The main character, and your standard teenaged fantasy protagonist, complete with sheltered upbringing in a fairly isolated hamlet and Disappeared Dad. While collecting scales for his girlfriend's necklace one morning, Serge stumbles into a bizarre portal and winds up in an alternate dimension, where his friends and family no longer recognize him. As an infant, he was brought into contact with the Frozen Flame as the result of his ship being blown off-course. With no other survivors in the lab, Serge was automatically designated the Flame's Abiter, or controller; this effectively locked FATE out from using the Flame. FATE needs Serge's body in order to bypass the failsafe.
Whodunnit To Me: Serge is on record as drowning off the coast of Opassa Beach. In truth, he was murdered by his father, who was acting under the control of FATE.
Why Did It Have to Be Cats?: He was attacked by a panther as a child, and is terrified of cats. Not only is his mortal enemy a hulking cat-man, but El Nido is swarming with cats, and Serge even gets turned into a feline at one point! Oy.
You Can't Go Home Again: Zig Zagged. When he finally does get spat back out in Home World, he's in Lynx's body. The villagers stop just short of lynching him.
Lynx
A feline demihuman and Kid's archenemy. Currently serving as shady advisor to the Arcadia Dragoons, promising to lead them to the Frozen Flame. For reasons unknown to Serge, Lynx is actively seeking him out. He was originally Serge's father, Wazuki, before becoming FATE's servant. FATE reshaped him to resemble the panther that attacked Serge as a baby. He managed to kill Serge once already, but this was not sufficient; another universe branched off from that event, with a duplicate Serge still running around. FATE's Plan "B" is to possess Serge's body in order to get at the Frozen Flame.
Bond Villain Stupidity: Tossing Serge/Lynx into the Dimensional Rift wins points for pure villainy, but is out of character for such a methodical bastard.
Defeat Means Playable: In a twisted way. After defeating him for the second time, he switches bodies with you. A consequence of this is that none of your previous party members will work with you because they believe you are Lynx or just think its too weird to work with the body of their previous enemy.
Deuteragonist: Inverted - Lynx succeeds in stealing Serge's body and to traps Serge in his own, effectively becoming Serge.
Disc One Final Boss: One of two. Fittingly, his counterpart in Home World is his old shipmate Miguel.
Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: Different versions of Lynx curry favor with both the Dragoons and the Porrean Army. In Home World, he served as an agent of Porre and helped overtake El Nido. As such, he is highly unpopular in that dimension.
Evil Costume Switch: Dark Serge trades in his threads for Lynx's signature outfit, complete with hat and cape.
In the Back: What awaits his boss, Lord Viper, at the top of Fort Dragonia.
Involuntary Shapeshifter: As an emissary of FATE, Wazuki was transformed into a suitable assassin to kill Serge. Once in close proximity to the FATE supercomputer, Lynx is reshaped again into a feminine personification of FATE.
Knife Nut: Apart from the scythe, Lynx carries around some throwing knives.
Large and in Charge: When a 6'4'' cat-man in black and a spiky hat gives orders, people tend to obey him.
Luke, I Am Your Father: It is revealed posthumously that he is Serge's father, Wakuzi, corrupted beyond recognition.
Though this is revealed so late in the game that one wonders why they even bothered.
Meet the New Boss: Like Glenn and Luccia, Lynx is a deliberate throwback to one of Chrono Trigger's characters — in this case, Magus.
Mobile Menace: He dawdles at times, but he still has a tremendous lead. Especially when he beats the heroes to Chronopolis.
Recurring Boss: Generally speaking, you face him four times; once as a shadow, the second in Fort Dragonia (as part of a Strike Me Down ploy), the third as Dark Serge, and finally as FATE.
Strike Me Down: The second bout with him in Fort Dragonia is a ruse to weaken his body to such an extent that Serge will be helpless after they've switched places.
That Man Is Dead: He actually says something of the sort: "On that day, ten years ago, the world was torn asunder. And part of me, in fact, died," but by that point, there had been no hints as to who That Man is. The Reveal doesn't happen until a while after you kill him.
Villain Ball: So, uh...Lynx, is there any reason you brainwashed Kid or waited to undo Robo's lock until after Serge showed up? Or was it just so he could watch you do it?
The alternate endings, with one notable exception, portray Lynx as doing nothing important or pointlessly wasting time since Serge is no longer on his quest. So yeah, it seems he really did just want Serge to see him do his evil deeds.
