You wake up with no equipment, no items and no money. This means that no-one can fight except for Ayla since she doesn't use a weapon. Head up the ladder and you'll discover you're on the Blackbird. Go back inside and climb into the air duct that the second member of your party will discover. Work your way through the ducts to the top and then go as far to the left as you can before you follow the path down and then right. Go down the stairs and you should see a sleeping guard and a chest. Open the chest to find the leader of your groups equipment. Go back into the ducts and work your way back to the very bottom. You should hear a voice and look down the grate you're standing on. Once you're done there, take the first turn to the left and go down the ladder at the far end. Go in the first door, kill the guards and open the chest to get the third person in your party's equipment. Go up the conveyor belt and open the room to the left. Take the money and then leave. Go up a level and go in the room with two Bashers outside. Go in, kill the Byte and open the chest to get the last person in your groups equipment. Exit that room and then exit by the top. Go in the room to the left to get all of the items back and then leave by the door at the back, or head into the ventilation shafts and head for the top-right corner where you'll now find a Magic Tab. If you do the latter, retrace your steps back to the item chest room and leave via the back door. Climb the ladder and you'll find yourself on the Blackbird's left wing. Make sure you've equipped Ayla with the Hit Ring and go and fight the Turrets. They function much the same way as the Rubbles did so it's well worth fighting them all. However, try and take them on one at a time or they will run away from you. Once you've got rid of all of them, head to the bottom left of the wing.
Boss: Golem Boss
HP: 15,000
Well... uhm... normally, Golem Boss would wipe the floor with you but there's a teeny-weeny problem. It's scared of heights! You can either just sit and laugh as Golem Boss fails again and again or you can give it a helping hand on getting down from there. Bear in mind, if you don't kill it, you don't get anything and that's 2500 experience and 40 tech points you're missing out on.
Boss: Dalton Plus
HP: 3500
You didn't think that was it, did you? But then again, I'd hardly call this a fight either. One Antipode 3 and a Rock Throw did him in... or more accurately, made Dalton do himself in!
Hit the Y button to laser the wing and then the X button to get the hell outta there. When you land, return to the shop to get some new equipment. Then, go to the Commons and tell the lady in the bottom right corner to plant the sapling. Then, talk to everyone there. They all say someone was looking for Marle and the others and is now on the North Cape... could it be Crono? Put Frog in your group and head straight to the North Cape. Instead of Crono you find Magus and he tells you about his past. Now, you can be a soppy git and not fight Magus, letting him join your party, or you can beat the crap out of him with Frog. It's really up to you. Magus is a very good magician but you already have Marle and Lucca. Some people think Magus is actually better than Crono but it's really p to you whether you want him or not. If this is your first time through the game, I suggest you take him with you so you can make up your won mind if you decide to play it again. Or...
Boss: Magus
HP: 6666
Frog goes mano-a-mano with Magus, his arch-nemesis. I found this fight ridiculously easy, but I know others have had problems with it so here goes. Whack him with Leap Slash until Magus gets down to 3333 health. Then he'll start casting level 2 elemental spells as counters and as his normal attack. If you've got any, equipping Frog with the colour mail/vest (Red Mail/Vest, Blue Mail/Vest, White Mail/Vest) will heal him randomly which helps. Don't know where to get those? See my magic box section or read the Redemption sidequest. Either way, keep using Leap Slash.
If you can't beat Magus with just Frog, don't put him in your group and you can have a normal fight against Magus, three-on-one, but it just doesn't seem right to me...
When you're done at the North Cape, get in the Epoch. The Ocean Palace will rise into the air, but as something else...
