PrinceWatercress plays Chrono Trigger (Super NES) - Part 47 of 70

In this video, we complete our last sidequest, and it's a bit of a puzzler.

First | Previous | Next | End

The End of Time Map (by Rick Bruns)

World Map (2300 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Geno Dome Map (by Rick Bruns)

Our next side quest takes place in the Geno Dome in 2300 A.D. The Geno Dome is in the lower-right corner of the world map, south of the Sun Keep. 

When you head there, put Robo in the front of the party before using the computer. You'll need him in this position in order to enter the Geno Dome. When you go through the door, you'll be fighting Debuggests and Proto 4's on a big conveyor belt. They are more powerful than the Debuggers and the Proto 3's, but you can easily wipe them out.

Once you're past the conveyor belt, you'll be in one big hallway. In certain spots of the dome, you'll be taunted by the same voice that let you in, saying that robots are superior and that all the humans will die out from pure despair as robots take over the world.

The sparkle is the dust chute. This takes you back to the beginning if you want to leave.

The energy pods have switches nearby, and you'll need to hit them in order to go into them while charged with electricity to open them. To charge up, you'll need to find the energy pod near the computer and open it up, then go in and immediately run to an open pod. The pod in the northwest corner leads to the first of two Pozoyo Dolls, which you'll need to open the big double doors in the upper floor. The pod near the entrance leads to a treasure room, and the one near the conveyor belt - which you'll need to change the direction of with a nearby switch that you'll have to reach in a roundabout way - leads to a Proto 3. I'll explain the Proto 3 later. 

Speaking of the northwest corner, you'll need to set the switches to red, green, red from left to right. This will open the nearby energy pod in that corner. Once you charge up and run straight to that pod to open the nearby door, you'll be able to get the first Pozoyo Doll. 

As you clear the area out of enemies, you'll also fight the Laser Guards. The Laser Guards have a few hundred HP, but they can zap each other and self-destruct, doing explosion damage that damages the whole party if given the chance to do so.

The computer in the center of the lower floor tells you how everything works, but I'll show exactly what to do here in this guide.

If you go up to the top of the conveyor belt, you'll see a Proto 3 go through the wall. This is a clue that you can go through the wall. You'll want to go to the door in the southwest corner and head to the upper floor, then make your way back down so you can go through the wall, reverse the conveyor belt's direction and get rid of the laser blocking your path.

The door in the southeast corner of the lower floor leads to the upper floor. From here, you can take the door to the west, go down the hallway (don't forget the Power Tab in the southwest corner!) and take the elevator down to the other side of the conveyor belt. You can then go through the wall, hit the switch, and make the nearby conveyor belt move up instead of down. You can then go back to the conveyor belt from there and hit the switch so you can turn off the red laser blocking your path. This will allow you to charge up the nearby energy pod so you can get the Proto 3. You'll need to take the Proto 3 to the southwest corner of the lower floor and pit it against the other Proto 3 that will actively block you from taking the other Pozoyo Doll. The Proto 3 does a good job of following you as long as you go slowly to where you need to take it and you position yourself so that it can get around walls and see where you are.

There is a Speed Tab behind the Pozoyo Doll in the northwest corner, and the path through the wall to the switch that reverse the direction of the conveyor belt has a Magic Tab in the middle of it. You may have to keep pressing A to get it, but it's there. Believe it or not, I did not even know this Magic Tab existed until I got this guide. 

In the upper floor, there is a switch near a laser wall that you cannot reach. You'll need to line yourself up vertically with the switch, start running, and then - while running - press A when you're at the third tile from the wall. Robo will leap up and hit the switch, and you can get a MegaElixir that fully refills the party's HP and MP as well as a Magic Tab. 

You'll also find a conveyor belt that turns humans into materials for making robots. You won't be able to shut it down until you complete this side quest.

