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List of Chrono Trigger endings

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This article is a list of endings for Chrono Trigger and its remakes.

Methods of Ending the Game[edit | edit source]

No matter what, all game endings revolve around fighting Lavos. The manner in which you face it and the point in the storyline in which you do changes the ending you see.

There are multiple ways of fighting Lavos:

  • The Gate in the bucket (End of Time) - This takes you directly to 1999 AD where you fight Lavos' shell, proceeding afterward into his core.
  • The Epoch (non-winged) - 1999 is one of the choices on the dial. This is the same as taking the Gate in the bucket.
  • The Epoch (winged) - After the Epoch is equipped with wings by Dalton, the fight with Lavos is effectively cut in half. As you reach 1999, the group (in a fantastic cutscene) pilots the Epoch to impact Lavos' shell, opening up its interior. This destroys the Epoch and also leaves you with no method of escape, forcing you into the final confrontation.
  • The Ocean Palace (Antiquity) - This is the only fight with Lavos you can lose and still continue the game, as it is the fight in which Crono is meant to die. After destroying the Ocean Palace, you will face off against Lavos' exterior. He moves twice as fast and hits twice as hard, but can still be beaten.
  • The Black Omen (Antiquity / Middle Ages / Present) - After the Black Omen rises from the ocean, you can attack it at any point in time between 12000 BC and 1000 AD. After defeating Queen Zeal, you fight Lavos for real. It is possible to only fight his exterior and then leave via a Gate.
  • The right Telepod (Leene Square, Present) - After beating the game and starting a New Game Plus, a new Gate appears in the right-hand Telepod in Leene Square. You can use this to travel directly to the final fight with Lavos at any point in the game.

For all but the Ocean Palace, winged Epoch, and Telepod fight modes, there is a Gate that appears in Lavos' interior, granting you a respite before fighting the core.

List of Endings[edit | edit source]

These endings are listed in the order they appear in the in-game ending browser of Chrono Trigger (DS) with the exception of the bad ending, which is listed first.

Bad Ending: The Apocalypse[edit | edit source]

Method: Any except Ocean Palace, then lose to Lavos

This ending allows you to witness, in real time, the events recorded on the computer in 2300 AD. Lavos erupts from the ground and sprays flaming spines into the air, which rain down, causing untold destruction. The view shifts to a command center in one of the domes, where the administrator (assumed to be an ancestor of Doan) watches helplessly as the computer monitors the destruction. The military gives up and flees, and Lavos' fire consumes the world. After this, a sentence appears on the screen in a large font that reads, "But... the future refused to change."

Ending 1: Beyond Time[edit | edit source]

Method: Any except Ocean Palace, defeating Lavos after re-acquiring Crono using the Chrono Trigger.

Crono and the others return to 1000 AD, where Crono learns that his stay of execution has been canceled. He goes to Guardia Castle to meet with the king, and Marle pleads on his behalf. However, the king has been made aware of their quest thanks to Lucca. They are then met by a group of people from across time - Kino, King Guardia XXI, and Doan - revealing themselves to be Marle's ancestors and descendants.

Afterward, everyone attends the Moonlight Parade on the last night of the Millennial Fair. Crono and Marle can move around and visit with people in Leene Square. Afterward, they go to the northern square, where the rest of the group awaits near the Telepods, preparing to return to their own times. And with the Gates closing for good, they will likely never see each other again. Ayla returns to Ioka Village with Kino, Frog/Glenn returns to the Middle Ages with King Guardia XXI, Magus (if you have him) goes off in search of Schala, and Robo returns to his Future with Doan.

Afterward, the King presents Marle with a present: Nadia's Bell, which will replace the 400-year-old Leene's Bell.

There are multiple variations to this ending.

Ending 1a: Float Away[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the winged Epoch to reach Lavos (Epoch is destroyed)

If you use the Epoch to destroy Lavos' shell, the closing of the Gates means that there is no way to travel through time any longer. Crono and Marle return to the square to see the King hanging up Nadia's Bell. Crono and Marle help him, but get stuck holding the balloons that were transporting the bell. With Crono hanging onto the balloons and Marle in his arms, they float off into the night sky as the credits roll.