Go to the End of Time and talk to the old Man, or as we now know him to be, Guru Gaspar. Now, he gives you the Chrono Trigger, AKA the Time Egg. The question is, do you want to bring Crono back or not? You can do it now or wait until the end sequence. If I want to make beating the game as easy as possible, I resurrect Crono. However, if I'm playing it for the storyline, then I think it's so much better if you don't resurrect him. Anyway, here's how to do it:
Take the Epoch to 2300AD and go to the Keeper's Dome. Go inside and talk to Belthasar/the Nu. He'll tell you you'll need a clone to resurrect Crono. Remember back at the beginning I told you to play that game in Norstein Bekkler's Tent of Horrors? The one which you win a Crono clone from. Go back to 1000AD and get the clone from Crono's house. If you didn't get the clone when I told you to, you can still get it. Play the 40-point game but it'll last a lot longer than last time, and if you lose, you have to fork up a lorra lorra cash! Return and talk to Belthasar again. He'll send three blue Poyozo dolls to Death Peak which will help you on your climb. Once Belthasar has finished, he asks you to turn the Nu off. Be a good fellow and do it and then make your way to Death Peak.
Quickly run to the right and you should find a Power Tab. By the time you find it on all that snow and have nabbed it, you've probably been blown off the screen. Simply return, but this time, run up to the first Poyozo Doll and it'll turn into a tree. Use it as a shield against the wind (stand so you're closer to the bottom of the screen than the tree is), and when it dies down a bit, run to the next tree and do the same. When you're through the first screen, head to the left to get a Magic Ring and then up the cliff. Head right and climb another bit of cliff before exiting to the right. Head upwards, into the cave and inside, you'll find a Lavos Spawn. Whatever you do, don't hit the shell. Concentrate on whacking the beak/mouth and it shouldn't be too difficult. Take the Giga Arm then exit north. Run along the precipice and go through the entrance at the end. Nab the Bravesword, exit downwards and press the switch to the left of the cave (it looks like a Tab on the ground). Go all the way back round to the entrance and take the slope down. Take the Wall Ring before walking through the newly-opened entrance.
Take the Starscythe as you run up the steps and outside there'll be another Lavos Spawn. Exit left and talk to the second Poyozo Doll. What you need to do here is try to move diagonally across the bridge, always moving against the wind. Only stop pressing forwards when you need to go down a bit and run to go up. Be very gentle and take your time with the crossing and you'll be fine. Take the Vedic Blade (which you can't equip since it's a weapon for Crono) and head down. Walk along the ledge, exiting left, which will take you back to the second screen. Talk to the third and final Poyozo Doll before climbing down the cliff. Run along and down another cliff to get a Dark Helm before climbing back up. Head straight up to face the final Lavos Spawn on Death Peak. You'll notice this ones shell doesn't disappear. Push it to the right until it's under where the climbing section of the cliff is and then clamber onto the shell. Take the Memory Cap before reaching the summit of Death Peak. Run up to the tree and watch it all unfold.
You'll have returned to the End of Time. Talk to Gaspar and he'll explain all of the ways you can get to Lavos. He'll also give you hints towards several sidequests you can complete before fighting Lavos if you want:
Talk to all six SPEAKING members of your party and they'll give you a clue as to something that will help. You don't have to do these but it will help you learn all the techs, go up loads of levels and get some really cool equipment and items so it's well worth it. You can do them in any order but I'll show you mine.
First, head to 65,000,000BC and go to the trading hut to get some Ruby Armour. You'll be needing it real soon...
Go directly south from Arris Dome and you'll find an island upon which the Sun Palace is situated. Land there and equip the Ruby Armour. Go inside and you'll have to fight...
Boss: Son of Sun
HP: 3000
Whatever you do, don't hit the eye or you'll be in for a whole world of pain. You've got a one-in-five chance of hitting the right flame and successfully damaging its core. Once you find it, keep hitting it until it shuffles the flames again. The Ruby Armour should stop you from getting too hurt so just keep plugging away until it dies. It doesn't matter who you have in your party, you'll always end up doing the same damage to the core.
An incredibly cheap tactic can be used if you're playing via an emulator. After Son of Sun uses Roulette Shuffle, save the state and attack the flames. Once you find the right one, load the save state and attack the confirmed correct flame. Repeat this procedure every time it shuffles.
