Few games stand out in my mind when I think about ones that I cannot seem to get over despite the rapid technological advancements, which, instead of making games better, only seem to slowly erode their overall quality. Chrono Trigger is easily one of the best games of all time and I’ll tell you why:
Logo
What we’re met with today are very pretty graphics with no other substance, repetitive and over the top exaggerations that overuse the same old gimmick, with the rare occasional gem or two. The ratio of noteworthy games is slim at best, as there’s always something missing despite ever-soaring prices and many collectors’ editions being released on a regular basis, backed by massive advertising campaigns that sadly tend to mislead us into thinking that these games must be worth our money, and more importantly, time. If the graphics are great, then the story sucks, and if the story sucks, all that you’re stuck with is a shallow pattern where you simply go through the motions eventually. Sure, they may look nice, but the glamor wears off soon enough. I am certain that you don’t need me to mention that some games flat-out fail in every applicable attribute.
So much more than saving a princess, actually!
Cue in Chrono Trigger, first released on the SNES. This game has set the standard as far substance, story, likable characters, game play, and lasting appeal go. You play as Crono, the hero of the story who begins his day by going to a local carnival, runs into a quirky girl named Marle who ends up being sucked into his nerdy best friend’s teleportation machine (I love you, Lucca! <3) and getting lost somewhere in the threads of time. You go in to save her, big hero that you are, only to learn that you’ve jumped into the past! See, this amulet that Marle had is apparently this super duper key that lets you travel through time. The story begins unfolding from there.
You eventually end up bringing Marle back to your time, which is ironically where your real adventure begins. In order to advance the plot you’ll need to move back and forth through different times, aligning allies along the way (say that three times) and making your way closer to finding out how corruption has seeped into the future and past, and how it all leads up to one foe. Your initial antagonist becomes an ally, and you run the risk of losing your very life for the sake of protecting the future from untold misery (except you can sort of tell because you time travel!). The best part is that you can actually decide how it unfolds-something I have rarely seen in any role playing game-and I’ve played many. In fact, Chrono Trigger is the first RPG that actually throws such sweet twists!
BOO! ...No, you can't scare anything to death.
In terms of game play, the combat is turn-based. It can be active or set to wait turns (you choose) and each character that you recruit has more aptitude in different fields of combat: casting, melee, ranged attacks, or both. Some characters are also a decent balance of offensive and support abilities (Robo!) which also gives you control in how you wish to experience the game: do you want to beat up your foes or fry them? How about both? The double, even triple special abilities allow your party to combine its force to unleash amazing storms of pain upon your long trail of enemies.
The control given to the player underscores how this is quite possibly one of the most liberal RPGs ever. Relinquishing so much power to the player proves for hours and hours of enjoyable twists and turns in the storyline which can be revisited time and again.
Lucca's aim is awesome.
Longevity isn’t even an issue for Chrono Trigger, this is definitely one that’s going to be revisited, if not for the storyline, then for the impressive game play which effortlessly bypasses most failures shoved down our throats as the best that new generation consoles have to offer.
I’m certain that I haven’t done this classic much justice because words simply fail to express how such a lightweight game easily resides as one of the best top RPGs ever. Its simplistic appearance wraps a neat bow around its complex combat, intriguing story, and interesting characters-whose each story is given a thorough combing, by the way. Multiple endings, enjoyable dialogue, rewarding battle systems, and freedom roam is what Chrono Trigger has to offer. You should pick it up for the DS, PSOne, or download the rom some time.
Related posts:
- In your face. I’ve been watching some episodes of a show called Deadliest...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.