Crono
Due to how, um... Well, straight-up bad his earlier moveset was, I took it upon myself to make some major improvements, and so I present to you, ladies and gentlemen...
CRONO
INTRO
Crono, the silent protagonist of the (incredibly awesome) game Chrono Trigger, joins the Brawl! Weilding various swords and also possessing the powers of Lightning-based magic, Crono’s a force to be reckoned with!
STORY
After meeting a young girl named Marle at a local fair in 1000 AD, a strange twist of events revolving around Marle’s family heirloom, a mysterious pendant, sends Crono, Marle, and Crono’s friend Lucca four-hundred years into the past. Marle is there mistaken for Queen Leene, who has gone missing. After rescuing the real Queen with the help of Frog, a skilled amphibious swordsman sworn to protect the Queen, the three travel back to Guardia in 1000 AD, where Crono is accused of kidnapping Marle (actually the princess Nadia), and is thrown in jail and set to be executed. Crono escapes his prison, finding that Lucca had just come to help rescue him. When the guards rush in, Crono, Lucca, and Marle quickly exit the castle, and find themselves with only the choice to perform another time jump, this time finding themselves in the distant future, circa 3200 AD. There they discover the artificial life-form Robo, and discover that the world has been destroyed by a creature called Lavos. Resolving to change the future, the group sets out to defeat Lavos, transcending time and space to do so. Crono, Lucca, and Marle team up with Robo, and later join forces again with Frog, as well as encountering new allies like the prehistoric cavewoman Ayla and Frog’s nemesis, Magus, a powerful wizard. The group eventually confronts and defeats Lavos, changing their future for the better. Whew… I think I got a little carried away there, but I could’ve written so much more… For more details, PLAY THE FREAKING GAME!! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!
CHARACTER OVERVIEW
Crono’s a swordsman similar in stature to Link. However, his lack of additional weaponry makes him a good bit different, as does his Lightning magic. In terms of stats, however, he’s very similar, and Link players should find him relatively easy to adjust to. He lacks Link’s ranged Specials, but makes up for it with powerful, sometimes unpredictable ones.
STATS
Size: Mid-Large ~ Roughly Link’s size
Weight: Mid
Jump1: Mid
Jump2: Mid-Low
FallSpeed: Mid
RunSpeed: Mid
AttackSpeed: Mid
Power: Mid
Jumps: 2
Crouch: Mid
Wall-Kick: No
Wall-Cling: No
Glide: No
Crawl: No
STANDARD ATTACKS
Standard Combo – Slasher – Crono uses the sword “Slasher” to do a very fast combo. You don’t have to press A multiple times or hold the button to use this three-part combo. Crono slashes the sword diagonally downward, then along the same path, but the opposite direction, then spins and finishes with a strong horizontal blow. The sword is light, which is why it’s so fast, but also means it does little damage and knockback. Medium-short range. 3% + 3% +4%.
Side-Tilt A – Red Katana – Crono uses the Red Katana, a sword the flames when slashed, to slash horizontally forward. This causes fire damage, but all in all, isn’t too powerful. Medium range. Low knockback. 7% damage.
Up-Tilt A – Spark – Crono lifts both hands above his head, and a burst of Lightning magic flashes at his fingertips, then disappears. This move will shock enemies and does multi-hit damage, so catching opponents from the beginning is key to maximizing the potential of this move. Medium-short range. Low knockback. Up to 10% damage.
Down-Tilt A – Ground Shock – Crono clenches a fist and pounds it to the ground. This creates a ground-based field of electricity around him, in both directions. However, it doesn’t extend far, and will only hit opponents who are actually touching the ground. Short range. Low knockback. 5% damage. The shock lingers for about a second after Crono uses the move.
Dash Attack – Lode Sword – Crono rushes forward, holding the Lode Sword vertically in front of him as he slides along the ground. Because of the sword’s design, it is quite strong, but it causes the move to have considerable startup lag, and Crono doesn’t slide very far with it. Short range. Mid-High knockback. 12% damage.