Final tactic is to take Magus in your party and have him cast Black Hole, thus instantly killing two of the flames. This reduces the odds of hitting the correct flame to 3-1. You can tehn follow either of the previous tactics to win this fight.
Once it's defeated, chase it across the bridge to where it'll turn into the Moon Stone. Take it to 65,000,000BC and put it in the Sun Keep and then go to 2300AD. You'll find the Sunstone missing so go to 1000AD and the Mayor's Manor in Porre will have a stream of light coming from it. I wonder what could be causing that? However, he's a big meanie and pretends he doesn't know anything about it. Go to the Snail Stop and buy some Jerky and then go to 600AD and give it away for free to the woman in the Porre Mayor's Manor Return to the manor in 1000AD and the Mayor will simply give it to you. Take it to the Sun Keep in the same era and then go to it in 2300AD. Make sure to have Lucca in your group and you'll find yourself back at her house, 1000AD. You'll get the rather mercurial Wondershot and the Sun Shades. See the special equipment section for explanations on how these work.
I say evil but I mean Flea, Slash and Ozzie. I'd recommend taking Ayla, equipped with the Charm Top, with you since she can get some great stuff here, Magus, for their reactions, and Robo for healing. Anyway, Ozzie's Fort is just to the east of where Magus' Castle was. Go in and you'll meet up with Ozzie. When Ozzie runs off, follow him through and you'll have to fight Flea for the second time. Once you've pasted her into the ground, carry on upwards to where Ozzie shows just how useless he is. Chase him again and you'll have to fight Slash for a second time as well. Given him a good slapping? Chase after him into the next room. Ignore the chest behind the axe blade, head straight for the exit upwards. An Imp will come and set the trap off, leaving you free to take the Full Ether that's inside it. Also, there's a secret compartment to this room. Head straight down from the stairs up and you'll find the Gloom Cape, Gloom Helm and the Doomsickle as well as a Magic Tab. See the special equipment section to see how the Doomsickle works. Go up the stairs to where it's all settled
Boss: Ozzie, Super Slash, Flea Plus
HP: 6,000 (Great Ozzie), 4,000 (Flea Plus), 4,000 (Super Slash)
Having the Ruby Armour on will help since most of Flea's moves and their counters are fire-based. First off, concentrate on either Slash or Flea, but make sure to steal both the Flea Vest and Slasher 2. Once one's gone, the other will run away leaving you to concentrate on Ozzie the "Great." Have Magus cast Dark Bomb, Ayla use Charm and then Rock Throw while Robo casts Heal Beam and Robo Tackle. You can also charm Ozzie Pants from Ozzie. See an explanation of it in the special equipment section.
Take the Dash Ring and Sight Cap before pursuing Ozzie deeper into his Fort. This fight should be somewhat similar to your fight against Ozzie in Magus' Castle. Hit the switch behind him and a pit opens up below you. Run back up to where Ozzie was and this time, he's finally defeated... by an ickle-wickle, cute kitten!
Go to Fiona's Villa and talk to her husband, Marco. He'll tell you the monsters in the Sunken Desert hate water, so you want Marle and Frog in your group. I'd take Crono as the third member you'll see why later. Head to the Sunken Desert and fall through the centre of the whirlpool. You have two choices here:
A) Ignore all the chests for the moment and head for the stairs down. You'll only have to go through one fight in this room. If you defeat the boss of this section, when you return to the first room, you can get the contents of the chest with the greatest of ease.
B) Go for the chests and fight about eighteen Hexapods. This will net you a fair few experience and tech points so I prefer to go for this option.
In the first room, you should find a Lapis, a Full Ether, an Elixir and an Aeon Suit. The fights here are quite tough so have Marle and Frog cast Ice Water with Crono picking off anything that's left standing. Once you've got all of that stuff, go down to where a strange beast keeps popping up from the ground. You'll find 5000 gold, a Full Tonic, a Hyper Ether, an Aeon Helm, a Muscle Ring, a Memory Cap and a Full Ether. Now, wait until the beast pops up and run into it. You may just wish you hadn't...
