Characters of Chrono Cross

Serge (center) with some of the playable characters of Chrono Cross.
First row: Mojo, Macha, Doc, Mel, Guile, Sprigg, and Starky.
Second row: Razzly, Glenn, Leena, Kid, Nikki, and Sneff.
Third row: Van, Harle, Norris, Zoah, Radius, Irenes, and Pierre.
Fourth row: Draggy, Greco, Luccia, Korcha, Janice, Zappa, and Poshul.
Bottom left: Pip. Bottom right: NeoFio.

Chrono Cross (Japanese: クロノ・クロス, Hepburn: Kurono Kurosu) is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the PlayStation video game console. It is the successor to Chrono Trigger, which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. While its predecessor, like most role-playing games at the time, only offered a handful of playable characters, Chrono Cross was notable for making 45 different characters available for recruitment over the course of the game, each with distinct backstory and speech patterns. Reception for the game from critics was very positive, with some journalists, such as GameSpot, even giving the game a perfect score.^[1] However, reception for the cast of characters was more mixed; some critics were impressed by the quantity, variety, and individuality offered by the characters, where others complained of an emphasis of "quantity over quality".

Creation and influences

Radical Dreamers

Early, alternate looks to some characters that would later appear in Chrono Cross. Left-most is Lynx, in his original, human form, while the two characters on the right show Serge and Kid's original appearances, respectively.

A few of the core characters from Chrono Cross originate from an earlier game titled Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki.^[2] Chrono series writer Masato Kato felt that the first game in the series, Chrono Trigger, did not wrap up all of the story arcs, and as such, wrote the story of Radical Dreamers to conclude some aspects of it.^[3] However, due to the rushed nature of the development schedule, it being a short, text based visual novel, and being released on an obscure add-on for the Super Nintendo, (the Satellaview), Kato would label the game "unfinished", leading to the conception of a more complete game, which would be Chrono Cross.^[3] Serge, Kid, Lynx, Viper, and Riddel all originate from the game, although with varying degrees of similarity to their Chrono Cross counterparts. In Radical Dreamers, Serge, rather than being a silent protagonist, actually narrates and is a traveling musician, and Lynx, instead of being a cat-human hybrid, is just a human. With the release of Chrono Cross, the events of Radical Dreamers, along with their characters, were retconned as events that took place in a similar but different alternate reality.^[4]

Conception

Once work on the actual Chrono Cross started, the initial vision beyond character recruitment was even more expansive. The game initially was intended to be able to have the player recruit any person they encountered, through either interacting or battling them.^[5]

However, eventually the development team found this to be too ambitious, and narrowed it down to 64 playable characters, and then again down to 45 characters for the final game, which were then drawn by character designer Nobuteru Yūki.^[6] The backgrounds of some minor characters were left to members of the staff.^[7]

Parallel dimensions

The developers of Chrono Cross created a setting consisting of two parallel dimensions; the "Home World", where the game starts, and the "Alternate World", that is introduced shortly afterwards.^[2] The two worlds are used to illustrate the concept of the butterfly effect; both worlds have the same basic make-up, but show key differences that have resulted from one minor difference; the main character, Serge, died years ago in the "Alternate World".^[8] Some effects are direct, such as his mother no longer living in his hometown, or that people he knew in the "Home World" no longer recognizing him in the "Alternate World".^[8] Others are far more indirect, with his absence leading other people to make different decisions in their lives, effecting whether a character ends up being rich or poor, or follows their dreams or gives up on them.^[8] As such, there are sometimes two very different versions of characters, or conversely, characters who are only present in one world or another, due to dying or leaving the game's setting due to events happening in only one world.^[8] The development team stated that even they had a hard time keeping everything straight amongst all the character relationships and differences between the two worlds while developing the game.^[5]

Accent system

A vast majority of the 45 characters in the game possess their own unique accents and speech patterns.^[9] Instead of storing over 40 slightly different static variations of the same text and running into potential memory issues,^[10] the translation/localization team created the "Auto-Accent Generator," an algorithm that dynamically modifies dialogue to suit the character speaking it, allowing only one generic version of dialogue to be stored internally and shared by all characters.^[6] For example, the static text "Hello, how are you?" would be stored, but if spoken by an Australian character it would be changed to "Hey mate, how are ya?"; if spoken by a pirate character it would appear as "Aye matey, how are ya?" Translator Richard Honeywood would say in retrospect that while the algorithm helped deal with memory constraints, creating and working with it was described as "mind-boggling".^[10] While the system was ultimately successful, it did not work well with some more detailed scenes that required more context; additional versions of dialogue needed to be written and stored manually for these scenes to make sense.^[6]

Playable characters

The game contains a total of 45 playable characters.^[5] While some join automatically as the plot progresses, others only become playable depending on the actions of the player.^[2] For example, early in the game, the player is tasked with breaking Serge into a heavily guarded manor. The player must explore the town outside of the manor in order to find assistance with breaking in. The player may choose to ask Guile, Pierre, or Nikki for help. The player may only choose one, and only that respective character will join the party. At other times, characters will not join if other characters are present. Early in the game, Leena will only join if the player opts to have Serge traveling alone at the time; if Kid is already with him, she no longer feels the need to help, and will not join. As such, it is impossible for all characters to join over the course of a single game. However, the game employs a New Game + system, where, upon starting a second game, characters who had been recruited on the prior play through will become available towards the latter part of the game. As such, the player can retain characters from the first game, while taking alternate paths to recruit characters missed the first time.^[11]

The characters are presented in the order given in the game's master list of playable characters.

Serge

Serge (セルジュ, Seruju) is the silent protagonist of Chrono Cross; his motions, and other's comments, show that he clearly communicates with other characters, but his actual text is not communicated unless the player is given the chance to choose a response to a question.^[12] Instead, he is meant to be interpreted as "the persona of the player".^[13] He is an uncomplicated youth from Arni Village, a small fishing town on the south part of the El Nido Archipelago's central island. His journey begins when he is abruptly swept through a dimensional rift into Another World, in which he meets a young thief named Kid.

