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[DonkeyPunchJr]

Long ago, I was given the Japanese copy of the game on a trade for some Magic cards. I played through the game knowing little Japanese and when it hit the states, I bought a copy day one. One of the most awesome RPGs ever created, especially in the days of the early internet where people kept discovering things to do in it. It was highly influential to many video games one of which being John Romero's Daikatana.

It hasn't been done since. I'm not sure if a game like it will ever exist again. Sure, there was the spiritual sequel in Chrono Cross, but that game didn't get anywhere near what Trigger did.

It's sad to think about. In 1995 Chrono Trigger made it seem like JRPGs were just getting started and had unlimited potential. They would push video game storytelling to new limits.

Now we look back at Chrono Trigger and realize it was the pinnacle, and that no JRPG dev today is capable of making something that lives up to it.

 

[Aesius]

In addition to its other superlatives: the combat system, the graphics, the music, it's the most perfectly paced JRPG of all time. Not an ounce of fat on it. Not a single wasted sequence or moment. And it accomplishes that while still having enough side quests to make the world feel fully fleshed out and alive.

 

[Scrawnton]

Would be way more if they released it on modern platforms where audiences would actually buy it (PS5/Switch).

 

[Evil Calvin]

Either remaster it or remake it....cowards!

 

[Grildon Tundy]

I bought and installed this on Steam months ago, so I contributed to the 5M! Planning to play it one of these days.

 

[John Bilbo]

Dude, please play it. The game is a legit 10/10. It's entertaining the whole way through.

Do you have a Steam Deck? If so, play it on that. Perfect fit.

One of these days I will play it for sure. I know a lot about this game and it is very intriguing.

I don't have a Deck at least yet but I got my PC connected to my TV. The game is probably good to play with a controller.

 

[John Bilbo]

Either remaster it or remake it....cowards!

A remaster please!

Bastards.

 

[darth.shrimp]

From a recent "poll of the day" on gamefaqs:

... I understand Chrono Cross, but 30% of the people have never played Chrono Trigger?! 6000 is far from a representative sample, but we're still talking about a gaming enthusiasts site there, I expected better.

 

[mèx]

I hope we don't get any remaster or remake. They already partially fucked up the game with a simple port, the additional content is garbage bin tier. Think about all the damage they are going to do with a remake.

As for the rest, the game is GOATed and everyone should play it.

 

[Azelover]

Everybody with the slightest inclination for any kind of RPG needs to play this game front to back..

It is THE best JRPG ever, period.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Everybody with the slightest inclination for any kind of RPG needs to play this game front to back..

It is THE best game ever, period.

Fixed

 

[vodka-bull]

Haven't played it yet, but it's already on my Vita. Will play eventually after I'm done with FFPR.

 

[ReyBrujo]

Just booted it and it still has battery and my saves from back when I played it.

I also got the original receipt, bought it on November 8, 1995 for 115 dollars. Back then we never really cared about keeping games intact so box is battered but still holding.

I had conflicting thoughts on Chrono Trigger when I played. For one, I liked the graphics, the music, the story. But I felt like having 999 HP was a downgrade compared to having 9999 HP in FF6 (which was one of the reasons I never bought Earthbound nor Super Mario RPG back in the day). But the day I finished it and I saw that "New Game +" and pressed it to see what happened... it was brilliant, first time ever I saw that option in any game (and one of the first if not the first to implement that). In retrospective, I still think FF6 is the better one for me but CT is up there in my trinity (along Secret of Mana). If anything, CT taught me you can have a role playing game where grinding is not necessary. It's still one of the few games where experience is so perfectly balanced that you don't need to grind, you just need to play the game, fight the fights the game gives you, and enjoy the ride.

 

[Lethal01]

Nice try, woke was not a thing in the mid-90s

It's funny to you are totally oblivious to what i was saying.