Boss: Retinite (Upper body, lower body, core)
HP: 6000 (Upper body), 4500 (Lower body), 500 (Core)
This one can be tough without the right tactics. Have Marle cast Ice on the upper body while Frog and Crono beat the hell out of it. Every time life is sucked out of the eye, have Crono cast Lightning on it to keep it alive. It makes this fight a hell of a lot easier. When the top half dies, have Marle cure the party, Frog cast Water on the lower body and Crono use his Confuse technique on it.
Down and a bit to the left from the exit, you should find a Power Tab. Leave the Sunken Desert and go back to Fiona's Villa with Robo in your party. Leave him behind and then travel to 1000AD where you'll find a lush forest instead of the desert we're used to. Go into Fiona's Shrine and buy some Vigil Hats as they're the best you can buy in the game. Then, go to the very top and reactivate Robo.
I know, I know, you're thinking, "What the hell does he mean 990AD? You can't get there?" Well, you can actually. After you reactivate Robo, you automatically come to this sidequest. As the reunion party comes to an end and everyone goes to sleep, you assume control of Lucca. Leave by the bottom-left and take the gate you find there. You find yourself in Lucca's room. Read the piece of paper on the floor and you realise you've gone back ten years to a terrible moment in Lucca's life. Go downstairs and then into the kitchen to read the note there. Go into the main room and watch the trauma unfurl. When Lucca's mum tells Lucca to enter the password, go as far down to the right as you can and press A. It'll ask you to enter the password you should have got from the note in the kitchen. That's L, A, R, A just in case you couldn't remember her name. You save Lara from losing her legs to the machine. Next, you see Lucca back in her room where there's another note. Read that and then go back through the gate. Robo will be there and he'll give you the Green Dream. It's gotta be better than a wet one at least...
Go to the Geno Dome in 2300AD, which is southeast of Proto Dome. Put Robo at the head of your group and whomever else you want. Use the console and then go through the door. Step onto the conveyor belt and get ready for a massive string of fights. Head through the door, go all the way to the left and fight the two Debuggests. Now, go right, then up and use the console to find out all you need to know about Geno Dome. Take the Full Ether and then step in the machine. Electricity will flow around you so while it lasts, head down, right, pull the switch and step into the cubicle. That'll open up the door next to you where you'll find a Full Tonic and a Barrier. Leave that room, left up, through the door and to the three switches. Press the one on the left and the one on the right and then return to the charging machine. Step in it and then run to the cubicle you just opened. Go into the room next to it to find a Poyozo Doll.
Now, go to the main corridor and follow it all the way round to the right. Enter the door there and you should see two chests and three Proto 4's in their alcoves. Fight them and then take the Lapis and Elixir. Leave, go down and enter the door next to where you left the conveyor belt. Take the lift up to the next floor. Enter the door by the lift and go all the way up the corridor. Take the lift down and go right, press the switch to reverse the conveyer belts flow. Then, go back to the lift and go down to turn off the laser and then across to open the cubicle. Make your way to the charging machine and then run to the booth you just opened as quickly as possible. Inside, you'll find a broken sentry robot, a Hyper Ether and a Full Ether. Use the robot and it will follow you. Take it to where the other sentry robot was blocking your access to the second Poyozo Doll. Manoeuvre yourself so the broken robot ends up in front of the working one and they'll both stop moving, leaving you free to nab the second doll and the Vigil Hat. Take the big lift back up to the top floor and go down, taking the Lapis. Head left and there'll be somewhat of a family reunion for Robo, and just like the last one, it involves kicking the crap out of something, but this time, it's Robo's cuddle-buddy who bites the dust.
