So, Final Fantasy VI was a good RPG on the SNES. I hear a lot of people say that it is the best. But that can’t be true. Undertale was based on Earthbound, not Final Fantasy VI, so how can it possibly be the best when the best game ever wasn’t inspired by it. Okay, but seriously, this joke is terrible. Here’s Chrono Trigger.
Chrono Trigger takes place in the modern day… of 1999, following Crono, a bright eyed little Akira Toriyama drawn boy who, along with his friends, are send through an adventure across time to stop a space parasite known as Lavos from destroying the world in the future. Their adventure takes them to all sorts of places, from the post-apocalyptic earth in the future, to the Dark Ages of 1000 to the Prehistoric Period with dinosaurs and cave people. The game also introduces you to a ton of fun characters, like Crono’s friends Marle and Lucca, to the knight turned frog humanoid, Frog, the robot in the future creatively named Robo, and the strong cave woman, AKA best girl, Ayla. There is also a secret party member, but spoilers to that for a twenty year old game. The game is a ton of fun to play, from the creative battle system to the world exploring. Chrono Trigger was the first (According to my knowledge) to do something I like in RPGs. Have enemies on screen so you can attack them or avoid them. It’s kind of the worst thing about the Final Fantasy franchise. When you are in a battle, each party member is real useful. You got Robo and Ayla’s insane strength, Frog’s ability to cast water spells that help a long, and Marle’s real useful healing magics. And if you have two party members at once, you can perform duo moves, where both party members attack at once for a special move. And if you are real crazy, all three party members can attack and get even more damage in on enemies. The story is also really good and is filled with a lot of moments I love. From Robo wanting to help a forest by waiting in the past and then growing a forest for the present time, to Frog battling his foe Mundas at the top of his castle, to Marle coming to terms with her father and his actions, Lucca dreaming about her past and how she has to deal with the grief over her mother’s injury, and my favorite, where you can go and save Chrono by going through time (Light spoilers). You can choose not to help him, and just beat the game without him, but, really, you should probably go and help him, cause he’s a real good party member to have. And Lavos, what a villain. For just being a giant parasite, he is a damn threatening enemy, let me tell you. From his music to his actions, and despite just being a bunch of static noise coming from the SNES, the scream he makes is terrifying. I love it
Chrono Trigger is an all time classic when it comes to RPGs on the SNES. It’s hard for me to compare anything else to it. I really wish they’d make a sequel to it, but then I remember that they made Chrono Cross, and……… yeah, no thanks. And do I really want Square Enix of all people to make more games of this classic? Not really. Let’s just be thankful with what we have and remember how great Chrono Trigger really is.
