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Chrono Trigger was released 30 years ago today.

yogaflame

Member
The goat. If theres any game that deserves a remake, this is number one in the list for me. This game is a legend , an OG. Best Rpg element and great story and excellent design and music.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Aging Season 9 GIF by Friends
 

ZehDon

Member
Oh boy, how am I, again?

Anyway - legitimately one of my favourite games of all time. The Nintendo DS version is my personal favourite. I really should get this for my Steam Deck... Although the game isn't as deep character wise as, say, Final Fantasy VI, the high-concept and incredible presentation really struck a chord with me. 30 years later, the game remains an absolute banger.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Although the game isn't as deep character wise as, say, Final Fantasy VI

Not sure about that. Nearly every character in CT is goated as they're so well balanced and have a rich background, something lacking in modern RPGs where you end up hating half the cast.

The only characters I didn't have much use for in CT was Ayla who couldn't use magic and I don't think they gave her enough physical strength to compensate.

The idea of the triple techs was goated albeit in retrospect probably not super well thought out in terms of MP to damage ratio combined with the lost turn.
 

ZehDon

Member
Not sure about that. Nearly every character in CT is goated as they're so well balanced and have a rich background, something lacking in modern RPGs where you end up hating half the cast...
Oh, I love the cast, but the time and investment we spend with each of them is something I would describe as "efficient". With, say, FFVII, I feel a principle character like Barrett is given room to be understood more than, say, Frog. That doesn't mean I enjoy Frog any less than Barrett.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Oh, I love the cast, but the time and investment we spend with each of them is something I would describe as "efficient". With, say, FFVII, I feel a principle character like Barrett is given room to be understood more than, say, Frog. That doesn't mean I enjoy Frog any less than Barrett.

I don't know about that. I think Frog gets just as much focus if not more so than Barrett. Barrett's whole focus comes from his backstory with Dyne which is really limited to one segment. We see Frog's story through the Leene segment and multiple segments including the hero medal, the masamune, and his relationship with Magus and his cronies.

Frog is also a much more balanced character with his offensive abilities and his healing abilities, whereas Barrett is just a generic character in your party due to the Materia system. In fact towards the end of the game there really isn't much use in using a lot of characters in FF7 a major failing of the lack of a job system. Each character is really just a vessel for upgrading Materia without many individual strengths or weaknesses other than being slightly better or worse in ranged fighting.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
A flawless game in my eyes. Zero bloat, wonderful music, great pacing and it definitely holds up today. I could go on and on really with the positives.

I've yet to see a game handle side quests as well as Chrono Trigger. Pretty much each one was goated, especially if they revolved around time travel. It was epic leaving Robo in the past to tend the land and then finding him in a shrine in the present having built out a forest.

I do wish they didn't nerf Magus as much, but I understood why they did and he is still goated.
 
This is the staple for me. I can't stop comparing other JRPGS to Chrono Trigger.

Can anyone recommend other JRPGS (16 to 32bit) that are as good or surpass the quality of Chrono Trigger? I'm talking about addicting and fun battle system, unique characters and unforgettable music.

So far I only beat Super Mario RPG which was a masterpiece and currently playing Earthbound. Not a fan of it's battle system at all but the quirky characters and World is keeping my attention.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
This is the staple for me. I can't stop comparing other JRPGS to Chrono Trigger.

Can anyone recommend other JRPGS (16 to 32bit) that are as good or surpass the quality of Chrono Trigger? I'm talking about addicting and fun battle system, unique characters and unforgettable music.

So far I only beat Super Mario RPG which was a masterpiece and currently playing Earthbound. Not a fan of it's battle system at all but the quirky characters and World is keeping my attention.

Nothing surpasses the quality of Chrono Trigger, but the following games I've always felt were quite amazing

FF6
Seiken Densetsu 3
Star Ocean
Star Ocean 2
Tales of Phantasia
Terranigma
Illusion of Gaia
Valykrie Profile
Arc the Lad 1+2

And I have to revisit Xenogears, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy Tactics

It's not 32 bit but Persona 5 is probably a top 5 RPG for me.

