Still more Chrono Cross characters

[11.15.99] » Angel and Devil Tumalu, a rabbit girl, a giant poodle, and some plant people -- thought Chrono Cross' characters couldn't get any weirder? Think again.

   Yes, kiddies, it's that time again -- time to gather 'round the campfire and let Uncle Fritz fill you in on all the latest Chrono Cross characters. A total of 11 characters comprise this latest batch, though many of them have already been unofficially revealed in the pages of Famitsu. Official artwork and screenshots of all the new characters are now available, however. In no particular order, the new characters are:

• Mamacha, a fat and rather stereotypically-drawn black woman whose purple clothing matches her purple hair. Her method of attack seems to be jumping on foes' heads.
• Jilbert, likely intended to be "Gilbert." Appearing to be some sort of wrestler character, he dresses in a green and red suit that covers his entire body, save his eyes and mouth. Seems to be getting run through by a rhinocerous in a screenshot.
• Irenes, a blue-skinned woman with minimal clothing that bears a very strong resemblance to Final Fantasy's Shiva. She's likely another magic-user.
• Jyaness, presumably to be translated as "Janice." This young, brown-haired girl wears huge rabbit ears, rabbit paw-shaped gloves, and a rabbit tail. Why? According to Square, "because carrots are one of her very favorite things, she puts on rabbit ears whenever she is made to fight."
• Kabu, who seems to be the result of a cross-breeding experiment between the mascot of Jack-in-the-Box restaurants and the common fern. If it wasn't for the fact that his "hair" is actually leaves and his face a cartoonish turnip, this short and stocky plant man might look like a typical RPG hero -- he's got a sword, a cape, and spikey hair.
• "Grenn," better known as Glenn. Already familiar to owners of the Chrono Cross demo, he's a medieval knight with full armor and a sword -- and very likely Chrono Trigger's Frog, seen restored to his original human form at the end of Chrono Trigger PSX.
• Poshul, a giant pink poodle-like dog. Seen cavorting around in the background of older screenshots, she (?) has now been confirmed as a playable party member.
• Lazzulv, a name we're still struggling to pronounce. Lazzulv herself is a tiny purple-haired sprite who apparently possesses the powers of flight. She's far too small to battle effectively, so expect her to be a magic-user as well.
• Radius, a bald old man with a gray beard. He wears a white uniform, and is likely some type of officer -- though it's not clear whether he's a fighter or a magician. He does, however, possess some kind of long, spear-like weapon.
• Tumalu Angel. Readers keeping on Chrono Cross may recall Tumalu, a small white squirrel-like character. Tumalu Angel is identical to the original Tumalu, except for its pink fur and angel-like wings. Initial reports suggest that Tumalu Angel may in fact be cooler than dancing scarecrow (and extreme fire hazard) Lucky Dan.
• Tumalu Devil, the counterpart to Tumalu Angel. Tumalu Devil is also a pink copy of the original Tumalu, except that the Devil version has a pair of yellow horns. These alternate Tumalu versions might be created from the original Tumalu, or could be separate entities -- it's impossible to tell from what's been revealed so far.

   Square's official list of party members still includes only 28 names, well short of the promised 40. With only three days to go until Chrono Cross' Japanese release, it's unlikely that we'll see another new character announcement -- perhaps the remaining cast members are secret characters in the game. Whoever the remaining 12 characters are, however, we can be sure that Square has many more delightful characters in store for us.