My favorite anti-Lavos team is what I call the "Past/Present/Future Physicals": Ayla, Chrono and Robo. Fully upgraded, they give quite a fun fight against the space flea and his inner bud aliens! (Edit to add: my favorite character was Frog/Glenn, largely because of his storyline. The guy _cut a mountain in half_ the day he started realizing he _was_ the Legendary Hero who could win the War of the Mystics!)
Favorite character is Chrono because as a silent protagonist I can project my thoughts and feelings onto him. Favorite group is Chrono, Frog and Robo. X-Strike and group heal = WINNING!!!!
Ayla's my favorite. Such a fun character, she has healing and steal utility, hits like a truck and I don't have to worry about buying weapons for her. My main team always ends up being Chrono, Ayla and Robo for maximum offense.
Robo has strong phisicals, magicals, and heals. Only a machine could bring so much versatility. Ayla is a honorable mention, since she has so many neat litle deatails that are exclusive to her. Like curing status ailments (Kiss), or stealing enemies (Charm), or Non-elemental Magical damage (Tail Spin), or because big strong women are my greatest weakness. Those two almost always on my team, with the third slot usually being Crono, because the game forces me to use him for most of the game (Although he is pretty strong, so it's not a problem). However I sometimes bring in Lucca because I like her firepower (pun intended).
Something significant about Crono you didn't mention - he's requires for all non-rock triple techs. Considering the power of some of those moves, that's pretty huge for synergy.
My final team is normally Chrono, Marle, and Magus. Typically using Marle to buff with Haste, than keeping the party healed while occasionally attacking. I use Chrono as a physical attack wrecking ball that can also do some crowd control if needed and Magus focuses more on crowd control.
My favourite party is probably Lucca, Ayla, and Robo. Not for any meaningful mechanical reasons, I just think it’s fun theming to have the time travelling inventor accompanied by a Neolithic human and a robot. Like if you were a time traveler those seem like they would be like the most fun, offbeat, or on theme companions that you could have.
I was 12 in 1995 and Chrono Trigger was the first game to move me to tears. Saving Lucca's mom," It's a beautiful day, I think I'll go for a walk" her pain when realizing Robo may not exist in the "new" future, "Don't pretend you don't care when your really sad! It just makes things worse!" Glen going to Cyrus's grave, he's not a "marshmallow" anymore, and that end game ballad; Triumphant, wondrous, longing, and promising. I'm tearing up now… Ayla is my spirit animal. She's a reminder that doing the right thing isn't rocket science, knows how to have a good time, works well with others, and I mean she beats things with her fist!!! Yo take on Lavos with my "Revenge Squad" In chronological order of course: Magus, Glen, and Crono. Haha so much beef in that stew! Chrono Trigger is truly a timeless masterpiece and I encourage every gamer to give it a "wonder shot"!
My end game party is usually my opening party: Crono, Lucca, and Marle. I'd use just about everyone during the game, but it felt thematically right for the three of them to be the team taking on Lavos.
My favourite part about this game is that it literally holds you hostage to use every character besides Magus. Frog, Robo (including his side quest at the end), and Ayla all have two story acts where you're required to use them, forcing you to branch away from the core three. Magus is a nice bonus character to have along for Ozzie's Fort and Queen Zeal in the Black Omen. In the end, I always pick Crono, Lucca and Marle, too. I can't get away from it!
Same here. It was a challenge without Lifeline (I'm a newbie so no ULLG) but to see these three finish the fight started so long ago in Ayla's time just felt fitting.
My first playthrough was the safe combo of Crono, Frog, Marle. I liked the healing potential, the coolness of two swordsmen, and honestly kinda liked the idea of a Princess and Frog team. On repeated runs I usually go for a more damage focused build with Crono, Ayla and Robo at the late game.
true especially since Chrono Cross has like 45 party members too bad in that one MOST are CRAP I find barely even 10 of them in Cross to NOT suck at all.
@PAINNN666 yes, you can leave her at the End of Time when you don't want her with you. But for story reasons, she never leaves. You could have her in your party the entire game, once she joins you. She never, ever leaves. Marle gets separated from you at the fair. Frog leaves after the Queen Leene is saved. Robo is beat up by his brothers for a fight and then later leaves the party to plant a forest. Ayla leaves the party after you get the gate key back. Chrono dies, and Janus is completely optional. Lucca, never has a story moment in which she leaves party and is unavailable. You might say the prison section, but you can just sit in the cell, and she will rescue you with zero input from the player.
My favorite party to use is Crono, Lucca, and Ayla. Once you learn you can use Lapis for party heals and tonics for single heals, going for that raw damage output and defeating enemies and bosses before they hurt you too much makes them a powerful combo. Falcon Hit tends to just destroy nearly every enemy formation and is useful pre-Luminaire/Flare, Blaze Kick does great damage between Lucca's powerful magic and Ayla's powerful attack stats. And their triple tech just adds even more power and flavor.
Favorite character: Toma (second goes to Gina) Favorite party member: Frog Favorite villain:...not sure. Either Flea or Azala Favorite translation: Woolsey Mostly used end party team: Chrono, Lucca, Frog
In the past, my usual end game team was Crono, Magus and Frog, with crono serving as healer if needed with items due to his speed. However, the only standard character I had if I could was Crono, the others were in or out of the party as needed to build techs, levels and story reasons as needed.
On my first playthrough, the endgame party was Robo, Ayla and frog as I didn't know how to save Chrono. On my second was Chrono, Ayla and frog as I loved their triple tech. Frog is my favorite 🐸
Magus. He's the grim reaper with a heart. Magus Crono & Frog/Ayla. Their ultimate weapons/armor make them a powerhouse team. Magus for magic the other 2 for physical. Or Magus lucca & marle for the trio magic
Robo, Marle, and Crono have access to the best healing triple tech, perfect for a defensive play while conserving elixir for soloing lavos later on. So that's a plus 1 on Marle
While a disagree with some of the numbers, it’s great to see you try your hand at this list. I love Marle’s personality, personally, but she also has the weakest spell list (her heal to full is bested by her own lower tier heal, for instance!) and her personal story is the weakest of the whole troupe. Still, she’s a GREAT character, and you’re right to point out this is a list that’s difficult because it’s spoiled for choice.
The fact that these characters are so closely scored is just a testament to how balanced they are. Yes some are stronger than others, but never during my time playing this game did I ever decide 'nope, dont want to use him/her anymore.' one of the reasons why i love this game so much. My end game party is always Crono, Frog, and Lucca just for that Luminaire/Frog Flare combo. I do remember also being so strong in NG+ that i could solo Lavos with just Crono. Im kind of curious right now if you plan on doing a character list for Chrono Cross. I know that there are tons of characters, but I still want to see one in the same style list (though I feel the story scores would be all over the place)
My team was Crono, Robo and Frog. How can you go wrong? They were absolutely solid. Their triple tech creamed Magus, negating kind of the quirk of that fight with having to use specific elements, along with the final boss that absorbed elements. Robo and Frog each had heals that covered all parties and if you wanted, their double healed everyone full. X-Strike and Spire were powerful, allowing Robo to heal if needed. Supervolt was a powerful magic spell if you were dealing with enemies with high defense. Honestly, this team was unbeatable and definitely a good one to recommend beginners, since each character was beefy enough to withstand a lot of attacks. The only negatives was not a whole lot of magic power among them and Robo was a bit slow, so you're most likely going to be waiting for his ATB to fill.
Once upon a time I would've agreed with you about Marle at the bottom. But I recently did did a run collecting all the endings and she was 1 of my best party members along side Ayla and Crono, Good video though.
I know this will sound weird, but have you ever noticed how the central bit of the last boss (the humanoid) has all the animations that could make it a secret hidden character? I mean it would weird having it lumbering around with the party but also kind of cool.
something to note about Ayla is that, at one certain point when the party is captured and everyone's weapons taken, Ayla is the only party member who can fight due to not relying on weapons to begin with.
I've been playing this game since it came out and tend to use lots of different parties for different situations. I also like to use everybody for something. But my favorite party for fighting the final boss is Chrono, Lucca, Magus. Just keep nuking Lavos with Luminaire, Flare, and Dark Matter. Equip as many many armors as you can to protect your status and as many accessories as you can to reduce your MP consumption. Also, don't be afraid to use your MP-restoring items; this is what you've been saving them for! Lavos will go down in no time.
My end game party was typically Crono, Marle, and Lucca. Crono would spam Lumiare and Marle and Lucca would spam Antipode 3. Rinse and repeat until everything was dead. I like running Crono, Frog, and Robo, too.