As a child, Serge had been attacked by a panther demon. To save his son, Serge's father Wazuki attempted to sail to Marbule to find a cure for the panther's poison. He and Miguel set out during a storm and ended up in the Sea of Eden, and entered Chronopolis. There, Serge was exposed to the Frozen Flame and healed. After the storm passed, Serge was listed by the Prometheus Circuit as an "Arbiter", the highest security level of Chronopolis and was the only life form able to access the flame, hindering FATE's ability to control El Nido. It is revealed later that Schala sensed Serge's cry throughout time and in her effort to reach Serge she inadvertently created the storm which led him to Chronopolis. In order to access the flame and stop the Prometheus Circuit, allowing FATE to have total control over El Nido, FATE needed a physical form, and uploaded its mind into Wazuki, as well as changed Wazuki's appearance to that of a humanoid panther since Serge developed a phobia toward felines after the panther attack. In Another World, Serge was drowned by Lynx in the year 1010 AD at the age of seven. The Home World was in fact created as a result of Kid traveling back in time after the events of Chrono Cross to save Serge from Lynx.

Lynx

Lynx, known as Yamaneko (ヤマネコ, Yamaneko, "Wildcat") in the Japanese version, serves as one of several antagonists in Chrono Cross. An anthropomorphic feline, Lynx is Kid's archenemy. He seeks the legendary Frozen Flame, and at the start of the game, he has been living among the Dragoons of Viper Manor in efforts to steal an item called the "Dragon Tear".

For reasons initially unknown to Serge, Lynx is actively seeking him out. In Fort Dragonia, Lynx manages to possess Serge's body and to trap Serge in his own. For this portion of the game, the player controls Lynx's body with Serge trapped inside. Meanwhile, Lynx, in Serge's body, quickly becomes a scourge, tarnishing Serge’s reputation, and placing Kid under a spell, forcing her to follow him.

Once back in the "Home World", Serge in Lynx's body, must also take the heat for the prior actions of Lynx in that world; where he served as an agent of the militarist nation of Porre and helped overtake El Nido. Additionally, here, he had been responsible for leading the Acacia Dragoons to be trapped in the Dead Sea while searching for the Frozen Flame. Lynx is not actually seen, but it is confirmed by series creator Masato Kato in the Ultimania guide that Lynx did go to the Dead Sea with Harle and died there. Eventually Serge succeeds in getting his original form back, and defeats the true Lynx.

Near the end of the game, Lynx is revealed to have been Wazuki, Serge's father, brainwashed and shapeshifted by FATE. When the young Serge was bitten by a panther demon, Wazuki and his friend Miguel sailed to meet the Sage at Marbule. The violent storm caused by the Lavos-fused Schala threw them off course and they ended up in the Sea of Eden. Due to the storm, FATE, the supercomputer which controls Chronopolis, shut down temporarily. Serge was healed by the Frozen Flame but was at the same time chosen as the "Arbiter of Time" between Lavos and the beings of the planet. Wazuki's mind was eroded by his fears, catalyzed by gazing into the Flame. Wazuki and Serge returned to Arni, while Miguel remained trapped as FATE rebooted. Despite their return, Wazuki's mind eventually succumbed to FATE; he was turned into the physical manifestation of Serge’s greatest fear, a humanoid panther, and was instructed to drown Serge in order for FATE to regain control of the Frozen Flame. However, it was not sufficient, as the Flame's chamber is sealed by another defense mechanism. In 1015 AD, Lynx and his assistant Harle attempt to persuade Lucca into unlocking the defense mechanism, Prometheus. As Lucca does not comply, they burn down her home and orphanage. This event can be witnessed later in the game, through time travel. Serge watches the scene and meets Kid, before returning to his own time.

Kid

Kid (キッド, Kiddo) is a protagonist in the game, a member of the band of thieves known as the Radical Dreamers. She first comes to Serge's aid when he is attacked by Karsh, Solt, and Peppor on Cape Howl. Depending on the player's choices, she may then join the party there, later, or not actually join the party at all for the entire game duration. Whether Kid joins the party on Cape Howl or not, she directs Serge in the direction of Termina, Viper Manor, and her evil foe Lynx. This sparks her extensive role in the storyline.

It is revealed late in the game that Kid was raised in an orphanage owned by the scientific genius of Chrono Trigger, Lucca. It is also revealed that Kid is actually the daughter-clone of Schala. During the fall of Zeal, Schala was thrown into Lavos's dimension. She became one with the alien parasite, and in the wake of its defeat became the entity known as the Devourer of Time. In the darkness beyond time, Schala heard the cries of Serge in 1010 AD when he is drowned by Lynx, and magically created a daughter clone of herself sometime during 1004 AD. Lucca finds this baby and raises her in her orphanage. An added movie sequence in the PlayStation and Nintendo DS re-releases of Chrono Trigger shows Lucca finding Kid. Kid then joins Serge in the adventure of Chrono Cross, and then travels back in time to save Serge from being drowned by Lynx. In the ending credits, she seemed to be seen wandering in some unspecified modern locations and a photograph shows her older and married to Serge.

She speaks with an Australian accent, as indicated by her use of several Australian slang terms such as bugger, bloke, and sheila.

Guile

Guile (アルフ, Arufu, Alf) is a traveling magician searching for treasure. Guile made a bet with a fortune-teller that he could successfully break into Viper Manor, and bring back an item to prove he did it. The player, who must break Serge into Viper Manor as well; may chose to work with Guile. He joins the party if the player opts to have Serge asks for his assistance.

Guile is only shown in the "Alternate World". While he does not appear in the "Home World", Sneff recognizes the "Alternate World" Guile as part of the "Magic Guild", suggesting he had seen the "Home World" Guile before. Guile doesn't have a particular speech style, but does commonly reference "mystery" or "magic". Early in the game's development, Guile was intended to be the character Magus from Chrono Trigger, who after the events of the first game, was traveling through time to find his sister, Schala.^[14] However, over the course of development, upon adding such a large cast of characters to the game, the development team felt that his story couldn't sufficiently be focused on, and as such, he was switched into the Guile character.^[14] The developers still left some subtle references to Magus; including his Japanese name, Alf, resembling Magus's cats name, Alfador in Chrono Trigger, his English name, Guile, being similar to "Gil", the name for Magus in Radical Dreamers, and similarities to Magus in his appearance and "floating" nature of movement.^[14]

Norris

Norris (イシト, Ishito, Ishito) is the leader of the "Black Wind", an elite branch of the Porre Military.^[15] In the "Home World", they have overtaken the town of Termina, where General Viper and the Acacia Dragoons cease to exist, and as such, are unable to defend the town from them.^[16][17] He automatically joins the party to help Serge while trapped in Lynx's body, desiring to accompany him to the Dead Sea, and ends up stays with the group.

