Chrono Trigger Review

This all sounds impressive, but unfortunately there is a well known fact about the majority of computer games, and that is that attractive graphics sell, regardless of how bad the game is. This is a fatal flaw of Chrono Trigger though, as the graphics are clearly dated, pathetically blocky and hideously ugly by today's standards. With that said though, for a SNES game it looks amazing, far better than anything else that has ever been produced for that console. Naturally though, reviews are all about comparison, and when you look at any of the recent Final Fantasy games, or even the Baldurs Gate franchise, then you realize that your eyes are being subjected to torture with the game in question.

The character sprites are blocky, and the backgrounds are bland and dull. When looking at it for long enough your eyes will start to sting, and you will desperately want to play something modern to soothe them. Whilst it would scare Medusa and force her to throw up in disgust at the mere sight of the horrible graphics, the animation is actually quite impressive. The walking is spot on, and the movement seems to be natural, with no noticeable mistakes. The attacking sequences look excellent during battles, with the sword swipes clearly hitting or missing, and showing a realistic cut through the air.

Of course, whilst everything has a plus side to it, it'll always have a negative one too. It's the law of life, everything must be perfectly balanced - Good is cancelled out by evil, Nerds are cancelled out by Jocks, and T.V is cancelled out by books (To a lesser extent). My point is that nothing is ever 100% dominant in terms of pros, and Chrono Trigger's fighting scenes are perfect examples of this theory.

Some of the magic looks appallingly pathetic, such as a few of the cures, but at the same time some of it looks awe-inspiring such as the lightning attacks, which have some amazing effects. Developers would struggle to compete with it in terms of the well-presented attacks, but unfortunately the badly done ones are the things that really show up. It is hard not to notice how the water looks merely like a blue streak of spilt paint, and the laser beams look more like a cactus with extended, red, immensely rigid needles merely spinning around aimlessly. This is easily ignored though, and can be avoided by choosing only the best looking attacks to perform which, fortunately, seem to do a higher damage and are therefore more useful.

On the subject of attacks, it would be foolish for me not to mention the vastness of the range of them. Depending on a characters element they can learn different techniques and magic, which can then evolve if enough experience is gained. Crono, for example, is a lightning specialist, and he first learns…lightning of course. This can be upgraded to lightning 2 which attacks all enemies for an upped magic points cost. He also learns various bolt-related double team moves too.

The double team moves are perhaps the most innovative part of the whole game. You can combine one characters skill with another ones, which can be used massively to your advantage. It allows you to strengthen your physical and magical attacks, and do double damage to what you'd usually do in half the time. Triple attacks can also be used by all three of your party members, and whilst there isn't as many, they still look awesome, with every member doing their own part. It's amazing that this feature hasn't been added to any of the recent Final Fantasy games, as it's such a novel idea.

The physical attacks are more advanced than most would expect too, with the occasional critical hit doing double the damage, and giving you the advantage in battles. It can be a great stroke of luck for this to happen, as it can completely tip the battle in your favour. It's a familiar feature which was wisely included in the battles.

Seeing how I'm talking about the battles, I guess I'd better explain them more fully. They basically involve the same type of interface as Final Fantasy 7 (I'm frequently referring to that because most people are familiar with it, by the way), with similar commands but with different names in most areas. The actual system is basically the same, which isn't at all a bad point, as it's quite possibly the most enjoyable and satisfying thing in any game to crush a boss of some description by using an awesome strategy consisting of cunning use of magic and physical techniques alike. Items also tend to be essential to the outcome of fights, as occasionally you run into people far stronger than yourself and are forced to constantly heal or defend yourself with things that you've picked up or purchased. Let me give you a hint for free right now: Spend wisely, but lots of tonics to heal your people, and eat your vegetables, it'll do you good.

During the battles I often found myself smirking an impressed smile as the enemies demonstrated awesomely advanced artificial intelligence. I gazed on in awe as one particularly species bit its ally in order to absorb its hit points and save its own hide, thus resulting in his team mate dying. This is a very dog eat dog attitude, and is only used when absolutely necessary. The intelligence is also boasted in the form of bosses, healing themselves when their hit points are low, and pulling out more extreme attacks when their life was slowly draining away. Every time I fought anyone they seemed to eventually adapt to my strategy and combat it in some way, constantly keeping me on my toes. This made it all the more enjoyable. There were odd instances where the computer decided not to take the intelligent option and instead do something that led to its destruction. Fortunately this didn't happen with any major characters, so minimally affected the gameplay.