Looking forward to a CC one. Also, I like using Robo because he's stronk, high HP, has a diverse tool kit, has a tons of great dual and triple techs, a great variation on the 'amnesia' plot line, and (even though its not considered in this) a really interesting relationship with Chrono Cross' story.
Some may be aware but Toriyama illustrated all the cutscenes and did character creation to this game. You had some good timing with this video. Also, I never put any effort into Robo at all. I loved Chrono with rainbow sword and constantly hearing SWIK SWING as he always crits.
I loved the multi endings in this game. It blown my mind the first time i played it. And this was on SNES. An RPG that changes with my decisions...like i always wanted
Although I’ve beaten the game in literally every single lineup possible, my preferred lineup is always Chrono, Lucca, and Nadia. The Lucca and Nadia combo (especially with Antipode 3) is so op.
My end game party a lot of times usually end with Chrono, Ayla and random character that I feel might be good at the time, like Janus, Lucca, Marle or Robo. I have play enough times that I have used every party combination at least once, but Ayla and Chrono usually end up there 9 times out of 10.
Leg Crusher 3000, not Taban’s best work. And Magus definitely had “doesn’t play well with others” on his report cards in school. 😜 Chrono Trigger has one of the best casts of characters in gaming, in my humble opinion. Can’t say any character is a bad one. Another great list! 👍
Perfect list! Everyone is exactky where they need to be. My favorite party is the top 3. Lol. Least used characters are the bottom 2. Favorite NPC... That wimp guy that wants to impress Ayla in the past.
For my final build, sometimes I'll use Magus with Crono and Robo, but I think my favorite is Ayla, Crono, and Robo. Linear AOE physical, AOE magic and healing, and maxing out Crono's speed is a fun one. I also want to say after level 40 or 42 (I think), Ayla's fists become stronger (I think they end up being called Iron Fist). RIP Toriyama-san......
Crono, Marle, and Lucca usually were my final party. That being said, Chrono Trigger instituted what would become a gaming staple-New Game +. Chrono Cross, of course, made New Game + mandatory if you wanted to recruit all characters, because it was actually impossible to recruit every character in a single play through (certain choices allowing recruitment of character “a” made recruiting character “b” on the same play through impossible)). The best part of Chrono Trigger’s New Game + was discovering secret endings only available through New Game +.
Lucca should be much higher probably number 1, or 2 at most. Her role in the story is as vital as anyone's even discounting Cross and her battle use is high. She's the one character always in my party once she's available.
I think this list is accurate for the base game... but honestly, it's so easy with no mods or self-imposed challenges (like no healing items) that it doesn't much matter who is used. Last time I played CT, I used the Level Zero and CT+ rebalance mods. This makes it so you only gain tech points and maybe items or money from battles, and there's no tabs. You get higher base HP, but a lot of enemies also hit harder. Your only way to increase stats is gear. And then some of that gear is made more useful, like the triple tech rocks becoming items that increase stats while unlocking a triple tech. Then I self-imposed no healing items... No tonics, ethers, elixers, revives... Not even shelters. Only inns and HP/MP recovery points like the drink in the jail. Doing this completely changes around the rankings. I was taught the value of having a dedicated healer very early on with the fight vs the Dragon Tank, where I had no healing and death would come swiftly with even one mistake. It was nearly impossible to avoid at least one party member falling. I kept Marle in my party for most of the rest of the game after that LOL Speaking of which, Marle shoots WAY up because having a good dedicated healer and later full-reviver suddenly becomes a much greater asset with no healing items allowed. Not having any other way to recover than techs, inns, and the occasional recovery spot really changes around how one constructs their party and progresses in dungeons. Magus' Castle in particular was brutal, had to skip all the fights I could. Strategies like DoomScythe/Haste shown in the video become a backup plan instead of your go-to stomp because they're risky. It's actually refreshing to be punished in CT if you make the wrong moves. I recommend trying out the game this way.
My favorite end game party is Crono, Frog, and Ayla. Most triple techs aren't worth it, but 3D attack is worth using over dual techs, especially vs bosses. Try fighting Lavos with it! I like to give Frog all the magic tabs and speed tabs so he has a stronger heal, and can squeeze it in when needed and not have to wait too long for a triple tech. Power tabs can go on anyone really.
About that Slurp kiss for 999 healing actually uses Ayla's MAGIC stat not Frogs so for 999 healing you need to give her all your Magic tabs Slurp Kiss needs at least a 36 MAGIC stat for it to restore 999 HP per use it also removes all status ailments though if won't revive the 3rd party member if they DIE before you use it.
I like Robo but he is usually more trouble than he's worth for me. I dunno if it's a bug or intentional (I've heard both x3) but he takes excessive magic damage compared to other characters which usually means in major fights he's lying on the floor more often than not. Especially the final battle as Lavos literally one shots him with multiple attacks while only hitting the others for half as much.
While people mention their favourite, the one team I thought was amusing was an end party of Marle, Frog and Ayla, because logically those three would have absolutely no clue how to interpret Lavos true form.
My unofficial first story clear opinion: Crono: *grind of Rainbow being unsheathed* Such an amazing story for a silent protagonist, sacrifing himself to stop Lavos in the Ocean Palace. Surprisingly adept at Magic and Magic techs with his high Speed and massively powerful Luminaire, his Rainbow and Dragon's Tear combo allows him to rip through Lavos easily. Make sure to focus on both Strength and Magic boosting. Marle: "Princess Nadia!" -Yakra XIII aka the fake Chancellor This tomboyish princess is always fun to use. Her Bows are affected by wind, but rarely is this an issue. Aura Whirl is awesome, and the humor factor of Allure never fails on me. Her best Dual Tech for me is Twin Charm *sarcastic gasp* since much of the best gender-exclusive equipment is only available through Charm, and Twin Charm frees Ayla's accessory slot from the grip of the Alluring Top. Lucca: *Explosion in the distance; pushes up glasses nonchalantly* This extroverted genius is queen of the sidearm and mallet, KOing the Guardia Prison warden to help Crono escape and blasting through the R-Series to protect Robo. Her guns aren't to be underestimated, and she's central to obtaining the Sunglasses, one of the more useful Helms. Her Magic isn't too shabby either, using her blazing rage to fuel her Flare. Frog: "Ready thy axe!" -Cyan Garamond, Final Fantasy VI Advance A knight in shining armor sadly felled by Magus, he joins Crono to stop Yakra from killing Queen Leene. His 23% innate critical rate is quite strong, but by the time the Masamune receives the blessing of Cyrus to awaken its full power, Crono has largely caught up to this amphibian paladin by mastering the legendary katana Swallow. Even so, Frog edges a bit ahead with his Water II and Double Cure techs. Robo: Can a robot love? This automaton is a one-bot fortress, easily walling many elemental techs thanks to his inability to use Magic and gunning down many fiends through his devastating physicals. Even so, he shows his softer side by protecting the others from the R-Series and giving Lucca the Green Dream after saving her mother from being crippled. His pseudo-Magic doesn't disappoint with such Techs as Cure Beam, Electrocute, and Proximity Bomb. Just make sure to augment his movement capabilities (aka give him Speed Capsules) to allow him to function at peak combat efficiency. Alya: "A caveman rebel leader? Yeah, right." -An anonymous skeptic before being Thunder Chomped A powerhouse along the lines of She-Hulk and Wolverine, Alya was born before the age of Magic, giving her the same non-elemented traits as Robo. However, when Robo walls, Alya mauls. Her Cat Attack is just the tip of the iceberg: Thunder Chomp, Falcon Strike, Twin Charm, even Iceberg Toss and Dino Tail all bring Armageddon to the battlefield. Magus: *Ganondorf laugh from OoT* Magus is awesome, his design (for me) being a combination of the Grim Reaper, Dracula, and a touch of Dark Link. The Fiendlord excels with his unique armor and Schala's Amulet, but even with his insanely powerful Magic (even an equivalent to Banish!) is a prime candidate for the 80% physical counter rate of the Wrath Band.