Norris doesn't speak with any special accent or habits, but generally speaks and acts very kindly towards people, sometimes unbefitting of a person who is a leader of a military group.^[18] In one of the game's endings, it is revealed that he is the "kind stranger" who delivered the antidote that cured Kid's life-threatening poison if the player chose to have Serge not save her.^[19] Norris is present in both the "Home World" and the "Alternate World", with him being largely the same in both worlds.

Nikki

Nikki (スラッシュ, Surasshu, Slash) is a guitarist in the "Magical Dreamers", a musical troupe of which the dancer Miki is also a member. He is the son of Fargo and his deceased wife, Zelbess, and a sibling to Marcy. In the "Alternate World", he joins the party if the player opts to have Serge work with him as one of the possible people to break into the Viper Manor. He is present in the "Home World" as well, where he is trying to cleanse the monster-infested island of Marbule.

Nikki's speech pattern finds him often referencing guitars or music in general. Several allusions to Slash, including his original Japanese name, and the song lyrics he sings, such as "Sweet Sister of mine".^[20] He as a character is largely consistent, without any major differences, between the "Home" and "Alternate World".

Viper

General Viper, called Jyakotu Taisa (蛇骨大佐, Jakotsu Taisa, lit. Colonel Snakebone) in the Japanese version, is the 57-year-old hereditary lord of El Nido and leader of the Acacia Dragoons. He served as one of the four former Dragoon Devas, the highest rank of the Acacia Dragoons, until he retired and became the head of El Nido.^[21][22][23] He is also the father of Riddel.^[24] Over the course of the game, he aspires to acquire the powerful "Frozen Flame". While his exact motives are not revealed, in game, Radius, speculates it is to overthrow the militaristic nation of Porre and create a peaceful world similar to the kingdom of Guardia.^[23] He automatically join's Serge party.

While not having a particular speech pattern, he often speaks formally and diplomatically.^[25] While usually a confident father figure type, he at times has moments of uncertainty as well, referring to himself as ""just a fool chasing his own desires".^[26] Viper is only present in the "Alternate World"; in the "Home World", he and his men are persuaded by Lynx to visit the Dead Sea three years prior to the game, and all end up dead.^[17]

Riddel

Riddel Riddle (リデル, Rideru) is 24-year-old daughter of General Viper and past fiancé to childhood friend Dario prior to his death in the "Alternate World".^[27][28] Riddel automatically joins Serge's party after being rescued by him from Porre soldiers. If the player opts to have Serge travel to the "Home World" with Riddel to an isolated island, they find that Dario is indeed alive in the "Home World". If the player has Serge fight and defeat Dario, Riddel decides to help him rebuild the destroyed Viper's Manor and make it an orphanage.^[29]

Riddel doesn't have a specific speech pattern, but commonly speaks as a kind and beautiful woman with a heavy heart.^[30] Riddel is only present in the "Alternate World", in the "Home World", she and the rest of the Acacia Dragoons die in the Dead Sea.^[17]

Karsh

Karsh (カーシュ, Kāshu) is a 27-year-old man and one of the four Dragoon Devas. In 1017 AD, Karsh and his childhood friend Dario were sent on a mission to investigate the Isle of the Damned, but the expedition resulted in Dario's apparent death. In a flashback, Karsh considers the possibility that he might have killed Dario out of jealousy over fighting skills and Dario's engagement to Riddel. However, a sidequest reveals that Karsh only acted in self-defense, as Dario was possessed by the evil sword Masamune. Karsh is fought as an antagonist twice during the game. He is portrayed as rough but honorable.^[31] During development, a design of Karsh wearing full armor was rejected for not fitting the game's atmosphere.^[32]

Karsh is only present in the "Alternate World", in the "Home World", he and the rest of the Acacia Dragoons die in the Dead Sea.^[17]

Zoah

Zoah (ゾア, Zoa) is a 28-year-old man and one of the four Dragoon Devas. He constantly wears an iron helmet to cover his face due to a war injury.^[33] He rejects wealth and power and has chosen to dedicate his life to battle,^[34] although the fortune teller in Termina senses "deep sadness" beneath his helmet.^[35] Zoah is fought as an antagonist once or twice depending on the story branch. In the English version of the game, his dialogue lines are all written in capital letters to emulate his voice booming through the helmet. During development, Zoah was meant to be "the prince of a certain country", watching over the protagonists' actions and wearing the helmet not due to an injury but to hide his true identity. However, because of time constraints, the event hinting at this was not implemented and his backstory altered.^[33]

Zoah is only present in the "Alternate World", in the "Home World", he and the rest of the Acacia Dragoons die in the Dead Sea.^[17]

Marcy

Marcy, called Marcella (マルチェラ, Maruchera) in the Japanese version, is a 9-year-old girl and one of the four Dragoon Devas. Although she appears human, she is actually the daughter of Fargo and a demi-human, Zelbess. Marcy was saved soon after birth by Luccia, on the Zenan continent, and raised by her from a distance due to Zelbess' death and Fargo believing that the baby did not survive.^[36] Marcy knows that she has demi-human blood but has not come to term with it.^[37] She initially abhors Serge and faces him in battle twice, but apologizes to him when Lynx betrays the Acacia Dragoons. Her original name during development was Rachel.^[32]

Marcy is only present in the "Alternate World", in the "Home World", she and the rest of the Acacia Dragoons die in the Dead Sea.^[17]

Korcha

Korcha (コルチャ, Korucha) is a troublemaker in the town of Termina, but when Kid is poisoned, he is there to rescue her as she falls from a Viper Manor balcony. He becomes enamoured with Kid, and helps Serge find the Hydra Humour needed to cure her. During a negotiation over the use of his boat, Korcha proposes to Kid, but no answer is given.