 

[Lethal01]

It came out the same year games transitioned from 2d to 3d, it was a new ip, internet didn't exist for word to spread in 1995, which means the game was drowned out by tech advancements for the next 15 years and forgotten by the mass public, and now the only sales it relies on are new gamers going back to play/try old games which isn't many

Of the 5 million that have played it though there are more people that agree that its the best rpg ever made than any other grp of people that have played other rpgs

its crazy how the point is flying so far over your head. Zero reading comprehension

 

[Dev1lXYZ]

It's sad to think about. In 1995 Chrono Trigger made it seem like JRPGs were just getting started and had unlimited potential. They would push video game storytelling to new limits.

Now we look back at Chrono Trigger and realize it was the pinnacle, and that no JRPG dev today is capable of making something that lives up to it.

They weren't kidding that it was a 'Dream Team' making the game back in the day. I honestly thought that this game would be one of many games from them, but it was never to be. I thought Chrono would be a new chapter, not a one off. It must have been a whole lot harder to make than we were led to believe. Times were also different back then, too. It's my opinion that people were much more creative when they had tight hardware constraints to work in. With less, they had to make more to compensate. That whole era was a true golden age of creativity. Everything started coming together in the 80's and by '95 we had reached 'peak entertainment' in all mediums in the video game, anime, and movie formats. I used to think it was my nostalgia bubbling up, but I mean has there been another Star Wars saga(pre-prequels), Akira, or Dragonball Z, or any number of what Disney(Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast)was making from that era?

All of these heavily influenced so many things afterward, but it's been derivatives ever since. The best selling RPG nowadays is a derivative of Earthbound, a game that I scoffed at and Nintendo couldn't give away back then. How the times have changed. I'm not shitting on Delta Rune, it's a good game, but it ain't no Chrono Trigger. My son loves that game and I keep telling him, 'Earthbound was a weak title in my era.' It was a 'comedy lite' RPG that barely sold in Japan. It was only that Nintendo wanted to capitalize on the JRPG interest just starting to do numbers that it ever got ported to the U.S.!(My Blockbuster sold that game for $10 new because it bombed along with the Virtual Boy.)It was still a very niche genre even then and we wanted complex systems and stories, not simplistic themes and graphics. Yet here we are, sitting reminiscing about a game that is less than a tenth of a tenth of what this era is capable of processing wise.

 

[Ozzie666]

Peak Square for USA gamers at least. Just think about this, Final Fantast III, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG enter their Playstation output.

This is not including so many releases in JAPAN during the same period that never came across. Their peak puts them up with Capcom and Konami in my eyes. Chrono Trigger was something unreal by as people have said a dream team.

Secret of Evermore got a lot of hate, but most companies would of killed to have a game of that quality.

 

[Plies]

But I felt like having 999 HP was a downgrade compared to having 9999 HP in FF6 (which was one of the reasons I never bought Earthbound nor Super Mario RPG back in the day).

I don't understand. Isn't the difference in max HP simply relative?
Why would this influence your purchase decision?

 

[ReyBrujo]

I don't understand. Isn't the difference in max HP simply relative?
Why would this influence your purchase decision?

For a teenager more is better, means more replayability, gives the impression the game lasts longer, you don't want to spend hours doing 1-5 points of damage just because your enemies are just 10HP. Also, in the case of Earthbound the graphics looked extremely simple and I didn't like the setup, I prefer more fantasy-based ones. Talking about Mario RPG, the level cap was a big no, didn't understand why you would cap the game at level 30. Like, I play dungeon crawlers and in Wizardry-like ones your next level usually takes about twice as much experience as your current one, so it's a geometric progression which, while not capping you, it intrinsically caps you because it becomes extremely hard to go past level 25 (not sure I've ever reached level 27 where samurais or lords unlock their last spell I believe).

 

[Dorago]

Five million sales, but 100 million people have played it via emulation.

The only wide release they've ever had was the garbage iOS version.

I want more Square RPG collections like the Mana or Saga ones, but with more games and better features.

The industry leaders in this are Capcom and Konami.

2.5D remakes are lame too. I'd rather a 4K asset remakes, but that will never happen because it would require actual effort.

 

[BacklashWave534]

Only 5M? Gamers really suck sometimes

Pretty good sales numbers considering when it came out. You would be suprised how many modern gamers haven't played it. Still the GOAT in my opinion.