SMASH ATTACKS
Side Smash – Slash – Crono slashes his sword forward, similar to how Link does for the first of his two-part Side Smash. However, Crono’s Smash does not carry the possibility of a second slash. Rather, it fires out a powerful burst of energy when he slashes, giving this Smash a deceptively long range for a sword attack. The actual slash of the sword does 14-20% damage, at medium range, with a high knockback. The energy blast that it emits does 8-12% damage, at long range, with medium-high knockback. Due to this being a generally high-knockback move with excellent range, this move suffers a startup lag comparable to Ike’s or King Dedede’s, but is still similar in appearance to Link’s first slash.
Up Smash – Lightning Rod – Crono raises his sword skyward, similar to Marth’s Up Smash, but deals a mere 2-5% damage with this part of the attack. After about half a second, lightning strikes and pulses through the sword and Crono’s body. The effects of this are similar to Pikachu’s Thunder when it strikes him. The shock lasts about a second, and deals 10-16% damage, at short range, with medium-high knockback.
Down Smash – Cyclone – Crono holds his sword at his side while charging this move, in a position as if the sword were sheathed, although it is not. When released, he performs a lightning-quick spin, somewhat comparable to Link’s Spin Attack. However, Crono’s spin does not emit any energy like Link’s, and is therefore a much shorter range attack. It has a definite speed advantage, though. This is easily Crono’s fastest Smash Attack, and has almost no startup or ending lag, so if you learn the timing, it’s actually fairly spammable. It’s also weak, though, and deals only 8-15% damage, at medium-short range, with medium-low knockback. This move also has pretty bad priority.
AIR ATTACKS
Neutral Air – Electro-Spin – Crono spins horizontally with his sword outstretched, and lightning pulsing through it. He completes one rotation, hitting first the front end, then the back. This move has decent range, but no knockback. Enemies hit are slightly stunned, and also given 8% damage.
Up Air – Static Blast – Crono lifts his hands and shoots a small burst of lightning from them. The spark hovers for about a second where it was released, and the first opponent to touch it will be stunned and receive 3% damage. When Crono uses this move, it slightly slows his descent for a period of about a second, but the move is only useable again after an additional second has passed, or after touching the ground and getting airborne again. This should be used largely for set-ups against opponents who like to stay airborne.
Down Air – Bolt Rush – A stall-then-fall. Crono envelopes himself in a powerful electric surge of energy, and rushes downward at blinding speed, dealing 12% damage to anyone he connects, and with his electric field, the hitbox is not small. This is a very fast stall-then-fall, and a decently powerful one as well, but it has two blaring weaknesses. First, Crono will not stop until he strikes the ground. Using this move over an edge or into a breakable platform that breaks will cause you to SD, guaranteed. Second, assuming you are over solid ground when you use this move, the impact is so powerful that Crono will nearly fall over when he hits the ground, struggling for about a second and a half before regaining his balance, leaving you very vulnerable if you missed your opponent. So, to sum up, use with caution!
Forward Air – Hyper Slash – Crono holds his sword at a downward angle at his side, then slashes it forward and up over his head. This covers a good amount of area, and by that I don’t mean that it has a great range as far as distance from Crono goes, but in that it hits below, to the front of, and above Crono. This move has noteworthy startup lag, but rewards with a solid 12% damage, and medium high knockback. A fair amount of ending lag exists as well.
Backward Air – Quick Spin – Crono spins around quickly, slashing his sword horizontally behind him. This is somewhat comparable to Toon Link’s Backward Air, but Crono slashes directly horizontal, lessening his vertical range significantly. Medium horizontal range, medium-low knockback, and 7% damage.
GRAB/THROW ATTACKS
Grab: Normal. No extension.
Pummel: Hilt – Crono bashes his victim with the hilt of his sword. 2% damage.
Forward Throw – Thunder Shot – Crono shoots a blast of lightning from his outstretched hand that propels his victim a good distance forward. 8% damage.
