The first game I imported, the first full-fledged RPG I ever played, and my favourite RPG of all time. Ever since then, when I have the choice, my main character in a RPG gets Lightning magic.
I loved it so much. Even my neighbour kids came by to watch me play the game (and they didn't speak any English).
We even "played" Chrono Trigger, with each of us being a different character. I was Crono, naturally, but I was not silent. My cousin was Frog and we´d practice the "X-strike" with our wooden swords... ah,fond memories
(that was after we had a Ninja Turtles gang)
PS: I really wish more RPGs had character-specific techs and especially combos.
My opinion is that Chrono Trigger represents a sort of landmark and everytime a jRPG had walked away from its structure, I simply didn't like it, or at least not as the Square Enix masterpiece.
The first time I played this game was August, 2000; I found it in my brother's wardrobe along with some other SNES games; I had a PSX but the SNES was still at home in the living room. I remember it was raining... I started to play and I couldn't stop until I finished it a week later. Simply amazing; I have so many memories about it; the music was great, characters as well (even if I can't properly understand English but with Final Fantasy VII and Suikoden II I was used to), and the gameplay dazzled me, so fast and intuitive!
I have never replayed it, but I think this summer I will. Hope it has remained as good as 11 years ago
I second this. I'll never forget what a ride it was that first go round. I rented it when I was like 12. My palms were sweating and my heart was racing as I fought
Magus
. The music was so epic and the spells he was firing off looked so damn cool and were putting a serious hurt on my party. It was a cathartic victory when he finally fell. I felt extremely satisfied that I had just completed one hell of a game. I nearly shat myself a few seconds later when I realized that was only the beginning chapter of an epic quest. I bought the game before the weekend was over.
Agreed. It wasn't my first rpg, but it was my first full rpg experience, and it certainly paved the way. I knew I loved rpgs after that.
My first two were illusion of gaia and secret of mana. I liked both but neither sold me.
I'm not sure if I had even really seen Dragon Ball yet, but there was something about Chrono Trigger that just told me, this game has production values much higher than other games, and it has this magic feeling to it. I thought man, this Crono is badass.
That fight was certainly epic, I thought that was it too.
The first game I imported, the first full-fledged RPG I ever played, and my favourite RPG of all time. Ever since then, when I have the choice, my main character in a RPG gets Lightning magic.
I loved it so much. Even my neighbour kids came by to watch me play the game (and they didn't speak any English).
We even "played" Chrono Trigger, with each of us being a different character. I was Crono, naturally, but I was not silent. My cousin was Frog and we´d practice the "X-strike" with our wooden swords... ah,fond memories
(that was after we had a Ninja Turtles gang)
PS: I really wish more RPGs had character-specific techs and especially combos.
If you play it right, FF12 (and to a lesser degree, X-2) uses a similar battle system. Visible enemies, three person party, and the positioning of your party affects attacks and their effectiveness.
Just no double techs, though.
FF13 also does, but to a much lesser amount, since you don't have direct control of the party. It does put a LOT of value on combo attacks, though.
If you play it right, FF12 (and to a lesser degree, X-2) uses a similar battle system. Visible enemies, three person party, and the positioning of your party affects attacks and their effectiveness.
You can play the game with full control over the FF12 characters and not use any gambits. Just like old RPGS. The reason I single out those two FFs is because they're the first ones that the position of the party members matters to the battle--something CT started.
Note this will probably make the game harder, unless your speed and reflexes are better than a computer's AI.
You can play the game with full control over the FF12 characters and not use any gambits. Just like old RPGS. The reason I single out those two FFs is because they're the first ones that the position of the party members matters to the battle--something CT started.
Note this will probably make the game harder, unless your speed and reflexes are better than a computer's AI.
Did the position really matter all that much in CT? I must have forgotten, but I seriously cannot remember that playing a (major) role.
It was definitely not the defining feature. The defining features, for me, were the ATB, the exclusive techs for each character, and the combinations of said techs.
In any case, maybe I would have enjoyed FFXII more with all gambits off, but the game, for me, is not in the same league as CT.
To me Chrono Cross seemed to be far superior to Trigger in every way... until I learned in this thread that what people bitch about from Cross is the story. I was oblivious to it as I spoke no English when I played both in English.
Come to think of it, it is also the case with FFX, most of the dialogue made no sense to me and I used a dictionary for quests... Man, I've never formally studied English writing and probably picked it up all of it from RPGs.
Did the position really matter all that much in CT? I must have forgotten, but I seriously cannot remember that playing a (major) role.
It was definitely not the defining feature. The defining features, for me, were the ATB, the exclusive techs for each character, and the combinations of said techs.
In any case, maybe I would have enjoyed FFXII more with all gambits off, but the game, for me, is not in the same league as CT.
To me Chrono Cross seemed to be far superior to Trigger in every way... until I learned in this thread that what people bitch about from Cross is the story. I was oblivious to it as I spoke no English when I played both in English.