As far as favorite party compositions go... in a casual setting I like any party involving Magus, but really like Crono, Magus, and Frog in a party together. The only way it could be better is if Crono also had a cape. Prior to Magus, I like Robo in the party. And when I did my playthrough for my LP, I really wanted/thought Crono, Robo, and Frog would be the meta composition, since Ayla's magic defense is kind of abysmal. Turns out speed is just too valuable, as are the dual techs available to Ayla and Frog instead! So the best party composition in the game is actually Crono, Frog, and Ayla. With this party composition, it is possible on a regular NG to beat Lavos at the Undersea Palace without overleveling, roughly around an average party level of 40/41. You wouldn't need any levels after 37ish if you could access the best gear in the game, but the best gear available to you up to that point comes from the Green Dream sidequest which first opens up after visiting Zeal. (most importantly, Vigil Hats for status protection) What makes this composition so potent is that they do not need megaelixirs nor items of any kind in order to beat Lavos at the Undersea Palace. Note, this is the strongest incarnation of Lavos in the game, and the hardest boss in the game. This is because it is a, "supposed to lose" fight, and you are only intended to beat it in NG+. This composition can do this, and is the only composition that can do this for a few reasons. Primarily, this is the fastest composition in the game even with tabs in play. There are not enough speed tabs prior to The Black Omen to fix Robo, Marle, or Lucca to try and include them in the comp for this. To do it requires your healers to be at ** speed or at least 15. They have to out heal roughly 800 damage done to the entire party every turn, and this is only doable in an economical fashion via use of the dual tech, Slurp Kiss. Crono will deal most all of the damage, though the Rage Band (or whateverthe accessory was called that induces counter attacks) may be equipped to Frog so that he adds damage through counters occasionally. Ayla will want either a speed accessory or a magic defense raising one.
1) L94+ Ayla 2) Robo - Good single target damage, good AOE damage and the best group heal. 3) Chrono - Good damage both Physical and Magic 4) Luca - Insane magic damage, poor physical. 5) Magus - average damage, Good magic flexibility. 6) Glenn for AOE Heal 7) Marle for Haste
Ok, now that I've got time to be both shallow and pedantic ( :^) ), I'll give ya my list, my fave, and my fave comps! Prepare for the longest comment of your life! 7. Marle - Yeah. You were mostly right here. She's relatively slow. Her healing magic isn't party wide without dual techs. And if you need Life 2, something is wrong! Story wise though, I think you underrated her. I see her as fairly pivotal to the plot, being the one who suggests we try to change the timeline for the whole world, like we did for her, and the idea of having someone on your team who experienced non-existence is just really cool to me. Using your scale I give her story a 5/5, her usefulness a 1/5, and her Synergy a 3.5/5, putting her at 9.5/15. She has some really good combos, but like Lucca, I find her poor speed to be a detriment to using dual techs, and also her insanely low physical defense sees her getting one shot by quite a lot of the stronger bosses without a lot of leveling or the better armors. 6. Robo - Yeah. I put him way lower. Why? Well, you said this list assumed without tab use/abuse, so without speed tabs, Robo is the slowest character in the game, putting his actions per minute insanely low, and as a result, all of his insane utility has to happen after the enemies do bad things to you, so he's always playing catch up. Although he is one of my absolute favorite characters, without being able to fix his speed, he will never make it into the best team comp in the game. Sad. Story wise he had mild importance, but he also comes from a doomed timeline, and so technically by saving the world, his own existence should be unmade. He's given a happy ending though. This makes him a self-sacrificial character, and it's really very touching, but knowing that he has the happy ending undercuts that for me. I give his story a 3.5/5, usefulness a 2.5/5, and his synergy a 4/5. If we were allowed to fix his speed, I would bump those last two categories up to 5/5s. This puts him at a 10/15 for me. 5. Lucca - Basically the black mage for the party, even before you get access to magic proper. She has the first elemental attack available in the game, and right away she has supremely useful dual tech potential. Flare is almost as strong as Luminaire, and due to her greater magic stat, it will generally out damage Luminaire for a long time. However, Lucca is so much slower than Crono that he's liable to get 2 or 3 Luminaires off as she gets 1 Flare off. Wondershot was a great addition to her arsenal, and whenever I play I find myself wishing they'd given Marle something like that. Story wise, it's Lucca's machine that reacts with the pendant opening the game's first time gate, and causes the once alluded to, "entity" to take notice of the party. Lucca then becomes instrumental in all time travel by inventing the Gate Key. I find that her personality really shines through as well, and without her we wouldn't have Robo's story at all. I give her a 4/5 story, 3/5 usefulness, and a 3.5/5 synergy, because again, she's super slow and we can't fix her speed. Also very physically breakable just like Marle. For a 10.5/15 4. Magus - His story is insanely compelling, since it's tied up as our main motivation for a good chunk of the middle game, whereupon it shifts along with the party and he gets involved as a side NPC in the late game. I also just think he looks the damn coolest out of all the characters. I missed him on my first playthrough back when I was 7 or so, playing my brother's hand-me down SNES, and my brother never let me live it down. I think Magus is my favorite character. Usefulness and synergy wise, your video was entirely accurate. He has access to one of the most powerful Triple Techs, but only through equipment, which gets in the way of supremely useful accessories. But literally no dual techs. In general, though, I find that his damage contributions from his solo techs to match or make up for any dual tech damage potential that exists, since Magus is basically as fast as Crono at base. Then his best armor comes with a handy speed boost. He's easy to cap on speed without any tab use. Nowadays I tend to view him as the intended fill in for Crono post Zeal. Just you know, the lack of dual techs making you miss Crono, probably. Storywise I give him 5/5, Usefulness 5/5, and Synergy 1/5. Giving Magus an 11/15 3. Crono - Storywise he is the main character, but by Zeal, the game admits that he is really just the player character fill in, so he's only as valuable as you perceive him to be. As a young child, I always felt like he was me. I can admit being raised on video games definitely suckered me into main character syndrome IRL for longer than I care to admit. So for me, when he sacrifices himself against Lavos, it was like losing and then reclaiming myself. Outside of that, though, he's a typical silent protagonist, and his own identity is mostly tied up in his surroundings. Like he's Lucca's best friend. He's from Guardia. It was his motivation to want to really go to the Millenial Fair. He's kind of a lynchpin for the story, because he is the vehicle we use to go through it. I'll always find it compelling that it's optional to get him back, in the end. Usefulness wise he has dual techs and triple techs with literally everyone except for Magus iirc. Also his magic type is actually supposed to just be Light, not Lightning. There's kind of a foil relationship between him and Magus with how they're characterized. He is by default the fastest character aside from Ayla, and he's the only character allowed to solo the game. Storywise I give him a 2/5, Usefulness and Synergy are 5/5 and 5/5. For a score of 12/15. He is part of the best compositions the party can have, regardless of how you play. 2. Ayla - Storywise, she's one of mankind's first strong rulers, able to stand up to the Reptites. She's runs around on all 4s like a cat, and in Japanese she's hinted at being bisexual. So she's got very high sex appeal, probably the highest a pixelated character could have without that being her only defining trait. She names Lavos, and is Marle's ancestor. She's the one who gives us the Dreamstone to fix the Masamune, and so she has tangential association with it, as well as the lost in translation plot about Zeal and Dreams and how Masa and Mune (Gran and Leon originally) are creatures made real by Zeal magicians from dreams. It's a shame we can't bring her to the Magus fight, because she would absolutely beat the crap out of him. Usefulness wise she has a lot of useful and powerful dual techs and a few good triples. She can steal, which if we were allowing for tabs, means she is how you get most of your tabs through a playthrough by stealing in The Black Omen. She naturally has as much speed as Crono or was 1 faster, I need to replay. She is part of what I consider the best party composition in the game due to the dual tech, Slurp Kiss, which is the most MP efficient and best group heal in the entire game. Edit: I forgot to score her. 2.5/5 Story, 5/5 usefulness, and 4.5/5 Synergy for a 12/15 1. Frog - Storywise he is dynamite. He comes in early to help us save Marle from not existing, as her presence caused him to not have his original back up retinue that would have originally helped him to defeat Yakra and save Leene. He saves Lucca from death by Naga-ette. He notes Crono's potential as a swordsman. He comes back in the mid-game propelling us to fix the Masamune(Granleon) so we can fight and become intertwined with Magus and find out the truth behind Lavos. His backstory is compelling, and his tie to that lost in translation dream creature plot still remains in his ultimate item based Triple Tech, Grand Dream (which now that you know about the lost plot thread, the name for it should make sense, no?). He is 1 step slower than Magus, which puts him at 4th fastest character in the game, but this can be fixed more or less with a Dash Ring or other, minor, speed amplifications. He has a great array of Dual Techs, lots of them being among the most powerful techs in the game, and his individual techs are all very good as well, though I will not he has not big damaging solo tech outside of Frog Squash, which requires his HP to be at critical levels to be good (which is not a place you want to be in for very long). He's basically a Red Mage in my opinion, because he can kind of do it all and even excel in ways that other party members can't. Being 4th fastest doesn't sound like best material, but we included story as well. I give him a story rating of 5/5, Usefulness rating of 4/5, and a synergy rating of 4.5/5 putting him at 13.5. Feel like I'm gonna hit the character limit for TH-cam comments so.... I'll list my favorite party comp in the next comment!
