Born from the work of both Enix and Squaresoft celebrating their 10 years anniversary at the time, Chrono Trigger was developed under the supervision of a dream team, including the creators of Final Fantasy and the director of the Dragon Quest's series. It is therefore without surprise that this gem shocked the RPG world when first released in 1995, with notably an original storyline taking the gamer in a journey to save the world while travelling through time...
You play as Chrono, a young boy with a scarlet mop of hair, waking up on the day of the Millennium celebration happening just near his home. He is supposed to meet his friend Lucca, a genius inventor eager to show him her latest invention. However, on his way Chrono bumps into a girl named Marle with whom he quickly becomes friends. Marle is completely lost and Chrono decides to show her the way while still enjoying the diverse attractions the Millenium fair has to offer in her charming company. They soon meet a funny merchant interested in the mysterious pendant the girl is wearing who suddenly advise Chrono to take the greatest care of the lady. Nonetheless, the two companions continued having fun at the fair until they eventually decide to visit Lucca.
Proud of her new machine, Lucca shows the telepod which she claims can teleport anyone from one place to another. Our young hero always the first to take the initiative takes place on the machine and experience a teleportation hassle free to the surprise of the inventor. But when Marles decides to follow and test the device, the telepod reacts to the mysterious pendant and cause a huge vortex pulling the girl inside it. Chrono picks up the pendant laying on the ground and with Lucca decide to rescue Marle. They once more use the machine but this time with the pendant in hand and without the time to think are propelled 400 years in the past, to find themselves in the midst of a great war against a formidable sorcerer.
Chrono Trigger transports the player through seven time periods showing a wide range of landscape and characters. Through time you will be exposed to the ultimate consequences of your actions earlier in the game and will be confronted to the Final boss along the way. Depending on your actions during the game you can have a total of twelve opportunities to face Lava which can lead to as much as 14 endings. Of course, during your first time playing the game you won't be strong enough to beat the boss before the final battle. You will need to first finish the game and unlock the “New game+” mode. This will give you the chance to replay the game by keeping your experience, gear and techniques gained during the first game and thus give you the possibility to overcome the boss at any key moment of your journey while having, this time a decent level.
Before eradicating this evil, you will be led to meet various characters who will join your party. Each of these characters has its own personality and an interesting story. Besides the main plot, you will get the chance to delve deeper into their story and enjoy the different side quests superbly put together. You will eventually have the possibility to play with seven characters, each one with their own distinct techniques and spells. The fights take place in a team of three and this is where Chrono Trigger is probably the most enjoyable. The fights are fast paced and technical while being simple and accessible. The enemies are visible and you can evade encounters simply by avoiding foes path but why would you as the fights are really fun and full of surprises.
The fight interface is based on the Active Time Battle system common in the Final Fantasy games. Each character has a gauge that, once filled, allows the player to execute a single action via a menu. Beyond the possibility of using a simple attack or an object, you can launch techniques or spells specific to each character. Some have a zone effect (circular or linear), which makes sense given unlike your characters, enemies can move during combat. The fighting will therefore involve a strategic dimension since it will always be smarter to wait for a horde of enemies to regroup than to target them one by one. But the real innovation comes from the possibility to launch collective attacks. Indeed, each character can learn up to eight techniques that can be combined with those of other characters. The potential combinations are many and give place to impressive scenes. Once the battle is over, you gain experience points to level up but also the Tech points needed to learn new techniques. Each character can manipulate only one element (fire, water, electricity,...) that only them can master reinforcing the strategic aspect of the battle and push the player to use all characters.
The exploration is also a key element of the game as you travel the same world but through the different time period therefore seeing the landscape shaped by the multiple era you are in. The player can move on the world map and discover many different areas. Besides the cities and prairies,various open and closed dungeons can be found with a plethora of foes and bosses to overcome. Many secrets are hidden all over the world with often time travel needed to solve the mysteries making the exploration more fun.
From the very first opening screen, Chrono Trigger pushes the limits of the genre and of the Super Nintendo. Whether it being the graphics, sounds, the innovative gameplay or the immersive story all was put together to the near perfection conveying the team's intention to create a masterpiece that would still resonate through time. The game runs without real dead time, nor any significant interruption to the scenario. The game delivers a grandiose tale that not only gamers but also any person should experience first hand. A true masterpiece that undoubtedly is a classic of the video games history.
