In this review, we step through the gate in the SNES game Chrono Trigger. We find out how well this RPG game plays.
This game was released in 1995. It would also kick off what could have been a promising franchise, but ultimately, it fizzled.
You play the character Crono. Your mother wakes you up, trying to get you out of bed. She opens the curtain and reminds you that it’s Guardia’s 1000th anniversary. As such, they are holding the Millennial Fair which you were looking forward to. Eventually, you get out of bed and make your way to the fair. Your scientist friend, Lucca, is apparently building a new device for the event. However, while you are there, you accidentally bump into a mysterious blonde woman who drops her pendant. The event triggers a whole bunch of events that begins your adventure.
One thing about this game is the fact that decisions have an impact on later events in the game. Sometimes, the decisions are much more obvious, but others, you might find yourself making decisions without even knowing it. A great example of this is the events leading up to the trial.
There is a robot (Gato) that you can fight not only for silver points, but also much needed gold and experience. Of course, you’ll probably run low on HP after a while. So, conveniently, there is a lunch sitting just outside of the battle arena. New players might think that the programmers simply offered both of these for the purpose of helping new players familiarize themselves with controls and the importance of replenishing your HP. However, both of these are two entirely different things.
Gato does help teach you about simple fighting tactics, but the lunch is actually something you shouldn’t take. Otherwise, you’ll get a strike against you in the upcoming trial. This will not be even remotely clear until you actually go through the trial later on in the game, so the game will be subtle about decisions you make from time to time. A lot of those decisions will probably be ones you only know about because you’ve played the game already. Some outcomes are simply theatrical, but others can help improve your odds of getting rare items or special abilities late in the game.
For the record, you can beat the game without most (if not, all) of those special moves that require a specific action at a specific point in game. You just might be grinding a little more late in the game to improve your chances later is all.
Steering back to battling, this game features some system that is definitely worth noting. For one, you have a wait time attributed to your characters. So, although it is turn-based, it more or less isn’t in the traditional sense. Depending on the agility of characters and enemies, the order can change. This system is very similar to Final Fantasy III for the SNES. So, knowing the menu’s will be something you’ll want to do well if you want to perform actions quickly.
You have your standard attack actions. You also have an ability to cast spells which uses MP depending on the spell or ability you use.
If you are victorious, there are a number of things you can get. The standard reward is experience points, gold, and tech points. Also, you can earn a secondary monetary system later on in the game. It’s also possibly you can obtain simple items from battle as well. A tonic is an example of an item you can earn from a battle.
Experience points is pretty standard. Earn enough experience point and level up. Levelling up increases some of your stats. Gold is also pretty standard. Earn as much as possible and spend it on shops, inns, and events.
Tech points is a system very similar to what is employed in the SNES Final Fantasy III game. The only difference is, you don’t need to obtain espers (or anything for that matter) to start earning them. These points are added to the totals of characters who are currently active in your party. Think of them as secondary experience points. As you get more, you’ll eventually learn the next technique. Once you unlock a technique, you’ll simply start earning for the technique after. After you unlock all of your techniques, then your character will simply stop earning tech points altogether as there is no need for them anymore at that point.
This, of course, applies to single-tech skills. There are three levels of tech skills: 1, 2, and 3. Single tech skills only utilize one character and are acquired mostly through tech skills (visiting Spekkio will unlock what is left part way through the game). The second level us known as duel techs. This requires two characters to execute. Learning these skills depends on the single tech skills you’ve learned. Finally, the third level is the triple tech skills. These require all three characters to execute. Some are unlocked from unlocking single and duel techs, but others require special items to learn. Generally, you won’t learn most of these until late in the game.
In terms of executing duel and triple tech skills after you learn them, there are certain battle requirements you have to fulfill in order to execute these moves. One requirement is that the gauges of the required party members have to be full. The second requirement is that both characters have to have the required amount of MP. A third requirement that sometimes comes into play is the fact that between you having made that move selection and executing, no party member involved can be knocked out, put to sleep, or have the stop status put on them. If that happens, then the other members simply waste the turn.
The pitfall to duel tech and triple tech moves is that it uses a turn for two or three characters. The positive aspect is the fact that most of these moves generally deal the most damage. So, there is that risk/reward aspect going on with it. You might not necessarily know if you should have waited and healed up during a tough battle or just executed that move for instance. So, you need to figure out when it’s most advantageous to go for it.
Items are pretty standard in this game. You have tonics that refill HP and ether’s that refill MP. There are three levels of both items. You have the standard tonic and ether that replenishes a little. There is then a mid level which refills a bit more per item. Finally, there is the “full” items which restores more (not all as the name implies necessarily). Depending on where you are in the game, you can purchase these items in stores. You might temporarily lose access to ether’s, but not for long.
There are other items that replenish your HP and MP in a more thorough manner. Heal is basically your “cure all” status ailment items. Revive will recover a fallen party member in battle (not necessary outside of battle as they will restore to 1HP if someone else survived the encounter). Some items will help give you special status to improve your chances in battle.
