Chrono Trigger - Cause and Mass Effect

[Sniper Team 4]

Wow, I feel silly. I played Chrono Trigger once, and I don't remember most of what is described here. Saving Lucca's mom? Nope. Being able to turn Frog back into a human? I remember the ending movie showing he was human again, but I did have Magus, so...huh? I don't remember any of these choices mattering like this. The only choice I remember is where and when you beat the boss. Depending on when you beat him--or if you do something different at a certain point now that you can time jump after beating the game--you get a different ending.

I guess I should pull out my DS and dust this game off.

 

[Nazulu]

I still need to play Chrono Trigger, and now I can because I found the DS version in a OP shop, so try and top that.

Is it as good as the original though? Anyone here know? From what I've looked up it doesn't seem to be any different besides the screen size and something about translations.

 

[Shadowsetzer]

I still need to play Chrono Trigger, and now I can because I found the DS version in a OP shop, so try and top that.

Is it has good as the original though? Anyone here know? From what I've looked up it doesn't seem to be any different besides the screen size and something about translations.

They put in the anime cutscenes from the PS port and added some (poorly-done) bonus dungeons. Other than that and a few interface tweaks to take advantage of two screens, the game is untouched.

 

[Nazulu]

I still need to play Chrono Trigger, and now I can because I found the DS version in a OP shop, so try and top that.

Is it has good as the original though? Anyone here know? From what I've looked up it doesn't seem to be any different besides the screen size and something about translations.

They put in the anime cutscenes from the PS port and added some (poorly-done) bonus dungeons. Other than that and a few interface tweaks to take advantage of two screens, the game is untouched.

Thank you very much. Surprised to hear it has cutscenes, so that's interesting. May I ask why the bonus dungeons are poorly done?

 

[Lizzy Finnegan]

Wow, I feel silly. I played Chrono Trigger once, and I don't remember most of what is described here. Saving Lucca's mom? Nope. Being able to turn Frog back into a human? I remember the ending movie showing he was human again, but I did have Magus, so...huh? I don't remember any of these choices mattering like this. The only choice I remember is where and when you beat the boss. Depending on when you beat him--or if you do something different at a certain point now that you can time jump after beating the game--you get a different ending.

I guess I should pull out my DS and dust this game off.

I don't remember any of this either. Played it when it came out on DS, got the best ending from what i remember. I liked it but i never understood why it was so loved. Crono was a mindless mute and i never took much of an interest in any other characters and i barely remember any of the story.I'd still take most FF games any day of the week.

 

[Kinitawowi]

There's actually three iterations of Medina. The town square is the best place to see them in action.

When you first get back from 2300 AD via the End Of Time, the Mystics (fuck the DS and its "fiends") can be seen giving homage to a statue of Magus (who apparently fought a war against humans four hundred years ago; all we've seen of him so far in the story is a couple of mentions and a shrine in the Cathedral) - and yes, (almost) everybody hates you and charges too much and someone tries to kill you in the shop for good measure.

Beat up Magus though, and the statue changes - the Mystics now worship Ozzie instead (and one of his line is Mayor!). Which is not only funny, but a hint that defeating Ozzie in Magus' castle wasn't the end of him.

Once you get control of the Epoch at the end, go to 600 AD, fly to what's now Ozzie's fort, and relocate to 1000 AD, and guess where you end up? Medina, clearly founded and developed by Ozzie and his descendants. Finishing the Great Ozzie changes Medina again; there's no statue at all, Ozzie VIII is now just some lackey, and the Mystics have no beef with anyone. The only Mystics in 1000 AD who never hated you - the first ones you met falling out of the cupboard, who are aware of the war in the past but totally over it - are now likely the ones in charge.

It's all these touches that help make the game as wonderful as it is. (And yeah, the thing with Lucca's mother is one of the only two times I've ever cried at a video game - and Aeris wasn't the other one.)

 

[Holythirteen]

I remember the ending movie showing he was human again, but I did have Magus, so...huh?

Was that in one of the cutscenes then? Can't speak for those in the DS version. The DS version may have made a change/introduced a glitch. As far as I know, 2 of the endings show frog as human, only if you have killed Magus, don't forget, you may have spared Magus on one playthrough, and killed him on a newgame+ playthrough and seen the ending for that playthrough. Then again, this is my snes version, ps version experience.

