The Black Omen is an optional dungeon in Chrono Trigger that contains many treasures, and is the only way to unlock New Game +.
About New Game +
If you complete the game after defeating the final bosses in the Black Omen, watch the ending and then reset the console. This will unlock a new option on the Load Game screen: "New Game +". If you select it, you are given the option to create a new game based on all the stats and items from a previous save slot. To make the best use of this, create a saved game just before fighting the final boss.
The New Game + feature allows you to reach all the possible ending scenes in the game. The endings depend on when and where you beat the final boss. There are notes throughout this walkthrough that explain when in the game you can get each ending. In some cases, the only way to reach certain endings is through a New Game +, because you either don't have access to the final boss at that point in a normal game, or because you would normally be too weak at that point in the game to defeat the final boss.
When to Enter the Black Omen
You can find and play through the Black Omen in 12,000 B.C., 600 A.D., and 1000 A.D. Remember, don't use Epoch to go to 1999 A.D. unless you want to fight the final boss right away.
If you try to go to the Black Omen in 2300 A.D., you will not be able to enter, but you can watch a brief cutscene and battle some Laser Guards if you go there in that era.
The ending is not affected by the time period when you go through the Black Omen, but it is recommended to first enter the Black Omen in 1000 A.D., because this will allow it to still exist in the previous time periods, which allows you to obtain all of the same items from the Black Omen two more times.
About the Black Omen
The path through the Black Omen is straightforward with no major branches, so you just need to battle your way through it. The enemies have many items that Ayla can steal with Charm. There is a way to get infinite MegaElixirs and infinite Power Tabs in the Black Omen; the methods will be explained below.
Prepare for the Black Omen
Purchase a lot of Mid Tonics, Mid Ethers, Heals, and Revives, and some Shelters before you enter the Black Omen. The enemies here are very strong and you will need to heal and restore MP frequently.
If you bring Ayla, make sure to equip her with the Charm Top/Alluring Top to improve her success rate with Charm.
Most enemies in the Black Omen can inflict status ailments, so be sure to equip everyone with status-protecting gear.
How to Enter the Black Omen
Go to 1000 A.D. and fly Epoch under the Black Omen until the words "Black Omen" appear on screen. Then press A to enter the Black Omen.
Black Omen
If you want to return to Epoch, check on the sparkle at the south end of the first area of the Black Omen.
Go north, defeat the Laser Guards, then go north through the door.
Inside, there will be a cutscene, and Mega Mutant will attack.
Mega Mutant
Charm the bottom of the Mega Mutant to get a Vigil Hat. Mega Mutant will inflict status ailments on your characters, but if you have status-protecting gear, this will not be a problem. Just use your strongest attacks against it.
Afterward, go north and you will battle Incognitos. You can Charm them to get MuscleRings. When they show their faces, they become PeepingDooms and have much lower defense. The PeepingDooms don't have any items to Charm.
Go north from where you battled the Incognitos/PeepingDooms, and go through the door in the east wall.
There are some Martellos on the east side of the room, but you can avoid fighting them if you stay near the west wall. Then when you go farther north, there is an unavoidable battle with some Goons. You can use Charm on them to get Nova Armor. Don't use Lighting or Shadow against them, because those elements heal them.
Go north and you will battle Synchrites and a Martello. You can Charm the Synchrites to get Gold Erngs.
Afterward, if you go east, then south, you will find a save point.
Go north and you will fight some Panels. Be sure to Charm them, because they have Speed Tabs. After you defeat the first set of Panels, go north and more Panels will attack.
Go north through the door, and if you want to avoid the first group of Boss Orb and Side Kicks, quickly go northeast before the Boss Orb can open its eye and see you, and go north when the Side Kick is out of the way. Keep going north and there will be some unavoidable battles with other Boss Orbs and Side Kicks. They cast Omnilock, which prevents you from using Techs. Try to quickly defeat the Side Kicks before they can run away, because they give 100 Tech Points each.
Continue north to the next area, and there are some Metal Mutes. You can avoid them, but if you battle them, you can Charm HyperEthers from them.
Next, you will find two Metal Mutes and two Flyclopses. Charm the Flyclopses to get Gold Studs.