First end game party was chrono frog alya. Dino tail and frog squash made end of black omen crazy and slurp kiss to erase most of lavos's damage for next to no mp cost. Still my fav if not the most raw damage
I never understood those special end game weapons like Crisis Arm or DoomScythe so for me Robo and Magus were kind of blah. I also felt that not having Ayla/Marle for Steal / Charm was making me miss out on some great stuff to steal. Honestly all the characters were great, but Marle for the heals would help a lot on boss battles where I did not know the fight going in. So usually went with Chrono / Ayla / Marle. What might be a cool video would be the top team configurations.
I'd give Magus a 5 for his story. Really by far the most important character in the game. Linked with everyone and Chrono Cross not finishing his story still grinds my gears. And idk how Frog can get a 5 in story when Lucca story wise is of a personal starting failure but rising above it as well like his but doesn't just in game as well. She also adds tons to Robo's story.
Awesome video, and exactly how I would have rated them. I really hope that if they ever do a remaster, or a remake of this game, that they show some love to Marle, and make her the actual healer of the game. Robo, and Frog just do it better, and outside of some dual techs, those 2 just pretty much outshine her in every way.
Chrono Trigger has a small party selection, and the group is balanced. So there's no one "definitive" selection, as multiple configurations can work. That said, my selection is usually Chrono, Ayla, and Frog. Outside that, any group with Magus.
I quibble over your specific numbers, but I *mostly* agree with the broad strokes. As you mentioned, the difference between the top and bottom is pretty narrow. Quibbles: I feel like you're underselling Crono being necessary for the majority of the triple techs in the game. I feel like his synergy belongs at a 5. To whit, I feel like you're *over* selling Robo's synergy because as powerful as his dual techs are, his low speed means that he slows down his partner.
Regarding the story between Frog and Magus, I feel Magus is slightly higheras Most of Frog's story is connected to Magus' story... But this was an interesting list. Not sure how it would work but would challenge you to do a list of Chrono Cross. But I think most of the characters will be a 1 on story though. Could be wrong. I like Magus first, so I like to use him with Robo and Luca mostly due to Omega Flare and Robo's healing can help out a lot.
My tier list. The actual protagonist and I don't care if someone is better tier - Janus Everyone else but Crono tier - Everyone else but Crono I hate most silent protagonists tier - Crono.
Was Marle and Chrono getting married one of the new endings added in the DS version of the game? I don't remember that at all from that verison, I might have just never seen that new ending though. I believe the Steam and mobile versions of the game were based on that DS port.
When I saw the video... my initial thought was: "If Robo is not #1, you're incorrect". I actually would rate his story a bit higher, given all the nuances of it? But... I think I mostly agree with this layout (as much as I love my girls: Marle and Lucca). As for final party? Crono, by the end of the game is... just very strong. Like, he doesn't do much besides hit really hard? But arguably: that's what you need at the center of any party. Robo, especially by the end of the game, can easily have max speed and better magic to allow him to act as terrific support with Heal Beam (like... seriously: the seemingly intended main healer doesn't get an all-targetting healing ability, but Robo and Frog do... absolutely busted), and his capacity to do single target damage with the Crisis Arm in his "down time" is great. As for the final? Ayla is good? But I find that I care about using her more for her Charm ability than anything else. Marle DOES bring Haste, which can be nice. Lucca is great for magic damage and AoEs, and her single target damage can be baller with Wondershot (and is just... fun to see happen). Magus is a strong... solo entry to any party, but if im using Chrono, I probably am not using Magus. For me, I think I like Chrono, Robo, Lucca; Chrono, Robo, Frog; or Frog, Robo, Lucca. Good spread of damage types, access to all targeting heals... the right amount of support and damage. But I'm curious to see what others like in terms of a team.
Anyway, later when I have enough time, I'll leave you a third comment outlining a tier list, the request from you for favorite characters, and finally my favorite party comp.
she is, but i looked at this more at a casual standpoint instead of speedrunning one. the reason she's so focused on in the speedrun is due to omega flare being as good as it is, which requires her to get flare. we also pump her full of speed tabs so she isn't slow as tits haha
Omega Flare kind of SUCKS though in fact your better off NOT using Magus in the party at all ie Frog Lucca Ayla against Lavos if your going for the Crono is still dead ending on a first run.
I'd say Ayla is best. Her steal ability can make every other character absolutely OP with what can be stolen in the Black Omen, and technically she is the highest strength character as she can do 9999 damage on a crit at lvl 99
There are no bad characters in this game for two reasons: The first one is that Chrono Trigger is not a hard game, and the second one is that every character can overcome their individual weaknesses thanks to the Duo Techs. Magus has such big stats and strong Single Techs to overcompensate for his lack of Duo Techs. Aaaaaand also his poor avaiability...
When i first played this game i hated robo but then when i learned the mechanics i realized robo is in fact the best character in the game granted it takes some work
If you had asked me to make this list, probably the only thing that would be the same is Frog, but hearing your reasons, i think you got it correct. But seriously, Ayla and Robo are top two, probably why i was so bad at the game. Also, half of the cast are from the same family. Thats a weird thing to think about.
I disagree on Marle. I think she's pretty useful. Her dual techs are among the very best in the game. Ice Water is fantastic multi-target damage for barely any MP cost. Extremely useful in Magus' castle. Aura Whirl is the best early game healing tech. Antipode is fantastic against bosses. She's also required for the Lifeline triple tech, which is bar none the best support tech in the game. She brings a lot more to the table than Frog, Lucca and Magus IMO.
My party is ALWAYS: Early game: Chrono, Robo/Frog, Ayla Late game: Chrono, Magus, Ayla The dual tecs for Chrono and Ayla are just too kill, and Magus covers pretty much everything else. If Im not in a damage race, Ill bring Frog or Robo for multi-target heals (usually Frog). Lavos fight definitely Chrono, Frog, Ayla
Who is your favourite character and why? Who is your favourite team and why? Let me know cuz there are so many fun ways to play Chrono Trigger!
My favorite anti-Lavos team is what I call the "Past/Present/Future Physicals": Ayla, Chrono and Robo. Fully upgraded, they give quite a fun fight against the space flea and his inner bud aliens! (Edit to add: my favorite character was Frog/Glenn, largely because of his storyline. The guy _cut a mountain in half_ the day he started realizing he _was_ the Legendary Hero who could win the War of the Mystics!)
Favorite character is Chrono because as a silent protagonist I can project my thoughts and feelings onto him. Favorite group is Chrono, Frog and Robo. X-Strike and group heal = WINNING!!!!
Ayla's my favorite. Such a fun character, she has healing and steal utility, hits like a truck and I don't have to worry about buying weapons for her.
My main team always ends up being Chrono, Ayla and Robo for maximum offense.
Robo gang, because...I like robots.
Robo has strong phisicals, magicals, and heals. Only a machine could bring so much versatility.
Ayla is a honorable mention, since she has so many neat litle deatails that are exclusive to her. Like curing status ailments (Kiss), or stealing enemies (Charm), or Non-elemental Magical damage (Tail Spin), or because big strong women are my greatest weakness.
Those two almost always on my team, with the third slot usually being Crono, because the game forces me to use him for most of the game (Although he is pretty strong, so it's not a problem). However I sometimes bring in Lucca because I like her firepower (pun intended).
Something significant about Crono you didn't mention - he's requires for all non-rock triple techs. Considering the power of some of those moves, that's pretty huge for synergy.
I appreciate how you Robo Rolled us there.
I[m never going to be able to look at Robo the same again.
@@PissedGrunty Well, Robo's never gonna give you up.
:)
It took me a hot second why he used this song when talking about Robo lol Robo ftw
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this theme sounded like the Rick Asley song.
My favourite character is Gato. Fight me.
And win 15 Silver Points.
Well played....
😂😂😂😂😂
I have no horse in this race, as I tell everyone you can beat the game with any party. I like your list. RIP Akira Toriyama.
RIP
Yeah, Chrono Trigger is a surprisingly well-balanced game
My final team is normally Chrono, Marle, and Magus. Typically using Marle to buff with Haste, than keeping the party healed while occasionally attacking. I use Chrono as a physical attack wrecking ball that can also do some crowd control if needed and Magus focuses more on crowd control.
My favourite party is probably Lucca, Ayla, and Robo. Not for any meaningful mechanical reasons, I just think it’s fun theming to have the time travelling inventor accompanied by a Neolithic human and a robot. Like if you were a time traveler those seem like they would be like the most fun, offbeat, or on theme companions that you could have.
That's a very meta party tho lol
Oil has washed over my sight sensors... sight diminished. 😢
its ok there's audio!