Dark Serge wastes a good deal of time tear-assing around El Nido and wreaking havoc.
Villain Cred: Lynx enjoys a degree of this. The Porrean Army addresses him as "Sir Lynx," despite not holding an actual rank over them.
"I appreciate your help, General. However, I no longer have any need for you. This fort shall serve as a fine grave marker for you and your dragoons. May you rest in peace."
Kid
"I'll kick yer sorry arse so hard you'll kiss the moons!"
A hotheaded but good-hearted thief who comes to Serge's rescue after he is attacked on Cape Howl. Though Kid insists that Serge needs a bodyguard, she is merely interested in Serge's connection to her hated foe, Lynx. Kid is the self-made clone of Schala from Chrono Trigger, who was assimilated by he Time Devourer following the fall of Zeal. Kid was conceived in response to Serge's drowning at the hands of Lynx. In traveling back in time to prevent Serge's murder, Kid caused the Home World dimension to splinter off from the 'real' world.
Distress Ball: Catches it a lot, mostly due to her Hot Blooded nature, resulting in her being seriously injured several times. All total, she's kidnapped, stabbed, poisoned, brainwashed, comatose, and has her mind trapped in the past.Our Heroine, ladies and gentlemen.
The Not-Love Interest: Interestingly for a lead female character, it's possible for Serge to never befriend her at all! Aside from some mild teasing ("And don't go tryin' any funny stuff just coz I'm cute 'n all!"), there isn't much suggestion of romance between her and Serge. Until the epilogue, where Kid "merges" with Schala, and we're flat-out told that she and Serge are destined to be married in the future.
Oddly Small Organization: Word of God states that the Radical Dreamers thieves guild is really just her.
Serge's childhood sweetheart. Until Kid shows up, of course. In order to recruit her, you have to turn Kid down three times after you first meet her, otherwise she is Lost Forever as a recruitable character. When Serge meets the Leena from Another World, she does not believe him to be the dead Serge but a boy with memory disorder; she joins the player's party to help him recover.
""Humans are, like, totally powerless, dude! With crafty knowledge we may extend our lives a fraction, but we just extend our suffering, too. But in reality, all we can do is leave ourselves in nature's hands and die the way nature intends us to... That is the awesome truth!? Gnarly!"
A hippie-styled physician from Guldove, although he laments not being able to help some of his patients. He'll join you if you opt not to save Kid.
The Atoner: In his past, a tragedy struck someone close to him and he was unable to save the person; this prompted him to take up the study of medicine and open his own clinic.
Drowning My Sorrows: Tries his best to cure Kid's poison, but cannot complete her recovery as he required Hydra Humour. This causes several regrets to resurface, leading him to hit Orlha's bar.
A pirate. What more needs to be said? Originally a merc for the Dragoons, Fargo had a major falling out with General Viper, inspiring Fargo to become a marauder full-time. Lynx later fell in with Viper, causing problems for Fargo and his crew. They engendered the legend of the Ghost Ship to avoid detection, and used it to terrorize the high seas.
Character Select Forcing: By the time he joins, he's the only ally that can steal. You'll need him if you want the elemental plate armor, which can only be acquired by stealing from several bosses. Also he's required in the quest to liberate Home World's Marbule.
Hidden Depths: Fargo is known for mingling with the Demi-humans of El Nido; In Home World, his ship provides employment to the refugees of Marbule. He also took a mermaid, Zelbess, as his wife.
I Hate Alternate Me: Strictly speaking, they're both thieves, but one is more honest about it.
Jerkass: His Home self actively conspires to keep the demihumans (and Sneff) in indentured servitude aboard his ship, and Marbule a literal ghost town.
The Lost Lenore: Type B. Zelbess was Fargo's wife, killed in a dispute with General Viper.
Oh My Gods!: What in the name of Davy Jones is goin' on here!?
Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: In Home World, Fargo is the captain of a cruise ship, the S.S. Zelbess, and is a cheater in his own casino.
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: (Another). While badass, there's not a lot of raping and pillaging going on aboard the S.S. Invincible — in fact, the pirate Fargo is less of a crook than the version of him that's supposedly running a legitimate business. This is Lampshaded at the end of his introduction sequence when he waxes philosophical about the damage human beings have wrought on the planet, and your characters comment that they never expected to hear that sort of talk from a pirate.
Pirate Parrot: "Polly" is several times his size, mind...