In the next room, there is a teleporter. Step onto it to go to the next area. Go south and you will reach a large elevator. Check on the sparkle on the left to make the elevator will descend. Monsters will attack. There will be a random selection of enemies that includes Goons (don't use Lightning or Shadow), Ruminators (Charm them for MegaElixir) and Cybots (Charm them for Power Meal).
After the elevator stops, go north to the next area. You can avoid all battles here if you walk instead of running. Near the entrance, if you run, you will encounter a Boss Orb and Side Kicks. To the west you can encounter two Ruminators, and to the east is another Boss Orb and Side Kicks. Go east from the room's entrance and follow the path until you reach a short flight of stairs. Before you go up the stairs, go east to find a chest that contains a MegaElixir.
After you go up the short flight of stairs, if you run around you will encounter a Synchrite and two Flyclops. You can avoid them by walking. You can use Charm on the Synchrite to get a Gold Erng, and use charm on the Flyclops to get a Gold Stud. Before you go north through the door, go west and open the chest to get 30000 G.
After you go through the door, if you go west, you will encounter a couple of Ruminators. If you go east, you will encounter a couple of Flyclopses. Up above, two Side Kicks and a Boss Orb appear. The east side of the room has a chest that contains a Magic Seal. Go north from there and you will fight a Synchrite and a Martello. After you defeat them, you can optionally fight another Synchrite and Martello on the west side of the room. Then you can exit to the north.
The chest on the left contains an Elixir and the chest on the right contains a Vigil Hat. Go north and you find a save point. The chest on the left contains a Nova Armor and the chest on the right contains a Mega Elixir. There are two Nus to the north. If you talk to the one on the right, don't say "Wake up" unless you want to go back to the entrance of the Black Omen. You can buy different types of Tonics and Ethers from the Nu on the left. Above the Nus, the chest on the left contains a Mega Elixir, and the chest on the right contains a Haste Helm.
Check on the middle of the wall above the Nus to open the door. Go through, then make your way along the path, staying close to the south wall if you want to avoid a monster encounter. Eventually, there is an unavoidable encounter with a Tubster. You can Charm a Power Tab from it. Be careful, because it counterattacks every time you attack it, and it is very strong. It is weak to Fire. After you defeat it, you can leave the room and come back, and the Tubster will reappear. You can take advantage of this to get as many Power Tabs as you want.
When you are ready to move on, go through the door in the north wall.
There are a couple of Cybots here. You can Charm them to get Power Meals. Beyond them, there is a monster behind a shield that will move from side to side to try to block your path. You can avoid this monster if you walk carefully.
North of the shield monster, there is an endless stream of Ruminators going through the room. You can get infinite MegaElixirs by Charming these enemies, defeating them, leaving the room, then going back. You can only hold up to 99 of any item, so be sure to stop after you have charmed 99 MegaElixirs from these enemies. You probably won't need 99, but feel free to get that many if you want.
After you defeat the Ruminators here the first time, open the chest in the corner for a ZodiacCape.
In the next room, you fight a Boss Orb and two Side Kicks, although you can avoid them if you walk past when the monster's eye is closed. After that, you will fight two Goons and a Flyclops. After they are gone, open the chest to get a MegaElixir.
After that, there two sets of Boss Orbs and Side Kicks, although you can avoid them as before, by walking past when the eye is closed. In the next room, open the chest to get a Power Seal. Below, go up the stairs and go south. Two Flyclopses and a Tubster will attack. After you defeat them, go south and you will see a Martello. You can avoid a battle if you don't let the Martello see you. Otherwise, a Martello and Cybot will attack. After that, open the chest in the southeast corner of the room to get a Speed Tab, then exit through the southwest exit.
Go west, then go past the door to find a chest that contains a Speed Tab. Then go through the door.
Step on the tile on the center of the pedestal to be transported to another room. Go north through the door, then go west at the split. You can avoid a monster encounter by staying near the statue's pedestal as you go west. Otherwise, you will battle Blobs (the smaller monsters) and Aliens (the bigger monsters). Don't use physical attacks on the Aliens or they will do an instant death counterattack. You can Charm Magic Rings from the Blobs and Magic Tabs from the Aliens.
Go west, then south to find a treasure chest that contains an Elixir. Go all the way north, then go east. You can avoid the monsters here by walking south until you bump into the statue on the left side, then walk straight east to pass the enemies and go down a short flight of stairs.
