How to Recruit Skelly in Chrono Cross

There are a lot of characters in Chrono Cross that require a certain item before you can add them to your party. One of the more involved ones is Skelly. This is because you need to get his Angry Scapula, Good Backbone, Heavy Skull, Mixed Bones, Pelvic Bone, and Sturdy Ribs first. All of this can be done fairly early on in the game, but you need to visit a lot of different places first. So, to help you out, here’s how to recruit Skelly in Chrono Cross.

Editor’s Note: To help provide a sense of context, there will be some Chrono Cross spoilers regarding early events so people know when they can get some of Skelly’s bones in Another World. However, there are no spoilers about his past.

The first part of Skelly can be gotten right after you’ve come to Another World. Serge will need to head to Termina, either with Kid or Leena. This means passing through Fossil Valley. That’s where you’ll find the Heavy Skull and start the Skelly sidequest in Chrono Cross.

First, go to the upper path and ladder in Fossil Valley. Lie and tell the guard blocking it that you are an exorcist. Once you are in the new area, you’ll hear about a strange sound. Go to the head of the fossil to get Skelly’s skull.

As a quick aside, in this same area and at this same time, you can get Draggy’s egg. Just descend the ladder on the left. If a guard tries to warn you, you’re climbing down the right one. In this area, you’ll see an egg in the nest. That’s Draggy! Bear in mind that if you do take it, you will need to fight a Dodo. That opponent is pretty strong, so you may want to come back to grab the egg later when you’re stronger.

When you get the next piece of Skelly depends on which character you sneak into Viper Manor with during the story. if you choose to go to Viper Mansion with Nikki, you will pretty much immediately get a chance to get his Angry Scapula. When Nikki goes into the waterfall, you’ll find the bone if you choose to read a very visible letter on the ground. If you decided to head to the mansion with Guile or Pierre, you will need to wait until after you have Korcha/Macha’s boat and can return to the mainland. If you head into the Shadow Forest to the right of the manor, then head left until you reach the waterfalls, you can go into the cave under the bottom left waterfall to get this part.

If you didn’t add Nikki to Serge’s party in Chrono Cross, your next piece of Skelly will appear in Guldove after your escape from Viper Manor. First, talk to the Element Trader outside of Doc’s house. This person will give you Skelly’s Pelvic Bone.

Before you leave Guldove, you need to visit Orlha’s bar. There is a dwarf in a helmet with a key item. If you talk with them a few times, they will give you a Green Tinkler. This is an item you need to explore the Hydra Marshes. Once you leave Guldove, you can either go get the Angry Scapula, if you missed it, or head off to grab a Good Backbone. The Shadow Forest’s enemies are a little less challenging, so I’d recommend getting that bone first.

After that, you can go to the Hydra Marshes in Another World. Those are east of Arni. First, take the left path to get the Safety Gear. You don’t need to equip it. However, just having it means you won’t take any damage while exploring the area. (The water is toxic.) Backtrack to the beginning area, and head up to the north path. Use the Green Tinkler on the plant you see as you continue upward. It will then allow Serge to access the area where Skelly’s Good Backbone is. Just head east, then go south. Head into a small cave to the far bottom right that is along the bottom-most path. It is right behind a treasure chest. If you investigate with the action button inside there, you will get Skelly’s backbone.

As another aside, you can get an essential item to recruit another character while you’re here. On the path to the Good Backbone, you’ll see an option to head to the east. If you go there, you’ll see two enemies near a treasure chest. Beat them and open the chest to get NeoFio’s Life Sparkle. You can take that to Viper Manor’s roof immediately after leaving the marshes to recruit that character.

The last two parts of Skelly are both on islands you can reach with Korcha’s/Macha’s boat immediately after leaving Guldove for the first time. If you go as far north as possible and head to the east, you can dock at the Isle of the Damned. Go north in this first area and head to the upper left. There’s a small cave like the one in the Hydra’s Marsh. Head inside and press the action button to get Mixed Bones.

After that, go south until you reach the Water Dragon Isle. If you head north up the rocks to the person standing up ahead, you can talk to them to get Sturdy Ribs.

Once you have all of the bones, immediately return to Termina. Head to the second level of the main area, and stop by the house to the right of the statue. Speak to the person sitting beside the window. Watch the climax of the sidequest, then give Skelly a moment. After you walk back inside, you can talk to Skelly and finally recruit him.

Skelly’s innate element in Chrono Cross is Black. He also can equip gloves, much like Mojo, NeoFio, and Poshul, three other characters who will likely be in your party by the time you acquire him.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.