Luccia

Luccia (ルチアナ, Ruchiana, Lutianna) is a scientist who conducts experiments on live animals in Viper Mansion. Her experiments result in the creation of "Pip", a monster that evolves over time^[38] and NioFio, a half plant, half human hybrid. Her brother was also responsible for the creation of Grobyc. If the player chooses to have Serge speak to her after the first battle with Lynx, she joins the party, wanting to observe Serge's strength. A letter she gives to Kid, if the player chooses to have Serge revive her late in the game, shows that Luccia was scientific colleagues with Lucca from Chrono Trigger.

Luccia speaks with a German accent.^[38] She is only present in the "Alternate World"; the Viper Manor she resides in is destroyed in the "Home World".^[17]

Poshul

Poshul (ポシュル, Poshuru) is a female pink talking dog who belongs to Leena. Poshul speaks with a lisp, a stutter, many exclamations, and commonly using "I" and "me" interchangeably.^[39] Poshul is exactly the same in both the "Home World" and "Alternate World", and the only character that can have either version of the character join the party. In either the "Home World" or "Alternate World", Poshul joins if the player opts to give a "Heckran Bone" to Poshul.^[39]

Razzly

Razzly (ラズリー, Razurī) is a fairy native to Water Dragon Isle in the "Home World". In the game, she is captured and encaged by a monster in the Hydra Marshes. She only appears in the game if the player opts to have Serge find a cure for Kid's poison, which leads Serge into the marshes in which she is trapped. Upon defeating the monster that has her encaged, she joins Serge's party in efforts to repay the favor. If the player opts out of having Serge save Kid, he is not able to access the marshes of the "Home World" until much later in the game, and at that point, all that remains is an empty, destroyed cage.

When Razzly speaks, she replaces the words "fairly" and "very" with the word "fairy". Razzly is only present in the "Home World"; in the "Alternate World", her events don't take place because the Water Dragon Isle is dried up and abandoned, and the Hydra Marshes are poisoned.

Zappa

Zappa (ザッパ) is a blacksmith from the town of Termina, and had been one of the four Devas of the Acacia Dragoons prior to the events of the game. He is the husband of Zippa, and father of Karsh, who has succeeded him as one of General Viper's 4 Dragoon Devas.

Zappa has a Scottish accent. He is portrayed in both the "Home World" and "Alternate World", though differently in each one. In the "Alternate World", he is seen as a thriving blacksmith, providing weapons and equipment to the Acacia Dragoons. However, in the "Home World", his business struggles and has to shut it down, due to the Acacia Dragoons being completely wiped out and because of the Porre military restricting his business. Additionally, in the "Home World", he and Zippa are saddened because Karsh has been missing (later found to be dead) for the last three years. As such, if the player has Serge talk with Zappa in the "Home World", he will join the party, in order to search the world for Karsh, and new prospects in blacksmithing.

Orcha

Orcha (オーチャ, Ōcha) is the cook at Viper Manor, and remains there when the Acacians relocate to Ft. Dragonia. The Porre Military made him ingest Quaffid seeds, and then transformed him into the Hell's Cook to have him torture Riddel, but he is defeated by Serge, when he arrives in Lynx's body. He reverts to normal, and joins forces with Serge.

Similar to Korcha, Macha, and Mel, Orcha commonly substitutes "cha" in for you, for instance, saying "Dontcha?" in place of "Don't you?". Despite his similar name and speaking patterns, none of their interactions indicate Orcha even knowing the rest of them.

Radius

Radius (ラディウス, Radiusu) is a 62-year-old retired Dragoon Deva. Starting in 1003 AD, he and the previous group of Dragoon Devas served on the Zenan continent, where he and his friend Garai eventually found the lost Masamune sword sometime after 1005 AD. This resulted in Radius assassinating Garai in a fit of jealousy partly induced by the cursed sword. Radius discarded the sword and kept the cause of death to himself, retiring from fighting to look after Garai's sons, Dario and Glenn, until Dario became a Dragoon Deva.^[3][23] In Another World, Radius then left the world's affairs to live in the Hermit's Hideaway, while in Home World he moved to the village of Arni and became the village chief. When Serge, in the body of Lynx, returns to Arni, Radius engages him in battle before realizing he is not the real Lynx. He is portrayed as a skilled, knowledgeable retired warrior.^[40]

Fargo

Fargo (ファルガ, Faruga, Farga) is the captain of the S.S. Zelbess and Nikki and Marcy's father. In Another World, he captains a pirate ship, the S.S. Invincible. Serge stumbles across the ship in the fog south of Hermit's Hideaway and, once aboard, is challenged by Fargo to various tests of strength. In Home World, Fargo is the captain of a cruise ship, the S.S. Zelbess, and is a cheater in his own casino. Fargo exudes a very "macho" persona, and occasionally speaks with pirate dialog. Formerly a Dragoon Deva along with Radius, Garai, and Zappa.

Macha

Macha (ママチャ, Mamacha, Mamacha) is a mother-figure from the island of Guldove. She has two children, Korcha and Mel. If the player chooses to have Serge not help Kid when poisoned, Macha joins the party. Macha uses kitchen utensils as weapons.

Like Korcha, Mel, and Orcha, Macha commonly subs in "cha" for "you" in her sentence, saying "dontcha?" in place of "don't you?".

Glenn

Glenn Grenn (グレン, Guren) is a 20-year-old Acacia Dragoon apprentice. His disordered hair is described as that of a "zealous hero" by the developers.^[32] Unlike most other dragoons, he follows his own moral sense and is willing to break military regulations depending on the stakes.^[41] After the death of his father Garai, he and his brother Dario were looked after by Radius. Since Dario's apparent death, Glenn has been trying to follow his brother's footsteps as a dragoon.^[42] If the Einlanzer swords from both dimensions are retrieved, Glenn is able to dual wield the two in battle. He is portrayed as sweet and popular among the people of Termina, with a growing maturity that surprises those who knew him as a kid.^[43] He bears the same name as the character nicknamed Frog from Chrono Trigger, but has different origins.

