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[Greatest Ever]

Chrono Trigger is loaded with problems. It's a good game, nowhere near a great one, occasionally dipping lower and occasionally being better.

 

[Trojita]

I didn't realize Frog was a rival of Magus up until that battle started. I just kind of had him in my party to grind up his levels more to catch up with other party members.

How

 

[wmlk]

What did you think Frog was doing the entire game then? Didn't you question what was up with his character/

 

[jnWake]

Use Haste and the battle will be easy. Or somewhat easy at least, depends on equipment/level.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

The funny thing is, the Black Omen is hardly a "sidequest." I mean, yes technically its optional, but it really is such a big piece of the game it seems silly to skip it. But therein lies kind of the beauty of Chrono Trigger, the fact that so many things are option are kind of what leads into all the various endings in the game.

 

[BluePikmin11]

So one last question before I set off.

Do I ultimately blame myself, the guide, or is it the game's fault?

I mean I could have easily beaten Lavos at an earlier points in the game, but I was not fully satisfied with the game's story yet because I didn't have much background with the Kingdom of Zeal and Schala, because I hear them mentioned several times when I hear praise of Chrono Trigger. And at that point, the game did highly encourage me to get back Crono from being sacrificed and stop the Queen of Zeal with her plan with Lavos.

It felt too early to kill Lavos and the game would've felt incomplete. At that point, I was at the Fated Hour chapter and I learned about the New Game+ stuff and Magus, which led to me beating the Black Omen. Which encouraged me to beat Lavos inner shell, which my entire party died to because I was in the Level 40s, and where I got frustrated with the game and hit a big wall for me. All of that encouragement just for the game to stop you and remind that you need to grind more.

I'm not sure what I should blame.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

I didn't realize Frog was a rival of Magus up until that battle started. I just kind of had him in my party to grind up his levels more to catch up with other party members.

 

[Greatest Ever]

So one last question before I set off.

Do I ultimately blame myself, the guide, or is it the game's fault?

I mean I could have easily beaten Lavos at an earlier points in the game, but I was not fully satisfied with the game's story yet because I didn't have much background with the Kingdom of Zeal and Schala, because I hear them mentioned several times when I hear praise of Chrono Trigger. And at that point, the game did highly encourage me to get back Crono from being sacrificed and stop the Queen of Zeal with her plan with Lavos.

It felt too early to kill Lavos and the game would've felt incomplete. At that point, I was at the Fated Hour chapter and I learned about the New Game+ stuff and Magus, which led to me beating the Black Omen. Which encouraged me to beat Lavos inner shell, which my entire party died to because I was in the Level 40s, and where I got frustrated with the game and hit a big wall for me.

I'm not sure what I should blame.

Why blame anyone? You played the game, it has its set of rules. It's no one's fault. Your actions had their outcomes.

The option still easily exists for a better ending.

 

[Trojita]

So one last question before I set off.

Do I ultimately blame myself, the guide, or is it the game's fault?

I mean I could have easily beaten Lavos at an earlier points in the game, but I was not fully satisfied with the game's story yet because I didn't have much background with the Kingdom of Zeal and Schala, because I hear them mentioned several times when I hear praise of Chrono Trigger. And at that point, the game did highly encourage me to get back Crono from being sacrificed and stop the Queen of Zeal with her plan with Lavos.

It felt too early to kill Lavos and the game would've felt incomplete. At that point, I was at the Fated Hour chapter and I learned about the New Game+ stuff and Magus, which led to me beating the Black Omen. Which encouraged me to beat Lavos inner shell, which my entire party died to because I was in the Level 40s, and where I got frustrated with the game and hit a big wall for me. All of that encouragement just for the game to stop you and remind that you need to grind more.

I'm not sure what I should blame.

I mostly want to blame the guide and some on you, but that Frog thing has me questioning now.

 

[Lothars]

So Chrono Trigger is perfect then.

We have known that for almost two decades.

Yup to me it's the second best game ever made.

 

[BluePikmin11]

Oh, I did understand Frog's backstory pretty easily.

I just didn't realize that killing Magus would mean a permanent lost chance of recruiting him. I thought that was how the main story unfolded. I knew I had the choice to decide, I guess I just wasn't aware how much my choice mattered.

I mean the Trial part of the game CLEARLY reminded me, I guess I just phased out or something and didn't care.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

I'm not sure what I should blame.