Come to think of it, it is also the case with FFX, most of the dialogue made no sense to me and I used a dictionary for quests... Man, I've never formally studied English writing and probably picked it up all of it from RPGs.
The developers of this game knew how to do side-quests. Hell, they left HOOKS 1/2 a way into the game for you to get good armor now or much better armor later. Its that sort of design that I love and makes re-playthroughs much more fun. Way ahead of its time.
Arriving in 12000 BC was the most amazing thing ever. For about an hour of gameplay you actually don't fight a single enemy. You wander around in wonder in this amazing world and you simply just get kicked out and leave.
Did the position really matter all that much in CT? I must have forgotten, but I seriously cannot remember that playing a (major) role.
It was definitely not the defining feature. The defining features, for me, were the ATB, the exclusive techs for each character, and the combinations of said techs.
Since the ATB has become a part of every FF ever, the only real loss here is the techs. Which is understandable if you like your characters to have set roles. FF13 goes back to that to some degree.
To me Chrono Cross seemed to be far superior to Trigger in every way... until I learned in this thread that what people bitch about from Cross is the story. I was oblivious to it as I spoke no English when I played both in English.
Come to think of it, it is also the case with FFX, most of the dialogue made no sense to me and I used a dictionary for quests... Man, I've never formally studied English writing and probably picked it up all of it from RPGs.
I have a soft spot for Chrono Cross as well. It takes a little digesting, but Cross's narrative is not terrible. But I suppose that some fans of the series wanted Chrono Trigger part 2 with the art, same battle system and starring Crono, Magus and Frog in their attempts to fight Dalton and find Schala... which is completely within their reason. Cross and Radical Dreamers served to complement Trigger's narrative, according to Masato Kato. And you'd probably like this thread.
Also, your English is really good--as a student of linguistics, I am impressed by your syntax and morphology given that RPGs were your main source of knowledge (some ESL speakers I've encountered seem to take a while to grasp it, and need a lot of written/exercise practice). Congrats, man.
Cross's narrative is not terrible. But I suppose that some fans of the series wanted Chrono Trigger part 2 with the art, same battle system and starring Crono, Magus and Frog in their attempts to fight Dalton and find Schala... which is completely within their reason.
First time I played this, I rented it from Blockbuster. I used to bike home as a kid and would stop at the BB that was on the way. It was a Friday afternoon, and I noticed that Chrono Trigger was in.
So, having no money on me at the time, I took the box and hid it behind some obscure horror movie until my parents would come home and take me back. God, it blew me away. I think I re-rented it 3-4 times before beating it. I'm bummed I never made an effort to buy it, but oh well.
I'm replaying it for the first time since then on VC, and it's just as good as I remember.
Also, the best track in the game is:
Chrono Trigger OST - Peaceful Days ~ World Map Theme 1
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.
Every gamer that is new to the party and enjoying his time there fills my heart with love. I doubt there will ever be a game that can surpass Chrono Trigger for me. It's just that good.
One of the best RPG games I've ever played. I'm saddened by the fact that the fanmade remake got destroyed by Square. At least we got to keep some gems from what could have been:
*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
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.
The characters i'd best describe as charming, nothing overly deep to them but that doesn't hinder them from being enjoyable.
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.
So most of the time I went with Crono, Robo and Frog
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.
My favorite game of all time. I play it once a year and never tire of it. Perfect pacing, great characters, great story, amazing soundtrack... It is the pinnacle of JRPGs, IMO.
*sigh* They just don't make games like this anymore.
I played FFIV and FFVI at their respective releases, then graduated high school and got out of gaming for a little while. When I came back, I had to play catch up with games like this and Yoshi's Island. I had no idea what I was missing.
Truly one of those perfect storm, lightning in a bottle type games.
It boggles my mind that such a very simple (yet awesome) revolution has failed to become commonplace in modern JRPGs. Instead, Square-Enix has toned down differences between characters in Final Fantasy games.
Remember in Final Fantasy VI, when you had some incentive to choose various characters? Do you like Blitz? Is Celes' magic absorption ability to your taste? Maybe Edgar's tools? Then we got VII, and the only real difference between the characters was aesthetics and limit breaks. VIII was no different. IX was a spectacular return to your character choices mattering.
Why have so few RPGs ventured into the awesomeness that is combined skills/spells? Even though it's a generally awful game, I loved exploring the options that were given to us in Black Sigil.
Not only are combinative techniques great for making party choices matter, but they provide a stellar break from the hum-drum monotony of:
1) Scan for enemy weakness.
2) Attack with appropriate element/attacks.
3) Heal when necessary.
Chrono Trigger made us ask: "HOW will I heal?" We've all had that heated moment where we can use Marle's Aura to top off a character, and Crono's ATB bar is only halfway full. For a moment we panic; do I heal my critically wounded ally now and forgo topping everyone else off, or do I risk letting the boss get an attack in while I wait for Aura Whirl? So you decide to risk it, you select your attack, and right as you're about to perform it, the boss KOs Crono.
Classic and intense experiences - games today are paltry in comparison.
