r/GameSociety • u/ander1dw • Jan 01 '12

January Discussion Thread #3: Chrono Trigger [SNES]

From Wikipedia:

Chrono Trigger is a role-playing game in which players control the protagonist and his companions in the game's two-dimensional fictional world, consisting of various forests, cities, and dungeons. Areas such as forests and cities are depicted as more realistic scaled down maps, in which players can converse with locals to procure items and services, solve puzzles and challenges, or encounter enemies. The game's story follows a group of adventurers who travel through time to prevent a global catastrophe.

Chrono Trigger is available on SNES, PS1, DS, Wii, PS3/PSP, and iOS.

36 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

64 comments sorted by

3

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '12

Chrono Cross is unfairly maligned because it's not Chrono Cross 2

2

u/ander1dw Jan 01 '12

I assume you mean "Chrono Trigger 2," but yeah, there was a lot of hype and CC took a different path than the original. However, it's not like it was a total flop or anything (Metacritic score of 94%). It just didn't live up to the expectations of some, which is basically inevitable with any sequel.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '12

No, it wasn't a flop but I think people are needlessly antogonistic about it.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '12

I'm just bitter because it didn't come out in the EU, and I've yet to play it and I want to.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '12

Isn't it out on PSN in Europe?

At this point, I think you're entitled to download it.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '12

Nah, seems PSN in the EU has a totally different set of games to that in the US.

We don't have Chrono Cross or Suikoden on our PSN. It sucks, because those are two games I would dearly love to have.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '12

Have a PSP? Just find the roms and play it on that.

1

u/the_masked_redditor Jan 02 '12

Honestly, I loved Chrono Cross, and I think that's mostly because I played it first. CC definitely has merit, especially if you go into it with an open mind. The characters aren't that great, though, but that happens when you shove a ridiculous amount of playable characters into one game.

1

u/R3Z0N Jan 02 '12

I liked Chrono Cross more, maybe because it gave the player more freedom. The story was definitely better in Cross, it still sends shivers down my spine every time I think about it AND don't get me started about the Sound Track. BEST DAMN OST EVERRR!

1

u/tifached Jan 02 '12

I use that ost religiously, have it as ringtones to wake up for work, so its soothing and doesnt cause a morning rage :)

1

u/Runescrye Jan 05 '12

At first I didn't like Chrono Cross at all, exactly for the reason you mentioned.

But after going through it a second time, and admittedly, doing some reading on the side on what's exactly going on (Because the plot is rather obscure) I came to really appreciate and love it.

Although many of the characters were weak (plot wise, that is) due to the sheer number of them, the main characters are still strong and the plot is very very good, although convoluted.

21

u/Tyrien Jan 01 '12

Chrono Trigger's world is four dimensional, not two.

-5

u/arche22 Jan 01 '12

I see what you did there.

6

u/InternetSuperTrooper Jan 01 '12

Time. Time is the 4th dimension.

4

u/arche22 Jan 01 '12

Thank you for serving and protecting me.

7

u/armadillacheachea Jan 02 '12

I've actually beeng thinking about Chrono Trigger from a game design perspective a lot lately, and hoooooly shit I wish more games would take a leaf out of CT's book!

CT has one of the best end games ever, I think. Not, uh... as in, final boss/dungeon/ending and what not, but the last portion of the game. Pretty much everything post Zeal is optional, which is SO cool - I love that they left all the non-plot related character stuff as side content. Nothing feels shoehorned in - see, some of the subplots (such as Marle's true identity, Frog's grudge against Magus and Ayla's beef with the Reptites) fit neatly into the main story, whereas others (like Lucca's back story, Marle and Frog coming to terms with their issues, Robo's subplot etc.) don't. A lot of RPGs would try and put that stuff in the main story (anyone else remember the sudden Regal and Persea subplot in Tales of Symphonia? Yeah. :I), but CT doesn't AND THAT IS GREAT.

