"If history is to change, let it change! If the world is to be destroyed, so be it! If my fate is to be destroyed, I must simply laugh!" — Magus |
{{Magus (魔王 "Maō"?, literally "demon king") is the Tritagonist of Chrono Trigger and was the dark mage waging war against the Kingdom of Guardia in the year 600 A.D. Magus was originally born as Janus (ジャキ Jaki?, "Jaki" in the Japanese version), the young prince of Zeal in the year 12,000 BC. He is especially determined to kill Lavos and find his older sister, Schala.
Physical Appearance[]
As Both Magus and Janus look quite different at first glance. Magus has pale gray skin, while Janus has skin typical of the other inhabitants of both the Kingdom of Zeal and average characters in other times. Both Magus and Janus have light blue hair; Janus, however, has shorter hair length than Magus. Janus also has rounded ears, while Magus has pointed ears.
Janus is about the same height as the various fiend imps shown in-game, while Magus is the tallest playable character. Janus also has very little muscle, while Magus has a rather muscular build.
Janus wears a light purple shawl cloak while wearing pointed boots of the same color. while Magus wore a cloak (blue in-game sprite, but red in the official artwork); dark magenta trousers; brown gloves, boots, a chest plate, and a codpiece, all of which appear to be made of leather.
As the Prophet, Magus wore a hood over his head with orange trimmings around the brim and collar.
Personality[]
Magus is brooding, potent, gloomy, and indomitably ambitious.
Storyline[]
Origin[]
Prince Janus was born around 12,000 BC. in the Kingdom of Zeal. He was very dissimilar to his older sister, Schala, in terms of demeanor, and more closely resembled his mother, who was cold and distant. He had stronger magic than Schala and his mother, but ceased using it because of how his mother had changed. He was a very introverted child, with his sister and pet cat, Alfador, being his only friends.
Crono's party first meets Janus in Enhasa. He tells them that the "black wind howls" and that one among them will perish, and then walks away from the group. Later on, Janus and Schala converse. Janus mentions the black winds again, and Schala says that she feels "the foreboding" as well, though she tells him not to worry about it. She then gives him an amulet, saying that it contains her prayers. If something anything ever happens to him, it would keep him safe. She says she wants to remain with him, but their mother has other plans for her.
Hearing this, Janus gets quite angry and proclaims that their mother is not their mother anymore. He says that although she looks like her, she is not the same on the inside. Schala is then summoned by the Queen. She leaves him and asks for his forgiveness.
Later on, Crono and the party are imprisoned. As Schala and Janus enter, Janus comments that they are idiots. Schala says that she wants to help them, although Janus thinks that they will not be of any use and does not want her to get in trouble if she lets them go. Schala says not to worry and that they may be able to help Melchior. Schala then frees the group and tells them to flee from the palace and save the Guru of Life, as he was sent to the Mountain of Woe for opposing Queen Zeal's plans.
However, when the Prophet then enters the room, saying that he needs to put an end to them. Schala asks him not to do anything to them, so he concedes but tells Schala that she must cooperate with him. He then asks the party how they arrived. They show the Prophet and Schala the Time Gate they came through. The Prophet takes them in the Time Gate and forced Schala to place a magical barrier on it.
After the Mountain of Woe falls into the ocean, Dalton arrives and takes Janus and Schala to the Ocean Palace. There, they see their mother's ultimate plan come to fruition.
When the Mammon Machine was activated, it began absorbing too much power. Queen Zeal and Schala along with the three Gurus were the only ones at the Mammon Machine's activation. The Gurus warned about a dimensional vortex, power humans cannot control, and they would be dragged into a rift in time, yet the Queen persisted in activating the machine. Soon, Janus entered the room looking for Schala. Suddenly, the six were transported in front of Lavos. Gates then appeared and transported Belthasar, Gaspar, Melchior, and Janus to different times. Belthasar was sent to the Future, Gaspar was sent to the End of Time, Melchior was sent to the Present, and Janus was sent to the Middle Ages. c. 580 AD.
In the Middle Ages[]
Janus was found in Truce Canyon by Ozzie, who calls forth three Blue Imps. He and his Mystics would have slain him if Janus had not defended himself with magic, which human beings should not be able to use. Seeing how the boy's potential as being a greater wizard than himself, Ozzie took him in and raised him, grooming him to become the leader of the Mystics' army. It was during this time that he took the name "Magus," referring to his status as a powerful magic-user.
