that's kind of similar 1465 01:18:33.000 --> 01:18:35.920 to stuff that like Disco Elysium does, where it really 1466 01:18:36.000 --> 01:18:39.399 couldn't be done in a book or in a movie 1467 01:18:39.960 --> 01:18:42.319 in the same way. The fact that you've spent twenty 1468 01:18:42.319 --> 01:18:45.399 hours with a silent protagonist, now you're seeing him talk, 1469 01:18:45.439 --> 01:18:49.640 and then your controller suddenly is moving the opponent quote 1470 01:18:49.680 --> 01:18:52.800 unquote the opponent. Yeah, like you said, this is so subversive. 1471 01:18:53.520 --> 01:18:57.560 It's awesome. It's awesome done with such verb. And and 1472 01:18:58.239 --> 01:19:01.520 even though kids starts hesitating, you know, she's she's she 1473 01:19:01.600 --> 01:19:04.840 knows something's off. You get into a fight with your party, 1474 01:19:04.920 --> 01:19:07.479 you are controlling links, and you fight your party and 1475 01:19:07.479 --> 01:19:10.520 they wipe the floor with you. But oh my gosh, dude, 1476 01:19:10.600 --> 01:19:11.800 like John the floor. 1477 01:19:12.399 --> 01:19:15.840 Yeah, it's really great. Like, uh, it's hard to find 1478 01:19:15.880 --> 01:19:20.039 games nowadays. I don't I'm getting into old man's beech speech, 1479 01:19:20.079 --> 01:19:22.199 but let's just say it's hard to find RPG's period 1480 01:19:22.560 --> 01:19:28.039 that really, like we've said, like subvert the mechanics of 1481 01:19:29.119 --> 01:19:31.399 what we've come to expect as like the sort of 1482 01:19:31.439 --> 01:19:34.520 the standard palette for how you're supposed to play an 1483 01:19:34.600 --> 01:19:37.479 RPG and how you're supposed to to consume it. Like 1484 01:19:37.640 --> 01:19:40.319 nothing else comes to mind other than like undertail, it's 1485 01:19:40.319 --> 01:19:43.279 the only thing that I can think of. It's really great, 1486 01:19:43.479 --> 01:19:46.479 and I think it's overlooked. It's really overlooked in terms 1487 01:19:46.479 --> 01:19:52.159 of how the story is is communicating. Nobody really nobody 1488 01:19:52.199 --> 01:19:55.439 really holds up Chronal Cross as a as a beacon 1489 01:19:55.640 --> 01:19:58.439 for how stories can be told in JRPG's. It's more 1490 01:19:58.479 --> 01:20:00.640 about the music and the vibes and the characters. And 1491 01:20:00.640 --> 01:20:02.319 I think all that's true, but like this is this 1492 01:20:02.399 --> 01:20:05.920 is something that's that's not too not not too common. 1493 01:20:06.199 --> 01:20:09.439 And if I may also drop a fun fact, if 1494 01:20:09.439 --> 01:20:12.960 you're gonna end up bringing this dialogue here, some of 1495 01:20:12.560 --> 01:20:17.640 the terms that the this this the impending dark Surge 1496 01:20:18.199 --> 01:20:22.479 is about to say. And the dialogue itself was dialogue 1497 01:20:22.520 --> 01:20:24.840 that was cut from Zeno Gears, and I'll leave it 1498 01:20:24.880 --> 01:20:27.479 up to you to look to look for it, to 1499 01:20:27.479 --> 01:20:29.800 look it up, because I don't know exactly what lines were, 1500 01:20:29.840 --> 01:20:33.479 but there is there is some research out there where 1501 01:20:33.720 --> 01:20:36.720 Kado says that some of the dialogue was cut from 1502 01:20:36.760 --> 01:20:37.960 Zeno Gears and he used it for this. 1503 01:20:38.600 --> 01:20:41.399 WHOA, Now that is cool. I didn't write down a 1504 01:20:41.439 --> 01:20:43.640 ton of it. You're oh, man, I'm going to go 1505 01:20:43.640 --> 01:20:44.640 back and check that out. 1506 01:20:44.960 --> 01:20:47.479 Here if I could find it really quick off, I'll 1507 01:20:47.560 --> 01:20:48.520 uh hang on. 1508 01:20:48.800 --> 01:20:52.880 Yeah. By all means, after while you're checking that out, 1509 01:20:53.039 --> 01:20:56.640 after the fight's over, because of course you're gonna lose this. 1510 01:20:56.840 --> 01:21:00.359 Your party is, you've beefed up your party. Links aka 1511 01:21:00.479 --> 01:21:02.880 Surge is on the floor, but Kid is still hesitating 1512 01:21:03.680 --> 01:21:07.640 and Links as Surge is just cold and flat. You know, 1513 01:21:07.840 --> 01:21:09.920 if you're not gonna kill him, I'll do it myself. 1514 01:21:10.479 --> 01:21:14.000 And then he messes up, and you know, presumably both 1515 01:21:14.079 --> 01:21:16.840 the player and kid notice. Kid definitely notices this. The 1516 01:21:16.880 --> 01:21:21.039 player might notice Sge links As Surge says, watch this, kid, 1517 01:21:21.479 --> 01:21:25.039 I'll avenge Luca for you die Links and she's like, 1518 01:21:25.119 --> 01:21:28.199 hold on, wait, how do you know Luca's name. 1519 01:21:29.319 --> 01:21:32.479 Yeah, you don't just drop Luca without without making the 1520 01:21:32.520 --> 01:21:35.520 player hesitate if they are a chrono trigger person, right. 1521 01:21:35.800 --> 01:21:37.800 Well that yeah, that's the other thing is like that 1522 01:21:37.880 --> 01:21:41.119 this is an explicit

chrono trigger reference with Luca. And 1523 01:21:41.720 --> 01:21:44.479 also like Kid is right, like we we don't know 1524 01:21:44.479 --> 01:21:47.600 who Luca is. How does Surge know? And he knows 1525 01:21:47.600 --> 01:21:50.479 he messed up like immediately, And this is where you uh, 1526 01:21:50.560 --> 01:21:54.600 this is where you see the intro cutscene of Surge 1527 01:21:54.640 --> 01:21:58.560 stabbing Kid happens here. It wasn't Surge after all, it 1528 01:21:58.600 --> 01:22:07.920 was Links. Man. I don't uh, I don't know what 1529 01:22:08.000 --> 01:22:10.760 to say, Like you are spot on when you say 1530 01:22:10.800 --> 01:22:15.039 everybody talks about the vibes, the amazing music, the weird 1531 01:22:15.359 --> 01:22:20.920 the weird ass little freaks. This is it's just Chef's kiss. 1532 01:22:21.000 --> 01:22:24.479 This is It's brilliant, it really is. 1533 01:22:24.680 --> 01:22:26.760 And I don't know, I may I may have to 1534 01:22:26.760 --> 01:22:29.399 reassess the statement a little bit later on our discussion 1535 01:22:29.399 --> 01:22:30.840 as we get deeper into the game. But it feels 1536 01:22:30.840 --> 01:22:33.239 like this is kind of where the game peaks in 1537 01:22:33.359 --> 01:22:37.039 terms of its uh delivery of the plot, because I 1538 01:22:37.039 --> 01:22:39.199 feel like after this it be gets a little bit 1539 01:22:39.680 --> 01:22:43.479 more wistful and contemplative and less about like the structure 1540 01:22:43.520 --> 01:22:45.079 of the plot and more about the structure of the 1541 01:22:45.960 --> 01:22:49.720 of the vibes and the the It becomes more concerned 1542 01:22:49.760 --> 01:22:53.760 with the deconstruction of crona trigger and crona triggers themes 1543 01:22:53.800 --> 01:22:57.640 than it is with its own storytelling. But I don't 1544 01:22:57.640 --> 01:22:59.800 think that makes that this not matter. I think I 1545 01:22:59.800 --> 01:23:01.640 think this matters a lot, and I think that it 1546 01:23:01.720 --> 01:23:04.760 should be it should be held up when we think 1547 01:23:04.760 --> 01:23:07.720 about grade at JRPG's scenes. 1548 01:23:08.199 --> 01:23:12.720 I one hundred percent agree, and I'm glad that how 1549 01:23:12.720 --> 01:23:15.239 do I want to say this, I as a newcomer, 1550 01:23:15.399 --> 01:23:17.640 I completely agree, And it's nice to hear that you, 1551 01:23:17.680 --> 01:23:21.119 as a veteran that played this back when it was contemporary, 1552 01:23:21.520 --> 01:23:23.279 kind of view it in the same way. And I'm 1553 01:23:23.319 --> 01:23:25.560 glad that I can come to that same realization that 1554 01:23:26.000 --> 01:23:28.960 you've known all this time. You mentioned Undertail, which one, 1555 01:23:29.119 --> 01:23:34.000 by the way, fully agree that game is beautiful beyond words, 1556 01:23:34.720 --> 01:23:37.479 but also like Undertail, it's very easy to get spoiled 1557 01:23:37.520 --> 01:23:40.199 quote unquote on that

because when you hear about Undertail, 1558 01:23:40.199 --> 01:23:41.800 you're like, oh, you got to go in blind, And 1559 01:23:41.840 --> 01:23:44.640 when you hear that, you kind of implicitly know that 1560 01:23:44.680 --> 01:23:47.399 there's going to be this huge twist or something subversive 1561 01:23:47.680 --> 01:23:51.720 with this. Nobody has ever said that. They either say 1562 01:23:51.720 --> 01:23:54.560 the funny stuff the music, or it's not as good 1563 01:23:54.560 --> 01:23:58.960 as Crono trigger. You never hear this, So I was 1564 01:23:59.680 --> 01:24:02.359 in that way. I was so caught off guard, and 1565 01:24:02.399 --> 01:24:05.359 maybe that's why it worked so well for me. Yeah, 1566 01:24:05.520 --> 01:24:07.880 I don't know unless they really mess up the back 1567 01:24:07.920 --> 01:24:11.199 half after where I stopped. I don't see how this 1568 01:24:11.359 --> 01:24:14.840 is not going to be maybe not in my top five, 1569 01:24:15.119 --> 01:24:18.960 but like one of my favorites that I've personally played 1570 01:24:18.960 --> 01:24:19.359 so far. 1571 01:24:20.159 --> 01:24:23.840 I'm not even sure that I noticed how I could 1572 01:24:23.880 --> 01:24:27.840 control links until I played this game for the podcast. 1573 01:24:28.079 --> 01:24:30.199 I think I glossed over it so many times, which 1574 01:24:30.199 --> 01:24:33.039 made me appreciate it even more because it is something 1575 01:24:33.079 --> 01:24:36.159 that you can that you can not really notice, and 1576 01:24:36.239 --> 01:24:40.439 it is something that you cannot necessarily understand. How I 1577 01:24:40.479 --> 01:24:43.319 guess to use the word again subverse of this section 1578 01:24:43.359 --> 01:24:45.880 of the game as being if you're not really tapped 1579 01:24:45.880 --> 01:24:49.119 into the tropes that that jrbg's will operate under, but 1580 01:24:49.159 --> 01:24:51.079 the fact that we that we are in this in 1581 01:24:51.119 --> 01:24:53.640 this in this case is just it makes it perfect. 1582 01:24:54.159 --> 01:24:57.279 Yeah, here here this and This next scene is really 1583 01:24:57.680 --> 01:25:01.920 neat too. This is the control trasting affects that I 1584 01:25:01.960 --> 01:25:05.159 mentioned earlier, where you know Square was top dog at 1585 01:25:05.159 --> 01:25:07.720 this time with jerffg so they knew they know how 1586 01:25:07.760 --> 01:25:10.520 to do this stuff. And you might have forgotten through 1587 01:25:10.520 --> 01:25:13.039 all the comedy, but when they want to contrast that 1588 01:25:13.079 --> 01:25:17.479 with the really serious dreamy and well and the contemplative 1589 01:25:17.479 --> 01:25:19.920 stuff like you mentioned, but also the dramatic, they know 1590 01:25:19.960 --> 01:25:22.720 how to do it. Surge here and by the way, 1591 01:25:22.760 --> 01:25:26.600 from here on out, Surge is Linx aka the antagonist. 1592 01:25:26.720 --> 01:25:30.560 Lynx is us. It's just gonna get confusing otherwise, as 1593 01:25:30.560 --> 01:25:34.399 if it's not now. But Surge makes the classic blunder 1594 01:25:34.680 --> 01:25:38.560 you know, inconceivable he is gonna leave us for later. 1595 01:25:38.920 --> 01:25:40.960 You know he's not gonna kill kid now. I'll take 1596 01:25:40.960 --> 01:25:44.720 care of you later, and he warps Surge somewhere. That 1597 01:25:44.960 --> 01:25:50.119 somewhere is one of the coolest pre rendered backgrounds I 1598 01:25:50.159 --> 01:25:53.840 think I've ever seen. It's called the temporal vortex, by 1599 01:25:53.880 --> 01:25:56.800 the way, a place between the dimensions of the home 1600 01:25:56.840 --> 01:26:00.239 world and another world. Before I go on out how 1601 01:26:00.279 --> 01:26:02.920 much I love its presentation back in the original episode, 1602 01:26:03.000 --> 01:26:05.239 I do want to call out the track that plays 1603 01:26:05.239 --> 01:26:08.920 here the bend of Time. It plays at that location 1604 01:26:09.119 --> 01:26:11.960 in chronal Cross as well, the bend of time a 1605 01:26:12.039 --> 01:26:16.439 track affixed to locations not properly rooted in time. And 1606 01:26:16.520 --> 01:26:21.920 yet the track itself is a single simple guitar, harmonically conservative, 1607 01:26:22.560 --> 01:26:26.039 melodically very simple, not stretching to the extremities of the 1608 01:26:26.039 --> 01:26:29.359 guitar's range, not even stretching to the extremities of the 1609 01:26:29.399 --> 01:26:33.119 singable range. The human voice and the track itself gives 1610 01:26:33.159 --> 01:26:37.439 off a character that is both earnest and perhaps even 1611 01:26:37.520 --> 01:26:41.319 a bit nostalgic, as we had defined it previously, that 1612 01:26:41.520 --> 01:26:47.039 bitter sadness, that sense of pervasive on we, that something 1613 01:26:47.520 --> 01:26:51.600 has been lost, whether we are conscious of it or not. 1614 01:26:52.560 --> 01:26:55.520 There is a piece of us missing, something is not 1615 01:26:55.920 --> 01:27:00.720 quite whole. That kind of bittersweet sadness, that kind of 1616 01:27:01.239 --> 01:27:05.399 blankets of on we, that sort of nostalgia. This is 1617 01:27:05.479 --> 01:27:09.079 just another example of the subversion that Chronocross can offer you. 1618 01:27:10.319 --> 01:27:12.119 For all the game's faults, there is a lot to 1619 01:27:12.159 --> 01:27:17.239 talk about here. It is this impressionistic like painting, like 1620 01:27:17.399 --> 01:27:22.479 if you imagine Van go excuse me, Van Goch his paintings, 1621 01:27:22.520 --> 01:27:25.199 you know what I mean, Like starry Night, that sort 1622 01:27:25.199 --> 01:27:29.760 of impressionistic brushed style that doesn't have heavily defined lines, 1623 01:27:29.800 --> 01:27:34.760 but instead is defined by the esthetic of the repeated 1624 01:27:34.760 --> 01:27:37.279 brush strokes, like you could see almost see the individual 1625 01:27:37.319 --> 01:27:39.760 hairs of the

brush. That is the style in which 1626 01:27:39.800 --> 01:27:42.600 this pre undered background is painted. And it's you know, 1627 01:27:42.680 --> 01:27:46.399 full of pinks and yellows and blues. Not vibrant, but 1628 01:27:46.600 --> 01:27:49.960 like muted. I've never seen this before. Like, give me 1629 01:27:50.000 --> 01:27:53.039 a JRPG full of this. The geometry, too, by the way, 1630 01:27:53.079 --> 01:27:57.039 is like kind of mc escher ish. This whole thing 1631 01:27:57.039 --> 01:27:59.880 feels like a dream, a complete reverie, Like it's not real. 1632 01:28:00.239 --> 01:28:02.800 I want a JRPG that's just this, man, give me this, 1633 01:28:02.840 --> 01:28:03.520 I'll eat it up. 1634 01:28:04.000 --> 01:28:06.119 Don't we get like a weird staircase perspective in this 1635 01:28:06.159 --> 01:28:06.600 part too? 1636 01:28:07.119 --> 01:28:10.159 Oh yeah with Horrel. Harrel comes in here, and that's 1637 01:28:10.199 --> 01:28:12.880 where the weird staircase stuff is. Like it's a top 1638 01:28:12.960 --> 01:28:16.399 down view of you and Horrl talking and she's walking 1639 01:28:16.479 --> 01:28:18.920 up the walls as if it's stairs, and then she's 1640 01:28:19.039 --> 01:28:22.279 kind of standing on the ceiling. It plays with your 1641 01:28:22.840 --> 01:28:25.439 entire perception. You have to like walk through this a 1642 01:28:25.520 --> 01:28:29.439 little bit too. Very cool, very very cool. 1643 01:28:30.000 --> 01:28:33.000 If I remember correctly. I believe that I really enjoyed 1644 01:28:33.000 --> 01:28:38.399 that conversation with Harley and Surge as she's walking all 1645 01:28:38.439 --> 01:28:42.840 over the place in those staircases, because she's giving a 1646 01:28:42.880 --> 01:28:45.680 more dramatic version of the version of the speech that 1647 01:28:45.800 --> 01:28:48.119 is like, this is the way things are and you 1648 01:28:48.159 --> 01:28:49.640 need to fucking learn how to deal with it. 1649 01:28:49.960 --> 01:28:52.199 I'm really glad that you called out their conversation because 1650 01:28:52.239 --> 01:28:55.000 she like, up until now, you know, she's ooh la la, 1651 01:28:55.239 --> 01:28:57.560 mister Surge, like I bet you like me, and it's 1652 01:28:57.600 --> 01:29:04.319 like here she flipped, and she is almost she's almost 1653 01:29:04.520 --> 01:29:07.039 fucking with him and like kind of antagonistic, except like 1654 01:29:07.079 --> 01:29:10.439 not quite that bad. But she starts prodding him like 1655 01:29:10.800 --> 01:29:12.960 how do you even know that you ever existed? Like 1656 01:29:13.000 --> 01:29:15.720 do you even know yourself? You're not Surge, Like what 1657 01:29:15.720 --> 01:29:19.279 do you get real? She says too, And this is 1658 01:29:19.319 --> 01:29:22.159 a quote that I will just read in my own 1659 01:29:22.199 --> 01:29:25.600 accent and not the French. If everybody except for yourself 1660 01:29:25.680 --> 01:29:30.000 says that you're mister Lynx, then voila, you are mister Lynx. 1661 01:29:30.039 --> 01:29:32.960 It's that simple. If you try to go against reality, 1662 01:29:33.159 --> 01:29:37.199 reality will surely crush you. Reality will kill you, and 1663 01:29:37.319 --> 01:29:40.520 reality will continue to go on as if nothing ever happened. 1664 01:29:41.279 --> 01:29:43.359 And this is the f from the sea, return to 1665 01:29:43.399 --> 01:29:47.279 the sea kind of deal where nature is this indifferent 1666 01:29:47.520 --> 01:29:50.279 at times beautiful at times hostile kind of thing. You 1667 01:29:50.359 --> 01:29:55.000 cannot affect nature determinism, right, fate is in stone. But 1668 01:29:55.720 --> 01:29:58.399 Carl doesn't talk like that, Like she hasn't talked like 1669 01:29:58.439 --> 01:30:01.279 this since or well, I should say, as far as 1670 01:30:01.279 --> 01:30:05.039 we have known her. This flip is it's a little jarring, 1671 01:30:05.079 --> 01:30:06.800 and she's going to continue to be like this to 1672 01:30:06.840 --> 01:30:10.760 serve to links until we're like, until we're out of here. 1673 01:30:12.039 --> 01:30:14.359 Who by the way, she says she's loyal to So 1674 01:30:14.399 --> 01:30:17.199 she's sticking with you because she's loyal to links, which 1675 01:30:17.239 --> 01:30:22.479 is fascinating that she is loyal to the the not 1676 01:30:22.560 --> 01:30:26.039 the vehicle of links, but the physical body more so 1677 01:30:26.119 --> 01:30:31.000 than the essence of the person. I hope that goes somewhere. 1678 01:30:31.880 --> 01:30:36.279 It's really funny because we've getting this conversation with Harley 1679 01:30:36.319 --> 01:30:41.079 as as you've you've mentioned, we're getting this new theming 1680 01:30:41.119 --> 01:30:44.000 about like rappling with identity, which I suppose that we 1681 01:30:44.000 --> 01:30:46.239 should be doing right now, even though we're a silent 1682 01:30:46.279 --> 01:30:52.119 protagonist and Surge really can't externalize whatever identity crisis he's having. 1683 01:30:52.680 --> 01:30:55.279 We're the player and we're playing as the bad gore 1684 01:30:55.359 --> 01:30:57.600 and the bad guy's body. Now, like that's enough, right there, 1685 01:30:57.640 --> 01:31:01.640 I think. But amidst all this, also we're making friends 1686 01:31:01.640 --> 01:31:05.159 with this like weird goblin lady named Sprigg like during 1687 01:31:05.279 --> 01:31:07.680 during this part, and I think that's kind of funny. 1688 01:31:07.720 --> 01:31:09.319 Oh yeah, did you use Sprig at all? 1689 01:31:09.800 --> 01:31:13.680 Only just to uh tinker around? Like I think she's 1690 01:31:13.720 --> 01:31:16.279 a shape shifter rider got some sort of pokemon ability 1691 01:31:16.359 --> 01:31:16.680 or something? 1692 01:31:16.960 --> 01:31:21.279 Mm hmm, yep, I did get her. I was I 1693 01:31:21.319 --> 01:31:23.720 could not figure out how to get to that savepoint 1694 01:31:23.760 --> 01:31:25.680 inside of the

