El Ciclo is a town in Dragon Quest VII located far to the northwest of Estard. It is accessible from Greenthumb Gardens by El Magnifico Puente de Pomposo.
Past
Upon arriving, the party takes notice of the bizarre architecture, designed by a famous architect named Pomposo. They also notice that the town does not seem to be in any immediate danger, compared to the other islands they've visited earlier. The party learns that a girl named Antonia is staying overnight at Salvador's clinic since she is frequently getting injured. They also learn that El Magnifico Puente de Pomposo, a bridge designed by Pomposo, is set to have its grand opening the next day, so they decide to spend the night at the inn.
The next morning, Antonia appears to have healed completely overnight, and the party manages to save her before she injures herself. They then decide to visit the grand opening at the bridge, but are told by the guards that it's the next day and to spend the night at the inn. Upon doing so, they start to realise that history is repeating itself. This is confirmed when they head to the grand opening of the bridge and are told that it will take place the day after. While talking to one of the guards about this, he suggests that they go to Pomposo's studio, El Studio de Pomposo, located to the east of town. The party heads there and talks to Pomposo, who becomes fascinated when the party talks about what is going on and gives them the key to the town's clock tower, which he had built.
After going inside the clock tower and using the switch to shut down the clock tower, they go outside and discover that time has completely frozen still. They go into the basement in Salvador's clinic and discover that the painting of the clock tower is ominously glowing. When they approach the painting, they end up in an alternate world known as the Time Frame. After wandering around, they encounter the monster responsible for El Ciclo's infinite time loop, The Time Being. After defeating him, the party destroys the nearby hourglass and gains the sands of time, then are warped back to El Ciclo, where time has returned to normal.
Present
In the present, El Ciclo is now home to the Excellence Grading Organisation, which ranks people based on Strength, Wisdom, and Style. A number of new buildings have appeared in the town with the same style as Pomposo's architecture.
Notable Residents
- Antonia - A girl who works at the local inn who is incredibly clumsy. She seems to get injured frequently, much to the displeasure of the innkeeper.
- Pomposo - An eccentric architect who's obsessed with time. He designed the clock tower in town and the new bridge that's about to be inaugurated, along with a number of other buildings. He has taken to living in his studio located to the far east of town.
Trivia
- The colorful and eccentric architecture of El Ciclo is a reference to famed Barcelona architect Antoni Gaudi, who utilised ceramics, stained glass, and other materials to design buildings with organic shapes inspired by natural forms.
- In the localisation of the 3DS remake, El Ciclo is now Spanish-themed, and many of the characters have Spanish names and intersperse Spanish in their dialogue. The name El Ciclo itself means "The Cycle" in Spanish. This is fitting considering many of the buildings are modeled after Gaudí's style.