During this time, he grew vindictive and vengeful against Lavos and was eternally concerned over the fate of his older sister, Schala.
The War[]
His main reasons for starting his war against Guardia were left out in the English version; however, in the Japanese version, he stated his intentions of gaining the power to immensely increase his chances of defeating Lavos. Seeing his strong magic and strange appearance, most people took him to be a Mystic himself.
At the height of the war, he faced Sir Cyrus and his squire, Glenn. Cyrus wielded the Masamune, the only weapon capable enough of breaking through Magus' magical barrier. Even with this, he was no match for Magus' powerful magic. He died in combat and the Masamune was broken. Glenn tried to avenge his best friend but was struck by one of Magus' spells and transformed into an anthropomorphic frog.
He was attempting to summon Lavos during the war, and while the Mystics believed it was to help them win the war, Magus' real intentions were to summon Lavos so he could take his revenge on it.
The Battle at the Fiendlord's castle[]
Eventually, after Frog gains the Masamune, the heroes go to confront Magus in his castle. After fighting through his minions, they fight and defeat him. After hearing that he was believed to be trying to create Lavos, Magus informs the heroes that he was only trying to summon him. Lavos begins to wake up, and Magus tries to use his magic to send him back to sleep. Even he was not strong enough to kill Lavos when he awoke. The space-time distortion generated by Lavos' premature awakening created a massive and unstable Gate, which sucked everyone and the Keep in, scattering them through time.
It is unknown what happened to Magus in the original timeline where the heroes did not show up to defeat him.
Return to Zeal[]
While the heroes were sent to Prehistory, Magus was sent back to his own time era. During this time, because of his knowledge of the future, Magus was able to convince his mother Queen Zeal that he was a powerful oracle, and called himself the Prophet. When he appears on screen at this point, he is wearing a dark blue cloak that mostly conceals his appearance, but if one looks close enough they can see Magus' face, boots and hair slightly sticking out.
His aim during this period was to bide his time until the point where Lavos appeared and kill it. He sets himself up in Zeal as a counselor to the queen, waiting for Crono and the others to arrive from the future. He went through everything he saw as a child, going through the motions until the battle at the Ocean Palace would give him another opportunity to destroy Lavos.
When the heroes appear, Magus, out of spite for them, convinces Zeal that they are threats that have to be eliminated, leading to a battle with Dalton's Golem. Whether the Golem wins or loses, the heroes are captured. Schala, however, is able to convince him to spare them, leading to them being sent through the time gate they entered in, after which Schala seals the gate shut. The heroes later return using the Epoch and enter the Ocean Palace where Zeal is trying to harness Lavos's power with the Mammon Machine. Magus was also there, knowing that Lavos would appear. After Lavos breaks into the Ocean Palace, Magus throws off his disguise and tries to fight it, but is quickly overwhelmed. Somehow, he survives. After Crono is killed off by Lavos, Schala opens a time portal that allows everyone to escape.
He is not seen again until the Elder says that he was looking for someone at the North Cape. Here, he reveals he is Janus (via flashbacks). He then mocks Crono's team for being defeated by Lavos. the player can then decide whether to fight him or not. If you decide to spare him, he joins the party by force. Regardless of choice, he mentions that Gaspar could help undo Crono's death. It is assumed he joins the team in hopes of a much better chance as a team of fulfilling his revenge against Lavos, now that all six of the members are affected by the events.
If Magus is defeated, At The Bottom Of Night will play until the North Cape is exited. This may be to indicate to the player that they might have made a mistake in killing Magus.
If Magus was spared[]
Magus rarely inserts his two cents for the remainder of the game with a few exceptions. In the scenario where Ozzie attempts to rule the Mystics on his own and continue the extermination of humans, Magus informs him that he was merely a tool used to his benefit. This angers Ozzie and causes him to denounce his former mentor. When Ozzie is finally defeated, he states that the past "is merely a dream".
If you confront Queen Zeal with Magus on the team, the music will then change to his own theme for the entire fight. Magus will then insult Zeal for being a tool to Lavos and believing in the immortality scheme. Zeal, not recognizing Magus as her own son from the future but as a false prophet, seeking revenge but was defeated by the team.
