When Chrono Trigger was released for the Super Nintendo 13 years ago it was truly a revolutionary game. It combined the talents of the then sovereign Developers Square and Enix to create one of the most memorable RPGs of the time. For those not yet initiated into the “Cult of Chrono,” it may seem odd to have such deep reverence, which could easily be mistaken for the blatant rants of a fanboy, for a game that seems generic at first glance; However even after a decade, Chrono still remains the benchmark for RPGs and games as a whole.

With the design team including Hironobu Sakaguchi, Akira Toriyama, Masato Kato, Yuuji Horii, Nobuo Uematsu, and Yasunori Mitsuda, Chrono Trigger has yet to be matched in the unprecedented amount of raw talent gathered for one title. Instead of becoming a product that could have become muddled by a surplus of ideas, a unique harmony seems imbued throughout by taking the best of what each mind had to offer. The battle system remains top notch, and the sprites and animation truly show how far RPGs evolved in the short time since the release of the original Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games.

After not having played Chrono Trigger in the past five years, it still does a lot of things that some modern RPGs fail to. The marquee of a good RPG is the battle system, which in Chrono’s case, is so well executed it makes certain recent releases seem almost archaic in comparison. By making battles fast, while retaining enough complexity, grinding ceases to be part of the vocabulary and, unlike even some of it’s contemporaries random encounters are left in the dust.

No faults can be found when looking at the DS version from a purely technical perspective. The sound and music retain their fidelity, and gone are the frustrating load times from the Playstation re-release. The well animated (yet a tad dated) cut-scenes from that Playstation version are also used. While the new Pokemon style Arena mode is a tad shallow, the new sound and art galleries are welcome additions to the package. With a new boss fight and accompanying ending, the DS version is the definitive version to own. The recent updating of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games for the Nintendo DS may make a straight port seem like a bit of a letdown, however I am unsure 3D character designs and environments would have been the correct move, as the original sprites and animations provide a large share of the title’s charm.

While the praise I have targeted towards Chrono Trigger may seem a bit over the top, I promise it is deserved. I urge you to pick up this release if you haven’t yet experienced all that Chrono Trigger has to offer. While some of the minutia might be lost on new players, it is a purchase that I guarantee will not leave you with a sense of remorse.

-Eric Wall

Tags: Chrono Trigger, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, RPG, Square-Enix

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