Chrono Trigger/Beyond the Ruins

Chapter 6: Beyond the Ruins (2300 A.D. first time)

Thrown from the Gate, you'll appear within a bleak, mechanical room. This is Bangor Dome, which doesn't have much besides a sealed door in the North. Exit and head south, then enter Trann Dome.

Trann Dome
At Tran Dome buy some new armor and use the enertron, then head north into Lab 16 to cross over into another area.

Lab 16
Try to avoid the rats, they steal tonics and money. Head to the right to pick up the Berserker, an accessory. Make sure you grab the Lode Bow for Marle and the Lode Sword for Chrono if you don't have it yet. There will be some ghosts in the next area who you'll need to kill with Lucca's fire attack. Additionally Crono's Slash technique works against them. Try to get clumps of enemies with fire whirl if you can.

Once you've fought your way past some mutants and more, you'll reach another outdoor area, where you'll find the Sewer Access, Lab 32, and Arris Dome. The sewers aren't strictly necessary until much later in the game (although the rewards within are very worthwhile at you're level), and you can't go through Lab 32 until you complete a quest in the Arris Dome, so head there.

Arris Dome
Talk to the people inside to learn a bit more about the state of things in the future. When you're ready, use the enertron and save, then head down the ladder. In this next room, head up the left ladder, follow the girders around in an S path. Examine the rat, it will tell you that you're about to fight a boss. Head north to exit the room, the alarm will sound and as you try to enter the northern door, the Guardian will ambush you.

Boss: Guardian
The boss is the Guardian, which has two helpers called Bits. The Bits periodically attack you, and if you attack the Guardian itself while the Bits are alive, they'll do combination counter attack. If both Bits are alive, a delta attack will be used that damages the entire party. If one is alive, the Bit will ricochet its laser off of the Guardian to amplify the laser against the attacker. Concentrate on killing the individual bits, then attack the Guardian while it's counting down to regenerate the bits. Use Aura Whirl with Crono and Marle to restore health during the countdown if you're damaged. After a few rounds of Bit elimination, it will fall.

A New Hope
Enter through the north door, and you'll enter a refrigeration area where food was once stored. You'll get a seed from the cutscene that ensues. Examine the corpse to learn a clue about the rat running around. Try to catch the rat if you want, but the clue it gives you is to hold and  and press  (if you're using an emulator you may need to program in a key combination). The button code will not work unless the Guardian is dead. Use that combination to activate a bridge to the right side; enter the door.

Fight or sneak your way through this next room to the north; head through the door to reach a data center. You'll learn that the nearest Gate is located in Proto Dome to the east of Arris. Afterwards, you'll watch a recording of The Day of Lavos, which explains why the future is so bleak. You'll make it your official quest to change the past and try to stop Lavos from destroying the world. Head back to the top of the dome, you can activate another bridge to a sealed door (to the right of the door containing the data center) if you want as well, but its not necessary at this point in the game. Upon returning you'll give the seeds you found to Doan, the leader of the people living there, and emphasize putting effort into planting the seeds. In return, you'll receive the Bike Key, which you can use to cross the ruins in Lab 32 or race against Johnny on a jetbike.

Sewer Access
If you're a high enough level at this point, its recommended that you attempt to clear the Sewer Access to get extra experience and higher equipment. You can come back at a later time, but if you wait too long the rewards won't help. Also, doing so now compared to later will be more difficult and slower to get through. The difference between clearing it and not clearing it is really just a boost to the next few areas you go to.

Lab 32
To beat Johnny in the race, you just need to be ahead of him at the end of the race, which should be easy with your three boosts. If you choose to walk the highway instead you can find the Race Log which will enable you to record your bests speeds and compete for prizes. You increase your speed during the race by boosting or having johnny's bike bump you from behind. If you earn a score of 1500 you'll get a power tab.

For more information on the Jetbike Race, see Chrono Trigger/Jetbike Race.

Proto Dome
Once you pass through Lab 32 one way or another, head into Proto Dome, fight a few buggers, and meet Robo. He'll join your party and tell you he needs to go to the factory to turn on the power so you can reach a new time gate.

Challenging Lavos
Impossible during this stage of the game since you have no access to a time gate.