Chrono Trigger: Level Zero

Level Zero is a concept hack that was initially designed to circumvent the quirky nature of magic defense and other stats by removing the level-up entirely. After changing character and enemy stats, I mainly tried to learn to do more things with the ROM and improve the game's balance by tweaking more and more components of the game, even adjusting/adding a few minor events.

While this is not explicitly a hardtype hack, it is probably is a bit on the difficult side, so if you'd like to play Chrono Trigger with a bit of an edge, Level Zero is worth a go.

This patch earlier was known as “Frozen in Time” but has changed substantially since then.

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Chrono Trigger (SNES) - Level Zero (v0.7c)
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Developed by Maelstrom (mmendici_AT_lonestar.utsa.edu)

* Brief Legal
* Overview (Boring Intro)
* Easy Intro
* Usage
* Changes Summary (Character Stats, Techniques, Weapons, Armor and Helmets, Shops, Enemy Stats, Items, Charms)
* Gameplay
* Issues / Future Plans
* Credits
* Feedback
* Version History

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| Brief Legal |
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This patch is developed by Maelstrom, also aliased as Pure Imaginary. You may use this patch as you see fit for personal use.

Since Level Zero is released as a *patch*, it *is* legal. All of the data included in the patch is original content.

If you wish to redistribute this package, you must do so free of charge, with the package intact and uneditted. In particular, do not redistribute this package with a patched ROM (which is outright illegal) in place of the patch file.

If you want to use this modification as a basis for or as a part of another noncommercial work, you may do so provided the changes are substantial and that you give me credit for my work.

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| Overview |
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In Chrono Trigger, and many other games for that matter, there's often a fine line, in terms of levels, between certain scenarios being really easy or rather hard. Level Zero, formerly Frozen in Time, began as a modification geared towards smoothing some of these rough edges in Chrono Trigger's mechanics. Frozen in Time aimed to "correct" these problems by removing the level-up, and then changing character and enemy stats to balance the final result. Store and weapon tweaks were made as well.

While these changes more or less got the job done, it made other gameplay problems more glaring, and it added a few of its own. Massive item tweaks (weapons, armor, helmets, accessories, consumables) were made. A few story-based stat changes have been added or changed. I disabled tabs (or more accurately, replaced them with "gems" that can only be sold, but for more money). Technique power and costs are changed. The mod as a whole is far more balanced now. While PrismSpecs are still the best accessory, there are many others that can now hold their own or even come out ahead in the right situation.

This is not a hardtype hack, but the difficulty is a bit on the high side. Even though you can't level up, you should still be able to win from any save on the overworld map (with the possible exception of pre-Blackbird), even if you have sold or missed many major items. If you think you need a certain rare item to complete the game, that item may in fact no longer be rare, or there may be other items that you can use instead.

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| Easy Intro |
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You don't level-up anymore, so your stats don't increase. Various things have been tweaked to make it playable: Characters, enemies, weapons, armors, helmet, accessory, items, techniques, and a few events. The game difficulty will tend to be a little harder, but results will vary depending on your playing style.

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| Usage |
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You can either use an IPS patching utility, or you can give your ROM and the patch the same name (such as zero.smc & zero.ips, OR chrono.smc & chrono.ips) if you use ZSNES to emulate. Don't use save data from different versions of Chrono Trigger.

If you want to run this patch with other patches at the same time, then unless you have an emulator that can load multiple .ips files at the same time, you will have to apply each patch to your ROM (or at least all but one, and then that last one be your designated .ips).

Mods this patch may be compatible with are those that don't change any of the same things that Level Zero changes.

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| Changes |
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Character Stats
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HP: It's set in the range of 458-654, depending on the character. Fighters will tend to have more HP.

MP: It's set in the range of 41-89, depending on the character. Mages tend to have more MP. The MP max are chosen with some malice towards strategies that involve each character just using one powerful technique.

Power: Ayla's rating is increased at four points in the game, reaching its maximum after the party defeats Rust Tyrano. The rest of the party has relatively lower ratings, but Robo's is a tad higher to improve Tackle.

Magic: This stat serves as a multiplier for all magic. These ratings fall in the range of 29-50, with mages having higher ratings.

Hit: Marle and Lucca are a little higher in this catergory now to keep their attack respectable early in the game.

Speed: Generally, the quicker characters have had their speed reduced in order to increase the value of the slowpokes. Ratings now vary from 6 - 11, which incidentally increases difficulty.

Stamina: This rating varies less now and is squarely in the 50 - 73 range.

Magic Defense: Mages have higher ratings than fighters, but no so much that fighters get OHKO'd by magic while mages only get tickled.

Evade: Not much thought went into this one.

Techniques
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Technique power has been changed to accomodate the unique nature of each character's stats. However, there is also more consistency between characters, so the magic rating between characters will usually be reflected in the damage/healing numbers that show up in combat. For example, all ultimate attack spells now have the same power, with the exception of Crono's Luminaire, which is now only slightly stronger than the other ultimates (7%, as opposed to at least 20%).

The MP consumed is tweaked with some semblance of balance in mind. Generally, healing techniques cost more, but many other adjustments are made as well.

Weapons
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Each "upgrade" betweeen weapons represents a significant but controlled increase in power. A few weapons that did not help in this pursuit have been removed, but the Graedus has been instated to give Lucca a counterpart to Marle's Siren. Some critical rates have been tweaked, particularly Crono's and Magus's.

Armor and Helmets
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Characters start with different equipment now. The armor and helmets have had their value changed and generally increased. You can also buy certain difficult-to-obtain elemental armor and helmets eventually, but a few armor/helmet items are also removed.

