Chrono Trigger (SNES - Released 1995)

Do you remember a time when RPG games were actually GOOD and were CHALLENGING? I remember those days vividly. One big reason I will always hold onto the childhood love of RPG games was because of this game, Chrono Trigger.

1995 didn't see a Final Fantasy release that year, though we were treated to some of the greatest games of our time. Over here in the USA, Japan was kind enough to release this gem to our shores. Featuring the awesome art style of Akira Toriyama, we were blessed with one of my personal favorites, and a game with a legacy beyond the corridors of time or consoles.

Synopsis:

In Chrono Trigger, the player takes control of a youth named Crono. He and several other characters you meet along the way fight to stop Lavos, an alien porcupine thing festering within the planet, gaining power through the ages. Crono and company travel through time as they learn the truth of their planet, and vow to destroy the evil that ruins the future.



Full Description: Chrono Trigger - Wikipedia

The Good Points:

CT has so many good things about it.. it's going to be hard to be brief. The first thing many players love about this game is the battle system. The screen doesn't shift to some battle-mode backdrop, you fight where you stand. Crono alone will always be one of your most powerful characters for the duration of the game, but when you combine characters with another in battle, they can pull off Dual Techs.. skills that they both use simultaneously to deal maximum damage. Triple Techs become available relatively early in the game as well, making some tough boss battles a total joke.

CT utilized the classic ATB system, or active time battle for those who never picked up a final fantasy game in the nineties. The menu was moderately customizable, you could move the command bar (Y) in battle at will to move it out of your way, which was new for a RPG at the time. Battles are fought by combining strategy, location of enemies, and using proper skills accurately and timely. Skills are spent using MP of course, and you only have up to 99, so this game FINALLY makes having items a dire need. Something that slacked in the FF games of the era.

Bosses in CT ranged from hilariously easy, to ridiculously difficult. For example.. Yakra at the beginning of the game is pretty simple.. hit, hit, heal. Repeat. Then early on you fight Zombor.. a boss where one half is only hurt by magic, and the other only by physical. And at this point in the game, he is beast-mode.. so bring lots of Ethers with you.

The story of Chrono Trigger is on point with a better than average twist in the middle of the game. As you play, you learn what characters are the best to bring for different quests, and which are crucial to bring to certain places. The game allows you to switch out via The End of Time and by hitting the Y button. The game is pretty easy with Crono at the helm, but at a point where you can no longer play as the game's hero, an alternative is in the extremely OP Magus.This guy throws dark matter, or casts Triple Tech Dark Eternal, and it's over. My end of game dream team consists of Crono, Magus, Marle, I guarantee victory with this combination. Replay value is always something CT has been known for. There is a Reptite ending where you have to beat Lavos after Fighting Magus, but before fighting Azala (during unnatural selection chapter I think) and during the credits, everyone are lizard people. There's some other cool combonations that you can get, as well as the ever loved New Game + where you retain all your previous weapons and gear for an easier, second run thru the game.

How could I forget THE MUSIC?! What a soundtrack. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda is at his best with this OST. The music is never ordinary and always appropriate for the mood. One of my favorite tracks are Silent Light, first heard at the Cathedral early into the game. Such a creepy tune, but hauntingly pleasant. Perfect tone for the area's it's played. Another great track is The Corridors of Time, the song of the floating continent, Zeal.

Sometimes the music takes a turn for the darker, not so pleasant tune.. you'll hear examples of these songs when you visit 2300 AD for the first time, when you battle the shadow mage, Magus, and later in the game when you hear the threatening, darkest track on the album, the theme of Lavos. Imagine Lavos as a Tank from L4D.. you hear that music.. you gonna die.

The Bad Shit:

Is their ANYTHING wrong with CT?? Yes. There is. Sorry fanboys. Here it is. A game this awesome, a game this badass, a game that people still play today due to re-releases and such, a game THIS FUCKING SICK... needs MORE CONTENT. It simply wasn't long enough. Now I've cranked through the game a thousand times, about 20 hours or less. You beat the game, you get an ending. You beat the game again, meet certain conditions, you get another ending. Don't get me wrong, the replay value of CT is there.. but it wasn't until the DS version that they finally saw how boring it was to play New Game + over and over with nothing new to challenge the player. And even the DS version wasn't long enough to certain extents. I still feel they could've packed more into it. More locations, more time periods, new bosses, new monsters (not just re-shaded sprites), and more trials at the end of the game.

Conclusion:

Chrono Trigger is the shizz-nit. Period. When the only thing wrong with a game is lack of more game.. you know you have a winner. Right now this game is ridiculously over priced online for a copy with box, cart, and book, one I saw on ebay today was priced at $245.00 for a "Buy Now" cost. If you own this game, keep it!!

Rating:

5 / 5 Cave Skulls: Fucking Awesome Game.

Official Site: (DS Release)
Ebay Link: Chrono Trigger SNES
Best FanSite: Chrono Compendium