Welcome back to another episode of Legacy
Replay, a series where we take a look at classic
games with a set of fresh eyes to see if they
still hold up today. Last time we kicked things
off with Ocarina of Time and I had a blast
playing through that adventure again after
so many years. It was exhilarating to see
what still works well to this day and what
feels dated compared to modern experiences.
Today will look a little bit different however,
because the next game we’re covering is
one that I’d never played before.
My exposure to RPG’s is relatively limited,
mostly just through Final Fantasy and Paper
Mario, but I had always heard incredible things
about Chrono Trigger. Shesez: I’m definitely
one of those people that are spouting those
incredible things. This game is either the
greatest game of all time, or the greatest
game of its time. It’s a game that’s basically
lightning in a bottle or a perfect storm.
It managed to connect with me as a child,
but it also managed to impress me as an adult.
And in truth it created a standard in RPG’s
that made it so hard to match, that slowly
over time I just had to accept that nothing
would be quite as good as Chrono Trigger.
And if we were to allow video games to be
respected on the same level as movies and
music, to me, Chrono Trigger would be the
Beatles or the Casablanca of video games.
Snoman: And I can see why people feel that
way - the soundtrack is legendary, the combat
is snappy and satisfying, heck even the concept
of time travel is a great theme to explore
with this genre and is utilized in some really
unique ways. So while I always knew this would
be a good candidate for Legacy Replay, instead
of comparing my playthrough to a past version
of myself I’ll be looking at it from a brand
new player perspective - I knew virtually
nothing about what makes this game tick before
diving in. Let’s break it down and see if
it lives up to the hype.
What struck me almost immediately after booting
up is how fantastic the art direction is.
Characters are SO expressive and the detail
is very impressive for such limited pixel
size. And after looking it up I understand
why - Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon
Ball was part of a 3-person Dream Team of
this game’s development, along with the
fathers of both the Final Fantasy and Dragon
Quest series. Wow, that’s an elite package
right there. And it really does show - in
addition to how the game looks, down to its
very fibers of game design I was blown away
with how tight of an experience it was.
If there’s one overarching theme that stuck
out to me most, it’s the absolute sense
of freedom given to the player, it's honestly
pretty staggering how unwavering it is in
that approach, and it sets the tone within
the first few minutes of the game. As I left
my house for the first time, I know it told
me to go to the Millenial Fair, but I wanted
to see just how far it would let me explore
before gating my path and displaying a “Hey
I need to go to the fair” text box or something.
And to my surprise, the game never did that,
it let me travel to every corner of the island
- in fact, it knew some players would do this
because in the next town over there were NPC’s
ready to give me some tips and tutorials on
how the combat works. Even once I did go to
the fairgrounds, it let me run around and
do whatever I’d like until the main attraction
was ready. Chugging sodas, ringing the bell,
fighting cat...robots? Awesome. Little did
I know this section was specifically set up
to blow my freaking mind at the trial a few
hours later.
Okay so, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen
a game pull off something like this as skillfully
as Chrono Trigger did, and this is over 25
years ago. For the unaware, they think you
kidnapped the princess because you both disappeared
through a time portal, so upon your return
they try to convince a jury you’re a bad
dude based on the actions you took during
your time at the fair. So while I thought
I was innocently eating some chicken, returning
someone’s necklace and exploring the festivities,
I was actually eating someone else’s lunch,
greedily picking up jewelry before checking
on the princess first, and ignoring a sweet
little girl’s plea to help return her lost
kitten. These tasks are innocuous enough that
I didn’t think anything of it as it was
happening, but after hearing the prosecution’s
evidence, I was like “wow yeah maybe I am
guilty”. So a seemingly basic and carefree
introduction sequence actually has lasting
ramifications later on, which really sets
up how important your decisions are throughout
the adventure. In fact, I found this so intriguing
that I started a new game again to see if
I could change the outcome, and while you
can’t skip the jailing sequence entirely,
if you do sway a ‘not guilty’ verdict,
you’ll gain some extra goodies from supporters
who think you’re wrongfully imprisoned.
That’s amazing. Oh, and instead of breaking
out of your cell which is the normal way to
play, you can also just sit there and await
your execution, which will lead to a different
scene where Lucca storms in and saves the
day. This game is chocked full of optional
events like this, and it actively encourages
you to think outside the box and make creative
choices.
There’s essentially no hand-holding whatsoever
other than a simple statement from an ally
about where to head next, and there’s almost
always bonus content to tackle if you’re
interested. In particular I loved The Hunting
Grounds which has virtually no story purpose,
but lets you gather resources that you can
trade the townsfolk for upgraded equipment,
or the fact that you can enter the Sewer Access
early if you want the first time you reach
the Future, but it will be much more challenging
at this point since you’re at a lower level.
You don’t have to do these things, but Chrono
Trigger says “Hey, you’re a big boy, you
can make your own decisions. Go for it dude!”
This sense of freedom even extends to the
combat itself. I really liked how it utilized
the space of the screen and where baddies
move around to use area-of-effect moves or
slash them up in a row. Of course you gain
special techniques as you level up, but you
can also combine maneuvers together with your
various party members which added endless
possibilities in terms of how you could handle
the many threats in your way. And bosses get
pretty tough as you progress - there’s never
any hints or help if you’re struggling,
you have to experiment and try out different
strategies. And if you die, you’re greeted
with nothing more than a simple death jingle
and getting booted back to the title screen.
Man, there’s a sense of responsibility that
comes with that, it expects you to grow and
learn on your own, and really this leads to
way more satisfaction when you finally overcome.