When you get both Pozoyo Dolls, you'll run into Atropos - a pink Robo with ribbons - near where the laser wall was. When Robo talks to her, you'll find out that Robo (named Prometheus by Atropos, much like the blue R-Series robots) was assigned to study humans as a species, and Mother Brain - the creator of the R-66 series - has re-programmed her to efficiently exterminate humans. Robo will ask the other members of the party to let him fight her alone, to which they oblige, before you have a boss battle with Atropos.

Atropos XL will have the same moves as Robo, and she can also heal herself with Cure Beam, too. You'll want to use your most powerful attacks and keep your HP and MP high to make sure you survive Atropos' powerful attacks, and you'll also want to come into the battle with the Ruby Armor equipped on Robo. Why? Because when you get Atropos' HP low enough, she will keep attacking with nothing but Area Bomb. If you have the Ruby Armor equipped on Robo, it will negate a lot of the damage and you can keep smacking her with regular physical attacks while she can barely do anything to you.

Eventually, you'll defeat Atropos XL, and while the reprogramming will wear off, Atropos XL will not be able to survive. She ends up giving Robo one of her ribbons, which permanently increases his Speed by three points and his Magic Defense by ten.

After this, you'll have to head to the big double doors and put the Pozoyo Dolls in the spots to the side in order to open them. When you do, you'll meet - and face - Mother Brain, who is in charge of everything in the facility as well as the creation of the R-Series. When Robo refuses to have his memories erased, Mother Brain considers Robo a traitor before deciding to destroy him and the rest of the party.

Bring Robo, Crono and Ayla to this battle. Use Falcon Hit on the Displays to take them all out and keep them from healing Mother Brain, then keep using it on Mother Brain herself. If you do this, however, Mother Brain will attack you with laser beams and also try to inflict Chaos with Reprogram and hit you with Memory Reset to keep you from using Techs...unless you're quick. 

Another thing you can do is bring Lucca into the party and use Hypno Wave to put the displays to sleep, then hack away at Mother Brain with powerful attacks while she is unable to attack the party.

When you beat Mother Brain, you'll get the Giga Arm and the Crisis Arm, both weapons for Robo. Giga Arm is the most powerful weapon Robo can equip, while the Crisis Arm is the weakest and deals damage directly dependent on the last digit in Robo's current HP. You'll also shut down the factory, and you will not be able to go back in again.

PrinceWatercress plays Chrono Trigger (Super NES) - Part 46 of 70

In this entry, we get a Moon Stone and try to turn it into a Sun Stone. What could possibly go wrong?

First | Previous | Next | End

The End of Time Map (by Rick Bruns)

World Map (65,000,000 B.C.) (by Rick Burns)

Hunting Range Map (by Rick Bruns)

For the next side quest, we're getting the Sun Stone.

You'll want to start by heading to 65,000,000 B.C. and heading to the trading hut. Here, you can trade ten each of Petal, Fang, Horn and Feather for the Ruby Armor, which cuts all fire damage by 80%. You'll need this for the upcoming battle. If you're short of all that, keep going to the Hunting Range and get more trading stuff until you do. Don't forget to fight the Nu, as you can get more from him in addition to extra tech points. Get three Ruby Armors, then equip them on three party members. It doesn't matter who; just make sure you bring them to the battle.

If you go to Laruba Village, you'll find a Nu. If you talk to him, you can change the name of your lead party member. Regardless of whether or not you do it, you'll get the Silver Rock, which allows you to perform the "SpinStrike" Triple Tech. This can be equipped by Robo, Frog or Ayla and requires Laser Spin, Leap Slash and Tail Spin to be learned by those characters respectively, and like all rock-based Triple Techs, require all three of those party members to be in your party.

]World Map (2300 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

You'll then want to head to 2300 A.D. and look for the Sun Palace, which will be south of Death Peak and Keeper's Dome. When you go in and touch the sparkle, you'll have to face Son of Sun.