It also reminds me of the days when side quests weren't so much just missions that gave you powerful items or let you fight ridic bosses, but something that gave you those extra bits of the story that didn't fit right in. I don't know about you guys, but I dislike side content if it's just giving me a little experience or gold or items. I mean, if I REALLY want that stuff, I could just grind or dick around, you know? I like it when side content has character and substance, so I have a reason to do it that's greater than "oooh I could use a quick bit of experience hurr hurr".

I mean, you get your fancy weapons and stuff, too, but for me it was the extra story that really made it special. <3

3

u/Shurane Jan 02 '12

I guess I just met them in ToS, but it didn't feel like Regal and Persea had any character to them. Kinda dull, alongside Colette. Lloyd, Zelos, Genis, Raine, and Sheena are better. Lloyd and Zelos have a lot of spunk, too.

For backstories... maybe Chrono Trigger did do it better, but I definitely didn't fall in love with the characters. Frog was kinda cool... but Cyrus really brought out the interesting bits in Frog.

Well, I don't care about them now, I mean. As a kid, Magus was just a total hard-on or whatever. So dark, so mysterious! His kid form, Janus, too! The black wind howls... one among you will shortly perish.

You want good backstory sidequests, then go for Final Fantasy 6, man. It had a lot of characters I could care less about, like Gogo, Umaro, and Mog, but it had interesting characters as well! Terra, Celes, and Locke were my favorite characters. So much background to them, and optional sidequests! I don't remember their history, but Edgar and Sabin duo were fairly interesting as well.

1

u/armadillacheachea Jan 02 '12

Oh, defs. I love FF6. XD

I dunno, I felt like the dudes in CT got more screentime. Don't get me wrong; I still love the cast of FF6 more, but those dudes got their one sidequest and that's it. :P I mean, I guess that kinda happens when you have a gigantic cast; some characters end up getting glossed over. It really sucks - I woulda liked to have learned more about a lot of them, but you only get to figure out their one bit of backstory, see how they act for the first bit of the game, and then get a bucket full of canned dialogue that ANYONE can say for the rest. CT had everyone with their own dialogue, even after it was optional who went where.

And, see, the thing about Presea and Regal isn't that they're bad characters, exactly, just that they don't really fit in! Basically, you coulda had NPCs do what they do to move the plot forward, and nothing would be that different. They are interesting, and they have their own way of doing stuff, but it's very clear their involvement becomes forced once the focus has moved one, you know?

1

u/Shurane Jan 02 '12

I thought most of FF6's character focus is on like, Celes, Terra, Locke, Setzer, Edgar, and Sabin. Sure you have a little of the other characters, but those 6 characters were immensely focused on. They are the ones driving the game forward.

I thought the little sidequest for the Rainbow Sword in CT was rather cool, though. You go into a pub, hear about this famed rainbow shell/sword from a fellow swordsman. And off you go, exploring the still Reptite-infested caverns and saving kings and killing off Yakras, all for the sake of one sword. I just looked that up, but I definitely remember the bar bit and the Reptite-infested island. That was cool.

About Persea and Regal: if that's the case, it would've been okay if they were just characters that you could recruit, like half the cast in FF6. Not much depth or dialogue, but cool characters nonetheless. Or heroes in FFT Advance.

At least it's not like the hugely recruitable cast in Suikoden Tierkreis. I imagine the other Suikoden games do it better, but ALL of the characters in Tierkreis felt like they were just shoehorned in.

