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Like everyone else in the village of Truce, Crono, your average red-haired kid, is very excited when the day of the
festival arrives. Perhaps even more so because his best friend Lucca has promised to show him her new invention. While
waiting for Lucca’s invention to be set up, Crono bumps into a girl his age who says her name is Marle. Claiming to be
not from the area, Marle asks Crono if she can tag along with him for the day and Crono is not one to refuse pretty
blondes. Together they meet up with Lucca, who has invented a teleportation device of some sort. After Crono is used as
a guinea pig, Marle volunteers to be teleported next. However, the machine has a violent reaction with her pendant and
Marle is thrown into a mysterious portal. Crono chases after her and finds himself in a world eerily similar to his own
yet very different at the same time.
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Version Reviewed:
Super Nintendo
Ask any old school RPG fan what his/her top three games of all time are and chances are that Chrono Trigger will be
mentioned. Sporting an excellent battle engine, a good plot, some top-notch visuals, and an outstanding OST by
Mitsuda Yasunori, Chrono Trigger certainly deserves its fame and popularity. However, it is by no means the
greatest RPG ever made for the SNES and borders around one of the top three at best.
The first thing one will notice about Chrono Trigger is its unique turn-based non-random battle system. Other
games have featured battle systems without random battles and degenerated into simple button mashing (Seiken Densetsu
is a good example), but Chrono Trigger maintains the strategic aspect of combat by using the active time battle
system that Squaresoft is famous for while removing the frustration of having to fight without warning every four steps.
The battle system is further enhanced by the addition of team techniques, where two or even three members of the active
party unite their powers to unleash a spectacular attack on the enemy. These “triple techs” are not easily obtained by any
means, but they’re well worth it in both terms of in-game value and graphical value. The only problem is that techs simply
cost too much MP to use, which tends to force players to use only standard physical attacks in non-boss battles.
Having already solidified the most important aspect of any game, it was then up to Squaresoft’s writers to come up with a
storyline that made the game more than just fun battles. Rising to the challenge, they have created a story that is
complex, well paced, full of surprises, and most importantly, relatively non-linear in the last-third of the game.
This creates the opportunity for several different endings, giving Chrono Trigger something most RPGs do not
possess: replay value. However, while the plot shines, the characters are merely content to bask in its glow. While the
characters have diverse and interesting personalities, their development is either hit or miss. Out of the seven playable
characters, two are not developed, two are somewhat developed, and only three are fully developed. Crono, the lead, is a
particular disappointment in this respect: it doesn’t help that the scriptwriters only gave him one line in the entire
game. Most problematic is how a player can use only three characters throughout the whole game and come away no worse for
wear in terms of characterization than someone who used all seven.
Fortunately, the strength of the audio and visual aspects lessens the detrimental impact caused by the poor
characterization, drawing attention away from the game’s flaws by eliciting emotion in the player. This could not have
succeeded without Mitsuda Yasunori’s fantastic soundtrack. While his pieces are not as majestic or grand as
Uematsu Nobuo’s works, they are superior because they fit the game impeccably. Through his OST, Mitsuda shows
that he thoroughly understands the emotions of Chrono Trigger’s characters, places, and events, and he magnified them
ten-fold through his music. Graphically, the settings are detailed, colourful, and enthralling (particularly Zeal).
Character designs by Toriyama Akira (Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump) are excellent, and thankfully less
muscle-bound than his designs for his magnum opus, Dragon Ball. The only problem visually is that there just isn’t
the same level of detail as one would find in a Star Ocean or Tales of Phantasia. In particular, sprites on
the World Map look pixilated and small and the palette, while sufficient, just isn’t large enough.
In the end, Chrono Trigger is still an excellent game that has withstood the passing of time. Each and every flaw
in the game can be overshadowed by the plot, music, and innovation that it brings to the table. However, once the ride
is over, objective analysis easily reveals that Chrono Trigger is lacking in character depth and does not excel
graphically. Still, one would be hard pressed to find a more fun game anywhere.
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