Chrono Trigger - Guru of Reason

Back into the future, there are many doors sealed by mysterious force. We saw some of them last time we were here. Now, armed with the magic pendant, our friends can see what hides behind them. Most of these just have some loot. Crono and friends are running out of places to check for a way forward.

These sewers are cleaner than outside.

 Future is still as bleak as it was before. Nothing has been fixed. Not that we were expecting things to return to normal so quickly any way. For the most part this place will stay the same regardless of what we do in the past. As I have alluded to in the past, the game follows multiple threads of reality rules of time travel. Once Lavos is defeated in the past, a brand new stream of reality will be generated. These people are doomed to be here regardless. Hopefully the one seed we got out of the stores will bring back all the flora and they will have food from that. I still think they should eat the rotten food and then use Enertron to heal themselves.

The sewers are the last place that remains unexplored in this era. It is about time we bite the bullet and go check the depths of sewage. Generally speaking, sewers levels are the most frustrating section of any game they show up in. They are bland and full of enemies that sap the players’ will to play the game. They are usually included when the developers want to pad the game by ramping up difficulty. Thankfully, this is not the case in Chrono Trigger. The sewers are refreshingly short (how many times have the words refreshing and sewers used in the same sentence?) Most of the enemy encounters must be triggered by interacting with the environment. Since this is the first time I have come here, and I have not been grinding so it stands to reason Crono is more or less at the recommended level for this place. I did not have any trouble against the enemies. The sewers serve to move the player between two unconnected pieces of land. They are similar in that way to the caves that connected the Fiendlord’s Keep to the rest of the continent in another timeline.

Krawlie’s got the chuckles.

At the other end of the sewers Crono and friends meet Krawlie. This guy sees himself as the boss of the whole place. He is so tickled by the Crono he just cannot stop laughing. He is clearly not taking this fight seriously, a mistake he will rue for the rest of his life. This is an easy fight. Crono and the team hit hard and Krawlie is definitely not ready for the heat. With Krawlie stomped, Crono exits the sewers and finds himself on an island with a lonely building. When we go inside, it becomes clear this is a lab that has been unoccupied save for someone called unusual construct. This guy looks like the blue creatures in the Kingdom of Zeal. Yet another connection to the time of Antiquity. We must be getting closer to finding our way back to Zeal. The construct is in no mood to talk to us, but it is also not bothered by our presence. Crono starts exploring the place to see if he can find another sealed door that may get his team back to the time of Antiquity.

What is behind door number 3?

In the back of the lab is a door with now all-too-familiar seal on it. Crono uses the pendant to open it. This long corridor has the records of the person who was researching in this lab. This man was Balthasar, Guru of Reason. We have heard his name in Zeal also. The Magic Kingdom had gurus who served as advisors to the monarch. In an effort to consolidate power, the prophet seems to have conspired to have them removed from the kingdom. This usually translated in to these gurus leaving the kingdom or getting imprisoned. Balthasar, through his research found out about the origin of Lavos. He also figured this was a parasite that fed on planets. Once the planet could not sustain it, it would travel through space looking for the next host. While the magicians of Zeal think they are harvesting it for energy, it is Lavos that is feeding on their home. He correctly predicted the death and destruction it would bring once it wakes up. In an effort to stop the apocalypse, Balthasar built a lab here in the wilderness and dedicated his life to stopping Lavos. He figured the only way to do so was to travel back in time to an era when this parasite is at its weakest and destroy it. This would not only protect our planet, but also all the other ones Lavos would go to after destroying us.

Being isolated with the thought of impending doom took its toll on Balthasar. As he raced to build a solution to eradicate the Lavos problem, Guru of Reason started losing his sanity. Ultimately, he died working to save humanity. Before he went, Balthasar left all the records of his findings and his invention for someone worthy of wielding it. These are the notes Crono has been reading. He has been able to get in here, so he is definitely worthy of the invention. Balthasar invites him to go to the next room and take a look at his world saving invention, Wings of Time.

I did not expect that to be the front of the ship

The next room is a giant hangar with a sleek looking spaceship. Since none of our friends come from the time where spaceship is an understandable concept, they do not understand what this is, although they are in awe of the futuristic looking machine. I wonder if there would be different dialogue here if I had Robo in my party. Would he be able to explain to Crono what this thing is?

Not having any understanding of how to get into the ship, much less operating it, the team decides to go back to the lab. As they try to exit, the unusual construct comes in and announces he is the consciousness of Balthasar. Once he realized his body is wilting away, he built this body and transferred his mind to it. And then he waited for a hero to show up here and save everyone. I can only imagine how long he has been waiting by himself. That is a terrifying thought. I hope he had some podcasts to listen to or something.  He teaches the adventurers how to use the ship. It is not a spaceship, but a time machine. They can use it to get back to the antiquity and put a stop to whatever has been happening in the Ocean Palace. The team christens their new time machine Epoch before heading into the past.

We are coming close to the end of the game. That is usually the time when heroes start to get traversal choices like ships, or fast travel options. Crono takes the ship to the End of Time to regroup. After that we will be going to the Antiquity. I tried to get Ayla some magic, but she was born before the advent of the magic so she can’t have any. Still, he has healing and hits really hard so we will keep her in our regular party. It is a good idea to keep her at the highest possible level because we will need her to save everyone else pretty soon.

12-27-2020