Crono gets put on trial in Chrono Trigger.

Main Walkthrough

Imprisoned! Upon returning to 1000 AD and bringing Marle to Guardia Castle, Crono will be thrown in jail for 'abducting' the princess of the realm. What follows is a brief trial, wherein Crono's actions while visiting the Millennial Fair come under close scrutiny. There are two potential outcomes:
  • If Crono was a good boy he'll be declared innocent. Actions contributing to innocence include speaking to Marle at the fair before picking up her Pendant and returning the cat to the little girl. You'll also want to say that Crono caused the collision between him and Marle, and that he was not tempted by Marle's fortune.
  • If Crono mucked about too much he'll be declared guilty. Actions contributing to guilt include grabbing the Pendant before speaking to Marle, refusing to give it back, trying to sell the Pendant to Melchior, eating the old man's sandwich, and trying to hurry Marle along when she's looking at candy.
Regardless of the outcome Crono will get tossed into Guardia Castle's prison at the end of the trial. If he was declared innocent, however, there will be a bag of Ethers waiting in his cell. The number of Ethers depends on how many jurors found Crono innocent, ranging from one Ether to six.

A map of the Prison Towers, a dungeon inside Guardia Castle in Chrono Trigger.

Prison Towers - Enemies
  • Gaoler - 218 HP - Drops Ether
  • Lancer - 67 HP - Weak to Fire, Lightning, absorbs Shadow
  • Royal Guard - 60 HP - Drops Potion
  • Sentry - 24 HP - Drops Potion

  • Yep, Crono's in jail. You start off in a tiny cell, and apparently the Chancellor has decided that Crono is guilty, whether that was the outcome of the trial or not. You can't allow Crono to die, so you'll need to escape. There are two ways to handle this situation:
    • First, you can wait patiently in the cell. Time passes while Crono's sitting around, and if you wait long enough the day of his execution will arrive. Just before it happens, however, Lucca will show up and save Crono. This will allow you to skip a chunk of the dungeon, and bypass several enemies that Lucca knocked out.
    • Or, second, you can break Crono out. Bang on the doors of his cell enough time and one of the guards will enter and knock Crono down. You'll then have several seconds to get up, knock the guard out from behind, and escape. You'll need to take out the second Royal Guard upon exiting the cell. (For some reason Crono still has all of his equipment.)
    Either way, you can now explore the Prison Towers, Guardia's dungeon. This guide assumes you broke out of the cell, since that route covers more ground. If you need to heal you can return to Crono's cell, where there's a cup that you can use to fully restore his HP and MP.

    The Gaoler, an enemy in Chrono Trigger.

    Climb the stairs to your right after escaping from Crono's cell. In the next room, which is a four-way intersection, you'll find a pair of Sentries. Attempt to attack them while they're hiding behind their shields and you'll do virtually no damage. Wait until they pop out before you attack. (You can also slip between the two Sentries and avoid a battle entirely, though it's a close shave.)

    You now have four potential routes to take. One route (northwest) leads to a dead end with a Revenant battle, while another (southeast) leads across a bridge to a cell guarded by a Royal Guard. If you move carefully you can slip behind the Royal Guard and knock him out without a fight. Use the switch behind the Royal Guard to open the cell, inside which are chests containing two Ethers and two Mid-Potions. On your way back to the intersection you'll fight a Gaoler, whose tendency to miss makes it a relatively easy fight.

    Return to the four-way intersection and take the northeast door. There's another bridge ahead, and two Royal Guards will ambush Crono as he crosses. Take them out and you'll be back in the dungeon on the other side. There's another Royal Guard in here, and if you sneak up on him you can take him out. Check his body for a Mid-Potion. Another Royal Guard waits a bit further ahead, and you can do the same to him.

    Crono is freed from Prison Towers' torture and execution room  in Chrono Trigger.

    Beyond the second posted Royal Guard is a cell. Open it via the switch on the wall and inside you'll discover a young man named Fritz, who has been trapped in a guillotine. If you decide to free Fritz he'll escape the prison, and you can find him in Truce a bit later on. Near Fritz is a chest containing a Mid-Potion, and behind him is another room. Inside the second room is a chest containing Bronze Armor. Opening it will bring two Lancers to life. You'll have to kill them (again) to leave.

    (If you decided to wait for the execution, this is the room where Lucca saves you. From this point on she'll help you through the dungeon.)

    Return to the corridor and take the northern path, heading west. There's another Royal Guard ahead, and past him - and another bridge - is a second four-way intersection, guarded by two Sentries. Take the southwestern doorway to start. Down here you'll find two cells. The right cell contains a Shelter. The left... ehhhhh...

    Crono scales the walls of Prison Towers, a dungeon in Chrono Trigger.

    Head back to the intersection. The northwestern passage leads to two more cells. The first cell is empty, but the second has a hole in the wall. Crawl through and you can scale down the castle's outer wall to find another breached cell. Immediately beside the hole in this cell is a chest containing a Shelter. Crawl down the hole to your left and you'll find a cell beside the one where you started, this containing a Silver Sword and 1,500 gil. Nice haul.

    Scale back up the castle wall (be careful to line up with the holes in the floors) and return to the four-way intersection. Go up the northeastern stairs. This passage leads to two Royal Guards, and beyond them is the room where Crono was processed earlier. If Lucca didn't rescue you before she'll join you here. Check the unconscious officer in this room for five Mid-Potions, then use the Save Point and head up the stairs in the north. Battle time!

    Crono and Lucca battle the Dragon Tank on a bridge between Prison Towers and Guardia Castle in Chrono Trigger.

    Dragon Tank

    HP:
    • 600 (Head)
    • 208 (Wheel)
    • 266 (Body)
    Immune: Fire, Lightning (Head)

    Hoo boy, that's some powerful steam technology. The Dragon Tank consists of three segments, all of which get their own turns, and all of which need to be destroyed to end the battle.
    • First up is the Head. This is your initial target, as the Head periodically heals all three parts of the body. The Head can also hit one character with a flame attack. The head is vulnerable to normal attacks, but completely immune to elemental attacks.
    • Second, the Body itself. It will occasionally launch a volley of missiles at your characters, and fire a weak laser whenever hit by an attack.
    • And, third, the Wheel. The Wheel will allow the Dragon Tank to charge forward and hit Crono and Lucca simultaneously. This is the Tank's most dangerous attack if you aren't healing constantly.
    Neither Lucca nor Crono are born healers, so designate one of them (likely Lucca, as she just can't hit as hard as Crono) to use Mid-Potions while the other wails on the Dragon Tank's Head, then the Wheel, then the body. Eventually the Dragon Tank will be left with just its missile attack and laser counterattack, neither of which are powerful. So long as you go after the Head first, this won't be a difficult fight.

    The team disappears into the Guardia Forest Gate in Chrono Trigger.

    You're on the home stretch. Rush downstairs, fleeing down the tower. Check the chest in the first room along the way for a Shelter. You'll be forced to flee guards on the ground floor, and when you reach the front door Marle will rejoin the party. Soon you'll be out in Guardia Forest, forced to a dead end in the east, and a surprise Gate will send the party on another adventure through time.