Team Ratings



Crono/Lucca/Marle: This is a great team throughout the game. Fire/ice sword and antipode are all powerful, and their later incantations are multi-hit, which is a plus. Healing is covered by aura whirl, and Marles haste is a huge boon against bosses. Although not broken, there is nothing to complain about here.



Crono/Lucca/Robo: Not recommended. Aside from heal beam, which only heals for ~200 hp lategame, there is no heal-all tech in this team. Robo isnt a good fit with this team, as all of his useful double techs are limited by range (max cyclone, doublevbomb). Fire tackle is mediocre, and even their triple tech fire zone suffers from limited range.



Crono/Lucca/Frog: See above. Lucca/Frog is an awful pairing, red pin, line bomb and frog flare are all terrible (well at least frog flare is situational). Crono/Frog isnt much better, all their double techs are single-target, and only effective midgame. Frogs heal is the only heal-all they have.



Crono/Lucca/Ayla: As much as I love this team, theres absolutely no healing this team provides. Aylas kiss is single target, and only effective if shes fed magic tabs. That leaves lapis and megaelixirs for healing, both of which show up pretty late. Offensively, however, this team is a force to be reckoned with. Falcon hit is just cheap, it trivializes the entire ocean palace. Volt bite turns Tyrano and Nizbel into a joke. Then for random battles Lucca/Ayla firewhirl will usually clear out maps at a respectable 18 MP cost, and can be learned as early as Mt. Woe without grinding.



Crono/Marle/Robo: Too defensively minded. Aside from ice sword, and later confuse/luminaire/uzzi punch, theres not much going on offensively. Healing-wise, this is probably the best team in the game. Aura whirl, aura beam, cure touch, heal beam, all multi-target. But, most importantly, lifeline makes this team invincible come lategame.



Crono/Marle/Frog: This is a pretty good team to have in Magus castle because icewater is one of the earliest target-all techs you get. Once level 2 spells show up, this team learns arc impulse, one of the strongest and MP cost effective triple techs in the game. Healing is thoroughly covered with aura whirl/heal/double cure. Pretty good bosskilling team, especially with haste in the mix.



Crono/Marle/Ayla: One of my favorite teams, and highly recommended, especially for bosses. Marle/Ayla have the surprisingly effective and (somewhat) multi-target cube toss. Crono/Ayla is obviously h3x. Crono/Marle brings aura whirl (healing) and ice sword (offence). They have a decent triple tech in final kick. But most importantly, against bosses Marle can haste the team while Ayla charms some useful equipment, and double charm increases the steal rate.



Crono/Robo/Frog: Meh. Healing is covered, but their double/triple techs all suck.



Crono/Robo/Ayla: Its unfortunate that Robo/Ayla dont have a healing double tech, because otherwise this is an amazing team. Twister only costs 15 MP, is learnt quickly (tailspin can be acquired around Mt. Woe), and multi-targets for more damage than Lucca/Aylas fire whirl, which is overpowering to say the least. Robo/Aylas beast toss is incredibly useful against heavier monsters, bosses included (ever tried tossing Mega Mutant?). Crono/Ayla have falcon hit. In fact, even a barrage of single techs from this team is painful (confuse/uzzi punch/triple kick). Whats not to love?



Crono/Frog/Ayla: Solid team, but only lategame. Slurp kiss can be made into an effective heal-all by feeding Ayla magic tabs. Most of the offensive power of this team shows up once ultimate techs are learned, as both Drop kick and 3D attack require triple kick to be learned. Otherwise, theres not much happening outside of falcon hit. Swordstream, spire and bubble hit are all single-target, and become ineffective as the game goes on.



Lucca/Marle/Robo: Lame. Robos fire/ice tackle sucks lategame and doublevbomb is range limited. Marle/Robo can cover healing, and antipode/flare can carry the offensive load, but otherwise this team isnt that special.



Lucca/Marle/Frog: This is a truly terrible team. Aside from Marle/Frog healing, lucca flare and antipod, this team has absolutely nothing going for them. Red pin, line bomb, frog flare, glacier, these all suck.



