Chrono Trigger

Chrono Trigger is a role-playing game originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and ported to the PlayStation and Nintendo DS and mobile devices. Worldwide, it was released in 1995. It was developed and published by Square.

Plot
Chrono, a young swordsman must rescue Princess Nadia (she prefers to call herself Marle) trapped in time by his friend, Lucca's, time machine. Upon rescuing her, Chrono is arrested but Lucca and Marle save him by teleporting to 2300 A.D. What they see is a dead, lifeless world. From still functioning machines they learn that in 1999 A.D., a powerful being known as Lavos, an alien being that had slept in the Earth for millions of years, rose from its slumber and destroyed the world. Deciding to prevent this apocalypse, Chrono gains new allies to hopefully destroy Lavos and prevent the apocalypse.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Multiple endings depending on the choices you make.
 * 2) Every action you do has consequences, such as Chrono's trial where people are asked what Chrono did before he went to save Marle.
 * 3) Enemies and characters move in different directions during combat. This allows for some strategic moments to attack more than one enemy.
 * 4) Magus, an antagonist in the game can be recruited to the party since his goal is also to kill Lavos.
 * 5) The characters were designed by Akira Toriyama, the man responsible for the Dragon Ball franchise. The cutscenes in the PS1 and DS versions were done by Toei.
 * 6) Characters can combine their techs in battle to perform powerful attacks.
 * 7) One of the first games to utilize New Game Plus, allowing you to start a new game with your current level and gear (except some plot items) for faster progress.
 * 8) The New Game Plus and multiple endings give the game tons of replay value.
 * 9) Very good soundtrack.
 * 10) The PlayStation and Nintendo DS ports have anime cutscenes and extra features.
 * 11) Spoiler Alert for this one: In one moment before the battle with Lavos, Chrono sacrifices himself to save the others, becoming one of the most heartbreaking and memorable moments in gaming history. Fortunately, as this game revolves around time travel, you can undertake a quest to prevent his death. However, the game can be beaten even if Chrono remains dead.
 * 12) All characters have defined playstyles. For instance, Chrono is an all-rounder who focuses on critical hits, Marle is a powerful healer and Ice magic user, Lucca is a potent Fire magic user with lots of AoE techs, Frog is an all-rounder with good party healing, Robo is a tanking beast with high damage output, Ayla is a physical powerhouse and Magus is a deadly black mage (though he lacks natural double and triple techs).
 * 13) An optional SNES control mode for the DS version.
 * 14) Improved translation in the remastered versions.
 * 15) The DS version added some extra end-game quests and gear. It even added a side-game where you can train monsters and make them fight with your friends.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The PC and mobile versions are awful. Thankfully, the Steam version got some well-needed fixes.
 * 2) The PS1 version has long loading times.
 * 3) The SNES version is outdated compared to the PS1 and DS versions

Reception
Chrono Trigger is considered not only one of the best RPGs on the Super Nintendo, but one of the best RPGs ever made, if not the best. Both the DS and SNES ports of the game are ranked the number one in the highest rated RPGs on GameFAQs, while the PlayStation ported is ranked the number 4 highest rated RPG for the system.

Projared gave the game a "Clock Without Hands Out of 10," calling it a timeless classic and pretty much gushed about the game for over 20 minutes. The only thing he disliked was the final battle with Lavos though admitted it was a nitpick.

Trivia

 * One of the developers was coughing up blood due to the amount of hours of work he has put it.

Videos
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