Boss: Atropos XR
HP: 6000
Robo's one-time companion, but now she's a right royal pain in the arse, just because he popped out to get a pint of milk and came back 301 years later. Typical woman, making a drama out of the smallest of things... Robo takes her on alone, but he should totally outclass her. Just keep hitting her and healing; it's really not difficult, especially if you've got the Ruby Armour on which makes her Area Bomb attack pretty much worthless. In return for killing her, she gives you her Ribbon which adds three to Robo's speed and ten to his Magic Defence, making him a hell of a lot better fighter.
Now, use the switch above you to get a Mega Elixir and a Magic Tab. Go down, left, down the ladder and along the path, taking the 15,000 gold along the way. Inside, you'll see a processing line of humans. Leave by the right-hand exit to get a Full Ether before returning to the top of the ladder. Go up and place the two Poyozo Dolls on the glowing floor tiles either side of the door to open it.
Boss: Mother Brain, Display (x3)
HP: 5000(Mother Brain), 1(Displays)
Destroy two of the displays behind the Mother Brain and then concentrate on her. Whatever you do, DON'T destroy all three or she'll cause you a lot of hassle. I had Robo, Frog and Magus in my party: Magus cast Dark Bomb, which hit both the Mother Brain and the panel behind her, while Frog and Robo cast Bubble Snap. This may seem easy to you, but try doing it without the Ruby Armour and having destroyed all three Displays! You get the Terra Arm and the Crisis Arm. See the special equipment section for an in-depth explanation of how the Crisis Arm works.
Go to the Caf? on the southeast island, 600AD, and talk to the man nearest the door. He'll tell you his tools have been stolen. Go to 1000AD and in the Choras Inn, you'll find a guy who looks just like the Carpenter. Talk to him and he'll let you borrow his tools. Go to the residence and get them from his wife before heading back to 600AD. Give the Carpenter the tools and he'll go to his house. Follow him and he'll go off to fix up the ruins. Go to the North Ruins and he'll have done part of the work. Clear out any monsters you can find in the place before going back to the Carpenters. Pay him to fix the North Ruins some more and then clean it out some more. Head down the left set of stairs and follow it round until you find Cyrus' grave. Put Frog in your group for an emotional scene and the revelation of the Masamune's true nature. The Carpenter should make one more trip and then you've got free roam of the place. There's a neat trick to learn here. You see the magic boxes; open them but don't take out their contents. Go to 1000AD and take the upgraded versions and then go back to 600AD to take the original ones as well! This goes for the magic boxes in Guardia Castle, the inns and the house in Dorino.
Go to the Caf? in Choras at 600AD and talk to Toma. He'll give you the Toma's Pop. Go to the West Cape in 1000AD, where Toma's grave is, and pour the pop on it. He'll tell you where the Rainbow Shell is. Go back to 600AD and fly to the Giant's Claw. Inside, you'll find a note left by Toma. Read it and then carry on. You'll find yourself inside Azala's throne room. If you want to, you can sit on her throne and have a bit of a giggle. It seemed quite funny at the time... Exit downwards and take the Sight Cap. Go down the stairs and through the door. Step on the left switch and jump down the hole. Step on the left switch and go through the jaw to get a Power Tab, then exit downwards. Down the ladder and to the left is a Full Ether and to the right is another Power Tab. Go back up the ladder and all the way around the path, taking the Blue Rock along the way. Go down the ladders, nabbing the Zodiac Cape. Take the left hand set of stairs and then step on the switch to the left before leaving through the door on the left side to get a Frenzy Band, even better than the Rage Band. Go back a screen and step on the right hand switch before leaving via the door to the right. Fight both Rubbles and continue onwards. Open the chest to the right to release the floor underneath you. Exit the cell and take the stairs up to get a Power Tab. Go back down and then take the stairs on the other side. Open the cell, equip everyone with the Ruby Armour and go onwards, brave soldier...
Boss: Rust Tyrano
HP: 25,000
Same as last time really. As long as you've got the Ruby Armour equipped, the Rust Tyrano can't really hurt you. I had Ayla, Crono and Magus as my group here. For the first round, Magus cast Dark Mist, Crono cast Luminaire and Ayla charmed the Red Mail from the Rust Tyrano. After that, it was Falcon Hit and Dark Mist, all the way...