From here, go north, then west. Open the chest to get a Speed Tab, then go north, where two Aliens will attack. Afterward, go south and open the chest to get a MegaElixir. Then go west, all the way north, and through the door.
There is a save point here, so save and use a Shelter. To the north, you will battle Giga Mutant, but you should take a moment to plan your team. You can charm a Wall Ring and Hit Ring from Giga Mutant, but Giga Mutant is strong against physical attacks, including any Dual or Triple techs with a physical element, so you might want to leave Ayla behind for this battle in favor of your strongest magic users, or a team that has the best magic-only dual and triple techs.
Giga Mutant
The upper half can drain your MP, so if you are using single-target attacks, focus on the upper half. If the lower half uses Life Shaver to bring someone's HP down to 1, heal that person right away.
After you defeat Giga Mutant, use the save point and a Shelter down below before continuing on.
In the room north of where you fought Giga Mutant, there is a teleporting pad. Step onto it to reach next area. Afterward, go south, and you will reach another elevator. Check on the sparkle to start going up. As with the last elevator, there will be a random selection of enemies that includes Goons, Ruminators and Cybots.
After the elevator, go north through the door, and you will battle a couple of Synchrites. After that, you will find a pair of bats blocking the way. If you touch the bats, two Goons will attack. After that, you will encounter two Tubsters. To the north, there is a door. Walk up to it to open it, then go through.
There is a treasure chest to the left, but when you approach it, some Panels will attack. Once you defeat them, a save point will appear, and you can go up and open the chest to get a Speed Tab. Use a Shelter and save at the save point.
When you try to reach the treasure chests in the north part of the room, Terra Mutant will attack.
Terra Mutant
This creature is similar to the Giga Mutant, but a little bit tougher. You will want a team of strong magic users. You can charm a MuscleRing from the top and Power Seal from the bottom, but again, you might want to leave Ayla behind in order to have a team of strong magic users. Be sure to equip your team to be immune to Chaos.
Once you defeat the top half of Terra Mutant, the bottom half dies. The bottom half absorbs magic attacks, but one strategy is to just attack the top half with magic attacks until it dies, because you can deplete the top half's HP more quickly that it can absorb HP from the bottom half. However, when attacked, the bottom half will counter with Life Shaver, bringing someone's HP down to 1, so you need to heal after that.
Another strategy is to just attack the bottom half with physical attacks. The bottom half will then drain HP from the top half, and eventually it will kill the top half itself. It takes a long time, however.
After Terra Mutant is gone, open the chest on the left to get a White Rock, which can be equipped by Marle, Lucca, or Ayla to unlock the Poyozo Dance Triple Tech, and open the chest on the right to get a MegaElixir. Then go down to the save point and use a Shelter and save. Then go through the north door.
Walk north up the path. You won't encounter any enemies here. Then open the door at the top and go through. A Lavos Spawn will appear. This one is tougher than those you encountered in the past. Be sure to bring someone who can heal the entire party. You can Charm a Safe Helm from the shell and a Haste Helm from the mouth.
Lavos Spawn
As before, don't attack the shell. Only attack the mouth. Otherwise, the Lavos Spawn will do a counterattack. The Lavos Spawn's attacks tend to target all, so it's best to bring someone who can heal the entire party.
After you defeat the Lavos Spawn, go north through the door, then go to the north of the room and you will fight five Panels. Once you defeat them, a save point will appear. Save and use a Shelter.
You are about to go through four battles in a row. You will want to bring someone who can heal all. There are some good items to Charm from the following bosses, so you might want to bring Ayla. If you bring Frog, he can absorb a small amount of HP in one of the battles when he attacks with the Masamune, and the Masamune is also helpful in the fourth battle.
Go up to the top. After a cutscene, you will battle Queen Zeal.
Queen Zeal - First Battle
You can Charm a MegaElixir from Zeal. She often casts Hallation, which takes everyone's HP down to 1. Use a heal spell that heals all party members. Then attack with your most powerful techs. Spells like Dino Tail and Frog Squash are a good choice if your HP is 1. Her HP is 12,000.
After you defeat Zeal, you are immediately brought before the Mammon Machine.
