When it comes to discussions of "greatest game of all time," Chrono Trigger is probably the game I've seen brought up the most over the years. It is the holy grail of gaming, and it's not unusual even to this day for me to see people say things like:

• "Played Chrono Trigger for the first time... and it absolutely lives up to the hype!"
• "A timeless masterpiece -- Chrono Trigger really is the GOAT, no exaggeration."
• "Chrono Trigger truly hasn't aged. You can still play it today, and it's still perfection."

And on and on and on, and on... and on, and on.

So I finally decided to play it. 2021 was going to be my year I finally played Chrono Trigger, and see what all the fuss was about. And so I did play it. And after a few hours... I was bored. The game started off pretty strong, but after a while, I just couldn't see what it was everyone was so ecstatic about. I would go back to the game from time to time to try to force myself through -- perhaps the best was yet to come, after all. But I only grew more bored, the further in I got. So I finally decided to Youtube the second half or so of the game, and... yeah. I'm glad I did -- the second half is much weaker than the first.

So I was set to give this game a 2/5 and get shot, but I decided to listen to a long podcast on the game and watch a bunch of reviews and retrospectives of people gushing about the many things they absolutely adore about Chrono Trigger. And, like, I kind of get it. It's a 1995 game, and I need to look at it for what it was as an RPG released 25+ years ago.

I do have good things to say about Chrono Trigger:

• First of all, it's very cute. It feels very much like a Saturday morning cartoon. It's extremely Dragon Ball. High shounen battle manga energy. The translation for the SNES release is extra-goofy, making it all the more charming. I can see how this game put a smile on everyone's faces, especially for kids in the mid-90s. The plot doesn't take itself seriously, but it still has its serious moments. In terms of tone, at times it feels Looney Tunes-ish, at times it's more DC superhero cartoon-ish.
• The time travel concept is fun, and does legitimately give the game a unique feel to it in terms of exploration and set pieces. The world map is small, but it's not so much about exploring the world as it is exploring the different time periods. It is cool to see the same places in the distant past and distant future, and see how events affect the timeline. The game keeps everything simple so that kids can understand clearly what's going on. I can see how Chrono Trigger introduced a lot of engaging sci-fi concepts to many of you out there.
• As I mentioned before, the game starts off quite strong. The opening is a festival full of little events that are amusing -- and then about an hour later, we get a follow-up to this in the form of a courtroom trial, where the choices you made at the festival will affect (slightly) how that will all go. It's very clever, and feels ahead of its time for the genre. (I wish the rest of the game had cool stuff like this... unfortunately the game is extremely front-loaded when it comes to memorable scenes.)
• The pixel art is great, and the music is great. I'm not going to argue the production values of this one. The team clearly worked hard on this, and their efforts show. (I think people are a little too ecstatic about the soundtrack, but I won't rain on your parade.)

Everything else about the game though, I feel much more mixed about.

• It is very good that the battles just happen in the dungeon, without transitioning to a separate battle screen. That is great. The vast majority of battles are still unskippable though, so I don't want to hear "you get to choose when you fight in Chrono Trigger -- a first for JRPGs!" That is nonsense. Occasionally you can slip by a monster and avoid a battle (often more hassle than it's worth) -- but this is the exception, not the rule.
• The battle system itself is... okay at best, a complete drag at worst. I think it's just too simple. And anything unique about it, the game rarely takes advantage of. Strategy is pretty much as basic as it gets for RPGs here, a problem that becomes more apparent the further in you go when bosses just get a ton more health and bigger attacks. People like to proclaim the duo and trio techs as being highly innovative, but, like... I must be missing something, lol. I'd be much more impressed if you could actually control character placement, and if there was greater emphasis on timing certain attacks and spells, and if the characters weren't so interchangeable.
• Along those lines, customization is barebones in this one. You don't have much control over how your characters level up -- and equipment is, again, as basic as it gets. Decision-making is kept to a minimum in this game... which I suppose could be a plus for a lot of people. To me it made actually playing the game dull, especially the further into it I got.
• The characters are... boring. I'm sorry, but I 100% can't care about Chrono, our protagonist. I think having him be a silent protag was to this game's great detriment. If he had any kind of personality, that would've gone a very long way, especially in his interactions with his teammates. (And if he had any kind of character arc? Now that would've been something.) The rest of the cast are just basic archetypes -- but I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on a game this old. Lots of RPGs back then didn't do much of anything in this regard, so Chrono Trigger probably felt a lot more engaging for players in 1995.
• The story is... serviceable... at times. This is probably where hype backlash hit me the hardest. If everyone in the world tells me it's the most amazing story in the history of the written word, I'm going to at least expect it to be pretty good lol. But I just didn't care for most of it. Twists in the second half especially felt pretty ridiculous and/or uninteresting. Too much of the game is just, here's evil crazy person #873, let's beat 'em up. (Again, feels very battle shounen manga, with its villain of the week style to most of the story's progression.)

