Amazingly, some players make it all the way through Chrono Cross without fetching a single Summon. These gorgeous spells take up room in your party's Elements tables as unassumingly as your average PhotonRay or Cure, save for one important detail: they're either Level 7, or even Level 8.
That should give you an idea of how powerful these Summons can be. But how do you acquire them? It's a pretty precise process, and once you've given this a read it should be plain to see why they're so easily missed. But on the other hand? It's really not all that much work, fetching each Summon, provided you have a little patience (and in a few cases, some rather nice stats as well).
What Are Summons in Chrono Cross?
Put plainly, Summons are non-consumable Elements. They're rarer than virtually any other Element in Chrono Cross, and only characters with a corresponding innate Element can use them. In other words, Glenn, whose innate Element is Green, can use the pair of Green Summons – Level 7's Sonja and Level 8's Genie.
Each of the game's six Elements has two acquirable Summons in total. As you can see from the above example, one of these will be Level 7 and the other will be Level 8.
How to Obtain Level 7 Summons
Conveniently, there is a specific manner in which players can acquire Level 7 Summons and a separate manner for Level 8s. For Level 7 Summons, you must use Traps. Traps, like Summons, are Elements. Unlike Summons, they're consumable, meaning you must pay for each usage of one rather than it restoring itself to full after a battle.
Traps can be purchased in Marbule (Another World). You'll be able to reach this iteration of Marbule as soon as you gain access to a steerable boat in Another World. (The same applies to Home World, for that matter; unfortunately, nobody over there is in a hurry to sell these.)
It's easy to know which Traps to purchase for Summons, because they're all labeled accordingly: Unicorn, MotherShip, FrogPrince, RedWolf, Golem, and Sonja. At the Marbule shop, you'll see "Unicorn (Trap)", "MotherShip (Trap)", and so forth.
Purchase a few of every Summon Trap. You're all set! Now for the operative part – where to set your Traps for these Level 7 Summons. One final note: the field must turn completely the corresponding Element color in order for foes to use these Summons. You can effectively work in tandem with your enemies to hasten this process.
Name |
Foe |
Location |
Notes |
Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unicorn |
Dodo |
Fossil Valley (Home World) |
Wait until the Dodos are limping (low health) before setting the Trap. |
"Holy horse's prayer raises defense and magic defense." |
MotherShip |
Shadow Cat |
Fossil Valley (Another World) |
The only Shadow Cats who will actually summon MotherShip are the ones situated where the Big Egg once was. Don't waste time on the others! |
"Contacts a spaceship to blast foes to pieces." |
FrogPrince |
Water Dragon |
Water Dragon Isle (Home World) |
Given to the player by the Water Dragon if all Dwarves were rescued. |
"Summons Frog Prince to perform a water attack." |
RedWolf |
HotDoggity |
Mount Pyre (Home World or Another World) |
In Home World, the fight must begin with only one HotDoggity in order for it to summon RedWolf. Any other party composition will not allow it to occur. |
"Summons a fire wolf to create a sea of flames." |
Golem |
Centaurpede |
Hydra Marshes (Another World) |
Keep some Capsules handy for healing purposes, since Centaurpedes won't necessarily use Golem in an all-Yellow field. They may, in fact, use the hard-hitting Earthquake instead. |
"Summons an earth giant to stomp on your foes." |
Sonja |
PreyMantis |
Gaea's Navel (Home World) |
Fairly straightforward acquisition. |
"Summons a forest dryad to sprinkle poison dust (also does damage)." |
How to Obtain Level 8 Summons
In one sense, obtaining Level 8 Summons in Chrono Cross is simpler than Level 7s. You don't need a specific shop to be available. You don't need to purchase Trap Elements, nor wait for particular monsters to use the Summons in battle after altering the Element Field.
You do, however, have to beat several of the game's toughest enemies: the Dragons. The good news is, most of these are obligatory, meaning you're going to acquire Level 8 Summons no matter what. (The Black Dragon can be optional, depending on the routes a player takes.)
The bad news is, you'll still need to be prepped for some of Chrono Cross' finer fights. Remember the game's fixation on Elemental strengths and weaknesses; try not to bring a Black-innate character in the Sky Dragon skirmish, for example. Take along plenty of healing consumables and employ the same tricks and tactics you've used thus far in your playthrough.
Name |
Foe |
Location |
Description |
---|---|---|---|
Saints |
Sky Dragon |
Sky Dragon Isle (Another World) |
"Army of angels attacks foes and heals party." |
GrimReaper |
Black Dragon |
Marbule (Another World) |
"Summons Death to wreak doom and destruction." |
BlueWhale |
Water Dragon |
Water Dragon Isle (Home World) |
"Calls on Neptune's anger to create a tsunami." |
Salamander |
Fire Dragon |
Mount Pyre (Another World) |
"Use salamander's breathe to incinerate foes." |
ThundaSnake |
Earth Dragon |
Earth Dragon Isle (Home World) |
"An electric serpent zaps anything in its path." |
Genie |
Green Dragon |
Gaea's Navel (Home World) |
"A wind djinn blows your foes away with a twister." |