The Zeal Archives The Nickscast

No Chrono Trigger? No, we’re back in the past, before the initial experiment! T has been putting in some late nights, but to what end? (a portal machine, we covered that) And do we know who has been stealing parts from the office? It’s all coming together, as is their lovely Final Fantasy 6 audio drama!
T and G discuss… well, honestly, a lot of our favourite moments big and (mostly) small from the game, including dredging up past unsolved mysteries (and alluding to future ones)! Also, they talk a little bit about what a more direct Chrono Trigger sequel might have looked like, and what it means for a game to be a spiritual successor of Chrono Trigger (if that means anything at all)!
Editing, scripting, and podcast visual design by Nick Terwoord. Special thanks to Square Enix for making that game that we love, Chrono Trigger ...and for not suing us.
Episode Cast
Alphabetically, by actor:

Ari in the role of Terra, and her fictional self
Artimage in the role of Emperor Gestahl
Dan Murray in the role of Kefka
Nick G in the role of his fictional self, and discussion host
Nick H in the role of “the Boss”
Nick T in the role of his fictional self, soldier, narrator, and discussion host
Nick Z in the role of his fictional self, and “Old Man”

Musical Credits

[00:06] Wake up, T! Notes from a Small Island by JJT from http://ocremix.org used under ocremix.org content policy
[03:17] Friends: Cold Boot by 744 from http://ocremix.org used under ocremix.org content policy
[28:39] What a horrible nightmare…

After restoring most of the Chrono Trigger timeline, our intrepid heroes unfortunately stumble into the path of … Dalton? And Azala?? Thrown into a prison cell on the Blackbird with neither tools nor weapons, how will the party escape and stop whatever nefarious scheme is afoot? Will T and G ever get to go home? There’s only one way out of this sticky situation: a stealth mission.
In our world, T and G dig into the enigma that is the “seat” of power himself (in that he’s a big ass), Dalton!

What is the deal with Dalton? How is it that a man with such distaste for authority have managed to rise so high in society, especially with such an eclectic fashion sense?
Villains in Chrono Trigger! All are time-locked, and arguably there’s no main big bad (Lavos doesn’t count, really)
Again, Chrono Trigger as a game of great moments and set pieces, and how it tried to do different things (like the Blackbird) to different effects

Editing, scripting, and podcast visual design by Nick Terwoord. Special thanks to Square Enix for making that game that we love, Chrono Trigger ...and for not suing us.
Episode Cast
Alphabetically, by actor:

Artimage in the role of Announcing Soldier
Dan Murray in the role of King Dalton
Manda Whitney in the role of Empress Azala
Nick H in the role of Basher
Nick G in the role of his fictional self, and discussion host
Nick T in the role of his fictional self, Robo, and discussion host
Patrick "TrickyLove" Moylan in the role of Nizbel III
SMZeldaRules in the role of Lucca Ashtear

Musical Credits

[00:00] Oww: Inception by The ARTISANS Beats used under Jamendo’s standard license
[00:05] Lucky to be alive:

Our heroes-to-be reach a pivotal moment in the world of Chrono Trigger as familiar face and friend Marle has a chance encounter with Nick G just before the Millennial Fair. But could that moment cause a ripple in space time that causes the Robo and Lucca we know to cease to be? There’s only one day of fairground fun to try to turn things around!
 
In our world, T and G dig into the key characters of this episode: the tomboy princess, Marle, and the genius inventor, Lucca! What do they talk about? Glad you asked!

...Marle and Lucca (no surprises here

The mystery of the rapidly expanding anomalies will have to wait because the party finds itself face-to-face with… the end of time? Well known to our Chrono Trigger companions, the presence of old friends is a bit unusual to say the least. Perhaps, like a certain egg, it presents a certain opportunity?
In our world, T and G try to talk about a key component of the world of Chrono Trigger: magic! Unfortunately, they get a bit distracted talking about…

The origin and nature of magic in the world of Chrono Trigger? How on earth is everything made up of just four elements? And how did it start??
A lot of mechanics of Chrono Trigger! Specifically, how techs work and how they play out in the game
The end of magic?

With their time travel device damaged and losing power, the party must try to find a way to keep it working long enough to fix the anomalies and get the Nicks home. But where in the world of Chrono Trigger would there be enough power for something like time travel? Perhaps a visit to a certain AI would do the trick?
In our world, T and G try to understand more about this understated section of the game, and maybe what could have been improved on. In particular...

What is going on in this sidequest: How do you get to it, and what might you expect to find?
Atropos and Mother Brain! Their origins, and the role they play in Robo’s story (and the story of the game)
Missed potential: How could they have tied this sidequest better into the plot of the game, and into Robo’s character development in particular (and briefly why the developers might not have been able to do this)

Editing, scripting, and podcast visual design by Nick Terwoord. Special thanks to Square Enix for making that game that we love, Chrono Trigger ...and for not suing us.
Episode Cast
Alphabetically, by actor:

D Morton in the role of Atropos
Nick G in the role of his fictional self and discussion host
Nick T in the role of his fictional self, Robo, and discussion host
Sofa-Cushion in the role of Mother Brain
SMZeldaRules in the role of Lucca Ashtear

Musical Credits

[00:00] Think think think think... Inception by The ARTISANS Beats used under Jamendo’s standard license
[00:35] Mad with power: ReMix: Chrono Trigger "Elements of Time" by Andrew Thompson, Fernando Valencia, Kristy Mezines from

This is it, the end of our intrepid crew… just kidding! Trapped in a cage of worlds new and old, our heroes must devise a cunning escape plan that will require everything that they know about the world of Chrono Trigger… probably! At the very least they might need to call in help from some unexpected friends…
In our world, T and G attempt to unveil the storied past of the trio of misfits Ozzie, Flea, and Slash… if they had one?! In particular:

What we actually know about these characters (surprise! It’s… not a lot). More interestingly, how differences in localization can dramatically alter how the characters are perceived (with a bunch of examples)
A tiny bit about localization in the 90s, and in particular, Nintendo’s localization policy
A lot of speculation around what we don’t know about them, and why such ‘small’ characters (relative to how long they are in the game) have such a big impact. Also, why Flea is the best.

Editing, scripting, and podcast visual design by Nick Terwoord. Special thanks to Square Enix for making that game that we love, Chrono Trigger ...and for not suing us.
Episode Cast
Alphabetically, by actor:

Dan Charrington (aka The Video Ninja) in the role of Ozzie
Manda Whitney in the role of Azala
Nick G in the role of his fictional self, “Magus” and discussion host
Nick T in the role of his fictional self, “Slash”, Robo, and discussion host
Patrick "TrickyLove" Moylan in the role of Nizbel III
SMZeldaRules in the role of Lucca Ashtear and “Flea”

Musical Credits

[00:00] Context: Inception by The ARTISANS Beats used under Jamendo’s standard license
[00:05] A delicate situation: ReMix: Chrono Trigger "Subterranean Opus" by zircon