You don't have to blame anyone, it's how you played the game. But if you really need to, you followed the guide on how it said things, that ultimately became detrimental to your enjoyment and perception of the game. Hell, the guide should've told you about Magus too, all things considered.

You wouldn't have to go through such lengths to get a new game plus that's already easy to accomplish, and you can decide not to fight magus the second time around to have an entirely new part of the story you were never privvy to, a new discovery. The guide didn't allow that to happen.

 

[Elfforkusu]

The side quests at the end of CT are some of the best in any game. Probably because they're not really side quests.

 

[Lee Chaolan]

Chrono Trigger is the GOAT of RPGs.

Only gripe is we didn't get to see these characters again.

 

[Trojita]

Oh, I did understand Frog's backstory pretty easily.

I just didn't realize that killing Magus would mean a permanent lost chance of recruiting him. I thought that was how the main story unfolded. I knew I had the choice to decide, I guess I just wasn't aware how much my choice mattered.

I mean the Trial part of the game CLEARLY reminded me, I guess I just phased out or something and didn't care.

But

I didn't realize Frog was a rival of Magus up until that battle started

 

[Psxphile]

... the hell...

 

[BluePikmin11]

But

I briefly forgot about their rivalry while I was in the Magus cliff phase of the story. I was kind of more concerned about the people of Zeal and their destroyed kingdom than Frog's backstory, and at that time, I wasn't really aware of the choice I made and how it affected Magus. Which led to my slight frustration on not getting Magus. Sorry for not clarifying sooner.

EDIT: I think the issue you had with Lavos may have been because you were under-equiped, not because you were under-leveled. Equipment is pretty critical in Chrono Trigger, particularly in the case of some of the ultimate weapons and armor, which have special properties that make them far more powerful than what simple numbers would indicate. The Rainbow Sword and Shiva Edge's special critical properties are a clear example of this.

Also, there is no way that doing the sidequests other than the Black Omen should have leveled you up that far. The Black Omen is the only significant source of exp after a certain point. I presume that you might have done some of the new stuff they added for the DS remake, which I don't know much about and got a lot of exp that way. But that stuff is completely not needed for beating the game.

I only played the SNES game, as stated in the OP.

I was at the level 40s after I beaten the Black Omen. When I was preparing for the Final Boss, I was very sure I had the equipment that best maximized my stats, along some useful equips like the Rage Band, yet I still got killed quickly.

 

[Boney]

I didn't realize Frog was a rival of Magus up until that battle started. I just kind of had him in my party to grind up his levels more to catch up with other party members.

Uhmm... What?

How could that happen?


Also, I'm fine with killing Magus, it's a nice twist by following the revenge narrative that is ultimately pointless for Frog.

 

[Whalermouse]

I mean I could have easily beaten Lavos at an earlier points in the game, but I was not fully satisfied with the game's story yet because I didn't have much background with the Kingdom of Zeal and Schala, because I hear them mentioned several times when I hear praise of Chrono Trigger.

So you wish there was more backstory to Zeal? How do you feel that plot thread might have been expanded upon? You're correct in that Schala pretty much vanishes from the plot,

Spoiler

until Chrono Cross

but I don't see how you could have experienced stepping into Zeal for the first time and not immediately understand why people praise it as a high point.

 

[Thud]

Managed to finish it a few months back.

My only gripe are the 3D sections. It's really hard for me to distinguish layers at times.

 

[Acrylic7]

This is probably the only game this image works with lol

 

[Greatest Ever]

I would agree though if anyone said Zeal was easily the worst paced part of the game. Just a slog with nothing interesting happening other than the machine, which is eh.

 

[BluePikmin11]

So you wish there was more backstory to Zeal? How do you feel that plot thread might have been expanded upon? You're correct in that Schala pretty much vanishes from the plot,

Spoiler

until Chrono Cross

but I don't see how you could have experienced stepping into Zeal for the first time and not immediately understand why people praise it as a high point.

No, I was wondering where was Schala in the plot after going back to 65M B.C. for the second time I believe. Which immediately lead me to Zeal after that.

I think there was that large gap of lack of new major character introduction that got me questioning about Schala around those chapters.

And I do think the Kingdom of Zeal was very memorable by the way. I still remember it clearly because of the Corridors of Time music, CT has some consistently amazing music.

 

[Ishida]

I would agree though if anyone said Zeal was easily the worst paced part of the game. Just a slog with nothing interesting happening other than the machine, which is eh.

That's an unpopular opinion if I ever saw one.

