Chrono Trigger (Nintendo DS)

Chrono Trigger was originally released in Japan way back on the Super Nintendo in 1995, then shortly afterwards it received a North American release. It was also ported to other consoles in the same regions later on, but only now has Europe got a port of it.

The game has indeed stood the test of time, almost everything about this game is perfect:

The games story starts out simple enough, Lucca; a friend of Crono invents a short distance transportation device and demonstrates it at the "Millenial Fair." A girl whom Crono recently acquainted tests the machine, it malfunctions however because of the pendant she's wearing. The malfunction creates a time gate and this is how Crono and his friends journey through time begins.

As time travel is involved, a lot of the game will raise many questions if you're playing close attention to the story. The basic plot and game objective is simple, paying close attention to the small details in the story may make certain things seem convoluted at times - like "how did that upcoming event happen when I'm meddling with the with something to do with it in the past?" Chrono Trigger isn't lacking on twists either, they're ubiquitous throughout and lead you to not wanting to put the game down.

The time travelling is very interesting, for example; one side quest later on in the game features greedy mayor who has stolen an item that belongs to you. Go back in time 400 years and offer the woman who lives in that same house a gift for free and she tells you how she will raise her children to be generous and giving; fast forward 400 years and the mayor is now TOO generous and happily gives you the stolen item back!

There's 13 endings that have numerous variations depending on certain choices you made during the course of the game, when the game is finished it allows you to create a New Game+ file which keeps your levels, skills and most of your items from your finished games saved file. This allows you to breeze through the game and finish it in a different matter, hopefully acquiring a different ending. It's possible to "breeze through" the game as the final boss of the game is accessible right near the beginning, you can choose to fight it whenever you want. Without doing the "side quests" however this is practically impossible during your first play through.

Another great thing about Chrono Trigger is the characters, everyone is endearing and charming, even Crono somehow, the typical RPG silent hero. Each character also has a compelling back story, some emotional, all great.

The battle system is so fast paced and fun that even somebody who hates RPGs will enjoy it; after playing Chrono Trigger other turn based RPGs seem slow in comparison. Random encounters don't exist, instead the battles take place then and there upon bumping into the enemy on the map.

The graphics are SNES like but oozing with as much detail a 16-bit game could fit in, another nice feature is the anime cut scenes which were included for the PlayStation port are here on the DS version. The character design is recognizable immediately as Akira Toriyama art, known for his distinct art style which most of us know from the Dragonball series.

Lastly and probably my most favourite thing about the game: the soundtrack. The retro beeps and bleep combine to make an astounding soundtrack; especially the Boss, Epoch and Black Omen themes which are absolutely amazing. Playing this game with headphones is a must!

All in all, Chrono Trigger is an immersive and addictive game that'll last you a while with its numerous things to do and unlock. If you have a DS then do yourself a favour and treat it to this masterpiece.

It's time for a massive amount of nostalgia and a trip down memory lane, because the origional Chrono Trigger for the SNES was the first game I ever played. My Dad hade brought back an NSTC format SNES from the US and brought this game for me. I was lucky to have been able to play this masterpiece of a game, which is really the only RPG that is equal to the utterly sublime Final Fantasy 7.

The story begins with a group of friends named Crono, Marle and Lucca who live in the year 1000AD. Lucca and her father construct a time machine and during a test where Marle volunteers to be teleported here pendant interferes with the machine causing a portal in time to be created, which she is sucked into. Crono and Lucca then recreate the portal and set out to rescue their friend. While persuing Marle however, Crono and Lucca meet a set of different characters and when after a sequence of events they find out that a global catastrophe is soon to occur in the future. The friends also learn that they have the power to stop it and embark on a adventure to save the world and the whole universe. It is truly a benchmark for video game storytelling, you have to play it to believe it. It's fantastically topped up by some of the most interesting and likeable characters that I've ever come across in any RPG or any game for that matter. It also features entertaing and humourous dialoge.

Next we come to the gameplay, which is similar to many RPGs. You navigate your characters across many different locations including forests, towns and dungeons. You fight monsters using a standard RPG Active Time Battle system, a player takes action in battle once a timer dependent on your speed stat reaches zero, you can attack with either your weapon, magic or special physical techniques. Magic and Physical techniques are handled by the Techs command. Unique to Chrono Trigger is the exsistance of cooperative techniques. Each character has a total of 8 personal techniques which can be combined with other character techniques to create more powerful attacks, double and triple combinations exsist. For example Crono's sword spinning Cyclone move can be combined Lucca's flame toss to create the Fire Whirl combination. This aspect makes fights interesting and tactical.

Another feature unique to Chrono Trigger is the concept of time travel. The players can access seven different time period of the world's history and choices made by players in the past affect things in the future.
The overall gameplay is fantastically balanced and hugely entertaining. Whether you're thinking about the best ways to kill a monster or interacting with various characters or exploring the very colourful and varied environments across history.

However the thing that makes this tower firmly above so many RPGs is it's replay value. The fact that time travel is crucial the the game and the story means that the game has multiple endings, 13 multiple endings to be exact! Given that this is a game that you'll want to experience again and again it means that it's a great value for money.

In conclusion Chrono Trigger is a true masterwork of a game. I can't think of anything wrong with it. Every scene is memorable in some way or another. It's a true benchmark of video game storytelling, character development and gameplay. It never stops being fun or entertaining. Utterlly epic in every scence of the word, a sublime experience from start to finish. Along with Final Fantasy 7, Chrono Trigger is easily the best RPG ever made and has only improved over the years.

I never played this on the the SNES so I was a newcomer to the Chrono Trigger world. At first I was put off by the graphics in this game, which are pretty ordinary, even for the DS. But once events started to unfold, and I got a grip on the controls, I realised that under this modest appearance is a true pearl of a game. The story is really quirky and fun, the characters are amusing and likeable, and the gameplay is simple but delightful. In particular, I recommend this to anyone looking for a fix to fill the hole left after finishing Zelda.