Lucca/Marle/Ayla: Very similar to Crono/Lucca/Ayla. No healing to speak of, but have an offensive explosion in flare/antipod/fire whirl/cube toss/triple kick/haste.



Lucca/Robo/Frog: No, just no. This team defines double tech failure. Fire tackle, doublevbomb, line bomb, frog flare, blade toss, bubble snap, all of these are awful for their own set of reasons. No triple tech either. Prepare to do a lot of flare/uzzi punching if you want to win with this team.



Lucca/Robo/Ayla: Not a good choice. Robos heal beam is the only healing option this team has. Otherwise, solid offence through fire whirl/beast toss/flare/triple kick/uzzi punch.



Lucca/Frog/Ayla: Much better than above if you power up slurp kiss. Replace beast toss with drop kick, which is arguably better.



Marle/Robo/Frog: Youll never die with a team made entirely out of healers, though they still lack lifeline for being the best in that department. Offensively, this is probably the worst team in the game. Crisis arm + uzzi punch if the only powerful attack they have. Shock too if you load Robo with magic tabs I guess.



Marle/Robo/Ayla: Decent, but they lack a good multi-target attack (unless you count shock). Beast toss, cube toss (sort of), uzzi punch, triple kick, theyre all single-target.



Marle/Frog/Ayla: See above, but remove uzzi punch and replace beast toss with drop kick.



Robo/Frog/Ayla: Probably the biggest surprise of the bunch. This is the perfect team for defeating Queen Zeal: triple kick, drop kick, uzzi punch and most importantly spin strike mean youre easily doing 1400-3100+ single-target damage. Ayla can steal a prism dress + prism helm through charm. And healing is covered by slurp kiss/cure wave.



Im not going to bother with most of Magus possible teams, because unless you to accompany him with 2 characters that have a heal-all double tech, the team is destined to suck. He also has no bearing on double-techs, which makes the decision process highly intuitive. I will, however, cover Magus triple tech teams because they are worth using.



Magus/Lucca/Marle: Dark eternal is obviously quite powerful (2800+ damage), but theres no multi-healing going on.



Magus/Lucca/Robo: Omega flare is 2nd only to spin strike in raw damage output, and easily breaks the 3000 damage barrier. Lucca/Robo double techs are pretty worthless, and Robos heal beam has to be powered up with magic tabs if you want this team to survive without elixirs. Good choice for overpowering bosses before they even have a chance to wipe out your team.



Whoo, that was exhausting. So, with every possible team covered, Ill select some of my favorites.



Crono/Lucca/Marle

Crono/Marle/Frog

Crono/Marle/Ayla

Robo/Frog/Ayla



Now, my opinion on individual characters:



Crono: Hes phenomenal, that should come as no surprise. Cyclone and fire whirl are the best solutions to all your offensive problems for a good third of the game. He has amazing double techs with every unit in the cast except Robo and Frog, even then max cyclone is quite useful early on. Almost every triple tech in the game involves him. Hes locked to your team, so he gains exp and TP faster than anyone else unless you deliberately KO him. His single tech list is a sight to behold. Cyclone, slash, spincut, lightning 2, confuse, and luminaire are all tremendously useful as you progress through the game. Hes fast, his stats are well rounded, he physically hits hard, and he boasts some of the best equipment in the game, particularly the rainbow sword, with its overpowering Mt and ridiculous 70% critical hit rate. My only complaint is that he is given a useless life spell.



Lucca: I used to think she was the greatest thing since sliced bread. My last playthrough has changed my mind a little. Shes undoubtedly an offensive powerhouse. Fire whirl is invaluable earlygame, as mentioned above. Then, once you learn magic she can do no wrong in the world of double techs. Fire sword, fire whirl (with Ayla), antipod, even fire tackle (at midgame) are all deliciously damaging. The problem is, Lucca is SLOW, its only when the taban suit shows up that this problem properly gets addressed, though she still needs a speed belt/dash ring anyway to keep up. But beyond that, when her and Crono are on the team, healing is largely stifled. Marle works thanks to aura whirl, but Robo and Frog have to use their own heal-all tech, which doesnt usually heal sufficiently, and they may not even know yet, depending on where you are in the game.



