That Miguel twist was made even more impactful with that unforgettable mournful battle theme and the broken Leene's Bell pocket dimension in background. You never forget a fight like that.
I remember getting stuck at Miguel as a kid. Literally just beat him with Lynx, Harle, Norris with no deaths. Harle’s LV 5 tech will protect anyone from going down to Holy Dragon sword, then just keep everyone’s HP in the high 200’s with Heal Alls. He definitely catches you off guard with the difficulty spike but I went in with no strategy and whooped him doing this.
Harlie still sucks on a 1st run I still had Holy Dragon Sword HER lv 5 tech used and I still had it to enough damage to 1 shot a 300 HP Lynx/250 HP Harlie INSTANTLY with it and even with Diminish used and Harlie NOT in the party I still barely had a 300 HP Lynx survive 1 use of Holy Dragon Sword IF ever. The PS1 version had a limited about of space/letters for techs/elements which is why the PS1 version had it as Holydragswd when he hits you you with it.
I looked at this and immediately thought, "Chrono Cross bosses aren't all THAT bad!". Then you got to Miguel and I was like, "Yep, THAT boss is THAT bad". I guess I purged the bad memory because it was just THAT bad.
From one diehard Chrono Cross fan to another...you NAILED this list, Erick! I was curious where Miguel was going to be on your list and seeing him at #1 made me smile honestly. I have always prided myself on being prepared for boss battles and being able to strategize on the fly but I still remember getting completely WRECKED by Miguel the first time I faced him. He's not even close to being one of the final bosses in the game yet his battle is epically hard. I love Harle as well but I couldn't agree more with you buddy. You definitely don't want any black innate characters in this battle (although Lynx can't be helped). Dario is a solid #2 choice as well btw. He is very, very strong. The two bosses in Terra Tower that made your list literally prevented a good friend of mine from beating the game! He simply wasn't strong enough to defeat either boss so he gave up.
As soon as he said miguel. I had vietnam flashback, i actually used harley lynx and get this, janice. She was just a buffer and could be placed with anyone but she had the third most help at the time
I am a hard core CC kinda guy. I played it as a teenager. At first i was dubious when Dario wasnt #1. But then i heard that name. Miguel. Definitely. As a kid, i created an unwinnable gamestate with this guy as i didnt have the right party composition or items before entering the silent sea. I must have died and reset over 50 times. Granted, i was just a dumb kid and this was pretty much pre-internet (tho gamefaqs existed i didnt want to use), still, he haunts me. Maybe he did have plot armor. The difficulty of the game is very easy for me now, but thats life. There is something really timeless about this battle.
I'm surprised Garai isn't that high on your list, considering how I died to Garai twice on my first playthrough over a decade ago despite using a strategy guide from the internet. Even with Diminish, Garai still hits like a truck and and my healings couldn't keep up. As for Miguel, I surprisingly didn't run into any big troubles at beating him while using the same Diminish strategy that apparently didn't help much against Garai. Seems like I had a similar experience to whoever wrote that old, printed strategy guide I also referenced during my first playthrough - with Garai being considered as the hardest boss and Miguel being only a little less difficult than Garai. Dario? That is why bringing Fargo into the Black Dragon fight (or into whichever dragon fights) is a must. A Black Plate stolen from the Black Dragon makes Riddel IMMUNE to Dario's Black-elemental attacks, so you are free to load her up with White offensive spells and have her as the ONLY character casting those White spells.
I had a lot of trouble with garai but it's on me. I didn't quite understand the mechanics and was using a magazine to get directions since my English was terrible at time. If I had some more knowledge about the game mechanics I'd have an easier time with him. Funny enough I got hang of Dario quite easily by myself.
He should be on this list without the PS4 cheats Triple Cut/Will Breaker will easily do over 300 damage Lynx killing him instantly and Harlie's lv 5 tech will still NOT make him or her SURVIVE it.
agreed this cross was very easy imo except for Dario, I also had trouble with optional boss dragoon rider in front of the fort . but that boss only appears if you are under leveled
Diminish is also your best friend. Pair that with Sprigg's Doppelgang into either WightKnight (if you got it) or Lagoonate makes the fight a lot easier.
Perhaps you're too much acostumed to easy difficulty on games. Because Chrono Cross ISN'T a difficult game. God's sake, I did beat it twice no probs besides clues of 'where-to' on 99-2000. Just pay some attention and that's all.
Ozzie: what no honorable mention? Flea: duuude whyy Slash: we’re giving away a curved sword, a sash and ozzie’s pants you can wear it on your head too 😄
Moonglasses really makes beating some of these bosses easier. The straight 25% Damage reduction is a godsend. Grabbed them in my 2nd playthrough and you don't know how many times it saved me haha
On a 2nd run those are NOT useful at all due to stealing the armors off all 6 Dragon bosses and letting Lynx/Serge absorb those as for Dario its nearly impossible to poison him since theirs barely any way to CAUSE that besides From Carnivore which in turn I'll never actually use it.
Many bosses can get REALLY easy if you just abuse trap elements, specially those mid/late bosses like the dragons and fort dragonia ones. You can make yourself a good arsenal of level 5 elements at Buniyp (inferno and free fall) and Son of a Gun (holy light)
@@gary9708 I farmed those elements like crazy. Also, the last fight against Solt and Pepper are good resource for Earth Quake and ThundaStorm as well. Dario and Miguel are the only bosses that you needed to cheese. Miguel is arguable harder because you didn't have late game cheese equipment in regular New Game while Dario could be completely neutralized with Black Plate or Red element cheese. Fire mini Dragon was actually harder due to early game stats as well.
@@zhaoyun255 Please stop, nostalgia is hitting hard right now and I'm really tempted to play it for the 12th time hahahaha I need to finish Tales of Vesperia rn D:
yep this is accurate when you played it when your a kid in the 90s and u just rely on offensive elements. but now I finished it quite easily doing basic attacks and buffs and debuffs rather than using spells, diminish is a lifesaver when u do it like what I do and I use sprigg for damage and buffs with wight night. i just did this style coz I dont fight random encounter in the remaster so I lack the money to buy multiple elements and traps it turns out its much more easier to debuff their magic attacks using diminish then buff ur normal attacks with stamina ACC ull be attacking fierce attack a lot doing massive dmg. plus eagle eyes too .