I was 12 in 1995 and Chrono Trigger was the first game to move me to tears. Saving Lucca's mom," It's a beautiful day, I think I'll go for a walk" her pain when realizing Robo may not exist in the "new" future, "Don't pretend you don't care when your really sad! It just makes things worse!" Glen going to Cyrus's grave, he's not a "marshmallow" anymore, and that end game ballad; Triumphant, wondrous, longing, and promising. I'm tearing up now…
Ayla is my spirit animal. She's a reminder that doing the right thing isn't rocket science, knows how to have a good time, works well with others, and I mean she beats things with her fist!!!
Yo take on Lavos with my "Revenge Squad" In chronological order of course: Magus, Glen, and Crono. Haha so much beef in that stew!
Chrono Trigger is truly a timeless masterpiece and I encourage every gamer to give it a "wonder shot"!
My end game party is usually my opening party: Crono, Lucca, and Marle. I'd use just about everyone during the game, but it felt thematically right for the three of them to be the team taking on Lavos.
It really was their quest from the start so it just feels right
My favourite part about this game is that it literally holds you hostage to use every character besides Magus. Frog, Robo (including his side quest at the end), and Ayla all have two story acts where you're required to use them, forcing you to branch away from the core three. Magus is a nice bonus character to have along for Ozzie's Fort and Queen Zeal in the Black Omen. In the end, I always pick Crono, Lucca and Marle, too. I can't get away from it!
Same here. It was a challenge without Lifeline (I'm a newbie so no ULLG) but to see these three finish the fight started so long ago in Ayla's time just felt fitting.
My first playthrough was the safe combo of Crono, Frog, Marle. I liked the healing potential, the coolness of two swordsmen, and honestly kinda liked the idea of a Princess and Frog team. On repeated runs I usually go for a more damage focused build with Crono, Ayla and Robo at the late game.
Chrono Trigger has more so its "least good" characters than its "worst" characters.
truths!
true especially since Chrono Cross has like 45 party members too bad in that one MOST are CRAP I find barely even 10 of them in Cross to NOT suck at all.
In fact, no members are worst. All of them are useful by their own way, even Marle.
Huh. Just realized that Lucca is the only non-optional character who doesn't leave the party at some point after joining
Tbf I didn't realize this until writing the script up that she never leaves hahaha
What in the heavens name you talking about? Forgot about Gates in Future?
@PAINNN666 yes, you can leave her at the End of Time when you don't want her with you. But for story reasons, she never leaves. You could have her in your party the entire game, once she joins you. She never, ever leaves. Marle gets separated from you at the fair. Frog leaves after the Queen Leene is saved. Robo is beat up by his brothers for a fight and then later leaves the party to plant a forest. Ayla leaves the party after you get the gate key back. Chrono dies, and Janus is completely optional.
Lucca, never has a story moment in which she leaves party and is unavailable. You might say the prison section, but you can just sit in the cell, and she will rescue you with zero input from the player.
My favorite party to use is Crono, Lucca, and Ayla. Once you learn you can use Lapis for party heals and tonics for single heals, going for that raw damage output and defeating enemies and bosses before they hurt you too much makes them a powerful combo. Falcon Hit tends to just destroy nearly every enemy formation and is useful pre-Luminaire/Flare, Blaze Kick does great damage between Lucca's powerful magic and Ayla's powerful attack stats. And their triple tech just adds even more power and flavor.
the funniest thing about falcon hit is how easy it is to get vs how strong it is. it doesn't deserve being that strong but we take those
@@Bdewd And it's Tech Point cost is really cheap, too, for how powerful and useful it is.
Favorite character: Toma (second goes to Gina)
Favorite party member: Frog
Favorite villain:...not sure. Either Flea or Azala
Favorite translation: Woolsey
Mostly used end party team: Chrono, Lucca, Frog
In the past, my usual end game team was Crono, Magus and Frog, with crono serving as healer if needed with items due to his speed. However, the only standard character I had if I could was Crono, the others were in or out of the party as needed to build techs, levels and story reasons as needed.
Ditto
On my first playthrough, the endgame party was Robo, Ayla and frog as I didn't know how to save Chrono. On my second was Chrono, Ayla and frog as I loved their triple tech. Frog is my favorite 🐸
Right on Time! I was waiting for this video
You are a brave man for making this list.
Magus. He's the grim reaper with a heart. Magus Crono & Frog/Ayla. Their ultimate weapons/armor make them a powerhouse team. Magus for magic the other 2 for physical. Or Magus lucca & marle for the trio magic
Robo, Marle, and Crono have access to the best healing triple tech, perfect for a defensive play while conserving elixir for soloing lavos later on. So that's a plus 1 on Marle
Robo is my favorite the rocket punch is iconic. I liked seeing Android 16 do rocket punch in DBZ
Chrono by far is the best character. Best damage, best crit chance, flexible moves and when pumped to the max can solo Lavos.
Let's go Ayla! 💪
While a disagree with some of the numbers, it’s great to see you try your hand at this list. I love Marle’s personality, personally, but she also has the weakest spell list (her heal to full is bested by her own lower tier heal, for instance!) and her personal story is the weakest of the whole troupe. Still, she’s a GREAT character, and you’re right to point out this is a list that’s difficult because it’s spoiled for choice.
The fact that these characters are so closely scored is just a testament to how balanced they are. Yes some are stronger than others, but never during my time playing this game did I ever decide 'nope, dont want to use him/her anymore.' one of the reasons why i love this game so much.
My end game party is always Crono, Frog, and Lucca just for that Luminaire/Frog Flare combo. I do remember also being so strong in NG+ that i could solo Lavos with just Crono.
Im kind of curious right now if you plan on doing a character list for Chrono Cross. I know that there are tons of characters, but I still want to see one in the same style list (though I feel the story scores would be all over the place)
My team was Crono, Robo and Frog. How can you go wrong? They were absolutely solid. Their triple tech creamed Magus, negating kind of the quirk of that fight with having to use specific elements, along with the final boss that absorbed elements. Robo and Frog each had heals that covered all parties and if you wanted, their double healed everyone full. X-Strike and Spire were powerful, allowing Robo to heal if needed. Supervolt was a powerful magic spell if you were dealing with enemies with high defense. Honestly, this team was unbeatable and definitely a good one to recommend beginners, since each character was beefy enough to withstand a lot of attacks. The only negatives was not a whole lot of magic power among them and Robo was a bit slow, so you're most likely going to be waiting for his ATB to fill.
I still think in my head about the best party. I remember how pumped i was to recruit magus
Once upon a time I would've agreed with you about Marle at the bottom. But I recently did did a run collecting all the endings and she was 1 of my best party members along side Ayla and Crono, Good video though.
I know this will sound weird, but have you ever noticed how the central bit of the last boss (the humanoid) has all the animations that could make it a secret hidden character? I mean it would weird having it lumbering around with the party but also kind of cool.
something to note about Ayla is that, at one certain point when the party is captured and everyone's weapons taken, Ayla is the only party member who can fight due to not relying on weapons to begin with.
I've been playing this game since it came out and tend to use lots of different parties for different situations. I also like to use everybody for something. But my favorite party for fighting the final boss is Chrono, Lucca, Magus. Just keep nuking Lavos with Luminaire, Flare, and Dark Matter. Equip as many many armors as you can to protect your status and as many accessories as you can to reduce your MP consumption. Also, don't be afraid to use your MP-restoring items; this is what you've been saving them for! Lavos will go down in no time.
My end game party was typically Crono, Marle, and Lucca. Crono would spam Lumiare and Marle and Lucca would spam Antipode 3. Rinse and repeat until everything was dead. I like running Crono, Frog, and Robo, too.
Looking forward to a CC one. Also, I like using Robo because he's stronk, high HP, has a diverse tool kit, has a tons of great dual and triple techs, a great variation on the 'amnesia' plot line, and (even though its not considered in this) a really interesting relationship with Chrono Cross' story.
Some may be aware but Toriyama illustrated all the cutscenes and did character creation to this game. You had some good timing with this video. Also, I never put any effort into Robo at all. I loved Chrono with rainbow sword and constantly hearing SWIK SWING as he always crits.
I loved the multi endings in this game. It blown my mind the first time i played it. And this was on SNES. An RPG that changes with my decisions...like i always wanted
Although I’ve beaten the game in literally every single lineup possible, my preferred lineup is always Chrono, Lucca, and Nadia. The Lucca and Nadia combo (especially with Antipode 3) is so op.
Robo is my favorite character, but I've always thought I was alone in that camp.