A formerly human mushroom enthusiast hit with a bad case of You Are What You Eat. Since this is obviouslyyour fault, he demands to join your party in the hopes the Frozen Flame will return him to normal.
A young knight, and Dario's younger brother. He's an excellent swordsman and even has a double-tech with Serge. The path to recruiting him (which requires you to leave Kid to die) has led many a player to exclaim Guide Dang It.
Guide Dang It: He's probably one of the best characters in the game and has plot significance if you recruit him. To get him, you have to choose not to save Kid in what looks like a But Thou Must moment. Even if you leave Kid to die, she gets better.
"Wherever there is light, there is also shadow... So it is the light that gives birth to shadow! Ghetz, I now understand, amigo...! But is it too late...?"
Luchador-turned-priest from the Zenan Mainland who, after a rough time on the continent, moved to El Nido to atone. Greco became a wrestler at one point to, as he quoted, fulfill an "appetite for destruction." This dark period was alleviated through the sacrifice of a man named Ghetz, who gave his life to wake Greco up. He is introduced while on an exorcism assignment in Fossil Valley, presumably to get rid of Skelly, whose possessed skull is lying amidst the bones.
The Atoner: He took his current job after killing someone.
Punny Name: His is U.S. name, especially combined with Ghetz's young sister, whom he watches over, Romana, is a pun on Greco-Roman wrestling, while his Japanese name is a reference to wrestler Astrud Gilberto.
Religion is Magic: Upon meeting him, Greco is immediately able to discern Serge's unique nature — that he is "dead" in this world.
Stone Wall: His attack power and accuracy are lacking, but he can take a hell of a beating.
Grobyc
Cyborg officer of the Porre Military, and a much-touted "secret weapon." His creator, Luccia's brother, was killed in a lab explosion while grafting a relic from Chronopolis onto Grobyc's arm. This resulted in Grobyc's deployment being back a few years. Ironically, his current overseer, Norris, was behind the bombing as he feared the ramifications of Grobyc becoming too powerful. Grobyc, who admires strength, defects to Serge's party after the latter defeats him in a fight.
A mysterious masked man in Termina. He's one of the three possible candidates you can recruit to break in to Viper manor. Was supposed to be Magus, but they couldn't fit his story in so his backstory was removed at the last minute. The new ending to Chrono Trigger DS implies he is an amnesic Magus.
Please Keep Your Hat On: When you first meet him, Guile has entered into a contest with the local Fortune Teller; if he brings back Viper's treasure, she would give him a present. Otherwise, he will have to remove his mask. The Fortune Teller is so freaked out by his real appearance that it costs her 10 years of life, or so she says.
Evil Twin: To Kid, and it's heavily implied that she is Kid's Home World equivalent. Besides having the same general facial contours, they even have identical fortunes read by the fortune teller in Termina.
Heel Face Revolving Door: She has no qualms helping either Lynx or Serge-in-Lynx' body. Unlike Kid, she's fully aware of who you really are, but doesn't seem to care.
Hollywood Pudgy: Her in-game body type is Plump, but really though, she's simply curvaceous.
She's listed at 5' 7" and 104 pounds. Normal weight for a woman that height would be around one thirty-five; one hundred four pounds is freakishly thin. (And she's not the only one. Miki is six feet and one hundred fifteen pounds. That's the same height as Christian Bale and six pounds lighter than he was in The Machinist.)
A young ferryman from Guldove, who provides transportation to and from Termina. He's a bit hard-headed, and reluctantly ends up having to help out Serge and his friends. Has a crush on Kid, and will join you if you choose to save her.
A scientific genius of somewhat dubious ethical practice — but for all that she's a bit on the creepy side, on the balance she's more good than evil. While her name obviously evokes Lucca's, she is not an expy of her but rather a colleague, who entrusted her with a letter intended for Kid.
Another of the Acacia Dragoons, she describes herself as the Diva of the Four Devas. You first meet her in Viper Manor. If Nikki's your guide, you'll learn that she's the sister he was looking for.
Good Samaritan: As is revealed in one of the Multiple Endings, if you chose to leave Kid to die from the poison, her mysterious benefactor who "came from the mainland" and gave Doc the antidote was him.
Guide Dang It: Getting her level seven tech. Among other things it requires her sister to die, the dwarves to be killed rather than be given a Heel Realization, and the unborn Hydra baby to not be given a Ceresean and of course that you recruit her to begin with.