 

[Trojita]

Chrono Trigger is loaded with problems. It's a good game, nowhere near a great one, occasionally dipping lower and occasionally being better.

I would agree though if anyone said Zeal was easily the worst paced part of the game. Just a slog with nothing interesting happening other than the machine, which is eh.

You are the worst ever.

 

[Joei]

I would agree though if anyone said Zeal was easily the worst paced part of the game. Just a slog with nothing interesting happening other than the machine, which is eh.

But the music there is awesome.

 

[wmlk]

Zeal was incredible. You finish an intense part of the game against a boss and an entire civilization is wiped out (until CC), and then you are transported to some place in time you know nothing about. It's just a damn blizzard outside with weird portals in places. Then all of a sudden, you enter a magical floating kingdom in the sky that's just full of life and mystery at every corner.

It's easily my favourite part of any video game.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Chrono Trigger is loaded with problems. It's a good game, nowhere near a great one, occasionally dipping lower and occasionally being better.

I would agree though if anyone said Zeal was easily the worst paced part of the game. Just a slog with nothing interesting happening other than the machine, which is eh.

You have a very unique viewpoint.

 

[Swordian]

So one last question before I set off.

Do I ultimately blame myself, the guide, or is it the game's fault?

I'm not sure what I should blame.

Blame yourself for using a guide in the first place.

 

[Biske]

One serious problem with this game is the Lavos battle is too damn long.

First and only time I played this game was on the playstation (dear god the load times) went through it all fine, blah blah, Queen Zeal, blah blah, Lavos, shit went on and on and on, after what felt like at least 3 and a half hours, I said, no more. Never looked back.

 

[TheDinoman]

Zeal, the weakest point of the game? Bullshit, it's by far the best part. Its philosophical and fantastical environment is an awesome contrast to the rest of the game's time periods which are for the most the usual fair for this sort of thing (Prehistoric, Medieval, Future). Zeal's also the point in the game where basically all the hanging plot threads all come together: The Masamune, Marle's pendant, the origin of Magus/Janus and the three sages, etc.

Masato Kato gets a lot of shit thrown at him for Chrono Cross's plot, and I can kinda see why, but he wrote the Kingdom of Zeal all by himself when working on Trigger. For that, he still has my respect.

 

[BluePikmin11]

Zeal, the weakest point of the game? Bullshit, it's by far the best part. Its philosophical and fantastical environment is an awesome contrast to the rest of the game's time periods which are for the most the usual fair for this sort of thing (Prehistoric, Medieval, Future). Zeal's also the point in the game where basically all the hanging plot threads all come together: The Masamune, Marle's pendant, the origin of Magus/Janus and the three sages, etc.

Masato Kato gets a lot of shit thrown at him for Chrono Cross's plot, and I can kinda see why, but he wrote the Kingdom of Zeal all by himself when working on Trigger. For that, he still has my respect.

I'm going to get Chrono Cross as soon I beat Chrono Trigger again and explore all the different endings. I'm always curious about sequels that are underrated.

I'm hoping I don't face a similar problem I had with CT.

 

[theclaw135]

One look at the graphics style speaks volumes that genre expectations need to be kept in check. Playing the game that long and not stopping to consider that perhaps the decision offered by Magus would matter, is pretty goofy in my book.

 

[Lindsay]

The Black Omen is OPTIONAL?

I always played through it when it became available since at the time Lavos seemed unbeatable, and because it's a huge hovering death ship base of evil baddies sticking out like a sore thumb in nearly every era yelling at you to get in there and play it!

Like c'mon this isn't some hidden away robot field ploughing simulator, ITS RIGHT THERE and is the baddies big base!!

It also sucks to play through since its a huge difficulty spike. I have some issues with the game aside from it, but I'd prolly have been much less down on it had I not unknowingly gone through that dumb place each time I played the game x_x

 

[CazTGG]

Chrono Trigger is still truly amazing, don't get me wrong, but I'd place it behind MOTHER 3 and UNDERTALE as the 3rd best video game of all time even if it has one major flaw for me. I still recommend giving Chrono Trigger a try or another go if you played it before. I just don't feel that Chrono Trigger is the best game ever made as most people say because of one particular way of playing Chrono Trigger. That's just my story I wanted to tell. Let to know your opinion. Do you disagree on particular aspects? I really want to know!

