Chrono Trigger

"The Time Travelling Quest to Save The Past, Present and Future..."

Salutations, my name is Gyarados Scotty, and I would like to review a classic Role Playing Game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Some titles may have came to mind, like Final Fantasy II or Final Fantasy III, or possibly even the excellent game I have decided to review, Chrono Trigger. Made by SquareSoft, this game is one of the greatest of genre, in my opinion, possibly the best ever created. This game will definitely impress you, and will keep you greatly entertained along the way.

-What the Game is Basically About-
Well, the genre of this magnificent game is a Role Playing Game, also known as the famous RPG. If you aren't familiar with it, which is quite strange, I will now give you a brief explanation of it. First of all, in this category of game, as the name suggests, you execute the role of one or more characters. In this type of game, there is usually a commendable story that you are required to progress through, using the main characters and usually a host of others.

In these games, the grand majority of the time, there are battles, which require you to use cunning strategy in order to conquer them. There are also plenty of them. After the battles, you normally are awarded experience points. After enough are gained, you will gain a level and you will become much stronger. The number of experience points needed to ''level up'' rises as you gain them, making it harder and more challenging as you get stronger. Other things awarded at the end of battles can be currency, items or other things.

The story of Chrono Trigger is surely one to remember. It commences with Crono, the trendy young hero with the red, spiky hair. His mother starts nagging him to get up so he eventually does, and ventures off to the Millennial Fair, as the year at the time was 1000 A.D., so c'mon, you gotta par-tay, it's the millenium! =P At the once-in-a-lifetime festival, Crono runs in to a girl named Marle. They have fun at the many sights and eventually venture to find Crono's friend, Lucca. She is an astounding inventor, and is exhibiting her most recent gadget, the Telepod. Lucca asks for a volunteer, and Marle ends up on the platform of the telepod. Yada yada, Marle ends up four hundred years in the past, and the plot begins to unfold.

The battles in Chrono Trigger are unique because your characters require a full speed bar in order to do anything. The battles aren't random, I personally think that this is really great. The money that you get from battles in this game can be used to purchase a large variety of items, equipment for your team and other interesting things.

-Visually Related Aspect-
Yowza! When I first saw these graphics, I was literally awestruck. They impressed me so much and will hopefully have the same effect on you.

The characters are designed with great detail, and are virtually flawless. They all use the perfect vibrant colors and have swift clean sprites. The movements of the characters couldn't have been better and connect perfectly. All seven of the achievable characters have varied looks, but all share one thing. Their greatness and compelling appearances.

Another aspect of the visually related stuff are the appearances of the baddies and bosses. All of the bosses would strike fear into any opponent if they were real. They have excellent design and fit into their area almost perfectly. They use the perfect colors, have extreme detail and overall boss-looks. The baddies all look like they aren't too strong, just minor annoyances. That is a really difficult thing to do in a game, in my opinion, demonstrate the roles of baddies with their looks solely.

Another flawless aspect are the graphics is the entire environment you play in, the entire world. From the vast forestss of Guardia, to the futuristic interior of the Black Omen, they could not be better. They all are able to set the mood of where you are quite well. Every detail of the stages look like they took hours of work and I'm sure they did. They utilise a large palette, like everything else of the graphics. Overall, all the graphics could not have been improved, for I feel they were perfect From an Antipode 3 to the barren tundra of 12000 BC, you will agree that other games shall wallow in the crapulence of this terrific visual experience.

-Audio Related Aspect-
How a game have so many good points?! It is almost scary, but I wouldn't go that far. The music beats out all of the new-age sewage that the recent musicians spew out, in my humble opinion. The music has superior and complex composition and use a enormous array of instruments. The music also varies in type from classical to all the way to techno. I find mostly all of the music to be toe-tapping catchy, and I bet a sandbox in the Sahara that you will too.

The sound effects aren't quite at the celestial level of the music, but the sound effects can still hold their own versus a lot of other Role Playing Games and other genres alike. The sound effects aren't too plentiful, I feel, but they possess a certain charm.

From the astute whoosh of Crono's sword, to the advanced music of Zeal Palace, I feel the sound adds a lot to this gaming experience.

-Control-
The control isn't quite as flawless as the other aspects of this wonderful game, but Hallelujah, they don't take away from the greatness of the game, they simply contribute. You make use of the entire Super Nintendo Controller fully and each button has its own function that is easy to pick up. The control is quickly responsive for the parts that require it and never will make you unhappy. Yet again, another part that adds to the intense level of perfect of Chrono Trigger.

-Challenge-
This game has the perfect amount of challenge, in my opinion. Wedged directly between medium and hard. Some of the bosses will be difficult and you may lose. I have. Some areas of the game will contain baddies that will eventually wear you down, causing you to eventually die. I say these things from experience, if you are wondering how I became such an expert, by the way. The challenge of the game can go up a couple of notches however, if you do things stupidly and avoid using smart strategies and tactics. I have managed to beat this magical game by playing the somewhat stupid way, but I felt it took away from the fun factor.

-Replayability-
This level of the game is extremely, almost excessively high. I say this because there is never a dull moment, even after beating it twelve times or more. I have beaten it over twenty times because I seemed to enjoy it so much, and I bet once again that this aspect of the game will agree with you.

-Length-
Like a lot of games in this particular genre, the length can greatly vary. You can choose to cruise through this game, which will take about twenty hours, or you can choose take the long route, max out your levels, get everything and finish everything. This will probably take at least seventy-five hours, or possibly even more. If you like long games that never include a dull moment, this is you game.

-Good Points-
- Spectacular Graphics and Sound
- Breathtaking Story
- Excellent Length
- Right Amount of Challenge

-Bad Points-
- None that come to mind
- Makes this section quite aimless, doesn't it? =P

-Would Gyarados Scotty Buy, Burn, Rent or Rom this Game?
This game is a definite buy, even if you hate the genre with a passion. I got this game in 1998 after pestering the local Blockbuster for months to sell me it. I rented it literally dozens of times before a bought it, so if you can't get your hands on it, renting might work, although I recommend trying really hard to buy it. As a last resort, the Rom is okay, but you don't really get the full effect. Just try to find a copy, you won't regret it.

In conclusion, I would again recommend this game to anyone has ever played a video game. It deserves much more, but I well have to settle on the mark of ten out of ten. I would also like to make a complaint about the rating system and recommend to CJayC that reviews could utilise decimals =) Overall, this game could never be better.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/00, Updated 10/17/00