My end game party a lot of times usually end with Chrono, Ayla and random character that I feel might be good at the time, like Janus, Lucca, Marle or Robo. I have play enough times that I have used every party combination at least once, but Ayla and Chrono usually end up there 9 times out of 10.
it's hard to not have crono in the party due to the early game investment put into him vs the rest of the cast
Leg Crusher 3000, not Taban’s best work. And Magus definitely had “doesn’t play well with others” on his report cards in school. 😜 Chrono Trigger has one of the best casts of characters in gaming, in my humble opinion. Can’t say any character is a bad one. Another great list! 👍
dare i say one of the best rpg casts created
Great list have to say been playing this for 30 years nearly and I still love this game
The Robo Rick Roll was fantastic
It was very nice of Mr. Astley to lend his voice and lyrical skills to Robo's theme.
Its my fave part of the video not gonna lie
Another great thing about Robo is his theme song!
Perfect list! Everyone is exactky where they need to be. My favorite party is the top 3. Lol. Least used characters are the bottom 2.
Favorite NPC... That wimp guy that wants to impress Ayla in the past.
For my final build, sometimes I'll use Magus with Crono and Robo, but I think my favorite is Ayla, Crono, and Robo. Linear AOE physical, AOE magic and healing, and maxing out Crono's speed is a fun one. I also want to say after level 40 or 42 (I think), Ayla's fists become stronger (I think they end up being called Iron Fist). RIP Toriyama-san......
Crono, Marle, and Lucca usually were my final party. That being said, Chrono Trigger instituted what would become a gaming staple-New Game +. Chrono Cross, of course, made New Game + mandatory if you wanted to recruit all characters, because it was actually impossible to recruit every character in a single play through (certain choices allowing recruitment of character “a” made recruiting character “b” on the same play through impossible)). The best part of Chrono Trigger’s New Game + was discovering secret endings only available through New Game +.
Lucca should be much higher probably number 1, or 2 at most. Her role in the story is as vital as anyone's even discounting Cross and her battle use is high. She's the one character always in my party once she's available.
Bdewwwwdddddd! Another awesome video my friend! Balls of brass tho to go and try rate all these beloved characters 😂
I think this list is accurate for the base game... but honestly, it's so easy with no mods or self-imposed challenges (like no healing items) that it doesn't much matter who is used.
Last time I played CT, I used the Level Zero and CT+ rebalance mods. This makes it so you only gain tech points and maybe items or money from battles, and there's no tabs. You get higher base HP, but a lot of enemies also hit harder. Your only way to increase stats is gear. And then some of that gear is made more useful, like the triple tech rocks becoming items that increase stats while unlocking a triple tech. Then I self-imposed no healing items... No tonics, ethers, elixers, revives... Not even shelters. Only inns and HP/MP recovery points like the drink in the jail.
Doing this completely changes around the rankings. I was taught the value of having a dedicated healer very early on with the fight vs the Dragon Tank, where I had no healing and death would come swiftly with even one mistake. It was nearly impossible to avoid at least one party member falling. I kept Marle in my party for most of the rest of the game after that LOL
Speaking of which, Marle shoots WAY up because having a good dedicated healer and later full-reviver suddenly becomes a much greater asset with no healing items allowed. Not having any other way to recover than techs, inns, and the occasional recovery spot really changes around how one constructs their party and progresses in dungeons. Magus' Castle in particular was brutal, had to skip all the fights I could.
Strategies like DoomScythe/Haste shown in the video become a backup plan instead of your go-to stomp because they're risky. It's actually refreshing to be punished in CT if you make the wrong moves. I recommend trying out the game this way.
My favorite end game party is Crono, Frog, and Ayla. Most triple techs aren't worth it, but 3D attack is worth using over dual techs, especially vs bosses. Try fighting Lavos with it! I like to give Frog all the magic tabs and speed tabs so he has a stronger heal, and can squeeze it in when needed and not have to wait too long for a triple tech. Power tabs can go on anyone really.
About that Slurp kiss for 999 healing actually uses Ayla's MAGIC stat not Frogs so for 999 healing you need to give her all your Magic tabs Slurp Kiss needs at least a 36 MAGIC stat for it to restore 999 HP per use it also removes all status ailments though if won't revive the 3rd party member if they DIE before you use it.
I like Robo but he is usually more trouble than he's worth for me. I dunno if it's a bug or intentional (I've heard both x3) but he takes excessive magic damage compared to other characters which usually means in major fights he's lying on the floor more often than not. Especially the final battle as Lavos literally one shots him with multiple attacks while only hitting the others for half as much.
While people mention their favourite, the one team I thought was amusing was an end party of Marle, Frog and Ayla, because logically those three would have absolutely no clue how to interpret Lavos true form.
Save all your speed tabs for Robo! I didn’t like him as a kid, but now he’s my favorite!
My unofficial first story clear opinion:
Crono:
*grind of Rainbow being unsheathed*
Such an amazing story for a silent protagonist, sacrifing himself to stop Lavos in the Ocean Palace.
Surprisingly adept at Magic and Magic techs with his high Speed and massively powerful Luminaire, his Rainbow and Dragon's Tear combo allows him to rip through Lavos easily. Make sure to focus on both Strength and Magic boosting.
Marle:
"Princess Nadia!"
-Yakra XIII aka the fake Chancellor
This tomboyish princess is always fun to use. Her Bows are affected by wind, but rarely is this an issue. Aura Whirl is awesome, and the humor factor of Allure never fails on me. Her best Dual Tech for me is Twin Charm *sarcastic gasp* since much of the best gender-exclusive equipment is only available through Charm, and Twin Charm frees Ayla's accessory slot from the grip of the Alluring Top.
Lucca:
*Explosion in the distance; pushes up glasses nonchalantly*
This extroverted genius is queen of the sidearm and mallet, KOing the Guardia Prison warden to help Crono escape and blasting through the R-Series to protect Robo. Her guns aren't to be underestimated, and she's central to obtaining the Sunglasses, one of the more useful Helms. Her Magic isn't too shabby either, using her blazing rage to fuel her Flare.
Frog:
"Ready thy axe!"
-Cyan Garamond, Final Fantasy VI Advance
A knight in shining armor sadly felled by Magus, he joins Crono to stop Yakra from killing Queen Leene. His 23% innate critical rate is quite strong, but by the time the Masamune receives the blessing of Cyrus to awaken its full power, Crono has largely caught up to this amphibian paladin by mastering the legendary katana Swallow. Even so, Frog edges a bit ahead with his Water II and Double Cure techs.
Robo:
Can a robot love?
This automaton is a one-bot fortress, easily walling many elemental techs thanks to his inability to use Magic and gunning down many fiends through his devastating physicals. Even so, he shows his softer side by protecting the others from the R-Series and giving Lucca the Green Dream after saving her mother from being crippled. His pseudo-Magic doesn't disappoint with such Techs as Cure Beam, Electrocute, and Proximity Bomb. Just make sure to augment his movement capabilities (aka give him Speed Capsules) to allow him to function at peak combat efficiency.
Alya:
"A caveman rebel leader? Yeah, right."
-An anonymous skeptic before being Thunder Chomped
A powerhouse along the lines of She-Hulk and Wolverine, Alya was born before the age of Magic, giving her the same non-elemented traits as Robo. However, when Robo walls, Alya mauls. Her Cat Attack is just the tip of the iceberg: Thunder Chomp, Falcon Strike, Twin Charm, even Iceberg Toss and Dino Tail all bring Armageddon to the battlefield.
Magus:
*Ganondorf laugh from OoT*
Magus is awesome, his design (for me) being a combination of the Grim Reaper, Dracula, and a touch of Dark Link. The Fiendlord excels with his unique armor and Schala's Amulet, but even with his insanely powerful Magic (even an equivalent to Banish!) is a prime candidate for the 80% physical counter rate of the Wrath Band.
Lmao the rick roll for Robo, cmon bro
As far as favorite party compositions go... in a casual setting I like any party involving Magus, but really like Crono, Magus, and Frog in a party together. The only way it could be better is if Crono also had a cape. Prior to Magus, I like Robo in the party. And when I did my playthrough for my LP, I really wanted/thought Crono, Robo, and Frog would be the meta composition, since Ayla's magic defense is kind of abysmal. Turns out speed is just too valuable, as are the dual techs available to Ayla and Frog instead!
