Game of the Month #42 (July2018) - Chrono Trigger

Experience a non-linear game system, which allows players to change chronological game events to produce multiple ending scenarios for endless hours of gameplay. Revolutionary battle system that seamlessly integrates battles into gameplay and allows players to avoid most enemy encounters. Unique character abilities give players the option to perform visually impressive combination techniques, adding depth to battle strategies.

I'm already playing it so what the hell haha

does this limit us to only the SNES or PSX versions? or can we also do the DS version?

As far as I can tell they're all basically the exact same game so you can choose whichever version you want.

Time to crack open Final Fantasy Chronicles and pop in the Chrono Trigger disc.

This might be the excuse I needed to order the DS version of the game. My sister took mine, so I've been meaning to replace it for years.

I will keep it short. It's one of the best games I have played

It's the first time I actually want to play the 'Game of the Month'. I own the PS1 port of that game.

I usually play one game at a time and I'm already in the middle of Phantom Hourglass and Dragon Warrior II. So starting a third game doesn't feel optimal for me. Also, the fact that I can usually only spare 3-4 hours of game time per week (more like 1-2 hours during the summer) means I'll probably take eight to twelve weeks to complete Chrono Trigger.

It's very tempting since I've been meaning to play through that game for a long time... but for all the reasons above, I think I'll pass... sadly !

Happy CT everyone ! :D

It's the first time I actually want to play the 'Game of the Month'. I own the PS1 port of that game.

I usually play one game at a time and I'm already in the middle of Phantom Hourglass and Dragon Warrior II. So starting a third game doesn't feel optimal for me. Also, the fact that I can usually only spare 3-4 hours of game time per week (more like 1-2 hours during the summer) means I'll probably take eight to twelve weeks to complete Chrono Trigger.

It's very tempting since I've been meaning to play through that game for a long time... but for all the reasons above, I think I'll pass... sadly !

Happy CT everyone ! :D

Don't worry about the "Month" part of "Game of the Month". The series was started to give people a reason to play or replay games others feel should be experienced. If someone sees this thread a year from now, thinks to themselves "I should give that a shot!" and even better comes back to share what they felt about, then the game of the month is doing it's job. So don't feel too much time pressure about it, it's a nice way to keep people on the same page but it's not a strict rule :D

Isn't the PSX version considered the worst version? Other than the added anime cutscenes, the load times were atrocious....or maybe that was for the ports of the Final Fantasy games more specifically

I've already played this on the DS, it met all my expectations regarding the story, and the combat system was the most fun I've had with a JRPG so far. Maybe it's not the "one JRPG to bind them all" but it's a really great game overall.

Don't worry about the "Month" part of "Game of the Month". The series was started to give people a reason to play or replay games others feel should be experienced. If someone sees this thread a year from now, thinks to themselves "I should give that a shot!" and even better comes back to share what they felt about, then the game of the month is doing it's job. So don't feel too much time pressure about it, it's a nice way to keep people on the same page but it's not a strict rule :D

Amen!!

The DS version is generally considered to be *the* way to play Chrono Trigger. I played the game a few years back and it definitely lives up to all of the hype: beautiful art, a well-told story, believably real characters (even the frog-man!), and one of the best difficulty curves in an RPG to date, with plenty of room for experimentation and discovery in the battle system.

I won't be playing until later this month when I can retrieve my copy of the game, but anyone who hasn't already should absolutely try to track down the DS (or failing that, literally any other) version and play this masterpiece.

OK, so I picked the PS1 version and it's asking me which battle system I'd like. Should I pick the one with the pauses or without them? I've only played like 1 JRPG in my life mind you.

OK, so I picked the PS1 version and it's asking me which battle system I'd like. Should I pick the one with the pauses or without them? I've only played like 1 JRPG in my life mind you.

With pauses will give you more time to plan things out, at the cost of some tension and excitement in battle. I chose to play without pauses, but it's just a personal preference so pick how you feel and don't worry about it too much.

OK, so I picked the PS1 version and it's asking me which battle system I'd like. Should I pick the one with the pauses or without them? I've only played like 1 JRPG in my life mind you.

Pauses. But just remember that what it means by pauses is that it will only pause in the item menu or in the, like, special attack menu. It won't pause during battle, which messes me up. I always just assume that it's paused and set it down to go get a drink or something and come back to a dead Chrono.

But in any case. I finally got my DS copy of the game halfway through the month, so I'm able to start my replay of it! I'm not even out of the millenium fair because my life is sad and busy. I'm looking forward to getting farther.

Just finished the DS version of CT, all in all I had some fun with it. I had high expectations going into it, seeing as though people hail it as one of the best JRPG's both on the SNES and in general - but being done with it for good, I can agree with that 71 Metascore.

The game's combat system is alright, I played it without pauses as that's how the game was originally meant to be played, I believe. That led to constant barrages of attacks without letting my party get any commands in. I could be fighting a boss and he could wipe out my level 80 party in 5 attacks.

Speaking of attacks, the move that halves your HP is so annoying, every time that happened during a fight I wanted to quit.