Backward Throw – Magnet Toss – Crono uses his free hand to create an electrical energy field behind himself, then releases his opponent and ducks down as they fly backward at high speed, flying into and then past the field. This throw does not do any damage, and is rather slow, but has a phenomenal knockback directly horizontal. Useful for KOs, but not much else.
Up Throw – Lightning Boost – Crono stabs his sword into the ground, creating a geyser of electrical energy directly underneath his foe. This rockets them upward, though not a great distance, dealing 10% damage as it does.
Down Throw – Finisher – Crono throws his opponent to the ground, then jumps above them and comes down on them, sword directly downward. For purposes of not being too “graphic,” enemies receive immediate knockback, and you don’t see Crono’s sword implanted in them. 9% damage, with little knockback, but no chain-grab.
SPECIAL ATTACKS
Standard B – Lightning 2 – This is a chargeable, auto-release move (like a Smash, it releases itself when at full power, and can’t be stored). Crono builds up lightning energy, then releases it as a field of powerful electricity that surrounds him. At its weakest, the field is about as big as Kirby or Jigglypuff, and deals 4% damage when touched, with very low knockback. It takes about 3 seconds to reach full charge, and at that point is about the size of a Smart Bomb explosion, dealing 14% damage, with medium knockback. Noteable startup and ending lags make this move far from spammable.
Side B – Confuse – Crono rushes forward, similar to Ike’s Quick Draw. However, Crono doesn’t have to charge the move, and only goes about half the distance that Ike’s does if fully charged. If Crono hits an opponent (a box or barrel will work, too), he’ll unleash four powerful strikes of his sword, in rapid succession, so if you get hit by one, you will be hit by all subsequent slashes. These slashes are all at medium range, so if you’re hanging out too close to someone who’s caught in Crono’s fury, you’d best wait before you try to get involved. Each of Crono’s four slashes does 5% damage, with the last one having decent knockback, at least enough to clear Crono’s immediate area while he catches his breath. This move has basically no startup lag, but Crono will catch his breath at the end of it, whether it connects or not, and that takes about a second. In other words, you’re left wide open if you miss, but you’ll land a solid four hits on your opponent if you can get this move to work.
Up B – Spincut – First and foremost, I have no idea why the move's called that. THIS IS NOT A CLONE OF LINK'S! Crono jumps into the air, sword held high, then crashes down, slashing it. The arc he follows is similar to Dedede’s, but only covers about half the distance. The only part of this move that actually does damage is the slash at the end, which, by default, will occur as Crono hits the ground. However, you can press the A button at any point during the jump to slash at that point. The slash is at medium range, does 10% damage, and has medium-low knockback either way. While using it in the air allows you to hit any opponents trying to keep you over the edge, it will also put some serious hurt on your momentum, and will leave Crono in an early freefall. You can also press B to cancel and freefall at any point, just like Dedede’s. Crono does not need to slash or cancel to grab the edge when using this move. He will simply grab it if he gets close enough.
Down B – Lightning – Snake and Pikachu had a Down B lovechild. When Crono first uses this move, he will raise his hands skyward, and a small green spark will appear where he is. He is then free to move as he pleases, and the spark will remain in place. When Crono uses the move again, he will once again raise his hands skyward (rendering him immobile for a time), and summon a bolt of lightning down along the vertical path the spark sits on. Unlike Pikachu’s Thunder, there is no sweetspot or extra power if Crono strikes himself with this move, so it’s basically just the standard lightning bolt. Crono is, as mentioned, immobile while calling down the bolt, so make sure no one’s going to be able to get to you before you use it. If the spark sits for 30 seconds without a bolt being called down, it will simply vanish, and Crono will have to set it up again.
