Chrono Wiki:Manual of Style

This Manual of Style outlines a standard of clean, consistent formatting for articles on this wiki. The formatting described here is a guideline and can be overridden where circumstances warrant it. These guidelines will never be unerringly perfect for every situation. However, please try your best to keep to the advice outlined in this article so others may use your edits as an example when creating and editing their own articles.

These guidelines are a summary of the most important guidelines for this wiki, but a more expansive set of style guidelines can be found on Wikipedia at Wikipedia Manual of Style.

Article names
Article names should contain the latest translation, which is the Nintendo DS translation. If you do not have the Nintendo DS version, then you can use this game script on GameFAQs or any other script for the Nintendo DS version as a reference.

General Article Guide

 * Article title must follow the subject's official name, e.g. "Scythe" instead of "Magus's Weapon". It must also be written in Singular instead of Plural, e.g. "Gun" instead of "Guns" - exceptions are only when the article is a List, e.g. "List of Guns".
 * For characters, the character's name should be given with no title, unless to avoid tags, e.g. "Queen Zeal''.
 * Always include basic information about the subject when starting an article. The first sentence should have the subject written in bold. The first sentence should detail the name, classification, and game (or compilation, or series if it recurs). In succeeding sentences, the place where the thing is found, what the thing looks like (or sounds like if it is audio), and its purpose within its appearance.
 * If the subject is referred to by multiple names, these must be mentioned in bold followed by the situation, e.g. "Crono".
 * When writing the article content, game titles should be written in italics, e.g. Chrono Cross. The CT, CC, RD, and CE are useful for this. Song titles should use "quotation marks", e.g. "Fight with Magus".
 * The definite article (the) and indefinite articles (a/an) should be avoided in article titles except if they are used as the official title.
 * Please write in third person: use "the player" instead of "you". Disregard this when writing walkthroughs.
 * Please avoid writing abbreviations for game titles, e.g CT - it should be Chrono Trigger, and gaming systems e.g. PS - it should be PlayStation. Exceptions are for spaces where the full name would not fit.
 * Wikilinking is limited to the first occurrence of the word or phrase. Wikilinks should be repeated if an subject of interest is included in an infobox or image caption, as well as the body of the article. Exceptionally long articles should link to other articles twice, if necessary: once upon first occurrence, and once again near the bottom or midsection of the article.

What should an article have?
This depends on the page. Some things are meant for some pages. See sample: Chrono Wiki:Manual of Style/Sample

For Games
Recent discussions point out that the game articles, the highlights of this Wiki, should be divided to: Also, put the relevant wikilink as needed.
 * the descriptive Intro, describing about the game in general. Some snippets from the content of the article may be written here,
 * the Gameplay, divided into subsections on the aspects of the game that makes it unique from the rest of the series. Links to the gameplay element pages, if any, should be linked too.
 * the Setting in which the story takes place. A link to the main/list location/world article should be added too,
 * the list of playable Characters including a short description. A collage of the characters picture would be a good addition,
 * the Story, written from the point of view of the player character,
 * the Music, describing the composition, composer, soundtrack, including main themes, adding in links to the respective music article,
 * Development, describing the different versions of the game, and a credits list of the staff/cast behind the game,
 * Allusions/Trivia, describing Internal and External Crossovers between the series as well as other series within popular culture,
 * the Packaging artwork gallery for each and every version out there,
 * External links; these pages should link to pages on important fansites (Final Fantasy Compendium or Caves of Narshe, for example), an official site (if one exists), and the GameFAQs page, as well as any other links that may be relevant.

For Characters
Character articles should be divided into:
 * A character template (i.e. Infobox CT Character, CCPlayable Character, Infobox RD Character)
 * A brief description or Intro, leaving no spoilers for the viewer
 * Appearance - A brief description of the character's attire, and personal features
 * Story- You can insert a spoiler template above, but this is where you can lay out the character's history, present (in-game) and future (ending if shown).
 * Other reference from a different game:
 * For Example: Crono was a reference in Chrono Cross
 * Abilities - Like Character's techs
 * Optional
 * Theme Song (if any)
 * Trivia
 * Gallery
 * See also (anything related to the character)
 * Finally include a navigator at the bottom: (i.e. - Chrono Trigger, CCPC, Chrono Cross, RD Nav)
 * References (if any)

For Equipment
Each equipment, that is weapon, armor or accessory, does get an article. Following should be divided as:
 * Template (if any; possibly need to be created)
 * Image for the equipment (if template is not available or unable to create one)
 * Brief description or Intro- to include where to find it
 * If sold in shops, include a table of the location and price (if different)
 * Navigator at the bottom: (i.e. CT Weapons, CC Items, CC Weapons etc.)

For Locations
A perfect location article for (minus the un-created pages) can be found here.

In progress

For Techs/Elements
Each technique, whether performed by a Playable Character, NPC, or Enemy receives an individual article. If a Tech of the same name is performed by a Character and an Enemy, join them into the same article with separate infoboxes and images. An example of a well-written Element article is HiRes. Tech and Element articles should be divided as such:


 * Template: for Chrono Trigger use this or Infobox CT Tech2, and for Chrono Cross use this or this.
 * Images of the character or enemy performing the tech. Both, if required.
 * An Introduction which includes the page name in bold, the name of the game in italics, and brief information about the character/enemy that uses the tech, how the tech is acquired, and any special effects the tech causes, such as a Status Effect or pre-set damage.
 * Description- under a separate, underlined header describe the animations that appear on screen when the tech is used.
 * Strategy (if applicable) - Describe when and how this technique can be useful. See Hypnowave for more information on this.
 * Repeat steps 1-5 if enemies perform techs of the same name.
 * Optional
 * Trivia/Etymology/Name Origin - Why is the tech named this?
 * Gallery - Does the tech have a long sequence of memorable images? Can the point be illustrated better with more images? Include them here. Medalsome is a good example of when adding galleries to Tech articles is appropriate.
 * External Links - Is there a video demonstration of this tech on Youtube? Link to it here.
 * Include a navigation bar at the end of each technique (one might possible need to be created for enemy techs; if so, include the appropriate next-best thing). Navigation templates to use: CT Techs for Chrono Trigger and CC Techs or CC Elements for Chrono Cross
 * Categories- Add appropriate categories. For example, Chrono Trigger Techs should be sent to the category with that name. Enemy techs also have a separate category. When Character and Enemy techs are combined in one article. Add categories for both enemy techs and game-specific techs.

For Enemies/Bosses
Each enemy or boss encounter whether optional or not must be included. It should be divided to:
 * A template of the enemy
 * Should include a minimum of HP/MP ATK/DEF, an image and where they can be found or encountered
 * A brief description or Intro
 * A strategy on how to beat (if necessary)
 * A video strategy could also be included
 * Optional
 * Gallery
 * Related Enemies (which can direct to other related enemies)

Multiple Encounters
For multiples encounters, you can use a special template (see example below) which can combine all the different stats together without making the page unnecessarily huge and thus more organized: Example:

And for ...

Colors
Different games have different color codes.