Eventually you gain access to the Epoch and
the ability to travel to any time period at
will and just as you think it couldn’t get
any better, the last chapter before the final
boss is where, in my opinion, the game truly
shines the brightest. As I entered the Black
Omen this was the first time I really felt
my progress being gated by simply not being
a high enough level, I got straight bodied
by this mutant guy, but instead of forcing
the player to go do some monotonous grinding,
it cleverly opens up the entire world for
a gigantic bevy of side quests to take on
at your leisure. And this accomplishes 3 major
goals at the same time - exploring story beats
that add more depth to the cast of characters,
letting the player gather each of their ultimate
weapons and best equipment along the way,
and naturally leveling up over time so you
can effectively handle the ending. And while
essentially none of it is required, it really
lets the game’s creativity build on previous
tropes and run wild.
For example, early on you learn that your
actions in the past have lasting effects when
you go back to the future by saving the queen
which brings Marle back to life, so later
on when a greedy mayor steals your Moon Stone
and won’t return it, you can travel 400
years prior and generously give some expensive
jerky to his ancestor so that she’ll teach
her descendants to be more giving and take
care of others. Now his whole life is different
- his kids love him, and he graciously turns
over the stone because he’s a good person.
Or when you first visit the factory it teaches
you that you can use the button inputs of
your controller to type in passcodes and unlock
doors so when you enter a time portal that
takes you to Lucca’s traumatizing memory
of her mother’s accident and find out her
name is the password to turn off the machine,
if you think quickly and type L-A-R-A you
can actually save her from an untimely demise.
You do gain a special item for completing
this quest, but I found it much more rewarding
just knowing that I prevented her injury and
seeing that she’s safe and sound from now
on. For a game from 1995, it did an incredible
job at attaching me to its characters’ lives
and backstories. And having so many moments
like this that are completely voluntary means
that everyone’s experience with Chrono Trigger
is going to be different as they carve their
own path to the final confrontation.
And that’s all without mentioning the best
and probably most defining feature - its multiple
endings. Once you reach The End of Time, which
is about ⅓ of the way through the game,
you’re given the option of either continuing
your quest to try and stop the apocalypse,
or going straight to doomsday and fighting
Lavos yourself to finish the job. Now of course
that’s easier said than done since you’re
probably not nearly strong enough to take
it down yet, and the fact that its available
early does add to the theming of freedom,
but its actually even more nuanced than that.
Depending on which chapter you’re currently
playing through based on your save file, you
can trigger one of TWELVE different endings
if you beat the game, from little changes
like whether you crashed the Epoch or not,
to altering the course of history because
certain events hadn’t transpired yet when
you decided to save the day. And
as a way to make these endings accessible
to more than just hardcore completionists
who put in hours of grinding, this is basically
the first game to popularize the use of New
Game +, which allows you to play the game
again with all your best armor, items and
current experience points, so not only will
the whole adventure become faster and easier,
but those endings will be a lot more manageable
to complete.
And the best ending by far is awarded if you
beat Lavos from the very beginning of the
game - right as you take a newly available
teleporter during the Millenial Fair. This
will unlock an easter egg where the creators
of the game talk about their favorite parts
of development or how the experience was for
them. And it ends with the Dream Team themselves
congratulating you and awarding an extremely
fast credits sequence to match how quickly
you beat the game. This whole aspect is truly
something special and a perfect way to encourage
replayability with a new spin on the formula.
And the length of the game is just the right
amount to not feel overbearing on another
playthrough. Everything is jam packed into
a 15-20 hour journey without a single ounce
of padding so that no second feels wasted.
Just masterfully executed.
Chrono Trigger is charming, funny and crazy
addicting - there’s a lot to love about
it, but I think letting the player roam free
to create their own stories is what sets it
a cut above, and is honestly a bit of a lost
art nowadays. Maybe I’ve just been playing
too many modern Nintendo titles but it feels
like railroading the player to make sure they
do exactly what you want is the new norm,
which is a real shame because part of the
appeal of video games is to put your skills
to the test and see how the game reacts to
your behavior. And Chrono Trigger may be the
pinnacle of that principle in motion - after
my playthrough, I can say without a doubt
that it is a true masterpiece, even by today’s
standards. And that’s without any bias or
nostalgia swaying me one way or the other,
it still holds up in 2020 exceptionally well.
Now of course Chrono Cross somewhat continued
the legacy as a pseudo-sequel, but I can see
why people are still clamoring today for anything
that might resemble what Chrono Trigger accomplished.
And it looks like we might be in luck - Sea
of Stars was announced via Kickstarter this
year by Sabotage Studios, the inventive developers
behind The Messenger, and if anyone could
pull off an homage to what makes retro games
like this so special, they’re definitely
the ones for the job. I can’t wait to see
more of the development process in the future,
and if you’re a fan of classic RPG’s,
I hope you’ll put it on your mental calendar
as well.
Shesez was right to call Chrono Trigger lightning
in a bottle, there really isn’t much else
out there quite like it, from the prolific
dev team to nailing the pacing and providing
a treasure trove of secrets to uncover - and
I’m so glad I decided to take a leap of
faith and give it a go. If you’ve played
Chrono Trigger, what were the aspects you
loved most about it? Do you think it still
holds up today as well, or what would you
change if you could? Let me know in the comments
below and let’s talk about it. Thanks for
watching another episode of Legacy Replay,
I am loving this series so if there’s another
classic game you’d like to see me cover
in the future, tell me that below as well,
and I’ll see you next time. Stay frosty
my friends!