To face Son of Sun, you'll need to attack the flames that surround it with physical attacks. If you hit the wrong one, you'll get hit by a weak fire attack, but the Ruby Armor will make it little more than a nuisance. If you hit the correct flame, you'll do damage to Son of Sun. Whatever you do, do not attack Son of Sun directly; Son of Sun will hit you with Flare and damage the whole party if you do. You'll have the Ruby Armors at this point, but it is still not recommended. Every so often, Son of Sun will spin the fireballs around, and you'll have to find the correct one all over again. After you do enough damage, Son of Sun will start losing power. When you get that message, the battle is won.

Son of Sun will move further north into the keep, and when you interact with it, it will turn into the Moon Stone. You'll need to take it to the Sun Keep and keep it there for 65 million years to turn it into a Sun Stone. Take the moon stone, then head back to 65,000,000 B.C. and head to the northeast corner of the map where the Sun Keep is. Enter the Sun Keep and move into the light, then place the Moon Stone there. This will be in the northeast corner of all eras except 1999 A.D. (which you will never be able to explore). If you want, you can go from one era to the next and watch it power up. If you do that, you'll also find a Power Tab left of the Moon Stone in 600 A.D.

World Map (600 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

World Map (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

When you reach 1000 A.D., you'll find out that the Moon Stone is gone. If you head to Porre Village, you'll see sparkles emanating from the Mayor's Manor, and if you talk to the Mayor, he will deny that he knows what the Moon Stone/Sun Stone is and refuse to give it to you while his older children still hate him.

Head to the Snail Stop and buy the Jerky from the guy behind the counter for 9900G, then head to the Elder's House in Porre in 600 A.D. The woman inside is needing Jerky to cook something, and if you talk to her with the Jerky in your inventory, she will offer to buy it from you for 10,000G. As tempting as the money is, give it to her for free instead, and she will be amazed by your generosity. Head back to the Mayor's Manor in Porre in 1000 A.D. and talk to the Mayor. This time, the Mayor is a generous person, and his kids love him now and his wife will no longer be sad about the kids drifting apart from them, and if you talk to him, he will give it to you.

If you do the thing with the Jerky regarding the Elder's House/Mayor's Manor in Porre before you get the Sun Stone, the Sun Stone will still end up in the Mayor's Manor in Porre in 1000 A.D. even if the mayor is a nicer, more generous person. The only difference is that you won't have to do the Jerky thing a second time and you can get the Moon Stone back immediately.

Regardless of how you do this, go back to the Sun Keep in 1000 A.D. and place the Moon Stone in the light. Head back to the Sun Keep in 2300 A.D., and this time, the Moon Stone will be a full-fledged Sun Stone. Put Lucca in your party if you don't have her there already, then interact with the Sun Stone. You'll take the Sun Stone to Lucca's house in 2300 A.D., and you'll get two items: the Wondershot, which varies in damage and is Lucca's most powerful physical weapon, and the Sun Shades, which ups the attack power of whoever wears it.

Guardia Castle (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

If you head to Melchior in the Guardia Castle treasury after getting the Rainbow Shell with the Sun Stone, you'll get two new items: the Prism Specs, which ups attack power even more than the Sun Shades do, and the Rainbow, which is Crono's most powerful weapon (on Super NES and PlayStation) and comes with an 80% critical hit rate.

PrinceWatercress plays Chrono Trigger (Super NES) - Part 45 of 70

In this entry, we finally get the Rainbow Shell and get it to the castle at last, but back in the present, someone wants to make a move and finally ruin Marle's father.

First | Previous | Next | End

World Map (600 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Giant's Claw Map (by Rick Bruns)

When you go through the door in the jail cell, you'll face Rust Tyrano when you try to move past it.

Rust Tyrano fights just like Black Tyrano, but he can take you down if you're not careful. The trick to beating him is making sure your health is high while hitting him hard in the opening moments of the match. Because of this, I'm able to beat him despite having a hard time healing near the end, as the Blue Rock's Omega Flare allows me to deal more than 3000 HP per shot. If you can charm Rust Tyrano, you can get the Red Mail, which completely absorbs fire damage.