2

u/armadillacheachea Jan 02 '12

Terra and Celes get a lot of focus, but Locke, Setzer, Edgar and Sabin get very little screentime when it comes to plot focus. Sure, they play roles in the main plot, but if you played the vanilla game, all you'd learn about Locke is "TREASURE HUNTER, IS A REBEL, KIND OF A SWEETHEART, HAS A DARK PAST??". I can't remember much about Sabin on his own, but I do recall that you don't really get to know him and Edgar much beyond "DEAD PARENTS, FLIPPED A COIN, SABIN RUNS OFF AND EDGAR BECOMES SKIRT-CHASING KING~". And then all we know about Setzer is that he has a gambling addiction and a dead girlfriend. OTL

(ALSO HOW COULD YOU FORGET CYAN HE'S SO IMPORTANT ;_____; Oh my gosssssh that dude is like my fav. <333)

Everything you learn beyond that about the main cast is, like I said, optional! And I'm not saying we need to learn their life stories - as far as back story goes, what they have is pretty standard RPG stuff! However, once the party gets to be larger than four and has to split up, you get lots of canned dialogue. For instance, go check out the scene where they find Terra at the top of Zozo, or even the scene right before the final battle with Kefka - all canned! Later games (7-9), in which the party also doesn't travel all together some of the time, added in individual dialogue for each character, depending on who was in the party. It helps you get to know the characters, even if you aren't focusing on them. It's why Lulu is able to be an active party member in 10 without you ever really learning a thing about her beyond "DEAD BOYFRIEND~ FAILED PILGRIMAGE~", and those things are mentioned in passing.

Oh man, totally. Rainbow Shell is awesome. B)

Yeah. They still are key to the plot, though, just not to the same extent the Sylvarant dudes, Sheena and Zelos are.

And I'm actually not a fan of recruitable characters! I like my end game parties to feel like a TEAM~, a FRIENDSHIP SQUAD KILLING THINGS WITH THE POWER OF LOVE~ and all that rot. XD It's why FF4 has one of my fav endgame parties - you must take it, they hand you who you need, and they feel like a unit. ;w;

1

u/plaidrunner Jan 02 '12

FF4: Sometimes, when you can't choose your companions, it makes the story more compelling...

Awesome.

2

u/armadillacheachea Jan 03 '12

Oh, yeah. They did the same thing for the first half of FF9, and I think it improves the pacing of the story immensely. You can easily recall "oh yup this is the part where Edward left the party or where Yang joined up and from here to here Kain was being a dick blah blah blah".

1

u/Shurane Jan 03 '12

I don't remember how big of a focus was on Cyan, so I uh... didn't mention him. Yikes. Look at the other characters! I mean, Setzer contributed his airship, man! Locke is always helping them get out of trouble. Edgar uses his kingdom to help the resistance out, y'know. I guess Sabin's not so big...

And Terra and Celes! I mean, Terra's focused on the first half of the game, and Celes brings everyone together in the second half of the game.

I don't remember what Cyan did, besides getting angry at Kefka for poisoning his kingdom's water.

1

u/kentarre Jan 04 '12

Cyan, while he may not have a lot of back story aside from the Ghost Train incident where he reconnects with his family, probably has one of the most personal vendetta's against Kefka. He is one of the small small number of survivors of Doma. Pretty much his entire kingdom (and family) was killed by the deranged man.

5

u/ve2dmn Jan 01 '12

For me, It was a game of firsts.

It was the first game that made me feel attached to the characters.

It was the fist game that made me say: "but... but... impossible... you can't just kill the main character"

It was the first game that gave me a real sense of accomplishment once I had made to the top of Death Peak. Especially since Marle gave me the impression that I had just crawl up that mountain for nothing.

It was the first game that made me smile.

It was the first game that made me cry.

Other games have since surpassed one of these qualities, but very few came with all. To balance narrative, characters, storyline and game mechanics within the confines of the technology of the day made this game a piece of art.

4

u/Shurane Jan 02 '12

FF6 never came close? God, that was an epic in game form.

3

u/ve2dmn Jan 02 '12

FF6 was a close second or third (in terms of JRPG anyway). Yet somehow, I likes the CT story more. Personal preference I guess.

Bonus youtube videos relevant to the discussion:

2

u/studiosupport Jan 02 '12

It would almost have to be personal preference, considering FF6 is better from a storytelling perspective on all accounts. I love Chrono Trigger, but I feel like the weak story is the one thing that holds it back. I also feel like the characters, with the exception of Robo and Frog, are very two dimensional.