Unfortunate Names: His Japanese name was Skull. Who would hire Skull the Clown?
Sneff
A stage magician working on Fargo's cruise ship in Home, in order to pay off his gambling debts. (Fargo, in fact, exploits Sneff's gambling addiction and rigs the tables against him, so as to keep him in debt — and thus servitude — forever.) Is also in need of some serious dental work.
Baleful Polymorph: He can turn people into cats. He gives up this trick after you take advantage of this form.
A Mystic who can use her dopplegang skill to mimic any monster she's KO'd in battle — or any monster KO'd by someone wearing the forget-me-not pot. One of her dopplegangs has a use in a rare Triple-Tech.
The Shrine Maiden in Home Guldove. (In Another, she is an apprentice as the head Priestess Direa is still alive.) She'll join you after you collect all of the Dragon Relics.
The beloved lord of El Nido, a general of some renown. He is initially allied with Lynx, but is a good man regardless.
Archenemy: Has a long-running vendetta going with Fargo, though the details are kept secret. Viper warmly agrees to duel him to the death once this adventure is concluded.
The Third Acacia Dragoon. HE TALKS IN ALL CAPS. That's... about it, really.
BLOOD KNIGHT: "HMPH! WHAT MEANING IS THERE TO A LIFE OF STRIVING AFTER WEALTH AND POWER...? IT IS NO USE TO YOU ONCE YOU DIE! AS FOR ME, I CHOOSE TO LIVE IN BATTLE AND ONE DAY TO DIE IN BATTLE."
Hypercompetent Sidekick: Peppor is actually fairly competent, at least by Goldfish Poop Gang standards. However, whatever Peppor does, Solt tends to screw up. Particularly memorably, Peppor once turns up with a BlackHole element, which Solt accidentally steals with a trap element.
Fauxlosophic Narration: A lot of it. Word of advice: you can run away at the start of the battle, save and come back, so that you don't have to listen to the whole thing every time you try to fight him.
Tragic Monster: Bound to the Dead Sea by Fate, all he can do is wait in the wreckage.
Dario
The 14th Grandmaster of the Acacia Dragoons, Riddel's fiance, and Glenn's elder brother. Died mysteriously when he and longtime friendly rival Karsh went on an expedition to the Isle of the Damned...While on the Isle, Dario discovered and was possessed by the evil of the Masamune, and with it tried to kill Karsh. Horrified, Karsh could barely bring himself to defend against him until Dario declared his intent to slate the Masamune's blade with Riddel's blood, upon Karsh went berserk and struck him down. While in Another he is presumed dead, in Home he survived, amnesiatic but still in (and under) possession of the evil blade. Your party can jog his memory with the right memento, triggering one of the hardest, (but most rewarding) boss fights in the game — victory nets you Serge's Infinity+1 Sword, Riddel's L7 tech, a warm fuzzy feeling at the reunion of the star-crossed lovers and, of course, bragging rights.
Expy: Of Cyrus — both are named after ancient Persian kings, both are lovingly close to Glenn, both wield the Masamune, and both are optional boss fights.
Was the 13th Grandmaster of the Acacia Dragoons, wielder of the Einlanzer, and father of Dario and Glenn. Was murdered by Radius when possessed by the evil spirit of the Masamune.
Organic Technology from a universe where the Reptites lived (instead of humans), each representing one of the games six magical elements. Originally one being that was split into six by FATE.
Body Horror: The scene in which the six fuse into a single beast is.... disturbing.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Though only the Black Dragon and Green Dragon are named after their colours, it's obvious which belongs to what Element by their colouration.
A supercomputer built by Belthazar out of the old Mother Brain unit. Originally installed to monitor Chronopolis, FATE was left to fend for itself after Balthazar's botched experiment stranded the laboratory in the distant past. FATE, recognizing that it couldn't allow the facility — or the Frozen Flame — to come into contact with past civilizations, took measures to hide its existence by terraforming the El Nido archipelago and colonizing it with her human staff. FATE continues to subtly interfere in the settlers' lives, ostensibly to prevent them from interfering with history. FATE's goal is to possess Serge's body in order to get control of the Frozen Flame again.
Necessary Evil: Without FATE, the Dragonians would have easily taken over the present day.
Pinocchio Syndrome: Aims to use the Frozen Flame to evolve into a new, living species. The experimentation on El Nido's residents hints that she's been analyzing their behavior.