I can't wait to get into Suikoden and Lunar Silverstar Saga
 

poodaddy

Member
Can anyone recommend other JRPGS (16 to 32bit) that are as good or surpass the quality of Chrono Trigger?
No, because they don't exist. Chrono Trigger is the best JRPG of all time, by a very, very far measure, and it's not even remotely close.

God I adore this game. Finally got my wife to play through it recently, took me fifteen years of marriage to get her to do it, but she did, and she's obsessed now. She missed the SNES era, and she finished Chrono Trigger and said she wishes she got to experience that era just because of Chrono Trigger, and now it's her favorite RPG of all time and she's buying tons of Chrono Trigger stickers and art and shit lol. Just warmed my heart to see someone kind of removed from the SNES era falling so head over heels in love with it. It really is just a perfect game.
 
I don’t do turn based RPGs but this is the one I retry every now and then and have spent the most time with. Now it’s on my mini snes.
 
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poodaddy

Member
Nothing surpasses the quality of Chrono Trigger, but the following games I've always felt were quite amazing

FF6
Seiken Densetsu 3
Star Ocean
Star Ocean 2
Tales of Phantasia
Terranigma
Illusion of Gaia
Valykrie Profile
Arc the Lad 1+2

And I have to revisit Xenogears, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy Tactics

It's not 32 bit but Persona 5 is probably a top 5 RPG for me.

I can't wait to get into Suikoden and Lunar Silverstar Saga
Dude we have like 90% the exact same taste in JRPG 'S lol. Only difference is I didn't like Persona 5 much, but other than that we're identical. Cheers.
 

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
I didn’t realize the anniversary was now because I started a playthrough for my second time since my original session back on PS1. Beat it in that dual disc combo that came with FF4.

It’s incredible to me that to this DAY this game is still way ahead of its time and impressive. Like the court room scene mural and courtroom animations? The fact one of the yellow turtle men in the past rides a hand rail down to fight me? The amount of animations is insane…

This game is an eternal testament to what is possible with talent and vision.

Square severely underestimates how much a 2D HD remake of this is needed and would sell gang busters.

I plan to replay this, then Chrono Cross this year, then finish with xenogears if I can get Xeno to run on my steam deck nicely.
 

Trunx81

Member
Oh boy, I feel like I’ve been left in the past to build up a forest and you just resurrected me.

One of the most fun games of all times. Played it back in the 90s on Zsnes. Transparency was totally broken in the later game, but you could deactivate the clouds. Trained Chrono up to Level 99 and then went through multiple endings. That was groundbreaking back in the day
 

zokie

Member

Sale happening now on ios and andriod platforms
Steam sale on March 14th JST with 75% off


" The first part of the 30th anniversary project, "CHRONO TRIGGER Music Special Live Stream" will be streamed The exquisite melodies that adorn the masterpieces will be streamed live on YouTube! Enjoy the masterpieces together in a live stream Scheduled to run from 12:00 on Friday, March 14th to around 21:00 on Saturday, March 15th " - translated by A.I



Mr Sakaguchi celebrates CT 30th anniversary
 
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Ozzie666

Member
Just posting to tip my hat for Chrono Trigger. One of the greatest RPG's of all time. Holds up remarkably well even today.

What an era that was for Square, even their shit tier games most developers could only dream of.

I'm due to play Chrono again, I think I'll add it to the list after Lunar and Suiokoden.
 
So far I only beat Super Mario RPG which was a masterpiece and currently playing Earthbound. Not a fan of it's battle system at all but the quirky characters and World is keeping my attention.
Super Mario RPG is a really bad game. Shallow and lacking in any sort of depth and short as fuck. EarthBound is also a mediocre experience that the internet glazes for some reason.

Play Star Ocean 2 remake. That's actually good.

Also wouldn't even put Chrono Trigger in my top 10 JRPGs. lol. I like Chrono Cross way more. I'm glad it exists otherwise we wouldn't have gotten Cross.
 
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Shifty1897

Member
Masterpiece... Although there is the Magus Meme. A powerful character that when defeated, joins your team and is one of the weak ones.
As a kid, I rarely let him join my party because it felt wrong to deny justice to Glenn and Cyrus.