Honestly, i'm not even sure i'd place it in the top 3 16-bit Square/Enix JRPGs (Terranigma and Final Fantasy VI surpass it almost every regard), let alone 16-bit games of the time. It's good in terms of setting with a lot of effective moments (visiting the future for the first time, the trial, to name a few), has some unforgettable characters like Frog and Magus, and a soundtrack perhaps only bested by its own sequel, but while it benefits from an absence of random encounters unlike so many of the same games in the genre, the combat is a step back from Final fantasy VI's take on the ATB, the silent protagonist

Spoiler

's death is more an "ugh, now I need to do this quest to get back the guy with the really useful spells" instead of "oh no, what a tragedy has befallen our party

, the story loses some serious steam when Queen Zeal appears along with what follows, plus featuring Akira "I can only draw two faces/bodies" Toriyama's artstyle hold it back from being the masterpiece so many hold it to be in my books. It's a fine game, but i'd put The World Ends With You above it if we're counting all of Square's JRPG masterpieces.

 

[elkniwcire]

But aren't most JRPGs like this? I don't quite see this as a flaw

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Zeal is one of the best parts of the game. It's like a preview for Xenogears. The only time period I don't care much for is the prehistoric one.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

I'm going to get Chrono Cross as soon I beat Chrono Trigger again and explore all the different endings. I'm always curious about sequels that are underrated.

I'm hoping I don't face a similar problem I had with CT.

You could try Radical Dreamers too if you're into visual novels. It's very short.

 

[Greatest Ever]

You are the worst ever.

Believe it or not, it took me a bit to get this.

while it benefits from an absence of random encounters

Ok this is something I don't get why people still say. You have a lot of random encounters in Chrono Trigger. A lot. Maybe scripted is the better word but more than half the fights are you stepping on a determined spot and enemies randomly appearing.

This annoys me for three reasons:
1) people say you see every enemy you want on the map before you fight it, but this is not true at all. Plenty of enemies are, but it's not 100% committed to this like a better game like Mario and Luigi SuperStar Saga.
2) you can't stop a lot of these random encounters. That makes repeat trips through the forest or caves or mountains annoying. I understand that they exist for the sake of grinding but we've seen games like Pokemon have items such as Repel.
3) If you're stuck fighting a sub boss all of a sudden, or an enemy that can effectively stunlock you with status effects (which can happen with this game's combat system), you're screwed.

 

[Cmerrill]

Chrono Trigger is loaded with problems. It's a good game, nowhere near a great one, occasionally dipping lower and occasionally being better.

This may be one the worst video game opinions I've ever read.

Congrats.

 

[Greatest Ever]

This may be one the worst video game opinions I've ever read.

Congrats.

What, that Chrono Trigger is a good game? I know, what a travesty.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

Edit: This is about the DS version, you can ignore me.

My biggest problem was with the sidequests in the lizard sanctum. You have to travel up a mountain, talk to a dude, go down the mountain, talk to a dude, go up the mountain, get an item, go down the mountain, use the item, travel back in time, go up the mountain, get transported down to the mountain so you can get a banana for this fucking loser, go back up the mountain again to reach a dude who tells you to wait awhile before you come back again. I'm underexaggerating here, I swear you have to do it like 12 times in total. Painfully stupid game design.

That was a garbage dungeon added to the ds version. It is not canon and is poop.

 

[Cmerrill]

What, that Chrono Trigger is a good game? What a travesty.

It's not "good" , it's amazing. One of/if not the best game ever created.

"Good" is average and Chrono is far from that.

But alas, this is just my opinion and that is yours.

 

[Rogue Agent]

Even though they're not avoidable enemy encounters, I like how the transition is seamless, where you find them and the battle just starts.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

Sounds to me that you would have had far more fun if you'd played it without the guide OP

and maybe paid a bit more attention during medieval time period too (best time period btw)

 

[JustSomeone]

Wait until you play chrono cross. It's even better.

 

[Greatest Ever]

"Good" is average and Chrono is far from that.

No it's not, good means it's a legitimately well made game that stands out from its crowd. Good does not mean average, except for some reason in gaming.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

Wait until you play chrono cross. It's even better.

cross is in every way a worse game then trigger. especially story.

 

[themagicalkitsune]

What, that Chrono Trigger is a good game? I know, what a travesty.

Careful not to cut yourself with that edge.

 

[Fluxdyne]

You could try Radical Dreamers too if you're into visual novels. It's very short.

+1 to this. It's a great little game. Better than Chrono Cross imo.