One tip in the Dario fight is to put the Black Plate from the Black Dragon on her. It really helps protect her Dario tends to target her for Elements, at least he did for me. Surprised FATE wasn't on here, as she can be hard, though like with Dario, the Black Plate on Serge really helps.
Using Red elements on Dario (Inferno, Magma Burst and even Fireball) is the best and secure strategy. On first turn just use first attack and a Level 1 Red element. He will use Nimble. Second use first attack until your Stamina remain 1.0, then use red element, he will use Nimble. Keep doing this and you will beat Dario with no damage.
I played this game on the original playstation and the best tip I can give is make sure you buy your elemental traps as early as possible. Some elements can only be obtained through them and that's a great strategy against certain bosses.
Some of these will be tough on a first time player, but my biggest tip i could give a new player for bosses is to take advantage of the fact you can run from any enemy including bosses. Buy all the trap elements (probably anywhere from 2-5 of each minus the summons) and when you notice a boss uses one of those elements run away and set the traps to your grid so you can both negate the damage and gain a powerful new element.
11:28 I have to kinda disagree. I fought Dario after stealing the Black Plate. If you consistently have Riddel hit him with white elements (wearing the black plate) while having your other two characters hit him with red elements, then he should not get an actual turn in and just counter-attacks. Red elements make him counter with numble which doesn't really have much effect. White elements triggers a powerful black tech, but don't damage the black plate wearer. But, if you don't know what you're doing, this fight could be tough. Thanks for great content though.
You know I've played chrono cross over a dozen times and I somehow never knew about Criosphinx, I always thought Dario was the only super boss you could do besides the NG+ ozzie gang.
@@EsperUltima Nope, it's in the original. You have to activate the Sand Boil on Earth Dragon Isle in home world. Fun facts though; the elements you use are in the order to use on the final boss later to get the true ending and if you beat it the Hard way (Aka not solving the riddles) The reward is pretty good: it's an accessory that boosts the wearers damage output by 25%
Some of the ones I found particularly hard when I first played the game way back when: The Dwarves/The Hi-Ho Tank, the Hydra, Garai, Sun-of-a-Gun, Miguel, pretty much all of the dragons. Of course, at the time I played this game it was my very first RPG game and I didn't quite understand the concepts such as better equipment and strategy, so I lost quite a lot before I got a handle on it.
I'm late, but the easiest way to beat Dario is to put the black plate on Riddel and have her pummel him with your best White elements. He'll counter with Conductarod (his powerful Black attack), which will heal her to full, which is good because he seems to focus his physical attacks on her.
Love this game and list is tru for new players esp back when we were kids. But as a vet none of these bosses are hard only Dairo if you fight him before you take on the dragons. The biggest thing new and old players do not know is the hidden star your get fighting up to 5 battles after you receive a real star. People plz do not turn off the no encounter and make sure you fight 5 times after you killed a boss even if you need to back track cause 80% of the time you get a hidden star and it ads up greatly!
That only for the ones you used on party, them one battle it's enough for others sometimes Tho, it's almost impossible do it with all stars, like Viper > Lynx. I remember when I was a kid I managed to get serge with 957hp at 99 stars and Leah capped. It's like 5hp per star if you maximize it. Also, 0 star count too.
Hard bosses in Cross? Only Miguel. And only if you are not leveled up, don't have any holy light traps, without stats up and down's. All others are pretty easy-normal. May be Dario, but without Black plate.
@@kaizoku8087 and I stated the condition in which Dario can bring troubles: you don't have Black plate. With it Dario is very easy boss with simple pattern.
@@nyarlathotep641 1. Because you introduced the limiter “only” and then continued to negate it by adding another subject “maybe Dario” you contradicted your own statement. 2. Just because you have a black plate it doesn’t save you from him swinging his masamune at you for melee damage in between your melee.
@@kaizoku8087 just add any white element attack and bang you are healed from dark tech. Also build Lynx on phys def - helps alot. There are about 3 tactics against him with about 95% of winning. So yeah, with BP Dario is pretty easy.
After watching this video I decided to load up CC and give Miguel a shot. There are probably strategy guides that already have mentioned this, but I found the strategy I used after repeated deaths somewhat poetic. As I read the guys dialog for the seventh time I thought to myself perhaps he tells you how to beat him. The answer was status effects. Changing the unchanging place of Miguel. Every time I used one no matter the color he used his strong or weak minded magic on his turn. I didn't see holy dragon sword once. Maybe it was luck, but I tried this strategy several times and had the same results. I ended up beating him with physical attacks alone somewhat quickly. Honestly, I was so surprised I wanted to share it with my fellow fans.
In heard some mixed reviews of Chrono cross, specifically the new port but it looks soooo good and like an amazing rpg. Definitely on my list, only regret is that I can't buy it yet lol
A review i watched earlier said they got the best performance on switch in handheld mode. I personally can't recommend the game enough, and i haven't ever seen a sincere critique of the game besides "buh it's not a perfect sequel". That being said, the latter 1/3 of the game won't make a lot of sense if you haven't played Chrono Trigger.
I like the theory that Miguel is an older Crono (or a version of him from an alternate timeline), and the difficulty of the boss really adds weight to it
Yeah. When I saw Miguel in the #1 spot. I remembered that theory. I like it too. The red hair, the name of his daughter, the white/lightning element and the fact that it is stuck in the Leene Square being the hardest boss of the game.
The only real purpose the fight with Criosphinx serves is to teach you which order to cast elements in to you use Chrono Cross. There isn't really a point to the boss fight otherwise. I think that the first time through only Miguel actually gave me a ton of trouble through the game because I wasn't prepared for his Holy Dragon Sword. It's certainly a boss fight that'll teach you the importance of looking at the field effect and just how big of a difference it can actually make in the amount of damage you received. Dario might've also been extremely difficult. But everything after the Lynx/Serge portion of game (basically after Son of a Gun) is surprisingly really easy (particularly if you recruited Glenn). It's kind of odd. So I actually found the differences in difficulty for some bosses to be extremely lopsided at times.
and without the Yellow Plate/PS4 enemies can't hit you with anything cheat its nearly impossible even at star lv 99 850 to 999 HP its TRIPLE Yellow elements can and WOULD still KILL 3x 999 HP party members EASILY.
So maybe it's because I did all the side quests and optional bosses, but I didn't have any issues with any of the bosses. Hell, I didn't even have any issues with the final boss either. In fact, I was struggling to NOT kill the final boss before I could properly use the CC for the good ending 😂 Everyone is making comments about Miguel, but I went into that fight with Lynx, Fargo, and Spriggs. I pretty much used that party up until the point I got Riddel and and swapped her in, removing Spriggs. And then when Serge was reborn, I swapped Fargo out with Glenn.
