Nostalgia Factor: Very high. I cherish my earliest memories of this game.
Difficulty: Easy to medium. Those familiar with JRPGs will not have a problem.
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What can be said about this timeless classic that hasn’t already been said? Chrono Trigger (CT) has widely been considered one of the greatest JRPGs of all time, if not one of the greatest across all genres.
The fantasy and sci-fi story captured me so completely when I played this game many years ago, and not surprisingly, I enjoyed my recent playthrough almost as much. Nothing can quite re-capture the lofty magic of childhood gaming memories, but CT is one of those games that does not require nostalgia to enjoy today. Any fan of the RPG genre or games with well-designed pixel graphics should fully enjoy playing through CT today.
It’s difficult to single out which features of this game are strongest - the story, graphics, music, and gameplay are all 10/10. Yasunori Mitsuda’s CT soundtrack is probably my favorite video game soundtrack of all time. Mitsuda’s tracks are so effective in their contribution to the mysterious and moody atmosphere of CT. Vibes for days. Plus, his melodies are hauntingly beautiful just to listen to on their own, apart from the context of the rich story, world, and characters. By the way, check out Malcolm Robinson’s Orchestral Selections Vol. 1 & 2 to hear this amazing soundtrack with updated instrumentation.
Chrono Trigger easily has some of the best visuals of any game on the SNES. Akira Toriyama’s design brought a lot to the table, and the in-game pixel graphics in CT are some of the best from Square’s 16-bit era. The story is grand, epic, sometimes funny, often deeply moving, and overall very well written.
The battle system is interesting and fun (combo techs!), but not overly confused. The game is balanced well, as you may at times find your squad a bit underleveled, but the game never becomes a grindfest. There’s a surprising amount of replayability with the array of multiple endings and the “new game plus” mode (a phrase coined by Chrono Trigger, though older games have had new game plus type features).
Anyone who considers themselves a gamer needs to play Chrono Trigger. Thank you Square for this masterpiece.