A non RPG-fan's impressions of Chrono Trigger (spoilers)

[thesnake383]

Hey everyone. You may remember my thread from a while ago, asking why Chrono Trigger is the best game in the world. Well I bought it and beat it. Just a couple of thoughts I'd like to share.

I remember reading about Chrono Trigger in old Nintendo Power issues, and hearing about the game from a friend. I never got to play it, because I'm not that interested in RPGs. I ended up buying it out of curiosity, wondering what the fanboy hype was about, proclaiming it to be the "best game EVAR."

First, the art. Let's get that out of the way.

CRONOLOOKSLIKEGOKUZOMG.

He only does because Akira Toriyama drew the art. In fact most of the main characters resemble members of the Dragonball cast.

Now the real thought.

Playing this game was a real treat (even though I saw the ending eons ago on vgmuseum.com). It's stellar how the original history of Crono's world follows a course similar to our world, seeing how the Fall of Zeal relates to the Fall of Rome: the death of an advanced ancient civilization. Somewhat mindblowing was how Crono changed the course of history.

Example: Magus originally died in the war between the Humans and Fiends. In the original timeline, his image was comemorated as a statue in Medina square. Crono's arrival in 600, and showdown with the Fiendlord himself prevented Magus' demise, thus making Ozzie the leader of the Fiends and effectively replacing the Medina square statue with Ozzie's image. If the Ozzie's Fort sidequest is done, the Medina square statue is erased from history, ushering in friendly terms with the Imps.

Had I not known about Crono's fate beforehand, (I read in an old Nintendo Power issue that he died and you have to get a clone doll to replace him) I would have been shocked at the fact that Crono could actually be brought back to life by pulling him into the future via the Chrono Trigger, a Time Egg that focuses on Memories, Dreams and Thoughts to travel through time.

The multiple endings (13...all of which I saw beforehand) is also amazing. The time and point in which Lavos is defeated determines the outcome. Which also brings me to another thought.

The decisions you make affect the flow of events through the game. Point 1: Crono on Trial. You wouldn't know how mad the Chancellor made me when Crono was put on trial for "kidnapping the Princess," a crime he didn't even commit.

There was one piece of evidence which really set me off.

CHANCELLOR: DO NOT feign ignorance! We have a witness.

Old Man: Him! He ate my lunch right off the table!

CHANCELLOR: Let the record show that he stole from a poor, helpless man!

*video shows Chrono eating the Old Man's Lunch*

Me: OBJECTION!! YOUR LUNCH RESPAWNED EVERYTIME I LEFT AND RE-ENTERED THE SCREEN! I DEMAND AN OBJECTION DANGIT!!

Point 2: The Magic Seed

There was a point at Zeal where a woman had been told by Queen Zeal to destroy the Magic Seed. I believe telling her to not destroy it opens up the Fiona Sidequest where you must destroy Melphyx (Which was a pain to figure out how to beat) so the sunken desert land could be regenerated with Robo's help over a course of 400 years.

The Final Thought:

While I believe Chrono Trigger is not the BEST GAME EVAR, it is indeed a masterpiece, worthy of being proclaimed "One of the Best Games Ever Made. I mean, you can't compare two good games of two separate genres and call one better than the other. Concerning Lavos, he was a joke to beat. The cores part got to me though, thinking, "STOP REVIVING YOU STUPID CORE!! JUST DIE ALREADY FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!" The Dream Devourer was a little more painful, because I almost died in the fight. Having read about some of Crono Cross, and how history relates to Chrono Trigger, I must agree that Magus is Guile. However, I think that Chrono Cross must take place in a different dimension or parallel world, since Time's Eclipse appears to be the point at which the dimensions meet (I haven't played Chrono Cross yet, so this is an assumption).

TL; DR version: Chrono Trigger is one of the best games ever made. The End.

My goal by the end of this year is to play Chrono Cross and beat it.

Here's to hoping for a new Chrono game.

[Truthordeal]

Good to hear your thoughts, Snake.

I should give a caveat though; to enjoy Chrono Cross you must be open minded and willing to read dialog, especially near the end. Also, you cannot expect the exact same as Chrono Trigger and expect to enjoy it. A lot of people have gripes about the game because it is a far different game than what Chrono Trigger was, and they were looking for a carbon copy sequel.

Nevertheless, if you truly enjoyed Trigger on its merits, then you'll probably love Cross as well.

[V_Translanka]

Point 2: The Magic Seed

There was a point at Zeal where a woman had been told by Queen Zeal to destroy the Magic Seed. I believe telling her to not destroy it opens up the Fiona Sidequest where you must destroy Melphyx (Which was a pain to figure out how to beat) so the sunken desert land could be regenerated with Robo's help over a course of 400 years.