On the other hand, if you learn to use the traps (and know when to equip them) they can really be a life saver in some of these battles. I've learned to always trap Ultra Nova from the Sky Dragon.
Actually the hardest bosses weren't typically the final boss in JRPG's. It was usually the optional bosses (when they had them), which by tradition has carried into modern times. FF was notorious for this. I think even the earlier DW/DQ had fights harder than the final. Even Chrono trigger the final could be easy or hard depending on how you tackled it and which era you went after it. Final bosses are typically set at a difficulty to match on par with the rest of the progression throughout the game. Some broke status quo, so you realize I'm not saying all of them. But there was definitely a big trend with optional or post game fights being way more challenging than the final boss.
Dario is easy if you know the strategy. Equip Riddle with the Black plate. Use Glenn or another character with good physical damage as your third party member. Load Riddle up with white elements. Attack with Serge and your third party member USING ONLY PHYSICAL ATTACKS. Attack with Riddle using a white element every round. Dario will always attack Riddle first until she dies so as long as you don’t use elements with your other two characters Dario will leave them alone. Every time you use the white element with riddle he will retaliate with his black tech but it will heal the physical damage he has done to Riddle because of the black plate. If Riddle happens to die, revive and heal her immediately with the other 2 party members.
No she is still PURE CRAP ONLY Black Plate Serge/Lynx on a first run NEVER on Riddle against Dario and NO she won't always be HIT by Dario in the first attack which is why the Black Plate should NEVER be equipped on her she won't survive his 3x NORMAL hits anyways.
i basically killed almost everyone first try except dario and the light dragon which is crazy . that holy breath is deadly. anyway for some reasons my characters used to do much more damage than the ones in this video, i wonder why. my physical attackers did almos around 100 - 200 damage every hit. when i got the mstermune i did around 200- 600 damage every hit. i thought they were weak in defense but it looks like that's normal
this is a great list I'm playing radical dreamers edition first time ever playing the game, this channel has great coverage of crono cross. dario was the hardest for me, haven't fought sphinx yet, got through miguel the first try but omg that holy dragon sword though and I was using a guide for my first playthrough so my characters and gear were optimal
Just finished this game for the first time in years and this list is completely accurate. My big takeaway though is how bizarrely easy the final bosses are. Dragon God is a complete joke to the point where I feel I either got extremely lucky or the boss is glitched somehow. How am I getting hit for like single digit damage constantly? And of course the real final boss is essentially a puzzle and even if you brute force without the chrono cross that boss is still easy. It's a game where it's built to not really allow overleveling yet you still feel like you are at the end.
Yeah, even I noticed that back then. And final bosses are supposed to be the most difficult. Maybe the game designers decided to cut us some slack after all the other uber powerful enemies we faced along the way.
@@rdphoenix07 it can be discouraging when a final boss is suddenly an insane difficulty spike, but at least make it interesting. Dragon God is the coolest boss in the game and at the same time the easiest and it's just weird they went with that.
Overall a fairly easy game, but Dario, Garai and Miguel could definitely be challenging. The final boss can also be a pain if you're going for the best ending.
On repeat playthrough I already prepared Holy Light Trap for Miguel and Son of a Gun. It saves me more trouble by a lot. Hydra, Use Razzly and spam green elements.
My friend never played cc before and died to sun of a gun multiple times. But, believe it or not, didn't struggle at all with Miguel. He beat him first attempt. I watched it and I was absolutely floored hahaha
Played this game first time in 2022 and i dont find it hard at all, except for Dario, I also noticed that if you try to beat him too early it is even more difficult, heals himself every 2 turns. if you continue the story of the game and then come back to him, he no longer use cure and you win easily.. Anyway very enjoyable game. Is a trip like FF7, very speculative game, Chrono lore is fascinating.
A lot of defenses against the bosses I saw would be Trap elements. You completely negate damage AND snag a powerful element to use to use after the fight! The best part? You can RUN AND KEEP the trapped elements! Interesting list tho man, I love this game so much and its fascinating to see how others play it
Son of a gun was simple! I beat him in two turns, he only changed mode just before dying. The taurosid that preceded him however was bs. Took 21 turns per char, had no magic left at all( having set every slot to the boss weakness) ,enemy healed 75 dmg while I was dealing 30-50 . At this point in the story I felt locked in with no options left . I think the victory came with luck.
Yeah, the Taurosoid was a bitch to handle my first playthrough. This time however I was ready for him. I won the fight pretty easily but was so frustrated he didn't use Tornado. I had a trap element set and he didn't use it, but of course my first time around, he spams the hell out of it when I wasn't prepared. Figures, right?
I'm going to be binge watching everything you have for Chrono Cross. Really excited to finally be playing this game and wanna make sure I do it right. Thank you sir for all the info and tips! edit: Son of Sun is back!? Yup definitely needed to see this. In Chrono Trigger that boss will destroy you without a guide.
You say that there's no way to completely defend against attacks like Super Nova but you're forgetting one thing: Trap Elements. They probably won't be available to you until mid to late game but once you get them, you can set a trap early in the fight and it'll completely negate that particular enemy attack and as a bonus, you'll get the element to use yourself later. Pretty solid and accurate list otherwise. I remember the first time I played the game, it took me the better part of a week to get past Miguel. Of course I was a stupid kid who was used to just barreling through problems in my games so it helped teach me to stop and think strategically. Another note for Darius: Use only Green elements to heal. It's safer that way.
Can't agree more with this list. The only thing about Dario is that he can be stupid hard or stupid easy once you know how he counterattacks and setup the party correctly. I can beat Dario with Lynx-Riddel-Draggy and take 0 damage.
Trap Elements not only invalidate spells like Ultranova, they STEAL them! A single high-level Element trap could easily turn those tough fights around. Also, taking someone of a similar Element type as the boss into the fight, and making them a healer, really levels the playing field.
Honestly I can’t recall ever getting stuck at Miguel even when playing back in the day. It’s not a flex just he never gave me a problem lol. Dario on the other hand I can agree he is up there.