So the best party composition in the game is actually Crono, Frog, and Ayla. With this party composition, it is possible on a regular NG to beat Lavos at the Undersea Palace without overleveling, roughly around an average party level of 40/41. You wouldn't need any levels after 37ish if you could access the best gear in the game, but the best gear available to you up to that point comes from the Green Dream sidequest which first opens up after visiting Zeal. (most importantly, Vigil Hats for status protection)
What makes this composition so potent is that they do not need megaelixirs nor items of any kind in order to beat Lavos at the Undersea Palace. Note, this is the strongest incarnation of Lavos in the game, and the hardest boss in the game. This is because it is a, "supposed to lose" fight, and you are only intended to beat it in NG+. This composition can do this, and is the only composition that can do this for a few reasons. Primarily, this is the fastest composition in the game even with tabs in play. There are not enough speed tabs prior to The Black Omen to fix Robo, Marle, or Lucca to try and include them in the comp for this. To do it requires your healers to be at ** speed or at least 15. They have to out heal roughly 800 damage done to the entire party every turn, and this is only doable in an economical fashion via use of the dual tech, Slurp Kiss. Crono will deal most all of the damage, though the Rage Band (or whateverthe accessory was called that induces counter attacks) may be equipped to Frog so that he adds damage through counters occasionally. Ayla will want either a speed accessory or a magic defense raising one.
Chrono Merle Lucca is my go to party to win the game. Antipode 3 is brutal.
1) L94+ Ayla
2) Robo - Good single target damage, good AOE damage and the best group heal.
3) Chrono - Good damage both Physical and Magic
4) Luca - Insane magic damage, poor physical.
5) Magus - average damage, Good magic flexibility.
6) Glenn for AOE Heal
7) Marle for Haste
So sad that i haven't seen a new video or live stream this week
Ok, now that I've got time to be both shallow and pedantic ( :^) ), I'll give ya my list, my fave, and my fave comps! Prepare for the longest comment of your life!
7. Marle - Yeah. You were mostly right here. She's relatively slow. Her healing magic isn't party wide without dual techs. And if you need Life 2, something is wrong! Story wise though, I think you underrated her. I see her as fairly pivotal to the plot, being the one who suggests we try to change the timeline for the whole world, like we did for her, and the idea of having someone on your team who experienced non-existence is just really cool to me. Using your scale I give her story a 5/5, her usefulness a 1/5, and her Synergy a 3.5/5, putting her at 9.5/15. She has some really good combos, but like Lucca, I find her poor speed to be a detriment to using dual techs, and also her insanely low physical defense sees her getting one shot by quite a lot of the stronger bosses without a lot of leveling or the better armors.
6. Robo - Yeah. I put him way lower. Why? Well, you said this list assumed without tab use/abuse, so without speed tabs, Robo is the slowest character in the game, putting his actions per minute insanely low, and as a result, all of his insane utility has to happen after the enemies do bad things to you, so he's always playing catch up. Although he is one of my absolute favorite characters, without being able to fix his speed, he will never make it into the best team comp in the game. Sad. Story wise he had mild importance, but he also comes from a doomed timeline, and so technically by saving the world, his own existence should be unmade. He's given a happy ending though. This makes him a self-sacrificial character, and it's really very touching, but knowing that he has the happy ending undercuts that for me. I give his story a 3.5/5, usefulness a 2.5/5, and his synergy a 4/5. If we were allowed to fix his speed, I would bump those last two categories up to 5/5s. This puts him at a 10/15 for me.
5. Lucca - Basically the black mage for the party, even before you get access to magic proper. She has the first elemental attack available in the game, and right away she has supremely useful dual tech potential. Flare is almost as strong as Luminaire, and due to her greater magic stat, it will generally out damage Luminaire for a long time. However, Lucca is so much slower than Crono that he's liable to get 2 or 3 Luminaires off as she gets 1 Flare off. Wondershot was a great addition to her arsenal, and whenever I play I find myself wishing they'd given Marle something like that. Story wise, it's Lucca's machine that reacts with the pendant opening the game's first time gate, and causes the once alluded to, "entity" to take notice of the party. Lucca then becomes instrumental in all time travel by inventing the Gate Key. I find that her personality really shines through as well, and without her we wouldn't have Robo's story at all. I give her a 4/5 story, 3/5 usefulness, and a 3.5/5 synergy, because again, she's super slow and we can't fix her speed. Also very physically breakable just like Marle. For a 10.5/15
4. Magus - His story is insanely compelling, since it's tied up as our main motivation for a good chunk of the middle game, whereupon it shifts along with the party and he gets involved as a side NPC in the late game. I also just think he looks the damn coolest out of all the characters. I missed him on my first playthrough back when I was 7 or so, playing my brother's hand-me down SNES, and my brother never let me live it down. I think Magus is my favorite character. Usefulness and synergy wise, your video was entirely accurate. He has access to one of the most powerful Triple Techs, but only through equipment, which gets in the way of supremely useful accessories. But literally no dual techs. In general, though, I find that his damage contributions from his solo techs to match or make up for any dual tech damage potential that exists, since Magus is basically as fast as Crono at base. Then his best armor comes with a handy speed boost. He's easy to cap on speed without any tab use. Nowadays I tend to view him as the intended fill in for Crono post Zeal. Just you know, the lack of dual techs making you miss Crono, probably. Storywise I give him 5/5, Usefulness 5/5, and Synergy 1/5. Giving Magus an 11/15
3. Crono - Storywise he is the main character, but by Zeal, the game admits that he is really just the player character fill in, so he's only as valuable as you perceive him to be. As a young child, I always felt like he was me. I can admit being raised on video games definitely suckered me into main character syndrome IRL for longer than I care to admit. So for me, when he sacrifices himself against Lavos, it was like losing and then reclaiming myself. Outside of that, though, he's a typical silent protagonist, and his own identity is mostly tied up in his surroundings. Like he's Lucca's best friend. He's from Guardia. It was his motivation to want to really go to the Millenial Fair. He's kind of a lynchpin for the story, because he is the vehicle we use to go through it. I'll always find it compelling that it's optional to get him back, in the end. Usefulness wise he has dual techs and triple techs with literally everyone except for Magus iirc. Also his magic type is actually supposed to just be Light, not Lightning. There's kind of a foil relationship between him and Magus with how they're characterized. He is by default the fastest character aside from Ayla, and he's the only character allowed to solo the game. Storywise I give him a 2/5, Usefulness and Synergy are 5/5 and 5/5. For a score of 12/15. He is part of the best compositions the party can have, regardless of how you play.
2. Ayla - Storywise, she's one of mankind's first strong rulers, able to stand up to the Reptites. She's runs around on all 4s like a cat, and in Japanese she's hinted at being bisexual. So she's got very high sex appeal, probably the highest a pixelated character could have without that being her only defining trait. She names Lavos, and is Marle's ancestor. She's the one who gives us the Dreamstone to fix the Masamune, and so she has tangential association with it, as well as the lost in translation plot about Zeal and Dreams and how Masa and Mune (Gran and Leon originally) are creatures made real by Zeal magicians from dreams. It's a shame we can't bring her to the Magus fight, because she would absolutely beat the crap out of him. Usefulness wise she has a lot of useful and powerful dual techs and a few good triples. She can steal, which if we were allowing for tabs, means she is how you get most of your tabs through a playthrough by stealing in The Black Omen. She naturally has as much speed as Crono or was 1 faster, I need to replay. She is part of what I consider the best party composition in the game due to the dual tech, Slurp Kiss, which is the most MP efficient and best group heal in the entire game. Edit: I forgot to score her. 2.5/5 Story, 5/5 usefulness, and 4.5/5 Synergy for a 12/15
1. Frog - Storywise he is dynamite. He comes in early to help us save Marle from not existing, as her presence caused him to not have his original back up retinue that would have originally helped him to defeat Yakra and save Leene. He saves Lucca from death by Naga-ette. He notes Crono's potential as a swordsman. He comes back in the mid-game propelling us to fix the Masamune(Granleon) so we can fight and become intertwined with Magus and find out the truth behind Lavos. His backstory is compelling, and his tie to that lost in translation dream creature plot still remains in his ultimate item based Triple Tech, Grand Dream (which now that you know about the lost plot thread, the name for it should make sense, no?). He is 1 step slower than Magus, which puts him at 4th fastest character in the game, but this can be fixed more or less with a Dash Ring or other, minor, speed amplifications. He has a great array of Dual Techs, lots of them being among the most powerful techs in the game, and his individual techs are all very good as well, though I will not he has not big damaging solo tech outside of Frog Squash, which requires his HP to be at critical levels to be good (which is not a place you want to be in for very long). He's basically a Red Mage in my opinion, because he can kind of do it all and even excel in ways that other party members can't. Being 4th fastest doesn't sound like best material, but we included story as well. I give him a story rating of 5/5, Usefulness rating of 4/5, and a synergy rating of 4.5/5 putting him at 13.5.
Feel like I'm gonna hit the character limit for TH-cam comments so.... I'll list my favorite party comp in the next comment!
You are a madlad for putting Robo in 6 🙂
First end game party was chrono frog alya. Dino tail and frog squash made end of black omen crazy and slurp kiss to erase most of lavos's damage for next to no mp cost. Still my fav if not the most raw damage
Those moves go CRAZY with green dream equipped
This is the video that changes his whole channel, bros.