But Dark Eternal is pretty sick:


It's an amazing game gate kept from modern platforms by Square Enix. They know a pixel remaster would sell millions of copies. They know an HD-2D remake would sell millions of copies. They know a full 3D remake would sell millions of copies. They're just waiting for the right time for them.
 
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Shifty1897

Member
This is the staple for me. I can't stop comparing other JRPGS to Chrono Trigger.

Can anyone recommend other JRPGS (16 to 32bit) that are as good or surpass the quality of Chrono Trigger? I'm talking about addicting and fun battle system, unique characters and unforgettable music.
Nothing beats Chrono Trigger, but there are some games that are very good and scratch the same itch:

For the SNES/Super Famicom
- Final Fantasy VI, playable on modern hardware as a Pixel Remaster. Incredible characters, incredible music.
- Seiken Densetsu 3, this is one is super underrated because it never released outside of Japan back in the day. It's now playable on modern hardware as Trials of Mana in the Collection of Mana. There's a remake too but I think the original game as included in the Collection of Mana is better. Good characters, great music.

On Modern Hardware:
- Chained Echoes, this one is so underrated and has strong Chrono Trigger vibes. Great pacing, story, combat, music, and pixel art graphics.
- Sea of Stars, the combat is very clearly a marriage of Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG, the writing and pacing are different but it's still a good time. The music sucks though.

The one you didn't expect:
- Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, the sense of wonder and exploration you get from every new area is the same as you get from Chrono Trigger. Not to mention the plot and writing are very high quality, much like Chrono Trigger I was always so pumped when I hit the next cutscene, I couldn't wait to know what happened next. There isn't time traveling but the main character can get glimpses of the future and change fate throughout the plot. Awesome characters and music. The biggest difference here is the battle system, which is like an offline MMO.
 

HRK69

Gold Member
Is it just nostalgia, or is this game truly that good?

So many people talk about it, there has to be something special about it. I need to give it a chance sometime
 
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NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
This game, man.

I first played CT six years after release, on the PS1. Not even the horrible CD loading times could diminish the experience. CT was and still is a masterclass in character introduction, development and use. The way each character is introduced without much ado, in the most natural way. How each and every character takes part in dialogues and has something unique and significant to say. That party is just perfection.

The way the game is pretty much bloat-free. No pixel hunting on the world map. No sprawling dungeons with a myriad side corridors and dead ends. No endless lists of weapons, armor and gadgets. No cryptic sidequests, you don’t have to wander for hours to find where you’re supposed to go.

The epic! The feels! Even with its old graphics (but some of the absolute best on the SNES), you can just feel the gravitas of the situations and the feelings of the characters. The bad guys are awesome.

And then, well, there’s that music. Possibly the best intro and ending themes of any game, ever. Frog’s Theme still hits hard, as do Schala’s Theme and Corridors of Time.

I haven’t played CT in a long time, but I have so many good memories of it. Its impact is probably lost on newer generations, and the gameplay is nothing special nowadays. But playing this game is just a joyful experience. It also very much respects your time, something I wouldn’t say about FF6 or really most other games in the genre, then and now.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Is it just nostalgia, or is this game truly that good?

So many people talk about it, there has to be something special about it. I need to give it a chance sometime
Hands down one of the most memorable 2D JRPGs. From music, character design, and story.

I owned a SNES and I didn’t get to play it until Final Fantasy Chronicles came out with those super long menu loading screens. The best port would be the NDS version. I had Chrono Cross when that came out. It wasn’t Trigger. It had good music and art. It definitely didn’t do what CT did.

Buy it on Steam HRK69 HRK69
 
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Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
Is it just nostalgia, or is this game truly that good?

So many people talk about it, there has to be something special about it. I need to give it a chance sometime
Nostalgia has a role but it's a very good game. You have to understand it was one of the first games to pioneer many things taken for granted today. 1) Multiple endings 2) New game+ 3) Battles without a screen transition. It also has a S tier OST, and it's secret weapon is correct pacing. It's a JRPG that's actually only about 30 hours, without filler, something that almost doesn't exist.

Sea of Stars emulates a lot of these things today and it's also fantastic so its not all nostalgia.
 
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