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With over 40 characters to meet and recruit, a completionist playthrough of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Chrono Cross is a mighty undertaking. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to nab every single character in one playthrough, so New Game+ must be employed.
One reason for this is the mutual exclusivity of three characters - Nikki, Pierre, and Guile. You have to choose one of these characters to help you with an early-game quest, and only one of them can be chosen per playthrough. Here's how it all goes down and who you should pick for the job.
The Choice
Early on in the game, you'll be prompted to break into Viper Manor. You need to do this as Serge needs to find out why the Acacia Dragoons want him dead and the manor is where they're stationed. The thing is, there are three characters that you can find in Termina who can get you in, and you can only choose one. They are:
- Nikki, who takes you through Shadow Forest to enter Viper Manor from the back. To start this route, head to the west of Termina and find the dressing room. Talk to the man on the right to eventually meet Miki and learn of Nikki's whereabouts. Agree to Miki's plan and she'll lure the guards away from the Shadow Forest's entrance, letting you go deeper and eventually meet Nikki.
- Pierre, who rushes into Viper Manor headfirst through the front gates. To start this route, go to the Smithy, which you can find be heading east from the shop and then north. Talk to Pierre in the room adjacent to Zappa's workshop and you'll find out he's lost his Hero's Medal, which he needs. Retrieve this by talking to the child running around in circles just outside the room, and return it to Pierre to begin this route.
- Guile, who acts as a knowledgeable guide, taking you to the cliffs below Viper Manor. To start this route, you'll need to head all the way to the east in Termina, viewing the scenes as you go, and then talk to Korcha in his boat. He needs a guide, and Guile is that guide. You'll find him in the Bar on the first screen of Termina. Recruit him and head back to Korcha to get to start infiltrating the manor.
Whichever character you choose will become a permanent member of yo🐻ur party, so this is quite an important choice - especially if you wish to use one of them regularly in battle.
Character Comparison
Nikki, Pierre, and Guile are all quite different as Chrono Cross characters go. Here's an overview of each of them, to help you better understand how they'll perform in combat now and for the rest of the game.
Nikki
Nikki is a Blue Element character who uses guitar picks as his weapon of choice. Overall, he's a bit too average to stand out anywhere, though he seems to be geared towards magic and casting.
He does have a very large Element grid once you've accrued lots of Star Levels, but Irenes and Leena are both Blue Element characters who make far better casters, and Nikki's Strength isn't enough to make him worth using as a physical attacker.
As it stands, Nikki is a decent choice if you missed Leena earlier in the game and want to use Blue Elements. The alternative, Pierre, is... well, let's take a look.
Pierre
Pierre is bad. He has a gimmick in the game in that once you find three specific pieces of equipment - the Hero's Blade, Hero's Shield, and Hero's Medal - equipping all three will give him a big stat boost. This will make him more than decent... but only for a short amount of time. Once your other characters start surpassing the Hero's equipment in stats, Pierre is outclassed quickly. And without those pieces of equipment, he's just dreadful. His damage is low and his Element grid is average at best.
Things that Pierre has going for him:
- Quickest entry into Viper Manor.
- Fun equipment gimmick.
- Cool hat.
Guile
Guile is, through and through, a Black Element magician. He has one of the highest Magic stats in the game and he knows how to use it, and h🐷is level three attacks will target every enemy in battl🧸e - something unique to Guile.
What normally splits opinion of Guile is his Element grid. Guile gets very few low-level Element slots - one level one, one level two, two level three, and three level four slots, for example - but as you gain more Star Levels, he'll end up with more level eight slots than anyone else in the game. With his enormous firepower, he can fire off tons of the best Elements in the game. The problem here is that he has to build up lots of normal attacks to use these Elements and not many battles in the game will ever call for that many attacks.
That said, Guile makes for a great and rare Black Element character who should be considered strongly, especially if you missed out on Mojo - or even iꦜf you got Mojo, as Mojo pales in comparison to Guile꧑.
Route Comparison
Not only are the potential guides different in combat, but the routes they take to get you into Viper Manor are also extremely varied. As mentioned before, Nikki takeᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚs you through Shadow Forest, Pierre takes you through the front gates, and Guile takes you around the back of the Manor, up the cliffs.
All three routes will have you facing two boss fights, and therefore hold the same amount of Star Levels. The boss fights themselves, however, differ quite a bit - in difficulty and in what items are potentially dropped/stolen. To steal items, you'll need to have Kid in your party and use her Level Three tech, Pilfer.
- Nikki's route has you facing three Cassowaries, Yellow monsters with not much HP that you take on alongside Nikki before he joins. After that, you'll also face a trio of Solt, Peppor, and Zoah, which is a bit more difficult, but you can steal a TurnBlack Element from Solt, which is a valuable tool to have for Serge.
- Pierre's route is very short and involves two boss battles in quick succession before giving you access to the Manor. The first battle is a simple one against two Acacia Sergeants from whom you can steal Bronze Helmets with Kid's Pilfer. The follow-up fight is against Solt, Peppor, and Ketchop, the latter of which is a nasty brute who can one-shot your characters. If he does, this, escape from the battle, heal up, and try again as you don't want to miss out on any Star Level Stat Boosts. Peppor can drop the valuable Magic Ring here, and Dancing Shoes can be stolen from Solt.
- Guile's route is the most annoying as it involves two screens of climbing up a cliff face while trying to avoid water spouts and falling rocks. Once you reach the top, you'll have to fight two Acacia Privates who are unremarkable, and then three Moamans. This fight has lots of great potential loot, including high-level Elements and even a Feathery Dress, which can be stolen from the King. In comparison to the other routes, Guile's is likely the hardest, especially if you haven't stocked up on healing Elements.
If you want the maximum stat boosts available, remember to go fight some random battles between these boss fights until you get a Major Stat Boost! Check out our guide on how stat boosts worꦑk in Chrono Cross here.
Our Recommendation
Our recommendations depend heavily on the characters you've managed to recruit so far.
- If you haven't recruited Leena, pick Nikki. Red Element enemies are common throughout the entire game and while Guile is useful, White Element enemies aren't so commonplace until you have alternative Black Element options.
- If you have recruited Leena, pick Guile. Leena fills the Blue Element role perfectly and Guile is a fantastic character.
- Don't pick Pierre.
In the end, it all comes down to Elements, and having൲ a Blue Element character is more useful than a Black Element character in the early stages of the game.