Man you called me out on using Marle
I never understood those special end game weapons like Crisis Arm or DoomScythe so for me Robo and Magus were kind of blah. I also felt that not having Ayla/Marle for Steal / Charm was making me miss out on some great stuff to steal. Honestly all the characters were great, but Marle for the heals would help a lot on boss battles where I did not know the fight going in. So usually went with Chrono / Ayla / Marle. What might be a cool video would be the top team configurations.
my main casual strat was always having marle/frog in the party and then i can panic double cure if need be for when i made just the worst choices haha
I'd give Magus a 5 for his story. Really by far the most important character in the game. Linked with everyone and Chrono Cross not finishing his story still grinds my gears.
And idk how Frog can get a 5 in story when Lucca story wise is of a personal starting failure but rising above it as well like his but doesn't just in game as well. She also adds tons to Robo's story.
Awesome video, and exactly how I would have rated them. I really hope that if they ever do a remaster, or a remake of this game, that they show some love to Marle, and make her the actual healer of the game. Robo, and Frog just do it better, and outside of some dual techs, those 2 just pretty much outshine her in every way.
True but I was always fine with that. One is the most skilled swordsman in his country and the other is a robot from the future designed to kill lol…
Marle is my bestest girl and I'm sad she starts as the healer and turns into the "she can life2 and haste" bot
@@Bdewd I was surprised robo didn’t get a haste all double tech lol
@@Bdewd I completely agree. I honestly think if you gave her Heal, and gave Frog Cure, that that would make a big difference 😊😊
Chrono / Frog / +1 was my usual final boss set up! The critical hit machine didnt stop with those guys, and the third person was there too! LOL!
Great video. Thanks
Ayla best girl :D
And my favorite party overall is Crono/Ayla/Robo. They all compliment eachother very well. Volt bite is an overpowered double tech.
Chrono Trigger has a small party selection, and the group is balanced. So there's no one "definitive" selection, as multiple configurations can work. That said, my selection is usually Chrono, Ayla, and Frog. Outside that, any group with Magus.
I quibble over your specific numbers, but I *mostly* agree with the broad strokes. As you mentioned, the difference between the top and bottom is pretty narrow.
Quibbles: I feel like you're underselling Crono being necessary for the majority of the triple techs in the game. I feel like his synergy belongs at a 5. To whit, I feel like you're *over* selling Robo's synergy because as powerful as his dual techs are, his low speed means that he slows down his partner.
Regarding the story between Frog and Magus, I feel Magus is slightly higheras Most of Frog's story is connected to Magus' story... But this was an interesting list. Not sure how it would work but would challenge you to do a list of Chrono Cross. But I think most of the characters will be a 1 on story though. Could be wrong.
I like Magus first, so I like to use him with Robo and Luca mostly due to Omega Flare and Robo's healing can help out a lot.
Also, as a child I did not see how good Robo was and didn't use him much except where you had to and to get all his techs.
CC would be daunting due to the cast and how the characters are rarely fleshed out aside from the more key point ones :/
@@Bdewd I agree. but would be an interesting one and a long list with how many characters there are.
Ayla for steal is absolutely necessary on bosses. Other than that I've beaten it with pretty much every other combination
My tier list.
The actual protagonist and I don't care if someone is better tier - Janus
Everyone else but Crono tier - Everyone else but Crono
I hate most silent protagonists tier - Crono.
Was Marle and Chrono getting married one of the new endings added in the DS version of the game? I don't remember that at all from that verison, I might have just never seen that new ending though. I believe the Steam and mobile versions of the game were based on that DS port.
When I saw the video... my initial thought was: "If Robo is not #1, you're incorrect". I actually would rate his story a bit higher, given all the nuances of it? But... I think I mostly agree with this layout (as much as I love my girls: Marle and Lucca).
As for final party? Crono, by the end of the game is... just very strong. Like, he doesn't do much besides hit really hard? But arguably: that's what you need at the center of any party. Robo, especially by the end of the game, can easily have max speed and better magic to allow him to act as terrific support with Heal Beam (like... seriously: the seemingly intended main healer doesn't get an all-targetting healing ability, but Robo and Frog do... absolutely busted), and his capacity to do single target damage with the Crisis Arm in his "down time" is great.
As for the final? Ayla is good? But I find that I care about using her more for her Charm ability than anything else. Marle DOES bring Haste, which can be nice. Lucca is great for magic damage and AoEs, and her single target damage can be baller with Wondershot (and is just... fun to see happen). Magus is a strong... solo entry to any party, but if im using Chrono, I probably am not using Magus.
For me, I think I like Chrono, Robo, Lucca; Chrono, Robo, Frog; or Frog, Robo, Lucca. Good spread of damage types, access to all targeting heals... the right amount of support and damage. But I'm curious to see what others like in terms of a team.
Anyway, later when I have enough time, I'll leave you a third comment outlining a tier list, the request from you for favorite characters, and finally my favorite party comp.
Before I watch the video: Frog. Also Glenn. My fav characters are gool guys.
I thought I heard a speed runner say Luca is a totally broken damage dealer by the end of the game.
she is, but i looked at this more at a casual standpoint instead of speedrunning one. the reason she's so focused on in the speedrun is due to omega flare being as good as it is, which requires her to get flare. we also pump her full of speed tabs so she isn't slow as tits haha
Omega Flare kind of SUCKS though in fact your better off NOT using Magus in the party at all ie Frog Lucca Ayla against Lavos if your going for the Crono is still dead ending on a first run.
I'd say Ayla is best. Her steal ability can make every other character absolutely OP with what can be stolen in the Black Omen, and technically she is the highest strength character as she can do 9999 damage on a crit at lvl 99
Ayla being in the top for story is wild.
17:25 - you... you had to do that... didn't you? The Robo Astley mashup. You just... HAD... to do that... right?
It felt like a disservice to not do it :)
chrono, ayla, robo/frog was my go to party.
There are no bad characters in this game for two reasons: The first one is that Chrono Trigger is not a hard game, and the second one is that every character can overcome their individual weaknesses thanks to the Duo Techs.
Magus has such big stats and strong Single Techs to overcompensate for his lack of Duo Techs. Aaaaaand also his poor avaiability...
favorite end game party??? oh dang that is a tough one. i got every ending back in the old days so i tried a “few”….hmmm
When i first played this game i hated robo but then when i learned the mechanics i realized robo is in fact the best character in the game granted it takes some work
Oh robo, never gonna give you up.
If you had asked me to make this list, probably the only thing that would be the same is Frog, but hearing your reasons, i think you got it correct. But seriously, Ayla and Robo are top two, probably why i was so bad at the game.
Also, half of the cast are from the same family. Thats a weird thing to think about.
i...hadn't thought about the family ties too too much but there is a lot of shared branches in this tree
For me ayla, magus and chrono were my favorite end party. Never really liked robo or frog and usually avoided them if I could.
Best game ever! Well done Bdewd
Score tables correct that’s blasphemy you can’t just change the channel format like that
tryna mix things up :) figure we do something right for once looooooooooooool
I disagree on Marle. I think she's pretty useful. Her dual techs are among the very best in the game. Ice Water is fantastic multi-target damage for barely any MP cost. Extremely useful in Magus' castle. Aura Whirl is the best early game healing tech. Antipode is fantastic against bosses. She's also required for the Lifeline triple tech, which is bar none the best support tech in the game.
She brings a lot more to the table than Frog, Lucca and Magus IMO.
S: Ayla (pretty, unga bunga smashy attacks)
A: Magus (banger music, uses a scythe), Crono (super saiyan bro)
B: Frog (is a frog, nice biceps)
C: Marle (pretty, fun enthusiastic character, awful at combat)
D: Lucca (is a nerd, way stronger than Marle)
E: Robo (is a robot, robots aren't cool)
My party is ALWAYS:
Early game: Chrono, Robo/Frog, Ayla
Late game: Chrono, Magus, Ayla
The dual tecs for Chrono and Ayla are just too kill, and Magus covers pretty much everything else.
If Im not in a damage race, Ill bring Frog or Robo for multi-target heals (usually Frog).
Lavos fight definitely Chrono, Frog, Ayla
If Ayla gets to level 99 her weapon gets maxed and when she crits she will deal 9,999 damage.
magus, crono and ayla is the dream team
magic isnt a issue in Chrono Trigger, since you can steal goldstuds from the flyclops on black omen, cutting MP use by 75%.
Ayla is a must for me because she can steal!!
Ayla Marle and Lucca were my favorite final party.
the girl power goes pretty strong in this game!