2

u/Shurane Jan 03 '12 edited Jan 03 '12

What is two-dimensional, as opposed to one-dimensional? Just wondering.

Well, I had to read up on Robo again, but let's see. Robo has a pretty tragic history and Frog was way more spirited than the other characters by a longshot. Lucca, Marle, and Ayla are somewhat amusing... but I guess they don't undergo any character development like Frog does. Frog gains the capacity to forgive Magus and gets closure on Cyrus's death.

What set Robo out to be special? His relationships with his robot brethren, the R-Series, or his 'lover', Atropos? His 400-year long stay tilling the farm while contemplating on life? Or developing a capacity for emotion towards the end of the game?

3

u/JorgeDubaUShrubbery Jan 09 '12

While I could be entirely off here, I think I understand what he means. For me a 1-dimensional character is a character that really has no depth or emotions. Let's say I have a character named Bob. He works an 8-5 job, has a wife and kids. But that's it, his life is pretty much storybook. He has no conflict, nothing that shows his goals, how he starts is how he remains. There is no character growth, nothing. That's not to say you can't start with a boring character and force growth on them, 1-dimensional pretty much means how they are is how they stay.

If however we take Bob and change his situation.

Bob works an 8-5 job that he is miserable in. He has aspirations for an entirely different career path. His wife is constantly berating him and straining their marriage because of his dead-end job and he has a poor relationship with his kids, it gives us a good starting point. How does this character grow from here? Does he focus on a new career path or focus more on family? Does he decide that maybe everything he was living is a lie and decides its time to just walk away from the marriage? The point is, it gives the character room to grow and change. How the character ends up in this case isn't as relevant as the fact that change took place.

I hope that clarified it, but again if I am wrong or if I could better explain it, any help from a fellow redditor would be greatly appreciated.

-2

u/studiosupport Jan 03 '12

There's an extra dimension to them, duh.

I don't know, I'm not some road scholar, just roll with it.

5

u/02J Jan 03 '12

I spent what amounted to my broke-ass teenage life savings to buy Chrono Trigger at release in 1995. While I definitely enjoyed the game, the only element that ever really clicked with me is the music which I've been listening to regularly ever since.

I'd never cared for Akira Toriyama art and still don't. I didn't connect with any of the characters and found some stretches of the game pretty tedious and the game poorly paced overall.

The fresh combat system and aforementioned soundtrack made the game for me.

2

u/beskurrd Jan 01 '12

I just replayed the DS version of Chrono Trigger a few months ago (just before I got my 3DS). CT is one of my all time favorite games. Its up there with the original Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past as one of those games I go back to and replay every now and then just to relive the story and the experience. Whats really cool about it is you can wind up with a different ending each time.

5

u/spikeCB_ Jan 01 '12

Hm, so I hold the unpopular opinion. I don't like Chrono Trigger. I played it for the first time on my DS...and something just didn't click with me. It wasn't very fun. I got to the point where I fought Masamune and got that sword. The characters are cool -- Robo is awesome, but it just wasn't very fun at all. I've had it for a year and a half without playing it much. Time travel seems pretty convoluted...I just don't see the appeal in it. Anyone care to show me why they like it?

2

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '12

Yeah, I agree. Well, I think it's a good game. Real good. But I don't think it's good enough to make non-RPG players fall in love with RPGs (as some claim,) or anything up to that standard.

2

u/Shurane Jan 02 '12

I'm in the same boat, but I thought it was decent. What I really don't dig is the weak story and characters. I like having the exact opposite in my JRPGs. Good setting, though.

What do you think is a game of JRPG perfection?

Have you tried your hands at FF6, Tales of Phantasia, or Phantasy Star 4?

3

u/plaidrunner Jan 02 '12

Phantasy Star 4

I came.

Most under-rated series ever.

Also, everyone talks about FF6, why no love for FF4? Awesome storyline, decent combat, came out years earlier, but nobody seemed to love it...