tree. I admit I had to use 1695 01:31:25.680 --> 01:31:27.279 a guide for that. It tricked me. 1696 01:31:27.960 --> 01:31:31.960 I did find that quote about that was reused from 1697 01:31:32.039 --> 01:31:33.479 zenal Gears. Would you let me to read that and 1698 01:31:33.479 --> 01:31:36.039 if you wanted to move it back or I could 1699 01:31:36.119 --> 01:31:38.000 just read it now, whatever you're I would love for 1700 01:31:38.039 --> 01:31:40.479 you to read it. Okay, I'll just pretend like we're 1701 01:31:40.479 --> 01:31:43.920 still having that conversation from before them Great the line 1702 01:31:44.039 --> 01:31:47.399 is and this is this is right before dark Surge 1703 01:31:47.520 --> 01:31:52.319 sends us into the the impending vortex. He says, now, 1704 01:31:52.880 --> 01:31:56.960 let love bleed darker and deeper than the Seas of Hell. 1705 01:31:58.159 --> 01:32:01.880 This line, which was reten. We don't know for sure 1706 01:32:01.960 --> 01:32:03.880 that it was written by Mosoto Koto, but he was. 1707 01:32:04.000 --> 01:32:07.840 He's the one like link between Zeno Gears in Chronocross, 1708 01:32:08.680 --> 01:32:12.000 one of the links, I should say. But this line 1709 01:32:12.479 --> 01:32:20.880 was also uttered in the Japanese Zeno Gears demo oh, 1710 01:32:20.960 --> 01:32:23.920 but was not used for the final game, and he 1711 01:32:24.000 --> 01:32:26.199 reused the dialogue in chronal Cross. 1712 01:32:26.640 --> 01:32:30.479 Fun fact, that is awesome. Who and who says that? Here? 1713 01:32:30.560 --> 01:32:32.720 Did you say? Dark Surge does right? 1714 01:32:33.039 --> 01:32:36.199 Right just before he throws us into the into the void? 1715 01:32:36.720 --> 01:32:41.640 That is awesome. I love when like creators do that, creators, composers, 1716 01:32:42.680 --> 01:32:45.720 video game writers. That is so cool. You love to 1717 01:32:45.760 --> 01:32:47.439 see it. They know when they've got something good. 1718 01:32:48.000 --> 01:32:51.800 He did that in Final Fantasy seven as well. If 1719 01:32:51.840 --> 01:32:54.560 you remember when Cloud is having his little freak out 1720 01:32:54.600 --> 01:32:59.439 in the wheelchair. Later in the game, it got the 1721 01:32:59.520 --> 01:33:05.199 term got localized as Zenogeist, but it was relocalized in 1722 01:33:05.319 --> 01:33:09.279 the PC version of Final Fantasy seven to say Zeno Gears. 1723 01:33:09.600 --> 01:33:12.319 Oh, that's cute. I don't remember that. 1724 01:33:12.399 --> 01:33:15.479 Actually, a little fun facts I'll relate to Zeeno Gears 1725 01:33:15.479 --> 01:33:16.960 because that's the game I know too much. 1726 01:33:16.960 --> 01:33:22.199 About you don't say, could have never guessed. I need 1727 01:33:22.239 --> 01:33:24.760 to replay that. Man, Oh my goodness, that was the 1728 01:33:24.840 --> 01:33:28.279 game that got me started on my whole not diatribe, 1729 01:33:28.319 --> 01:33:32.199 but not my personality, my whole thing

about Like, I'm 1730 01:33:32.239 --> 01:33:34.840 really trying to play less games and read less books 1731 01:33:35.239 --> 01:33:38.039 because I find that I get through them, and Zeno 1732 01:33:38.039 --> 01:33:40.399 Gears was the big example. I get through them in 1733 01:33:40.439 --> 01:33:43.159 A week later, I remember next to nothing, and it's 1734 01:33:43.159 --> 01:33:45.199 because I just keep like, I keep going, I pick 1735 01:33:45.279 --> 01:33:48.520 up something new immediately, and it's like, man, I if 1736 01:33:48.560 --> 01:33:51.399 I'm not appreciating this stuff, I don't know. I don't 1737 01:33:51.399 --> 01:33:52.399 want to bore you with all that. 1738 01:33:52.960 --> 01:33:53.680 Gotta let it sit. 1739 01:33:54.479 --> 01:33:58.079 Yeah, that's the way. That is the way we're gonna 1740 01:33:58.119 --> 01:34:00.920 get out, though, Sprague, if you've got her, Horrel and 1741 01:34:01.079 --> 01:34:04.560 surge back to the home world via a wormhole. Nobody 1742 01:34:04.800 --> 01:34:09.880 in Arnie leaves surges surge, which Horrel very curtly points 1743 01:34:09.880 --> 01:34:12.640 out to you. This is also where like you start 1744 01:34:12.720 --> 01:34:16.000 noticing like you've you might have heard whispers about it before, 1745 01:34:16.119 --> 01:34:19.119 I personally don't remember, but you start seeing that like 1746 01:34:19.159 --> 01:34:23.239 demi humans, that is to say, like not regular people. 1747 01:34:23.359 --> 01:34:25.720 You know, Lynks is a what do you call it 1748 01:34:25.720 --> 01:34:30.479 a lynx man. Demi humans are it's not outright racism, 1749 01:34:30.640 --> 01:34:35.680 but they kind of are treated with vitriol, like you 1750 01:34:36.239 --> 01:34:37.680 get out of here. We don't want you to hear 1751 01:34:37.720 --> 01:34:40.199 that kind of thing, like second class citizens. Almost. 1752 01:34:40.800 --> 01:34:42.840 Yeah, I do believe that. I don't remember which world 1753 01:34:42.840 --> 01:34:46.279 it was, but in one of the termtas, if I 1754 01:34:46.439 --> 01:34:49.760 remember correctly, Demi humans are like a labor I don't know. 1755 01:34:49.760 --> 01:34:51.920 I don't think they're outright slaves, but they're like a 1756 01:34:51.960 --> 01:34:54.520 lower labor class sort of thing. 1757 01:34:55.399 --> 01:34:58.159 Yeah, yeah, I don't. I got a little turned around 1758 01:34:58.520 --> 01:35:00.880 moving forward here in terms of like which world is which? 1759 01:35:01.479 --> 01:35:04.239 So I wrote everything down hopefully I can hopefully you 1760 01:35:04.279 --> 01:35:07.840 can help, I should say, speaking okay, speaking of Demi humans. 1761 01:35:07.880 --> 01:35:11.720 Nobody believes it's Surge, rightfully, so quite frankly, your mom 1762 01:35:12.079 --> 01:35:15.239 believes you. You know, you can get romantic about it. Oh, 1763 01:35:15.279 --> 01:35:18.319 a mother always knows her children, you know, yeah, maybe, 1764 01:35:18.439 --> 01:35:21.399 but she gives you some backstory, some really important backstory 1765 01:35:21.680 --> 01:35:26.159 about your dad, your father, I mean, and Lena's dad. 1766 01:35:26.920 --> 01:35:30.520 She says, fourteen years ago your father, Surge's father was 1767 01:35:30.640 --> 01:35:34.000 Zuki and his friend Miguel set out to see it 1768 01:35:34.079 --> 01:35:36.800 was an emergency. They were swallowed by the high waves 1769 01:35:36.840 --> 01:35:39.920 and lost consciousness, and when they came to they were 1770 01:35:39.920 --> 01:35:43.560 in the Dead Sea, a place this is a quote 1771 01:35:43.600 --> 01:35:46.840 where no living creature dares enter. This is all a quote, 1772 01:35:46.920 --> 01:35:49.000 by the way. I don't know what he saw or 1773 01:35:49.039 --> 01:35:51.560 what happened, but that incident changed your father and your 1774 01:35:51.560 --> 01:35:55.439 father's friend, Miguel, that was Lina's father. He never returned. 1775 01:35:56.039 --> 01:35:59.720 Back then it was called the Sea of Eden. So 1776 01:36:00.079 --> 01:36:03.479 we're back with the biblical references. Right, We're going well, 1777 01:36:03.520 --> 01:36:05.439 and we're going to see this a little bit later. 1778 01:36:05.479 --> 01:36:09.960 The Dead Sea eventually parts pretty explicitly calling to mind 1779 01:36:10.000 --> 01:36:14.119 the Red Sea with Moses. The Dead Sea being intertwined 1780 01:36:14.159 --> 01:36:17.319 with the Sea of Eden. This is kind of the 1781 01:36:17.359 --> 01:36:20.359 same as the story of the Garden of Eden with 1782 01:36:20.439 --> 01:36:23.479 the fall of man who took the fruit, who was 1783 01:36:23.520 --> 01:36:28.600 the seducer. We're getting this mixture of life and death, 1784 01:36:28.840 --> 01:36:33.920 birth and well also death and that cycle. Right, the 1785 01:36:33.960 --> 01:36:36.319 sea return, You return to the sea, and you come 1786 01:36:36.359 --> 01:36:39.560 from the sea. This idea of the cyclical nature of 1787 01:36:39.640 --> 01:36:42.399 life and of fate. You can't fight it. You can't 1788 01:36:42.399 --> 01:36:45.600 fight any of this man, and it is putting me 1789 01:36:45.680 --> 01:36:48.079 up against some stuff that has been weighing on me recently, 1790 01:36:48.119 --> 01:36:48.920 and it is tough. 1791 01:36:49.920 --> 01:36:53.920 It's great, it is great, and I think of note, 1792 01:36:54.359 --> 01:36:58.359 when we start talking about this determinism, so to speak, 1793 01:36:58.600 --> 01:37:03.520 this unchangeable fate, it is at odds with Chrono Trigger 1794 01:37:03.920 --> 01:37:06.880 because crodol Trigger was all about changing fate. I think 1795 01:37:06.920 --> 01:37:10.000 the last episode I've probably used this word more than once. 1796 01:37:10.039 --> 01:37:13.760 But when you think of Chrono Cross as a deconstruction 1797 01:37:14.239 --> 01:37:17.600 of Crono Trigger, it can be a little uncomfortable because 1798 01:37:17.600 --> 01:37:22.279 of

what Chrono Trigger said. In Chrono Cross slowly but 1799 01:37:22.439 --> 01:37:25.960 surely starts to say the exact opposite, and I think 1800 01:37:25.960 --> 01:37:28.479 that's part of the reason why this game is divisive, 1801 01:37:29.159 --> 01:37:31.279 but it makes it all the more interesting to me. 1802 01:37:31.840 --> 01:37:35.399 That is an excellent point. Man, I'm regretting not playing 1803 01:37:35.439 --> 01:37:38.920 Crono Trigger again before this, against my better judgment, I 1804 01:37:39.000 --> 01:37:42.279 have indeed started Chrono Trigger again and now's as good 1805 01:37:42.279 --> 01:37:45.439 of time as any. I suppose this final episode for 1806 01:37:45.520 --> 01:37:48.279 Chronocross is going to be delayed a bit. This game 1807 01:37:48.359 --> 01:37:51.000 is butting up against some feelings I've been having over 1808 01:37:51.039 --> 01:37:55.439 this podcast and its form and my relationship to quote 1809 01:37:55.560 --> 01:37:59.920 unquote content, the content machine, and my disdain for that. 1810 01:38:00.840 --> 01:38:02.520 The long and short of it is that I don't 1811 01:38:02.560 --> 01:38:04.960 want to fart something out just because we've made up 1812 01:38:05.000 --> 01:38:10.000 this fake idea that weekly uploads schedules are a normal 1813 01:38:10.039 --> 01:38:13.520 thing in the creative process and to be expected. It's 1814 01:38:13.560 --> 01:38:19.199 all a commodification. That's another conversation again not here in 1815 01:38:19.239 --> 01:38:21.640 the interim. Before this final episode, you'll see a few 1816 01:38:21.640 --> 01:38:25.199 more episodes drop on unrelated games. So if you weren't 1817 01:38:25.319 --> 01:38:28.359 enjoying Chrono Cross, well, if you weren't enjoying it, I 1818 01:38:28.399 --> 01:38:30.680 don't know why you're here, but I guess some sense 1819 01:38:30.720 --> 01:38:32.399 of duty to me, in which case I thank you. 1820 01:38:33.159 --> 01:38:35.279 But you'll see some more episodes. You'll be able to 1821 01:38:35.359 --> 01:38:38.239 check out some more stuff, and will wrap up Crono 1822 01:38:38.319 --> 01:38:43.199 Cross sometime in late April, I imagine. Thanks, folks, appreciate 1823 01:38:43.239 --> 01:38:46.720 your understanding. And that's cool too, because the idea that 1824 01:38:46.760 --> 01:38:49.359 you can change fate, the idea that fate is not 1825 01:38:49.439 --> 01:38:52.399 set in stone, or even the kind the sort of 1826 01:38:52.399 --> 01:38:56.520 happy medium with an idea called compatibilism that is attractive 1827 01:38:56.520 --> 01:38:58.520 to all of us because we don't want to believe 1828 01:38:58.760 --> 01:39:02.000 that we have no free will, and the free will 1829 01:39:02.439 --> 01:39:04.960 the determinist argument is a little more in depth than that. 1830 01:39:05.119 --> 01:39:08.840 Like the classic example is, like things are determined. You 1831 01:39:08.880 --> 01:39:12.359 can't change fate because you know, if I ask you 1832 01:39:12.439 --> 01:39:14.560 what your favorite color is and you say, oh, it's blue, 1833 01:39:14.800 --> 01:39:16.920 and I say, okay, now change that to red, you 1834 01:39:16.960 --> 01:39:19.319 can't do it. You know, you can't change a want. 1835 01:39:19.399 --> 01:39:22.600 You can't want to change a want'. That's a whole argument. 1836 01:39:22.640 --> 01:39:25.359 I don't know, it's much more complicated, and I have 1837 01:39:25.399 --> 01:39:28.760 a pea brain, but that idea that fate is unchanging 1838 01:39:29.079 --> 01:39:32.199 is difficult for a lot of us, myself included, to 1839 01:39:32.239 --> 01:39:36.520 accept and it's frightening. And combine that with going directly 1840 01:39:36.560 --> 01:39:43.119 against the theme of a beloved j Harpigi. Yeah, I'm 1841 01:39:43.199 --> 01:39:45.479 glad that you're pointing that out, man, I completely missed that. 1842 01:39:46.079 --> 01:39:49.079 Yeah. I think that the unchanging fate is also kind 1843 01:39:49.119 --> 01:39:53.760 of the underlying I guess theme of the wistful sadness 1844 01:39:53.760 --> 01:39:56.000 that is in this game. I think you know it, really, 1845 01:39:57.119 --> 01:39:59.039 it's there in more ways than one, not not just 1846 01:39:59.159 --> 01:40:03.479 in explore in this sort of lord dump, but also 1847 01:40:03.560 --> 01:40:05.720 just in the way the game talks sometimes. 1848 01:40:06.119 --> 01:40:09.159 Oh for sure, there is a poignance to it all. 1849 01:40:09.600 --> 01:40:37.640 It's really nice. I love that Radius is going to 1850 01:40:37.680 --> 01:40:40.239 join you up here. He is an absolute badass. This 1851 01:40:40.319 --> 01:40:42.760 is the same world where he's the village elder. Right, 1852 01:40:43.159 --> 01:40:45.279 he is a total badass. He sees links in here. 1853 01:40:45.479 --> 01:40:48.039 He doesn't even throw down right there, he's like, meet 1854 01:40:48.079 --> 01:40:52.119 me outside. Which if an old man came up to 1855 01:40:52.159 --> 01:40:53.960 me and got so angry that he's like, we're not 1856 01:40:54.000 --> 01:40:57.159 doing this here, We're doing this honorably, come meet me outside, 1857 01:40:57.640 --> 01:40:59.439 I would not mess with him in a hundred years. 1858 01:41:00.640 --> 01:41:04.600 Radius rules. I really really like Radius as a character. 1859 01:41:05.000 --> 01:41:07.359 And again he's another like weirdo that's going to join 1860 01:41:07.399 --> 01:41:10.960 our team. But also he's connected to the Occasion Dragoons 1861 01:41:11.000 --> 01:41:15.079 and in their history. And again they do a good 1862 01:41:15.119 --> 01:41:17.640 job with exploring the history of the of the dragoons, 1863 01:41:17.640 --> 01:41:19.199 and a little bit last with some of the other 1864 01:41:19.199 --> 01:41:23.560 communities communities of characters, but he's he's definitely a good one. 1865 01:41:23.840 --> 01:41:26.680 Yeah, I got frustrated with him during a fight a 1866