Mammon Machine
Mammon Machine's HP is 18,000. If Frog is in the party, he will recover a small amount of HP every time he attacks with the Masamune. Physical attacks will increase Mammon Machine's defense, while magic attacks will increase its attack. Eventually, it will release stored energy, which will reset its attack and defense back to normal. You can use a combination of magical and physical attacks to try to keep its attack and defense from increasing too much.
Queen Zeal - Second Battle
After you defeat the Mammon Machine, you battle Queen Zeal again. Each hand has 20,0000 HP and the face has 28,000 HP. Any attacks on the hands will result in counterattacks. The left hand counterattacks with Life Shaver, bringing HP down to 1, and the right hand counterattacks with MP Buster, bringing MP down to 0. However, Ayla can charm a PrismDress from the left hand and a Prism Helm from the right hand. If you decide to get those, be prepared to deal with the counterattacks. Otherwise, just attack the head, and heal everyone if she uses Hallation.
Lavos Shell, Part 2
After you defeat Zeal, Lavos will emerge. Lavos mimics the enemies that you encountered in the past, starting with Dragon Tank and ending with Giga Gaia. It even mimics the HP and defense of each boss, so it will be easy to defeat the earlier incarnations. You will be able to heal up and change your party and equipment before each mode. When you are ready, walk up to Lavos to start each battle.
Dragon Tank Mode
Since the Dragon Tank's HP is so low, you can just use normal attacks to quickly get rid of each part.
Guardian Mode
If you kill the middle part, the side parts die as well. The middle has 1200 HP, and the side parts have 200 HP each, so you can use a high-damage attack on the middle part to end the battle quickly.
Heckran Mode
You have to use magic attacks here. Physical attacks don't cause very much damage at all. Switch to your best magic users to quickly defeat this form.
Zombor Mode
The top half will use MP Buster when defeated. The top is weak to shadow and water, and the bottom is weak to lightning and fire, but each half absorbs the type of magic that the other one is weak to. That's not a problem here, so for a quick end to the battle, just use one type of magic to get rid of one half, then use one of the other types to get rid of the other half.
Masamune Mode
When it stores tornado energy, have Crono use Slash on it to neutralize the tornado. Otherwise just use your strongest techs to get rid of it quickly. It has 3,600 HP.
Nizbel Mode
It has 4,200 HP. It's vulnerable to lightning, so you can use one of Crono's low-level lightning spells to conserve MP, or just go all out with Luminaire.
Magus Mode
If Magus is with you, he is a good choice to bring into this battle because of his multiple magic types. It is helpful to bring Frog as well. Have someone other than Frog hit it first to make it change its barrier. If the barrier is set to a type of magic that your party members don't have, then hit with a physical attack again until its barrier is something that you have. Then if Frog is with you, hit it with the Masamune to lower its magic defense, and then attack with the type of magic that it's vulnerable to. When it stops changing barriers, just start hitting with your most powerful attacks.
Azala and Black Tyrano Mode
The part on the shoulder has 2,700 HP. You should defeat that part first, then wait for the center part to lower its defense before attacking. The center part has 10,500 HP. Just use your best techs. You can equip fire-absorbing armor for this battle if you wish, but BlackTyrano's attacks shouldn't be too damaging to you at your current levels.
Giga Gaia Mode
The side parts each have 2000. Get rid of the right one first, then the left, or just use Crono and Ayla's Falcon Hit to get rid of both at the same time. The center part has 9,500 HP. When the side parts reappear, get rid of them again before attacking the center.
Lavos Shell
After you defeat all of the attack modes, you fight the actual Lavos Shell. It isn't as bad as the one that killed you in the Ocean Palace. This incarnation has 10,000 HP. There isn't much strategy necessary for this battle. Just use your most powerful attacks and keep your HP up.
Once you defeat the Lavos Shell, you walk into the Lavos Core, where you find a gate to the End of Time and a save point. At this point, you are free to leave and prepare for the final battle.
Note that if you beat the Black Omen in 1000 A.D., you can go back to 600 A.D. and do it all over again, and then you can go to 12,000 B.C. and do it again a second time.
When you are ready, return to this place via the bucket in the End of Time.
Lavos
For the strategy for defeating Lavos, go to the Final Battle page.