Ending 1b: Follow that Cat!!![edit | edit source]

Method: Use a different method than the winged Epoch (Epoch is intact)

After saying goodbye to their friends, the Gate begins to close, leaving Crono, Lucca, and Marle in the present. At the last second, however, Crono's cat(s) comes running around the corner, chased by Crono's Mother. She dives into the Gate after the cat, which promptly shuts behind them. Without a moment to lose, Crono runs off to board the Epoch to chase after her. Marle leaves her father to hang the Nadia's Bell by himself.

Ending 1c: Save the Chancellor[edit | edit source]

Method: Save / don't save the Chancellor from Yakra XIII

Depending on whether or not you rescued the Chancellor during the Rainbow Shell quest, the King will be aided in hanging up the bell by the Chancellor or by Pierre, Crono's lawyer, respectively.

This does not change the ending of the game.

Ending 1d: On that Day, 10 Years Ago[edit | edit source]

Method: Save Lara Ashtear from becoming disabled by the accident in 990 AD

This timeline change affects the rest of the game afterward, with Lucca's mother Lara walking around their house doing chores instead of just sitting in her room. This also applies to the ending. If you did not save her legs (or never completed that side quest), Lara will sit quietly by the fountain, next to her husband, Taban. If you did save her, she is up and about, begging the now-exhausted Taban to dance with her.

This does not change the ending of the game.

Ending 1e: Revenge for Cyrus[edit | edit source]

Method: When Frog and Magus face each other on the North Cape, either fight and kill him or spare Magus' life

In the canon ending, Frog spares Magus' life, as killing him will not return Cyrus. Magus joins the group for the rest of the adventure, leaving at the end to search for his sister. Frog stays in his Frog form.

However, if you choose to fight Magus in a one-on-one battle and defeat him, Magus' spell that transformed him into a frog will wear off, but not until the end of the game. After defeating Lavos, Magus' magic wears off, and Frog turns back into Glenn, who is a tall, muscular man. This is because he aged ten years while in his fiendish form. He bids farewell to the others, preparing to return to the Middle Ages. Lucca and Marle use the opportunity to remark on how handsome Glenn truly is, wishing that he could stay around longer.

This does not change the ending of the game.

Ending 2: Reunion[edit | edit source]

Method: Any except Ocean Palace, defeating Lavos after Crono's death but before re-acquiring him

This ending is much like the first, except that Crono is absent. When the group returns to the End of Time, Gaspar tells them they must return to their own times, as Lavos' destruction means that the Gates will soon shut down. They leave quickly, too quickly in that Gaspar does not have the opportunity to tell them about the egg-like item he wished to show them. If you have the Time Egg already, he will just comment that you dropped it.

If you still have the Epoch, the others will come back through the Gate by the Telepod, chasing after the Guru of Time and the Time Egg. The Guru jumps back through the Gate with everyone else still chasing him. Realizing there is a way to save Crono, Marle and Lucca jump aboard the Epoch to find the others. Marle's father raises the Nadia's bell himself. At the end, Marle is shown at a tree, likely atop Death Peak, where Crono's silhouette appears. Marle runs to him.

If you do not have the Epoch, you will find the others in the top part of the Square, where they all run towards the Telepod. Lucca reveals that she modified the Telepod to make a Gate and brought them all back. They mention they can use the Time Egg to bring Crono back before disappearing through the Telepod Gate. Marle then helps her father raise Nadia's Bell, where she floats away on the balloons. She lands by a tree, where Crono's silhouette appears. Marle runs to him.

Ending 3: The Dream Project[edit | edit source]

Method: Right Telepod (at the beginning of the game) or Ocean Palace

The most difficult ending to achieve, it can only be won by defeating Lavos at the very beginning of the game using only Crono and possibly Marle or by defeating the double-powered Lavos at the Ocean Palace.