01:41:26.680 --> 01:41:29.319 little later on, but I did like using him quite 1867 01:41:29.319 --> 01:41:33.119 a bit. He's great. I like his role here this world. 1868 01:41:33.279 --> 01:41:34.520 I mean, this is where I started to get a 1869 01:41:34.520 --> 01:41:37.399 little turned around, So feel free to correct me if 1870 01:41:37.439 --> 01:41:39.960 I misspeak. But this world is the one where Viper 1871 01:41:40.000 --> 01:41:42.640 has been missing for the past three years because of 1872 01:41:42.680 --> 01:41:46.279 what we saw, you know, happen with Links. Nobody knows 1873 01:41:46.319 --> 01:41:50.720 where he is. Termina has all been shut down. Basically, 1874 01:41:51.680 --> 01:41:54.199 guards are patrolling, the bars are done, the stores are 1875 01:41:54.199 --> 01:41:57.960 shut down. Nobody's in the streets. It's on lockdown. And 1876 01:41:58.039 --> 01:42:00.279 so we're like, okay, you know, Radius says me, there 1877 01:42:00.279 --> 01:42:03.600 will be clues at the Manor viper manner, and there are. 1878 01:42:03.880 --> 01:42:06.520 We run into Norris there. Norris is one of the 1879 01:42:06.560 --> 01:42:10.560 generals from Pore. Right, that's correct. We tell Norris what's 1880 01:42:10.600 --> 01:42:13.800 going on. He believes us, and this is where we 1881 01:42:13.880 --> 01:42:16.520 learn it was Links that approached them, that is to 1882 01:42:16.560 --> 01:42:19.680 say Pore about the frozen flame being in al Nido. 1883 01:42:20.159 --> 01:42:23.399 Lynks kicked this off. They had doubted it, so they 1884 01:42:23.439 --> 01:42:26.600 sent Norris in as a spy. You might have noticed him, 1885 01:42:27.079 --> 01:42:28.960 this is right, right, Chris. You might have noticed him 1886 01:42:29.039 --> 01:42:31.159 when you first infiltrated the Manor. He was one of 1887 01:42:31.199 --> 01:42:33.239 the dishwashers for Orcha. 1888 01:42:34.039 --> 01:42:36.720 That's right. I forgot about that. He was in the 1889 01:42:36.760 --> 01:42:39.560 middle of a spy mission, so to speak. 1890 01:42:39.960 --> 01:42:42.479 Wasn't he Yeah, yeah, if you talk to him, it's optional. 1891 01:42:42.520 --> 01:42:43.000 I think he was. 1892 01:42:43.119 --> 01:42:44.880 Yeah, if you talk to him, he says he can't 1893 01:42:44.920 --> 01:42:47.479 do find time to do his research. He's playing the 1894 01:42:47.560 --> 01:42:51.720 role of an incompetent chef's assistant. But he was called 1895 01:42:51.720 --> 01:42:54.680 back to Pore, and that's when he heard that Viper 1896 01:42:54.720 --> 01:42:57.439 and his men had disappeared. The manner had been destroyed, 1897 01:42:58.000 --> 01:42:59.439 and this is where he heard that they might have 1898 01:42:59.479 --> 01:43:02.159 gone to the day. They couldn't find an entrance though, 1899 01:43:02.600 --> 01:43:06.880 the entrance to the Dead Sea not readily available. So 1900 01:43:06.920 --> 01:43:10.520 we've got some more mysteries here. And I've got a 1901 01:43:10.560 --> 01:43:15.680 question for you. I don't remember who suggests going to Marbule. 1902 01:43:15.960 --> 01:43:17.760 We're gonna go to Marbule to talk to the Demi 1903 01:43:17.800 --> 01:43:20.039 humans there. I don't remember why, though. 1904 01:43:20.840 --> 01:43:23.520 Hmmm, I don't think I know either. 1905 01:43:24.239 --> 01:43:24.560 Good. 1906 01:43:25.119 --> 01:43:27.199 I do know that we go there, but I don't 1907 01:43:27.239 --> 01:43:29.960 exactly know why. Actually, I think Marbule at this point 1908 01:43:29.960 --> 01:43:32.279 in time could be optional. But don't quote me on that. 1909 01:43:32.680 --> 01:43:33.279 You're kidding. 1910 01:43:33.479 --> 01:43:36.760 Really, it gets a little fuzzy right here is Marbule 1911 01:43:36.800 --> 01:43:37.960 where the nicky stuff happens? 1912 01:43:38.720 --> 01:43:42.159 I don't know, yes, But that's that's like a little 1913 01:43:42.199 --> 01:43:45.199 later on. That whole saving Marbule is like split into 1914 01:43:45.279 --> 01:43:47.319 two different parts that are pretty far apart. 1915 01:43:48.000 --> 01:43:51.000 That's right, okay, and I'm tabbing through a playthrough right 1916 01:43:51.000 --> 01:43:53.119 now just to kind of get my bearings. 1917 01:43:53.000 --> 01:43:56.159 And I'll admit to like right here, like I said, 1918 01:43:56.199 --> 01:43:57.479 I was using a guide for a lot of this, 1919 01:43:57.560 --> 01:43:59.960 and I still am. I'm trying to make make it 1920 01:44:00.119 --> 01:44:02.840 so that i'm you know, mostly not looking, but a 1921 01:44:02.840 --> 01:44:05.239 lot of this ending part, I'm trying to imagine playing 1922 01:44:05.239 --> 01:44:07.720 it without one, and I know that it would be tougher, 1923 01:44:08.359 --> 01:44:11.760 and so throughout a lot of this, especially stuff that's 1924 01:44:11.800 --> 01:44:14.079 coming up in a little bit here, I'm very interested 1925 01:44:14.079 --> 01:44:16.680 to hear what it was like playing without a guide, 1926 01:44:16.760 --> 01:44:20.680 especially like before the Internet was like everywhere and in 1927 01:44:20.680 --> 01:44:24.880 our pockets, So that'll be cool. At any rate, we 1928 01:44:25.119 --> 01:44:28.640 are going to stop at the ss Zelves because there's 1929 01:44:28.920 --> 01:44:31.119 talk of a sage that might live there who knows 1930 01:44:31.159 --> 01:44:33.479 how to enter the dead seat. This can be done 1931 01:44:33.479 --> 01:44:37.239 through something called Death's door, which you know where angels 1932 01:44:37.279 --> 01:44:40.319 lose their way. Who's to say? This is where you 1933 01:44:40.359 --> 01:44:42.920 were talking earlier, Chris about the Demi humans being like 1934 01:44:43.079 --> 01:44:47.319 a slave slave labor. This is where it comes in 1935 01:44:48.399 --> 01:44:49.560 full display. 1936 01:44:50.479 --> 01:44:53.000 Oh yeah, some bells are ringing now, this is where 1937 01:44:53.000 --> 01:44:56.520 they are all

working on the ship, right mm hmm. 1938 01:44:56.960 --> 01:44:59.359 Yeah, this is Zelvis. And you talk to some folks 1939 01:44:59.359 --> 01:45:02.840 and they all they do the refrains that we hear 1940 01:45:02.960 --> 01:45:06.039 even today. They say things like, hey, they want to work. 1941 01:45:06.079 --> 01:45:09.439 At least they get the food and the wages. I 1942 01:45:09.479 --> 01:45:10.920 hate it. I hate it. 1943 01:45:11.319 --> 01:45:14.079 Not great, not great at all, No, sir. 1944 01:45:14.920 --> 01:45:16.800 You can also, by the way, pick up a mermaid 1945 01:45:16.840 --> 01:45:19.439 before going here in Marlbule, which you'll want to do, 1946 01:45:19.600 --> 01:45:21.960 or at least I do. I use her quite a bit. 1947 01:45:22.039 --> 01:45:26.199 She eventually does join your party. I also picked up 1948 01:45:26.479 --> 01:45:28.439 this is so bizarre. You can pick up an alien 1949 01:45:28.600 --> 01:45:30.600 as a party member, like a little spaceman in a 1950 01:45:30.640 --> 01:45:36.319 space astronaut outfit. Starky uh huh. And Starky is a 1951 01:45:36.359 --> 01:45:42.239 little weirdo who his accent is just doubling a vowel 1952 01:45:42.399 --> 01:45:46.520 in almost every word, so it sounds like he talks 1953 01:45:46.840 --> 01:45:50.119 like this. He's a little weirdo. And I had him 1954 01:45:50.119 --> 01:45:52.479 in my party for several like story beats, and it 1955 01:45:52.560 --> 01:45:56.680 made things very jarring to hear him comment on them. 1956 01:45:57.560 --> 01:45:59.760 I'll point this out now and I'll bring it back up. 1957 01:46:00.119 --> 01:46:03.279 We get there. But there is a this is this 1958 01:46:03.359 --> 01:46:04.760 is add This is one of the things I really 1959 01:46:04.760 --> 01:46:07.119 love about this game, but also it strikes me as odd. 1960 01:46:07.159 --> 01:46:12.640 But there is a very special scene between Harley and Starkey. 1961 01:46:12.760 --> 01:46:15.399 Oh yes, it is actually very that is very sweet. 1962 01:46:15.399 --> 01:46:17.479 That that that you can get later in the game. 1963 01:46:17.520 --> 01:46:19.479 I think you have to have one or both of 1964 01:46:19.520 --> 01:46:21.560 them in your party at the time. That's that something 1965 01:46:21.600 --> 01:46:23.119 happens and it's it's really sweet. 1966 01:46:23.439 --> 01:46:26.079 I did I did get that one. I it was. 1967 01:46:26.159 --> 01:46:28.520 It was cute. It was cute, and it made me 1968 01:46:28.600 --> 01:46:30.680 more even more confused about what's going on with Harley. 1969 01:46:31.279 --> 01:46:34.439 Yeah. Absolutely, did we get fun Guy yet, because we 1970 01:46:34.479 --> 01:46:35.600 have to talk about fun Guy. 1971 01:46:36.119 --> 01:46:37.239 I never got fun Guy. 1972 01:46:37.800 --> 01:46:40.039 Oh you never got fun Guy. Have you seen fun Guy? 1973 01:46:40.680 --> 01:46:41.680 I have seen fun Guy? 1974 01:46:42.319 --> 01:46:45.880 Okay, fun Guy is is is what I think you 1975 01:46:45.920 --> 01:46:47.319 can get him at this point in time. He's in 1976 01:46:47.399 --> 01:46:50.159 the in the I don't remember what it's called. It's 1977 01:46:50.199 --> 01:46:52.479 the same force that you sneak through with Nikki. But 1978 01:46:52.520 --> 01:46:55.399 in the in the home world, he's there somewhere and 1979 01:46:55.399 --> 01:46:57.399 there's a little some some sort of side quest you 1980 01:46:57.399 --> 01:47:00.960 have to do to get him to get some mushroom 1981 01:47:01.000 --> 01:47:02.840 spores for some guy. Then he ends up turning into 1982 01:47:02.880 --> 01:47:06.199 fun Guy. But everybody's seen fun Guy, who's familiar with 1983 01:47:06.199 --> 01:47:08.079 this game, But the one thing I want to point 1984 01:47:08.079 --> 01:47:10.399 out is that if you take fun guy to his 1985 01:47:11.960 --> 01:47:16.520 counterpart in another world, the guy has an existential crisis 1986 01:47:16.520 --> 01:47:18.520 and it's hilarious. That's all I want to say. 1987 01:47:18.760 --> 01:47:21.880 Oh my god, relatable. Oh geez, I wish I would 1988 01:47:21.880 --> 01:47:22.479 have done that now. 1989 01:47:23.039 --> 01:47:24.079 It's probably not too late. 1990 01:47:24.920 --> 01:47:26.840 I'm kind of picking and choosing what I choose to 1991 01:47:26.840 --> 01:47:29.640 follow in the Guy to not. I probably skipped funk. 1992 01:47:29.640 --> 01:47:31.600 I'll look and see maybe I can go back and 1993 01:47:31.600 --> 01:47:34.960 get him zelbas So. There are a few things that 1994 01:47:35.000 --> 01:47:38.279 you might notice. One it's a dead copy of the 1995 01:47:38.319 --> 01:47:40.479 ghost chip that we were just down on too long ago. 1996 01:47:40.960 --> 01:47:43.800 It's also Nicky's ship, which you might miss. It's pretty subtle. 1997 01:47:44.560 --> 01:47:46.760 There are giant posters of him everywhere. I'm pretty sure 1998 01:47:46.760 --> 01:47:49.279 he's painted onto the boat. You might miss it. It's 1999 01:47:49.279 --> 01:47:53.079 also got dope music. Oh my goodness, I absolutely love 2000 01:47:53.159 --> 01:47:57.119 this track. It's like a little folksy campfire jam. I 2001 01:47:57.119 --> 01:47:59.960 know I'm saying this about like every location we go 2002 01:48:00.079 --> 01:48:02.279 to love the music, but I mean, come on, man, 2003 01:48:02.399 --> 01:48:05.079 it's like a little campfire jam. And I can, okay, 2004 01:48:05.119 --> 01:48:07.800 I can diegetically tie this into the game. Too. It's 2005 01:48:07.840 --> 01:48:11.880 this little campfire jam, you know, mandolin, a little percussion hand, 2006 01:48:11.880 --> 01:48:14.960 percussion recorder or flute or something like that. And it's 2007 01:48:14.960 --> 01:48:18.840 a jig. It's clearly music people dance to. And at 2008 01:48:18.880 --> 01:48:21.159 the end of it there's a refrain, you know, it's 2009 01:48:21.199 --> 01:48:23.840 the kind of refrain. It's very slow. It's actually the 2010 01:48:23.880 -->

01:48:27.840 same exact notes and intervals as the refrain and popular 2011 01:48:27.880 --> 01:48:30.159 from Wicked, which drove me nuts for a little bit. 2012 01:48:31.079 --> 01:48:33.079 But it's clearly something you sing, you know, a course 2013 01:48:33.119 --> 01:48:35.000 of people sing it. It's a celebration. But in the 2014 01:48:35.039 --> 01:48:37.880 middle there is this little section you call it a 2015 01:48:37.880 --> 01:48:43.479 pre course maybe that does a lot of chromaticism, chromatic 2016 01:48:43.560 --> 01:48:45.359 neighbor tones what we call them. You go up and 2017 01:48:45.399 --> 01:48:48.520 then back down to the starting note, with a chromatic 2018 01:48:49.079 --> 01:48:51.960 tone in between up, a half step back down, down, 2019 01:48:52.039 --> 01:48:55.520 half step back up, et cetera. And the result of 2020 01:48:55.560 --> 01:48:58.800 doing this throughout this middle section is it creates an 2021 01:48:58.840 --> 01:49:04.000 atmosphere in a food in between the celebratory revelry of 2022 01:49:04.119 --> 01:49:08.159 the jig with and it turns it into this, like 2023 01:49:09.000 --> 01:49:11.239 I said, puckish the first time I heard it, But 2024 01:49:11.680 --> 01:49:15.319 knowing now what's going on in the ship, it's almost 2025 01:49:15.560 --> 01:49:20.119 there's something nefarious between all of the revelry and the 2026 01:49:20.279 --> 01:49:23.920 Shenanigans that are on a cruise ship. Something darker is 2027 01:49:23.960 --> 01:49:26.439 going on below the surface, and the fact that that 2028 01:49:26.680 --> 01:49:29.680 is planted in the track. I'm gonna say it again, 2029 01:49:30.079 --> 01:49:31.560 brilliant well said. 2030 01:49:31.800 --> 01:49:33.079 It's very interesting. 2031 01:49:33.720 --> 01:49:35.279 I think it's worth saying too, And I want to 2032 01:49:35.279 --> 01:49:38.359 be clear about it that I don't think Mitsuda intended this. 2033 01:49:38.359 --> 01:49:42.239 This gets into a conversation about analysis and the role 2034 01:49:42.680 --> 01:49:46.960 of analysis and interpretation within art, which is simply not 2035 01:49:47.560 --> 01:49:50.439 the This is not the episode for that, This is 2036 01:49:50.520 --> 01:49:52.960 not that vehicle. But I did want to give you 2037 01:49:52.960 --> 01:49:55.239 a little example of what I mean whenever I say 2038 01:49:55.399 --> 01:49:59.920 that refrain, that singable refrain, that rejoicing of the community 2039 01:50:00.479 --> 01:50:06.520 is surrounding this sinister, uncertain middle. Let's take a quick 2040 01:50:06.520 --> 01:50:08.279 listen to that. I'm gonna play a little bit before 2041 01:50:08.319 --> 01:50:10.479 the middle. Then you'll hear that middle part, and then 2042 01:50:10.800 --> 01:50:13.520 out of the middle part comes that refrain, that rejoicing 2043 01:50:13.560 --> 01:50:51.239 before getting back into the jig, let's hear it. Perhaps 2044 01:50:51.399 --> 01:50:54.840 this reading is a little bit too analytical or academic 2045 01:50:54.880 --> 01:50:56.840 for this sort of thing. Again, I don't think that 2046 01:50:56.920 --> 01:50:59.399 they intended this, but I think it is an interesting 2047 01:50:59.439 --> 01:51:03.680 parallel to draw. You have this alternative world, this alternate world, 2048 01:51:03.720 --> 01:51:06.920 parallel world, however you'd like to label it, where demi 2049 01:51:07.000 --> 01:51:09.840 humans are treated as second class citizens, and indeed here 2050 01:51:10.079 --> 01:51:15.399 they're being held there to benefit financially, to benefit ideologically, 2051 01:51:15.479 --> 01:51:19.640 to benefit the emotional strain and psychic damage that this 2052 01:51:19.720 --> 01:51:22.800 man Fargo, as cool as he looks with his stogies, 2053 01:51:22.960 --> 01:51:26.640 has undergone. But to hear that within the music, the 2054 01:51:26.640 --> 01:51:34.079 themed zelvest, to hear that uncertain middle, that pernicious bubbling underneath. 2055 01:51:34.319 --> 01:51:37.960 It's set on all sides by rejoice and happy community 2056 01:51:38.520 --> 01:51:43.680 and a feeling of celebratory revelry. It keeps it hidden. 2057 01:51:44.399 --> 01:51:47.239 But if you're listening, if you're paying attention, in other words, 2058 01:51:47.439 --> 01:51:50.279 if you're paying attention, you hear that something isn't quite right, 2059 01:51:50.840 --> 01:51:53.640 All is not well in ours anyway, I thought that 2060 01:51:53.680 --> 01:51:55.279 was pretty cool when I wanted to shout it out. 2061 01:51:55.399 --> 01:51:59.800 Let's get back to it. I appreciate that what it 2062 01:51:59.840 --> 01:52:02.520 is you say before, that's that's an interesting read. I'm 2063 01:52:02.520 --> 01:52:03.600 not going to get that this time. 2064 01:52:04.079 --> 01:52:06.000 No, I just you're not gonna get into an interesting 2065 01:52:06.000 --> 01:52:07.880 read because I don't know as much about music as 2066 01:52:07.920 --> 01:52:10.680 you do, so. I do enjoy listening to people talk 2067 01:52:10.720 --> 01:52:13.640 about music at a like a very scientific level because 2068 01:52:13.680 --> 01:52:17.000 I don't understand it. I don't understand the terminology in 2069 01:52:17.039 --> 01:52:21.399 a really meaningful way. But still I get something from it. 2070 01:52:21.600 --> 01:52:22.840 I don't know, I don't know what. I don't know 2071 01:52:22.840 --> 01:52:24.199 what it is I get from it, but I get 2072 01:52:24.239 --> 01:52:24.840 something from it. 2073 01:52:25.199 --> 01:52:26.159 I appreciate it. Man. 2074 01:52:26.520 --> 01:52:28.520 I like what you said too about how there's the 2075 01:52:28.600 --> 01:52:32.039 sort of harrowing undertones there, because that's what's going on. 2076 01:52:32.000 --> 01:52:34.840 Here, right, Yeah, that's you would allude to it earlier. 2077 01:52:34.920 --> 01:52:37.680 There are the demi humans are being kept here. We're 2078 01:52:37.680 -->