Glenn is only present in the "Alternate World", in the "Home World", he and the rest of the Acacia Dragoons die in the Dead Sea.^[17]

Leena

Leena (レナ, Rena) is a 16-year-old close childhood friend of Serge who lives in the town of Arni. While no romantic relationship between her and Serge is ever explicitly stated, she does ask him for jewelry,^[44] refers to long-term promises made between them in the past,^[45] and asks about the prospect of them kissing one another.^[46] While typically being a sweet, girl next door type around Serge, her brother Una claims she prone to temper tantrums and not being very "lady-like".^[47][48]

Leena is largely the same across the two worlds, the main difference being that the Leena in the "Alternate World" has lived the last ten years without the close relationship with Serge, who had died ten years prior.^[49] The "Home World" Leena, who knows present-day Serge, plays a relatively small role in the game, mainly requesting Serge look for Komodo Dragon scales, which ultimately leads Serge on the quest that takes place in Chrono Cross, and staying back and waiting idly in his home town of Arni while Serge travels across the two variations of the El Nido islands. It is actually the "Alternate World" Leena, who doesn't know present-day Serge, who joins the party for the events of the game, if the player opts to reject Kid from joining the group the first time she attempts to join.

Miki

Miki (ミキ) is a famous dancer, known throughout the El Nido Archipelago. In Another World, she is on tour with Nikki, while in the Home World, she is a performer aboard the S.S. Zelbess. Fargo stands in the way of this goal until the Fargo from Another World is brought in to confront his Home World self. The S.S. Zelbess is brought to Marbule where Miki takes part in a performance, in which the Song of Marbule is played to render the strange monsters vulnerable. Then Serge, still in Lynx's body lands in Marbule and defeats the monsters restoring Marbule. Miki subsequently joins with Serge after he finds her on the S.S. Zelbess, bored after the performance. It is hinted that Miki loves Nikki, but it is not reciprocated.

Harle

Harle (ツクヨミ, Tsukuyomi), as her name suggests, is a harlequin jester. She wears full costume throughout the game, including a large jester hat and heavy facepaint. Early in the game, Harle works with Lynx against Serge and his party, as a gadfly who interferes with their efforts and frustrates members due to her constant flirting with Serge. After Lynx switches bodies with Serge, Harle accompanies him for a while as he attempts to switch back to his real body. Shortly before Serge recovers his true form, Harle departs from the group and resumes her own mysterious quest. The party meets up with her one last time, inside the Chronopolis. There, finally deciding to change her ways, she tries to convince Kid to leave the Frozen Flame be. Kid takes the Frozen Flame anyway, thus unintentionally breaking the seal of the six Dragons, allowing them to merge into the legendary Dragon God to wreak havoc upon humans as it had once before; Harle then snatches the Frozen Flame and leaves, never to be seen again.

Later, the Time Prophet reveals that she was really the "Dark Moon Dragon" created by the six Dragons under the cover of a storm that knocked out FATE's motherboard system 18 years prior. From then on her mission was to spy on Lynx and find a way to release their seal—meaning that Harle was never aligned with Lynx, and that she serves the Time Devourer (name given to the six merged dragons in English language versions, not the creature fought as the final boss), but she was having second thoughts. By the time she found the Frozen Flame in Chronopolis she knew what would happen to both her and Serge, so she attempted to guard it from Lynx and Kid, but failed; her fate after the Dragon God's rebirth is not clearly revealed, although one of the endings reveal that she did not merge with the Dragon God, as the other dragons did.

It is revealed near the end of the game that Harle shares a link with the Time Devourer, the mutated form of Schala, Kid's "mother". The nature of the link between the two characters is not explored in the game, but was confirmed by series creator Masato Kato in the Ultimania Guide.^[50]

In the English version of the game, her speech is written with a French accent and is often interspersed with French words.

Janice

Janice (ジャネス, Janesu, Jyaness) is a female human and rabbit hybrid aboard the S.S. Zelbess. If the player chooses to have Serge participate in the monster battling tournament, and he defeats her three times, she joins the party.

Draggy

Draggy (龍の子, Ryū no Ko, lit. "Dragon Child") is a baby dragon. His origins trace back to an egg in Fossil Valley. If the player chooses to have Serge take the egg to the incubator at Ft. Dragonia in the Home World, the egg is hatched and Draggy results. Upon hatching, it joins the party.

In being a baby dragon, his dialogue usually replaces r's with w', mimicking a child's way of speaking, for example, referring to himself a "Dwagon".

Starky

Starky (星の子, Hoshi no Ko, lit. "Star Child") initially appears as "Mega-Starky", a huge alien, that Serge must fight when arriving on Home World Sky Dragon Isle in the Home World. Once defeated, he shrinks down to normal size. Starky's main goal is to collect "Star Fragments", which he explains to be broken parts of his spaceship that shattered upon contact with the planet. He joins the party to collect all of the Star Fragments, but upon traveling to Another World, he discovers the spaceship completely intact in that dimension. From the spaceship he retrieves an anti-gravity device allows the party to reach Terra Tower in the sky, which had been otherwise unreachable.

Sprigg

Sprigg (スプリガン, Supurigan, Spriggan) is a resident of the Dimensional Vortex, where Serge is sent after trading bodies with Lynx. After he gains entry into her house, she agrees to help him gain entry into the tower on the hill above her house, and joins forces with him in order to find a way out of the Dimensional Vortex. Together with Harle, they succeed, emerging in the Hydra Marshes of the Home World. Sprigg's unique ability is "Doppelgang", which allows her to transform into certain monsters defeated by her.

Mojo

Mojo (ラッキーダン, Rakkī Dan, Lucky Dan) is a human-sized voodoo doll, who encounters Serge in the basement of one of Serge's neighbor's houses. Mojo is seen as an idol by the neighbors, although this changes quickly after he joins the party. Although he equips a glove, he attacks his enemies with the large nail he is impaled on. Eventually, he falls into despair as he realizes that as a voodoo doll, he was created for the sole purpose of bringing people pain. With the group's help, he realizes that his origins do not matter, it is the actions he takes in the present that define who he is. At this point, he dedicates himself to spreading happiness throughout the world, and his name becomes Mojoy (ハッピーダン, Happī Dan, Happy Dan), a play on 'More Joy'.

