SO true. I think one of MANY reasons Chrono Trigger was such a success is because it was so open-ended. 12 different endings, and you never EXACTLY knew which one was the "real" one, even though you could narrow it down to 2 or 3 of them. It was left up to your imagination as to what happened in Ayla and Kino's time after Lavos' defeat... How Glenn's life went... Robo and Doan in the new future... And of course, Magus and Schala...that was the biggest mystery of all until Chrono Cross. But yeah, they leave things open like that so you, the player, can decide for yourself personally what happened.
Example: Me, I like the mental image of a heroic Schala, fighting Lavos 'til her last breath trying to save herself, until either she is killed by him or someone intervenes, or until Lavos "absorbs" her and becomes the Time Devourer. I like that...the Schala that never gives up hope. Others just think she should have died right then, with the Ocean Palace collapsing on her. Either way, we have our own ideas and I like mine.
That's what's nice about it being open-ended, eh?