In the part of the hydra I saw you were using sea swallow and I believe Leenas first weapon too. Before viper manor I had copper swallow. After you get the boat, you can go to water dragon island to farm iron and have iron weapons for all 3 characters before hydra. First time I played, I thought it was hard, but if you focus on equips and allocate good elements, most of the game is easy. But I kinda agree with your list
Sun of a Gun really? He can be easily beaten by using weak attacks all the time, he only has like 300 HP. I would put Marcy or Mini Dragon instead, at the point in the game where you fight them they are challenging
I feel like we were a little bit stupid back then (bein' considerate here) and didn't spread the heals and defense elements between our characters. Instead we filled them with offensive elements thus making the battles harder than it really were.
Erick, I have a game you should play. It is called Seraphic Blue, I can send it to you but i need a private means to message you with the link. Seraphic Blue is a 50 hour JRPG with one of the best stories ive ever seen, itll pull your heart strings. The combat system was also waaaaay ahead of its time. I hope to hear from you.
I didn't fight hydra, i decided not to save Kid so i can get Glenn, but like. Why are you still using the starting bone weapons when you can get iron on your first visit to Termina?
Miguel is hard and also frustrating! there's a LONG and UNSKIPPABLE cutscene before the battle. So everytime he kills you (and he will) you'll have to watch the same cutscene over and over again! Dario is hard because he hits like a monster truck! he's the main reason why you SHOULD battle some monsters. A single digit hp can make a lot of difference in this game!
Honestly, I can't see why people find hard to fight against the dragons, the Hydra, the twin black & white bosses on Terra Tower, and ESPECIALLY Miguel. No bullshit guys! The "green" dragon is a headache with its poison inflicted status ailment green element techs, yes. The dwarves in Hydra Marsh are a pain in the ass when you're at early game? You bet! The red dragon first fight also offers a though challenge if you undertake him. Cryonsphynx is, technically, the hardest boss, no discussion, but that's a very special case, an exception. The "sun" boss in Fort Dragonia and Sky Dragon causes you a headache ONLY IF you want to capture Holy Light and Ultra Nova, respectively. The one REAL son of bitch in the entire game is called Dario - the spirit of his father also may be a burdensome fight if you were caught by surprise. Dario is a boss you never forget for the rest of your life. Anything else in this game is a sweet walk in the heaven fields compared to him. To finish, CC is not difficult to beat. Not at all, actually, regardless what some may say to you. Even if you go for 100% of the game, it's nothing "oh god, this is painful!". Go, play Chrono Cross, go for the 100%, but as piece of advice, what I would only say to you is: always be prepared.
Hydra was easy for me. Garai can be tough as Hell. Diminish is a MUST for him and Miguel. Son of Gun was easy enough. Luxator can be annoying. Turn black on yourself then let loose with the Mastermune. Gravator, Mastermune is your friend. Black Dragon just takes a bit, that's all. With Green Dragon, Carnivore traps forever. White Dragon, Diminish. Criospinx is an absolute beast but worth defeating. Dario MUST be fought as Lynx on your first playthrough. Miguel has caused the most game overs for me. Diminish and heal and you should be fine if just barely.
That Miguel twist was made even more impactful with that unforgettable mournful battle theme and the broken Leene's Bell pocket dimension in background. You never forget a fight like that.
I remember getting stuck at Miguel as a kid. Literally just beat him with Lynx, Harle, Norris with no deaths. Harle’s LV 5 tech will protect anyone from going down to Holy Dragon sword, then just keep everyone’s HP in the high 200’s with Heal Alls. He definitely catches you off guard with the difficulty spike but I went in with no strategy and whooped him doing this.
Wasn't it Holy DRAG Sword??
Wonder why I remembered it being that....
@@damien9683 Space limitations.
Using imbecile and Diminish is better, but in this case you have to focus on physical damage with Strenghten on Lynx and Lo Res on Miguel.
Harlie still sucks on a 1st run I still had Holy Dragon Sword HER lv 5 tech used and I still had it to enough damage to 1 shot a 300 HP Lynx/250 HP Harlie INSTANTLY with it and even with Diminish used and Harlie NOT in the party I still barely had a 300 HP Lynx survive 1 use of Holy Dragon Sword IF ever.
The PS1 version had a limited about of space/letters for techs/elements which is why the PS1 version had it as Holydragswd when he hits you you with it.
I haven't played Chrono Cross in 15 years and I instantly knew who was #1 when I saw the thumbnail. That SOB scarred me for life
You should pick up the remaster. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this game with my adult brain knowing how to actually utilize the games battle system
I looked at this and immediately thought, "Chrono Cross bosses aren't all THAT bad!". Then you got to Miguel and I was like, "Yep, THAT boss is THAT bad". I guess I purged the bad memory because it was just THAT bad.
From one diehard Chrono Cross fan to another...you NAILED this list, Erick! I was curious where Miguel was going to be on your list and seeing him at #1 made me smile honestly. I have always prided myself on being prepared for boss battles and being able to strategize on the fly but I still remember getting completely WRECKED by Miguel the first time I faced him. He's not even close to being one of the final bosses in the game yet his battle is epically hard. I love Harle as well but I couldn't agree more with you buddy. You definitely don't want any black innate characters in this battle (although Lynx can't be helped). Dario is a solid #2 choice as well btw. He is very, very strong. The two bosses in Terra Tower that made your list literally prevented a good friend of mine from beating the game! He simply wasn't strong enough to defeat either boss so he gave up.
As soon as he said miguel. I had vietnam flashback, i actually used harley lynx and get this, janice. She was just a buffer and could be placed with anyone but she had the third most help at the time
I am a hard core CC kinda guy. I played it as a teenager. At first i was dubious when Dario wasnt #1. But then i heard that name. Miguel. Definitely. As a kid, i created an unwinnable gamestate with this guy as i didnt have the right party composition or items before entering the silent sea. I must have died and reset over 50 times. Granted, i was just a dumb kid and this was pretty much pre-internet (tho gamefaqs existed i didnt want to use), still, he haunts me. Maybe he did have plot armor. The difficulty of the game is very easy for me now, but thats life. There is something really timeless about this battle.
Is very hard PolisPolice (It is a large mecha encountered at the entrance to Chronopolis which protects the location from intruders.)
The White Plate helped me a lot, plus PhysNegate/Negate Physical if you bring a Yellow Innate character with you definitely saved me.