Man I have the music from when you first fight Masa and Mune always playing in my head. Especially during medial tasks like making a sandwich, going to the bathroom, etc.
I'm a fan of RPGs but for one reason or another I've never experienced Chrono Trigger. I own a PS3, Wii, and DS but am torn which version I should purchase the game for. I need your guys help.
Chrono Trigger is the RPG that got me into RPGs. I had played FF1, but at the time, I didn't know what the hell an RPG was, and was like, "Why can't I jump on enemies and shoot them? What is this crap??" (hey, cut me some slack, I was like, 7!)
Anyway, CT came out around my junior year in high school, and those awesome commercials had me hyped. That, and the game was about time travel, so I was pretty much sold on it.
I didn't have an SNES myself, so I had to borrow the SNES from my brother in law, and CT from my best friend in high school.
From the moment I fired it up, I was in love. The music, the graphics, the characters, the story, the battle system. If I had to throw an RPG out there that I'd consider the "perfect" RPG, it'd probably be Chrono Trigger. I still play it at least once or twice a year. It's also one of my "desert island" games.
I'm always glad when more people get a chance to play Chrono Trigger. I also have a secret wish in my heart for an anniversary edition of CT, done in the visual style of Dragon Quest VIII, but with the same exact dialogue and battle system of CT (just the visual upgrade, even down to the isometric view, just in 3D, and rendered in Toriyama's art style more accurately. And of course, in HD). Although, I'd take a HD 2D sprite remake of the game too (with it looking hand drawn, like that Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes game released recently).
I played this in the SNES days. I played it again on my DS. It was still as magical. I'm not much of a JRPG man, but this game is pure quality and it ain't nostalgia. It's that great.
As much as I love Chrono Trigger, I would not want a sequel/remake/spiritual successor from the Square that exists today. They need to prove that they're capable of doing the series justice first, somehow.
- Sadly, I beat the Developer Ending on the first try. That's pretty shameful, Square Enix. I love the game, though. Akira Toriyama's work was a nice touch to the game's character. You can't execute the mix of Japanese seriousness and humor the same way with another artist as much as you could with Toriyama's style. The game's change threw me off completely. It was so unexpected. Though CT is not my favorite from the Square catalog, but close to it.
this was also my first "major" RPG experience. i had played dragon warrior and a couple of other things on NES with my neighbor's grandma, but CT was the first RPG i finished.
i'm not sure how i even knew that the game was released. i was at the age where i was still oblivious to the larger world of videogames. one day my friend just had it. we would arrange sleepovers where the entire goal was to beat chrono trigger in one sitting. we'd take shifts. eventually, we beat it.
so much epic shit in that game.. i remember feeling like the magus fight took about 3 hours, i was absolutely enthralled. the masa and mune fight, the appearance of boss music #2. the music.. the graphics.. Luminaire, Dark Matter, Antipode 2. hadn't seen graphical effects like that before.
i haven't played an RPG like it since. back in the days, me and this same couple of friends, after finishing CT several times, tried to move on and find something new. basically we looked at the back of boxes at the rental store and looked for screenshots that resembled chrono trigger in any way. using this method we tried a game that had weird scratch and sniff stickers on the box (earthbound - it sucked). we tried a game that had a weird little white stuffed animal looking thing on the box (ff6 - it sucked). now i'm older and have learned to appreciate those games as classics, but when i was 12 years old, they were a joke compared to chrono trigger. i guess they still kinda are, to me. chrono trigger 4 lyfe yoz.
I've been listening to all the soundtrack links posted, yep this is definitely one of the high ranking game soundtracks which is quite a big deal to me as I feel a great soundtrack really factors into both the enjoyment and memorability of a game.
People bringing up how the positioning of enemies and your party affect the battle make a good point, seeing the potential for a mass enemy slaughter with Crono's Cyclone is always fun. And then there is how some of the enemies work with various gimmicks so to speak that cause you to fight in a different way than usual, I was rudely awakened by that monster in a cave early in the game who crapped all over my all out attacking by having a period where all attacks were countered with a damaging water attack.
I was rudely awakened by that monster in a cave early in the game who crapped all over my all out attacking by having a period where all attacks were countered with a damaging water attack.
haha. yes. water wave! several of the bosses have that kinda thing, which i was totally unaware of playing the game as a kid.. it was alot harder back then. lolz.
Goddammit. Reading the thread, and simply reading the names of the songs or the names of the bosses/areas/etc. that they are played in has caused me to have about 30 different songs stuck in my head for the past few hours. I <3/hate you guys.
As much as I love Chrono Trigger, I would not want a sequel/remake/spiritual successor from the Square that exists today. They need to prove that they're capable of doing the series justice first, somehow.
...but then again, they released Chrono Cross when they were near their prime, and I really hated Square for botching that sequel. It wasn't even a good jrpg compared to what they previously released.
I agree though, it would be even worse today post late-2000 jrpg experience.
also agree with the people who don't need/want more games in the "series". let it be. it'd be like digging up jesus and using his bones in some kind of bizarre art show. don't do it.