01:52:42.159 gonna hear all about Fargo. He's essentially he's this world's Fargo, 2079 01:52:42.239 --> 01:52:46.000 is keeping the demi humans here because of debt, Like 2080 01:52:46.000 --> 01:52:49.279 they're in debt to him monetarily, so he keeps them 2081 01:52:49.319 --> 01:52:52.159 here as functionally as slaves, you know, to work on 2082 01:52:52.199 --> 01:52:54.399 his ship, to keep it going, to keep the revelry 2083 01:52:54.479 --> 01:52:57.560 going with all the ship goers, and he keeps them there. 2084 01:52:57.600 --> 01:52:59.680 That's the nefarious side of all of this that you 2085 01:52:59.720 --> 01:53:02.199 don't see if you're just looking at the surface, you know, 2086 01:53:02.279 --> 01:53:05.359 and seeing it as just a cruise ship. The Fargo 2087 01:53:05.520 --> 01:53:10.399 thing is really pretty cool. I notated here when I 2088 01:53:10.439 --> 01:53:12.000 first went through as a side story, and then I 2089 01:53:12.039 --> 01:53:15.640 went back and put scare quotes around that because it 2090 01:53:15.680 --> 01:53:19.680 actually is. I think it's very It's a touching and 2091 01:53:19.960 --> 01:53:24.079 kind of sad story. It doesn't really excuse the slave labor, 2092 01:53:24.199 --> 01:53:27.920 but it is still pretty touching. Uh, did you want 2093 01:53:27.920 --> 01:53:29.119 to talk about this? I don't know if you have 2094 01:53:29.159 --> 01:53:30.199 strong feelings about it. 2095 01:53:30.760 --> 01:53:33.800 Well, I did want to point out that Fargo is 2096 01:53:33.840 --> 01:53:35.800 one of the one of the few characters there's there's 2097 01:53:36.039 --> 01:53:39.079 a handful, but if you think about, like General Viper 2098 01:53:39.239 --> 01:53:41.680 is missing in this world, and we interacted with him 2099 01:53:41.680 --> 01:53:43.119 in the other world, but Fargo is one of the 2100 01:53:43.119 --> 01:53:45.520 few characters where we are going to interact or we 2101 01:53:45.600 --> 01:53:49.399 have interacted with both versions of Fargo, and I think 2102 01:53:49.439 --> 01:53:54.159 it there's even though these are parallel universes, they're worlds 2103 01:53:54.199 --> 01:53:57.760 like they have the same kind of of regrets and 2104 01:53:58.359 --> 01:54:01.279 they have a very similar story. It's just you know, 2105 01:54:01.479 --> 01:54:04.039 one turn changed everything, and so he's one of the 2106 01:54:04.079 --> 01:54:06.439 few characters where we get to see both versions of him, 2107 01:54:06.439 --> 01:54:07.319 and I think that's neat. 2108 01:54:07.920 --> 01:54:10.840 Yeah, that's true. I don't remember if this came up 2109 01:54:10.840 --> 01:54:13.000 in the game yet, but I think it did in 2110 01:54:13.079 --> 01:54:17.079 the dialogue where somebody opines that, you know, when you 2111 01:54:17.159 --> 01:54:21.000 make one choice, you're kind of in a way killing 2112 01:54:21.239 --> 01:54:23.640 the worlds in which any other choice could have been made. 2113 01:54:23.800 --> 01:54:25.239 I know that comes up later, but I think it 2114 01:54:25.279 --> 01:54:28.319 came up, and that's you can kind of they kind 2115 01:54:28.319 --> 01:54:33.439 of explicitly say that when our fargo, one fargo meets 2116 01:54:33.520 --> 01:54:36.279 the other, you know, the fargo that we know that's 2117 01:54:36.319 --> 01:54:40.920 the stogy smoking cool pirate meets this guy who is 2118 01:54:41.399 --> 01:54:44.800 a little he's kind of lost his humanity, and the 2119 01:54:44.920 --> 01:54:48.359 stogy smoking fargo basically tries to whip him into shape. 2120 01:54:48.439 --> 01:54:50.119 You can kind of see that there. You know, one 2121 01:54:50.319 --> 01:54:53.720 decision is what set him onto a total spiral. 2122 01:54:54.359 --> 01:54:56.319 One of the fargos is a motherfucker and the other 2123 01:54:56.359 --> 01:54:58.359 one's just a fucker. I think. 2124 01:54:59.720 --> 01:55:02.680 I I can't even build on that. That's perfect. 2125 01:55:04.199 --> 01:55:08.399 Rick, the way I got into smoking Stogus. It's very 2126 01:55:08.439 --> 01:55:10.319 simple because. 2127 01:55:10.079 --> 01:55:12.039 One of the fargos is a motherfucker and the other 2128 01:55:12.039 --> 01:55:12.520 one's just. 2129 01:55:12.479 --> 01:55:13.920 A stud ballsy. 2130 01:55:16.520 --> 01:55:18.119 I don't know if you're on the same wavelength that 2131 01:55:18.439 --> 01:55:21.640 wavelengths is me here, but I know somebody out there is. 2132 01:55:22.079 --> 01:55:24.760 Oh buddy, I'm with you. I'm here. We're locked in, man, 2133 01:55:24.920 --> 01:55:26.039 we're trucking all right? 2134 01:55:26.079 --> 01:55:26.359 Good? 2135 01:55:26.800 --> 01:55:33.159 Yes, this Fargo married a mermaid woman named Zelbas as 2136 01:55:33.159 --> 01:55:36.000 you did if she ended up dying. Her sister is 2137 01:55:36.039 --> 01:55:39.239 the mermaid that we could have picked up. It's certainly 2138 01:55:39.279 --> 01:55:42.800 not Irenes, it's ERNs. I'm sure that's her sister, and 2139 01:55:42.960 --> 01:55:48.199 that's his sister in law. Essentially, what happened is Fargo 2140 01:55:48.439 --> 01:55:51.520 took away the song of the Demi humans from Marbule, 2141 01:55:52.039 --> 01:55:54.640 which man, you might have to fill in some of 2142 01:55:54.640 --> 01:55:57.239 these gaps for me, which kind of gave them their 2143 01:55:57.319 --> 01:56:02.319 security and their power, and Fargo somehow took it away, 2144 01:56:02.720 --> 01:56:05.399 and he's not teaching it or giving it back to 2145 01:56:06.279 --> 01:56:11.800 you know, Arenas, who is asking for it, because without it, 2146 01:56:12.199 --> 01:56:16.920 the island of Marbule is essentially desolate to the point 2147 01:56:16.920 --> 01:56:18.960 where nobody can get in or out. It's it's kind 2148 01:56:18.960 --> 01:56:24.199 of decrepit, which Fargo wants. He says something to the 2149 01:56:24.239 --> 01:56:27.479 effect of he doesn't want outsiders in there

anyway, which 2150 01:56:27.560 --> 01:56:32.279 isn't as like nefarious or xenophobic aus you might think, 2151 01:56:32.319 --> 01:56:35.000 because Arenas says something to the effect of the marble 2152 01:56:35.279 --> 01:56:38.600 Marbule you knew is gone, which tells me that he 2153 01:56:38.640 --> 01:56:39.960 might have loved it at one point in time, but 2154 01:56:39.960 --> 01:56:42.600 at any rate, he won't give the song back. The 2155 01:56:42.640 --> 01:56:44.439 song can only be sung by people that have the 2156 01:56:44.479 --> 01:56:47.920 innate gift to do so. Also, Nicki and Marci are 2157 01:56:48.399 --> 01:56:49.520 Fargo's kids. 2158 01:56:50.079 --> 01:56:52.600 Yeah, I forgot about that. I meant to point that 2159 01:56:52.680 --> 01:56:56.439 out earlier, because if you when you first encounter Marcy 2160 01:56:56.640 --> 01:56:58.479 in viper manner, and if you, I think, if you 2161 01:56:58.520 --> 01:57:02.520 have Niki, then there there is some throwaway line of 2162 01:57:02.560 --> 01:57:05.039 dialogue about how their their their siblings. 2163 01:57:05.680 --> 01:57:07.079 Yeah, exactly two lines. 2164 01:57:07.359 --> 01:57:11.119 Yeah, I had completely forgotten that they were Vargo's children. 2165 01:57:11.239 --> 01:57:14.359 Holy shit. Again, this game's got a lot of good 2166 01:57:15.039 --> 01:57:18.760 communities or like subsets of characters that are all where 2167 01:57:18.760 --> 01:57:22.079 their fates are intertwined. And I don't think it does 2168 01:57:22.199 --> 01:57:25.239 enough with it. And that's disappointing because all the characters 2169 01:57:25.239 --> 01:57:26.199 themselves are really good. 2170 01:57:26.760 --> 01:57:28.960 I agree, it would be nice to see more. At 2171 01:57:28.960 --> 01:57:31.640 the same time, I mean, the game's already plenty long, 2172 01:57:31.880 --> 01:57:34.279 and that's not to say it couldn't be edited, or 2173 01:57:34.520 --> 01:57:37.279 even that it would not benefit from being longer, I guess, 2174 01:57:37.560 --> 01:57:40.840 But I mean wrong time right? Two thousand and what 2175 01:57:40.880 --> 01:57:43.279 two thousand and one, two thousand and two two thousand 2176 01:57:43.319 --> 01:57:45.079 itself two thousand. 2177 01:57:45.279 --> 01:57:47.000 I don't know why I said two thousand itself, but 2178 01:57:47.039 --> 01:57:49.119 I'm gonna start using that more often. 2179 01:57:50.359 --> 01:58:13.439 The year y two k that's why. 2180 01:58:16.079 --> 01:58:20.039 But that's this whole backstory here. It's more touching than 2181 01:58:20.079 --> 01:58:22.079 it sounds like. I don't mean to be reductive about it. 2182 01:58:22.159 --> 01:58:24.840 I mean, we can't sit on every single lore beat, 2183 01:58:24.840 --> 01:58:30.199 but it is sweet, especially the way nick this universe 2184 01:58:30.279 --> 01:58:32.399 is Nicki handles it. Nicki is the one that can 2185 01:58:32.479 --> 01:58:35.560 learn this song and can sing the and can sing 2186 01:58:35.600 --> 01:58:38.279 it and save the marlbule Demi humans. And that is 2187 01:58:38.319 --> 01:58:41.119 a side quest that you start here and finish later. 2188 01:58:41.359 --> 01:58:44.039 And it takes a long time. And he does not 2189 01:58:44.079 --> 01:58:46.439 put on a rock concert despite looking like David Bowie 2190 01:58:46.479 --> 01:58:50.880 and Axel Rose. He puts on a freaking opera and 2191 01:58:51.479 --> 01:58:53.960 it's very strange, but it's very long. But anyway, Nicki 2192 01:58:54.039 --> 01:58:56.119 is the one that can do it. And the way 2193 01:58:56.119 --> 01:58:58.119 he speaks about his father is very sweet, like he 2194 01:58:58.159 --> 01:59:00.439 sees the sadness within him, the fact that he has 2195 01:59:00.800 --> 01:59:03.560 essentially lost his humanity and become a shell of himself 2196 01:59:03.600 --> 01:59:06.880 because he lost his once true love and zelbst to 2197 01:59:06.960 --> 01:59:08.680 the point where he named the whole ship after her, 2198 01:59:08.800 --> 01:59:13.319 a literal manifestation of his grief that he is forcing 2199 01:59:14.199 --> 01:59:18.319 again through slave labor, to be a constant, revel rous 2200 01:59:18.359 --> 01:59:21.680 party cruise. You know it is. He is a tragic character, 2201 01:59:21.840 --> 01:59:24.359 even if he, as you said, has become a bit 2202 01:59:24.359 --> 01:59:24.960 of a fucker. 2203 01:59:25.520 --> 01:59:27.520 Absolutely, yeah, I love it. 2204 01:59:28.079 --> 01:59:30.920 This age is here. He's doing that archetype of the 2205 01:59:31.640 --> 01:59:34.800 what do you call it, unseemly well janitor. He's a 2206 01:59:34.880 --> 01:59:37.720 janitor and you corner him eventually he does not want 2207 01:59:37.720 --> 01:59:39.399 to tell you about the dead Sea because he doesn't 2208 01:59:39.399 --> 01:59:41.840 trust humans. Yeah, I mean he says, look around you, like, 2209 01:59:42.039 --> 01:59:44.640 is there nothing you won't do for profit? Humans? That is, 2210 01:59:45.039 --> 01:59:46.920 you know, the demi humans are living proof. You know, 2211 01:59:46.920 --> 01:59:49.520 we lost all sense of pride, no dreams of tomorrow. 2212 01:59:49.880 --> 01:59:52.800 We cling to your mercy. And he's right. I mean, 2213 01:59:53.239 --> 01:59:55.560 he's saying this, and I'm agreeing with him. But our 2214 01:59:55.600 --> 01:59:58.000 party decides to beat the shit out of him for information, 2215 01:59:58.680 --> 02:00:01.840 which brings him to a revelation that quote, could it 2216 02:00:01.880 --> 02:00:04.399 be you carrying the burden of faith for the human race, no, 2217 02:00:04.800 --> 02:00:07.880 for all life forms? Which again I mean maybe a 2218 02:00:07.880 --> 02:00:11.039 bit hand wavy, but that's a lot. Yeah, I don't 2219 02:00:11.079 --> 02:00:15.560 necessarily mind it, but it's funny. He's like bringing very 2220 02:00:15.800 --> 02:00:18.920 very considered critiques against humans, so we beat

him up. 2221 02:00:19.119 --> 02:00:23.279 It's pretty good. M He gives us the key though, 2222 02:00:23.439 --> 02:00:25.920 to get us into the dead Sea. If you remember, 2223 02:00:26.279 --> 02:00:29.279 they couldn't the poor a folks couldn't find an entrance. 2224 02:00:29.560 --> 02:00:33.960 He gives us the fiddler crab. Is this is this 2225 02:00:34.000 --> 02:00:34.760 a real crab? 2226 02:00:35.319 --> 02:00:37.560 That's a really good question. I have no memory of 2227 02:00:37.560 --> 02:00:42.159 the fiddler crab. I'm not sure, but you know, back 2228 02:00:42.159 --> 02:00:45.119 in my day we just had keys. But so why 2229 02:00:45.159 --> 02:00:46.640 not just make it a fiddler crab? That it makes 2230 02:00:46.640 --> 02:00:49.399 it the game? The game's weird anyway, right, Yeah, I 2231 02:00:49.399 --> 02:00:52.479 don't think there's any lore surrounding the Fiddler crab itself. 2232 02:00:53.079 --> 02:00:55.399 Oh well, geez, zero out of ten. I can't play this, 2233 02:00:56.039 --> 02:01:03.000 I know, throw in the trash. Yeah, fuck it, show over. So, yes, 2234 02:01:03.079 --> 02:01:05.760 you do wrap this up. You got your key. You 2235 02:01:05.760 --> 02:01:08.479 can start the quest here to get I Renes well, 2236 02:01:08.479 --> 02:01:10.760 I Renz joins you basically right now if you ask her, 2237 02:01:10.840 --> 02:01:15.039 But you can also get Mickey, one of Nicky's backup dancers. 2238 02:01:15.479 --> 02:01:18.399 You have to do a whole saving Marbule side quest, 2239 02:01:18.439 --> 02:01:21.720 which again does the whole rock opera that NICKI does. 2240 02:01:22.199 --> 02:01:26.439 It is long, it's fine. I don't want to ever 2241 02:01:26.479 --> 02:01:29.359 do it again, but it's fine. And I got Mickey, 2242 02:01:29.439 --> 02:01:30.039 so it's cool. 2243 02:01:30.279 --> 02:01:31.840 Cool. We can't get Sniff yet, can we? 2244 02:01:33.439 --> 02:01:36.479 No? I think you can wait? Yes, yeah, no you can. 2245 02:01:36.600 --> 02:01:38.640 I didn't write anything about Sneff, but you can totally 2246 02:01:38.640 --> 02:01:39.159 get Snuff. 2247 02:01:39.399 --> 02:01:41.880 Oh you didn't writenything about Sneff. It's blasphemous. 2248 02:01:42.000 --> 02:01:45.479 I know, best character in the game, Sniff. 2249 02:01:45.319 --> 02:01:48.159 Is all of us. His back hurts, he's tired, he's 2250 02:01:48.159 --> 02:01:48.960 got to go to work. 2251 02:01:49.279 --> 02:01:52.880 He's a magician, of course, just like me. I know, dude, 2252 02:01:52.880 --> 02:01:55.159 you're doing great. I saw the YouTube videos. You're really 2253 02:01:55.159 --> 02:01:55.760 getting better. 2254 02:01:56.159 --> 02:01:57.479 That channel supposed to be a secret. 2255 02:01:58.039 --> 02:02:00.680 There's this whole thing too. This is this whole thing 2256 02:02:00.720 --> 02:02:03.159 too where you find Salt and Pepori inside, who look 2257 02:02:03.199 --> 02:02:05.439 exactly the same, but they don't have those names yet,