Turnip

Turnip (カブ夫, Kabuo, lit. Male Turnip) is first discovered growing in the ground outside of the Hermit's Hideaway after if the player chooses to cool the ground in the area. Upon freeing him, he joins the party. His mannerisms and animations resemble Frog from Chrono Trigger. Turnip is actually the incarnation of a sleeping Acacia Dragoon's dream.

NeoFio

NeoFio (改良種フィオ, Kairyōshu Fio, lit. Improved Breed Fio) is a half plant, half human hybrid created as a result of one of Luccia's experiments.^[51] It only comes alive the player chooses to have Serge retrieve a "Life Sparkle"; the only thing that will cause it to "bloom".^[52] NeoFio joins the party upon his creation.

NeoFio speaks normally except for substituting a "ph" for every "f" in all words, a play on pH having such importance in soil pH and plants, and that the "f" and "ph" functionally make the same sound.^[53] He does not exist in the "Home World", where Luccia, his creator, is not present due to Viper Manor being destroyed there.^[17]

Greco

Greco (ジルベルト, Jiruberuto, Gilberto) is a former wrestler, who performs funeral services by his hut on the eastern outskirts of Termina. He wears a mask and cape similar to that of a luchador. Prior to the events of the game, his best friend Ghetz was killed in an accident, which is responsible for his choice of leaving his wrestling career, in favor of performing funeral services. If the player opts to have Serge talk to him in his hut after one of his services, he will join the party.

Elements of the Spanish language are mixed in with his dialogue. Greco is only present in the "Alternate World", although the ghost of Ghetz does show up in the "Home World" and interacts with him, suggesting a similar version Greco existing there as well.

Skelly

Skelly (スカール, Sukāru, Skull) is a skeleton clown whose bones are scattered around the El Nido archipelago. His origins trace back to a boy who ran off to join the circus, but eventually died while working there. If the player opts to have Serge locate his five main bones, and has him talk to his grandmother, he will join Serge's party.

Funguy

Funguy (キノコ, Kinoko, lit. Mushroom) is the father of Leena's friend Lisa, who runs the element shop in Termina. While initially a normal human, if the player chooses to have Serge feed him the "strange mushroom" item, it turns him into a mushroom-like humanoid creature. Blaming Serge for his condition, he joins the party in hopes of finding a cure. A cure is never found, but Funguy comes to terms with his new appearance, and decides to live his life in the forest by the end of the events of the game.^[54]

His counterpart in the Home world, falls mysteriously ill around the time Funguy transformed.

Irenes

Irenes (イレーネス, Irēnesu) is a mermaid, and hails from the town of Marbule. In the Home World, her main goal is to convince Fargo to help save Marbule from the creatures that have taken up residence in the town. Irenes's sister, Zelbess, fell in love with Fargo. Tragically, Zelbess died. Because of that, Fargo became vindictive against demihumans and forced them to work as slave labour on his cruise ship, ironically named after Zelbess. Irenes still lives in Marbule, alone, and weeps at night for her sister. When Serge comes to see her, she sees a way out of her sad predicament and follows him to the S.S. Zelbess. All of the vowels in her dialogue have umlauts on them.

Mel

Mel (メル, Meru) is Korcha's adopted little sister, and she is known for doodling with her crayons and having little to do with anyone around her. When Kid recovers from her poisoning at the hands of Lynx, Mel steals her elements during the night, but leaves behind evidence indicating that she is the thief. Korcha outsmarts Mel, and with Serge's help, surrounds her, and she is forced to return Kid's elements to her.

Leah

Leah (リーア, Rīa) is an orphan child living on the isolated island known as Gaea's Navel. She is the daughter of an unnamed warrior who disappeared "to the sky" when she was very young.^[55] She helps Serge find the Green Dragon, and joins the party upon defeating him, desiring to travel the world to help her decide if she wants return to her village or not, and to see if she can find out what happened to her father.^[56]

Leah's appearance and speech is similar to Ayla from Chrono Trigger, such as the tendency to add the suffix -um to some words in her speech, or using the phrase "Oooga Booga".^[57] Upon the end of the game, Leah states that she will name her daughter Ayla as well.^[57] She is only portrayed in the "Home World", as riding a creature called a "Wingapede" is the only method to traveling to Gaea's Navel, and the Hydra Marshes from which a "Wingapede" come from are raided and poisoned in the "Alternate World".

Van

Van (バンクリフ, Bankurifu, Vancliff) is a child living with his painter father, Gogh, in the town of Termina. The two are never happy, always dealing with external issues. If the player opts to have Serge talk to Van, he joins in hopes of finding treasure that will help his money problems.

Van does not have a particular speech pattern, but commonly references aspect of painting or art in his dialogue. Van and his father are present in both worlds, but find themselves in very different situations. In the "Home World", the two are very poor and live in a tiny house where they are constantly dealing with the threat of eviction. Conversely, in the "Alternate World", they are very rich and live in a mansion, with Gogh making a lot of money off of his art; however, Van is still unhappy, as his father doesn't pay him any attention, and only cares about art, not money. Their names and scenarios regarding art and money parallel to Vincent Van Gogh and his life.

Sneff

Sneff (スネフ, Sunefu) is a performance magician indentured to Fargo in the Home World, due to his gambling debt to the captain. However, this is due to a rigged setup that causes Fargo to win every time. Upon Serge removing a part from Fargo's cheating device, rendering it inoperable, Sneff is able to earn back his freedom, and proceeds to join the party. Sneff is missing his front teeth, and thus is unable to pronounce some sounds. He pronounces "three" as "free" and "teeth" as "teeff."

Steena

Steena (スティーナ, Sutīna) is a shrine maiden and shaman from Guldove. She assists Serge in finding the "Chrono Cross", and recovering his former body back after it was switched with Lynx's. She is known to guard the Dragon Tear in Guldove.

Steena does not have a particular speech pattern, but commonly speaks of prophecies, ancient lore, and spirituality in her dialogue. She is present in both the "Home World" and "Alternate World" as primarily the same person, except for in one main area. In the "Alternate World", she still works under her elder shaman, Direa, where as in the "Home World", Direa has died, so Steena works by herself.