Marle: My opinion of her has increased tremendously since my last playthrough. While most of her double techs and lack of a decent ultimate spell (lol ice2) hurt her offence considerably, she is amazing against bosses simply because of haste. And, with the right team pairings, she WILL have solid offensive output. Pair her with Crono, Lucca or Ayla and you get ice sword, antipod and cube toss, all of which are powerful and multi-target (eventually). Life 2 is also more useful than I gave it credit for, it allows you to be much sloppier with your healing without paying the consequences. Shes also part of many powerhouse triple techs.



Robo: I want to like Robo, but I find hes not that great. Laser spin is useful, but for a very short period of time. Most of his double techs are single-target, and become obsolete by lategame (ice tackle, fire tackle, bubble snap). When his double techs are multi-target, they tend to have very limited range (max cyclone, doublevbomb). Shock is the weakest ultimate spell in the game. Really, the only saving grace he has is healing and uzzi punch. That, and a lot of tab potential. Crisis arm is hard to make useful since Robos hp will always end with a 5 until he maxes his hp when his level hits the mid 50s.



Frog: In my opinion, hes easily the worst character in the game. His single tech list leaves much to be desired Frog squash is terrible, cure 2 is unnecessary, water 2 is learned too late to be of much use, and the rest of his techs are obsolete when he rejoins Crono for the Magus takedown. That leaves him with heal and leap slash as useful single techs, and leap slash is easily obsoleted by confuse, uzzi punch and triple kick come lategame. His double techs are among the worst in the game. Swordstream, spire, glacier, line bomb, bubble hit, bubble snap, these are all single-hit, obsoleted double techs, and some are so bad that they arent even worthwhile when first learned. His only redeemable quality is that he heals, and later on he learns drop kick and spin strike. Oh, and ice water for Magus castle.



Ayla: Arguably the very best character in the game, if not a close second to Crono. You basically cannot form a bad team that includes her. She physically outdamages Crono with regular attacks until the overpowered rainbow sword shows up. She has the highest critical rating in the game. Shes monumental in defeating those Mt. Woe volcanoe enemies that give you 100 tech points. Charm basically breaks the game, making megaelixirs, gold studs and numerous tabs a basic commodity in the black omen, not to make light of what you can steal before that (ruby armor, anyone?). Shes the prime candidate for both power and magic tabs because her attack multipliers are astronomical. Shes faster than Crono. And, last but not least, her double/triple tech list is droolworthy. Fire whirl, twister, falcon hit, volt bite, cube toss, beast toss, drop kick, these are all double techs that stand above the rest in one way or another. Shes implicated in 5 triple techs, and aside from poyozo dance, these are dishing out 2400-3100+ damage. Even her single techs can do no wrong. Rock throw, charm, tail spin, and triple kick are all incredibly useful, and her dino tail actually dishes out more damage than frog squash. And, unlike Crono, she can even heal, even if its single-target.



Magus: Sorry Magus, you might be a total bad*** with an amazing story, but when it comes to gameplay, youre not that spectacular. First off, he has to learn all of his single techs at a point where everyone else already has, which is highly aggravating. While fire 2 trivializes the death peak and makes light of Frogs sidequest, theres not much else going for him. He learns magic wall at a point where youre swarming with barriers. Dark bomb is single-target, and ineffective this late in the game. Dark mist is like water 2 with shadow elemental, in other words its not doing much damage. Black hole is cool, but way too inconsistent and range-limited. Its only when he learns dark matter that things pick up for him. But even then, a disproportionately high amount of enemies are shadow-absorbent. I will grant him this: his triple techs are amazing, dishing out 2800-3100 damage to multiple targets, which will clear almost any random group of enemies that arent shadow resistant. Statistically, hes a cut above the team, being a beautiful combination of physically powerful, agile, and tanky. His mag def is especially noteworthy. Also, the doomsickle makes it easy for him to solo bosses since he does 3x physical damage when the remaining party members are slain.