Overall, the games story was alright, the combat was alright, everything was alright. I didnt really see anything that stood out to me, it was jut average all the way through.

7/10

Just finished the DS version of CT, all in all I had some fun with it. I had high expectations going into it, seeing as though people hail it as one of the best JRPG's both on the SNES and in general - but being done with it for good, I can agree with that 71 Metascore.

The game's combat system is alright, I played it without pauses as that's how the game was originally meant to be played, I believe. That led to constant barrages of attacks without letting my party get any commands in. I could be fighting a boss and he could wipe out my level 80 party in 5 attacks.

Speaking of attacks, the move that halves your HP is so annoying, every time that happened during a fight I wanted to quit.

Overall, the games story was alright, the combat was alright, everything was alright. I didnt really see anything that stood out to me, it was jut average all the way through.

7/10

https://www.metacritic.com/game/ds/chrono-trigger

92 Metascore. Don't you dare disrespect my son again

https://www.metacritic.com/game/ds/chrono-trigger

92 Metascore. Don't you dare disrespect my son again

my bad, the iOS port is 71. my fault for not looking it up in detail ;P

Just finished my replay. I still hold the opinion that it's a great game. I will give you that it's not the best game of all time. The story kinda peters in and out at times, the bosses can feel kinda annoying if you don't know what your doing, and the combat can differently be cheep. However, it carries it's age very well, which is something that some of Square's games can't say. The game is easy enough for someone to pick up and play for their first JRPG, the characters feel fleshed out (IMO), and I actually had fun enough to replay it to get one of the eleven other endings the game has.

BTW, the IOS and by extension the Steam versions are the worst versions. I haven't played them myself (my version was the PS), but from what I've heard, they have poor sound, almost no graphical options, bad font for the text, and a very awkward way to control the game.

Just a fun fact for you all: the DS version is actually slightly easier than SNES, because you can buy elixirs. On SNES I had 18 elixirs and 8 Megalixirs going into the final boss, whereas on DS I had 40 and 11. I'm guessing it's only normal elixirs you can buy though, I can't remember.

Also, the good thing about the DS version is that it makes menus much cleaner and easier to navigate and displays information very clearly. I also really liked how you can clean up the battle screen almost entirely by moving information to bottom screen and having only HP/MP and ATB bars show up on the upper screen. On the other hand, the text on DS is super small. I know the whole device has small screens, but that can't be the only reason. For one, I've seen bigger text on other DS games and second, each textbox in Chrono Trigger has room for an extra line of text, which I think is never used.

Also, the bonus dungeon you get on DS is very lazily put together and I never bothered to finish it. All you did was run back and forth the dungeon to talk to NPCs on both ends and having to fight everything on every single trip.

Still, I can personally recommend both SNES and DS versions. All I can say about the Steam version (from what I've seen from pictures) is that it looks terrible and Square doesn't seem to care either. It has an ugly filter over everything and transparency on objects doesn't seem to work, so you're left with black boxes behind objects that really shouldn't have them.

For the Steam version, after so many bad reviews and complaints, Square decided to fix it. They announced 3-4 patches that would come in the next weeks/months. Some of it is already applied and the Steam version is no longer "that bad".

See this article for more info : https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/3/17192056/chrono-trigger-pc-port-graphics-fix-patch-steam

And this one too : https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/10/17219898/chrono-trigger-steam-patch-released-old-graphics-ui

For the Steam version, after so many bad reviews and complaints, Square decided to fix it. They announced 3-4 patches that would come in the next weeks/months. Some of it is already applied and the Steam version is no longer "that bad".

See this article for more info : https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/3/17192056/chrono-trigger-pc-port-graphics-fix-patch-steam

And this one too : https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/10/17219898/chrono-trigger-steam-patch-released-old-graphics-ui

Well what do you know. And they didn't even use Arial as a font.

In all seriousness though, hopefully this means Square starts to actually put effort into their games again, especially ports like these. Though I very much doubt it, unless they receive lots of hate like Chrono Trigger. Maybe it's silly for me to say this, since I keep buying their games anyway (although I've had many a disappointment too), but I lost faith in them years ago. I fear for the day when they decide to ruin my favorite RPG series, Dragon Quest.

Square Enix is like a rollercoaster of emotions.

You lose faith for a little while, and then they do something like Octopath Traveler, or bring Dragon Quest back to the consoles and all is right in the world again, until it isnt

Dragon Quest 11 looks gud, I don't have a Switch so I cant play Octopath Traveler - but it does just feel like Live A Live with a stupid amount of DoF

Isn't the PSX version considered the worst version? Other than the added anime cutscenes, the load times were atrocious....or maybe that was for the ports of the Final Fantasy games more specifically

I am about 3 to 4 hours into the PSX port right now, and I do have to say that the load times going into battles and entering the menu screen are a tad bit slow, but besides that the game runs really smooth.

I am about 3 to 4 hours into the PSX port right now, and I do have to say that the load times going into battles and entering the menu screen are a tad bit slow, but besides that the game runs really smooth.

good luck! hopefully you get'er done before the August Game of the Month!

also my team was Crono Frog and Robo-guy