Chrono Trigger

"More of a Port Than a Remake, but Still a Good game"

Chrono Trigger is often heralded as being one of the greatest games of all time. When Square/Enix announced it was making a DS port of Chronno Trigger, many fanboys were in a tizzy and had grandiose expectations of what Square/Enix had in store for the remake. While the finished product may not be as profound as they were expecting it to be, Chrono Trigger is truly a timeless game that stands on its own merits just fine. Even without a 3D graphical update, it's still as engaging as ever and is a game that any RPG fan should play.

So how will a game without any novelties stack up to the games of today? It does a pretty good job, because of a few important factors. The game has an incredibly memorable cast of characters, an intricately designed battle system, and discerns a new meaning of the word “replay value” through multiple endings. Chrono Trigger DS may not have the production values of current games, but it's just as entertaining.

While I'm fine with Square/Enix making an almost straight port of the game, I'm not alright with them charging $40 for it. This is my main complaint with Chrono Trigger DS. I think charging $40 for a decade old game with little added incentive to buy is kind of cruel, but I was able to get the game new for $16 after trading some stuff in, so it didn't hit me as hard. Quite honestly, I don't even really consider this a full “remake”, I consider it a port with some added features.

Square/Enix chose to bolster their Chrono Trigger remake facade by adding some touch screen features to the game. Due to nostalgia, I was not able to use the touch screen features in this game and I felt much more comfortable using the d-pad for everything.

That's one thing I really liked about Chrono Trigger DS. Using the DS touch controls is not mandatory and you are given the option to choose which way you want to play the game. In fact, you are given many more options as well. You can even play the entire game with a classic, non-split screen view, but I chose the DS double screen view just to see how it worked out, and in the end, I enjoyed it all the same.

Chrono Trigger is a story about a young man named Crono, who gets enveloped into a cataclysmic quest to save the world. While most games have you trekking across a single, or multiple land masses, Chrono Trigger allows for time travel to be implemented into the game. You can travel to different time periods of the land and each area will have different people, events, and perils that await you. Each area is similar in structure, but you will quickly be able to identify the time periods by many different factors.

The turn based combat is also a noteworthy feature of the game. The battles take place in an active time battle system, which allows you to queue up characters that are ready to fight. When multiple characters are ready at once, you can unleash double attacks and even triple attacks that cause additional damage and on-screen fireworks. The battle system is pretty fun and it does a great job of making you want to experiment with different groups of characters, solely to see their team attacks.

The game also has an incredible music score, and a fairly long quest for those looking to explore all that the game has to offer. Now let's see if this decade old masterpiece has what it takes to stand out in a sea of DS RPG mediocrity.

Graphics 6/10

I know 6/10 for graphics is crazy, blah blah, but this is one of the criteria I use to score my games so deal with it (don't worry, things get better if you keep reading). Chrono Trigger DS is not the most modern looking game out there, and this game could have more than likely been pulled off on the GBA with a small hit in sound quality. Yes, I've played better looking GBA games than Chrono Trigger DS, but as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter much in the end. Square/Enix chose not to sully the graphical character portrayal and the art style. With envisions of Chrono Trigger so deeply burned into everyone's mind, it may have been a good move on Square/Enix's part, but it just seems somewhat lacking compared to other DS ports that did get graphical updates.

Instead of talking about how antiquated the graphics are in Chrono Trigger DS, I'd like to focus on the art style which is really good. Each and every time period you travel to has its own mood and milieu. From the upbeat festival in 1000 AD to the dismal setting of 2300 AD, each one stands out, and begs to be explored.

During battles, the action is pretty fast and everything is portrayed just like it was on the SNES years ago. Some of the spells and skills employ neat looking mode 7 effects that keep things interesting.

Graphically, Chrono Trigger DS is not a game that is going to wow you, but it's a clean port that captures everything from the original game down to the finest detail. People that don't like older looking games may have trouble getting into it, but that's their lose I guess.

Sounds and Music 9/10

The soundtrack in Chrono Trigger DS is really great, and accentuates the current mood of the game in almost every turn of events. The standard battle music can get old after a while, but other than that, I enjoyed it very much. One thing I like about playing DS games over GBA games is that the DS is capable of fully reproducing a SNES soundtrack without any downgrade in quality, and it's apparent with the soundtrack in Chrono Trigger DS.

Not much to say here. If you liked the music in the original game, you will like it here.

Story 9/10

The story in Crono Trigger unfolds very similarly to Final Fantasy VI in that the beginning of the game is rather linear, but the later parts of the game give you the freedom to do side quests and obtain additional story elements at your leisure. It's nice since it breaks up the monotony of the standard “go here, do that” formula, but still keeps things focused on the main quest for the most part.

Crono and his friends are on a quest to stop the destruction of the world at the hands of Lavos. In order to do this, they will be required to travel to many time periods to right wrongs from the past and travel forward in time to see the results. It's quite a unique way to piece a story together.

Along the way, you will meet up with about half a dozen characters that will help you, and most of them are great additions to your team and offer an interesting back story about why they are helping you and what their goals are.

The enemies are also well defined and while some of their appearances will be brief, it doesn't take away from the fact that they are very memorable, and fit into the story well.

Gameplay 9/10

Even though you will have quite a few characters in your party, you can only have 3 characters in your active party at once. Since the characters are all so well defined, it's tough to pick 3 and stick with them. Putting one character in your active party means neglecting another, and which party members to take with you and who to temporarily jettison will be a constant battle.

The battles themselves are incredibly fun, and offer quite a bit of variety due to the double and triple skills. There is also a good bit of strategy that comes into play during the boss battles. Almost every boss will have some kind of vice that you will need to either exploit or be aware of. Certain enemies may have elemental affinities, others might be susceptible to certain skills you possess, and others may require you play a waiting game with them. It seems a lot of thought went into the enemy design as well as the character skills and spells.

As for the new DS features. Square/Enix has added some touch screen features for menu browsing and the game now has dual screen support. The top screen is mainly used for the action to take place, and the bottom screen is used for maps and menu features. The maps were neat, but I didn't really find them to be necessary since it's a pretty simple game and none of the dungeons are even complicated to begin with. The only noticeable downside from the two screen interface is that your characters' hit points are now on the bottom screen, so checking on the status of your characters in battle means you have to take your eyes off of the battle for a second or two, but that's a minor annoyance.

Chrono Trigger DS still plays just as smooth as it did years ago, and the new added features are nice, but they are simply gravy and don't really offer anything new to the formula.

Longevity and Re-Playability 9/10

I was able to get through the game in a little under 30 hour and I really took my time and got pretty much everything I could. It's not an incredibly long game, but there are multiple endings, a New Game+ feature that opens a ton of new options for you, 2 bonus dungeons which I did not get into, and a monster training arena as well.

So the short, main quest is expanded upon by the additional playthrough features which some may or may not want to play through after completing the main game, but there is plenty to do for those that are dying to play more after they finish.

Conclusion

Aside from a few added nuances, Chrono Trigger DS doesn't really do anything new for the game, but the fact that it builds on such an incredible game is noteworthy in itself. It's easy to get lost in the charming world, easy to associate with the likeable characters, and the battle system alone makes the game worth playing.

If you can get past the fact that Square/Enix is charging $40 for a incredulously lazy port of a great game, then you will have a fun time with Chrono Trigger DS.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/23/09

Game Release: Chrono Trigger (US, 11/25/08)