Chrono Trigger Comments by Simon Parkin

A definite must have then. Not that I had any doubts. I guess it really pays off now having never really played this.

Hm... I probably owe it to myself as a gamer to finally play this... Maybe I can convince my brother to get it. ;)

I'm absolutely all over this, can't wait

Never played it. Might get this after I've finished M&L Superstar Saga 1 & 2 first.

I'll have some of that.

While the review does a good job of spelling out how good Chrono Trigger and that it's design still holds up today, I don't think its quite accurate to say Chrono Trigger is better designed than modern RPGs. A lot of people do like it as the best RPG ever, but you know, keep your expectations in check and all. Better to keep them realistic and enjoy Chrono Trigger than going in with some idea that it beats all modern RPGs to shame, which really isn't the case.

I played this for the first time 2 years ago I think (emulated). At the time I was in awe thinking: how can a 10 year old game still be SO GOOD? Best JRPG ever, easily, and one of the best games ever.

Can't wait to play this again, brilliant game an absolute RPG masterclass!

A good introduction to jrpg's ?
It is a genre I would like to get into and the ds seems a great starting point. So what do you guys think please.

Gone are the random battles, the tedious level grinding and the drawn-out battle animations.

Heavens. I might actually give this a try, then.

I love this game so much im tempted to go out and buy a DS for it :P

Easily in my top 5 games of all time (no pun intended).

This is one of the few jRPGs with a battle system that does not cause me to shudder in revulsion when I think about it. It's quick, fun and has enough depth to remain interesting. The rest of the game is equally wonderful, especially the music.

A good introduction to jrpg's ?
It is a genre I would like to get into and the ds seems a great starting point. So what do you guys think please.

It's an excellent introduction. Easy to understand and play, a nice balanced difficulty level and of top notch quality through and through. If you play this, you should be able to jump into other games quite easily as well. Chrono Trigger would teach you a lot about how the genre generally works.

I absolutely agree that this is the pinnacle of JRPG design so far. Most modern ones don't even hold a candle. I'm mystified as to why other JRPGs didn't copy the example of Chrono Trigger like hell.

Duffman - this was the first JRPG I was able to really enjoy. I say give it a shot, but you may be disappointed if you find that no other JRPG you play afterwards can quite match up to it.

Thank you chaps. I will buy it.

I only want to say that I really liked the last paragraph.

(yay! news spamming!)

Loved Chrono Cross but didn't finish it, I played the original too but only as part of the US Final Fantasy chronicles and as such, I didn't finish it either. I may have to get this down the line.

Will this be released over here ?

I know it's probably region free and I could order from abroad. However once I decide I'm going to purchase something I'm not particularly good at waiting to get it, especially if delivery is further away than tomorrow, so would like the opportunity to pick it from a shop if I want.

can i install the (original snes) rom on my wii?

Dusting my DS off for this =D

So Frog just speaks like a normal person? Pfft, how boring.

Can someone who hasn't played it before post a paragraph please? I don't want to get it and find out I hate it and that the reviewer is a bit of rose tinted spec action overload.

Shame they got rid of Frog's dialect, that was quite charming. Played this via emulation years ago but never actually beat the game, so quite fancy importing this and having something to play on the train to the parents for Xmas. Given that there's no multiplayer functionality of any kind I don't see much point waiting for the EU release.

A well-deserved score; I am by no stretch of the imagination a JRPG fan, but I consider this hands-down one of the best games ever made, for all the reasons highlighted in this review. I am absolutely picking this one up...it'll be nice to own the game legally for the first time ever. :)

This might not be the best introduction to jrpgs because it will spoil other games for you. After Chrono Trigger, it's all downhill!!

Beautiful text!

And on a related note: it's a shame how videogame journalism is still in such a state that this here site is the only online place were you can find eloquent, thorough articles.

There's no release date for Europe yet, so importing is your best bet.

I know there are a few of us that think Chrono Cross is better than Trigger. Reveal youselfs :)
They are both 10s in my book, but if I had to choose one, id choose Cross (maybe becouse i played that first, i dunno)

Other games on my best jrpg of all time would include
Xenogears
Vagrant Story
Suikoden 2

I cant really agree with that Trigger was/is the pinnacle of jrpg's. Id say the PSX and its era is still the best the genre has to offer, with SuperFamicon on second place.

When is this coming out in the UK??

DB2k - I can't say I'm new to it, but put it this way:

When I played this game it had already been out for years, I was playing it on an emulator because it had never even come out in this country. I wasn't a JRPG fan in particular, but I'd heard this was a good one. It's still one of my favourite games ever. I'm not getting this game because of nostalgia - I missed it first time round and my first play through was only a few years ago. I'm getting it because I loved it when I played it and I want to finally own a legit copy.

@DB2k:

I understand your worries, dude. But you could, sort of, compare this to A Link to the Past and Super Mario World.
Would you still appreciate those 2 games if you had never played them before? Hands down, Yes would be most ppls answer.

