Bebpo said:
Care to expand on that?
While I like CT, I just found it a run of the mill traditional Jrpg with a good battle system and a couple of neat plot twists.
Just so that we're on the same page, I didn't say that CT was the pinnacle of RPGs. Just that it was the pinnacle of Square RPGs. It's not like there's much competition for that title.
Forgive my inaccuracies, as I haven't played it since '95-96. But:
1) It was the first? jRPG that had visible enemies. The advantages are two fold:
a) Random encounters are the suck. I'm sorry. They are. It's an artificial way of increasing gametime, and there's nothing more frustrating than meeting an enemy every couple of steps, especially if they are no challenge anyway (as jRPGs tend to be) and only serve to annoy
b) visible enemies also put a limit to the encounters you can receive in one area. This is important for balancing issues. That means potentially the programmers can build the game around a predictable progress level, and doesn't force you to power-level in order to fight a boss.
2) While I definitely give credit to FFIV for introducing the ATB, I feel that it was Chrono Trigger that utilized it best. It not only gave you the option of passing your turn when your agility meter filled up, but it also added a layer by allowing you to hold to perform combined spells.
3) I'm kinda on the fence about the multi-endings and whatnot. On one hand, it's probably one of its most liked features... the fact that you had some freedom from the standard linear jRPG. But it's also ultimately what made me hate the game, cuz I got sick of playing it after getting a few of the endings.
Despite my dislike of CT that continues to even now, I still consider it to be an advancement in traditional jRPG design, and is the best that Square's ever done in that area. I've played Xenogears, FF9 and FFX-2 and feel they're pretty shallow gameplay-wise. Not that CT is that much better, but in the end, it's still a little deeper than Square's other offerings I've played.