As for Lucca's mother, you may have missed the forest sidequest? It is a sidequest, and it doesn't give you much for items, and isn't super-obvious.

 

[Cerebrawl]

The only SNES era game to even come close to Chrono Trigger is one that never had an official release in the west. I've played the fan translation... Romancing SaGa 3. It's if anything, even more full of choices, replayability and missable optional quests. Perhaps the most replayable JRPG of all time.

Chrono Trigger is however more forgiving and easy to play, there's less need of a FAQ to make sure you don't miss something. The greater complexity and replayability of Romancing SaGa 3 comes at a price, Chrono Trigger is much more approachable.

I could mention a handful of other SNES RPGs that are very good, and have lots of fans, but none of them really compete with these two, no not even FF6.

 

[Villain Protagonist]

I'm 34 and I think it's telling that through all the gaming devices I've owned over the past 18 years since I've first played it, there has never been a point where I didn't own Chrono Trigger in some form. It has consistently been in my top 5 games list and has the distinction of being the game that introduced both me and my brother to rpg's. Three guesses as to our favorite game genre. The game is a classic that every gamer should try at least once. To this day, I 've patiently waited for a direct sequel, preferably one starring the descendants of the original characters as they have their own time travel shenanigans.

 

[Grahav]

Great article Liz! And I think you make an interesting point about how trying to save Lucca's mom was more emotional than Aerith dying

I have failed to save her the first time. Spine chilling. So I said: "fuck that", loaded and really saved her.

With decisions you make in the past influencing the progression of events in the future and more than a dozen possible endings, Chrono Trigger offers one of the most sought after features of any video game - replay value.

Players want replay value but it seems increasingly that developers do not. They don't want players to still be playing their last game when they release their next one.

If they launch the best game ever no one will buy anything else.

Still, stroy replay where you can save in the crucial points is cool. Replay where the new things are equipment with bigger numbers are bullshit.

 

[Shadowsetzer]

I still need to play Chrono Trigger, and now I can because I found the DS version in a OP shop, so try and top that.

Is it has good as the original though? Anyone here know? From what I've looked up it doesn't seem to be any different besides the screen size and something about translations.

They put in the anime cutscenes from the PS port and added some (poorly-done) bonus dungeons. Other than that and a few interface tweaks to take advantage of two screens, the game is untouched.

Thank you very much. Surprised to hear it has cutscenes, so that's interesting. May I ask why the bonus dungeons are poorly done?

One of them (the Lost Sanctum) is basically just a long series of boring fetch quests. The other (the various Dimensional Vortexes) is a set of kind-of-randomly generated dungeons. That one at least has some payoff in that they added some stuff to link it to Chrono Cross that I won't spoil, but YMMV as to whether that's worth it. Either way, none of it is as engaging as the sidequests that the game already has.

 

[Nazulu]

I still need to play Chrono Trigger, and now I can because I found the DS version in a OP shop, so try and top that.

Is it has good as the original though? Anyone here know? From what I've looked up it doesn't seem to be any different besides the screen size and something about translations.

They put in the anime cutscenes from the PS port and added some (poorly-done) bonus dungeons. Other than that and a few interface tweaks to take advantage of two screens, the game is untouched.

Thank you very much. Surprised to hear it has cutscenes, so that's interesting. May I ask why the bonus dungeons are poorly done?

One of them (the Lost Sanctum) is basically just a long series of boring fetch quests. The other (the various Dimensional Vortexes) is a set of kind-of-randomly generated dungeons. That one at least has some payoff in that they added some stuff to link it to Chrono Cross that I won't spoil, but YMMV as to whether that's worth it. Either way, none of it is as engaging as the sidequests that the game already has.

Thanks again. Sounds like the shameless extras some games get in a long run. If I really get stuck into the game though I may want to do everything for the sake of it, though I usually don't bother when things get too repetitive.

 

[Cidward]

Favorite game ever (as the avatar should indicate). I've replayed it more times than I can count. I've got the Wii virtual console version and revisit it every year or so. It's less about trying to see all the endings (at this point, I have the one I think is 'right' and play toward it with only occasional variation) than it is about experiencing the wonderful characters and great soundtrack again.