So, the Rainbow Shell is now at Guardia Castle so go there in 1000AD with Marle in your group. But what's going on? The Chancellor is being all chummy now and there's a trial? Head for the courtroom up the stairs to the right, taking the Hyper Ether on the way up. Talk to the guards and they let you through where you find out the King is on trial for selling the Rainbow Shell, even though he's never heard of it. When you get thrown out, go down and then down the far-right stairs to the basement. Run along the corridor as the trial goes on, taking the two Hyper Ethers, two Elixirs and two Lapis'. When you reach the Rainbow Shell, take a shard from it and return to the courtroom. Unfortunately, they still won't let you in but Marle remembers a secret way in...
Boss: Yakra XIII
HP: 18,000
Unlike his bungling ancestor, this Yakra is one tough cookie, which is why we've saved him for last. However, Antipode 3 and Luminaire does the trick every time, just make sure you've got those Vigil Hats equipped.
When you've defeated Yakra, Marle and the King have their heart-to-heart and he agrees to let her leave the castle, Melchior turns up. First, return to the courtroom and pick up the Yakra Key; then, go down two levels and unlock the chest to free the real Chancellor. Now, head down to the basement where the Rainbow Shell lies and you'll find Melchior hard at work. Firstly, he'll give you a choice between one Prism Dress or three Prism Helms. Since you've already got the Vigil Hats which are almost as good, I'd take the Prism Dress. Talk to him again and you'll get the Prism Specs. Talk to him a third and final time and you'll get the Rainbow, Crono's ultimate sword. Make sure you clean the castle out since there's plenty of good stuff to be had; I'm quite sure Daddy dearest won't mind!
Now there are only two things left to do. The Black Omen and Lavos itself...
Fly to the Black Omen and make sure Ayla is in your group. There's so much brilliant stuff to steal in here that she's a must! Also, I'd use this place to get the last remaining techs you need and then levelling up your final party for the apocalyptic battle to come. Inside, you'll find Queen Zeal and after her tirade, one big, bad-ass looking mutant appears behind her.
Boss: Mega Mutant (Top and bottom)
HP: 4600(Top) 3850(bottom)
This one's simple enough; Charm an Elixir from the top half and make sure everything you do hits that top half. It's not nearly as tough as it looks but worse is to come.
This place is fairly linear with no puzzles so you don't need me to give you step-by-step directions. However, the fights in here are tough so listen up. Do not use Lightning or Shadow based attacks on Goons as they absorb it. Steal from Panels to get the ever-elusive Speed Tabs. Steal from Tubsters to get Power Tabs. Steal from Aliens to get Magic Tabs. Steal from Flyclops' to get Gold Studs. Steal from Ruminators to get Mega Elixirs. Beat the crap out of Side Kicks to get lots of tech points. Never, EVER hit Aliens or it's instant death. Never, EVER cast magic on Blobs or it's instant death.
Along the way, you'll find the best shop in the game: Two Nu's standing in a room with six chests and a save point. No weapons, but Mid Tonics, Full Tonics, Mid Ethers. Full Ethers and Hyper Ethers. Bare in mind as well that this is the LAST shop in the game and you all know how the saying goes: You can't take it with you...
In the next screen is your first Tubster encounter. These guys do a lot of damage but they don't have too much health. No Shadow magic for these dudes but one good double tech will sort them out. As I mentioned earlier, you can Charm Power Tabs off of these guys so do that first thing.
Boss: Giga Mutant (Top and bottom)
HP: 4950(Top), 5800(Bottom)
Steal a Hit Ring from the bottom and then blast the top with magic only since physical hits do sod all damage. However, he will counter any magic by stealing some of the casters magic points which is a pain but it's gotta be done.
