Nocturnowl
Member
*spoiler warning on the off chance you've yet to play this game*
I'd been ignoring this game long enough, sure as a PAL gamer I didn't get an official release until the DS version but even then I still held off purchasing it, well aside from when I got a pre owned copy that didn't work last year.
But with the recent virtual console release and some left over points at my disposal I finally got round to playing what seems to be not only one of the most highly regarded RPG games of all time but one of the most highly regarded games in general.
The first nod of approval from me was when the game sidestepped one of my JRPG fears which is random battles, okay so there are a few enemies that leap out of nowhere to do battle but it's scripted so that doesn't bother me so much. The battle system itself is an interesting one, while it had me a bit confused at first (not helped by having the health bars/menus and enemies sometimes obscuring each other, I only discovered I could move that thing manually about 2 hours ago) I really liked how the speed factored in with attack time as well as combining attacks. While it may have turn based I found it much more engaging than the standard formula seen in say Dragon Quest meaning it dodged another one of my JRPG fears being a bland battle system.
Now the plot and setting makes great use of the whole time travel theme, one point that stood out in particular was
The characters i'd best describe as charming, nothing overly deep to them but that doesn't hinder them from being enjoyable.
So most of the time I went with Crono, Robo and Frog
It was interesting to see that this game doesn't hold your hand, you are left mostly to your own devices to figure out what to do at a few points, while it doesn't head into being cryptic you do have to remember what you've been told and character names/locations because there isn't a guiding arrow around here.
The soundtrack is very nice, there were numerous standouts but i'd be interested in hearing which ones are the most highly regarded, I often find with half the games I play that certain great tracks don't worm into my ear until a repeat playthrough. Though it's safe to say that Frog's theme was pretty damn good.
Earlier today I decided I was going to finish this game today, which I did.
So in summary the game has aged incredibly well, JRPG's tend to be hit or miss with me but I can safely say this one was a hit, I guess i've still got a few tasks left to do, I never did figure out what the Sun Keep was all about.
I'd been ignoring this game long enough, sure as a PAL gamer I didn't get an official release until the DS version but even then I still held off purchasing it, well aside from when I got a pre owned copy that didn't work last year.
But with the recent virtual console release and some left over points at my disposal I finally got round to playing what seems to be not only one of the most highly regarded RPG games of all time but one of the most highly regarded games in general.
The first nod of approval from me was when the game sidestepped one of my JRPG fears which is random battles, okay so there are a few enemies that leap out of nowhere to do battle but it's scripted so that doesn't bother me so much. The battle system itself is an interesting one, while it had me a bit confused at first (not helped by having the health bars/menus and enemies sometimes obscuring each other, I only discovered I could move that thing manually about 2 hours ago) I really liked how the speed factored in with attack time as well as combining attacks. While it may have turn based I found it much more engaging than the standard formula seen in say Dragon Quest meaning it dodged another one of my JRPG fears being a bland battle system.
Now the plot and setting makes great use of the whole time travel theme, one point that stood out in particular was
Zeal, after having many a dungeon based slog and getting thrown into the dark ages it was quite a shock to come across an advanced civilization in the past which was of course quite integral to the main plot.
Frog's dilemma was surprisingly hard hitting for me, which in itself is made interesting by the Magus twist. I can't help but be amused by wandering around the middle ages with Magus in tow, you'd think there would be more of an uproar.
though eventually Magus and his magic spam wormed his way in and bumped Frog out for the most part.
It was interesting to see that this game doesn't hold your hand, you are left mostly to your own devices to figure out what to do at a few points, while it doesn't head into being cryptic you do have to remember what you've been told and character names/locations because there isn't a guiding arrow around here.
Though to my shame I did have to consult a FAQ for getting up that snowy mountain, never would have expected that i'd be needing dolls that turn into trees. Which reminds me Crono dying? that was pretty unexpected to say the least!
The soundtrack is very nice, there were numerous standouts but i'd be interested in hearing which ones are the most highly regarded, I often find with half the games I play that certain great tracks don't worm into my ear until a repeat playthrough. Though it's safe to say that Frog's theme was pretty damn good.
Earlier today I decided I was going to finish this game today, which I did.
The bad part is that I underestimated the amount of tasks I had to go through. After finishing up a bunch of sidequests I set off for the Black Omen, the boss gauntlet at the end was pretty tiring, such things are not my cup of tea so to speak but it seems to be some kind of RPG tradition so it wasn't unexpected. I hear this game has multiple endings, mine ended with Crono's mother and cat taking a trip through time, that cat had 4 portions of grub! that's hardly an unfed cat.
So in summary the game has aged incredibly well, JRPG's tend to be hit or miss with me but I can safely say this one was a hit, I guess i've still got a few tasks left to do, I never did figure out what the Sun Keep was all about.
