Chrono Trigger

"Squaresoft have proved that Final Fantasy can be nothing to what lies beneath"

Chrono Trigger

The suprise success story of a destiny moulding decision by SquareSoft

Out of the many RPG's Squaresoft have made, one would always be remembered as one of the greatest success stories ever made for a company. And a game that the fans would cherish to the end of their days without bearing any mixed opinions. The decision to do this was not so much of a suprise, but to what title that would accomplish this. It was Chrono Trigger. A non Final Fantasy game. Sure enough, Squaresoft had the confidence, Secret Of Mana was another separate game that was successful. So could it fill the boots?.

Yuh huh!. I mean, why do you think Squaresoft have been accepted by millions of audiences to carry on their RPG talents into other titles?. Chrono Trigger proudly carries the torch for games such as the SaGa series, the Xenosagas, er, Threads Of Fate (?) and any other endeavor the company has gone on to distribute. Chrono Trigger is the pinacle for a multi universe audience, and a breakthrough game in general. It gave room and opened new doors for Squaresoft to pursue their work into other games aside from Final Fantasy.

From the mere five minutes of playing Chrono Trigger, I knew I was onto a big thing. It was only until I looked down I realised I was sitting on a stool. Ha ha, funny old me. Every time I put the controller down I was craving for more. CT does that to you. This was a game that pit you in a fight with deranged hypnotised nuns - I knew I was in love after that. Chrono Trigger has a special place in my heart and a conservative bag in the top ten RPG's of all time (Ahem, it's No2). I felt privelged to play it.

Plot: The remix of Back To Future

Well, if anything before skepticism and complaints, Chrono Trigger can feel relieved in the joy that their chosen topic is original; time warping?. Yet they use this topic and turn it into an epic storyline that proves to be quite interesting and plausible. It isn't as sophisticated in richness as the Final Fantasy series would have been but Chrono Trigger makes a good deal of being what it is, and that's fine because the concept won't bemuse people because it's just so damn cool.

The main character is Chrono, who is woken up by his Mum that he will be late for the Milennial fair. Having caught the infection of sleeping in his clothes from the other RPG characters (they know who they are...) , Chrono is fit and ready to go and makes his way there to meet his inventor genius friend Lucca. He runs into this beautiful girl named Marle, who has not yet heard the caution of not to speak to strangers as she asks him to accompany her even though he ran into her a minute ago. Marle volunteers to go on the travel pod Lucca has invented but her pendant mysteriously reacts to it and she is transported somewhere else. Scared that if she does not return, maybe people will think Chrono has murdered her after he possibly raped her with Lucca being an accomplice of getting rid of the body because of her hidden feelings for him and physical jealousy at Marle because she feels insecure about her own looks, Chrono decides to go into the time warp after her.

(Uh that was a little exaggerated.....I come from a broken home..ahem)

They discover they have travelled to the past and from here on the adventure begins of bringing peace to the land of the past and the future to bring ultimate happiness in the present they live in and how it will affect their living. In other words, Chrono leads the way to prevent an apocalypse destructing their world. The element of time travel is used creatively throughout the game and never misconstrewed.

The plot is admirable and heartwarmingly funny and touching in all the right places with bright and spunky young characters with bright names and personalities (oh come on, you could nearly imagine Magus joining in for the Can Can dance medley at the credits with the rest of the characters). The script is well written and courageously backs up the brave concept. Personally, I think there isn't anything wrong with the plot whatsoever and it felt magical every time I played the game.

Gameplay: Never one minute dull with the impulsive highroad of events

Chrono Trigger has to be, without a doubt, one of the most fun game's to embrace. You are always on the move, doing one thing to the next. But never humanely serious, but more tongue in cheek. This is combined with a killer combat system that is different from the Final Fantasy series. It almost tricks you really.

The superiority of Chrono Trigger prevails in the fact that it nurtures the battle systems from the Final Fantasy series and whips up a masterpiece. You are always pitted into fun situations such as time travelling into the past and future, escaping a prison and being taken to court. With hilarious consequences following. Being able to travel to the same locations, except in future and past times, is simply fun. It's compulsary that you revisit the areas to change the outcome of, *drum roll*, time.

The battle system is amazing. The screen is the same as a Final Fantasy layout and you have your traditional attack command. But now, instead of magic, you have techs. Techs is an ability that allows your characters to perform their magic and special moves. But they come in single, double and triple techs. Obviously, the single techs are for characters who learn them (by experience points after battle). But the double and triple techs are for characters uniting together to perform special moves. Such as it was, Suikoden has used this idea. It does wonders for Chrono Trigger, establishing a break and originality from the Final Fantasy battles.

Two sides of the coin to the challenge of Chrono Trigger. One would be that Chrono Trigger does have easy battles but suprising boss battles that stem from challenging to even more challenging. Those nuns I told you about?. Well, they whupped my ass a few times. And that was only because I thought up until then, I was taking the gameplay for granted. But on the other side is that Chrono Trigger will put you in some dungeons that sees you down to your last strength before you're ready to face the boss. But despite this, the replayability of this game is so high because of the main factor that the game is goddamn fun!.