Boss: Terra Mutant (Top and bottom)
HP: 7860(Top), 20000 (Bottom)
The last of the mutants and this one is a real doozy. As last time, no physical hits, only magic. It doesn't counter this time but it does more damage and is a lot stronger. Go for the head and make me proud! They grow up so quickly these days... *sob*
Boss: Lavos Spawn (Beak and shell)
HP: 10000
Hit the beak and not the shell. I'd recommend Lucca, Ayla and then a multi-target healer, preferably Robo for this. Have Lucca and Ayla cast Blaze Kick while Robo casts Heal Beam. It really shouldn't take long.
When you reach a room full of capsules containing the characters, prepare yourself to finish this, once and for all. Pick your party, make sure they've all got full health and magic before walking down that corridor since it's gonna be intense. I'd also recommend equipping those Gold Studs you've been pinching on all of your characters. Finally, my party suggestion is Ayla, Marle and Lucca.
Boss: Queen Zeal
HP: 12,000
Beat the bitch down. Steal a Mega Elixir from her and get ready to use it when Zeal casts Hallation, which sends everyone's health down to one. Of course, you use one AFTER having Ayla summon the Dino Tail. Heh. Heh. Heh. Also, have Marle and Lucca casting Antipode 3 for good measure.
Boss: Mammon Machine
HP: 20,000
Apparently, this thing can kill you. I've never seen it but I have a friend who knows a friend of a friend who's died against the Mammon Machine. If that doesn't say all that needs to be said about this fight, then you must be blind, stupid or Richard Simmons. Oh, and you can nab a Mega Elixir from it. Antipode 3 and Triple Kick.
Boss: Queen Zeal (Left hand, right hand and mask)
HP: 20,000 (Zeal), 5000 (Hands)
Simple enough fight here. Touch the arms in any way and they'll counter... painfully. However, you can steal a Prism Helm from the Left Arm and a Prism Dress from the Right Arm, which is well worth the hurt. Then, steal a Mega Elixir from the Mask and concentrate all your attacks on that. Have Lucca and Ayla cast Blaze Kick while Marle heals everyone and uses Mega Elixirs when Hallation is cast.
Aww, Little Miss Pissy Pants is all upset you wiped the floor with her and gets her big brother on you. Of course, who can blame her when she's got a big brother like Lavos? It's time for the final showdown!
Lavos takes ten different forms, all of which you've faced before. Admittedly, one of them pasted you into the ground but mweh. I'd recommend taking Crono, Marle and Lucca, giving them all Gold Studs and the best equipment you've got... like you weren't going to do that anyway! Here goes:
Form: Dragon Tank (Head, Grinder and Tank)
HP: 600 (Head), 208 (Grinder), 266 (Tank)
The head of the tank will be on our left and remember, it's immune to lightning and fire. So, just cast Antipode 3 instead, which does Shadow damage.
Form: Guardian, Bit (x2)
HP: 1200 (Guardian) 200 (Bit)
Luminaire. Need I say more?
Form: Heckran
HP: 2100
Luminaire. Or Flare. Or pretty much anything really.
Form: Zombor (Top and bottom)
HP: 960 (Top), 800 (Bottom)
The bottom half is strong against Ice and Shadow while the top is strong against Fire and Lightning. Me? I got bored and beat it to death with Crono only and he was equipped with the Mop!
Form: Masa&Mune
HP: 3600
Oh for the love of God! This is the final boss; can't it at least put some effort in? Still, having said that, I did have to hit this one more than once which says something.
Form: Nizbel
HP: 4200
For the sake of making this quick, equip Crono with the Prism Specs, have him cast Lightning on Nizbel and then just beat him into a pulp.
Form: Magus
HP: 6666
Totally and utterly embarrassing. Hit it to make it change barrier and then hit it with the strongest spell of that type you've got. So that's Luminaire, Fire Sword 2, Ice Sword 2 or Antipode 3. Just one of those should push Magus into his second phase where he starts casting Dark Matter. Now just beat him with whatever you want to really, it won't take long.
Form: Azala & Black Tyrano
HP: 2500 (Azala) 12,000 (Black Tyrano)
Use Antipode 3 to kill Azala and then wait until the Black Tyrano removes its defence to push it into an early retirement.