So Chrono Trigger has ended up this odd little classic title that I didn't really enjoy playing for the most part, but I kind of look back it a little more fondly when under the proper lens of its time of release. The concepts are sound and I do wish I could've loved my experience with it, but I am cursed to have bad opinions I guess lol.

What perhaps interests me most about Chrono Trigger is how it's such a beloved game, but there weren't really that many similar games that followed it. Why were there not more JRPG adventures of that sort that were shorter, more lighthearted, simpler fare? I suppose the answer to that is Pokemon showed up, turned that niche into a hole the size of the Grand Canyon, and proceeded to fill up the entirety of it on its own. Which I gotta be honest... that's a shame! I personally find Chrono Trigger much more interesting than Pokemon. JRPGs ended up for the most part looking to Final Fantasy for inspiration regarding length, tone, and difficulty -- which is fine, but it would've been nice for variety's sake to see more titles (effectively) take a page or two from the likes of Chrono Trigger.

I took me a long time after buying this game on steam to finally follow through and play it, but man am I glad I did it!

Chrono Trigger, like many RPGs, took a few hours to pull me in, but once the game started to click I was absolutely hooked.

I love the artstyle of the game, it makes great use of color and simple designs to astounding effect. The soundtrack may be in close 2nd or 3rd for greatest video game soundtracks of all time.

The gameplay, particularly for its age, manages to be deep and multifaceted, rewarding planning and strategy in a way I wasn't expecting. This is turn based JRPG combat at its best.

But perhaps what I most was floored by was the sweeping story and amazing cast of characters. Time travel as a whole is a gimmick that I don't enjoy. So when I heard that was the center of this game, I had reservations. As I continued on though I was amazed how well it integrated time travel as a theme, but also as a way to explore a huge variety of settings, while keeping the rough world map relatively small.

The story itself manages to weave an expansive and well plotted narrative that I think will feel familiar, but also fun to fans of JRPGs. I was particularly impressed by the wealth and variety in boss's backgrounds, fight styles, and the variety of villains presented. The overarching villain was particularly satisfying to defeat.

But what really sells this game, is the characters. The core cast of 6 characters are all phenomenal, with each being useful and interesting in their own ways, though I gravitated to 4/6 of them (Frog is my boi). I loved the way the game allows frequent and easy swapping between characters, while rewarding players to learning the strengths of each character.

Perhaps most amazing is the way your actions as a player can influence the ending for the game. I have only beaten it once, but it definitely had me debating another play through soon.

If, like me, you are a fan of JRPGs and keep putting Chrono Trigger off, do yourself a favor and take the dive, you won't regret it!

Chrono Trigger

Gameplay: 10.0

At its core, Chrono Trigger is a pretty typical JRPG, but it's in its refinements that it excels. Characters are given free movement rather than being bound to tiles, enemies appear on the map eliminating random encounters almost entirely, and stats and equipment are all handled perfectly. The Tech system is particularly excellent, as it's both simple to understand while also being extremely rewarding and versatile. Characters only learn a handful of abilities, with very few abilities shared between characters, but are also given several dual and triple techs usable between various character combinations, greatly increasing the ability pool.