If you want to make it easier, put Marle in the party and have her cast Haste on herself before casting it on the other party members, then go at it with everything you have, including Triple Techs, while keeping health high. This video is but one example of what you can do.

Guardia Castle (600 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Once you beat Rust Tyrano, you can move forwards toward the Rainbow Shell. If you move into it and press A, you can pick it up, but you'll find it heavy. As you walk away, the screen fades to black and transitions to the throne room of Guardia Castle in 600 A.D. Here, the king will name the Rainbow Shell a national treasure while also commanding the soldiers to head to the Giant's Claw and pick it up. If you head back to where the Rainbow Shell was, you'll see them trying to pick it up.

If you talk to everyone in the castle, everyone will be relieved that you survived your battle with Magus earlier in the game. The King as well as Queen Leene will also think highly of Frog if you have him in your party, and the King will also knight Frog as well.

From here, head back to Guardia Castle in the present day.

World Map (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Guardia Castle (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

When you head back to the castle, there will now be a treasury east of the entrance where the Rainbow Shell is being kept. If you talk to everyone, however, you'll find out that the present day king, Marle's father, will be on trial for selling the Rainbow Shell. Put Marle in your party and keep her there for the rest of the side quest. Head towards the courtroom with Marle in the party and you'll be able to force your way in. You'll find out that the Chancellor is trying to frame the king, and he will tell you to confirm his innocence with proof.

When you are forced out of the courtroom, you won't be able to go back in again. From here, Marle will say there is no heirloom despite the fact that we just got the Rainbow Shell brought into the castle 400 years ago after finding it in the Giant's Claw, and the party has to remind Marle about it. She will then realize that the Rainbow Shell has to still be in the treasury, and you'll need to head down in there to get it.

At this point, you won't be able to leave the castle until you complete this part of the side quest. Also at this point, you can finally enter the treasury, which was guarded by a soldier up until now (he will be down on the ground after being bitten by a rat, or so he says). You'll have to fight some Gnashers and Naga-ettes - the same enemies from the Cathedral in 600 A.D. - to get to the Rainbow Shell, but these things are super easy to beat up.

As you get to the treasury, Marle will realize that there is a plot, and you'll see that plot try to unfold with the Chancellor bringing out a fake witness to frame the King. Eventually, you'll reach the Rainbow Shell, which is resting in the treasury, having never been sold by The King. You'll find a letter from Queen Leene where Leene somehow knows that Marle and her father are having trouble getting along but knows that they will come together. You'll also get a Prism Shard, which will be proof that the Rainbow Shell is still in the treasury.

After this, head back to the courtroom entrance. You still won't be able to get in, but Marle will know an alternate way in. The game will then go back to the courtroom, where a jury of nothing but shoulders will find The King guilty in kangaroo court. Marle will suddenly crash through the stained glass window behind the judge and show up with proof, and the rest of the party will soon join her. Marle presents the Prism Shard, and the Chancellor will be exposed. He then transforms into Yakra XIII, and it will become clear that this was all a plot to get rid of the King in revenge for the first Yakra being defeated by your party at the beginning of the game for kidnapping Queen Leene.

Yakra can hit party members with Blizzard to inflict the Chaos status ailment, and he can also shake the ground to damage the whole party. When you do enough damage to him, he can also hit you with the Needle Spin attack, which can do a lot of damage to a single party member. Keep your health high while hitting him with powerful attacks, especially when Yakra XIII tries to kill your party in desperation with a Needle Spin attack that hits the whole party after you defeat him. Unlike the single-target version, however, it doesn't do as much damage when it targets the whole party.