I'm not sure what your point is here...But, just so you know, even if you didn't talk to the Zeal woman NPC before the fall of Zeal, you can still talk to her after to trigger the 400 Year Reunion sidequest.

I mean, you can't compare two good games of two separate genres and call one better than the other.

Sure you can. That's how comparison works. You take two things that are different from one another and compare & contrast. Of course the eventual outcome is going to be opinionated, but that's what reviews & junk are. When anyone says something is teh BEST THING EVAR! It's not like it's going to apply to everyone's tastes or anything. The more people that say it simply means that it has more widely popular appeal.

Here's to hoping for a new Chrono game.

Here here!

[mav]

Good to hear that you enjoyed the game, Snake. I don't have much to add other than what Truth mentioned: Chrono Cross isn't a carbon copy of Chrono Trigger; the moment you accept that, you'll be happy with it.

Here's to hoping for a new Chrono game.

Aye!

[GenesisOne]

This is exactly what video games need more of: impartial reviews.

By impartial, of course, we mean someone who doesn't have a natural predisposition toward a certain genre of game.  In this case, it was someone who isn't partial to RPGs.

Now I'm not the RPG fan geek who'll shout to the heavens, CHRONO TRIGGER IS TEH BEST GAME EVER!!!!111  I like to take a slow, controlled approach to a new RPG I play.  If I like it, I'll gradually pick up the pace and the beats as I play it.  If I don't like it, I simply quit.  Chances are that some element(s) of the RPG must've not appealed to me, thereby having me not be able to enjoy.

Way to give CT an impartial review, snake.  There's not enough people like you out there on the internet.

[The Black Wind]

I mean, you can't compare two good games of two separate genres and call one better than the other.

Sure you can. That's how comparison works.

...the fuck? No, it isn't. Comparison only works when they're in the same genre.

Seriously, in which alternate reality would I be able to make a fair comparison between Chrono Trigger and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare? It's impossible.

[IAmSerge]

I do not mean to sound presumtuous, but yes, you can.  The caveat is that it becomes A LOT more opinionated when you DO cross genres.  =D

[V_Translanka]

I mean, you can't compare two good games of two separate genres and call one better than the other.

Sure you can. That's how comparison works.

...the fuck? No, it isn't. Comparison only works when they're in the same genre.

Seriously, in which alternate reality would I be able to make a fair comparison between Chrono Trigger and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare? It's impossible.

Life isn't fair.

[ZaichikArky]

Hah, you're completely wrong! CT IS the best game ever! One of the best games ever... how dare you! Lol anyway,that's funny that you were most offended about the lunch bit at the trial. I know that there are certain things that you must or must not do in order to get a verdict that I believe all of the jury says you're innocent. I always seem to be off by one, though, because one always says I'm guilty D:. I wonder if there's a way to do it so EVERYONE says you're guilty. Anyway, you get a nifty prize if no one in the jury accuses you.

[Truthordeal]

The second juror is always random.

[ZaichikArky]

Maybe I don't remember it correctly, but for me, I think it was the last juror always said I was guilty and the rest always said I was innocent.

[kingpingu30]

I found that if you only talk to marle and leave her to get her candy, ignoring everything else, you can get that 2nd juror to be innocent. Well, thats how it worked out for me on all my NG+ playthroughs, anyway.

[Sajainta]

That was a great review.  Agreed with above, we do need more impartial reviews.

I'm not really a huge fan of RPGs, generally speaking.  The first hour or so that I played CT I was sitting there going "WHY CAN'T I JUST WALK AWAY FROM THE BADDIES!?"  XD  (Definitely had spent too much time playing Legend of Zelda games...)  CT was the first RPG I ever played.  I was completely unfamiliar with the system at first, but after, oh, the first 10 minutes of gameplay I was hooked and I knew there was no way in hell that I could stop playing the game.

[Sajainta]

Also, I'm pretty sure that the second juror is either always guilty or is random, but I could be wrong.

[ZaichikArky]

Back in the day, I think Chrono Trigger was my first RPG. I don't quite recall if CT proceeded Pokemon, but I think it just barely did. Pokemon is a really weird game to be called an RPG, though. When I was young, I was only into platformers so at first it was really hard for me to get into CT because it wasn't a platformer and I actually had to talk to people. However, once I got into the story, I couldn't put it down. Other than some final fantasy games, pokemon, and Chrono Trigger, I really haven't been into RPGs either myself. I have been meaning to expand a little, but I don't have the consoles that most RPGs are on. So either the rpgs have to be old school, or I can't really play them....  FF 12 is the only rpg I've played that isn't old school.