I'm surprised Garai isn't that high on your list, considering how I died to Garai twice on my first playthrough over a decade ago despite using a strategy guide from the internet. Even with Diminish, Garai still hits like a truck and and my healings couldn't keep up. As for Miguel, I surprisingly didn't run into any big troubles at beating him while using the same Diminish strategy that apparently didn't help much against Garai. Seems like I had a similar experience to whoever wrote that old, printed strategy guide I also referenced during my first playthrough - with Garai being considered as the hardest boss and Miguel being only a little less difficult than Garai.
Dario? That is why bringing Fargo into the Black Dragon fight (or into whichever dragon fights) is a must. A Black Plate stolen from the Black Dragon makes Riddel IMMUNE to Dario's Black-elemental attacks, so you are free to load her up with White offensive spells and have her as the ONLY character casting those White spells.
I had a lot of trouble with garai but it's on me. I didn't quite understand the mechanics and was using a magazine to get directions since my English was terrible at time. If I had some more knowledge about the game mechanics I'd have an easier time with him. Funny enough I got hang of Dario quite easily by myself.
He should be on this list without the PS4 cheats Triple Cut/Will Breaker will easily do over 300 damage Lynx killing him instantly and Harlie's lv 5 tech will still NOT make him or her SURVIVE it.
Honestly, I found Crono Cross to be one of the easiest games I've ever played. But first play through Dario extremely hard.
agreed this cross was very easy imo except for Dario, I also had trouble with optional boss dragoon rider in front of the fort . but that boss only appears if you are under leveled
Totally agree
@@thesentry100 I think he only appear if you choose to not help find an antidote for Kid
Throw on black plate on Lynx or Serge you will be good.
Thats persona 1 for me, a lot of people say its hard but if you abuse its own system it becomed easy, grindy bit easy nonetheless
One way to make some of these battle much easier is to trap elements
Yeah, that really helped me against the Dragons, especially the Sky Dragon.
I haven't bothered with traps at all prolly why I have only like three elements higher than level four
Diminish is also your best friend. Pair that with Sprigg's Doppelgang into either WightKnight (if you got it) or Lagoonate makes the fight a lot easier.
lol yes. I was surprised, and slightly disappointed, that they aren't mentioned in the videos at all
I've always found this game to be super easy except for garai and miguel.
When I originally played this game, I was stuck on Miguel for like 3 months
Yeah, innate white bosses hit hard, but rest are pretty easy
@@renzovihelmoayalaalarco9520 inmates whites are hard with lynx and innate blacks are hard with serge
Yeah, I just leveled up alot, and beat them all pretty easy, but its been awhile since I've played it.
I get PTSD when Miguel uses holy dragon sword.
Perhaps you're too much acostumed to easy difficulty on games. Because Chrono Cross ISN'T a difficult game. God's sake, I did beat it twice no probs besides clues of 'where-to' on 99-2000. Just pay some attention and that's all.
Ozzie: what no honorable mention?
Flea: duuude whyy
Slash: we’re giving away a curved sword, a sash and ozzie’s pants you can wear it on your head too 😄
For me, Miguel and Fate were always the hardest. Looking forward to getting back to it!
Moonglasses really makes beating some of these bosses easier. The straight 25% Damage reduction is a godsend. Grabbed them in my 2nd playthrough and you don't know how many times it saved me haha
On a 2nd run those are NOT useful at all due to stealing the armors off all 6 Dragon bosses and letting Lynx/Serge absorb those as for Dario its nearly impossible to poison him since theirs barely any way to CAUSE that besides From Carnivore which in turn I'll never actually use it.
Man, somebody forgot that Trap Element exist.
Many bosses can get REALLY easy if you just abuse trap elements, specially those mid/late bosses like the dragons and fort dragonia ones. You can make yourself a good arsenal of level 5 elements at Buniyp (inferno and free fall) and Son of a Gun (holy light)
@@gary9708 I farmed those elements like crazy. Also, the last fight against Solt and Pepper are good resource for Earth Quake and ThundaStorm as well. Dario and Miguel are the only bosses that you needed to cheese. Miguel is arguable harder because you didn't have late game cheese equipment in regular New Game while Dario could be completely neutralized with Black Plate or Red element cheese. Fire mini Dragon was actually harder due to early game stats as well.
@@zhaoyun255 Please stop, nostalgia is hitting hard right now and I'm really tempted to play it for the 12th time hahahaha I need to finish Tales of Vesperia rn D:
@@gary9708 Bruh, doing the 10th run right now while making sure that everyone skill is 9999 uses for maximum damage output.
yep this is accurate when you played it when your a kid in the 90s and u just rely on offensive elements. but now I finished it quite easily doing basic attacks and buffs and debuffs rather than using spells, diminish is a lifesaver when u do it like what I do and I use sprigg for damage and buffs with wight night. i just did this style coz I dont fight random encounter in the remaster so I lack the money to buy multiple elements and traps it turns out its much more easier to debuff their magic attacks using diminish then buff ur normal attacks with stamina ACC ull be attacking fierce attack a lot doing massive dmg. plus eagle eyes too .
One tip in the Dario fight is to put the Black Plate from the Black Dragon on her. It really helps protect her Dario tends to target her for Elements, at least he did for me. Surprised FATE wasn't on here, as she can be hard, though like with Dario, the Black Plate on Serge really helps.
Facts! I said the same thing before 5. I said fate better be on here. And the only secert boss isnt on here?
Using Red elements on Dario (Inferno, Magma Burst and even Fireball) is the best and secure strategy. On first turn just use first attack and a Level 1 Red element. He will use Nimble. Second use first attack until your Stamina remain 1.0, then use red element, he will use Nimble. Keep doing this and you will beat Dario with no damage.
NO Riddel is PURE CRAP NEVER Black Plate her against Dario ONLY equip it on Serge/Lynx only I'll still fight him with Lynx.
For Sun of a Gun you can use holy light traps to not only nullify one of his strongest attacks, but steal it form him to have your own.
I played this game on the original playstation and the best tip I can give is make sure you buy your elemental traps as early as possible. Some elements can only be obtained through them and that's a great strategy against certain bosses.
Some of these will be tough on a first time player, but my biggest tip i could give a new player for bosses is to take advantage of the fact you can run from any enemy including bosses. Buy all the trap elements (probably anywhere from 2-5 of each minus the summons) and when you notice a boss uses one of those elements run away and set the traps to your grid so you can both negate the damage and gain a powerful new element.
Another big tip. Diminish. It neuters boss techniques and elements even if they buff.