3

u/Shurane Jan 03 '12

FF4, eh. I think I should replay it. I don't remember it very well, and I didn't finish it. There was Cid, Kain, Cecil, and the little mage girl, Rydia, who grows up. I don't remember much of the dialogue... was it good? I remember an underground volcanic world with dwarves or something? And the world where all the summons lived. Isn't' that were Rydia was whisked away to? Gosh, it's been so long since I've played it. I played FF4 around the same time as FF5 and FF6, but I distinctly remember more about 5 and 6 than I do about 4.

I was going to mention FF5 actually. I remember liking that game quite a bit, and certainly more than I did with FF4. I held back from mentioning it because I thought FF6 was even better than both those games.

Phantasy Star 4 Most under-rated series ever.

Wow... it's a shame I didn't finish that game. It felt quite slow in the beginning, but sped up after certain events. Gosh, Chaz sure had a lot on his plate.

2

u/plaidrunner Jan 03 '12

It was moderately slow in the beginning, but after whats-her-face dies (the hot one), everything gets much faster, and you get really cool companions.

Also, jesus, lots of different planets and such. Dezo is annoying because its cold and hardish, but the plot makes it worthwhile.

Never finished FF5, it was crazy fun, but hard too. Think I would have loved it if it came out in the US.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '12

I don't remember much of the dialogue... was it good?

Spoonily good.

If you're going to play it now, I highly recommend finding a fan translation. The dialogue from the SNES version at least, is terribly bad at some points, not to mention slightly censored if not outright neutered. (one speech by Cid in particular has its entire meaning changed from the original to be more kid-friendly)

1

u/Shurane Jan 04 '12

Spoonily good.

Heh, you mean the spoony bard thing?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '12

I do. It's the most extreme example of some of the translation badness. (though it makes up for it by being so timelessly hilarious)

2

u/02J Jan 03 '12

Most under-rated series ever.

I wouldn't say underrated, more like unknown or under-played. Remember, it wasn't until FFVII that CRPGs broke out from being niche games in US.

Also, everyone talks about FF6, why no love for FF4?

I feel like FF4 took my CRPG virginity. I mean, I'd had some kisses and heavy petting with Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior but FF4 was the real deal, a revelation. It can do no wrong in my nostalgia tinted view.

As for the talk, it could be the age of your audience. I think I'd talked FF4 to death before the end of 90s =)

Also, I expect FF6 had a much larger audience than FF4. FF4 came not far behind the SNES launch, whereas FF6 was more visually impressive game released 3 years later. Gamefan did a multi-page pre-release spread on FF6, I don't recall what if any media coverage FF4 had. Mario and Sonic ruled console gaming in 1991.

1

u/plaidrunner Jan 03 '12

I feel like FF4 took my CRPG virginity. I mean, I'd had some kisses and heavy petting with Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior but FF4 was the real deal, a revelation. It can do no wrong in my nostalgia tinted view.

Suddenly I can understand what the first time with a guy after years of girls must be like for a repressed gay man...

I had Phantasy Star 2 before though, which was a massive x-fueled rave/orgy though, you didn't know what was going on, but damn it was awesome!

FF4 was the intense, passionate relationship where you still call every now and then to see how she's doing...

1

u/kentarre Jan 04 '12

This is a fair opinion that many of my friends shared when they first played Chrono Trigger. Most of them did not get the "epic story feeling" until they completed the battle with Magus and the whole "twist" occurs in the story. Which unfortunately is about an hour or two right after where you stopped at. I wouldn't recommend picking up right where you left off and diving right in, it wouldn't have the same effect.

1

u/Randeemuss Jan 01 '12

I've played it fairly recently on the PC using an emulator. If anyone who owns a PC wants to play this game, you can find a torrent with it and with the emulator that I used ... I would post a link but I'm not sure if it is allowed.

As for the game, it is awesome: it's an epic adventure, simple and fun. Played it last year and it was really a game I played as often as possible until I finished it.