All this on the battle system already, and I haven't even got to the best part, that really shows how good this system is, doesn't it now? The rarely repetitive fights work incredibly well, with boredom only really setting in if you've gone to the wrong place and have been forced to go back and fight all the same people again in the same order. This is a rarity though, but it does contribute to some of the annoying little niggles in the game.

You've probably worked out by now that there are numerous bosses in Chrono Trigger, with each one looking and acting like a daunting feat, requiring intelligence, ingenuity, a damn finely sharpened sword, and little bit of luck to defeat. You can usually tell their strength just be looking at their appearance; that's how well they've been designed. More on that later though, the point I wanted to make was that bosses often have something protecting them, such as an extra little hovering robot-style thing which either heals them occasionally, or adds massive damage to their attacks. You have to take these things out first I you want any chance of survival, and as you progress on through the game you become more and more dependant on hoping that you can destroy one of the bosses' allies before it can do some major damage to your chances of victory. It gives a feeling of impending doom thus hastening you to kill it. A truly amazing feature which adds depth to the boss fights and makes them twice as enjoyable (Albeit occasionally frustrating when you don't know how to destroy them, as some are immune to magical or physical attacks. All a matter of trial and error).

Now with all this mentioned about the battles, I must have finished talking about them by now, right? Nope, still got to mention the most refreshing part of them: They're not at all random! Those annoying fights when you were trying to go somewhere quickly on Final Fantasy have disappeared, replaced with strategically positioned enemies, and the odd ambush which temporarily shocks you. These small additions may not sound like such a big deal, but they really brightened up my day as I noticed yet another excellent touch in this fantastic game. The fact that you can avoid some unwanted battles is cool as well, as you can sneak past enemies to conserve hit points and magic points, or to save time. Of course, if you want to become stronger you're going to have to compete in these fierce engagements, so creeping past all the time would be foolish.

The battles are complimented perfectly by an excellent musical score which is essential to the game. Unlike the majority of computer games I've played recently, I actually enjoyed the absorbing, atmospheric music, which played melodically in the background. The fact that it was always appropriate to the situation made it all the more better, changing when the mood changed, and switching to a different, faster paced beat when the action stepped up a notch. I found it all very immersive, and had the speakers turned up loudly.

The sound is done pretty well too, despite the occasional bleeping annoyance when certain things are done. The noticeable difference between the sound of a hit and a miss helps you realize what has happened far quicker, and despite the fact that I tried to look for a problem during the misses, I just couldn't find one - It sounded like it hit nothing but air, and you could see the sword hitting nothing.

The gunshots and opening of doors sounded slightly tinny so to speak, but due to space restrictions not a lot could have been done about that. Whilst the general quality and clearness of it wasn't particularly impressive, the varied noises and interesting sounds made listening to it seamlessly easy.

I have to say, all of the described features in this review have contributed to Chrono Trigger's brilliance, merged into one fantastic game, but the general excellence of it doesn't end there. Perhaps the best touch of the whole thing, are the mini-games. They were so enjoyable, and a great distraction if you want a quick break from the serious playing throughout. My personal favourite was a racing one, where you have to beat your opponent through strategic uses of your boosts. It may be pretty easy, but it's still great fun.

Almost all the mini-games have some sort if relevance to the continuance of your quest, usually with a goal at the end which you must reach by completing the game. Some though, are there purely for the fan's entertainment, such as betting on races, and taking tests of strengths. Admittedly none of them can compete with the great Chocobo racing from Final Fantasy 7, but they're still massive fun. If you see one then I strongly advice you go try it out. You're given the opportunity right at the start during a fair, where you can go into a tent and do various tasks for various prices.

The added element of the mini-games really is the icing on the grand cake, making it all the more complete, deep and fun, complimenting Squaresoft's already impressive portfolio.

Everything seems to be so well done, from the brilliant battles to the magnificent mini-games. The gameplay is nothing short of superb, and the plot is close to perfect. The only thing that drags this awe-inspiring genre-breaking game down is the dated graphics which are an eyesore at times. If you can forget about that though, you'll be on a non-stop, addictive ride through the most wonderful RPG ever. Remember folks, this was made before Final Fantasy 7, meaning most of it's ideas were emulated by the playstation giant, and not the other way round.

This is being re-released on the playstation as far as I understand, in a double pack with one of the early Final Fantasy games, so either purchase it like that or buy the SNES version. You really have to play this game, it's the greatest thing to ever grace the Earth! Buy it now, no excuses.

Overall: 97%

Pros: Great story, fun mini-games, excellent battles, large lifespan, great characters, atmospheric music.

Cons: Dated graphics, sound quality a little poor in areas.