When you defeat Yakra XIII, he will drop something, but you won't be able to pick it up yet. You'll see Marle and the King have a conversation with Marle, where it is revealed that The King was at Queen Aliza's side as she passed on peacefully and mentions a few details of Aliza's funeral before The King and Marle finally make up. In other words, everything the fake Chancellor said never happened.

Afterwards, The King will ask you to take care of Marle. Before you can leave, however, Melchior shows up, and he will head to the treasury to forge something out of the Rainbow Shell. Head back to the courtoom - which is now unguarded - and get the sparkle on the floor. This is the Yakra Key. Explore the castle and find the locked chest, then open it with the Yakra Key to free the real Chancellor, who will get right back to work on the closing ceremonies of the Millenial Fair.

If you head to the kitchen - which is heavily upgraded from what it was in 600 A.D. - you'll be able to eat for free and refill your HP and MP, especially with the Crono Special, which is essentially sushi.

If you head back to the Treasury and talk to Melchior, you can choose between three Prism Helms or one Prism Dress. Believe it or not, you'll be able to get more Prism Dresses and Prism Helms if you know what to do and how to do it, and while the Prism Dress is the best armor for Marle, Lucca and Ayla, the Prism Helms protect the wearers from status ailments. Pick the Prism Helms.

Melchior will stay in the treasury, and if you talk to him, he will tell you that he can make something wonderful with the Rainbow Shell if he had something to make an alloy with. We'll be keeping that in mind for the next side quest that I decide to do.

PrinceWatercress plays Chrono Trigger (Super NES) - Part 44 of 70

It's time to head to the Giant's Claw, which looks A LOT like the Tyrano Lair.

First | Previous | Next | End

World Map (600 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Giant's Claw Map (by Rick Bruns)

Now that we have some optional stuff done, it's time to head to the place that the optional stuff is tied to: Giant's Claw, northwest of Choras Village in 600 A.D.

As established earlier, this place shares rooms with the Tyrano Lair in 65,000,000 B.C. There are some cave areas to add some twists to everything, however. There are also new enemies.

The Fossil Ape is the hardest of the four enemies you'll deal with here. While they are just like the Winged Ape and the Cave Ape enemies from earlier in the game, these guys can pack a punch! The other enemies aren't so bad. The Leapers leap at you, but that's all they can do. The Gigasaurs can be hit with any magic for substantial damage, which is good, as hitting them with lightning-based magic causes them to do the lightning discharge attack on your party immediately. Even Magus' Dark Bomb can do over 1000 damage easily. The Lizardactyl is a blue version of the Avian Rex, but it can also be taken out very easily.

There are two Power Tabs. One of them will be in a dead in the large the cave area you'll need to get through, while the other one is in a area that you'll need to drop down a hole in order to access. When you land in what was the jail cell near the old Tyrano Lair entrance, head west and take the stairs to find the Tab.

The Blue Rock allows Lucca, Robo and Magus to perform the Omega Flare Triple Tech. Lucca will need Flare, Robo will need Laser Spin and Magus will need Dark Bomb before it can actually be performed with the Blue Rock equipped on one of them, however.

The ZodiacCape is only equippable by Marle, Lucca and Ayla and increases Magic Defense by 10 in addition to being a good source of armor defense.

There are some rooms with buttons. There are usually of the "one button opens the path, the other introduces enemies" variety, although one has three buttons. One produces a save point, the other drops two Fossil Apes down on you, and the other produces a pit you'll have to go down in order to progress.

When you reach the cell where Kino was held in the Tyrano Lair, you're almost there. There will be a save point there in case you couldn't use the one earlier, and there will also be a door there...

PrinceWatercress plays Chrono Trigger (Super NES) - Part 43 of 70

...and now for something completely optional.

First | Previous | Next | End

World Map (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

The End of Time Map (by Rick Bruns)

Guardia Forest (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Guardia Castle (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

This whole part is completely optional, but there is one thing in this entire video that you'll have to deal with regardless of whether you do anything else here.

