A short while ago, I was asked if I’d ever consider doing classic game reviews, like Super Nintendo, N64, Gamecube and, heck anything older than PS4/Xbox One. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been asked since I consider stuff from all those eras pretty well-tread ground. However, everyone’s experiences are, as they say, different, so here I am with a new ongoing series.
In it, I will be reviewing older games for those who care to talk about them, but the twist is that I’m going to focuse solely on games I played back in their heyday and it’s going to be more about what they represent to me now and/or their legacy in the gaming medium. All the review hallmarks will be present, of course, it’s just that they won’t be the focus here. Also, not every game I talk about here will be a famous, well-beloved classic. For every Donkey Kong Country 2, there might also be a Super Battleship. Still, I figured I’d start things off right with a true classic among classic: Chrono Trigger, one of the very best Squaresoft JRPGs.
I was a little late to the party with Chrono Trigger, getting to it in the early 2000’s rather than the mid-90’s when it was fresh and new. What can I say? I wasn’t exactly a competent enough gamer back in 1995 to play a complex (for the time) RPG like Chrono Trigger. Still, I feel like I wasn’t the only one, as I remember the game still being very popular and relevant even as we entered the Gamecube/PS2 era of gaming. Even after playing the likes of Kingdom Hearts, I still remember my first impression of Chrono Trigger being something on an entirely different level.
The very first thing I remember upon booting up the game for the first time was just how beautiful the world and music were. This was a wonderfully colorful and vibrant place, and I remember growing more and more excited as I began to explore it. I remember spending a lot of time at the fair during the prologue. At first, it was just me running around taking everything in and seeing what everyone had to say, and I just couldn’t get over just how downright charming it was! It reminded me so much of what my own state’s state fair felt like. Just fantastic!
But that changed into me trying to make sure not to miss anything before going to see what Lucca was up to. I didn’t necessarily think it’d kick off the whole time-bending adventure, but I just didn’t want to leave the fair. Boy was I surprised when the teleporters malfunctioned and sent Crono and Marle flying into the past! It just happened so suddenly! And from there, man things got crazy!
Okay, so we all know how Chrono Trigger goes by now. We have to assemble a party of courageous warriors to combat the evil(?) Llavos, an extra-terrestrial calamity from beyond the stars, defeat it, destroy it and save all of history in the process. Along the way we have to fight, dark wizards, pre-historic lizard people, mages and futuristic robots, all of which want to use Llavos and the situation it created for their benefit.
It’s a fantastic story filled with surprisingly touching character moments for both the heroes and villains. In fact, I’d say that we’ve only recently (finally) seen a studio achieve something similar story-wise with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I mean, it’s not often at all that a game gets you feeling for its antagonists as well as its heroes.
The gameplay is equally fantastic. Every area is a joy to explore thanks to a mix of interesting visuals and just enough secrets to make one poke around. Boss fights are fair but challenging, and the combat’s still brilliant combination of single and combined attacks has yet to be duplicated to any satsifactory degree. Seriously, even the Chrono Trigger’s own developers couldn’t manage it in their own spiritual sequel to the game: I am Setsuna. (Don’t bother with that one. It absolutely doesn’t meet expectations).
Still, it’s been a few years since I’ve played Chrono Trigger, and I’m not sure when or even if I’ll ever revisit it. I played it many times over back in the day and I still love it to death, but right now I kind of feel like it’s a memory I want to hold onto rather than a game I want to play again. Chrono Trigger wasn’t my first RPG, that distinction goes to Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, but it does represent something special to me as a gamer.
It was, alongside the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and, yes, Kingdom Hearts, one of the first games that showed me that games could be more than just simple fun. They could have compelling stories, real drama, characters you really wished you could connect with, and, well they could actually move you too. It showed me that games could be more, and so, without Chrono Trigger and other games like it, perhaps I wouldn’t be playing games now. It is, for better or worse, one of those once-in-a-generation games that set me on my path as a gamer.
Is Chrono Trigger for everyone? Of course not. Everyone’s got their tastes, so one person’s favorite is another person’s most detested. Still, I’d say that Chrono Trigger is one of those rare masterpiece games that’s stood (and will continue to stand) the test of time. If you like RPGs and have somehow never played it, do whatever you can to fix that, because you’re in for one heck of a ride!
What’s your experience with Chrono Trigger? Have you played a game that’s affected you in a similar way?
Image gathered from Flickr User: Alvin Tjiptarahardja
VIRTUAL BASTION 