In my ongoing and likely futile effort to write a review for every game in my Steam library (#500 out of 1000+)... it's time for Chrono Trigger.


When I first started this Impossible Quest of mine, I never imagined that I'd make it all the way to 500 reviews. Insofar as numbers go, it's frankly obscene. And I can think of no better game to review in commemoration of this milestone than Chrono Trigger, arguably the single greatest Japanese-style roleplaying game of all time. And while I may not necessarily agree with that assessment (I think I've played far too many games to label any one of them the absolute "best" of its genre), it's impossible to understate the enormous cultural impact of Chrono Trigger and its broad, cross-cultural appeal.

Simply put, Chrono Trigger is held in such high esteem for very good reason, despite being among the first modern JsRPGs – Chrono Trigger released on the Nitnendo SNES in 1995, and until this point in time, home video game consoles' strict memory limitations inhibited the ability of RPGs to tell anything but the barest, most rudimentary of stories. With the greater power (relatively speaking) of the SNES, console RPGs suddenly found that they had the means to craft far more detailed and nuanced narratives – and Chrono Trigger took that opportunity and went running with it.

To sum the game up simply, Chrono Trigger is one of those rare games that has something for everyone --.everyone. The premise is both simple and familiar: a great big evil thing is going to destroy the world in the far future, so you and your band of merry companions must travel through time in an epic quest to stop the apocalypse! It's nothing you haven't seen before, a dozen times at least. But each and every element of the Chrono Trigger is lovingly polished to a perfect sheen, resulting in a game that holds up -- often very favorably -- to today's modern RPGs. Many of us have a kneejerk response to modern JsRPGs, where we immediately compare them to Chrono Trigger, simply because nothing else has come as close to its perfection in the decades since.

Let's do a quick run-down, shall we? The combat is very simple and straightforward turn-based fare with an absolute minimum of grinding or filler combat. The visuals of the game are gorgeous, with each era you visit being lavishly rendered with colorful, evocative pixel art; the character designs are utterly iconic and immediately recognizable as the work Akira Toriyama, of Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest fame, and posses some of the finest sprite animation the industry has ever produced. The various temporal epochs you visit (which I will avoid spoiling) provide multiple diverse and interesting (and, of course, enjoyable) settings to immerse yourself in -- none of which overstay their welcome. And as for the music? It is, in a word: sublime.

The story tying all of these elements together is, perhaps, Chrono Trigger's weakest aspect, as it's relatively simple with characters mostly embodying broad archetypes, but I believe this is ultimately to the game's benefit. There's a lot going on here, and with all of the time travel and different, interconnected plot threads, it could very quickly become overwhelming to keep track of. By keeping its characters and their motivations simple, relying on familiar tropes and archetypes, Chrono Trigger also keeps its story accessible -- and reduces the amount of time it needs to spend in any one place, where other, lesser games might mistakenly try to pack in an abundance of characterization or worldbuilding. Instead, Chrono Trigger proceeds with alacrity, moving at a a brisk pace that never fails to slacken its momentum. Here is a case where less is more -- resulting in an ambitious time-travel story with a surprising degree of reactivity (especially in the famous trial scene) that's easy to follow and maintains the players' interest from beginning to end.

Chrono Trigger's 1995 release marked the beginning of what we can now recognize as the beginning of a golden age of JsRPGs – a glorious era where that genre, itself, was if not born, codified. Playing Chronoo Trigger now, so many years later, it's hard not to notice just how few games since can be said to be its equal. Chrono Trigger hit a level of quality that few games since have dared approach. It's also difficult to ignore just how refreshing it still feels, fully withstanding the tests of time, even after multiple subsequent playthroughs -- Chrono Trigger is one of those rare, precious RPGs that never seems to waste the players' time, and always has something amazing to show you just a few more steps ahead.

A quarter-century ago, Chrono Trigger set the gold standard for the genre. Whether or not any of the succeeding games approached the same heights is debateable, but few would argue that any have exceeded them. Chrono Trigger is a timeless journey, a sublime adventure, an immaculate classic, a dream given form -- and as unique and wonderful and captivating today as it was generations ago.


Note: also played on Nintendo DS.

