Crono's Contest History

Who is Crono?
Until recently, you could have called this spiky haired time traveler Mario's personal whipping boy. However, Crono ousted the ghosts of his past in a 2004 showdown that saw him through to the latter stages of the Summer Contest. Crono's kickass look and role as the main character of one of the finest RPG's ever make him a force to be reckoned with in the Summer Contest environment. Despite his mute status, his bravery and courage show in the many actions he does throughout Chrono Trigger. Whether he's sacrificing himself for the better of the party or rushing head first into danger with near impossible odds, Crono is a worthy lead character for arguably the best RPG of all time. His skills with his katana and use of magic make Crono a worthy advisary for even the deadliest creatures dwelling through the reaches of time.

"..." - Crono

Crono's Contest History
Win-Loss Record: 19-6

Summer 2002 Contest - East Division - 5 Seed
 * Eastern Round 1 --- Defeated (12) Simon Belmont, 49283 [76.78%] - 14906 [23.22%]
 * Eastern Quarterfinal --- Defeated (4) Dante, 43939 [66.58%] - 22055 [33.42%]
 * Eastern Semifinal --- Defeated (1) Lara Croft, 52488 [70.87%] - 21571 [29.13%]
 * Eastern Final --- Defeated (2) Solid Snake, 52517 [52.93%] - 46697 [47.07%]
 * Final Four --- Lost to (1) Mario, 53716 [49.95%] - 53831 [50.05%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 7th Place [37.43%]

Summer 2003 Contest - South Division - 4 Seed
 * Southern Round 1 --- Defeated (13) Tom Nook, 88469 [85.81%] - 14631 [14.19%]
 * Southern Quarterfinal --- Defeated (12) Kefka, 79999 [78.92%] - 21373 [21.08%]
 * Southern Semifinal --- Lost to (1) Mario, 66434 [49.95%] - 66571 [50.05%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 6th Place [38.14%]

Summer 2004 Contest - Hyrule Division - 3 Seed
 * Hyrule Round 1 --- Defeated (14) Conker, 62375 [77.99%] - 17605 [22.01%]
 * Hyrule Quarterfinal --- Defeated (6) Magus, 54361 [69.78%] - 23539 [30.22%]
 * Hyrule Semifinal --- Defeated (2) Mario, 51430 [53.24%] - 45165 [46.76%]
 * Hyrule Final --- Lost to (1) Link, 34821 [37.18%] - 58840 [62.82%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 5th Place [37.18%]

How can one talk about Crono’s role in the Summer Contest without talking about the one matchup that made him a legend in the first place? You can’t say enough about Crono’s persistence in going after Mario, the WORLDWIDE icon of video gaming. The Mario/Crono matchup is inscribed forever in Summer Contest lore as the best of the best. The Mario/Crono duel has spawned not one, but TWO drag-em out, knock-em down matches that went to the last update in 2002 and 2003. Both times, Mario has taken down Chrono Trigger’s main man by the hair of his mustache.

In 2002, Mario and Crono met in an unexpected Final Four match. While Mario was expected to be in the position he was in, the 5th seeded Crono was truly a “Cinderella story” for the contest. Crono had proven he was no character to be taken lightly by trouncing currently strong competitors in Dante and Solid Snake. Having proved his worth, Crono nabbed the Eastern Division title and had his chance to take on the great Mario. The dominant theory was that Mario would take the match with ease and be on his way to a berth in the 2002 Summer Contest Finals. In the end, the theory was correct. Mario had won. However, the difficulty Mario had faced in winning the match was very unexpected. The match had been tight all day and in the end, Crono had seemingly grabbed a major upset victory. BUT!, cheating was the downfall of Crono and his advancement in the tournament as major vote numbers were docked from his vote draw. After the subtraction of the ill-gotten votes, Mario had the lead over Crono and as such, the match ended with Mario scoring a win in the most controversial match to date. It would only be a year later before Crono would have his shot at revenge and the title of most controversial match would pass it’s torch……

