Chrono Trigger

"A flawless masterpiece."

Word count : 1,372 words
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Chrono Trigger is the ultimate video game, the masterpiece of masterpieces. The only game worthy to call itself equal to Final Fantasy 6 in my opinion. Just take a look at the other reviews! Listen to the video game veterans who are calling you to this game. You must understand how amazing and truly inspiring this game is. If you’re lucky enough to find a copy for sale – buy it. Buy it right away, you shouldn’t have to think. Chrono Trigger is the ultimate rival for any RPG out there. It’s arguably superior to most of the Final Fantasies.. and simply one of the absolute greatest games of all time, period.

This game’s all about time travel – you’ll be going back and forth using a special machine or by going through portals. As you go along you’ll unravel the story of an ordinary guy, who became much more just by bumping into a special girl supposedly named Marle. From there on it gets very interesting. You’ll meet many friends and enemies along the way – and you’ll begin to see your enemy’s plan. Now instead of fighting for your future – you’ll be fighting for the past and present as well. Only Crono and his friends can stop the bad guys from doing this. And it won’t be easy… you’ll have to master your characters, and know what they can do. That’s why choosing your group can be a very tough decision.

Tech is kind of like a skill that consumes mp [is tech short for technique? I’m not too sure]. All of your characters will eventually learn magic with the exception of one character. But in the end all characters will have something on their tech list. You see the neat thing here is you can combine techs with another character to make a stronger attack. These are called ‘Dual Tech.’ So let’s take for example a combination of Crono and Frog. One of their dual techs is called ‘X Strike.’ They’ll both attack the enemy in an X pattern. I’m pretty sure all possible pairs of characters have 3 dual techs. And now the ultimate tech… ‘Triple Tech’ that obviously uses all three characters. These are very nice to see… so experiment with different sets of three characters [besides Crono.. you need him :]

The first time Crono wakes up some kind of fair is going on. Now this part is really fun, the fair is filled with things to do, people to meet, and good things to eat! :) But watch what you do here.. it’ll effect you later in the game [but don’t be all cautious just because I said that. It’s really not that important.. have fun!! Eat other people’s lunches!!] in a certain place. This fair is one of the few extremley fun things there are in the game. That’s something I really like about CT, you can always have fun. It’s something you don’t find in some rpgs of late *cough* FF8 *cough*

The graphics are wonderful, and I really like the animation for the characters. The places you’ll go are very well detailed, you’ll see balloons, rocks, etc. If you look at the art [not in the game] you may recognize the style of drawing.. it’s done by the one and only Akira Toriyami! His drawing really suits these characters well. If you’re looking for a beautiful game on the SNES, look no further. Who could complain about the graphics in CT? Enemies, characters, castles, backgrounds, everything looks simply awesome. And don’t you go whining about 3D.

Ah, the characters. Is there another rpg out there with such a wonderful set of characters? It’s amazing how Square managed to have each of them have so much development and give all of them an intriguing story. Crono is the spikey haired main character, weilding a sword. He doesn’t talk throughout the game, but nods or shakes his head every now and again . I have no problem with it, and neither should you. Marle is the spunky one.. and on the inside she isn’t just a normal girl. Lucca is your techie friend. She has made a matter transporter that she displays at the fair – and this transporter is responsible for a lot of trouble. There are many more characters I wish I could describe to you such as Frog and especially Magus – but I don’t want to spoil anything if you haven’t tried the game yet. And why exactly haven’t you?

The fighting system is one of the best I’ve seen. It’s half real-time, half turn based. Also, depending on where you’re attacking from sometimes you can attack 2 + enemies at the same time, or take off more damage. So all three of your characters will surround the enemy or enemies which will be moving around quite a bit. It gives the fight a much more realistic feel, I mean what kind of monster does battle standing in one spot and only moving to attack? Unfortunately, I haven’t seen Square use this fighting system anywhere else.. not even Chrono Cross! :(

And then there’s the music. With a score just a little better Final Fantasy 6, and far greater then any other RPG’s, it seems like there simply are no flaws in this game, whatsoever. And that is arguably the truth. I wasn’t sure who did the music for CT, but now I know it’s Yasunori Mitsuda (Thanks Ranma!) who did almost all the work, and Nobuo Uematsu did one or two pieces. Some favourites of mine are the main theme of CT, Frog’s theme, Magus’ theme, and Robo’s theme. But those are the ones that come to mind – I loved all of them and I would buy a CT soundtrack anyday of the week. I don’t really like comparing games in reviews – but I found that the music in CT was much better then the music in CC.

Replayability is something that Chrono Trigger has too. There are always secrets to find, and I’m pretty sure there are multiple endings. And even besides that, you’ll have ALL of your old stuff and there are different reactions to things you may do that you haven’t done before. If that’s not enough to come back, there’s always the ultimate reason – to experience it again. It’s usually hard to find replayablilty in RPGs, but CT will make you come back. Probably not right away, but someday.. you’ll remember what a game Chrono Trigger was. And you’ll want to play it again.

Grudge Match!
Comparisons for these mosnter RPGs.

Final Fantasy 3 vs. Chrono Trigger

Audio : FF3 and CT both provide wonderful songs for the gamer to listen to… but CT’s soundtrack is slightly better in my opinion.
Graphics : CT wins by a long shot.. characters are taller and everything is more detailed.
Gameplay : A quick tie. Both have outstanding gameplay.
Storyline : Wow, this is a toughie. I think FF3’s is a tiny bit better.
Characters : Dead level. Draw.
Fighting System : CT’s is a lot better, although not too different.
Overall : They’re both wonderful rpgs, but CT has the upperhand. Chrono Trigger and FF3 remain to be my favourite games of all time.

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Sushi’s Quick Sheet™

Graphics : Very nice.
Gameplay : Exceptional.
Storyline : One of the best stories I’ve heard/read/played in my life.
Music : Outstanding!
Sound : No complaints.
Fighting System : Somewhat innovative and fun.
Control : Nothing wrong.
Replay : It’s there, alright.
Overall : The master of all RPGs.
***

Ratings

Graphics : 10
Gameplay : 10
Storyline : 10
Control : 10
Music : 10
Sound : 10
Characters : 10
Fighting system : 10
Replay : 10
Overall : 10
Sushi says : “The only flawless RPGs I know are CT – and Lunar : SSSC”

As hot as wasabi : Everything is wonderful. A classic gem that all should own.
Stinky like Seaweed : Hrm. I have no complaints.

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((Chrono Trigger is the second game ever awarded..))

[[Sushi’s Mighty Rare award of Pure Excellence]]

-Congratulations!-

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Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/00, Updated 10/27/00