Graphics: A little less colourful, a little more better...

They don't call the console the SUPER Nintendo for nothing eh?. Wow. Chrono Trigger just pours it's heart out here. The graphics are beautiful way, miles beyond belief the reach anyone would have thought the SNES was capable of. There is no flaws whatsoever and the graphical detail of the very minor things captivates how badly Squaresoft wanted to prove themselves. They have done so, and a pat on the back for it. If I knew em, I'd buy em a beer!. And, if I looked my age, I really would buy them one....hmph.

Right, what seemed to elude others was that the character designs were very simple, although still very effective. I will be a man and still stick by my guns that I thought Chrono looks like the hero, aptly named Hero, from Secret Of Mana (but maybe with spikier hair and a shorter model). Marle is another who could have been typically drawn to the way fashion had been set in that particuliar year, but maybe that is why she looks so demure and angelic, making her as popular as the game. The great use of colours treat them well, and in return, treat us well.

The backgrounds have me speechless. I love looking at the small detail, especially when you're in a fight and you can see the muddy clouds, with the specs of sunlight peeking through. The slight corrosion on the ship is also another top notch effect. The vibrant effects of the prehistoric and jungle age are so amazing that there is a tropical sense of immaturity decensed around the game. Even the graphics on the world map are toned, precise and clear. 2D graphics rule!.

Who deserves the most credit for this part?. SNES or Squaresoft?. Place your bets quietly then. Whatever the case, both are great factors in the success of how polished and rivettingly beautiful the game shall remain for eternity. A little page in history.

Sound: Does it join the wagon of the worst music ever?.

....No!. Squaresoft have never been known for annoying soundtracks in their Final Fantasy compilation, so why should there be any difference here?. The music is very varied, and I think each character has their own theme. The battle music can be a little bit of a step into the more tiresome and a medly of under average music compared to the better battle tracks used in their other games. And as I listen to that theme in order to make sure I'm not misjudging the game of perfection, I am painfully reminded of my music invention (the laughter, the humiliation, the tears....and that's just what my invention was called..)

The music other than that is first class all the way. You have your carefree and casual music and your emotional music to back up the sadder scenes in the game. I was more in favour for Schala's theme, which has emotional depth to it if you examine her character and the events that happen to her. Also good is the music accompanying the trial scene, which is ecstatically funny. But themes such as the Epoch, the intro and ending theme and the definitive Chrono Trigger theme tune are great compositions that do the game more than justice. It's even better than most of the early Final Fantasy music pieces.

Chrono Trigger's sound effects, for what they are worth, are great. The battle effects sound efficent and in the right places. The sword slashing sounds authentic, and as you would expect from the console, the sound effects don't live much in the game other than the battle. And for the little amount that they are used, they never go over the top (I hate it when they use completely false effects, it pisses me off dammit!).

Again, the wonderous talents of Squaresoft pull off (leave that innuendo) quite neatly here. I expected great music, so does everyone else who is familliar to the games of Squaresoft. Given that the battle music sounds annoying as someone waving an electric toothbrush in your face, the sound effects as a whole is just one fraction away from top notch.

Conclusion: Girls have chick flicks, guys have video games.

Chrono Trigger has to one of the most brightly playful and fun RPG's ever made. The characters never seem to have a defect of depression or negativity in the sense that the game becomes unbearable to play at times. To come back to this game and play it is a treat because of the original concept that never wanes each time you play it.

There are 15 endings to be seen in Chrono Trigger which are triggered by the new game plus (an option you can choose once you complete the new game). This gives you the chance to end the game wherever you want in any age. If you progress through the game again, you can receive more endings and stop whenever you want. It's a small replayability bonus that is fun (considering the character chemistry).

Tied in with maybe a lesser challenge than most RPG's albeit sometimes hard bosses, there is little to whinge about the game. Maybe the graphics are too colourful?. Maybe the characters are too cliche?. Maybe the storyline is too weak and less inspirable?. Maybe the gameplay are spoiled by lack of complexity?. The choices are hard to find, and arguable to decide on. But they are there. For me, I don't see any landmines in the game - I think it's as near a perfect RPG as Final Fantasy VII. There is no other description of how Chrono Trigger defines or means can mean to a gamer.

Overall, Chrono Trigger is more than just a comercial success story - it's one the greatest RPG's ever made and a right hoot to play. Every single character is charming and they honestly present their own importance to the game, with the script being eye catching, the graphics being colourfully lush and the gameplay being revolutional that RPG's can no longer be boring to play after a few times. I love this game. Every minute I spent on the game was pure fun and enjoyment. Nothing else matters. All hail Chrono Trigger, the most tolerable fun festering RPG that will remain lingering in your brain cells with excitement spilling all over your membrane as you take on the guaranteed pleasure you shall receive from this game. Chrono Trigger is a legend, a nice little haven of fantasies and has the cliched persona that everyone can adapt to. The less radicality makes up for being totally magical and wonderfully fun. It would be a shame not to have at least dabbled with it once in your lifetime.

Buy it, and love it. Always.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/22/04