Chrono Trigger

Super Nintendo Masterpiece

I played this game after I played Terranigma; by several years, in fact. I first played Terranigma in the early 2010s and was instantly enamored by it. After many years, I played Chrono Trigger and was also instantly enamored. The reason why I hesitated for so long to play Chrono Trigger is because it's turn-based. I never liked turn-based combat and still don't. I will discuss this game's combat later.

The Highest Praise

Throughout high school and throughout college, everyone on the internet and in real-life heaped the absolute highest possible praise upon Chrono Trigger. It almost always appeared at the top of best-of lists. Some of my acquantances even opined that it was the greatest game of all time. I still didn't budge. It wasn't until I encountered a loose cartridge at a local retro game store for ninety dollars that I bought it and played it. I guess all the hype throughout the years from almost everyone compelled me to add it to my collection. What kind of Super Nintendo collector doesn't have Chrono Trigger, right?

Wise Investment

Ninety dollars is quite a lot of money for a single cartridge. My investment defintely paid off as, not only is this game spectacular, an authentic cartridge now sells for damned near 250 dollars.

Combat

As mentioned copious times, I am not a fan of turn-based combat and never have been. The only exception prior to Chrono Trigger was Pokemon. But it's Pokemon. If you grew up in the late 90s it was absolutely impossible to escape Pokemania. It's insane how it completely took over lives.

Frowning on Turn-Based

But I've digressed. The reason why I don't like turn-based combat is because it's just too slow and deliberate for me. I typically don't even see the value of strategy in such games. Once I discover a method that works, I usually just re-use it throughout the whole game without needing to re-strategize in any signifcant way. Even in something that recieved the highest honors in Clair Obscur, once I discovered how to steal an extra turn with Lune (the best character), I just spammed the hell out of it. Hell, Maelle had an attack that automatically puts you in Virtuoso which would set up another attack that's massively boosted by being in Virtuoso. So, I spammed that too. Worked ninety percent of the time.

Same Approach

Granted, I approach real-time combat in this manner, too. But I don't want to be bogged down by menus and waiting for my opponent's turn to end when I already know what my plan of attack is going to be. I don't want to drag out the combat when I know exactly what I'm going to do most of the time.

Active Time Battle

The turn-based combat in Chrono Trigger is radically different. Sure, you have to wait your turn, but it's definitely not a perpetual back-and-forth. It uses what is called an "active time battle" system. What this means is that, your turn doesn't rely on your opponent finishing, it relies on an internal timer for each character. The higher the speed or agility stat, the faster this timer recharges and the quicker you can attack. So, if your character has a timer that recharges every two seconds, and your opponent has a timer that recharges every three seconds, you can play your turn every two times to your opponents every three times. The ratio of turns don't even have to be even.

All Turn-Based Should Be Active

This makes attributes such as speed or agility way more important. No longer do they simply determine who gets to go first, it determines how often you can attack versus how often your opponent can. Not only that, as your navigating menus during your turn, your opponent can still act. On top of generating a sense of urgency, which I love, it opens up a whole new realm of strategy. Should you wait for your enemies to bundle up so you can damage all them at once with an area attack? Should you wait for all your allies to have their timers replenished to unleash a combined team attack for maximum damage? This style of combat is an absolute win for me and I much prefer it over simple turn-based combat. All turn-based games should use the active time battle system!

Legendary Music

The Super Nintendo is home to not only the best games of all time, but to some of the very best sountracks of all time. I've gushed about Terranigma's soundtrack and Chrono Trigger's is just as good, perhaps even better. It really depends on what mood I'm in as you can't go wrong either way. Songs such as the Wind Scene or Corridors of Time (my absolute favorite) are breathtakingly beautiful in a way that very few video game soundtracks can be. Their ability to drill into your mind and transport it to a different time in a different dimension is truly incredible. The music enhances the epic and captivating story that very few games could even compare. Both the music and the story absolutely sweep the player and launches on a journey that is out of sight, out of mind, and out of time.

Story

The journey across time begins innocently. Crono wakes up and is urged by his mother to attend the fair to see his friend Lucca's new experiment. Once he arrives at the fair, he bumps into Marle, a beautiful girl that decides to hang out with Crono during the fair. They both attend Lucca's demonstration and Marle volunteers to be the subject of Lucca's experiment. Her experiment goes awry and sends Marle across time. Crono must enter the portal after her to rescue her. Almost immediately, we see the consequences of interfering with the past affecting the events of the future. Marle's presence in the past convinced everyone that she was the Queen Leene and so, the search was called off. Which means Leene doesn't get rescued. Which means Marle gets vaporized into oblivion. It's up to Crono and Lucca to set things right. That's only the beginning.

Save the Future

Upon rescuing the Queen and restoring Marle, they flee from court injustice into another time portal and end up in a distant future. It's a hopeless wasteland of technology gone horribly wrong. Upon further investigation, they discovered that an ancient otherworldy creature Lavos is behind the hideously decayed state of the distant future. Crono's team of intrepid heroes set out once again to put things in order and defeat Lavos and save the future. But traveling across time and intervening in different time periods once again affects events in the future.

