12th February 2003, 4:42 AM
Chrono Trigger Review
By Weltall
"It's about time."
And so, Crono's mom wakes him up on the day of the Millenial Fair, thus setting into motion one of the greatest RPG adventures ever, Chrono Trigger. What would end up being the last great Squaresoft game on a Nintendo console (besides the co-developed Mario RPG), Chrono Trigger is the source of many fond memories from RPG lovers everywhere. Released originally in 1995, right in the daybreak of the 32-Bit era, Chrono Trigger spit in the face of snazzy new 3D visuals to give all of us one last shot at the remarkable 2D RPG we knew and loved. And Chrono Trigger can rightfully be called the pinnacle of 2D RPGs, for many reasons.
Starting with the story. A normal, quiet lad named Crono goes to the Millenial Fair, a raucous celebration in the Kingdom of Guardia to celebrate its 1000th year of existence. Balloons fly, runners race, Gato has metal joints, and Crono has an important rendezvous with Guardia's Princess Nadia, and ultimately destiny. Spanning at least a good 40 hours, the story and the gameplay combine to create an RPG unmatched in it's time.
Graphics
It didn't get much better than this. Only Mario RPG had graphics that surpassed the lush, vivacious, colorful worlds and times of Chrono Trigger. Different time periods each have their own distinctive look, from the jungles of 65,000,000 BC, to the rustic towns of 1000 AD, to the desolate, bombed out domes of 2300 AD. Character graphics are large and very well-animated. Enemies are equally well-done, and the large bosses are excellent. Battles take place right on the map, making for a seamless transition from exploring to ass-whipping. And small details abound. It's almost hard to believe this is only an SNES game.
Sound
Yasunori Mitsuda, the musical genius behind the masterful Xenogears soundtrack, debuts here, and the results are nothing short of perfection. Light, cheerful music in the friendly Guardia Kingdom, the jungle beats of the prehistoric era, the Eastern-sounding strings of Zeal, and of course the memorable Magus Battle theme. Every piece of music is flawlessly coupled with the appropriate scenes. Sound effects are also very good. Some Final Fantasy veterans might notice some samples directly taken from FFVI:)
Gameplay
Chrono Trigger adds a wonderful twist to standard RPG battle systems with the Tech system. Each character has their own techs they can use on their own, but some techs require pairing two, and sometimes all three characters for an attack dealing huge damage. Each character has their own magical element (ie Crono has Thunder spells, Marle has Water, etc.). Careful combining and strategy are needed to take down many of the boss foes. And perhaps the best thing, which we are STILL waiting for in all RPGs, you can see your enemies. That's right, NO RANDOM BATTLES!
Modern Appeal
IChrono Trigger was just re-released, with Final Fantasy IV, as a part of the Final Fantasy Chronicles set on the Sony PlayStation. The new version has added anime cutscenes drawn by none other than the legendary Akira Toriyama, known best as the creator of the wildly popular Dragonball Z anime. DBZ fans will instantly notice the style used in creating the new CT cutscenes. On the downside though, Chrono Trigger's PSX incarnate suffers from the same major problem the earlier Final Fantasy Anthology did, and that's the menacing load times of the PlayStation. It is recommended that you play the SNES cartridge version for the best experience.
Purchase Price
This is a rare gem indeed, the SNES version is. It will cost anywhere from $50-$80. The PlayStation version's MSRP is $39.99
Total score: 10.0
By Weltall
"It's about time."
And so, Crono's mom wakes him up on the day of the Millenial Fair, thus setting into motion one of the greatest RPG adventures ever, Chrono Trigger. What would end up being the last great Squaresoft game on a Nintendo console (besides the co-developed Mario RPG), Chrono Trigger is the source of many fond memories from RPG lovers everywhere. Released originally in 1995, right in the daybreak of the 32-Bit era, Chrono Trigger spit in the face of snazzy new 3D visuals to give all of us one last shot at the remarkable 2D RPG we knew and loved. And Chrono Trigger can rightfully be called the pinnacle of 2D RPGs, for many reasons.
Starting with the story. A normal, quiet lad named Crono goes to the Millenial Fair, a raucous celebration in the Kingdom of Guardia to celebrate its 1000th year of existence. Balloons fly, runners race, Gato has metal joints, and Crono has an important rendezvous with Guardia's Princess Nadia, and ultimately destiny. Spanning at least a good 40 hours, the story and the gameplay combine to create an RPG unmatched in it's time.
Graphics
It didn't get much better than this. Only Mario RPG had graphics that surpassed the lush, vivacious, colorful worlds and times of Chrono Trigger. Different time periods each have their own distinctive look, from the jungles of 65,000,000 BC, to the rustic towns of 1000 AD, to the desolate, bombed out domes of 2300 AD. Character graphics are large and very well-animated. Enemies are equally well-done, and the large bosses are excellent. Battles take place right on the map, making for a seamless transition from exploring to ass-whipping. And small details abound. It's almost hard to believe this is only an SNES game.
Sound
Yasunori Mitsuda, the musical genius behind the masterful Xenogears soundtrack, debuts here, and the results are nothing short of perfection. Light, cheerful music in the friendly Guardia Kingdom, the jungle beats of the prehistoric era, the Eastern-sounding strings of Zeal, and of course the memorable Magus Battle theme. Every piece of music is flawlessly coupled with the appropriate scenes. Sound effects are also very good. Some Final Fantasy veterans might notice some samples directly taken from FFVI:)
Gameplay
Chrono Trigger adds a wonderful twist to standard RPG battle systems with the Tech system. Each character has their own techs they can use on their own, but some techs require pairing two, and sometimes all three characters for an attack dealing huge damage. Each character has their own magical element (ie Crono has Thunder spells, Marle has Water, etc.). Careful combining and strategy are needed to take down many of the boss foes. And perhaps the best thing, which we are STILL waiting for in all RPGs, you can see your enemies. That's right, NO RANDOM BATTLES!
Modern Appeal
IChrono Trigger was just re-released, with Final Fantasy IV, as a part of the Final Fantasy Chronicles set on the Sony PlayStation. The new version has added anime cutscenes drawn by none other than the legendary Akira Toriyama, known best as the creator of the wildly popular Dragonball Z anime. DBZ fans will instantly notice the style used in creating the new CT cutscenes. On the downside though, Chrono Trigger's PSX incarnate suffers from the same major problem the earlier Final Fantasy Anthology did, and that's the menacing load times of the PlayStation. It is recommended that you play the SNES cartridge version for the best experience.
Purchase Price
This is a rare gem indeed, the SNES version is. It will cost anywhere from $50-$80. The PlayStation version's MSRP is $39.99
Total score: 10.0