Basically, from a technical and mechanical standpoint, everything in Chrono Trigger handles perfectly, and is perfectly paced. As a result, playing the game never feels like a drag, even in instances where you think it would.

Story / Value: 10.0

Where to begin? You embark on an epic time traveling adventure across the eras to not only save the planet from fiery destruction, but also help as many people you can along the way, in what are often very meaningful ways. The story is large, yet never confusing. It's weighty, yet never takes itself too seriously. The cast is wonderful, and not only your main party members! Supporting characters, villains, and even secondary sidequest characters all add a ton of personality to the story. Speaking of sidequests, there's a lot! Chrono Trigger leaves itself fairly open, allowing you to tackle different quests at various points in the game, as well as completely unlocking at the end.

You're never left not knowing what your options are, and everything unfolds at an excellent pace. All of this would be more than enough on its own, but throw in the fact that there's thirteen different endings, and that Chrono Trigger was one of the first (if not the first) games to implement a New Game+ feature, and you have some phenomenal replayability, a rarity in RPGs of this era.

Presentation: 10.0

Simply put, Chrono Trigger looks amazing. Sprites and characters are highly animated and expressive, and the monsters in the game are right on the same level. This is thanks in no small part to Akira Toriyama providing the art and style to the game, and I'm definitely a fan. Environments and spell effects all look fantastic, and there's not a single graphical hiccup or slowdown along the way. It doesn't hurt that Chrono Trigger has one of the best UI's in a 16-bit RPG either!

Music: 10.0

The only game in the world that might have a better soundtrack than Chrono Trigger, is Chrono Cross, but we're not quite there yet! It's not just that the music is beautiful (it is) but it's how well the music is used throughout the game to elicit moods and emotions. Every character has their own theme, each as wonderful as the next, and every single track in the game is unforgettable. Whether Frog's theme is inspiring you to take up the sword and defend your lawn, or you're getting Rick Roll'd by Robo's theme, the music of Chrono Trigger will have a permanently lasting effect.

Sound: 10.0

Memorable screeching roar from Lavos? Check. Cameo appearance of Kefka's laugh? Check. All the sound effects in the game just work so well together, and sound so satisfying. When Crono takes a stance with his katana you're ready for battle. When Robo connects with his Uzi Punch you feel it. That's not to say anything of the ambient noises, from wind flying over a mountain to the buzzing of computers and conveyor belts around you. It all just comes together to complete the already perfect experience.

Fun / Afterthoughts: 10.0

This'll be hard to believe, but I honestly went into this game with my expectations in check.

Surely, I thought, there was no way this game was as good as I remember it being. Oh, it was definitely great, but it couldn't possibly compare to the way I remember it. Then I started playing... Leene's Bell sent me straight back to my childhood and from there it only got better and better. Even sections of the game I had fully expected to take issue with ended up being just as enjoyable as anything else. Frankly, Chrono Trigger at it's absolute worst is better than most game's best. I can't wait to start playing again.

Review:

Chrono Trigger came out the year I graduated high school. I've probably started it half a dozen times on the SNES or in emulators, and maybe getting 1/3rd of the way through the game before getting distracted by some other game.

This year I decided it was time to finish a bunch of old games I've never finished. First was Dragon Warrior, and now Chrono Trigger. I also wanted to finish it as it was one of the favorite games of a dear friend I lost this year and I feel like I owed it to her.

The game lived up to the hype for me. The story was engaging, the sprites were expressive, the level curve matches the story progression, and the music was wonderful.

I did get to a point where I thought I was coming up on the end of the game, only to find I had roughly another 1/4th of the game left. I was a little offput to find I had so much more game to go, but the story quickly remedied any annoyance. I ended up with a play time of a minute over 20 hours.

I played the android version and I appreciated the animated clips interspersed throughout at key points and especially at the finale.