You return to the End of Time, except that there are now people and creatures all over the place, representing the development team for the game. You can walk around and they will introduce themselves, say funny lines, quote poetry, what-have-you. The nine Gates on the upper platform lead to nine time-themed rooms (Earthbound cave, castle, town hall, etc.) with more members of the development team in them. After visiting all nine rooms and meeting all the team members, Gaspar will open the door that used to go to Spekkio's room, allowing you to meet the "Dream Team," the individuals responsible for the creation of Chrono Trigger:

Talking with Sakaguchi-san on the far right, he will thank you for playing the game and completing it so fast. As a reward, he will display the credits in an appropriate manner. The screen then goes black and the credit's scroll by in just a few seconds' time, revealing the ending card.

Ending 4: The Successor of Guardia[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the right Telepod after returning from 600 AD, but before reaching the End of Time

When you return, you will arrive at the Millennial Fair, where everyone believes Marle is wearing some sort of costume. She goes to the castle to discover that her entire family are now half-human / half-frog creatures, and so is she! Apparently, due to circumstances not revealed in the game, Frog was emboldened enough following the fight at Manolia Cathedral to express his true feelings to Leene, which led to him becoming the progenitor of Marle's family line.

Ending 5: Good Night[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the right Telepod or bucket after reaching the End of Time, but before learning about the Legendary Hero in 600 AD

This ending is a frog and a Nu goofing off, playing tricks on one another while the credits roll. There isn't much to it.

Ending 6: The Legendary Hero[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the right Telepod or bucket after Legendary Hero in 600 AD, but before acquiring the Hero's Badge from Tata.

This ending re-enacts the game's opening, where Crono bumps into Marle, in a futuristic setting. The role of Crono is taken by Robo, and the role of Marle is taken by Atropos XR.

The story rewinds 1,700 years earlier, where Tata is planning on confronting Magus and bumps into Crono and his friends.

Ending 7: The Unknown Past[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the right Telepod or bucket after acquiring the Hero's Badge from Tata, but before attending Ayla's party where the Gate Key is stolen.

This ending shows the characters doing things in their own time periods after the fight with Lavos.

Ending 8: People of Their Times[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the right Telepod or bucket after acquiring the stolen Gate Key, but before giving the Masamune to Frog at the Magic Cave.

A slide show ending, showing the characters alone or in groups.

Ending 9: The Oath[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the right Telepod or bucket after giving the Masamune to Frog, but before fighting Magus.

Frog returns to 600 AD, where he single-handedly takes on Magus and all of his fiends, defeating each of them along the way.

Ending 10: Dino Age[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the right Telepod or bucket after fighting Magus, but before defeating Azala and the Black Tyranno.

This ending means that you took Ayla with you to fight Lavos, and that Azala and the Reptites never died. This changes the entire timeline. The opening of the game is re-enacted - Crono attending the Millenial Fair, bumping into Marle, seeing Lucca - except that every human is now a Reptite, and the Green Ambler is now wearing a human disguise.

Ending 11: What the Prophet Seeks[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the right Telepod, bucket, or Epoch after fighting the Black Tyranno, but before witnessing Schala go through the sealed door. Alternately, fight Lavos after being kicked out of Antiquity by the Prophet and before fighting him in the Ocean Palace.

Frog goes to Manolia Cathedral, where he sees the statue of Magus. This is followed by several scenes featuring Frog, Magus, and Schala. Magus is going through the Ocean Palace, planning on taking on Lavos.

Ending 12: Memory Lane[edit | edit source]

Method: Use the right Telepod, bucket, or Epoch in the narrow window between witnessing Schala opening the sealed door with her pendant and powering up Marle's pendant at the Mammon Machine.

This ending features Lucca and Marle reviewing the various male characters in the game, saying what they really think about them. This is where you will see Crono say his only two lines of dialogue in the game.

Ending 13: Dream's Epilogue[edit | edit source]

Method: Start a New Game Plus, finish the encounter with Lavos in the Ocean Palace, finish the Dimensional Vortex in all three time periods (thus you must have Crono back), talk to Gaspar, then use the bucket Gate to travel to Time's Eclipse and defeat the Dream Devourer.

This ending is a preview of Chrono Cross. The Dream Devourer is actually Lavos after having absorbed Schala. In the fight, Magus will appear, but the Dream Devourer will brush him aside. Schala will come to her senses, telling him that he will need something more than might to defeat it. Schala opens a portal in space-time, flinging Magus through (presumably to 1020 AD) and wiping his memory.