Other items can be equipped. There are four slots to equip items: weapon, helmet, armour, and an accessory. Weapons can help improve your attack. Helmets can improve your defence. Armour can not only improve your defence, but offer special benefits like the ability to defend against fire attacks for instance. Accessories can improve certain aspects of your character. One item allows you to have a counterattack ability. Another one helps improve your chances to evade. Some accessories increases certain stats like speed, magical defence, or even increases the total amount of HP you have. Those are just a few examples of what accessories can do of course.
As you get deeper into the game, you’ll eventually reach the End of Time. When you make it here, the game will introduce you to a limitation of your party. You can only have three characters at a time. In all, you have up to 7 characters available to you (if you make a certain decision, then you’ll only get 6).
Another aspect of this game is the fact that there are mini-games here. Most are held in the Millennial Fair, but a few are located elsewhere. Some are just a test of fast reflex. One seemingly can only be beaten if you have turbo tap. There is even a racing mini-game somewhere in the game as well, though this tests your ability to position yourself on the course more than anything else. Some will only offer small rewards. At least one of them can even influence the ending that you get. So, something to keep an eye out for.
The other aspect of this game is the endings. There is a whole grid of things you can encounter in the end after you beat the game. This, of course, depends on at what point in the game you decide to finish off the final boss in the game. You get a few opportunities to end your playthrough early, but chances are, you won’t be able to accomplish this until one of the last few opportunities given how levelling works. Depending on how you play the game, if you satisfy a lot of the main objectives, then you’ll be given a chance to replay the game as “New Game+”. This allows you to carry your stats over to a new game and get the chance to access the other endings.
One thing that stands out for me is the pure depth of this game. While there is a lot to do in this game, there is actually a lot of small pockets of extras to the side everywhere you go. Sometimes, it’s just finding that little speckle of a tab randomly floating around somewhere. Other times, you can embark on a sizable side-quest along the way.
There is one caveat to the depth found here. There is also the fact that it can be quite cryptic as well. Some challenges can only be done once and, chances are, you’ll lose and miss out on the positive outcome. When you first play through out, you probably won’t get a good portion of those. Sometimes, you might find yourself stuck in the game because you needed to trigger a specific event. This can be quite frustrating at times. Yes, you do get hints part way through, but this only covers parts of the game, not all of it.
Another part of the game I take issue with is the fact that some enemies have some pretty cheap attacks. These attacks include auto cut HP in half and even drop HP to 1. The thing with these attacks is that, although you could defend it by saying that it gives people who grind a challenge still, at the same time, it feels like artificial difficulty more than anything else. You can work your characters up by investing a fair bit of time, but the game just sits there and says, “Hah! Doesn’t count.” There are better ways to challenge players in my opinion. This just comes off as a lazy shortcut to give players that challenge.
What I do like about this game is the fact that it actually handles time travel quite well. Generally speaking, it’s quite difficult to handle the concept of time travelling well. In this game, I actually think it’s well handled. You can influence the outcomes of different timelines by completing certain tasks. You can even influence the layout of the overworld map in the process of making some of those decisions. I, honestly, don’t have a problem with how this game is written.
Another positive is the battle system. It does offer a lot of familiar characteristics, but it also offers its own twist to the standard concepts. This mainly comes from the duel and triple tech moves. There is even special techs that can be effective depending on the positions of enemies as well as your party members. It ultimately plays a small roll in battle, but it’s nice to see something that is different in what is otherwise a standard element in RPG games.
Generally speaking, although I wouldn’t call this a flawless game, it certainly holds up quite well. The cryptic decision making systems in the game can be irritating and the cheap attacks some enemies employ can be quite annoying. Still, the writing works quite well, the battle systems offer some interesting unique features, and the depth is also well done. It’s a very solid game in the end.
The graphics is great. A few of the effects even give you a pseudo 3D effect on top of it all. There is a number of interesting different environments. One thing to keep in mind is that games are starting to delve into the realm of 3D at this point in time. SNES games are starting to utilize the FX chip such as Stunt Trax FX and Star Fox. So, while not the most mind-blowing graphics for a game of its time, they are still great.
Audio is also great. There’s a nice amount of sound effects. There is also quite a large score of different tracks throughout. Some of the memorable ones include Crono’s home, the theme of 600AD, Tyran Castle, and even a few character themes as well. A few of the boss themes are quite good too. So, an overall great effort.
Overall, I’d consider this a great game. Although it can be annoying cryptic at times and some of the enemy attacks can be cheap. Still, it’s got great depth, content, writing, and some interesting battle features as well. Although it’s great to play through the game, and the game allows you to replay it, I’m more leaning towards thinking that once is enough. Graphics are great and the audio is great. So, a great game worth playing overall.
Overall
Furthest point in game: Beat the game at level 65. Got the “Beyond Time” ending.
General gameplay: 21/25
Replay value: 7/10
Graphics: 8/10
Audio: 4/5
Overall rating: 80%
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