This is definitely one of the good old games and well worth the time and effort.

Even by today's standards, Chrono Trigger is a masterpiece of game design, storytelling, and gameplay. It's so ambitious on all of those fronts and never really falters. The game is always challenging in a way that makes you want to up your game, to get better, to save the world from Lavos. The characters all have interesting stories to tell that tie into the fabric of the overall narrative in a way that makes this world feel interconnected and important. I can't speak to how this fits in the general construct of JRPGs, as I've only played a few, but this made me want to dig into the genre.

It helps that the playthrough was special. I played my first JRPG (Earthbound) while on paternity leave 5 years ago and I played Chrono Trigger with that 5 year old while on paternity for our second daughter. My oldest isn't really at the point where she can control the game, but I let her help me make decisions (and hold an unplugged controller, like you do). I couldn't believe how well it held her attention, and how well she was able to follow the story (so much that she would relay bits of the game to her mother with much excitement). I was worried she would have nightmares when Lavos first appeared on the screen in one of those future domes, so I explained that he was just a misunderstood "Fire Hedgehog." Misunderstood, not so much, but you gotta admit when he comes out of that lava crater he does look particularly hedgehog-esque.

Chrono Trigger is a game I have some respect for. It excels in its presentation to such a degree that it holds up from a stylistic standpoint in a way not many JRPGs of the SNES era do. It features gorgeous spritework, a fantastic soundtrack which accentuates many key story beats perfectly, and some really great character animation. All of these define it as a premium game that stands out amongst its peers.

Yet in spite of this I can't claim to love it. Chrono Trigger felt like a letdown in most of the key areas I look for in a JRPG, even if in part due to its prestigious reputation.

Most of its characters were frustratingly one-note and cliche, even if they were very likeable. During my playthrough I was often reminded of Octopath Traveler, which I dropped about 20 hours in (I swear I'll return to it someday) because, among other things, the game gave me all of these characters but they absolutely refuse to talk to each other. I love the variety in Chrono Trigger's group of oddballs, but it feels like they can't even see each other most of the time outside of when they use tech moves. This isn't helped by Crono's total silence throughout the game. He's far from the worst silent protagonist but remains frustrating to pilot through most of the game nonetheless.

The story was about what I'd expect from a 90s game featuring time travel-- no more, no less. This doesn't make it bad (it gets some points for being 90s cool), but it often felt as though the story was bending over backwards to facilitate neat settings more than having those happen in a way that felt organic or all that interesting. There are some cool twists that happen here and there. I'm mostly referring to what happens in the Ocean Palace and much of the backstory for Magus. I can definitely respect those. I also really enjoyed Zeal as a setting. The dark unforgiving wasteland below and the thriving magical society floating above made for a really neat place to explore, even if it was short lived.

I thought it was pretty cool that an older game like this implemented overworld enemies. The way they behave and the combat startup animations add some great flavor to each enemy type and got a chuckle out of me here and there. Though as I got further into the game it felt like less and less of these fun animations showed up, which was disappointing. It also kind of defeats the point of having overworld enemies when so many of them are positioned in order to force you into combat when you'd rather skip them. Backtracking late in the game is a chore as a result. Earthbound didn't do it perfectly but handled this mechanic much better in my opinion, by allowing you to maneuver around enemies more often and also skip battle entirely if you significantly outlevel them.

The character building/customization also felt like it just didn't give me enough to be interesting. Whenever a character gained a level after battle it felt underwhelming but nice, like getting one more chicken nugget than you paid for by accident. Tech attacks were a bit more interesting. They're largely unique to each character and there are some that incorporate multiple party members, which is something I only recall seeing in the recent Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Here they go a long way to make the party feel more cohesive and showcase their teamwork. Unfortunately their unique effects didn't get to shine much till the game's final dungeon and bosses because of how forgiving combat typically is.

The available gear doesn't add much flavor either. Typically you'll just be picking whatever weapon and armor has the highest number on it. Accessories are a bit more interesting but don't do enough to shake up the way characters play. In total, the equipment is passable. Some of the endgame gear has neat effects though.

