Chrono Trigger (SNES) - Part 002: Beyond The Ruins

With the three in the party head back through Guardia Forest. I decide to head through a couple of times to see how respawns work (it seems to be static per screen - outside some randomised spawns).
After this upgrade gear at the Market and head back through Truce Canyon and Lucca expands the Time Gate we came through using a device. The timeline we came form is 1000AD, so I'll just refer to it as present.
Look for more gear in the present then head back through Guardia Forest, nabbing another Power Tab in the SE then head to Guardia Castl. Crono is mistaken to have taken Princess Nadia as hostage, despite her trying to explain and so a "trial" begins. The girl with the cat will defend you if you helped her, You are given the opportunity to answer questions, but it doesn't change much. Answer, "I did.", "No", "Not at all". 6/7 jurors said not guilty so solitary confinment is the "official" punishment. However, you're secretly to be executed.
Sleep until the day of the execution and Lucca shows up to rescue you. Free the man at the guillotine and search the various objects for Tonics.
Head over the bridge and down the stairs. The Blue Shield enemies can only be damaged when they peek from behind the shield, so act accordingly. Head to the SE exit and nab all the chests before leaving and then back in the execution room take the NW stairs and again to find a way to scale the outside of the castle for some treasure including a nice Sword upgrade further down a hole in the cell.
Head back to the previous four way split and take the NE to find out about the Dragon Tank's weakness and save the game.
Now it's time to fight it. Cyclone for spread damage coupled with Lucca focusing on the head will whittle everything down. Try to keep everyone above 20HP, Lucca does less damage so have her on healing duty. the Head should go down first making the healing stop and the Grinder will go down a few turns after and finally the main body.
Head W until you reach the main part of the castle and Marle will stop the guards from trying to catch you. Marle will leave with you and we'll hop through a Time Gate in Guardia Forest.
We wind up in the future, 2300AD to be precise with everything being a bit of a wasteland. Leave the Dome for Trann Dome to the S and buy more gear and heal up before heading to Lab 16 in the N.
Try to avoid Rats in here as they can steal items. Lucca and Crono's Flame Whirl combo works well on grouped enemies, and seemed to be the only thing consistently hitting Shadows. You'll eventually defeat some Mutants and end up outside and head E to the Arris Dome.
Nobody in here wants to deal with their own problems. Stock up on Medicine and head down the ladder in the centre and then ignore the consoles and through the NW exit. Weave your way round the scaffolding to the NE exit to fight the Guardian Boss.
Take out both Bits first and then attack the main unit with Cyclone/Slash and regular attacks with the others. Attacking the Guardian before the Bits are defeated results in a Counter attack that will wrack up damage over time. After a few cycles it should go down. Aura Whirl was the best healing here. The party will find some seeds in the back, a chance to grow food. Capture the Rat for the explanation on how to proceed and then interact with the right console in the previous room.
Make your way to the back and activate a console to open up a route for later in the game, then through the back for an important scene. We see the emergence of LAaos in 1999AD and the destruction of the world at its hands. Determined to stop it we leave and head back to the remaining humans here with the seeds to help them grow food. They give us a Blue Key for Lab 52 and we save the game.
0:00 - Guardia Forest (600AD)
9:00 - Millenial Fair (Present)
11:30 - Guardia Forest (Present)
15:00 - The Trial
33:20 - The Dragon Tank Boss
40:37 - Bangor Dome (2300AD)
45:00 - Lab 16 (2300AD)
51:50 - Arris Dome (2300AD)
54:50 - Guardian Boss
1:10:40 - Lavos (1999AD)