Retro Rewind: Chrono Trigger

[Trout]

First of, I do not want to offend the user who coined this term. I actually think it is a really good idea and wanted to borrow it for a post regarding a similar game review of something about thirty years old now (as the post states.)

Imagine if the creators of Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, and the animator for Dragon Ball Z had a love child, you have Chrono Trigger in a nutshell. But it isn't that simple, in fact nearly everyone who has played it can tell you (for sake of this post, I will assume the reader has not played it of coarse) that you decisions have consequences. Beyond that, what if your ability to snap into action on something you weren't warned about ahead of time actually influences the story's outcome and you only had one brief chance to do it? That is the kind of game Chrono Trigger is, not the your actions matter line that Mass Effect sold us for ME3 that it was pick red or blue and get the overall same ending, this game predates that and has nearly a dozen endings at release.

The combat system is familiar to Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest/Warrior players; you have a zoomed out over world map and then can enter zones that have a closer camera angle. The battles don't transition to a generic screen though, but transition to a fixed camera still of the area as the npcs take position at the start of combat. For traveling, it is fairly similar to Final Fantasy IV, with few differences. And as always, the protagonist is your most powerful character in a party of 3.

What is unique is that the game (SPOILERS) can be beaten without the main character in the party. And this is what makes the entire game wholly unique for its time, you can opt out of doing certain things and get an alternate ending. You can opt in to things as well. You can act on things as they come up and change the future or past, as it is a time travel story. But most importantly:

LOSING THE FINAL BOSS IS A VALID ENDING TO THE GAME

Yeah, even if you play through and win in the end, I recommend reloading your save and losing intentionally just to see that ending. This, and one decision you make in the game between two of the characters shocked me, as I love the Mass Effect series and hadn't played Chrono Trigger before playing the ME trilogy. I believe my opinion of ME would be different had I actually played CT first. Your decisions do matter, and the storytelling is so good that when you have to choose between two characters, you actually feel for each of them and have a tough choice.

I rate this game a play. And if you have played it, pause, as you know what I am already talking about and likely have played through a few times already.

[Trout]

Chrono Trigger.... Ahhhh, Shala and Magus :'( And Robo ._. Still have Frog's theme in the back of my mind whenever I remember this beautiful piece of art
The Game has, as far as I remember, 7 different endings
There is even one for Finishing the Final boss at a point you're not supposed to (when you actually are expected to loose the it's overpower), where the developers of the game are all characters inside the game giving quirky comments ^^ Same ending can be achieved in New Game+ in the same manner or through an early shortcut exclusive to New Game+

I like your review, but I think a New Game+ Feature in a game from the SNES era should be mentioned At least to me it'd matter.

I should apologize, I played the game for the first time on the Nintendo DS release, so I didn't have the luxury of playing the first release. Good constructive criticism though!

[Kraneloran]

Chrono Trigger.... Ahhhh, Shala and Magus :'( And Robo ._. Still have Frog's theme in the back of my mind whenever I remember this beautiful piece of art
The Game has, as far as I remember, 7 different endings
There is even one for Finishing the Final boss at a point you're not supposed to (when you actually are expected to loose to it's overpower), where the developers of the game are all characters inside the game giving quirky comments ^^ Same ending can be achieved in New Game+ in the same manner or through an early shortcut exclusive to New Game+

I like your review, but I think a New Game+ Feature in a game from the SNES era should be mentioned At least to me it'd matter.