FINAL SMASH
Final Smash – Luminaire – Everyone who’s played Chrono Trigger saw this coming, yes? The in-game description is “Ultimate damage on all enemies,” but that would be a little overboard, methinks. Still, this one packs a punch. This is basically a super-powered version of Crono’s Standard B, Lightning 2. A circle of lightning energy about 1.5X Smart Bomb radius appears around Crono, trapping and damaging all enemies caught in it, and also those who enter it later. This FS lasts for about five seconds, putting a total of 50% damage on anyone caught from the beginning. At Luminaire’s end, a final burst of energy releases all of its victims, sending them flying at about twice a Smart Bomb’s abilities.
LEDGE MOVES
Get Up (Under 100%): Crono simply climbs up.
Get Up (Over 100%): Arm over arm, Crono slowly crawls up onto the stage.
Attack (Under 100%): Crono leaps up and thrusts his sword forward. 5% damage.
Attack (Over 100%): Crono climbs up slowly, casually swinging his sword in front of him. 4% damage.
Dodge (Under 100%): Crono jumps up and rolls forward.
Dodge (Over 100%): Crono crawls up and then rolls forward.
Jump (Under 100%): Crono sets one foot on the edge, then jumps high into the air.
Jump (Over 100%): Crono climbs slowly up onto the edge, then jumps.
MISCELLANEOUS ANIMATIONS
Dizzy: Crono holds a hand over his eyes, staggering.
Sleep: Crono rests on his sword, similar to Marth.
Sidestep Dodge: Crono throws his torso back, similar to Link.
Forward Rolling Dodge: Crono somersaults forward.
Backward Rolling Dodge: Crono somersaults backward.
Air Dodge: Basically the same as his Sidestep.
Shield: Crono holds his sword in front of him horizontally as he shields.
TAUNTS
Up Taunt – Crono raises his hands toward the sky, and the wind blows around him for a second.
Down Taunt – Crono sticks his sword into the ground, then pumps a fist into the sky.
Side Taunt – Crono strikes a battle-ready pose, holding his sword at eye level with both hands.
STAGE
[This is going to be ridiculously extensive. It will be added later.]
I don't know when/if I'll get around to this stage.
VICTORY/LOSS POSES
Up Victory Pose – Same as his Up Taunt, but he doesn’t stop.
Side Victory Pose – Crono sheaths his sword, then sort of pumps a fist downward. His victory pose from Chrono Trigger.
Down Victory Pose – Crono stretches out a hand, and a ball of lightning energy forms, he then throws it toward the ground, and after a violent explosion of sparks, we can again see Crono, fists clenched at his sides.
Loss Pose – Standard. Crono stands and claps.
EXTRAS
Symbol: A letter “C” with two clock hands, as seen in the picture below:
Kirby Hat: Kirby gets Crono’s hair. Cool.
Entrance: A gate (basically a time portal, for those
who haven’t played the game) appears, opens up, and Crono steps out as the gate closes.
Colors: Recolors affect only Crono’s blue tunic. Blue (default), Red, Green, Purple, White, Black.
Wii Remote Sound: Two sword slashes are heard, like when Crono scores a critical hit in the game. What, did you expect me to make him talk?
To Unlock: Get a combined total of at least 1500 KOs with all characters.
Unlock Message: Crono, the strong, silent swordsman, has joined the Brawl!
SOLID SNAKE CODEC CONVERSATION
Snake: Mei Ling, who is this guy?
Mei Ling: That’s Crono, Snake. He’s from the year 1000 AD. He and his friends traveled through time to save their world by defeating a vile creature called Lavos. They discovered Lavos when they were accidentally sent to the future by a “gate,” a sort of time-travel portal. They found that in the future, their world was in ruins, and so they—
Snake: Spare me the details. How’s he fight?
Mei Ling: Well, as you can see, Crono’s a skilled sword-fighter, and he’s also got command over Lightning magic.
Snake: A sword-fighter… Like Link and Marth?
Mei Ling: Well, yeah, kind of.
Snake: I guess that explains a lot.
Mei Ling: What do you mean, Snake?
Snake: Let’s just say I’ve learned not to expect any form of conversation with a sword-fighter.
