So, I started Chrono Trigger over the weekend...

[Darknezz]

I wasn't around for the SNES era of video games. When Chrono Trigger came out in '95, I was only 2 years old. I don't really feel like I missed out on anything, though. Despite all of the praise those older games get, I always brush it off as nostalgia for a simpler time.

Giant Bomb recently started an Endurance Run (Read: Let's Play, but without any stipulation for actually finishing the game or being insightful) for Chrono Trigger last week. As a fan of the site, and of the other Endurance Runs (Persona 4, Deadly Premonition), I decided to check it out.

After the first week of videos, I went and found myself a ROM and an emulator (because tracking down a console and cart is way too much hassle, let's be honest) and started playing the game for myself.

Chrono Trigger is pretty great. The active battle system keeps you on your toes, so fights are rarely boring. Constantly looking through Techniques and planning strategies on the fly is fun and rewarding, especially knowing that the longer you take, the more the enemies get to wail on you.

I'm about ten hours in, and the story's already taken some weird, awesome turns; nothing I would have expected from a game a decade-and-a-half old. I really can't wait to see where the story goes from where I am right now. Crono ate one for the team, and now it looks like he's gone for good.

This being my first play through, I'm really excited that it's actually a really cool, really fun game that still holds up in 2011. It may not be pretty, and the translation seems a little off at times, but it's still a hell of a ride.

I'm curious to know other peoples' experiences with Chrono Trigger. If you're like me, and you've never played it before, I really suggest giving it a look.

[Keab42]

I played an emulated version of it a few years back and loved it, one of the few games I've actually finished.

[MattAn]

It comes out later this month some time on iOS and Android.. So.. MOAR CHRONO TRIGGER.. But portable!

[Matt]

and I will never put my iPhone down again.

-m

[Geoff_B]

The best thing about games of that time was that they had such a huge scope. Chrono Trigger had what, five or six time periods, each of which was like a separate world? Final Fantasy VI had two huge sprawling worlds which were very different from each other. Nowadays we're lucky if we get two medium sized worlds!

[Darknezz]

The best thing about games of that time was that they had such a huge scope. Chrono Trigger had what, five or six time periods, each of which was like a separate world? Final Fantasy VI had two huge sprawling worlds which were very different from each other. Nowadays we're lucky if we get two medium sized worlds!

To be fair, video game worlds are a whole lot bigger and full of more stuff now. I mean, look at Skyrim; you can't walk ten feet without stumbling over some new quest or area to explore. Granted, Skyrim is in a minority, but RPGs with the scope and expansive worlds you seem to be talking about have always been few and far between.

Comparing Skyrim to Chrono Trigger's world, Chrono Trigger is super linear and, while there are a bunch of different areas, there's just not a whole lot to do in those areas until the story tells you to go there.

But let's not forget that there's fifteen years of innovation, evolution, and technological advances between the two. For its time, Chrono Trigger is nothing short of amazing, and it's still holding my interest a decade and a half after its first release.

[Aeralis]

One of Chrono Trigger's best aspects is how well it has aged. It certainly feels like a SNES RPG, but it also has its own special tint to everything that makes it really stand out.

And the story is just incredibly well done all around. There's boats of foreshadowing, plot twists, and drama, and it all keeps you on your toes throughout. When you start getting near the end, you also get to see some great character depth for most of the characters, and some really touching scenes.

Add in the great gameplay elements, like having full freedom to switch around your party, multiple endings, and encouraging different team builds with dual and triple-techs, and its easy to see why Chrono Trigger has such strong support behind it.

(Also, don't forget that there is a DS version too. It's worth looking into, mostly for the (mostly) better translation.)

[Keab42]

and I will never put my iPhone down again.

-m

Indeed...

[Metcarfre]

Iphone version? I guess I can finally play it then. That'll be fun.

[MattAn]

and I will never put my iPhone down again.

-m

...Then they'll release Final Fantasy VI, and iPhones everywhere will shine brightly with JRPG SNES-ness.

CT's going to make a killing on iOS. Might even get SE out of the FFXIV rut they're in, but that's debatable.

[tanatoes]

Hmm. I have the DS version around here somewhere. I beat the game on an emulator in the late nineties, but I never had it for the SNES (something I'll have to rectify when I eventually start collecting retro games.)

This game is probably my favorite Squaresoft game of all time. (second place, I'm ashamed to admit, is the Super Mario RPG, which I now have on my Wii.)

[Aeralis]

Why is that shameful? Mario RPG is an amazing game!

[Drinnik]

Chrono Trigger is an awesome game.

So is Chrono Cross.

[Yaxley]

Chrono Trigger is one of the carts I went out of my way to get a copy of when I started building my retro game collection. It's just so good. And somehow, the save battery still works, so that's a plus.

I hadn't heard about an iOS version until I saw this thread. Which means I will probably buy it again. I just hope it's a decent port.

[ecocd]

I just beat the DS version a week ago. Strange timing. It's indeed as fun as I remember and I agree that it's aged remarkably well.

Something you may not be aware of is the New Game Plus option. Once you finish the game, you get to keep all of your levels and items from your end game, but start at the very beginning.

You can defeat Lavos at any time during the game to get unique endings. I think there are 12 in the original and 13 in the DS version. I managed to defeat Lavos only 30 minutes into the game with just Marle and Crono to get a really, really strange ending. Beware, you don't save your money from game to game, though, so blow it all on mid-ethers in the last dungeon so you can sell them at the beginning of your new game to have some cash on hand.

Also, I agree that Mario RPG was a fantastic game. Nothing embarrassing about that at all. It was one of the first RPGs to have an interactive combat system which was pretty revolutionary and added a lot to the game play. There's a reason they made so many sequels.

[Aeralis]

Also, fun fact: Mario RPG taught me how to play Blackjack.

[Cybren]

Chronotrigger is to the JRPG industry what Casablanca was to the classic Hollywood era. I will not elaborate on the point further than both are exemplars of their time not for grandeur but competence and elegance.

[Evil Jim]

Every time I pick up my DS these days I invariably think to myself "I still haven't finished Chrono Trigger yet..." I bought it right when it was released for the system & played it near-daily for three months. Unfortunately life got in the way & I set it aside. By the time I came back to it I needed a refresher & decided I may as well start again from the beginning. In fact, I might make this my 2012 resolution.

I've heard about the game & how awesome it was since its humble beginnings, but never got around to checking it out until the DS release. For awhile I mistakenly thought it was a rip-off of Secret of Mana (my favourite RPG) since both male characters had spiky red hair, but that was probably a coincidence, or possibly just because they were both Square games. </rambling>

[nonjabiru]

I still need to beat Chrono Trigger. I picked it up when it was released for the DS and I must have got distracted with some other game and stopped playing for whatever reason. I'll need to replay from the start since the only thing I remember doing was going to the added DS areas and fighting stuff. I can't remember anything else about what I was doing.

Also Mario RPG was what got me into playing RPGs. And it doesn't matter what game I play I still try to use timed attacks.

[Alja-Markir]

~Alja~

[Geoff_B]

Oh dear oh dear. Pony Trigger.

[Keab42]

That's awesome.

On a related note I'm really enjoying it on iOS. The controls feel nice and I'd forgotten so much of the story...