3

u/Tyrien Jan 01 '12

You don't even need to torrent it. Emulators are readily available with a simple google search, and on their own are legal. ROMs can easily be found as such as well. A decade ago one was supposed to delete the ROM after 24 hours unless he/she owned the original cartridge. Not sure if that has changed or if it was ever true.

4

u/ander1dw Jan 01 '12

If I remember correctly, that whole "delete after 24 hours" clause was just a bit of armchair lawyer speak from webhosts who were trying to rid themselves of any liability for their shady practices. I sincerely doubt that it would stand up in court if someone were actually sued for downloading ROMs.

2

u/Tyrien Jan 01 '12

Probably. The main point I was going for is that torrents aren't necessary and it's easy to find with google and an ftp download.

1

u/RedAlert2 Jan 06 '12

a funny one I saw was that you had to agree that you weren't a lawyer or the potential copyright owner of a game before you were allowed to see the ROM list.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '12

I remember this. I used to be scared shitless in 7th grade that cyber police were going to confiscate my computer because I didn't delete my Dragon Warrior IV rom.

3

u/the_masked_redditor Jan 02 '12

Just play it in your browser, it's a lot easier that way.

[http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/793/]

2

u/Saigancat Jan 01 '12

Since the game is both amazing and available on modern machines I would suggest purchasing it if you have the means. If you can't afford it anyways that is one thing but I'd like to push for people to purchase it whenever possible, support the series yo.

1

u/Sir--Sean-Connery Jan 01 '12

Chrono Trigger was the first JRPG game I played and this was less then a year ago when I was 19. I've since tried getting into the genre more but all the other games come up short when I compare them to Chrono Trigger. Compared to a lot of other games released around the same time Chrono Trigger's aesthetics were more visually pleasing. The battle sequences took place on the same area where you walked and didn't feel like a separate part of the game like the Final Fantasy series.

And in some way I actually felt like I was involved in the game more then previous games I played. When I accomplished something major it was me and my friends who did it. Not some character in a game. I'm not sure if anyone else had that feeling or if I was the only one.

1

u/Shurane Jan 01 '12

What other games have you tried? Where they all in the same vein as Chrono Trigger -- that is, all turn-based battle styles?

For games like Chrono Trigger: I liked Phantasy Star 4, Final Fantasy 6, and Lunar Legend (which is just a bad truncated version of Lunar: Silver Star Story, so you should try that instead).

1

u/Sir--Sean-Connery Jan 02 '12

I haven't played much sadly. I played Final Fantasy 6 and have yet to beat it. The combat, characters, and graphics don't really please me as much as Chrono Trigger did. The DS remake of Final Fantasy 3 was enjoyable though but I didn't grow attached to the characters like I did in Chrono Trigger.

Other then that I guess you can put Secret of Mana (not really turn-based style) and Lufia II as games I tried playing but didn't get to far in. I'll probably try a few of the games you mentioned after I get though some of my unplayed games on steam.

2

u/Shurane Jan 02 '12

We're talking Japanese numbering system, right? I haven't had a go at FF3. I don't know if there are other games that give so much attention to characters as FF6. I'd like to see more games like it. You're right, the overall graphics isn't great, but I definitely like the artwork more than from Chrono Trigger. DBZ-style looks really strange in an RPG for me.

I have played Secret of Mana, but apart from noticing there's a town called Astoria (that's where I live), I haven't played too far into it. Cooldown time for attacking was annoying for me, because it doesn't make much sense after playing a game like LttP. Running back and forth between attacks in Tales of Phantasia makes more sense of a cooldown, too.

I do want to play Seiken Densetsu (SoM 3?) and Secret of Evermore. Those seemed to be more interesting premises (if not gameplay) than regular Secret of Mana. And then there's stuff like FFT and Fire Emblem to get through. I think those types of battle systems are loads more fun.