11:28 I have to kinda disagree. I fought Dario after stealing the Black Plate. If you consistently have Riddel hit him with white elements (wearing the black plate) while having your other two characters hit him with red elements, then he should not get an actual turn in and just counter-attacks. Red elements make him counter with numble which doesn't really have much effect. White elements triggers a powerful black tech, but don't damage the black plate wearer. But, if you don't know what you're doing, this fight could be tough. Thanks for great content though.
I struggled more on Dario than Miguel. But yeah Miguel still one heck of a Boss
Here I thought Miguel would willingly sacrifice himself in the battle until he whips out the Holy Dragon Sword.
You know I've played chrono cross over a dozen times and I somehow never knew about Criosphinx, I always thought Dario was the only super boss you could do besides the NG+ ozzie gang.
I was looking for this...I played it dozens of time as well and never knew this boss exists...maybe this boss only exists in the remaster version.
@@EsperUltima Nope, it's in the original. You have to activate the Sand Boil on Earth Dragon Isle in home world. Fun facts though; the elements you use are in the order to use on the final boss later to get the true ending and if you beat it the Hard way (Aka not solving the riddles) The reward is pretty good: it's an accessory that boosts the wearers damage output by 25%
Brace is not a debuff, brace is a consumable element that cures sprain
He probably meant dizzy or sprain, but yeah, u're absolutely right
@@gary9708 he meant sprain, but said it like 3 times
@@ja1799 It happens hahaha I used to call "Funghi" (which is like "mushroom") instead of "Funguy" when I was younger hahaha
Some of the ones I found particularly hard when I first played the game way back when: The Dwarves/The Hi-Ho Tank, the Hydra, Garai, Sun-of-a-Gun, Miguel, pretty much all of the dragons. Of course, at the time I played this game it was my very first RPG game and I didn't quite understand the concepts such as better equipment and strategy, so I lost quite a lot before I got a handle on it.
I remember killing Dario with normal attacks and Heal All only. I discover the "counter with Numble" tactic years later. lol
Only Dario and Cryosphinx that i considered hardest boss in this game, and i think they're not too hard than final fantasy optional boss after all
I'm late, but the easiest way to beat Dario is to put the black plate on Riddel and have her pummel him with your best White elements. He'll counter with Conductarod (his powerful Black attack), which will heal her to full, which is good because he seems to focus his physical attacks on her.
Miguel.
Dat photon beam spam lol
Very deadly because you're lynx when you fight him.
Love this game and list is tru for new players esp back when we were kids. But as a vet none of these bosses are hard only Dairo if you fight him before you take on the dragons. The biggest thing new and old players do not know is the hidden star your get fighting up to 5 battles after you receive a real star. People plz do not turn off the no encounter and make sure you fight 5 times after you killed a boss even if you need to back track cause 80% of the time you get a hidden star and it ads up greatly!
That only for the ones you used on party, them one battle it's enough for others sometimes
Tho, it's almost impossible do it with all stars, like Viper > Lynx.
I remember when I was a kid I managed to get serge with 957hp at 99 stars and Leah capped. It's like 5hp per star if you maximize it.
Also, 0 star count too.
Miguel and the friggin Sky Dragon made shout at the tv when they kicked my ass for the 30th time and when I first beat them. Lol.
Hard bosses in Cross? Only Miguel. And only if you are not leveled up, don't have any holy light traps, without stats up and down's. All others are pretty easy-normal. May be Dario, but without Black plate.
The simple fact you said “Only Miguel” and later said “May be Dario” contradicts yourself.
@@kaizoku8087 and I stated the condition in which Dario can bring troubles: you don't have Black plate. With it Dario is very easy boss with simple pattern.
@@nyarlathotep641 1. Because you introduced the limiter “only” and then continued to negate it by adding another subject “maybe Dario” you contradicted your own statement.
2. Just because you have a black plate it doesn’t save you from him swinging his masamune at you for melee damage in between your melee.
@@kaizoku8087 just add any white element attack and bang you are healed from dark tech. Also build Lynx on phys def - helps alot. There are about 3 tactics against him with about 95% of winning.
So yeah, with BP Dario is pretty easy.
and ONLY if the BP is NOT set to the nearly worthless Riddel so give it to LYNX instead.
Hey CC community. Any "nuzlock" or limited/hardmode ideas?
Totaly agree with ur first place he is nasty as hell
After watching this video I decided to load up CC and give Miguel a shot. There are probably strategy guides that already have mentioned this, but I found the strategy I used after repeated deaths somewhat poetic. As I read the guys dialog for the seventh time I thought to myself perhaps he tells you how to beat him. The answer was status effects. Changing the unchanging place of Miguel. Every time I used one no matter the color he used his strong or weak minded magic on his turn. I didn't see holy dragon sword once. Maybe it was luck, but I tried this strategy several times and had the same results. I ended up beating him with physical attacks alone somewhat quickly. Honestly, I was so surprised I wanted to share it with my fellow fans.
In heard some mixed reviews of Chrono cross, specifically the new port but it looks soooo good and like an amazing rpg. Definitely on my list, only regret is that I can't buy it yet lol
seem to run fine on ps4/switch appearing steam version having some problem
A review i watched earlier said they got the best performance on switch in handheld mode. I personally can't recommend the game enough, and i haven't ever seen a sincere critique of the game besides "buh it's not a perfect sequel". That being said, the latter 1/3 of the game won't make a lot of sense if you haven't played Chrono Trigger.
If fps is a big issue for you I say do a rom. It runs like butter.
It's an amazing jrpg I still haven't played a modern game that's better imo
@@Sagasaurus That's been a problem on emulation too. Breaking the game's hard FPS cap causes problems.
Battle vs Dario with the black plate makes the fight much easier, but without it... oh boy xD
Ah yes, Miguel and his Holy Dragon Sword....
FML. At least by the time of Dario, you might have the White Dragon Plate.
I like the theory that Miguel is an older Crono (or a version of him from an alternate timeline), and the difficulty of the boss really adds weight to it
Yeah. When I saw Miguel in the #1 spot. I remembered that theory. I like it too. The red hair, the name of his daughter, the white/lightning element and the fact that it is stuck in the Leene Square being the hardest boss of the game.
Son of a gun was one of mine during my first game play.
The only real purpose the fight with Criosphinx serves is to teach you which order to cast elements in to you use Chrono Cross. There isn't really a point to the boss fight otherwise.