Accessories
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This equipment is generally much stronger now, particularly when earlier incarnations were very weak.

Shops
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Stores generally sell better items earlier now, and there are a few late in the game that now (instead) sell rare equipment and items.

Enemy Stats
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Enemies earlier in the game are beefed up, but they also drop more money, in part so you can afford the Mid Tonics you will need to get by early enemies. Similarly, there are a handful of enemies that are actually been toned down later in the game that would have certainly obliterated you, but the battles should still be interesting.

Certain enemies later in the game drop more money and/or more valuable items. While many enemies have not been changed, they are still stronger than they normally are due to the weakness of your characters.

Items
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HP restoring items have been tweaked, Tabs have been replaced by "gems" which cannot be used, but they can be sold.

Charms
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A few enemies have different charms now, particularly "bosses" that gave up Tabs.

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| Gameplay |
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The level-up is gone, so you are afforded more leeway in how you play. However, you still need to acquire tech points and money to learn skills and buy items, so it will be important to fight some battles. Later in the game, the sidequests will provide you valuable equipment, so it would be wise to acquire most or all of it. At a minimum, you will want status protection.

The Black Omen will be just as challenging as Lavos, if not moreso. Bring restorative items as well as elemental and status protection, and use those save points.

You can fight all six versions of Spekkio, but you will need to change your lead character to unlock them all (Magus and Lucca can each unlock the Pink Nu). The first and second versions of Spekkio now give each other's gifts.

Crono: He's the ultimate in physical attack power, and even with his speed lowered to 10, he can still bring plenty of hurt. Luminaire still does decent damage, but Confuse shines more against single targets now.

Marle: She's your Haste caster, which makes up for the fact that her Speed rating isn't so hot. Her combos and Life2 also have their moments, but she obviously doesn't have power to get excited about.

Lucca: She's your mage that specializes in fire, and Taban's equipment makes her playable. Her Wondershot isn't so overpowering anymore, but it can still hit hard at times. Due to the lack of Speed Tabs, she is at the mercy of her Taban Suit late in the game.

Robo: Like always, he's in the party to absorb physical hits. The Terra arm is a little stronger, but can you still unlock the power of the Crisis arm, even without high Power and 999 HP?

Frog: He's a decent paladin that can do a little bit of everything. The swords that do double damage to magic enemies now in fact have this attribute, but unfortunately few enemies outside of the Ocean Palace are actually *considered* to be magic enemies.

Ayla: She's ideal for bashing enemies, but her Charm skill can get you plenty of special equipment. Her Power rating is increased four times over the course of the game, reaching a rating of 87.

Magus: He's been transformed into less of a fighter and more of a magician, in case that didn't seem possible. On the one hand, his level 2 magic is no longer extra special, and his speed is down, but his dark magic is a greater force now. He even comes with Dark Bomb already learned.

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| Issues / Future Plans |
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It's possible there is missing dialogue in parts of the game. I've made a point of catching some that got wiped out, but there may still be some I missed.

Of course, tweaks galore!

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| Credits |
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Geiger et al: Temporal Flux (2.0)
Chickenlump: Chrono Tweaker
Maticolotto: Crone v1.1 (Enemy Editor)
`Frieza (zushiba): Shop Keeper v1.0
Von Blitzkrieg: CT Editor Companion
Bye Sledge & MCA of ELITE: SNESTool
Jathys: Gears
FuSoYa: Lunar IPS v1.00
Sakuweaa: CTENED v1.2 (Enemy Editor)
Christian Maas: Hex-editor XVI32
Hiryuu: Chrono Trigger Walkthrough
SSJVegeta a.k.a. The n00b Avenger: Level FAQ, and for giving me the character tech offsets!
LordShinobi: Mechanics FAQ
AdrenalineSL: Charm FAQ
Square: Chrono Trigger, of course

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| Feedback |
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Have you found a glitch? Do you have some constructive criticism or ideas about how to make this patch better? Send them with a sealed and stamped envelope to Maelstrom (mmendici_AT_lonestar.utsa.edu). Allow six to eight weeks for delivery.

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| Version History |
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v0.7:
Added back Tonic, but changed the strength (and price) of Tonic and Mid Tonic
More character, enemy, armor, helmet, item tweaks
Finally: Some accessory tweaks
Replaced some missing dialogue (is it all back in?)
Added events to increase Ayla's Power at four points in the game
Changed Atropos's ribbon to give just +2 Speed, and to only increase stats one time
Fixed some (not all spontaneously) damaged event code

v0.69:
Character tweaks
More weapon changes
Began armor changes
More enemy tweaks
Changed MP prices
Made Level 99 Spekkio beatable again
Finally "removed" Tonics and those tricky Tabs
Changed the shops a bit in order to curtail certain strange player behavior

v0.6 - Initial release

Bank: HiROM
Country: USA
Interleaved: NO
Internal ROM Checksum: 0x788C
Game Revision: 1.0
ROM Size: 32 Megabytes
ROM Speed: 120ns (FastROM)
SRAM: YES, Internal, 64 Kilobytes
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Checksums
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Chrono Trigger (U) [!].sfc
Verified Good Dump
CRC32: 2D206BF7
MD5: A2BC447961E52FD2227BAED164F729DC
RIPEMD-160: C1DC528AA21D9E3F00E7571A98AF0BB4B6598564
SHA-1: DE5822F4F2F7A55ACB8926D4C0EAA63D5D989312
SHA-256: 06D1C2B06B716052C5596AAA0C2E5632A027FEE1A9A28439E509F813C30829A9