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The Kingdom of Zeal, 12,000 BC
The Reptites are no more. (Sorta. We'll get back to them.) After defeating Azala and reappearing on the world map of 65,000,000 BC, you’ll be faced with a crater, right where the Tyranno Lair used to be. Approach the crater and you’ll find a Gate. Enter.
On the other side of the Gate you'll find a harsh, wintery world. There’s remarkably little to see here, so leave your small cave and head east. You’ll find a small, technologically-advanced station in the snow. (You can find another location to the west, as well, but it’s of no use to you right now.) The Skyway will zap you up, above the clouds...
... to a fantastic new location. Welcome to the magical Kingdom of Zeal, a land where spells and enchantment aren’t only the norm, they’re the law. Spekkio mentioned this place the first time you visited him at the End of Time, and now you can check it out firsthand. Your first stop is the settlement of Enhasa, a short walk from the Skyway.
Enhasa - Market
How advanced. There’s not a heck of a lot to do in Enhasa besides shop for basic items, though you’ll learn a lot by speaking to the people. Of particular note is a little boy and his cat in the northwest corner of Enhasa. You’ll see them again. Up here also is a Font of Recovery, a blue floor tile which you can use to instantly restore your health.
In another city you’ll find a clue which you can use to solve a quirky little puzzle in Enhasa. There are three books spread throughout Enhasa, and based on the clue you’re given you need to open them in a particular order, namely Water, Wind, and Fire. The books are in these locations:
- The Water book is on a table in the northeast
- The Wind book is on a table in the northwest
- The Fire book is on a table by the entrance.
In the secret room you’ll find a Nu who will invite you to a challenge. Accept and you’ll have to fight six, count ‘em six, Nu. This is a tricky fight that you’ll want to end as quickly as possible, because with some bad luck the Nu can KO your party in one round. You ideally want two characters with Techs that can hit multiple Nu while your third character heals. It doesn’t matter how much HP is restored so long as each character has more than 1 HP. Crono and Ayla's Falcon Strike is a good Dual Tech for this battle, while Robo and Frog are prime choices for your healers.
You’ll get a Magic Capsule and a Speed Capsule for winning the battle, as well as a buttload of TP (90!) for defeating the six Nu. You won't get too many opportunities to battle the Nu of Enhasa, so you should try and win this battle on your first visit.
Take the Land Bridge to the north after wandering around Enhasa. The continent on the ground will guide you northwest to another Skyway and back up to the main island of Zeal. A second town waits to the west.
Kajar - Market (Nu)
Kajar - Weapon Dealer (Nu)
Kajar is a little more easygoing than Enhasa. Wander around, chat with people, and note the Nu selling basic items in the middle of the first area. On your second trip to Kajar he'll sell you weapons, but they're not available until you make it through the game's next dungeon.
Go through the northeastern door of the larger area. Up the stairs on your right and flush with the southern wall is a hidden Speed Capsule. To the north is a Nu who will give you a Magic Capsule if you scratch him juuuuust right. You’ll learn how to scratch him properly in Zeal’s final location.
As with Enhasa, Kajar has a book puzzle. The books need to be opened in the same order:
- Water is on a table in the northwest
- Wind is on a table in the southeast
- Fire is on the merchant Nu’s counter, in the center of Kajar
That's all for Kajar. If you look to the west of Kajar you'll find a docking point for a huge ship called the Blackbird. You can meet an important NPC a little early by visiting the Blackbird and speaking to the guards out front. Otherwise, enter the cave east of Kajar and use the teleporters beyond to zip up to your next destination. Completionists who want to win every battle in Chrono Trigger should save before entering Zeal Palace, as it’s a miniature point of no return.
Zeal Palace
The seat of power in the Kingdom of Zeal, Zeal Palace is full of friendly - but egocentric - folks. There are two things to note about the palace before we push the plot forward:
- The Nu with the scratch point is wandering on the bridge just north of the entrance. Agree to scratch him to learn how deal with his kind, then return to Kajar for the Magic Capsule we mentioned earlier.
- There's a woman in the southwest of the palace with a potted plant. She’ll ask you if she should burn the plant or secretly plant it. Telling her to plant it will open up a side quest in another time period. Advising her to burn it gets you nothing, so... don't do that.
Head to the chamber in the northeast of the palace once you're done looking around. You’ll catch a cut scene featuring two important NPCs, Schala and Janus, in one of the rooms beyond. Follow Schala out of her room and to the central doorway in the main area. Here you'll see her unlock one of those black, sealed doors that were last spotted in 2300 AD.
Return to the main area of the palace and take the northwestern door. It leads to the Mammon Machine, the siphon that helps power the Kingdom of Zeal. Approach and interact with the Mammon Machine to power up Marle’s Pendant. Now it can open black doors and mysterious black boxes, opening up a number of item-collecting opportunities. We'll explore all the items you can get with Marle's Pendant in another section of the guide.
You can now use Marle's Pendant to follow Schala into the throne room. There's a tough battle waiting. You don't have to win, but...
Golem
HP: 7,000
The Golem is a tough, tough boss at this level, and one that might prove too much for your current party. It uses the following attacks:
- A neutral magic attack against a single target
- Iron Sphere, which cuts its target HP in half (counter to physical attacks)
- Elemental attacks against your entire party (counter to magic Techs - the nature of the attack matches the attack used by your party)
- A burp which damages the whole party (on defeat)
The Golem's normal attack inflicts a disturbingly high amount of damage, and if you hit it with a physical attack it will retaliate with Iron Sphere, halving the attacker’s HP. Ouch. The Golem will also retaliate against any elemental magic by changing elements and thereafter using attacks of that element. You need to take advantage of these elemental shifts, as none of the Golem’s magic attacks do much damage compared to its non-elemental attacks.
Put Lucca in the party and make use of her Fire Techs, performing Dual Techs with Crono or your third character, while the remaining fighter heals everyone as needed. Equip everybody with Ruby Vests and most of the Golem’s attacks won’t do much damage. If you use Marle's Pendant to open black boxes you'll find a series of colored vests that absorb elemental damage, opening up your combat options, but this requires backtracking out of Zeal.
The Golem ends the fight with one final non-elemental attack against your party, but so long as your HP is in the 150s or above you should be fine. Win or lose the party is captured, then promptly booted out of 12,000 BC. You'll need to find an alternate route back to this era, one that doesn't require the use of Gates.