 

[NeverYouMind]

It's sad to think about. In 1995 Chrono Trigger made it seem like JRPGs were just getting started and had unlimited potential. They would push video game storytelling to new limits.

Now we look back at Chrono Trigger and realize it was the pinnacle, and that no JRPG dev today is capable of making something that lives up to it.

I still think the remake of Dragon Quest V is the pinnacle with Shin Megami Tensei III as a close second and Final Fantasy VI as the third best. Chrono Trigger is too basic in its combat systems and its mini games are irritating.

 

[Plies]

Chrono Trigger is too basic in its combat systems and its mini games are irritating.

Chrono Trigger is a basic bitch.

 

[K' Dash]

One of the best games ever made. Certainly better than any of the trash Square made for the PS1 and after.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I still think the remake of Dragon Quest V is the pinnacle with Shin Megami Tensei III as a close second and Final Fantasy VI as the third best. Chrono Trigger is too basic in its combat systems and its mini games are irritating.

I don't think there's anything all that special about Chrono Trigger's combat or mini games. (Aside from being able to see your enemies + not having a separate battle screen, something I think CT implemented better than most other attempts to this day)

It's more about memorable story + characters, perfect pacing, visual style, music, scenario design, your ability to change the world with your actions, replay value, etc.

It was lightning in a bottle. One of those rare cases where all the pieces came together just right and you can't easily replicate the formula no matter how hard you try. Kinda like Ghostbusters or Jurassic Park.

 

[DeVeAn]

At least port the Steam version to modern consoles. I played it Steam couple years ago with 8bitdo SNES pad.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

I played CT around 2001. PS1 version. And I was smitten.
I had relatively little experience with JRPGs (Europe didn't get many before the PS1 era) and I had already played FF 7 and 8. Chrono Trigger shouldn't have had the impact it had on me. But oh, it did.

Apart from a couple of sections I don't really enjoy replaying, it's as perfectly paced as any game can be. And that's probably its best feature, gameplay-wise. An essentially fat-free game, with no BS. Almost zero grinding, unless you want to seriously beef up your characters. No random encounters. No zoomed-in world map where you have to wander around randomly in search of places of interest. No 1-in-100 random enemy that drops a game-breaking item. No "gotcha!" battles that will wipe your party out unless you already know exactly what's coming (fuck you, Atlus).

And the writing. It's just perfect. No need for character introductions (looking at you, FF6) or long flashbacks (the only real flashback the game has is fully playable and it's one of its most memorable moments). The characters you're going to recruit are just minding their own business until they happen to cross roads with Chrono. They have no stake in Lavos's story, no real mission before they meet Chrono. No revenges, no pilgrimages, no jesters, no wars, no space missions, no divine entities. Just a ragtag bunch of people (and a robot) who accidentally learn about their world's doom and do their best to prevent it. Oh, and practically no anime bs, even if the character designer is the world's most famous mangaka.

I agree, Chrono Trigger is old, and limited, and short. But it's the rare product that really is more than the sum of its parts. I guess it's hard nowadays to understand why it's so special for those who played it at release or just a few years later, but it really does something that no other such game managed to do ever since.

 

[Buggy Loop]

The GOAT of jRPGs imo

I replayed it on PC last year (ultrawide support surprisingly) and it aged like fine wine. Comparatively, I replayed FFVI too around the same time and imo that aged like milk, its ok but Chrono trigger is clearly a league above.

 

[Shadowstar39]

Came here to say this. It is astonishing that this game is Harolded as much as it is, and how long it's been out on so many platforms, and that you would think by now it would have 20 million in sales minimum.

I now see why square refuses to do anything of significance with this IP.

What platforms? SNES, PS1, and DS, and PC is not really modern platforms outside of PC. Every other one would require buying a physical cartridge or disc, at exorbitant marked up prices.

Square refuses to put this where it should, ala Switch. (same can be said about vagrant story, parasite eve, mega man legends, vandal hearts, etc....)