I think that the first time through only Miguel actually gave me a ton of trouble through the game because I wasn't prepared for his Holy Dragon Sword. It's certainly a boss fight that'll teach you the importance of looking at the field effect and just how big of a difference it can actually make in the amount of damage you received. Dario might've also been extremely difficult. But everything after the Lynx/Serge portion of game (basically after Son of a Gun) is surprisingly really easy (particularly if you recruited Glenn). It's kind of odd. So I actually found the differences in difficulty for some bosses to be extremely lopsided at times.
Defeating Chrisphinx is the only way to get Sunglasses, a great accessory
and without the Yellow Plate/PS4 enemies can't hit you with anything cheat its nearly impossible even at star lv 99 850 to 999 HP its TRIPLE Yellow elements can and WOULD still KILL 3x 999 HP party members EASILY.
I definitely wasn’t the same human being after the fight with Miguel, until this day that’s the most memorable rpg boss fight I ever faced
So maybe it's because I did all the side quests and optional bosses, but I didn't have any issues with any of the bosses. Hell, I didn't even have any issues with the final boss either. In fact, I was struggling to NOT kill the final boss before I could properly use the CC for the good ending 😂 Everyone is making comments about Miguel, but I went into that fight with Lynx, Fargo, and Spriggs. I pretty much used that party up until the point I got Riddel and and swapped her in, removing Spriggs. And then when Serge was reborn, I swapped Fargo out with Glenn.
On the other hand, if you learn to use the traps (and know when to equip them) they can really be a life saver in some of these battles. I've learned to always trap Ultra Nova from the Sky Dragon.
Actually the hardest bosses weren't typically the final boss in JRPG's. It was usually the optional bosses (when they had them), which by tradition has carried into modern times. FF was notorious for this. I think even the earlier DW/DQ had fights harder than the final. Even Chrono trigger the final could be easy or hard depending on how you tackled it and which era you went after it. Final bosses are typically set at a difficulty to match on par with the rest of the progression throughout the game. Some broke status quo, so you realize I'm not saying all of them. But there was definitely a big trend with optional or post game fights being way more challenging than the final boss.
I still have the old strategy guide for this game. I remember it helping a lot back in the day for some of these bosses.
Hey, me, too.
@3:45: Son of a gun is an expression meaning the exact same thing as son of a B...
Just in case you didn't know the reference of that expression.
Dario is easy if you know the strategy. Equip Riddle with the Black plate. Use Glenn or another character with good physical damage as your third party member. Load Riddle up with white elements. Attack with Serge and your third party member USING ONLY PHYSICAL ATTACKS. Attack with Riddle using a white element every round. Dario will always attack Riddle first until she dies so as long as you don’t use elements with your other two characters Dario will leave them alone. Every time you use the white element with riddle he will retaliate with his black tech but it will heal the physical damage he has done to Riddle because of the black plate. If Riddle happens to die, revive and heal her immediately with the other 2 party members.
No she is still PURE CRAP ONLY Black Plate Serge/Lynx on a first run NEVER on Riddle against Dario and NO she won't always be HIT by Dario in the first attack which is why the Black Plate should NEVER be equipped on her she won't survive his 3x NORMAL hits anyways.
i basically killed almost everyone first try except dario and the light dragon which is crazy . that holy breath is deadly. anyway for some reasons my characters used to do much more damage than the ones in this video, i wonder why. my physical attackers did almos around 100 - 200 damage every hit. when i got the mstermune i did around 200- 600 damage every hit. i thought they were weak in defense but it looks like that's normal
this is a great list I'm playing radical dreamers edition first time ever playing the game, this channel has great coverage of crono cross. dario was the hardest for me, haven't fought sphinx yet, got through miguel the first try but omg that holy dragon sword though and I was using a guide for my first playthrough so my characters and gear were optimal
I had to skip to the end and see if it was Miguel. Glad it wasn't just me who thought it was a nuts ass fight lol
For me, Dario is the hardest; I don't why, I always have a hard time beating him..
Just finished this game for the first time in years and this list is completely accurate. My big takeaway though is how bizarrely easy the final bosses are. Dragon God is a complete joke to the point where I feel I either got extremely lucky or the boss is glitched somehow. How am I getting hit for like single digit damage constantly? And of course the real final boss is essentially a puzzle and even if you brute force without the chrono cross that boss is still easy. It's a game where it's built to not really allow overleveling yet you still feel like you are at the end.
Yeah, even I noticed that back then. And final bosses are supposed to be the most difficult. Maybe the game designers decided to cut us some slack after all the other uber powerful enemies we faced along the way.
@@rdphoenix07 it can be discouraging when a final boss is suddenly an insane difficulty spike, but at least make it interesting. Dragon God is the coolest boss in the game and at the same time the easiest and it's just weird they went with that.
For Miguel, two words:
Starky, MagNegate
son of a gun you can trap his elements... heal him to keep farming and even run away to save point once yoive done a bunch of this// it helps!
Overall a fairly easy game, but Dario, Garai and Miguel could definitely be challenging. The final boss can also be a pain if you're going for the best ending.
Dario. Nothing compares to Dario.
On repeat playthrough I already prepared Holy Light Trap for Miguel and Son of a Gun.
It saves me more trouble by a lot.
Hydra, Use Razzly and spam green elements.
Wasn’t there something about not using Razzly during the hydra fight in order to get her level 7 tech?
Correct but she still SUCKS as soon as she joins so I'll use Poshule and Guile or Nikki on a 1st run against it.
I remembrring having to face Miguel so mny times I was even thinking of leaving the game or restarting to make a better progress
The hydra and Dario gave me so much hell through the years.
I beat cryosphinx, in a normal game, in his time when there were no guides and with lynx, it was the hardest of the whole game, then Dario follows.
How get cure all early? I want to get from rare drop monster scholmate in eldonido but it’s to hard.
My friend never played cc before and died to sun of a gun multiple times. But, believe it or not, didn't struggle at all with Miguel. He beat him first attempt. I watched it and I was absolutely floored hahaha
Played this game first time in 2022 and i dont find it hard at all, except for Dario, I also noticed that if you try to beat him too early it is even more difficult, heals himself every 2 turns. if you continue the story of the game and then come back to him, he no longer use cure and you win easily.. Anyway very enjoyable game. Is a trip like FF7, very speculative game, Chrono lore is fascinating.
This vid bring back so many good and frustrating memories hahaha
Funny when I watched this because when I played this game as a kid(5th grade back on the PS1) I always did: Attack It until it Dies-strategy.
