Once you complete Terra Tower you'll have reached the end of Chrono Cross. There are no further enemies to face besides the final boss... unless, of course, you decide to max out everything that's left in the game. There are still a few things you can do and find, most of which will strengthen your characters in preparation for the final battle. We'll go through a few of them now.
Recruiting Characters
By the time you complete Terra Tower you'll likely have recruited every character there is to recruit, assuming you've been thorough and diligent. If not, however, there are several near-end-game characters that you can still recruit, and plenty others that can be recruited at any time when Serge is in charge of the party. This guide will help you find any party members you might have missed.
Finding Level Seven Techs
Each character in Chrono Cross has their own Level Seven Tech, and while some characters learn them naturally most need to find them. Typically you need to take the character to a specific place in the game and watch a little cut scene play out. This guide will help you find all of the Level Seven Techs that there are to find, in case you missed any.
Fighting Dario
Dario? That guy the Acacia Dragoons keep talking about? Yes, despite rumors to the contrary he's still alive. Sorta. He's also one of the most powerful enemies in the game.
Travel to Home World and hop on your boat. There's a little island just off the northeastern coast of the main continent of the El Nido Peninsula that emits a puff of smoke on a regular basis. The island doesn't have a name until you visit it once, in which case it's labelled the Forbidden Island.
In Another World this island is the last refuge of some of the Acacian Dragoons, notably Solt and Peppor. In Home World, however, it's the home of a woman - and she's keeping an eye on Dario, the most powerful member of the Four Devas. He has amnesia, and doesn't have a clue who he is.
Put Riddel in your party and approach Dario. A lengthy, tragic cut scene will follow, and at the end of it you'll be facing Dario in battle.
Dario
This is a tough one. Dario is terribly strong, and can easily wipe out a character with just a few hits using the Masamune, especially if they're White Innate (like Serge and Riddel). He'll also use some powerful Black Innate attacks - Dash & Gash and Sonic Blade - along with strong attacks from Elements. He's a tough hombre.
Much worse than all that, though, is that Dario is an ardent counter-attacker. Every time you use an Element on him he'll retaliate with a different move. Which move he uses depends on the color of the Element you cast on him:
- Red - Numble
- Blue - Weaken
- Yellow - Bat Eye
- Green - Lo-Res
- Black - Recover All
- White - Conducta Rod
Four of the six retaliatory Elements are annoying, but in the grand scheme of things not a big deal. You're also not likely to see Recover All, as hitting Dario with Black Innate Elements isn't a great idea. If you choose to go for Dario's weak point with White Elements, however, he'll use Conducta Rod, which can inflict upwards of 500 points of damage to the target. That is a heck of a lot of damage, and depending on when you come to this island is more than enough to OHKO your character. (Less so if this is one of your last stops before the final boss, though 500+ points of damage still stings.)
First off, don't use White Innate Elements. That's a staple of this fight. Conducta Rod just hits too hard to risk it. Instead, pick one of the moves that's least likely to harm your performance and use Elements that will elicit that move. Numble and Weaken are probably your best choices, as one reduces evasion and the other attack power - and you can offset the attack power loss with Elements. And you want to use Elements in this fight, as forcing Dario to counterattack will drain his Stamina and prevent him from using his Black Innate Techs.
Beyond that you just need high-power healing Elements, high-health characters, a few Revives, and some luck. If Dario chooses the wrong move he will probably pummel an unlucky character to death. Run away if the battle isn't going your direction, heal up, and try again. Dario only has 3,500 HP, which doesn't take that long to whittle down, even if you can't use White Innate Elements.
(That said, if you stole the Black Plate from the Black Dragon you can equip it on a character and let them use White Innate Elements to their heart's content. Conducta Rod will heal their wounds.)
You'll receive 2,500 g and a Dreamer's Bandana for defeating Dario. Serge will also receive his greatest weapon, as the Masamune will transform into the Mastermune. Watch one last cut scene with Dario and Riddel will receive Snake Fangs, her Level Seven Tech.