I think given all this, I could see Chrono Trigger as an excellent recommendation for someone just getting into JRPGs. It has a very reasonable difficulty curve and a fairly simple approach to character building and strategy that is easy to pick up. It looks and sounds consistently excellent and also features a nice helping of optional content without requiring too much commitment when it comes to total playtime. I also have to admit that the New Game + feature is very cool and adds some solid replay value to the package. I only wish the story and characters had resonated better with me.

This was absolutely favorite game of the Super Nintendo, as a kid. I couldn't afford to buy it myself at the time and I knew I would have to wait almost an entire year till my next birthday before my parents would get it for me, so I would just rent it on a Friday from Blockbuster (allowance permitting) and play it non-stop till my parents would made me take it back on Sunday. Homework could wait - I had more important things to do.

To myself at 10 years old, the plot was like the greatest Saturday morning cartoon ever, the music was fantastic, the environment and character sprites were detailed (and had animations!), battles would happen right where I walked into them and I could even walk past them without fighting if I wanted to!

But I also wasn't very good, spent way too much time grinding and never got further than Zeal. But eventually I did get my own copy and it was glorious🥳 There were multiple endings, new game+ and all sorts of other goodies. Probably beat it 4 or 5 times in year that followed.

Playing it again now after all this time, the music is still immediately recognizable and a nice trip down memory lane. But everything else is well...meh. For all it's technical merits during it's original release, it's really a pretty flat game by contemporary standards.

• The plot really isn't that engaging, character development is pretty minimal and talking to most of the unnamed NPCs is pointless. Frog and Magus have some depth, but even that gets a bit weird when Magus parties up with all of them and no one (including Frog) seems to think this is particularly awkward.
• Excluding Lavos, who is more just a force of nature than anything else, all the major and minor antagonists are kind of silly.
• The combat is rather monotonous - About 2/3rds through the game, I was spamming the same 2 or 3 techniques from Chrono, Robo and Ayla.
• The graphics and sprite work is still OK, esp. when you consider that this was done on SNES hardware, but to say it's "aged like fine wine" is a bit of hyperbole. It doesn't look like a visual feast, it looks like, well...just Chrono Trigger, as it was 30 years ago.

If your a fan of games from this genre and era, you probably cannot do much better than Chrono Trigger, but age has definitely given this game more warts than it's most ardent defenders are really willing to admit.

Platform:

DS version.

Graphics/Sound:

The presentation and graphics are of course some of the best 16bit gaming has to offer. The DS version comes with the original SNES graphics, the anime cutscenes from the PS1 version and an additional interface on the second screen, which stylistically perfectly matches the original sprites. The soundtrack is also still the same as on the SNES and equally great.

Gameplay:

I don't know if there is still anybody out there that doesn't know what this game is about. It's a jrpg without the random battles, with minimal grind, all story driven. The battles are turnbased like Final Fantasy, also with realtime elements. The main difference here is that all battles take part in the same screen you are moving in, instead of changing into a battle screen, like most other rpgs do. You travel through time and space to save the world, with a party of characters from all epoches of the world.

Difficulty:

It's a fairly easy game. Of course there are challenging monsters in the end, but overall there is nothing frustrating about this game. The most frustrating part would be for a completionist that you can get some items only by stealing it from a specific monster, which you will only encounter once.

I don't think the game as such needs an introduction. It's been called the best SNES game on several list, which is saying a lot considering the amount of great games on the system. I think most that has been said about the game and how awesome it is is plainly the truth. It's one of the masterpieces of gaming history. But more specifically on the DS version, I think this is also the best version available. It features all the things that were there in both the SNES and the PS1 version. And the new interface is awesome, gives you quick access to everything, there is a monster dictionary that fills up when you beat a monster. Everything I would want is there. And I haven't event checked the multiplayer feature that has been slapped on top, since I don't have any DS owners in my circles.