Magus's Castle
Make sure Frog learned Water magic from Spekkio before entering. Magus uses barriers of different elemental types; Crono covers Lightning and Frog covers Water, so bring Lucca (Fire) or Robo (Shadow) as your third to have better coverage. Marle's Ice magic overlaps with Frog's Water, making her less useful here.
Fiendlord's Keep
Enter the castle and follow both paths to their ends, then return to the center. The eerie atmosphere sets the tone for what's ahead.
West wing. Take the left path and head north. Talk to the Omnicrones if you want to fight Decedents. Grab the Mid-Ether in the first room. Continue through and collect another Mid-Ether and a Shelter from the corners of the upper room.
East wing. Take the right path. Talk to the kids surrounding a treasure chest if you want the Barrier inside; they're easy fights. Keep going through the illusion rooms and grab the Mid-Ether along the way.
Ozzie appears. Return to the main entrance where a save point now exists. Approach it and Ozzie shows up, taunting Frog before sending monsters. Defeat them; Ozzie flees deeper into the castle. Head left for Slash first - you'll get a sword for beating him.
Boss: Slash
Return to the west wing where monsters have replaced the illusions. Fight through the Omnicrones and Decedents. In the final room with a sword on the wall, talk to the lady at the front to trigger the Decedent fight. After clearing them, Slash confronts you.
Slash (Phase 1)
Slash fights unarmed in phase one. He uses physical attacks including a fiery punch (~50 damage), a standard combo (~90 damage), and an energy wave hitting everyone (~60 damage).
- Attack aggressively with physical Techs
- Don't use Frog's Water magic - Slash absorbs it
- Keep HP above 100-120; he hits the whole party at phase end
- Save MP for phase two
Slash (Phase 2)
Slash draws his sword without giving you time to heal. He attacks more frequently and hits harder; "Yes indeed!" deals 90-100 damage, and his leaping slash hits for 120-150.
- Dedicate someone to healing; Frog's Heal hits all three members
- Equip Frog with Rage Band for counter-attacks while he heals
- Give Crono the Silver Stud to spam Spincut
- Have Lucca cast Protect on everyone to reduce physical damage
- Use dual Techs only if damage exceeds both single Techs combined
- Keep HP above 150 at all times
After victory, grab the Slasher sword from the ground - equip it on Crono unless you charmed an Aeon Blade in 65M B.C. Collect the Mid-Ether and Shelter from the two chests. Head back to the main hall.
Boss: Flea
Take the right path. Talk to the bottom kid for the Barrier in the chest. Continue through the illusion rooms; talk to the phantoms impersonating party members' relatives if you want fights. Grab the Mid-Ether along the way.
Fake Flea. You'll encounter a monster impersonating Flea. One hit kills it, but it uses MP Buster as a parting shot - whoever lands the killing blow loses all their MP. Equip the Rage Band and let it attack you first; your counter-attack kills it without triggering MP Buster. After defeating the fake, the bat following you transforms into the real Flea.
Flea
Flea has high magic defense and counters magic attacks with "The Stare" - turning one character against the others for ~80 damage to everyone. Stick to physical attacks.
- Use physical attacks only; Flea counters magic with party-wide damage
- X-Strike (Crono + Frog) works excellently
- Triple Raid (Crono + Frog + Robo) devastates if available
- Flea inflicts Blind (Prism Beam), Poison (Rainbow Storm), Sleep, and Chaos
- Kill quickly before status effects stack up
- Heal often; Flea's less susceptible to physical than Slash but has lower HP
After defeating Flea, grab the Magic Tab from the sparkling spot on the floor. Head back through the rooms; avoid the trapped chest in the middle room.
Ozzie's Gauntlet
Return to the main entrance and step on the save point to warp forward. Skirt the room's edges to avoid fights or charge down the center. Grab the Mist Robe at the end (give to Lucca or Marle). Talk to Ozzie; he calls for Slash and Flea, realizes they're beaten, and runs.
Conveyor belts. Time your movements between the falling anchors. Walk against the belt to pause if needed. Collect the Dark Mail (give to Frog) and Doom Finger (Robo weapon) from chests. Chase Ozzie to the next room.
Side-view section. The green ball triggers fights; stay still to let it pass rather than climbing. If you fight a Juggler, note that it alternates between physical and magical defense - hitting it with a weapon activates physical defense (disabling magic defense), and vice versa. Open the chest at the top for the Speed Belt.
Pit trap. Ozzie's floor gives way, dropping you into a Decedent pit. I recommend falling at least once to collect treasure: Mid-Ether, Lapis, Shelter, Barrier, and a Magic Tab (sparkling spot, bottom-right corner).
Save point puzzle. Four save points appear. Two are monsters (easy XP - farm them if you want), one is real (use a Shelter here), and one warps you out. The trap save points are directly across from each other. Navigate past Ozzie's pits, grab the Athenian Water in the hallway, and reach his final room.
Ozzie
Ozzie encases himself in ice. Attacking him directly triggers Barrier Bomber as a counter. Even if you deplete his HP, you still need to hit the switches.
- Do NOT attack Ozzie directly
- Target the four switches around the room
- Hit each switch once in any order
- After all four are hit, Ozzie falls into a pit
After Ozzie falls, two save points appear. The right one is real; use it. Grab the Mist Robe and Magic Scarf from chests, then step on the left save point to warp forward.
Boss: Magus
Race past the Bats down the walkway - they're easy TP if you want to grind. Continue into the sanctum. Magus's voice grows louder as you approach. This is the toughest fight so far.
Magus
Magus switches between elemental barriers. Each barrier makes him absorb all magic except that element and cast level-2 spells of that type. Physical attacks always work regardless of barrier.
- Barrier rule: If Magus casts Fire, only Fire magic hurts him
- Lightning barrier → use Lightning; Fire barrier → use Fire; etc.
- Shadow barrier is ideal - Shadow Bomb only hits one target
- Physical attacks bypass all barriers; use them if you lack the right element
- Frog's Masamune normal attacks lower Magus's magic defense
- Hitting Magus forces a barrier change (and accompanying spell)
- Use Crono's Spincut to force a change if stuck on a bad barrier
- Geyser/HP Down slowly drains HP between barrier changes
Recommended approach. Have Frog attack normally with the Masamune to lower magic defense. Use Crono's Lightning when the Lightning barrier is down. Keep Robo or Marle on healing duty. If you have Haste, cast it early - faster turns help immensely against Dark Matter's charge time.
Aftermath. Magus reveals he didn't create Lavos - he only summoned it. Lavos awakens, creating a massive Gate that pulls everyone in. Your party awakens in 65,000,000 B.C. at the Chief's Hut.
Treasure Summary
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
| Mid-Ether | West wing first room |
| Mid-Ether | West wing upper room |
| Shelter | West wing upper room |
| Barrier | East wing (kids' chest) |
| Mid-Ether | East wing illusion room |
| Slasher | Dropped by Slash |
| Mid-Ether | After Slash (chest) |
| Shelter | After Slash (chest) |
| Magic Tab | After Flea (sparkling spot) |
| Mist Robe | After first Ozzie encounter |
| Dark Mail | Conveyor belt section |
| Doom Finger | Conveyor belt section |
| Speed Belt | After side-view climb |
| Mid-Ether | Pit trap room |
| Lapis | Pit trap room |
| Shelter | Pit trap room |
| Barrier | Pit trap room |
| Magic Tab | Pit trap room (sparkling spot) |
| Athenian Water | Hallway before Ozzie |
| Mist Robe | Ozzie's final room |
| Magic Scarf | Ozzie's final room |