2258 02:02:05.800 --> 02:02:09.079 which is how did that happen? That's something I want 2259 02:02:09.119 --> 02:02:09.680 to hear about. 2260 02:02:10.279 --> 02:02:13.079 Wow, I didn't I forgot about that? Oh yeah, oh yeah, 2261 02:02:13.119 --> 02:02:16.560 I think see, these worlds are really well interconnected. Despite 2262 02:02:16.600 --> 02:02:20.279 what some might might say, this is just a wonderful game. Sorry, 2263 02:02:20.520 --> 02:02:22.439 Oh I'm just singing more praises. 2264 02:02:22.840 --> 02:02:26.199 No, Doug, I agree with you, and you can explore 2265 02:02:26.239 --> 02:02:28.239 all of this. I mean we're not gonna talk through 2266 02:02:28.279 --> 02:02:31.520 There are other podcasts that talk through every NPC and 2267 02:02:31.640 --> 02:02:33.960 every side quest. All right, you can find them. 2268 02:02:34.199 --> 02:02:35.960 Yeah. I don't know what kind of cycle paths would 2269 02:02:36.000 --> 02:02:38.239 do that, but they're they're out there for sure. Yeah. 2270 02:02:38.319 --> 02:02:41.000 You know, if you're a Victor Ireland Siko, they're out there. 2271 02:02:41.000 --> 02:02:44.039 They await you. So when you go into the dead Sea, 2272 02:02:44.920 --> 02:02:49.159 you find this evil sword, the Massi Mune, which I 2273 02:02:49.279 --> 02:02:51.800 you called the Masi Mune. I used to call it 2274 02:02:51.800 --> 02:02:54.039 the masim Mune as a kid. I got a lot 2275 02:02:54.079 --> 02:02:55.479 of shit. I got a lot of shit for that, 2276 02:02:55.560 --> 02:02:57.720 for pronouncing it like that on the Crona Trigger episode. 2277 02:02:57.720 --> 02:03:00.159 Folks came at me and they're like, hey man, that's wrong. 2278 02:03:00.239 --> 02:03:02.760 Oh no, yeah, dude, I don't know what to tell you. 2279 02:03:02.760 --> 02:03:05.279 You say Titus, so we're both bozos. 2280 02:03:05.279 --> 02:03:07.600 Here happens. I'm a Titos guy. 2281 02:03:07.720 --> 02:03:11.479 Yeah, I mean Titus is fine, sounds fine. The Massamune 2282 02:03:11.520 --> 02:03:14.079 here though it is, it's used across all of the 2283 02:03:14.119 --> 02:03:17.720 j RPGs. It's actually technically two characters if you think 2284 02:03:17.720 --> 02:03:20.439 about it. In Crono trigger, but it is a cursed 2285 02:03:20.560 --> 02:03:23.119 sword here. We can't get past it, and Radius says 2286 02:03:23.159 --> 02:03:25.720 in er in order to you have to get the 2287 02:03:25.960 --> 02:03:29.720 Ininlandcer the dragon sword to break the seal. And it 2288 02:03:29.760 --> 02:03:31.960 turns out Radius knows exactly where it is because he 2289 02:03:32.000 --> 02:03:35.399 put it to rest beside its owner, Garai, the most 2290 02:03:35.479 --> 02:03:39.920 legendary swordsman from the Dragoons before Glenn's brother Dario took 2291 02:03:39.920 --> 02:03:43.800 that title. This was the original guy. And I gotta 2292 02:03:43.840 --> 02:03:47.039 say the backstory is kind of nice. You know, Radius 2293 02:03:47.199 --> 02:03:50.920 was kind of best friends with Garai. He had a 2294 02:03:50.960 --> 02:03:54.359 little bit of jealousy because Garai was, you know, basically 2295 02:03:54.439 --> 02:03:58.079 a prodigy what else. And when they found the Masamune, 2296 02:03:58.439 --> 02:04:02.479 it kind of corrupted jealousy and the evil thoughts within Radius. 2297 02:04:02.520 --> 02:04:06.800 He kills Geri and immediately regrets it. Whether whether that's 2298 02:04:07.079 --> 02:04:10.640 Radius's will or the sword intentionally taking that away to 2299 02:04:10.640 --> 02:04:13.600 make him realize what he's done, who knows, but it's 2300 02:04:13.640 --> 02:04:15.560 that kind of tragic backstory. Radius has been living with 2301 02:04:15.600 --> 02:04:18.960 this guilt. Perhaps that's why he became a hermit too. Well, 2302 02:04:19.399 --> 02:04:21.880 now that was kind of explained with Glenn's dad's death. 2303 02:04:22.079 --> 02:04:23.840 I don't know, it's very touching though. 2304 02:04:24.279 --> 02:04:26.760 It is too and I think another one of those 2305 02:04:26.760 --> 02:04:29.359 striking things that happens that that happened when you first 2306 02:04:29.359 --> 02:04:30.800 go in there and you see the Moss community and 2307 02:04:30.840 --> 02:04:34.439 it's it's revealed to be the what the cursed sword 2308 02:04:34.439 --> 02:04:37.880 of the evil sword. That's a little jarring for a 2309 02:04:38.439 --> 02:04:41.039 little coronel trigger boy like myself, because the mass Immunity 2310 02:04:41.119 --> 02:04:43.840 was supposed to be the sword flowing with strength and 2311 02:04:43.920 --> 02:04:48.680 vigor that Frog wields to defeat the evil Magus, et cetera, 2312 02:04:48.840 --> 02:04:52.199 things of that nature, and now it's an evil sword. 2313 02:04:52.239 --> 02:04:55.680 What the hell? That's insane, And that's a really great 2314 02:04:55.680 --> 02:04:58.359 subversion of the of the lore to kind of, you know, 2315 02:04:58.399 --> 02:05:00.199 get me to dig in a little more on uh, 2316 02:05:00.880 --> 02:05:01.479 on this game. 2317 02:05:02.039 --> 02:05:05.000 You know, it's interesting that you had that experience. I 2318 02:05:05.039 --> 02:05:07.760 saw it first in Final Fantasy seven where it was 2319 02:05:07.760 --> 02:05:10.640 sepf Roth's sword. So when I see it in Chronal Trigger, 2320 02:05:11.000 --> 02:05:13.000 I'm like, oh, it's a good sword now. 2321 02:05:13.359 --> 02:05:15.840 Oh interesting, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess the game is 2322 02:05:15.880 --> 02:05:18.840 being connected. It was. It's it's just such such a 2323 02:05:19.680 --> 02:05:22.039 I don't Frog was always my favorite character and in 2324 02:05:22.199 --> 02:05:24.359 Chronal Trigger and especially that scene where he cuts the 2325 02:05:24.359 --> 02:05:26.880 mountain and half always thought was really great and uh 2326 02:05:27.800 --> 02:05:30.800 and to see that come come full circle here was 2327 02:05:31.319 --> 02:05:34.640 a

little crazy, just to see it being considered the 2328 02:05:34.720 --> 02:05:37.119 evil sword and now we need one that's a sword 2329 02:05:37.159 --> 02:05:40.520 that is the opposing forces. It's kind of crazy. And 2330 02:05:40.520 --> 02:05:42.880 as I mentioned, they added that that epilogue to say 2331 02:05:42.880 --> 02:05:46.439 that the the moss immunity was stolen during the fall 2332 02:05:46.479 --> 02:05:49.960 of Guardia uh in in post Coronel trigger, which is 2333 02:05:50.079 --> 02:05:54.199 uh I guess was written to justify this somehow, I'm 2334 02:05:54.199 --> 02:05:55.199 not exactly sure. 2335 02:05:56.439 --> 02:06:00.359 When you do go to get the Inlandzer, you end 2336 02:06:00.439 --> 02:06:03.000 up fighting Garay, you put him to rest, you know, properly. 2337 02:06:04.199 --> 02:06:06.640 One thing, and it's I mean to be clear, it 2338 02:06:06.680 --> 02:06:09.479 is really badass. The way this is framed, like Gari 2339 02:06:09.560 --> 02:06:12.399 looks kind of villain coded. He's got this dragoon armor 2340 02:06:12.479 --> 02:06:14.920 that has dragon wings coming out of the shoulder pads. 2341 02:06:15.239 --> 02:06:20.560 He's dual wielding swords. He's a bigger dude. But the 2342 02:06:20.560 --> 02:06:22.600 way that he just comes out as a as a 2343 02:06:22.600 --> 02:06:26.680 as an apparition here to fight, comes out swords crossed, 2344 02:06:27.319 --> 02:06:29.720 then he throws them, you know, out to his sides. 2345 02:06:30.359 --> 02:06:33.159 It's really cool cool, but you do have to fight him. 2346 02:06:33.159 --> 02:06:35.039 I did have a question for you though. When you 2347 02:06:35.119 --> 02:06:37.920 first get there, you see his grave and you examine 2348 02:06:37.960 --> 02:06:40.399 it and it'll say the names of your party members 2349 02:06:40.439 --> 02:06:44.119 like rest in Peace, Surge or I guess links and 2350 02:06:44.159 --> 02:06:46.520 then whoever else you have with you? Is that just 2351 02:06:46.560 --> 02:06:47.239 to be creepy? 2352 02:06:47.880 --> 02:06:49.800 I think so. I never really thought about it beyond that, 2353 02:06:50.479 --> 02:06:51.399 because it goes back. 2354 02:06:51.239 --> 02:06:54.000 To rest in Peace like an epitaph to Gary after 2355 02:06:54.000 --> 02:06:56.560 the fight. So I don't know. 2356 02:06:57.199 --> 02:06:59.600 Yeah, I've never thought I've never thought about it beyond 2357 02:06:59.600 --> 02:07:02.800 that's interesting. I think it is just to be shocking, though, I. 2358 02:07:02.720 --> 02:07:05.079 Think so too. It goes right into the fight. Yeah, 2359 02:07:05.199 --> 02:07:07.560 you know, it's a kind of tough fight. Once you 2360 02:07:07.600 --> 02:07:10.560 beat him, you do get Islancer, you get the Eye Lanser. 2361 02:07:10.640 --> 02:07:13.279 You can break the seal of the Massamune. This is 2362 02:07:13.359 --> 02:07:18.560 where you go through and the Dead Sea that we're 2363 02:07:18.760 --> 02:07:23.880 extensively

in parts. It parts and it freezes. I you 2364 02:07:24.000 --> 02:07:27.239 might know better than I do. I've never seen this before. 2365 02:07:27.560 --> 02:07:30.439 When the Red Sea parts here, when the Dead Sea 2366 02:07:30.760 --> 02:07:34.279 parts here, it also freezes, and you can then walk 2367 02:07:34.319 --> 02:07:37.960 on the world map like on the sea. This is 2368 02:07:38.399 --> 02:07:41.319 really really, really cool. I've never seen it before. 2369 02:07:41.800 --> 02:07:45.199 Yeah, it's really neat it's really I don't want to 2370 02:07:45.239 --> 02:07:46.960 use the word jarring again, but it's a little jarring, 2371 02:07:47.199 --> 02:07:47.600 isn't it. 2372 02:07:48.039 --> 02:07:49.399 No, I totally agree. 2373 02:07:49.600 --> 02:07:51.319 You don't expect to be it. You don't expect to 2374 02:07:51.359 --> 02:07:51.800 be able to. 2375 02:07:51.720 --> 02:07:55.119 Do that, not at all. I mean, it's literally biblical. 2376 02:07:55.600 --> 02:07:58.840 And it's doubly shocking too, because as you walk around 2377 02:07:59.039 --> 02:08:01.920 the sea, you're gonna ge into some fights. But you're 2378 02:08:02.119 --> 02:08:07.199 noticing you're going through and around highways and there are 2379 02:08:07.600 --> 02:08:11.720 cars like it's debris, like they're not full like volkswagons, 2380 02:08:11.720 --> 02:08:15.520 but you see the fronts of cars like bumpers, car doors. 2381 02:08:15.840 --> 02:08:17.079 It's a literal highway. 2382 02:08:17.600 --> 02:08:20.560 What is this? Now we're getting into the real shit, 2383 02:08:20.760 --> 02:08:24.760 the real like time convergence time. I know time compression 2384 02:08:24.800 --> 02:08:26.840 is a term from Final Fantasy A, but it does 2385 02:08:26.880 --> 02:08:31.359 feel like there is various pieces of either the future 2386 02:08:31.800 --> 02:08:35.760 or multiple futures that have all turned into some strange 2387 02:08:35.760 --> 02:08:39.239 congloboration here. And it is something that that sort of 2388 02:08:39.920 --> 02:08:43.079 parkens to or references or winks at the idea of 2389 02:08:43.159 --> 02:08:46.159 time travel, but it's much more destructive than just regular 2390 02:08:46.199 --> 02:08:48.159 time travel. Something is frozen in time. 2391 02:08:48.800 --> 02:08:51.880 Yeah, and I imagine too that this is probably gonna 2392 02:08:51.920 --> 02:08:56.439 be the last thing we talk about today. I mean 2393 02:08:56.479 --> 02:08:58.800 not just for our sakes, but for the listener's sakes too. 2394 02:08:59.640 --> 02:09:02.000 But this is very, very, very cool. This is also 2395 02:09:02.039 --> 02:09:06.359 the part in the game where I am almost firmly 2396 02:09:06.359 --> 02:09:10.239 in the camp that you should play Chrono Trigger first. 2397 02:09:10.520 --> 02:09:12.239 I do not think any of this is going to 2398 02:09:12.319 --> 02:09:16.600 hit nearly as well if you don't at least go 2399 02:09:16.720 --> 02:09:32.520 through

it. At some point you've been through this way more, 2400 02:09:32.800 --> 02:09:34.920 you could probably give a more nuanced opinion. So let's 2401 02:09:34.960 --> 02:09:38.159 talk about it. You're going through. You find a computer 2402 02:09:38.279 --> 02:09:41.439 room also shouldn't exist, by the way, you see a 2403 02:09:41.479 --> 02:09:44.720 report about Lavos, which, oh, and I guess we should 2404 02:09:44.720 --> 02:09:46.600 say spoilers for Chrono Trigger are going to come all 2405 02:09:46.640 --> 02:09:49.039 the way through here. Just want to be considered of that. 2406 02:09:49.520 --> 02:09:52.479 But you're seeing reports of Lavos, like everything you know 2407 02:09:52.560 --> 02:09:56.680 about him too, about him attacking the earth, about him, 2408 02:09:57.399 --> 02:10:01.000 you know, being kind of a parasite underground. One of 2409 02:10:01.039 --> 02:10:04.039 your characters, in my case, Horror will know the verb download, 2410 02:10:04.079 --> 02:10:08.399 which I think is fun. 2411 02:10:07.800 --> 02:10:12.399 It's funny if I may. In our podcast, we you know, 2412 02:10:12.439 --> 02:10:15.479 we go off on tangents and look at everything in 2413 02:10:15.840 --> 02:10:19.560 absurd detail. You could say, but I do you did. 2414 02:10:19.600 --> 02:10:21.520 Just remind me that when we got this part, we 2415 02:10:22.039 --> 02:10:25.479 wondered which characters that we had acquired to that point 2416 02:10:25.840 --> 02:10:28.439 would know how to use a computer and I or 2417 02:10:28.560 --> 02:10:30.560 would be able to figure out how to use a computer. 2418 02:10:30.880 --> 02:10:33.920 And I think our answer was Norris and Norris alone. Well, 2419 02:10:33.920 --> 02:10:34.680 and maybe Starky. 2420 02:10:35.439 --> 02:10:36.560 Come on, Starky. 2421 02:10:37.119 --> 02:10:38.279 Starky can use a computer. 2422 02:10:38.800 --> 02:10:40.920 I don't know, man, you don't think. 2423 02:10:40.760 --> 02:10:42.760 Starky can use it. An't you seen a space helmet? 2424 02:10:42.840 --> 02:10:44.199 If you if you wear a space helmet and you 2425 02:10:44.199 --> 02:10:46.039 can use a computer, that's just just the law. 2426 02:10:46.560 --> 02:10:49.439 He does summon a vultron, that's his special move. You 2427 02:10:49.479 --> 02:10:50.039 might be right. 2428 02:10:50.520 --> 02:10:51.960 And what is vulturon? I'm not a computer? 2429 02:10:52.399 --> 02:10:55.800 God damn. Man, you solved it anyway. 2430 02:10:55.880 --> 02:10:56.720 Sorry, carry on. 2431 02:10:56.800 --> 02:10:58.880 You don't have to apologize, man, That's why we're here. 2432 02:10:59.479 --> 02:11:01.760 This is I don't know if this whole area is 2433 02:11:01.840 --> 02:11:04.880 called this, but the Tower of Geddon g d d 2434 02:11:05.520 --> 02:11:07.960 N is where we are. This is like some real 2435 02:11:08.039 --> 02:11:13.680 JRPG shit too. The dungeon is pretty JERPG. The music 2436 02:11:13.760 --> 02:11:18.439 is very JRPG, kind