The Summer Contest of 2003 gave Crono a 4 seed in the insanely difficult Southern Division where he was grouped up with Sephiroth, Alucard and his best friend in the whole wide world, Mario. The top seeded Mario was eyeing down a dream rematch against the red headed warrior in the Southern Semis that would bring as much excitement and anticipation as any match would ever give. With higher aspirations, Crono confidently took out both of the trivial matches that lay in his path in Tom Nook and Kefka. When the fated day arrived for Mario/Crono II, the two once again shot off fireworks with only a late LATE Mario rally saving the plumber’s behind for yet another year. Controversy once again swarmed the match and intensified the feud between the characters as the ending to the poll was a bit delayed. The onslaught of Mario support coupled with the “delay” in the poll sparked the idea that CJay was helping the lil’ Italian out. Crono fans caused an uproar, Mario fans joyfully celebrated their character’s win and Cjay kicked back in his chair and admired the chaos he had caused or didn’t cause……or did…….maybe…I dunno, I’m indifferent. I have to be. Historians can’t be too opinionated.

Another year, another shot at redemption. The Summer Contest 2004 saw Crono step up to a 3 seed in the newly created Hyrule Division facing 14 seeded fodder, Conker. After dismissing of the ruffian squirrel, an interesting matchup loomed in the next round as fellow Chrono Trigger comrade/ally/prophet/creepy lil’ kid Magus was the opponent at hand. CJay had already stated that the brackets were fixed a “wee bit” (NOTE: wee bit = massive bracket fixing) to produce interesting matchups in latter rounds. Well, Crono facing off with Magus was certainly interesting…….until when the match began. From there, the powerful and crushing force of the SFF (Same Fanbase Factor) delivered Crono a comfortable victory that elevated the warrior into facing……..you guessed it……Frank Stallo…..er….Mario. I said, Mario.
 * ahem*

Yes, for a 3rd consecutive year the two combatants would share a poll to determine who would have their ass handed on a silver platter to Link in the Hyrule Championship match. What an honor! The stakes were high and the hype was at it’s peak for the rematch of the rematch of the match that gave us all goosebumps all those years ago. The poll was ready, the voters were in place to get this match off to a thumping start………3……….2………..1………….GO! Yeah, Crono won this one by a good 6000 votes. FINALLY! The curse was broken! Although it could have used a bit more drama and spice to liven things up, you surely didn’t hear Crono fans writhing in pain. That came a week later when Crono was obliterated by Link by a good 25 grand worth of votes. The curse was lain to rest……….but……ouch, what a way to go out.

With the Mario/Crono legacy aside, Crono as a character in the contest setting is insanely strong. Just like his other “Noble Nine” counterparts, Crono is not strong enough to take out the top three consisting of Link, Cloud or Sephiroth, but he will never lose to underserving competition and be the victim of upset threats. Should the top 3 step down from their perch and stray away from the contest, then one must make the argument that Crono would be next in line to walk away with some Summer Contest hardware of his own. In defeating Mario, the demons of his past have been laid to rest, but because of this he has been untested against most of the competition that would be left to fend off for the Summer Contest crown. Samus Aran, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man are just some of the opponents left that could give Crono a run for his money. However, with so much going for him in the way of a fantastic RPG that has stood the test of time, a loyal fanbase in Square that backs behind any of it’s own and the dashing look and overall kickass look he gives off, there’s a very good argument as to why Crono is the 4th best character in the contest OVERALL. Crono is a man of few words, but the actions of 50-60 thousand fans backing him consistently are speaking for him in a big way.

Summer 2005 Contest - Flood Division - 2 Seed
 * Flood Round 1 --- Defeated (7) Zidane, 74580 [76.72%] - 22636 [23.28%]
 * Flood Semifinal --- Defeated (6) Tommy Vercetti, 70921 [70.85%] - 29182 [29.15%]
 * Flood Final --- Defeated (1) Master Chief, 60203 [61.29%] - 38028 [38.71%]
 * Elite Eight --- Defeated (5) Vincent Valentine, 52814 [55.38%] - 42546 [44.62%]
 * Final Four --- Defeated (1) Mega Man, 53283 [51.35%] - 50479 [48.65%]
 * Finals --- Lost to (1) Mario, 47762 [46.15%] - 55739 [53.85%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 6th Place [36.54%]