Form: Giga Gaia (Left arm, right arm and core)
HP: 9500 (Core), 900 (Both arms)
I thought this guy was pathetic the first time round. Imagine what I think of it now... My fight went something like this. Giga Gaia did a move that took 12 health of each member of my party. I replied with Antipode 3, killing both hands, quickly followed by Luminaire, Antipode 3, Luminaire and a final Antipode 3 at a grand cost of 31 magic points and 36 health.
Form: Lavos
HP: 10,000
I nearly wept with relief when it didn't say it was changing attack mode. We're gonna get a real fight at last! Use a Mega Elixir before the fight and then weep when you realise you didn't need to. Five attacks in and it was dead. For Christ's sake, I just killed the final boss in five hi--oh wait, it's NOT the final boss. "Step inside my parlour," said the spider to the fly...
Inside, you'll find a save point and a gate. Now, because I'm a dramatic sod, I usually take the gate out, take the Epoch to 1999AD and then fly it straight through Lavos' outer shell. It's a useful point to remember since it means you can skip the warm up fights BUT to get New Game +, you HAVE to reach Lavos via the Black Omen and of course, if you do that, you have to do the warm-up fights. Life just isn't fair, is it?
One way or another, head straight up and you'll find something...
Boss: Lavos (Left arm, right arm and core)
HP: 8,000 (Left arm), 12,000 (Right arm), 20,000 (Core)
Now, THIS is a fight and a half! Start off by casting Luminaire and Antipode 3 repeatedly until the arms are dead. Once the right arm (our right) is gone, the shield is removed from the core. Keep casting Luminaire and Antipode 3 but keep a close eye on your health at all times. If it drops below 400, heal that person immediately. Marle is nigh on godly in this fight with Life 2. She saved my arse with that spell so many times I want to kiss her! Just keep on plugging away until it croaks.
Game over, you won, right? WRONG! And thank god coz' as hard as that last fight was, it's not a good final boss fight unless you can actually lose it easily if you don't have the right strategy.
Boss: Lavos Core (Body, left bit and right bit)
HP: 10,000 (Body), 2,000 (Left bit), 30,000 (Right bit)
Let's start with what bits do what: the left bit heals the core and removes your status defence, the core does most of the attacks and the right bit revives the left bit and core when they're dead. The main point is that the part you need to kill is the right bit. That dies and it all dies. The key feature is that the right bit maintains a very strong defence, making it near impervious to damage. The only time it'll drop that defence is when it's reviving the other parts, so the first thing to do is destroy the weakest bit. Have Crono use Confuse on, and Lucca shoot, the left bit. That SHOULD do it but we all know what the Wondershot is like. Almost immediately after that, the right bit will drop its defence. Now weigh in heavy, casting Antipode 3 and Luminaire constantly, healing whenever necessary. Remember, since you saved it before fighting the fake Lavos and New Game + requires a save file to load from, anything you use in this fight won't have been used in the New Game +, thus there's no reason to be sparing with the Mega Elixirs and Hyper Ethers; use whatever you need to in kicking Lavos' arse!
The Lavos Core's attacks depend on what era you're in, which is signified by the background you're fighting against. The list is as follows:
Dreamless and Grand Stone are certainly aptly described. Dreamless will almost certainly kill anyone not wearing a Prism Dress, i.e. Crono's screwed, while Grand Stone will almost certainly kill anyone who has low physical defence, i.e. Marle and Lucca are screwed. Again, Marle's Life 2 and Crono's Life are invaluable here and the Gold Studs mean you can keep casting magic until the cows come home. Just remember, the right bit is your main target. You cannot kill Lavos without destroying the right bit. If you need to heal, have Marle cast Cure 2 while Crono and Lucca cast Fire Sword 2 on the right bit. Use Heals to undo the effects of Spell and Invading Light as quickly as possible since you need all hands on deck.
Just keep at it and eventually Lavos will fall...