Upon defeating the Lavos Body within the shell, Magus and the entire party realizes Lavos's intentions: Lavos has controlled all of the events since its first encounter in the planet during the prehistoric time, especially all of life's evolution for its own chosen purpose (later confirmed in Chrono Cross). The party succeeds in defeating Lavos' true form.
When it is time to close the Time Portals, Magus doesn't speak a word when Lucca asks him if he was searching for Schala, hinting she is still alive.
During the DS version, if the party faces the Dream Devourer with Magus is present, he will react with shock upon seeing himself from the future. the future version of Magus returned to free Schala from Lavos after discovering he was revived by absorbing Schala. The other version of magus goes toe-to-toe with the Dream Devourer and is easily defeated. after the party "defeats" the Dream Devourer, Schala is able to send them to safety. after a brief conversation with the other version of him, Schala told him that he cannot save her, no matter how strong he is, but tells him to live a better life. Schala then teleports him out of Time's Eclipse. frustrated by this, he then gets rid of his memories while being teleported out and wakes up in the woods. He only remembers that he forgot something important and says he will find whatever it was.
As a Party Member[]
He can be recruited anytime after defeating the Blackbird. He is found in North Cape (meeting him is still an essential part of the story). After a short argument (in which Magus mocks Crono for trying to fight Lavos), Magus will ask Frog if he wishes to fight, or the whole party if they want to fight him if Frog isn't a member. If Frog refuses (if he does, his reason is that he knows killing Magus won't bring Crono or Cyrus back), Magus will join the party as they start to leave, not actually giving them a choice of letting him or not. Regardless of choice, he tells the heroes that there may be a way to revive Crono with the aid of the Guru of Time. Canonically, Magus was spared and recruited, however, he was mentioned in Lucca's letter to Kid in Chrono Cross. This is supported by an extra shadow in Luccia's room while the letter is being read, although this may be a glitch of some kind.
In one of the New Game Plus endings (achieved if Lavos is defeated before fighting Magus), Frog is seen going to confront Magus, while he is preparing a ritual, the purpose of which remains unknown, although he states his fight with Frog will decide the fate of the world. The two then battle each other, the fighting happens off-screen. After that, a figure with a cape is seen standing on top of Fiendlord's castle, but it isn't known if it's him or Frog (though the silhouette more closely resembles Frog).
Techs[]
Magus is the only party member to not learn any Dual Techs.
| Tech (SNES/PS1 Name) | Japanese Name | MP | TP | Target | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☆Lightning II (Lightning 2) | ☆サンダガ | 8 | N/A | All enemies | Attack all enemies with lightning. (Light) |
| ☆Ice II (Ice 2) | ☆アイスガ | 8 | N/A | All enemies | Attack all enemies with ice. (Water) |
| ☆Fire II (Fire 2) | ☆ファイガ | 8 | N/A | All enemies | Attack all enemies with fire. (Fire) |
| ☆Dark Bomb | ☆ダークボム | 8 | 400 | Circle of enemies | Bomb enemies within a circle. (Shadow) |
| ☆Barrier (Magic Wall) | ☆マジックバリア | 8 | 400 | One ally | Boost ally's Magic Defense. |
| ☆Dark Mist | ☆ダークミスト | 10 | 400 | All enemies | Attack all enemies with darkness. (Shadow) |
| ☆Black Hole | ☆ブラックホール | 15 | 900 | One enemy | Attempt to banish enemies within a circle. |
| ☆Dark Matter | ☆ダークマター | 20 | 900 | All enemies | Attack all enemies with darkness. (Shadow) |
Boss Battles[]
- See: Magus/Boss Battles
Gallery[]
Menu[]
Animated in-Game Sprites[]
In-Game Sprites[]
Magic[]
Artwork[]
FMV[]
Other[]
Other Appearances[]
Gil in Radical Dreamers.