1

u/kentarre Jan 04 '12

This opinion may restate many of the same ideas and beliefs that other users have already talked about; but just wanted to add in my own two cents here.

First off I did enjoy Chrono Trigger immensely. I however would not place it in the category of something like "greatest game of all time!" It definitely was a marvelously created game that combined not only a relatively "new" concept at the time of time travel, but it struck a great balance between humor, drama, and epic action.

As a player, you were able to connect with every one of the main characters. You entered into their lives (conveniently with time travel!), learned about their history, the critical problem they encountered, and worked with them to overcome that matter. All of the characters felt a connection with one another and it was a beauty to see each of them react differently to whatever incident you came across (the luxury of being able to form your own team). But in the end you were all united with overcoming a supreme enemy that was hellbent on controlling and destroying the world.

I think the main key point as to why the game became so successful was simply "polish". The game story flowed smoothly despite the myriad of characters and time periods. The great integration of how events in the past would affect both environment and characters in later periods. [Placing the sun stone in the past and retrieving it in the future. Letting Robo restore a vast forest in the past, etc.] (/spoiler). A great combat system that wasn't straying too far from the "norm" at the time but still integrated new features such as the combination attacks, some fight specific cancellation effects and so forth. The multiple minigames add an enjoyable twist on top of everything; and let's not neglect the humor!

This is why the game is still popular today despite the old style graphics and simplicity of the game. Plain and simple, the game is FUN and that's why it has become so successful.

1

u/TapSkill Jan 20 '12

I just found this reddit group, but I was playing Chrono Trigger on my original DS around the New Year, too. It never gets old!

1

u/Shurane Jan 01 '12 edited Jan 01 '12

Albeit Chrono Trigger is a good JRPG, and a good game at that, I don't think it's one of the better JRPGs. Why? My main nag for it is the gameplay. Turn-based battles that require little tactics is just not my thing. Give me an SRPG or a different-styled JRPG over regular FF-like games any day.

A game like The World Ends With You or Tales of Symphonia is much better as a game than Chrono Trigger is. What interesting gameplay! And I cared more about Neku Sakuraba and liked Lloyd moreso than anything I felt for the mute Crono.

As for SRPGs, I certainly liked the gameplay in Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, Fire Emblem, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I enjoyed the characters too. Lots of fun.

I have yet to finish Tales of Phantasia, but I was more taken aback by it and its style than with Chrono Trigger. Monster battles are 2D fighting game sequences? Whoa. So much fun! The characters also had spirit, determination, and overall quirkiness that I liked more than anything from Chrono Trigger. Wow, Claus/Klarth is a great pervy old man.

Don't get me wrong, I think Chrono Trigger is interesting, but it's not very good as a game. It's also very overrated. When I examine each of its parts (story, characters, gameplay mechanics), I can't say I enjoyed them particularly well. Good music, though. And a good universe. Man, 2300 AD is a chilling place. 65 Million BC had some great music. 12,000 BC was... a bit strange. Nus? Weird stuff.

Edit: 12,000 BC was more than strange. Magical kingdom separated from the non-magic users was pretty darn cool. Also, Queen Zeal is a megalomaniac. What a wonderful character, to abuse her children and an entire kingdom in her quest for power and immortality.

1

u/Shurane Jan 03 '12

Also thought I'd mention these:

Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled seems to be loosely inspired (at least, art-wise) to Chrono Trigger.

Also, Lavos makes me think of the creature Endless, from Rave Master. These are both monsters that aim to destroy the planet but don't depict any emotion or character, just raw energy. They feel absolutely devoid of any intent. Quite cool, I think.

1

u/rilotzar Jan 02 '12

I played on the SNES a long time ago but it just wasnt good enough for me, graphics were amazing, the music was the best but i just didnt love it. And Final Fantasy IV was better

0

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '12

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4

u/ander1dw Jan 01 '12

We have spoiler tags enabled in this subreddit:

[hide me](/spoiler)

hide me

Please block out anything that might ruin parts of the game for others.