If you try to go back to the portal that took you to Bangor Dome in 2300 A.D. from Guardia Forest in 1000 A.D., a log will block your path. Despite what I say here in the video, it's actually impossible to miss out on getting that portal, as you can still fly Epoch to Bangor Dome in 2300 A.D. and re-activate it that way. You'll just have to go back to get Epoch and then everything will be fine.

When you head back to Guardia Castle with Marle in your party after everything that happens in the Ocean Palace, the Chancellor will welcome you back with open arms before casually mentioning that Marle's mother, Queen Aliza, died alone because her father only cared about work and could not find the time to see her. If you head to the throne room and talk to the King, this will start a whole row between King Guardia XXXIII and Marle, and the king will head to his bedroom, which is the same as the king's in 600 A.D. As this goes on, the Chancellor has the twinkling eye similar to when someone causes trouble in an anime, making it painfully obvious that this is a plot for the Chancellor to drive a wedge between the king and Marle...but why?

From here, you can explore the rest of the castle. The kitchen is much improved and renovated over what is in 600 A.D., but you won't be able to have a meal...at least, not yet. Also, you cannot go back to the prison area, as the road leading to it is forever broken due to the Dragon Tank battle in the early goings of the game. You'll also find a locked chest, which you can open...eventually. Talking to the guards will reveal that the only reason you're not in trouble anymore is because the king has decided on probation for Crono instead of straight up executing him...for now.

If you talk to the king at this point, you'll find out that he has nothing to say to you. If you go back to the Chancellor, he will tell you that you can cheer the king up with his favorite meal: Jerky. The one place where you can get it is in the Snail Shop in Porre, so head over there and pay the 9900G (which you should have) to get it, then bring it back to the king. If you talk to the king with the Jerky in your inventory, the King will actually get mad and bring up his high cholesterol before taking this as a last straw of sorts. You'll then be kicked back to the world map, and while you can re-enter the castle, you won't be able to talk to the king or even enter his bedroom again, and the guards near his door will tell you that he is now bedridden from the stress. Interestingly enough, you won't be able to see his sprite anymore, and you won't even be able to see the bed!

And that's pretty much it for this part! As mentioned before, this is all optional, so you can go through the whole game without having to do any of this. If you do all of this, you'll get some background story for one of the side quests...

PrinceWatercress plays Chrono Trigger (Super NES) - Part 42 of 70

In this entry, we finally fix up the ruins and avenge Cyrus' spirit.

First | Previous | Next | End

The End of Time Map (by Rick Bruns)

World Map (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

World Map (600 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Northern Ruins (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Northern Ruins (600 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Further into the Northern Ruins, you'll face the Defuncts and the Reapers. The Reapers can be destroyed pretty easily with some powerful physical attacks, but they can strike pretty strongly if they don't miss. The Defuncts will fall apart and fail to do anything when they lose enough hit points, and when that happens, you'll need to hit them with any magic except for Shadow (which will heal them).

Once you clear out the Defuncts and Reapers, you'll have to head back to the carpenter and pay him 2000 G in order to open up the rest of the ruins. When you do, you'll be able to face a new enemy: the Base. The Base are yellow versions of the Shadows and can only be damaged with magic. If left alone with the Defunct long enough, they can combine with the Defuncts to create a new enemy called Departed, which I had no idea was even a thing before I made this blog entry. To be fair, it's easy to wipe the Bases out first.

When the carpenter says "That's all for now," you've completely fixed the ruins.

The path that Cyrus' ghost blocks in 1000 A.D. leads to his own grave. Head over there in 600 A.D. and look at the grave with Frog in your party. Cyrus' ghost will appear and tell Frog (or Glenn, he does use his real name, after all) that he is proud of the man that he has begun and that everything is in good hands with him around, including the royalty. He then ascends to the heavens, but not before powering up the Masamune, which is now Frog's strongest weapon again. You might as well equip the Hero Bade while you're at it to up the critical hit rate. The message on Cyrus' tombstone will also change, and the Northern Ruins will be known as the Hero's Grave from here on in. 