of sounds like Umatsu throughout a 2437 02:11:18.439 --> 02:11:22.920 lot of this actually, but the shocking things happen here. 2438 02:11:23.680 --> 02:11:26.760 You start to see ghosts like apparitions of small children. 2439 02:11:27.560 --> 02:11:30.600 At first, only links can see them, but then the 2440 02:11:30.640 --> 02:11:32.960 rest of your party can. At first it's just one kid, 2441 02:11:33.800 --> 02:11:36.359 and at first I wasn't sure. And then in the 2442 02:11:36.399 --> 02:11:39.039 next screen, the next time you see him, he's a 2443 02:11:39.039 --> 02:11:43.039 little clearer. It's very clearly Chrono from Chrono Cross. Yeah, 2444 02:11:43.079 --> 02:11:46.359 from Chrono Trigger. You were you were? You played this 2445 02:11:46.399 --> 02:11:49.640 after Chrono Trigger. Do you remember your first reaction? 2446 02:11:50.359 --> 02:11:54.479 Yeah, I feel like it was. It was queasy. Made 2447 02:11:54.479 --> 02:11:57.880 me feel queasy when I started to see these characters here. 2448 02:11:58.199 --> 02:12:00.119 I think for a couple of reasons. First of all, well, 2449 02:12:00.159 --> 02:12:04.279 it's just that that real good punch of fan service 2450 02:12:04.439 --> 02:12:07.439 or like lore from a game held in high regard, 2451 02:12:07.600 --> 02:12:10.840 a classic. But also like, why is Crono a ghost? 2452 02:12:11.159 --> 02:12:14.960 I thought things ended well for Chrono and his friends. 2453 02:12:15.600 --> 02:12:18.560 It is a little herrowing. Yeah, and I'm not sure 2454 02:12:18.560 --> 02:12:21.319 that if the first time I played the game. I 2455 02:12:21.359 --> 02:12:23.800 picked it up. But we've been talking about the the 2456 02:12:23.880 --> 02:12:29.159 idea of pre destiny and things being unchangeable. What if 2457 02:12:29.199 --> 02:12:33.119 Chrono and his friends couldn't do anything, couldn't change things. 2458 02:12:34.239 --> 02:12:37.680 That feeling is sickening, I think sickening in a way 2459 02:12:37.720 --> 02:12:43.319 that is effective when when you're trying to build low 2460 02:12:43.399 --> 02:12:46.439 and mystery in a game that is allegedly a sequel 2461 02:12:46.479 --> 02:12:48.960 to another game. I think it's a really interesting way 2462 02:12:48.960 --> 02:12:49.560 of doing things. 2463 02:12:50.119 --> 02:12:52.560 Oh yeah, man, I mean, if anything, I would say 2464 02:12:52.600 --> 02:12:55.000 you're being I think you're under selling it a little 2465 02:12:55.000 --> 02:12:58.239 bit even. I mean, I think it's really effective, and 2466 02:12:58.600 --> 02:13:02.479 not the least of which because it's a feeling that 2467 02:13:03.359 --> 02:13:06.520 literally everybody has had and has struggled with. Do not 2468 02:13:06.640 --> 02:13:09.199 believe a single person if they say, yeah, no, I've 2469 02:13:09.279 --> 02:13:12.640 I've never thought about how stressful it is that you 2470 02:13:12.960 --> 02:13:15.880 might not be able to change fate. Everybody has, whether 2471 02:13:15.960 --> 02:13:18.239 or not they use those exact words as another story, 2472 02:13:18.479 --> 02:13:21.880 but it's just a very human feeling. And to see 2473 02:13:21.920 --> 02:13:24.720 that in a game, especially as you said, like several 2474 02:13:24.760 --> 02:13:30.479 times already non derogatory that Chrono trigger. The predecessor was 2475 02:13:30.520 --> 02:13:32.399 so against that and was more hopeful in that, Yeah 2476 02:13:32.399 --> 02:13:36.119 you can change fate. I get queasy as a queisy 2477 02:13:36.119 --> 02:13:40.720 as a good adjective might be the perfect one. Actually, Well, 2478 02:13:40.920 --> 02:13:43.600 now that I'm done glazing, Chris, we can move on. 2479 02:13:43.840 --> 02:13:45.439 Thank you. I needed that. 2480 02:13:46.079 --> 02:13:47.920 You do, just as a little aside. You get a 2481 02:13:47.920 --> 02:13:51.239 little Chrono trigger wink. Here there's a dilapidated lab room 2482 02:13:51.720 --> 02:13:56.600 with that capsule that was in that Oh gosh, that's 2483 02:13:57.000 --> 02:13:59.840 starving generation. 2484 02:13:59.760 --> 02:14:03.119 The innertron, Yeah, where it heals. 2485 02:14:02.880 --> 02:14:06.560 Them, but it leaves them still hungry, which is genuine dystopia. 2486 02:14:06.760 --> 02:14:09.760 Yeah, I think also two in those like ruined highways too. 2487 02:14:09.760 --> 02:14:14.319 There was a hollowed out version of the Johnny robot 2488 02:14:14.359 --> 02:14:16.520 from twenty eighties as well. 2489 02:14:17.000 --> 02:14:20.079 Oh is that the motorbike racing thing? 2490 02:14:20.159 --> 02:14:21.600 Yeah, I think so, I think so. 2491 02:14:22.039 --> 02:14:26.640 See, I've played it, I remember little. You're following these apparitions. 2492 02:14:26.640 --> 02:14:30.800 Eventually three of them start to appear. It's most obvious 2493 02:14:31.079 --> 02:14:35.800 with two of them, but it's Chrono Luca and Marl 2494 02:14:36.159 --> 02:14:42.720 from Chrono Trigger very very explicitly. Eventually you go through 2495 02:14:42.720 --> 02:14:47.840 a wormhole. You walk outside. It is a beautiful scene. 2496 02:14:48.239 --> 02:14:51.479 The children are sitting around innocently just out here. The 2497 02:14:51.520 --> 02:14:55.199 background is this deep amber, on top of which sits 2498 02:14:55.239 --> 02:14:58.960 a large, bright sun. And there's an inscription on this 2499 02:14:59.079 --> 02:15:01.279 monument here that's just destroyed a fall and a bell 2500 02:15:01.399 --> 02:15:04.640 sits on the ground. This is clearly a place with 2501 02:15:04.840 --> 02:15:07.439 history which has not been kind to it. The bell 2502 02:15:07.560 --> 02:15:10.319 reads or no, this might not be an inscription. I 2503 02:15:10.319 --> 02:15:13.359 think the children, the ghost children start speaking to you. 2504 02:15:13.680 --> 02:15:16.159 But at any rate, this is the information you get 2505 02:15:16.359 --> 02:15:20.760 a D one thousand, Nadia's bell

mayor prayers for peace, 2506 02:15:20.840 --> 02:15:24.039 ring on for eternity. And then perhaps this is where 2507 02:15:24.039 --> 02:15:26.960 they start speaking, but Nadia's bell will never be heard again. 2508 02:15:27.760 --> 02:15:29.319 I wrote a bunch of stuff about how you should 2509 02:15:29.319 --> 02:15:33.159 play Chrono Trigger. First you should, but then the children 2510 02:15:33.199 --> 02:15:38.199 speak more. We know everyone worked to save the planet's 2511 02:15:38.239 --> 02:15:41.520 future for nothing. It's all because of you. You killed it. 2512 02:15:42.119 --> 02:15:44.920 You So many lives are supposed to be saved. This 2513 02:15:45.039 --> 02:15:48.640 planet was to be healed with love, hope and dreams. 2514 02:15:48.880 --> 02:15:51.079 How could you? How could you do such a thing. 2515 02:15:51.479 --> 02:15:53.840 It's all your fault that the world is going to 2516 02:15:53.920 --> 02:15:57.039 end up like this Surge. And then this last part 2517 02:15:57.319 --> 02:16:00.319 I'm pretty sure is the first time Chronos speaks. He 2518 02:16:00.479 --> 02:16:01.920 just calls Surge a murderer. 2519 02:16:02.560 --> 02:16:03.079 That hits you. 2520 02:16:03.159 --> 02:16:07.359 Done it extremely hard, And you're asking yourself too, like 2521 02:16:07.399 --> 02:16:12.239 they're not even mistaking Surge as links, like they see links, 2522 02:16:12.239 --> 02:16:15.199 but they know it's Surge, so you start asking it, 2523 02:16:15.279 --> 02:16:18.079 like what did Surge do? He was called the Assassin 2524 02:16:18.119 --> 02:16:22.119 of time. The Chrono trigger is has he forgotten some 2525 02:16:22.239 --> 02:16:25.479 kind of a past. Is there some kind of you know, 2526 02:16:25.720 --> 02:16:28.600 a reincarnation theme going on? But then you might think, 2527 02:16:29.319 --> 02:16:31.359 is he a murderer because he murdered a time like 2528 02:16:31.439 --> 02:16:34.040 when he died, you know they talk about that was 2529 02:16:34.079 --> 02:16:38.959 the folkrum you killed futures that could have happened, you know, 2530 02:16:39.040 --> 02:16:41.879 like you make one decision, infinite more didn't happen. Is 2531 02:16:41.920 --> 02:16:44.680 that what they mean? I got a little This is 2532 02:16:44.719 --> 02:16:46.920 about where I start to get a little hazy on 2533 02:16:46.959 --> 02:16:49.319 the plot, and I don't think it's necessarily the game's fault. 2534 02:16:49.719 --> 02:16:52.559 I think it's mine. I'm not trying hard enough for something. 2535 02:16:52.600 --> 02:16:57.639 But I'm a little unclear on exactly why things are 2536 02:16:57.680 --> 02:17:01.040 happening basically until the end of this whole sequence. 2537 02:17:01.639 --> 02:17:05.520 Well, I think this that's one of the weaknesses with 2538 02:17:05.559 --> 02:17:09.360 this game's writing actually, is that the accusation that Surge 2539 02:17:09.399 --> 02:17:11.239 is a murderer, that Surges the assassin of Time, the 2540

02:17:11.280 --> 02:17:15.760 Surge that did something, when it's really difficult for us 2541 02:17:15.840 --> 02:17:18.600 to know based on what we've experienced up to this 2542 02:17:18.639 --> 02:17:21.879 point and even what we learned afterwards, that Surge actually 2543 02:17:22.239 --> 02:17:25.079 did anything other than be attacked by a panther on 2544 02:17:25.079 --> 02:17:29.280 a beach and get sail off with stead on this mission. 2545 02:17:30.040 --> 02:17:31.639 So I do think the game is a little weak 2546 02:17:31.639 --> 02:17:33.840 there because we don't we don't have something to point 2547 02:17:33.879 --> 02:17:35.559 out and say, oh, was that thing that that that 2548 02:17:35.680 --> 02:17:38.319 I did? Is that the reason for this? We don't 2549 02:17:38.360 --> 02:17:41.360 have a great vision of that. We got that little 2550 02:17:41.399 --> 02:17:44.799 backstory from Surge's mom about the boat ride to the 2551 02:17:44.840 --> 02:17:46.319 dead seat, all that kind of stuff, but we don't 2552 02:17:46.360 --> 02:17:51.639 really know why we're being accused of doing anything. I 2553 02:17:51.680 --> 02:17:53.600 think there is an answer to it, but I don't 2554 02:17:53.600 --> 02:17:56.280 think that, but I think that we should know that 2555 02:17:56.360 --> 02:17:58.159 explicitly at this point in time for this scene to 2556 02:17:58.639 --> 02:17:59.360 work even better. 2557 02:18:00.440 --> 02:18:03.799 I get what you're saying, I was a little hazy here, 2558 02:18:03.799 --> 02:18:06.760 but I even mean throughout the rest of this entire sequence, 2559 02:18:06.879 --> 02:18:09.440 until we're back on the beach again, after the dragon 2560 02:18:09.479 --> 02:18:12.399 drops us off, all of this that's upcoming. I'm just 2561 02:18:12.440 --> 02:18:17.239 a little fuzzy about. And actually I did accidentally get 2562 02:18:17.280 --> 02:18:21.440 spoiled on something here. They refer to fate as some 2563 02:18:21.639 --> 02:18:25.280 as all caps. I figured out what that is. Apparently 2564 02:18:25.319 --> 02:18:28.040 you're supposed to just know that from this I didn't. 2565 02:18:28.399 --> 02:18:33.120 But anyway, let's let's get there before we start criticizing it. 2566 02:18:33.159 --> 02:18:37.239 Maybe unfairly. Lena's dad is here. Remember they went into 2567 02:18:37.239 --> 02:18:39.120 the dead Sea. They never came out. Lina's dad and 2568 02:18:39.159 --> 02:18:43.239 Miguel is here. Turns out you get a flashback of 2569 02:18:43.479 --> 02:18:46.639 Miguel and Wazuki coming into here and they're being spoken 2570 02:18:46.680 --> 02:18:50.360 to by like this disembodied voice asking for quote the child. 2571 02:18:51.000 --> 02:18:52.440 Are we supposed to know what that is? 2572 02:18:53.239 --> 02:18:56.520 The child? In this case? This flashback is search search 2573 02:18:56.799 --> 02:18:57.319 as reign. 2574 02:18:57.479 --> 02:18:59.799 I mean, the oh what that voice is? 2575 02:19:00.280 --> 02:19:04.159 Yeah, I was always on the impression that the voice 2576 02:19:04.239 --> 02:19:05.120 is the Frozen Flame. 2577 02:19:06.040 --> 02:19:08.200 What could you expand on that? Like, why did you 2578 02:19:08.239 --> 02:19:08.639 think that? 2579 02:19:09.239 --> 02:19:12.799 I always thought that the This is just my perception 2580 02:19:12.879 --> 02:19:17.399 of what was going on here. But when they came here, 2581 02:19:17.600 --> 02:19:20.239 they knew the Frozen Flame was here for some reason, 2582 02:19:21.040 --> 02:19:24.200 and with the Frozen Flame just being the thing for 2583 02:19:24.239 --> 02:19:28.079 this game, that's just what I what I perceived, And 2584 02:19:28.600 --> 02:19:30.120 I don't think that the game really gave me a 2585 02:19:30.120 --> 02:19:31.559 reason for that, but that's just always kind of what 2586 02:19:31.600 --> 02:19:31.920 I thought. 2587 02:19:32.479 --> 02:19:35.600 Yeah, I mean, fair enough. Again, I think some of 2588 02:19:35.600 --> 02:19:38.239 this misunderstanding is just on me and how I chose 2589 02:19:38.280 --> 02:19:41.680 to approach this. So I can't rightfully fault the game, 2590 02:19:41.719 --> 02:19:44.479 but I was a little bit confused on that, And 2591 02:19:44.520 --> 02:19:49.280 if you thought that was confusing, buckle up, buddy. So Miguel, 2592 02:19:49.799 --> 02:19:53.200 he's been here for fourteen years, ten years ago, he says, 2593 02:19:53.360 --> 02:19:57.719 something changed this place into the dead sea, into these ruins, 2594 02:19:58.079 --> 02:20:01.920 the beautiful ruins. But it changed everything from what we 2595 02:20:01.959 --> 02:20:04.639 saw in the flashback to this. Here is some of 2596 02:20:04.680 --> 02:20:07.760 what Miguel says to the crew. He says, quote, don't 2597 02:20:07.799 --> 02:20:11.239 you know, there's nothing in the world as ruthless or 2598 02:20:11.239 --> 02:20:15.360 impartial as death. All living matter ages over time and 2599 02:20:15.440 --> 02:20:19.319 eventually dies, no matter how mighty or tiny its life force. 2600 02:20:20.040 --> 02:20:23.040 So being alive means you are creeping closer to death 2601 02:20:23.120 --> 02:20:26.959 with every second. But there's none of that here. No 2602 02:20:27.079 --> 02:20:32.159 one and nothing ages, nothing wastes away this quiet, boundless 2603 02:20:32.200 --> 02:20:35.239 and beautiful world. An ideal world straight out of a 2604 02:20:35.280 --> 02:20:38.760 fairy tale. Isn't it a place in time that belongs 2605 02:20:38.799 --> 02:20:43.840 to no one? Res nuless, sure, obligatory Latin. It's because 2606 02:20:43.879 --> 02:20:47.360 this is a future that is eliminated. History is composed 2607 02:20:47.399 --> 02:20:51.040 of choices and divergences. Each choice you make creates a 2608 02:20:51.079 --> 02:20:53.920 new world and brings forth a new future. But at 2609 02:20:53.920 --> 02:20:57.680 the same time, you're eliminating a different future with the

choices. 2610 02:20:57.719 --> 02:21:01.280 You didn't make a future deny of all existence because 2611 02:21:01.280 --> 02:21:04.040 of a change in the past. A future that was 2612 02:21:04.079 --> 02:21:09.280 destroyed even before it was born rests here, condensed into 2613 02:21:09.319 --> 02:21:13.319 the dead Sea. The crew asks how for more clarification, 2614 02:21:13.440 --> 02:21:17.200 and he continues, Fate knows all. No one can run 2615 02:21:17.239 --> 02:21:21.760 from fate. Even your presence here was predestined long long ago. 2616 02:21:22.520 --> 02:21:25.280 Wouldn't you all like to become one with this world, 2617 02:21:25.719 --> 02:21:28.920 to be part of eternity? How about it, Surge, You 2618 02:21:29.079 --> 02:21:33.639 need no longer struggle alone, nor fear and uncertain tomorrow. 2619 02:21:34.319 --> 02:21:36.719 End quote. This is where the boss fight with him begins. 2620 02:21:37.079 --> 02:21:39.000 I'm going to read a little bit more just in 2621 02:21:39.040 --> 02:21:42.920 case we don't or I don't address it moving forward 2622 02:21:42.959 --> 02:21:46.120 into the next part. Here is more of what Miguel says. 2623 02:21:46.120 --> 02:21:51.319 He continues after being defeated, after showing pride towards Serge 2624 02:21:51.399 --> 02:21:55.319 and the crew, he says, quote, the dead Sea is 2625 02:21:55.360 --> 02:21:58.959 the true form of the planet's future. That's right. At 2626 02:21:59.000 --> 02:22:01.760 one stage our world was on the verge of such 2627 02:22:01.840 --> 02:22:06.680 inevitable destruction. This was in nineteen ninety nine when Lavos 2628 02:22:06.719 --> 02:22:10.879 awoke after centuries of feeding off this planet. Lavos fell 2629 02:22:10.920 --> 02:22:13.600 from the heavens a countless number of years ago and 2630 02:22:13.719 --> 02:22:17.559 burrowed deep beneath the surface to eat and sleep. Slowly 2631 02:22:17.600 --> 02:22:21.680 but deliberately, Lavos devoured our planet from the inside out, 2632 02:22:21.959 --> 02:22:26.200 waiting for the time to ripen for its true awakening. Finally, 2633 02:22:26.280 --> 02:22:28.920 Lavos did awake and manifested its true form on the 2634 02:22:28.920 --> 02:22:32.360 surface of the planet. That's when our world faced a 2635 02:22:32.440 --> 02:22:36.840 death from which there seemed no possibility of escape, were 2636 02:22:36.840 --> 02:22:39.239 it not for a teenage boy and his group of 2637 02:22:39.280 --> 02:22:43.319 adventurer friends. That is, these young heroes caught a glimpse 2638 02:22:43.360 --> 02:22:45.680 of the planet's future destruction as it appeared in the 2639 02:22:45.719 --> 02:22:49.319 year twenty three hundred. They realized they could not turn 2640 02:22:49.360 --> 02:22:51.959 their backs on our planet, even if its death would 2641 02:22:51.959 --> 02:22:56.000 not be anywhere near their lifetime. But in saving our 2642 02:22:56.079 --> 02:22:58.360 planet from the death Lavos was going to bring about,