Journey Through Time

It's incredible how Chrono Trigger's central story point of altering the course of time is done so well. Characters from all aeons assist or oppose our band of unlikely heroes. The plot twists and revelations that occur as the story unfolds are virtually unmatched in any video game. I also love how it keeps escalating throughout. The player can also affect the ending, of which there are thirteen of. Yes, thirteen different endings depending on when you decide to take on Lavos. This was 1995 on 16-bit hardware folks. It's completely nuts.

Big Bad Boss

One thing that Chrono Trigger nails down to perfection is the boss battles. Every single one of them has you on the edge of your seat. The difficulty is perfectly balanced. It's challenging enough to make your hairs stand. You will have to constantly make decisions on which attacks to use and when to heal due to it's active time battle system. But it's also not soul crushingly hard where you are repeatedly replaying the same boss either trying to figure out some obscure strategy out or just get lucky. Many bosses are memorable like Magus, Azala, Giga Gaia, and the big bad boss to end all bosses himself: Lavos. There are many bosses throughout gaming history that are awesome, but I find that the ones in Chrono Trigger are the absolute best. I truly felt good about defeating them to advance the story.

Side Quests

Before you take on the big bad boss, the side quests should be completed because they are absolutely worth it. Not only is it recommended in order to level up to take on the big bad bosses, they bring about closure to each of the character's story. The stories themselves are worth listening to and contain themes of redemption, family, love, sacrifice, and determination. They are each emotionally gripping in their own way. My favorite characters where Ayla and Robo. Robo's origin story as a robot originally designed to destroy the human race but ultimately to not only spare it, but protect it is an awesome antidote cyberpunk story that rules. Ayla's battle against the Reptites culminating in clash against Azala in which Ayla is victorious but still takes time to honor a worth adversary appeals anyone with a warrior's heart.

Complaints

There are some minor flaws that I have to pick. The biggest one is the sudden difficulty spike after you confront the Queen in the Dark Ages while she builds her aquatic palace. You enter the Black Omen ship and the monsters start chomping away at your life and take multiple powerful hits before going down. I guess the game assumes you know how to play by now and so it hits with everything it's got. And honestly, it's not so bad if you complete all of the side quests first. Once you do that, you should be at a level sufficiently high enough to tackle the Black Omen and subsequently Lavos. Still, I'd rather have a more gentle difficulty gradient instead of a surprise punch to the jaw. It does force you to re-strategize a bit. Some grinding might be in order.

Vague Hints

Another flaw that pops up at exactly the same time is the lack of clear cut direction upon confronting Queen Zeal. You could easily make the mistake of taking on Lavos too early and get curb-stomped. You could just as easily march in into the Black Omen and get crushed by regular enemies. It's also possible to miss the cue to revive Crono and skip it entirely and complete the game without him. The same cue also reveals that you must speak with a Time Guru that provides vague hints on what side quests to complete. Some don't require a description, really. Other's you'll have to connect the dots a little and recall the story arch of each character. It's not the worst. Honestly, connecting the dots in Terranigma is actually more challenging than in Chrono Trigger. It's almost as if it's using these vague hints in conjuction with difficulty spikes to try and direct the player and what course of action to take.

Frowning on Difficulty Spikes

Some would say this enhances the game because it impacts the ending. I'm personally dislike it even if the multiple endings is really cool. It's actually one of the reasons I'm not a fan of Elden Ring. I guess I just don't like when the game uses difficulty spikes to try and steer the player in a certain direction. In a game like this, I would probably rather prefer a little more streamlining. But it's just a minor complaint. The difficulty doesn't climb to unbearable levels. After a bit of stumbling about, I was able to point myself in the best direction. I'm making it sound like a bigger problem than it actually is.

The Greatest?

I've already shared my opinion that Terranigma is my favorite game ever and that it even surpasses this masterpiece. I must say, playing them back-to-back reminded just how incredibly close they are to one another. I view them as kind of video game siblings. They both feature a sprawling, epic narrative that spans across places and time. They both feature an overworld in which the player can explore and visit locations and dungeons on it. They both feature a teenage protagonist that is suddenly called to a perform the daunting task of rescuing or resurrecting the world. They both feature a cast of eccentric and likable characters; each with their own heartfelt story. Finally, they both released in 1995 and where excluded from certain regions. They where both released in Japan, but Chrono Trigger was not released in Europe and Terranigma was never released in North America at the time. And of course, they both pushed the Super Nintendo hardware to its absolute limit.

Maybe the Second

As far as I'm concerning, these are the two best games on the best console and thereby making them the two greatest games of all time in my heart. I give the edge to Terranigma because the story hit me harder in the feels and I just prefer action combat over the active time battle system. Not that Chrono Trigger failed to hit me in the feels. It's just that the somber yet hopeful ending touched me in a way no video game ever has. Also, I prefer the visuals in Terranigma more. I have no rationale behind it, I just like them better. The boss fights are definitely Chrono Trigger's strong point. I think I'll give the edge to the its soundtrack, too. Ok, I'm done comparing. Each game has its strengths and I highly recommend them both. These are the tippy top of gaming mountain for me.