If you talk to people in Choras Village in 1000 A.D. after this, they will no longer talk about the ruins and they will talk about Cyrus instead.

PrinceWatercress plays Chrono Trigger (Super NES) - Part 41 of 70

In this entry, we head towards the Northern Ruins - the resting place of the great Cyrus - to clean the place up and hopefully get everything inside.

First | Previous | Next | End

The End of Time Map (by Rick Bruns)

World Map (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

World Map (600 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Northern Ruins (1000 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

Northern Ruins (600 A.D.) (by Rick Bruns)

If you head back to Lucca's House and go to Lara's room after saving Lara in the past, Lara will get out of her chair and move about.

For the next side quest, we're going to the Northern Ruins near Choras Village in both 600 A.D. and 1000 A.D. Choras Village will be on the southeast end of the map in those two eras, with the big building being 

Northwest of Choras Village in 600 A.D. is an island that is not there in 1000 A.D. Interestingly, there is a cave that you can enter regardless of whether or not the entrance is opened up. This leads to the Giant's Claw, and if you go further in, you'll find out that Toma did indeed find where the Rainbow Shell was. The first room after the entrance is, amazingly, Azala's throne room in the Tyrano Lair, and if you hold Up and press A at the throne, you can sit on it briefly and laugh. I don't go any further though, so as not to go off track.

You won't be able to do much in the Northern Ruins in 600 A.D., and you'll be able to do even less in 1000 A.D. due to the big haunted suit of armor near the entrance. This is Cyrus' ghost, and you will fight him for a few turns before figuring out that fighting him is utterly pointless.

In 600 A.D., you'll need to head to the cafe. There, talk to the man who is drinking at the table. He will tell you that his tools have been stolen and therefore cannot do his work without them. From there, head to 1000 A.D. and head to the single residence in the whole town with the woman and the child. The woman will tell you that her husband keeps drinking at the nearby cafe at the inn and therefore never works. If you go to the cafe at the inn and talk to the drinking man, he will let you borrow his tools. Go back to the residence and talk to the woman, and she will give you the Tools. From there, you can take them back to the drinking man at the cafe at 600 A.D. and talk to him and give him the Tools when he asks if you will lend them.

Also in 600 A.D., you can talk to Toma. If you talk to him, he will tell you that he finally found the Rainbow Shell. He will also hand you his drink - Toma's Pop - and tell you to pour it on his grave in case he does not return. Head back to 1000 A.D. and go to the grave on the western coast, then go up to the grave, hold Up and press A to read Toma's tombstone and pour the drink on the grave. Toma's ghost will tell you where the Rainbow Shell is: Giant's Claw. This will finally open up the Giant's Claw northwest of Choras Village in 600 A.D. Don't forget to go to the north side of the tomb and press A to find a Speed Tab.

Once you lend the tools to the carpenter at the cafe, head to the residence at the south end of Choras Village in 600 A.D. Talk to the carpenter, and he'll head to the ruins with his apprentices and get to work. When you get to the ruins, however, you'll have to clear out some of the monsters in order to get more of the place fixed up. The first time is for free, but you'll need 2,000 G for every trip to the ruins after that.

I start with the Sentry enemies in the western doorway at the start. These guys can only be hit with magic attacks, and these guys can hit pretty hard, hitting you with their swords for a few hundred HP a strike and also being able to absorb half as much HP from one party member. If you kill one of them, they also fight back with MP Buster, so bring plenty of Ethers. The Sentry enemies will only stop showing up when you beat all three of the battles in that area, as there is one in the middle where you need to step in a specific spot to trigger a battle with four Sentry enemies. Further from there is Cyrus' grave, which I don't touch quite yet. Instead, I take the eastern doorway, where we'll continue next time.