Shiny materials are used in the crafting of Rainbow equipment in Chrono Cross, and they come in six different types. Those types are Shiny Dew, Shiny Ember, Shiny Leaf, Shiny Salt, Shiny Sand, and Shiny Soot, and they are all obtained by using Summons to eliminate foes. For those players that are trying to earn large quantities of Chrono Cross's Shiny materials, this guide details a farming strategy that is quite effective.
Chrono Cross: How to Get Shiny Materials
Prior to describing how to farm Shiny materials for Rainbow equipment crafting in Chrono Cross, a few words on exactly how they are obtained seem pertinent. As previously noted, these items are earned when an enemy is dispatched with a Summon, and the color of the Summon determines which material is granted. For full clarity, here is a breakdown of how the color of a Summon relates to the Shiny material that a player will earn:
Shiny Material | Summon Color |
Shiny Dew | Blue |
Shiny Ember | Red |
Shiny Leaf | Green |
Shiny Salt | White |
Shiny Sand | Yellow |
Shiny Soot | Black |
Chrono Cross: Shiny Material Farming
Since Shiny materials are only granted by eliminating foes with Summons, the key to farming these items efficiently is to target enemies that will not disrupt the color field. Indeed, a Summon can only be executed if the field is filled with its color, and foes that use a wide array of Elements in Chrono Cross will make maintaining such a field very challenging. Fortunately, there is an enemy-type that will almost never interfere with building a color field, and that enemy-type is the Mannequeen.
For the uninitiated, Mannequeens can be found inside the Tower of Geddon in the Dead Sea. If a player has already completed that area then they can instead fight these enemies in the Bend of Time, which is accessed by landing on the small island that is between Marbule and Water Dragon Isle. More specifically, Mannaqueens are in the second portal from the top-left corner, and that portal has been marked on this image:
With information on the enemies that are used for this Shiny material farm established, it is now possible to detail the process:
Preparation
- Equip one Chrono Cross character with a Summon that corresponds to the specific material that is to be farmed.
- Equip all other characters with low-level healing/supplemental Elements that share a color with the summon.
- Equip all characters with Bone weapons.
Execution
- Engage the Mannequeens. If farming in the Bend of Time, run away until Mannequeens are encountered. Notably, players that are farming for Shiny Leaf in the Bend of Time can also get that material from the Gremlins in the portal.
- Build up Element Levels in Chrono Cross with the Bone weapons, taking care not to kill any enemies.
- Use the aforementioned low-level Elements to fill the field with the Summon's color.
- Use the Summon to eliminate the enemies and obtain Shiny materials.
Players can now simply repeat this process as many times as needed, switching the Summon and the corresponding low-level Elements when enough of a certain material has been obtained. Eventually this will result in a fan having a stockpile of all the Shiny materials, which they can then turn into some of the best weapons in Chrono Cross.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is available for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