2643 02:22:58.559 --> 02:23:01.840 they also changed the course of history. This is where 2644 02:23:01.879 --> 02:23:04.719 the children from Chrono Trigger appear. At that very moment, 2645 02:23:04.879 --> 02:23:08.799 this whole future time axis ceased to exist. Call it 2646 02:23:08.879 --> 02:23:11.639 cause and effect. It is just a problem of possibilities. 2647 02:23:11.680 --> 02:23:14.879 After all, in this world there are no such things 2648 02:23:14.959 --> 02:23:19.959 as absolutes or certainties. But the future that was supposed 2649 02:23:19.959 --> 02:23:22.920 to have disappeared is about to be restored here the 2650 02:23:22.959 --> 02:23:25.959 future destruction of our planet is going to become a 2651 02:23:26.000 --> 02:23:29.440 reality in this world once again. The vengeance of the 2652 02:23:29.479 --> 02:23:33.000 future we killed is about to begin with Surge as 2653 02:23:33.040 --> 02:23:36.479 the trigger end quote. This is where Miguel makes his 2654 02:23:36.520 --> 02:23:39.399 final plea A couple things here. We're going to discuss 2655 02:23:39.399 --> 02:23:41.360 this more in depth in the final episode. I think 2656 02:23:41.639 --> 02:23:44.920 it coincides to some of the criticisms of Chronocross and 2657 02:23:45.040 --> 02:23:48.200 the overall thematic identity that it is trying to establish 2658 02:23:48.280 --> 02:23:51.200 outside of Chrono Trigger. This is a big reason why 2659 02:23:51.239 --> 02:23:54.559 I feel that playing Chrono Trigger prior to Cross is 2660 02:23:54.600 --> 02:23:58.520 not optional. Yes, technically everything is explained to you here, 2661 02:23:59.079 --> 02:24:03.000 but there are raative issues, call them shortcomings if you'd like. 2662 02:24:03.520 --> 02:24:05.760 With the way in which this story is told as 2663 02:24:05.840 --> 02:24:10.319 it is, and without that context of Chrono Trigger, you 2664 02:24:10.440 --> 02:24:13.920 are putting your entire understanding on an info dump, not 2665 02:24:14.040 --> 02:24:16.360 an info dump that is shown to you, an infodump 2666 02:24:16.360 --> 02:24:19.479 that is just explained, and depending on your sensibilities, you 2667 02:24:19.520 --> 02:24:23.040 might not be as sensitive to this. I tend to 2668 02:24:23.159 --> 02:24:25.600 give this sort of thing a pass more often than 2669 02:24:26.040 --> 02:24:29.520 perhaps I should. It is a weakness though, I think, 2670 02:24:30.399 --> 02:24:32.360 and it's also a big reason a lot of folks 2671 02:24:32.479 --> 02:24:35.079 dislike this game, especially if they were diehard fans of 2672 02:24:35.159 --> 02:24:41.000 Chrono Trigger. Chrono Trigger's entire identity lies on that sort 2673 02:24:41.000 --> 02:24:43.920 of cliche is Sekai Hero's journey sort of tail. We 2674 02:24:44.000 --> 02:24:47.120 can change fate, we can take fate into our own hands, 2675 02:24:47.319 --> 02:24:49.280 and we can change it. And they did, and they 2676 02:24:49.319 --> 02:24:51.680 got there

happily ever after several if you got all 2677 02:24:51.680 --> 02:24:56.319 of the endings, well mostly happily ever after in those cases, 2678 02:24:56.840 --> 02:25:00.120 and now here Chronocross is coming in to say that 2679 02:25:00.440 --> 02:25:03.479 was all for nought. We're back to square one now. 2680 02:25:03.520 --> 02:25:06.319 I don't subscribe to that argument. I don't think it's 2681 02:25:06.360 --> 02:25:09.959 a particularly strong one to view this, at least this 2682 02:25:10.120 --> 02:25:13.600 scene as saying crownw Trigger didn't matter. What you did 2683 02:25:13.920 --> 02:25:17.000 was not important. I think that I think that has 2684 02:25:17.079 --> 02:25:19.120 a lot of flaws within it. It's not an argument 2685 02:25:19.120 --> 02:25:21.520 that stands on solid ground, or at least not on 2686 02:25:21.559 --> 02:25:24.639 a foundation that I think can support it through the 2687 02:25:25.760 --> 02:25:28.959 through the trials that it would take to really prove 2688 02:25:29.000 --> 02:25:31.680 it or attempt to prove it. But I can understand 2689 02:25:31.719 --> 02:25:34.000 why that rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way. 2690 02:25:34.360 --> 02:25:36.440 What I like about this and this is this is 2691 02:25:36.600 --> 02:25:39.040 really a cliche. But you know I can't help it. 2692 02:25:39.319 --> 02:25:43.120 We have Miguel here, who admittedly is more of the 2693 02:25:43.239 --> 02:25:46.520 Kefka school, insofar as he doesn't really have a ton 2694 02:25:46.559 --> 02:25:50.040 of motivation, he does have more than Surge. To be fair, 2695 02:25:50.600 --> 02:25:53.399 Surge I meant to say, Kefka, he does have a 2696 02:25:53.399 --> 02:25:55.559 little bit more than that. We do have an understanding 2697 02:25:55.600 --> 02:25:57.399 of why he might come to feel this way, But 2698 02:25:57.479 --> 02:26:01.280 he has transcended this idea of hopeless nihilism into a 2699 02:26:01.360 --> 02:26:05.959 sort of bliss. It's a beguiling thing to embrace that 2700 02:26:06.040 --> 02:26:10.239 fate is a course which cannot be altered. It is 2701 02:26:10.520 --> 02:26:15.079 beguiling because it is so enticing to not worry, to say, 2702 02:26:15.879 --> 02:26:20.319 cosmically onto logically, we cannot change what is to come. 2703 02:26:20.719 --> 02:26:22.959 We have an illusion that we do, and that's part 2704 02:26:23.000 --> 02:26:26.360 of the human condition. But ultimately this is a higher power, 2705 02:26:26.680 --> 02:26:30.600 and we are subservient to it. We will never transcend. 2706 02:26:31.360 --> 02:26:36.639 So why buck? Why fight? Why struggle against a system, 2707 02:26:37.079 --> 02:26:41.200 against a mold out of which we cannot break? Why 2708 02:26:41.239 --> 02:26:46.559 not transcend? Why not move beyond the feelings of struggle 2709 02:26:46.879 --> 02:26:50.319 and hopelessness? I said on WE a couple of times 2710 02:26:50.319 --> 02:26:53.280 earlier on we at best? Sure, maybe, but that sort 2711 02:26:53.440 --> 02:26:58.719 of empty, cold, small hopelessness that comes when you begin 2712 02:26:58.840 --> 02:27:02.399 to think about the idea of changing fate and about 2713 02:27:02.399 --> 02:27:06.280 how fate is affixed. Miguel is saying, no, move beyond it. 2714 02:27:06.319 --> 02:27:08.920 Don't you see this is a good thing. You don't 2715 02:27:09.000 --> 02:27:12.120 have to worry. A lot of people subscribe to this 2716 02:27:12.239 --> 02:27:14.399 in real life too, and I think there are some 2717 02:27:14.479 --> 02:27:16.559 that have better arguments than others. But that is what 2718 02:27:16.559 --> 02:27:18.879 Miguel is putting forward here. Why would you try to 2719 02:27:19.000 --> 02:27:22.879 change this? If this is ultimately what is going to become? 2720 02:27:23.159 --> 02:27:25.399 We now have this place that is separate from time 2721 02:27:25.559 --> 02:27:30.639 in its entirety, no aging, no death, just a blissful 2722 02:27:30.639 --> 02:27:35.879 scene of amber encased in this scenic forever, a horizon 2723 02:27:35.920 --> 02:27:38.920 that never ends, and a sun that never sets. Why, 2724 02:27:39.639 --> 02:27:43.440 surge would you deny this? I think it would be 2725 02:27:43.600 --> 02:27:47.000 disingenuous of me to say that that is not attractive, 2726 02:27:47.159 --> 02:27:50.959 seductive in its duplicity. But it's just that it is 2727 02:27:51.639 --> 02:27:53.600 on a lot of levels. I think I would argue 2728 02:27:53.639 --> 02:27:57.479 in many many would, and I think ultimately the Chrono 2729 02:27:57.520 --> 02:28:00.239 Games are trying to that it is exactly that. It 2730 02:28:00.280 --> 02:28:04.520 is an illusion. It is, you know, choose whatever cliche, 2731 02:28:04.600 --> 02:28:09.879 a false mistress, a distraction, a sweet kiss to take 2732 02:28:09.920 --> 02:28:13.920 the attention away from the real problems. Miguel has been 2733 02:28:13.959 --> 02:28:18.719 seduced by this our crew maybe not. So this is 2734 02:28:18.760 --> 02:28:21.000 all I mean, this is all stuff that we've been 2735 02:28:21.040 --> 02:28:23.639 talking about right like one, And I think I might 2736 02:28:23.680 --> 02:28:25.719 have jumped the gun too, because this is where it's 2737 02:28:25.719 --> 02:28:31.040 explicitly said, like one, a choice essentially kills quote unquote 2738 02:28:31.479 --> 02:28:34.000 every other timeline where a different choice could have been made, 2739 02:28:34.079 --> 02:28:37.440 and that's where the splitting of timelines comes in to play. Now, 2740 02:28:37.479 --> 02:28:40.159 of course we're only dealing with two, so you've only 2741 02:28:40.159 --> 02:28:44.600 got a dichotomy. So this idea of like infinite branching multiverses, 2742 02:28:45.280 --> 02:28:50.639 that whole theory is a little not at odds. It's 2743 02:28:50.719 --> 02:28:53.440 just I haven't been thinking about it personally. Yeah, I 2744 02:28:53.440 --> 02:28:56.079 don't know.

This is where all that's coming into play. 2745 02:28:56.079 --> 02:29:00.239 And essentially what's going on here is this time that 2746 02:29:00.239 --> 02:29:04.079 we're in right now is the future that would have 2747 02:29:04.120 --> 02:29:08.840 happened had Chrono in his crew not defeated Lavos. This 2748 02:29:09.040 --> 02:29:12.079 was what was going to happen, what they saw and 2749 02:29:12.120 --> 02:29:15.399 then they said, we're going to kill Lavos. This is 2750 02:29:15.440 --> 02:29:17.559 what would have happened. For some reason, it's happening now. 2751 02:29:17.719 --> 02:29:20.639 Nobody knows why they're blaming Surge because he is the 2752 02:29:20.719 --> 02:29:23.639 chrono trigger. I'm right in that, right, that's what's going 2753 02:29:23.639 --> 02:29:24.040 on here. 2754 02:29:25.000 --> 02:29:30.360 Yes, fundamentally, whatever they accomplished was undone by whatever Surge did. 2755 02:29:30.920 --> 02:29:33.159 Okay, And as of right now, as far as we're aware, 2756 02:29:33.520 --> 02:29:35.520 Surge just got killed. 2757 02:29:36.280 --> 02:29:38.239 Yeah, as far as I know, that's what happened, is 2758 02:29:38.239 --> 02:29:42.360 he got killed and was and was healed in one timeline. 2759 02:29:42.639 --> 02:29:46.680 Good job, buddy, Yeah, great, keep it together, Serge dickhead. 2760 02:29:47.399 --> 02:29:50.319 So that's supposedly what's going on here. And after that, 2761 02:29:50.680 --> 02:29:53.360 after that whole speech from Miguel, you know, it leads 2762 02:29:53.360 --> 02:29:56.959 into a boss battle with him, which, as he says, 2763 02:29:57.159 --> 02:29:59.559 we'll fix the dimensional disortion should you beat him, and 2764 02:29:59.639 --> 02:30:01.799 of course do because we're the good guys. 2765 02:30:02.200 --> 02:30:05.239 It's an extremely like a melancholy balls fly because the 2766 02:30:05.280 --> 02:30:07.559 music doesn't change into boss music. It's still playing that 2767 02:30:07.680 --> 02:30:11.680 kind of wistful ditty that's going on during this whole thing. 2768 02:30:11.719 --> 02:30:15.280 I've always this boss battle has always stricken me as 2769 02:30:15.280 --> 02:30:18.120 something a little crazy, not only because of the music, 2770 02:30:18.600 --> 02:30:20.559 because you're fighting this dude with a bucket hat who 2771 02:30:20.559 --> 02:30:23.079 also throws kama hamay haas at you. It's it's wild. 2772 02:30:23.120 --> 02:30:24.159 It's really difficult too. 2773 02:30:24.799 --> 02:30:27.440 I don't know that ditty would have been how I 2774 02:30:27.479 --> 02:30:28.079 described this. 2775 02:30:28.760 --> 02:30:30.799 No it's not the right word. No, no, it's not 2776 02:30:30.840 --> 02:30:31.319 the right word. 2777 02:30:32.040 --> 02:30:34.760 I'm teasing in good faith. It is. You are right, though. 2778 02:30:34.760 --> 02:30:37.840 It's very it's powerful because it is literally the first 2779 02:30:37.879 --> 02:30:40.360 time we get different battle music that's not just regular 2780 02:30:40.520 --> 02:30:43.479 or boss and it's all lush strings, you know, like 2781 02:30:44.200 --> 02:30:47.079 it's kind of modeling but not quite. It's just it's 2782 02:30:47.239 --> 02:30:51.000 very exaggerated drama. There's a lot of vibrato going on 2783 02:30:51.120 --> 02:30:53.920 the strings, a lot of chore. It's it's really beautiful. 2784 02:30:54.280 --> 02:30:56.799 It's really beautiful. It's and it's very effective. As you're 2785 02:30:56.840 --> 02:31:00.200 getting KAMEHAMI had to death by just a regular guy 2786 02:31:00.200 --> 02:31:02.799 that doesn't even transform. Is just like you said, a 2787 02:31:02.840 --> 02:31:46.879 bucket hat guy. I think we would be remiss not 2788 02:31:46.920 --> 02:31:50.680 to mention this. When you win, and you will. The 2789 02:31:50.719 --> 02:31:54.639 shot fading out of this battle is different than any other. 2790 02:31:55.000 --> 02:31:57.360 It frames it in a particular way. It frames it 2791 02:31:58.159 --> 02:32:00.000 and this might not even matter. I just think it's beauty. 2792 02:32:00.920 --> 02:32:04.520 It frames it where the arch of the bell is 2793 02:32:04.520 --> 02:32:06.479 in the middle of the screen, the bell is on 2794 02:32:06.559 --> 02:32:10.360 the ground visible, you know, that's ravages of time. Of course, 2795 02:32:10.760 --> 02:32:13.280 you can see the sun through the arches while the 2796 02:32:13.440 --> 02:32:16.559 sky is still like a honeycolored amber, and the camera 2797 02:32:16.639 --> 02:32:20.639 pulls back. It might not mean anything, but it is 2798 02:32:20.719 --> 02:32:23.879 beautiful cinematography. 2799 02:32:22.639 --> 02:32:26.120 It really is. It just adds a layer of melancholy 2800 02:32:26.360 --> 02:32:28.840 to this whole thing. In fact, I'm reminded that we 2801 02:32:29.879 --> 02:32:33.760 in our episode about this particular section, we titled it 2802 02:32:34.399 --> 02:32:36.559 forgive me for how corny this is. But I want 2803 02:32:36.559 --> 02:32:39.799 to say it. Miguelancholi in the Infinite Sadness. 2804 02:32:40.799 --> 02:32:44.840 Beautiful, thank you beautiful? Was that you were Eric? 2805 02:32:45.719 --> 02:32:47.079 I usually do the episode titles. 2806 02:32:47.120 --> 02:32:47.840 Yeah. 2807 02:32:48.040 --> 02:32:50.959 In that episode, Chris also says the following. 2808 02:32:50.920 --> 02:32:52.559 I don't ever want to talk about Miguel again. 2809 02:32:52.879 --> 02:32:54.840 It just goes to show that the classic saying turns 2810 02:32:54.840 --> 02:32:56.920 out to be true. You can take the man out 2811 02:32:56.959 --> 02:32:59.920 of the retrograde amnesia, but you can't take the megel 2812 02:33:00.239 --> 02:33:04.959 out of the man. This is where, well, after this, 2813 02:33:04.959 --> 02:33:07.559 this is where Miguel gives that whole spiel about how 2814 02:33:07.639 --> 02:33:09.959 this is the future that would have happened back in 2815

