[Retro Review] Chrono Trigger

“ Chrono Trigger stands proudly as one
of the benchmark titles of its time.”

Taking a step out of the Final Fantasy series, Squaresoft aimed for a less serious, more carefree RPG with a lot of fun. The result? An epic RPG that gathered many devoted fans, and brought a lot of North American gamers to the world of RPGs. Chrono Trigger was less conventional, and more adventurous than the Final Fantasy games, and it’s fast flow from real time exploration to exciting battle was pratically seemless. Chrono Trigger was later remastered and sold again for the PSX, and there was even an anime OVA released for it.

 

The story follows a young lad named Crono and his colourful friends. It all begins during the Guradia Millennial Fair, when Crono’s date Marle is transported to the past in a freak accident involving the experimental telepod device. Crono wastes no time and follows her into the past. Their presence in their own past causes a cascade of unexpected events, and before they know it, Crono and his friends are tampering with time itself! Their visit to their future reveals them that a terrible fate is in store for the world of their great-grandchildren. Ignoring the unspoken rules of temporal affairs, Crono and his friends try to find a way to stop the world from heading into a disastrous future.

All for One! One for All! As Crono and his friend travel through different times and places, they meet new people, solve mysteries and head for one of the multiple endings. In fact, the game offers are special + mode, which allows the player to start a new game with the character stats and items from an already completed CT game. This opens up the door for new, and terribly funny endings.

Shameless Plug! When games get ported to the American and European systems, we often await the result of the often awkward translations. Chrono Trigger is perhaps one of the best translations of its time, and the translators did a great job to preserve the game’s unique sense of humour, as well as the distinctive phrases and personalities of the characters. At the beginning of the game, the characters can seem really 2 dimensional, but as you grow into the game, the characters grow, and you start to love them for who they are. A lot of the power in Chrono Trigger as an epic RPG comes from the characters, the dialog, and the story that, at times, doesn’t seem to take itself seriously. A wonderful mix of character development with a unique storyline make this game a must for any serious RPGamer.

Character Menu Though the graphics are done with the same engine as Final Fantasy VI, the character design was not done by Squaresoft’s regular; Yoshitake Amano. Instead, they contracted Akira Toriyama, the man behind Dragonball and other successful anime series. With that, Chrono Trigger got a very distinct look and seperated itself from all of Square’s other RPGs. The graphics are basic but very colourful; it certainly makes use of the SNES’ colour pallet. Because the battle system is real time, and does not take place in a seperate screen, the flow of graphics is very well done and does not slow down the gameplay. I also noticed that the in-game character sprites are taller than those used for Final Fantasy, which makes them a little more realistic and moveable. Luckily the game does not use any zoom or pixel distortion that often created awkward effects on the SNES. Chrono Trigger, in my opinion, is one of the best looking RPGs for this console.

Square also introduced us to the new musical scores of Yasunori Mitsuda, rather than Nobuo Uematsu or any of the other Square veterans. Mitsuda was in charge of sound effects for earlier Final Fantasy games, and also arranged the music for Ogre Battle. This however, was his first Squaresoft masterpiece. The poor sound engine of the SNES did not withold Mitsuda from making a brilliant soundtrack. Every theme is so well placed, and a lot of them show great emotion, whether it is joy or grief. The only other SNES soundtrack that I consider to be on par with this one is Final Fantasy V. The Chrono Trigger OSV remains to be one of my all time favourites, despite the fact that they are all in midi format.

Combo Attacks are the most powerful The battle system is taken from both the classic Final Fantasy games and Secret of Mana, but with an added bonus: team work. Although the development of character skills is fairly simple, the real power lies in the combination of those skills. Powerful attacks will be automatically set as combos, and later on, players can discover secret rocks that bring out even more powerful triple-attacks. The fact that the fighting is real time, does not take place in a seperate screen, but also gives you the luxury of an easy accessible menu really makes this game fast paced. The battle system in Chrono Trigger remains to be a fan favourite, and many people were disappointed when Square changed the system for its sequal Chrono Cross.

A fun battle system, combined with fast conversations, easy accessible menus and options make this game near perfect in gameplay. I found it amazing that I could go through a whole RPG without feeling annoyed at something. The gameplay is fun, dynamic and very silly in it’s own way.

In the end, where does Chrono Trigger stand in the world of RPGs? It stands proudly as one of the benchmark titles of its time, and continues to gather more fans who get into retro gaming. If you do not own an SNES, you can get it for the PSX, which also includes brand new anime cut scenes! Truly, Chrono Trigger is a legendary RPG with many fans, that deserves a notation on the top charts of retro gaming.

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