Magus appears in Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki as Gil, a shadowy and handsome member of the Radical Dreamers thieving group. He is depicted as masked and mysterious, though gentle and cultured.[1] He has the ability to slip in and out of the shadows of the night at will.[2] Magus as Gil was also slated to appear in Chrono Cross. However, as the development of the game progressed, designers decided it would be too difficult to integrate his complex story into the plot.[3] His character, renamed Guile (Alf in the Japanese version, possibly in reference to Magus' former pet cat Alfador), was thus altered to remove his Magus identity and was left in with no back-story, existing merely as a competent magician seeking enigma in the islands of El Nido. Missing Piece includes a number of discarded character designs for Guile, including one which is more-or-less analogous to Magus' appearance in Chrono Trigger (cloak, pointed ears, etc.), as well as one in which he appears as a teenage boy. As it stands, Magus is only mentioned in a letter to Kid from Lucca, in which she assures Kid not to worry as "Janus" is probably watching over her.[4] Gil appears in Chrono Cross only in an Easter egg designating the events of Radical Dreamers as having taken place in an alternate dimension. In the English version of this Easter egg, Gil is referred to as "Magil".
Trivia[]
- The original English translation of Chrono Trigger says that Janus is Schala's stepbrother, not her brother. This was corrected in the DS translation.
- When the party travels to the Last Village Commons with Magus, his pet Cat Alfador notices him and starts following him around.
- He has a statue of himself in the Cathedral, and Medina Village. Although, after he has been defeated, the statue is now Ozzie. But after Ozzie's death, there is no statue at all.
- During the side quest at Cyrus' grave, if Magus is in your party, he will look away and cover himself with his cape as Frog's Masamune is shining powerful in mid-air.
- While Magus has never been seen to have expressed any form of happiness, if you go to the dancing part at the Millennial Fair and choose the laughing button, he will laugh though he hides it. In addition, Magus can also be seen laughing if you have him sit down in the throne room of Giant's Claw. In order to see this, you must have him as the leader of your group. As said before, he also hides his laughter by covering his face with his hand.
- The word "Magus" is the singular form of the word "magi", a Latin word (itself derived from the Persian word "Magus") serving as the root of the English equivalents "mage," "magic," and "magician." Magus' Japanese name Maou translates roughly to "demon king" or "Devil" and is more clearly identified as a title rather than a name.[5] This is reflected in the DS re-release, where he is referred to as "Fiendlord" instead of by name.
- The name "Janus" (pronounced with a "Y\" instead of a "J") stems from the Roman deity of time, gateways, beginnings, endings, and duality. The deity is often depicted as having two faces to represent different aspects of the same being. Magus' identity as Janus does transition into his identity as Magus and then the Prophet, which seems to be supported by the etymology for his birthed name; the time Gates also play large roles in the story of Chrono Trigger. The Roman deity Janus also inspired the name of the month of January, which also matches Magus' aloof personality
- His HP, when fought as a boss, is 6666, a reference to the number of the beast in Christianity (666), adding to Magus' association with darkness and evil.
- If Magus is renamed, the new name is reflected in bestiary entries 180 and 195 (battles in Fiendlord's Keep and North Cape New Game +)
- In the official artwork by Akira Toriyama, Magus is wearing a red cloak, but his in-game sprite which is colored blue.
- Magus is the only character in the game to never temporarily leave the party.
Musical Theme[]
| Music Title | Music Track |
|---|---|
| Magus Confronted |
References[]
- ^ Square Co.. Radical Dreamers. Demiforce (fan translation). Satellaview. (in English). 2005. “Serge: The top half of his face is covered with a mask at all times. I've never even seen what he really looks like. At times, it seems as though I'm hanging around someone from another world -- traveling with this pack is definitely an interesting experience. Kid's quiet about her past too, but it's like I know her entire life story compared to how little I know about Magil.”
- ^ Square Co.. Radical Dreamers. Demiforce (fan translation). Satellaview. (in English). 2005. “Vera: From what I've heard, this mysterious figure who could allegedly slip in and out of the shadows was the subject of many whispers throughout the manor, long after this incident had come to pass.”
- ^ GamePro: Interview with Chrono Cross Developers. Chrono Compendium (2000-10-17).
- ^ Square Co.. Chrono Cross. Square Co.. PlayStation. (in English). 2000. “Lucca: I'm not the slightest bit worried about you, Kid! I know that, no matter what happens, '"he"' will always be there looking out for you! Or perhaps he has already found you and is there by your side as you read this? If so, hello, Janus! Please take good care of my '"little sister"' for me!”
- ^ Chrono Compendium staff (2006). Translation Differences. Chrono Compendium. Retrieved on 2006-08-15.