Doc

Doc (ドク, Doku) is the doctor of the island village of Guldove. However, he struggles to cope with being unable to help patients. When Kid is poisoned by Lynx's dagger, she ends up under his care, and he feels remorse for being unable to provide the cure. As such, to make up for it, if the player chooses not to have Serge help Kid, Doc joins the party, in hopes of broadening his world view and knowledge.

Doc speaks in surfer lingo.^[58] He is present in both the "Home World" and "Alternate World", largely having the same characteristics.

Grobyc

Grobyc (ギャダラン, Gyadaran, Gyadrun) is a cyborg, and nicknamed "Killing Machine", from the Porre Military.^[59] Cold and calculating, he only answers to anyone who is stronger than himself.^[60] As such, Grobyc joins Serge's party automatically, after Serge defeats both himself, and another cyborg, Guillot, while rescuing Riddell from Viper Manor.^[61]

Grobyc spelled backwards is "cyborg". He refers to himself in the third person, and his dialogue substitutes all spaces between words with dashes, simulating a rigid and mechanical speech pattern.^[62] Kotaku named Grobyc one of the "Most Insane Cyborgs In Japanese Video Games" in 2013. ^[63]

Pierre

Pierre (ピエール, Piēru) is a vain, conceited swordsman living in the city of Termina, who values "beauty" over work ethic.^[64] He refers to himself as a great hero,^[65] yet is merely living in a rented room of Zappa's and unable to even pay rent on time.^[66] He moved to Termina because he aspires to go to Viper Manor to meet with General Viper about being part of the "Acacia Dragoons", of which are the highest level of knights. However, he fears he won't be let in without his "Hero's Medal". Pierre is only part of the story if the player opts to have Serge use his assistance to break into Viper Manor, which involves the player locating the "Hero's Medal". Pierre's approach to breaking into the Viper Manor is merely storming the front gates, which, despite many resulting battles, does work. However, later skirmishes between Kid and Lynx, and the eventual stabbing of General Viper, prevents any of Pierre's personal goals from progressing.

Pierre speaks with a French accent, though very amateurishly, and speaks in a condescending manner.^[67] He is only depicted in the "Alternate World"; he is not seen in the "Home World", where there is no opening in the "Acacia Dragoons", which have been entirely wiped out.^[17]

Orlha

Orlha (オルハ, Oruha) is a resident and bartender on the island village of Guldove. She first appears in the game as the person who convinces the Doctor not to give up on saving Kid from being poisoned. Later in the game, she is seen as a protector of the island as well, defending it when the Porre invades. Serge, stuck in Lynx's body, appears to be with the Porre military, and is forced into fighting her. After the battle, Serge is able to convince the Porre soldiers to leave, saving Orlha and Guldove. Orlha, grateful but unable to trust him in his Lynx/Porre form, gives him a brooch. If the player chooses to have Serge bring the brooch to Orlha once he's back in his original body, Orlha joins the party.^[68]

Orlha is only shown to exist in the "Alternate World". Rather than another version of herself, she has a twin sister, Tia, who only exists in the "Home World".^[69] Orlha had been searching for her her whole life, but only finds her if she joins Serge's party and travels to the other world. She finds Tia dying, and is unable to save her, but Tia's spirit inhabits the blue brooch Serge returns to her, traveling with Orlha and even helping her attack in battle. Orlha doesn't follow a particular speech pattern, but is often shown as a "voice of reason" in serious times, and a rowdy tom boy in battle situations.

Pip

Pip (ツマル, Tsumaru, lit. Packed) is a cute Pokémon-like creature that Luccia experimented on in her laboratory.^[70] If player chooses to have Serge unlock his cage, he can later be recruited aboard the S.S. Invincible.^[71] Pip is unique, being the only character that goes through transformations depending on how the player uses him in battle.^[70] Depending on what elements are used when fighting, he may transform into lighter or darker versions of himself, with different attacks and appearances.^[38]

Pip's speaking pattern involves substituting many "l" and "r" sounds with a "w", and using "de" in place of "the".^[72] He is only shown to exist in the "Another World"; in the "Home World", the lab he was experimented on, in Viper Manor, was destroyed.^[17]

Characters from Chrono Trigger

A number of the major characters of Chrono Trigger play roles in Chrono Cross as well, although much of the time they are relegated to the game's backstory rather than actively participating in the events of the game.^[73] Crono, Marle, and Lucca, three of the main playable characters from Chrono Trigger, appear in Chrono Cross, but they are neither playable nor major characters. Instead, they are presented as childlike apparitions that appear at key points in the game to inform Serge of key aspects of the game's backstory. While their homeland of Guardia was aggressively overthrown by the neighboring war nation Porre, their ultimate fate is not disclosed in Chrono Cross, leaving it unclear if they are meant to be literally deceased ghost figures, or alive and transposing their likeness through other methods.^[7] Additionally, the game explains that many Lucca's actions between Trigger and Cross directly influence the scenarios for both Kid and Lynx.^[7] Robo, while not directly present in the game, is meant to be the "Prometheus Circuit" referenced in the game.^[74]

Belthasar was the "Guru of Reason" in the ancient Kingdom of Zeal in Chrono Trigger. He returns as the ultimate mastermind behind much of the events of Chrono Cross. In the previous game, he started to go insane and eventually died when he was warped to 2300 AD as a result of the incident caused by Lavos at the Ocean Palace. However, after Crono's party changed the dark future into a brighter one, he landed in that new future instead. There, he constructed Chronopolis and discovered the Time Devourer. He then created Project Kid and planned out the events necessary to lead to the Time Devourer's destruction. After setting up the experiment that would cause Chronopolis to go back in time, he departed to the modern era of 1020 AD to watch his plan unfold. He speaks to the party a few times, eventually giving them the Time Egg necessary to find and challenge the Time Devourer and save Schala.