I never understood the mass appeal of the game, but i never played it in the launch gen. Was too into pc rpgs by the time this came out.
If square wants me to understand the appeal, maybe they should port it to the switch.... (i have it on my snes mini, but I don't really play rpgs on that)

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I lent the DS game to my nephew. He got sidetracked into the new DS content and lost interest.

I don't even remember what that new side content was but I remember it being pointless and detracted from the original.

 

[Shadowstar39]

Five million sales, but 100 million people have played it via emulation.

The only wide release they've ever had was the garbage iOS version.

I want more Square RPG collections like the Mana or Saga ones, but with more games and better features.

The industry leaders in this are Capcom and Konami.

2.5D remakes are lame too. I'd rather a 4K asset remakes, but that will never happen because it would require actual effort.

Hard disagree. Capcom is shit with thier classic Rpgs. All they care about is Street Fighter #231932, Resident Evil, and Monster Hunter. Konami, phh.. How long did it take for them to re-release suikoden (and only the first two).

Where is Mega Man Legends trilogy, Breath of Fire games, Vandal Hearts series, Azure Dreams, Suikoden 3-5/tactics, Metal Gear Acid Series, SOTN (that isn't on PlayStation)

They are industry leaders in releasing easy to do compliations. Putting a bunch of 2d street fighter games on the same disk, easy. Re-releasing SOTN and Mega man legends == hard to them. Why? They would rather release a gazillion mega man battle network games than give people Legends.


2.5d is awesome. Octopath, mega man powered up, Dracula X chronicles (psp version of rondo), Bloodstained. As someone who mostly plays these on handheld, and sticks with 1080p tvs and monitors, I could care less about 4k. 2.5d is actually a different visual look.

 

[jshackles]

Haven't played this in maybe 10 years or so, and thanks to this thread I decided to fire it up with Retro Achievements

Only a few hours in, but this game is still one of the best ever made

 

[Shadowstar39]

I played CT around 2001. PS1 version. And I was smitten.
I had relatively little experience with JRPGs (Europe didn't get many before the PS1 era) and I had already played FF 7 and 8. Chrono Trigger shouldn't have had the impact it had on me. But oh, it did.

Apart from a couple of sections I don't really enjoy replaying, it's as perfectly paced as any game can be. And that's probably its best feature, gameplay-wise. An essentially fat-free game, with no BS. Almost zero grinding, unless you want to seriously beef up your characters. No random encounters. No zoomed-in world map where you have to wander around randomly in search of places of interest. No 1-in-100 random enemy that drops a game-breaking item. No "gotcha!" battles that will wipe your party out unless you already know exactly what's coming (fuck you, Atlus).

And the writing. It's just perfect. No need for character introductions (looking at you, FF6) or long flashbacks (the only real flashback the game has is fully playable and it's one of its most memorable moments). The characters you're going to recruit are just minding their own business until they happen to cross roads with Chrono. They have no stake in Lavos's story, no real mission before they meet Chrono. No revenges, no pilgrimages, no jesters, no wars, no space missions, no divine entities. Just a ragtag bunch of people (and a robot) who accidentally learn about their world's doom and do their best to prevent it. Oh, and practically no anime bs, even if the character designer is the world's most famous mangaka.

I agree, Chrono Trigger is old, and limited, and short. But it's the rare product that really is more than the sum of its parts. I guess it's hard nowadays to understand why it's so special for those who played it at release or just a few years later, but it really does something that no other such game managed to do ever since.

All those things you dis about jrpgs are things I like (well I don't like modern anime, especially the moe crap, but stuff like y's and Lunar is top notch)
Random encounters , A world map, Stats, the plot lines. Long rpgs. These are things I loved about golden age rpgs. PS1 was the golden age of JRPGS for me.

I too played it in the ps1 era (as I was mainly tg16/genesis/pc during 16bit era) and compared to the other ps1 jrpgs it was mid-level. I really didn't understand the love for it I seen years later on the net. Maybe its just that I played so many ground breaking jrpgs on PS1 (like probably all of them) that in comparison this wasn't that great. Maybe if I play it again I will see it differently (will require them to port to switch), or maybe it was only great to most people who played it on the SNES (with some exceptions).