If you have any interest in rpgs, you wont be dissapointed.

I never got to buy this on import all those years ago, and an original SNES cart is still expensive on eBay. I 'demoed' (*ahem*) this game the other day, and within minutes I'd ordered it from my trusty importer; as I can't wait for the 2009 UK release. I got stung in the '90s for the non-existant UK release, so was taking no chances of it happening again.

One in the eye for those who think 'dodgy carts' are just for pirates. 'Demoing' led to a hard-cash sale Mr Nintendo! The DS is the only platform that doesn't offer demo downloads, and that has always annoyed me.

It truly is an awesome game.

The DS does offer demo downloads via the Nintendo Channel on the Wii.

I know the article says you can go to the end boss when ever you want to, but can someone give me an indication of how long this game would take to complete if playing it properly? I'm not sure i have enough time to invest in something that takes a long long time to finish.

Sounds great! What about a PSP version, Squenix?

like a suprising number of people here i never had the chance to play this beauty, so roll on euro release.
hopefully wont have to wait another 15 years...

@Krelle

Me! Well, not better, I just consider Cross and Trigger equal. Cross's story has a few points that are tragic in a way Trigger never is, but the ending is still a little muddled, so I consider them equal. As for games as good or better than Trigger, my list would be:

Shin Megami Tensei III
Seiken Densetsu 3
Dragon Quest VI
Moon
Valkyrie Profile
Vagrant Story
Persona 2: Innocent Sin/Eternal Punishment
Dark Chronicle
Persona 4
Front Mission 5
Phantom Brave
Suikoden III
The Legend of Heroes VI Trilogy
Shiren the Wanderer
Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song
Venus & Braves

A small list, but Chrono Trigger IS that good.

The game opens in 1000 AD, introducing players to Crono (so named because removing the 'h' freed up much-needed cartridge space in the SNES original, although you can now rename him).

That's a joke right?

SpaceDan: No that's true. Shortening the English names of characters and items was common practioce for translators in the 8- and 16-bit era as cart space was at such a premium.

Japanese kanji allow much longer sentences to be expressed in far fewer characters than English, hence the discrepency between the two language versions.

Obviously with this DS version, cart space is no longer an issue but, as default, Square decided to keep the name as Crono, for old time's sake I presume.

Err, I don't think the length of Japanese is the difference in programming (otherwise English to Japanese translated books wouldn't 9 times out of 10 have more pages than the originals, even with increased page density). I always thought that the way old games were programmed was that programmers could simply stick each of the symbols in code and then call them up for text boxes, but that such was somehow not as feasible for English letters and that was the reason.

Does it have turn-based battles?

Does it have random battles?

If I get a no to both these I shall order it now.

kind of

and no. You see the monsters roaming around in the game world.

@Zomoniac:

From Wikipedia:
Chrono Trigger's gameplay deviates from that of traditional RPGs in that, rather than appearing in random encounters, many enemies are openly visible on field maps or lie in wait to ambush the party. Contact with enemies on a field map initiates a battle that occurs directly on the map rather than on a separate battle screen.[7] This concept had previously been featured in such titles as Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy Adventure, but was uncommon at the time for RPGs outside the action RPG genre.

...

Chrono Trigger uses an Active Time Battle system—a staple of Square's Final Fantasy game series designed by Hiroyuki Itō for Final Fantasy IV—named "Active Time Battle 2.0".[8] Each character can take action in battle once a personal timer dependent on the character's speed statistic counts to zero. Magic and special physical techniques are handled through a system called "Techs". Techs deplete a character's magic points (a numerical meter like hit points), and often have special areas of effect; some spells damage huddled monsters, while others can harm enemies spread in a line. Enemies often change positions during battle, creating opportunities for tactical Tech use. A unique feature of Chrono Trigger's Tech system is that numerous cooperative techniques exist.[7] Each character receives eight personal Techs which can be used in conjunction with others' to create Double and Triple Techs for greater effect. For instance, Crono's sword-spinning Cyclone Tech can be combined with Lucca's Flame Toss to create Fire Whirl. When characters with compatible Techs have enough magic points available to perform their techniques, the game automatically displays the combo as an option.

Never got the chance to play this on the SNES as I got a playstation instead!
So I've decided to import it! Yay

Should fill the VOID that Secret of Mana VC has left.

You got a PSX instead of the Snes? Wow.

I bought DVD instead of VCR, myself.

I have a SNES but bought the Playstation in 1995!

So where is the best place to import this from then? I promised myself I wouldn't be buying any more games this year, but I'm not sure I can wait...

Just ordered it. Dont feel like waiting till "Early 2009"

Completed this on an emulator a couple of years back. I'd probably have given it an 8 out of 10 as I thought it lacked any real emotional impact. Still, the fact I did complete it should be recommendation enough.