02:33:10.040 --> 02:33:15.239 nineteen ninety nine if Lavo after Lavosa awaked, awakened and 2816 02:33:15.360 --> 02:33:18.360 destroyed the world, and it's explicitly called out here too, 2817 02:33:18.440 --> 02:33:21.600 like if you didn't if the reference to Chrono trigger 2818 02:33:21.600 --> 02:33:24.719 by having Chrono, Marl and Luca here, they join Miguel 2819 02:33:24.760 --> 02:33:27.399 here like his apparitions and help tell this story. And 2820 02:33:27.479 --> 02:33:32.000 he explicitly said says, that's when our world faced to death, 2821 02:33:32.000 --> 02:33:34.879 from which there seemed no possibility of escape were it 2822 02:33:34.920 --> 02:33:37.600 not for a teenage boy and his group of adventurer friends. 2823 02:33:37.920 --> 02:33:40.520 These young heroes caught a glimpse of the planet's destruction 2824 02:33:40.559 --> 02:33:43.360 as it appeared in the year twenty three hundred. They 2825 02:33:43.399 --> 02:33:45.319 realized they could not turn their backs on the planet, 2826 02:33:45.360 --> 02:33:47.760 even if its death would not be anywhere near their lifetime. 2827 02:33:48.040 --> 02:33:50.040 But in saving our planet from the death Lavos was 2828 02:33:50.079 --> 02:33:52.639 going to bring about, they also changed the course of history. 2829 02:33:53.239 --> 02:33:55.840 And then this is where the children appear. Call it 2830 02:33:55.879 --> 02:33:58.040 cause and effect. It is just a problem of possibilities. 2831 02:33:58.040 --> 02:34:00.000 In this world. There are no such things as absolutely 2832 02:34:00.799 --> 02:34:03.120 that future was supposed to have disappeared, and it's about 2833 02:34:03.120 --> 02:34:07.520 to be restored. Why, we don't know, But they explicitly say, 2834 02:34:07.559 --> 02:34:11.479 Surge is the trigger. This is your fault. It's I 2835 02:34:11.559 --> 02:34:12.879 just I have so many questions. 2836 02:34:13.520 --> 02:34:16.719 There are I think, fortunately there are answers to most 2837 02:34:16.719 --> 02:34:19.200 of these questions that will come later in the game. 2838 02:34:19.680 --> 02:34:23.479 I do think the game gets continues from this point on. 2839 02:34:23.600 --> 02:34:26.159 It continues to crawl further and further up its own ass, 2840 02:34:26.520 --> 02:34:30.040 in a good way and sometimes in a more unfortunate 2841 02:34:30.040 --> 02:34:33.360 way when when it comes to what the game is 2842 02:34:33.360 --> 02:34:35.239 trying to say and how the game is trying to 2843 02:34:35.360 --> 02:34:38.399 delivered story. Because as we talked about how good the 2844 02:34:38.399 --> 02:34:41.559 the sort of plot staging was from the emergence of 2845 02:34:41.639 --> 02:34:45.000 Dark Surge to this point, you can you can start 2846 02:34:45.040 --> 02:34:48.639 to see how there's a lot less plot in what 2847 02:34:48.719 --> 02:34:50.840 we've been talking about here and more about and more 2848 02:34:50.959 --> 02:34:53.799 just kind of weird lore stuff. And I think that 2849 02:34:53.920 --> 02:34:56.639 the game suffers for it. But at the same time 2850 02:34:56.719 --> 02:34:58.520 when it gets to the chronic trigger lore stuff, I'm 2851 02:34:58.520 --> 02:35:02.280 also I'm aulco simultaneously here for it. So we'll see, 2852 02:35:02.319 --> 02:35:04.719 we'll see how it all comes together. I'm really interested 2853 02:35:04.760 --> 02:35:10.520 to see how you're going to feel about how things converge. 2854 02:35:11.040 --> 02:35:15.040 Gosh, man, I'm I'm raring to go. I'm still having 2855 02:35:15.079 --> 02:35:18.440 a great time, even if it's gonna sniff its own farts, 2856 02:35:18.479 --> 02:35:21.239 go up its own ass. I mean whatever, I'm still 2857 02:35:21.239 --> 02:35:24.479 having a great time. One more thing that I think 2858 02:35:24.600 --> 02:35:28.399 is worth mentioning. Before the end here, before we hang 2859 02:35:28.440 --> 02:35:30.760 it up, we do end up. You get out of here, 2860 02:35:30.799 --> 02:35:33.639 the place begins to crumble, and the only reason you 2861 02:35:33.680 --> 02:35:37.000 get out is because the sky Dragon, like the sky 2862 02:35:37.079 --> 02:35:40.680 dragon God comes out of nowhere and says, okay, sons 2863 02:35:40.719 --> 02:35:44.440 of man, get on my back and saves you. Before that, 2864 02:35:44.559 --> 02:35:48.879 though Miguel makes this big thing about he makes a 2865 02:35:48.920 --> 02:35:53.360 final a plea to fight against fate, and fate throughout 2866 02:35:53.399 --> 02:35:57.159 here is in all caps several times, which to me 2867 02:35:57.440 --> 02:36:00.000 doesn't mean anything like. There is also a weird punctuation 2868 02:36:00.159 --> 02:36:04.559 thing beforehand where he talks about the work of the gods, 2869 02:36:04.719 --> 02:36:08.559 and then a new sentence he says and goddesses in quotations, 2870 02:36:08.559 --> 02:36:10.760 which is like, okay, I don't understand why that's there. 2871 02:36:11.319 --> 02:36:13.200 So I just thought that they were capitalizing this and 2872 02:36:13.239 --> 02:36:15.200 the same way they did with Xeno Gears right, using 2873 02:36:15.559 --> 02:36:17.879 what is it, brackets as quotes or something. 2874 02:36:18.200 --> 02:36:20.920 Yeah, for emphasis, Yeah, yeah, exactly. 2875 02:36:20.920 --> 02:36:23.680 I thought this was just emphasis, maybe not the time 2876 02:36:23.680 --> 02:36:26.079 to get into it. Apparently that's not the case. I 2877 02:36:26.120 --> 02:36:28.440 would have never guessed. I got spoiled a little bit. 2878 02:36:29.200 --> 02:36:31.920 But Miguel says the Fate wants to destroy the frozen Flame, 2879 02:36:32.440 --> 02:36:36.200 that's why this place is crumbling. But he explicitly asks us, like, 2880 02:36:36.280 --> 02:36:38.959 maybe you're the ones that can go against Fate. Kill Fate, 2881 02:36:39.239 --> 02:36:43.159 kill God, kill Fate the other thing. And I'm wondering 2882 02:36:43.200 --> 02:36:45.520 if I'm just not

supposed to know this yet. There's 2883 02:36:45.520 --> 02:36:49.360 a text overlay as you're leaving and as Miguel sits 2884 02:36:49.440 --> 02:36:52.120 dying in the crumbling things, or maybe he's already dead 2885 02:36:52.159 --> 02:36:55.360 because he fades with the Chrono Trigger kids, they're clearly 2886 02:36:55.440 --> 02:36:58.920 already dead. I don't know. But the text overlay is 2887 02:36:58.959 --> 02:37:01.040 a quote, and it says you so much, that is 2888 02:37:01.040 --> 02:37:03.520 why I sometimes desire to smash you to bits. 2889 02:37:04.120 --> 02:37:08.680 What is that? I never I never figured this one out. Really, Yeah, 2890 02:37:08.680 --> 02:37:10.079 I don't know what that's supposed to be. 2891 02:37:10.959 --> 02:37:14.239 It's it's perplexing me. I googled it and I saw 2892 02:37:14.399 --> 02:37:19.239 nothing from Chrono Trigger. Yeah, I don't know. Maybe it's 2893 02:37:19.239 --> 02:37:22.719 something that I mean, just comes up later. But it's 2894 02:37:22.719 --> 02:37:24.760 framed in a way that it seems important, Like it's 2895 02:37:24.760 --> 02:37:26.719 framed in a way that maybe one of the kids 2896 02:37:26.719 --> 02:37:28.840 are saying it, but not really because they were just 2897 02:37:28.959 --> 02:37:34.000 explicitly talking. Maybe it's Wazooki saying it. Maybe it's uh, 2898 02:37:34.520 --> 02:37:38.239 maybe it's Lena about her dad. I don't know, could. 2899 02:37:38.120 --> 02:37:41.719 Be, it could be Fade itself, because that isn't as 2900 02:37:42.120 --> 02:37:44.639 you've mentioned that that's an entity that's that's going to 2901 02:37:44.680 --> 02:37:47.239 come into play here. You will have to keep that 2902 02:37:47.280 --> 02:37:47.920 in mind. 2903 02:37:48.479 --> 02:37:51.000 That that's something. I have not encountered that in the 2904 02:37:51.040 --> 02:37:54.600 game yet. I guess that's technically a spoiler. I don't 2905 02:37:55.040 --> 02:37:59.479 I can't imagine. There are many folks here that haven't 2906 02:37:59.479 --> 02:38:03.799 played the game. However, Fate is a thing, like a 2907 02:38:04.040 --> 02:38:07.079 like a like an entity. I did get spoiled on that. Actually, 2908 02:38:07.319 --> 02:38:10.959 when I googled this, actually I accidentally saw that. I 2909 02:38:10.959 --> 02:38:15.399 also saw a Cora result about the urge to bite people, 2910 02:38:15.879 --> 02:38:20.000 which was all fun. Yeah, the preview answer just below 2911 02:38:20.040 --> 02:38:23.120 it said biting your boyfriend's not bad at all. Actually, 2912 02:38:23.479 --> 02:38:26.319 I was like, oh, all right, bookmark. 2913 02:38:25.959 --> 02:38:27.600 That internet, am I right? 2914 02:38:28.040 --> 02:38:29.959 Have you heard about it? You've been on that internet. 2915 02:38:30.600 --> 02:38:33.399 It's some crazy stuff on there. Yeah, I don't know. 2916 02:38:33.600 --> 02:38:35.799 I don't love the idea of Fate being a like 2917 02:38:36.600 --> 02:38:40.040 a creature, a thing a person. Don't love it, but 2918 02:38:40.079 --> 02:38:42.479 I also don't know how it plays out. So maybe 2919 02:38:42.559 --> 02:38:43.760 they will do it in a cool way. 2920 02:38:44.360 --> 02:38:47.440 Fate cool or not? Stay tuned for. 2921 02:38:47.559 --> 02:38:50.399 Next time on a Dragon ball Z hate's me googled? 2922 02:38:50.799 --> 02:38:52.360 Is that all you've got stuck? 2923 02:39:16.719 --> 02:39:19.040 I don't know, man, Do you have any final thoughts 2924 02:39:19.079 --> 02:39:21.159 on this? I mean you kind of know where I'm 2925 02:39:21.159 --> 02:39:23.280 sitting because I've been saying it to you. I've been 2926 02:39:23.319 --> 02:39:26.319 saying it to anybody that will listen. I love it 2927 02:39:26.399 --> 02:39:30.639 so far. I know that you said it's about to 2928 02:39:30.879 --> 02:39:33.079 get a little you didn't use this word, but I 2929 02:39:33.159 --> 02:39:38.399 will pretentious about what it's doing. Even still, I've liked 2930 02:39:38.440 --> 02:39:41.479 games that are more pretentious than this before, so I'm 2931 02:39:41.639 --> 02:39:45.079 fully in for the ride. I'm very invested. But to you, 2932 02:39:45.159 --> 02:39:46.760 as somebody that's been through this, like, do you have 2933 02:39:46.799 --> 02:39:50.920 any parting words or thoughts or the things you'd like 2934 02:39:51.159 --> 02:39:53.079 me or other folks to consider. 2935 02:39:54.000 --> 02:39:57.079 Yeah, I think you're right when you say that this 2936 02:39:57.200 --> 02:40:00.959 game is it fears into a little bit of pretentiousness. 2937 02:40:01.440 --> 02:40:03.639 Maybe pretentious isn't the right word, but it, just like 2938 02:40:03.680 --> 02:40:05.840 I said before, it gets too far up its own ass, 2939 02:40:06.760 --> 02:40:10.639 and I think that hurts the plot of the game, 2940 02:40:10.879 --> 02:40:14.159 like the moment to moment plot, the interaction of the characters, 2941 02:40:14.399 --> 02:40:17.120 their motivations and how things play out. I think is 2942 02:40:17.239 --> 02:40:21.040 hurt by this game trying to say as much as 2943 02:40:21.079 --> 02:40:24.760 it wants to say about about Chrono Trigger itself and 2944 02:40:24.799 --> 02:40:28.879 about the idea of fate in Predestiny, and we don't 2945 02:40:29.280 --> 02:40:32.319 get as much as I would have liked when it 2946 02:40:32.319 --> 02:40:35.479 comes to the play of characters, and there are a 2947 02:40:35.479 --> 02:40:39.399 couple of plot elements. I'll be interested to see how 2948 02:40:39.440 --> 02:40:43.879 you feel once we once we cross those bridges, because 2949 02:40:43.920 --> 02:40:47.040 there's a lot, so little left, but there's also so 2950 02:40:47.200 --> 02:40:50.079 much left, and it's it's a really interesting dichotomy. 2951 02:40:50.719 --> 02:40:55.319 You know, you said something similar last time. I can't remember. 2952 02:40:55.360 --> 02:40:57.639 I was just editing it. It was something

else that 2953 02:40:57.760 --> 02:41:03.239 was similarly foreboding and profound in that way. It's very funny. 2954 02:41:03.239 --> 02:41:07.159 You're you're great at the cliffhangers, man, but I am too. 2955 02:41:07.280 --> 02:41:10.520 I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes. Also going 2956 02:41:10.559 --> 02:41:13.760 to try to read Radical Dreamers in its entirety before 2957 02:41:14.159 --> 02:41:17.000 before we meet again, to have a little more context, 2958 02:41:17.040 --> 02:41:18.520 and because I'm very interested in that. 2959 02:41:18.840 --> 02:41:21.079 And you're going to read that after you finished the game, right, 2960 02:41:21.719 --> 02:41:25.879 because I would recommend that you wait, Oh, I should, Yeah, 2961 02:41:25.879 --> 02:41:27.920 because some of the plot points that are used the 2962 02:41:27.959 --> 02:41:29.719 end of Radical Dreamers are also used the end of 2963 02:41:29.719 --> 02:41:31.879 Crito Cross. So if you don't want to be spoiled 2964 02:41:32.079 --> 02:41:35.280 on a couple of important elements, then I would hold off. 2965 02:41:35.760 --> 02:41:37.879 Okay, I'm glad you said something. I was one hundred 2966 02:41:37.879 --> 02:41:40.639 percent going to do them in tandem. But I will wait. 2967 02:41:41.159 --> 02:41:42.959 But I'll still I'll still get through it for sure, 2968 02:41:43.440 --> 02:41:45.879 And I suppose you know, we'll pick up here and 2969 02:41:45.920 --> 02:41:48.559 just kind of summarize this last little part one more 2970 02:41:48.559 --> 02:41:54.159 time man for today, another long one. So much appreciation 2971 02:41:54.239 --> 02:42:00.440 to you and to you Laurel listeners. Chris, what's new 2972 02:42:00.440 --> 02:42:02.239 with retrograde Amnesia? 2973 02:42:03.120 --> 02:42:06.360 Nothing is new. It is all old because we cover 2974 02:42:06.399 --> 02:42:09.879 old games. Right now, we're covering Fantasy Star for as 2975 02:42:09.879 --> 02:42:12.479 I mentioned last time, we are gearing up to begin 2976 02:42:12.559 --> 02:42:16.520 to choose our ninth season, our ninth game, which we 2977 02:42:16.520 --> 02:42:19.799 don't really have any any candidates out there listed yet, 2978 02:42:19.840 --> 02:42:23.239 but it's sure to be another good one. Right now, 2979 02:42:23.319 --> 02:42:26.840 we're still in the early deliberations in which we're trying 2980 02:42:26.840 --> 02:42:29.079 to pick a theme for the season, so we've looking 2981 02:42:29.120 --> 02:42:31.799 at like maybe the Dragons season and where we cover 2982 02:42:31.840 --> 02:42:34.559 our game with the with dragon in the title or 2983 02:42:34.559 --> 02:42:37.079 at least heavily dealing with dragons like Breadth of Fire 2984 02:42:37.159 --> 02:42:39.799 or Dragon Quest, or maybe we're gonna look at some 2985 02:42:39.840 --> 02:42:42.040 sequels of games that we've covered in the past, or 2986 02:42:43.079 --> 02:42:46.520 who knows, we might one day start start covering the

2987 02:42:46.639 --> 02:42:50.520 Golden Age Super Nintendo RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Final 2988 02:42:50.559 --> 02:42:53.559 Fantasy six and Earthbound. But we're trying to narrow it 2989 02:42:53.559 --> 02:42:56.319 down and we'll see what comes out. In the meantime. 2990 02:42:56.319 --> 02:42:58.879 On our Patreon we are gearing up to cover Mega 2991 02:42:58.920 --> 02:43:01.879 Man Legends, which was voted by the fine patrons over 2992 02:43:01.920 --> 02:43:05.079 at patreon dot com slash retro am. It's gonna be 2993 02:43:05.079 --> 02:43:07.239 our first first Mega Man game. I don't know if 2994 02:43:07.280 --> 02:43:09.479 they've really Mega Man Legions counts as an RPG, but 2995 02:43:10.239 --> 02:43:12.959 we're gonna pretend like it is. I know there's menus, 2996 02:43:12.959 --> 02:43:15.280 and there's stats, and there's there's equipment, so we can 2997 02:43:15.280 --> 02:43:17.719 go for it. So head on over there and check 2998 02:43:17.719 --> 02:43:19.799 that out. Check out our Fantasy Star for coverage, or 2999 02:43:19.879 --> 02:43:22.159 go back in time and listen to our coverage of 3000 02:43:22.239 --> 02:43:25.360 Cronal Cross, Cental Gears, Final Fantasy eight, and a plethora 3001 02:43:25.440 --> 02:43:30.280 of other Lynchpin JRPGs from throughout the canon of the 3002 02:43:30.440 --> 02:43:33.760 of the j RPG. Please check it out and enjoy 3003 02:43:33.799 --> 02:43:34.399 the madness. 3004 02:43:34.760 --> 02:43:38.760 Unsurprisingly, I also give a hearty recommendation. It is very 3005 02:43:38.840 --> 02:43:42.040 very good. So to conclude, I want to say thank 3006 02:43:42.079 --> 02:43:45.520 you Chris, thank you so much for joining me. Obviously 3007 02:43:45.520 --> 02:43:47.959 you're a great podcast host, but you're you're a great 3008 02:43:48.040 --> 02:43:51.079 conversation partner. This has been terrific. Thank you listeners for 3009 02:43:51.159 --> 02:43:54.479 sticking around for so so long. I know this is 3010 02:43:54.520 --> 02:43:57.200 a long series. I hope you've been enjoying it. We've 3011 02:43:57.200 --> 02:43:59.959 got one more episode coming until then, check out Retro 3012 02:44:00.040 --> 02:44:04.120 Great Amnesia. It's terrific. I've never played Fantasy Star four 3013 02:44:04.440 --> 02:44:07.000 or three, two or one. I'm still enjoying this series 3014 02:44:07.120 --> 02:44:09.559 quite a bit. There's plenty of backlog to catch up 3015 02:44:09.559 --> 02:44:12.000 on as well. You can hear all of Chris and 3016 02:44:12.079 --> 02:44:14.360 Eric in the Fake Net by checking out the links 3017 02:44:14.360 --> 02:44:16.760 in the episode description. You can also check out our 3018 02:44:16.840 --> 02:44:19.040 stuff there as well. You can join our free discord, 3019 02:44:19.440 --> 02:44:22.520 can connect with us on social media's you can, if 3020 02:44:22.559 --> 02:44:26.399 you're feeling incredibly generous, check out the Patreon all of it, 3021 02:44:26.440 --> 02:44:30.159 grit your Great Amnesia, Pixelrick Podcast, all of it in 3022 02:44:30.319 --> 02:44:34.840 the episode description. So thank you for your time. Thank 3023 02:44:34.879 --> 02:44:38.200 you for sticking around. I'm very glad that you're here. 3024 02:44:38.600 --> 02:44:40.559 I'm very glad that you were here, Chris, thank you. 3025 02:44:41.280 --> 02:44:44.040 And with that, I think we can cap it here. 3026 02:44:44.600 --> 02:44:48.959 We will reconvene one final time after the conclusion of 3027 02:44:49.000 --> 02:44:51.840 the rest of this game, after hopefully and getting through 3028 02:44:51.879 --> 02:44:55.000 Radical Dreamers, and we will try and parse all of 3029 02:44:55.040 --> 02:44:57.840 this out, what this means, how it fits. It's going 3030 02:44:57.879 --> 02:45:00.440 to be a great time. I am your host, no 3031 02:45:00.479 --> 02:45:05.120 matter what the timeline, This world, another world, Sell Bess Sniff, 3032 02:45:06.000 --> 02:45:10.280 don't matter. Still me. We'll catch you next time. Take 3033 02:45:10.280 --> 02:45:10.840 care of folks. 3034 02:45:31.399 --> 02:45:31.440 M