Non-playable antagonists

Dario

Dario is the deceased older brother of Glenn, who had previously been part of the Four Acacian Dragoon Devas with Zoah, Marcy, and Karsh, and had been engaged to Riddel.^[75]

In the "Another World", the influence of the legendary Masamune sword turns him evil, and he is killed by Karsh out of self-defense of his own life. However, in the "Home World", he survived Karsh's attack, but lost his memory. If the player chooses to bring the Riddel from "Another World" to meet the Dario who is still alive in the "Home World", a battle takes place that, if won cleanses his soul and restores his memory. As the Acacia Dragoons are entirely wiped out in the "Home World",^[76] he takes it upon himself to restore the destroyed Viper Manor and start up an orphanage in its place.^[29][77]

Devourer of Time

The Devourer of Time is the creature resulting from Lavos absorbing Schala. Lavos returns as the main villain, but does not appear until the end. By accident during Chrono Trigger, Schala was banished to the darkness of time, where later, the remnants of the defeated Lavos arrived and began absorbing the former princess of Zeal to create a new being. The resulting life-form — the Time Devourer — would have been capable of devouring all spacetime once matured. Though unknown to Serge for most of his quest, the entire events concerning the dimensions and the creation of El Nido were set in motion to empower him to defeat the Time Devourer and free Schala. Using the Chrono Cross, he accomplished this mission. The Time Devourer was decisively defeated and Schala saved. In DS port of Chrono Trigger, the Devourer of Time is shown in a less advanced stage of its evolution, named the Dream Devourer.

Dragon God

The Dragon God was a biological plasma machine created by the Dragonian race that existed in an alternate universe, where the Reptites survived and became the dominant race on Earth. When the city Dinopolis was sucked into the same dimension as Chronopolis, a battle ensued. In the end, the Dragonians lost the war, their city sunk into the sea, and the Dragon God itself was splintered into six beings, which became the Dragon gods that were sealed over the islands. Some like the Sky Dragon and the Water Dragon were worshiped as deities while others receded into hiding. They used Serge and his party to destroy FATE so they could break the seal and become one again. They created Harle to ensure it, though she was reluctant. However, it was revealed that the Dragon God was absorbed by the Time Devourer long ago during its separation.

FATE

FATE is a supercomputer created by Belthasar in the distant future. It was constructed from Mother Brain, a super computer in the apocalyptic future of 2300 AD outlined in the plot of Chrono Trigger. FATE is self-aware and can act alone. An event called the "Time Crash" ends up sending it back in time, where it operates as a mechanism that subconsciously directs and brainwashes humans from performing any actions that could cause a paradox that would harm its existence. FATE operates as an unseen villain until late in the game, where it reveals its goal was to reincarnate itself into a new, real, living species. However, it is defeated by Serge and his party.

The Shaker Brothers

The Shaker Brothers, Solt and Peppor, main purpose is to act as a tutorial for the player, often instructing the player on the game's battle system.^[78] The two commonly argue and blunder about with one another, commonly showing what not to do in the game's battle system.^[78] They tag along with the Acacia Dragoons and reside in the Viper Manor. If the player chooses to have Serge work with Pierre to get into Viper Manner, a third character, Ketchop, is also introduced.^[79] Their names are all related to condiments: ketchup, salt, black pepper, and salt and pepper shakers. Solt speaks in a redundant manner, using phrases like "painfully painful" and "obviously obvious", where Peppor excessively uses the word "shake", in phrases like "Let's shake it to them!" or "Let's shake it out of here!"^[79] Ketchop's only words are shouted references to sauces, like "Tomato!".^[79]

The Shaker Brothers are primarily present in the "Alternate World", however, they do appear in a vastly different situation in the "Home World". While the two are not killed when the Acacia Dragoons eliminated and the Viper Mansion destroyed, the two resort to wandering the world aimlessly with amnesia.^[80] Sneff takes them in as part of his traveling magic show aboard the S.S. Zelbess, albeit as struggling comedians.^[81]

Reception

IGN strongly praised how Squaresoft handled the cast of characters of the game, stating "What makes all of this even more impressive is that Square was able to give each of the game's 40-plus playable characters different characteristics and, in many cases, distinct accents and speech patterns. The accents were handled surprisingly well and most were pretty consistent throughout the entire game. That combined with the fact that each of the characters in the game plays an important role in the plot of the story help brings them to life as individuals. The character development isn't the best you'll find in an RPG, but it's better than most."^[9] GameSpot similarly praised the cast, stating, "Surprisingly, Chrono Cross seemingly endless supply of characters works to its benefit, not its detriment...Every last one of the 40-plus members is a unique, story-driven, and valuable contributor. Unlike many cast-of-thousands RPG epics, each character in Chrono Cross is an interesting and worthy addition to your team. Everyone has a beautiful character model, excellently animated attacks, and three unique "limit break" type special skills. There's even a miniquest or special requirement for every character's best skill...While you'll certainly have your own handful of favorites, you'll never add someone to your party and wonder, "Why is this character in the game?" There are no disposable placeholders in Chrono Cross."^[1] The review did concede that much of the Chrono Trigger fanbase disapproved of the concept of 40+ characters prior to release, but the reviewer ultimately felt the game handled it well and should dispel any such concerns.^[1] RPGFan also praised the cast, not only for its size and character development, but for the unique scenario of allowing some characters to interact with alternate versions of themselves due to the game's alternate dimension scenario.^[2]

Kotaku had a different interpretation of the cast altogether, claiming that while some characters weren't important or interesting, they still helped the overall narrative, stating Chrono Cross is special. That it contains so many disparate and seemingly-random recruitable party members – though a few are key to the story – seems to be considered by gamers to be a weakness of the game, but narratively it's effective, enhancing the player's empathy for Serge's isolation. Each person has his or her own goals; the game contains no grand messages on love and friendship and unity. It isn't particularly directed, either, with rewards sometimes to be found for simply exploring areas on one's own. It's easy to forget one's objective, to feel lost. The result is the game feels like an essay on self-discovery, a process that is inherently lonely and often sad."^[8]

Simon Seamann of RPGamer was more critical of how the cast was handled in the game, criticizing the difficulty in switching characters and transferring equipment between them, which he felt discouraged players from experiencing the varied cast.^[11] Lack of character development outside of the core, required cast of characters was also cited as a problem.^[11]

References

Chrono Main series Trigger characters music Cross characters music Other games Radical Dreamers Break Fan games Resurrection Trigger: Crimson Echoes Related Crono Final Fantasy Chronicles Book:Chrono series