Despite not getting his much-deserved 1 seed in the new format, Crono still came out and took full advantage of the heavy-hitters either being in the TOC or the top half of the bracket. Crono was a lock to make the Final Four in Summer 2005 despite a couple of opponents doing better on him than many expected, and once there he didn't disappoint. In a match that many expected Crono to lose, Crono came out and easily handled Mega Man. And while Mario/Crono IV saw Crono suffer the worst blowout in the entire series between these two, Crono was up against the strongest Mario we've ever seen in these contests. It wasn't Crono underperforming so much as it was Nintendo being dominant this contest.

Crono performed well, and let's not forget that this is the farthest Crono has ever gotten in one of these contests. To put this in perspective, Crono has as many contest wins as Cloud does. Granted this took Cloud not being in the main bracket, but the point still stands.

Summer 2006 Contest - Time Division - 1 Seed
 * Time Round 1 --- Defeated (8) Captain Falcon, 84090 [74.16%] - 29306 [25.84%]
 * Time Semifinal --- Defeated (4) Bowser, 68821 [57.44%] - 50986 [42.56%]
 * Time Final --- Defeated (3) Auron, 68115 [54.50%] - 56865 [45.50%]
 * Elite Eight --- Lost to (1) Sonic the Hedgehog, 62087 [49.23%] - 64027 [50.77%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 7th Place [41.56%]

For years people guessed that Chrono Trigger being Crono's only source of popularity would catch up to him. In Summer 2006, a contest that was virtually set up specifically for him to win, he choked away all of his credibility. He might win a watered down bracket in a couple years, but he won't be taken seriously.

The big comeback by Sonic isn't the sole reason for this, either. Crono bled a TON of percentage in all of his matches, and he ran into a character that could take full advantage of it. Crono's early 2200 vote lead turned into the biggest vote swing ever, and it's proof that Crono needs something other than a ten year old RPG to draw strength from.

Summer 2007 Contest - Division 4 - Third Group
 * Division 4 Round 1 --- 1st place, 60534 [48.18%] - Raiden, 25316 [20.15%] - Sam Fisher, 24944 [19.86%] - Simon Belmont, 14836 [11.81%]
 * Division 4 Round 2 --- 1st place, 44563 [36.65%] - Zero, 39680 [32.64%] - Raiden, 20991 [17.26%] - HK-47 [13.45%]
 * Division 4 Finals --- 3rd place, 29123 [20.58%] - Link, 64214 [45.37%] - Vincent Valentine, 30825 [21.78%] - Zero, 17359 [12.27%]

Well, this was a historic year for Crono. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't the sort of history he wanted to make. He performed decently in his first round match, despite bleeding a good bit of percentage during the day, though not as much as he has been prone to the last couple of years. Then Crono went out and gave a dud performance, letting Zero not only gain percentage but also votes on him throughout the day. Keep in mind, Zero isn't a day vote beast. This did not bode well for him in the upcoming match, as he would be in a match with potential Noble Nine breaker, Vincent Valentine. When the match started, Crono managed to build a lead of around 1150 in the opening hours, but it wouldn't hold. Even during the strong Chrono Trigger night vote, he began to lose ground. Then, ten hours into the match, Vinny caught up and surpassed him. Crono put up a fight for a little while, but he just didn't have enough. Vincent began to pull away, eventually winning by 1700 votes.

Although the circumstances were unusual, this marked the first time that a Noble Niner had been outdone by a non-Noble Niner in a contest match. It seems that most people don't really consider the Noble Nine broken as of yet due to the format of this contest, but you have to wonder...Could Crono beat Vincent one-on-one? The fact that we even have to ask this question tells the story of the Chrono Trigger hero's fall. This is the guy who went neck and neck with Mario for three years and even made the finals just two years ago, but the last couple of years, he has finally hit the downward slide that people predicted he would have but had somehow managed to avoid. The fact that Crono has held up this long despite the age of his game is a wonder in itself, but it looks like it may only be a matter of time before his nobility is shattered.