[i]In my ongoing and likely futile effort to write a review for every game in my Steam library [/i](#500 out of 1000+)[i]... it's time for[/i] [b]Chrono Trigger.[/b] [h2]┛A Timeless Time-Traveling Epic┏[/h2] When I first started this Impossible Quest of mine, I never imagined that I'd make it all the way to 500 reviews. Insofar as numbers go, it's frankly obscene. And I can think of no better game to review in commemoration of this milestone than [i]Chrono Trigger,[/i] arguably the single greatest Japanese-style roleplaying game of all time. And while I may not necessarily agree with that assessment (I think I've played far too many games to label any one of them the absolute "best" of its genre), it's impossible to understate the enormous cultural impact of [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] and its broad, cross-cultural appeal. Simply put, [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] is held in such high esteem for very good reason, despite being among the first [i]modern[/i] JsRPGs – [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] released on the Nitnendo SNES in 1995, and until this point in time, home video game consoles' strict memory limitations inhibited the ability of RPGs to tell anything but the barest, most rudimentary of stories. With the greater power (relatively speaking) of the SNES, console RPGs suddenly found that they had the means to craft far more detailed and nuanced narratives – and [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] took that opportunity and went running with it. To sum the game up simply, [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] is one of those rare games that has something for everyone --.[i]everyone.[/i] The premise is both simple and familiar: a great big evil thing is going to destroy the world in the far future, so you and your band of merry companions must travel through time in an epic quest to stop the apocalypse! It's nothing you haven't seen before, a dozen times at least. But each and every element of the [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] is lovingly polished to a perfect sheen, resulting in a game that holds up -- often very favorably -- to today's modern RPGs. Many of us have a kneejerk response to modern JsRPGs, where we immediately compare them to [i]Chrono Trigger[/i], simply because nothing else has come as close to its perfection in the [i]decades[/i] since. Let's do a quick run-down, shall we? The combat is very simple and straightforward turn-based fare with an absolute minimum of grinding or filler combat. The visuals of the game are gorgeous, with each era you visit being lavishly rendered with colorful, evocative pixel art; the character designs are utterly iconic and immediately recognizable as the work Akira Toriyama, of [i]Dragon Ball[/i] and [i]Dragon Quest[/i] fame, and posses some of the finest sprite animation the industry has ever produced. The various temporal epochs you visit (which I will avoid spoiling) provide multiple diverse and interesting (and, of course, enjoyable) settings to immerse yourself in -- none of which overstay their welcome. And as for the music? It is, in a word: sublime. The story tying all of these elements together is, perhaps, [i]Chrono Trigger's[/i] weakest aspect, as it's relatively simple with characters mostly embodying broad archetypes, but I believe this is ultimately to the game's benefit. There's a lot going on here, and with all of the time travel and different, interconnected plot threads, it could very quickly become overwhelming to keep track of. By keeping its characters and their motivations simple, relying on familiar tropes and archetypes, [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] also keeps its story [i]accessible[/i] -- and reduces the amount of time it needs to spend in any one place, where other, lesser games might mistakenly try to pack in an abundance of characterization or worldbuilding. Instead, [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] proceeds with alacrity, moving at a a brisk pace that never fails to slacken its momentum. Here is a case where less is more -- resulting in an ambitious time-travel story with a surprising degree of reactivity (especially in the famous trial scene) that's easy to follow and maintains the players' interest from beginning to end. [i]Chrono Trigger's[/i] 1995 release marked the beginning of what we can now recognize as the beginning of a golden age of JsRPGs – a glorious era where that genre, itself, was if not born, codified. Playing [i]Chronoo Trigger[/i] now, so many years later, it's hard not to notice just how few games since can be said to be its equal. [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] hit a level of quality that few games since have dared approach. It's also difficult to ignore just how refreshing it still feels, fully withstanding the tests of time, even after multiple subsequent playthroughs -- [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] is one of those rare, precious RPGs that never seems to waste the players' time, and always has something amazing to show you just a few more steps ahead. A quarter-century ago, [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] set the gold standard for the genre. Whether or not any of the succeeding games approached the same heights is debateable, but few would argue that any have exceeded them. [i]Chrono Trigger[/i] is a timeless journey, a sublime adventure, an immaculate classic, [i]a dream given form[/i] -- and as unique and wonderful and captivating today as it was generations ago. [h3]Arbitrary Rating: 10/10[/h3] [h1]▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰[/h1] [h1]★★★ CLASSIC ★★★[/h1] [i]Note: also played on Nintendo DS.[/i]