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| Chrono Trigger owned by Square-Enix. Images used for educational purposes only. |
Choras, 600 AD
- Head for Choras in 600 AD. It’s on the southeastern continent on the world map, only accessible when you have a flying Epoch at your command.
- Enter the Tavern. You’ll find Toma inside, sitting at the bar. Speak to him and he’ll give you Toma’s Spirits.
- Jump to 1000 AD. To the northwest of town is the West Cape, upon which is Toma’s grave. Approach it with the Spirits and you’ll pour it on. This will summon Toma’s spirit, and he’ll tell you the location of the Rainbow Shell, the artifact he’s been hunting for a veeeeeery long time.
- Back to 600 AD. To the northwest of Choras you’ll now find a cave on a small, mountain island. Head inside to find a new dungeon that’s nevertheless quite familiar.
Giant’s Claw
- The Tyranno Lair! Been a while. Have fun sitting on the throne, then head inside. In the first cavern area and to the left of the entrance you’ll find a chest containing a Clarity Cap. Approach it to enrage an Aecytosaur and two Aecytonyxes. Like the old days, these creatures are best fried with electrical attacks.
- To the east you’ll hit a battle with three Lizardactyls. These creatures will absorb Lightning attacks, so stick with other elemental options. Through the door they were guarding you’ll find a room with a dinosaur skull and three buttons. The top button creates a save point; the left button drops out the floor; the right button drops two Fossil Apes into the room. They’re strong physical opponents that should be killed with powerful Techs.
- The western door in the previous chamber leads to a dead end, so create pits in the skull room and fall through the floor. At the bottom is another skull chamber with two more buttons. The left one opens the skull, while the right brings three Aectonyxes into the room. You’ll find a Strength Capsule beyond the skull.
- Head south to leave the stonework. Go down the ladder on your left and check to your right for another Strength Capsule and to your left for a Hi-Ether. Climb back up the ladder and head south and east to fight two Fossil Apes, then further east and northeast to find a partially-hidden Blue Gemstone.
- Head east in the next room. The ladder leading into the ceiling will take you back to the beginning if you need to return in a hurry. Go down the lower ladder to proceed. Before heading all the way south, look to the west for a partially-hidden chest that contains a Zodiac Cape. Southeast of here is a chest containing a Lapis, and all the way south and west is another room.
- An Aecytosaur and two Aectonyxes are in the next room. Kill them off, then go through the skull to the north and on the left. At the top of the stairs you’ll find a horizontal corridor with Fossil Apes at both ends. You can drop them into pits via buttons. Through the left door you’ll find a Wrath Band; through the right door are two TP-rich Rubbles and a chest that will drop you deeper into the dungeon.
- Go upstairs to find a Strength Capsule, then make your way downstairs to find the cell where Kino was once held. There’s now a hole in the rear of the cell. Save, heal up, and head inside. A battle awaits.
Rust Tyranno
The return! Rust Tyranno is a bit easier than its forebear the Black Tyranno, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily easy. The Tyranno begins the fight with the same countdown as the Black Tyranno, and when it’s done you’ll be hit by a fiery attack that’s identical to what you’ve endured before. After that the Rust Tyranno will gobble down your characters a few times to replenish its HP, then get a boost to its Fire damage and begin another countdown. You need to pour on as much pain as possible to kill it before it hits another countdown, as the Tyranno’s attack will get stronger and stronger until even fire-resistant characters can’t survive a hit. Rust Tyranno has no strengths or weaknesses, so mash it with your most powerful single-hitting attacks until it bites the dust. A straightforward and rather repetitive battle, and not terribly difficult so long as your team complements itself nicely.
- North of the Rust Tyranno you’ll find the Rainbow Shell, though it’s far too large to move. Verify this and you’ll jump to Guardia Castle, and the king will agree to have it moved to the Castle for later generations to enjoy. (You can even return to Giant’s Claw and see the knights struggling to lift the thing, if you really want.)
Guardian Castle, 1000 AD
- Jump ahead in time and put Marle in your party, then reenter the Castle. You’ll quickly discover that all is not well in the kingdom of Guardia. Make sure you save and heal before going much further, as you’ll soon be locked inside the castle.
- Head to the east wing of the castle and climb to the courtroom. With Marle in the party you can blast through, but the trial will continue.
- Return to the ground floor and go down the flight of stairs on your right. They lead to a lengthy northbound trek where you’ll face some hopelessly outclassed enemies and chests containing a two Lapises, two Elixirs, and two Turbo Ethers. At the end you’ll also find the Rainbow Shell.
- Rush back up to the courtroom. You’ll… find your way inside… and a battle will begin. Blast from the past!
Yakra XIII
Surprise! Yakra’s descendent is a fair bit tougher than the original. Utilizing the same needle ad charging attacks as Yakra, Yakra XIII also employs a confusion strike that will muck up one character, and he uses it annoyingly often. The needles nevertheless remain Yakra’s greatest weapon, and if they’re used on someone with low defines (like, say, Marle), they can rip through your HP very easily. Increase your defences with Shield or a sprinkle of Protect, then assault Yakra with whatever powerful moves you have on hand. Marle’s Dual Techs with fighter characters such as Ayla and Crono work very well in this battle. Your greatest concern while fighting Yakra should be keeping at least one character’s health rather high, as Yakra unleashes an all-hitting needle attack of considerable power when he dies. If you’re already low at this point he may just wipe your party. Ow.
- There’s a lovely reconciliation moment in the wake of the fight, and if you follow Melchior down to the Rainbow Shell he’ll give you two armour forging options: either a Prismatic Dress or three Prismatic Helms. All are for your female party members, and all are ultimately pretty awesome. (I prefer the Dress over the Helms, but it’s your call.) If you have the Sun Stone at this point you’ll also receive Prism Spectacles and the Rainbow, the latter of which is one of Crono’s best weapons in the game (the best in the DS version).
- (For a bit of extra fun, return to the courtroom to find Yakra’s Key. You can use it on a locked chest two floors down to find a familiar face. Ah, history repeats itself…)