A lot of defenses against the bosses I saw would be Trap elements. You completely negate damage AND snag a powerful element to use to use after the fight! The best part? You can RUN AND KEEP the trapped elements! Interesting list tho man, I love this game so much and its fascinating to see how others play it
Son of a gun was simple! I beat him in two turns, he only changed mode just before dying. The taurosid that preceded him however was bs. Took 21 turns per char, had no magic left at all( having set every slot to the boss weakness) ,enemy healed 75 dmg while I was dealing 30-50 . At this point in the story I felt locked in with no options left . I think the victory came with luck.
Yeah, the Taurosoid was a bitch to handle my first playthrough. This time however I was ready for him. I won the fight pretty easily but was so frustrated he didn't use Tornado. I had a trap element set and he didn't use it, but of course my first time around, he spams the hell out of it when I wasn't prepared. Figures, right?
Serious question. Where did you get the Edelgard shirt. I have a mighty need.
I'm going to be binge watching everything you have for Chrono Cross. Really excited to finally be playing this game and wanna make sure I do it right.
Thank you sir for all the info and tips!
edit: Son of Sun is back!? Yup definitely needed to see this. In Chrono Trigger that boss will destroy you without a guide.
This is why I'm using the cheats in the remaster lol
You say that there's no way to completely defend against attacks like Super Nova but you're forgetting one thing: Trap Elements. They probably won't be available to you until mid to late game but once you get them, you can set a trap early in the fight and it'll completely negate that particular enemy attack and as a bonus, you'll get the element to use yourself later.
Pretty solid and accurate list otherwise. I remember the first time I played the game, it took me the better part of a week to get past Miguel. Of course I was a stupid kid who was used to just barreling through problems in my games so it helped teach me to stop and think strategically. Another note for Darius: Use only Green elements to heal. It's safer that way.
Trap elements make a few of those a bit easier but god damn did I quit this game as a kid because if Miguel and not come back to it for like a year.
Can't agree more with this list. The only thing about Dario is that he can be stupid hard or stupid easy once you know how he counterattacks and setup the party correctly. I can beat Dario with Lynx-Riddel-Draggy and take 0 damage.
Trap Elements not only invalidate spells like Ultranova, they STEAL them! A single high-level Element trap could easily turn those tough fights around. Also, taking someone of a similar Element type as the boss into the fight, and making them a healer, really levels the playing field.
Honestly I can’t recall ever getting stuck at Miguel even when playing back in the day. It’s not a flex just he never gave me a problem lol. Dario on the other hand I can agree he is up there.
In the part of the hydra I saw you were using sea swallow and I believe Leenas first weapon too. Before viper manor I had copper swallow. After you get the boat, you can go to water dragon island to farm iron and have iron weapons for all 3 characters before hydra. First time I played, I thought it was hard, but if you focus on equips and allocate good elements, most of the game is easy. But I kinda agree with your list
green dragon punished me in a streak.. i hate that bad odor frog
Sun of a Gun really? He can be easily beaten by using weak attacks all the time, he only has like 300 HP. I would put Marcy or Mini Dragon instead, at the point in the game where you fight them they are challenging
I feel like we were a little bit stupid back then (bein' considerate here) and didn't spread the heals and defense elements between our characters. Instead we filled them with offensive elements thus making the battles harder than it really were.
Flippin…..darkserge , Dario especially and timedevourer without saving scala and Garai…..
The only reason why I fight the black dragon is to steal the black plates from it for the Dario fight....
Erick, I have a game you should play. It is called Seraphic Blue, I can send it to you but i need a private means to message you with the link. Seraphic Blue is a 50 hour JRPG with one of the best stories ive ever seen, itll pull your heart strings. The combat system was also waaaaay ahead of its time. I hope to hear from you.
I didn't fight hydra, i decided not to save Kid so i can get Glenn, but like. Why are you still using the starting bone weapons when you can get iron on your first visit to Termina?
Miguel is hard and also frustrating! there's a LONG and UNSKIPPABLE cutscene before the battle. So everytime he kills you (and he will) you'll have to watch the same cutscene over and over again! Dario is hard because he hits like a monster truck! he's the main reason why you SHOULD battle some monsters. A single digit hp can make a lot of difference in this game!
I like the video and the game but I don't have the game jet I in joy it thanks for the video I Love game
Isnt Spectra Swallow better than Masamune?
Masamune is a little better than Spectra Swallow because of the critical damage.
My most liked jRPG on PS1... Cool vid!
I laughed when he said Chrono cross is a hard game
Hey what's the side scroller jrpg in the intro??
Sun of a gun it was very difficult to me
Honestly, I can't see why people find hard to fight against the dragons, the Hydra, the twin black & white bosses on Terra Tower, and ESPECIALLY Miguel. No bullshit guys! The "green" dragon is a headache with its poison inflicted status ailment green element techs, yes. The dwarves in Hydra Marsh are a pain in the ass when you're at early game? You bet! The red dragon first fight also offers a though challenge if you undertake him. Cryonsphynx is, technically, the hardest boss, no discussion, but that's a very special case, an exception. The "sun" boss in Fort Dragonia and Sky Dragon causes you a headache ONLY IF you want to capture Holy Light and Ultra Nova, respectively. The one REAL son of bitch in the entire game is called Dario - the spirit of his father also may be a burdensome fight if you were caught by surprise. Dario is a boss you never forget for the rest of your life. Anything else in this game is a sweet walk in the heaven fields compared to him. To finish, CC is not difficult to beat. Not at all, actually, regardless what some may say to you. Even if you go for 100% of the game, it's nothing "oh god, this is painful!". Go, play Chrono Cross, go for the 100%, but as piece of advice, what I would only say to you is: always be prepared.
You can use trap magic on the white dragon to take his ultra nova
I found Migel alot easier then Dario.
Hydra was easy for me.
Garai can be tough as Hell. Diminish is a MUST for him and Miguel.
Son of Gun was easy enough.
Luxator can be annoying. Turn black on yourself then let loose with the Mastermune.
Gravator, Mastermune is your friend.
Black Dragon just takes a bit, that's all. With Green Dragon, Carnivore traps forever.
White Dragon, Diminish.
Criospinx is an absolute beast but worth defeating.
Dario MUST be fought as Lynx on your first playthrough.
Miguel has caused the most game overs for me. Diminish and heal and you should be fine if just barely.
Miguel has the best boss theme in the game
Make good friends with debuffs
Just use the traps for the spells that are super powerful. Like ultra nova