Twenty Years Later, I Finished Chrono Trigger

There is a long list of games I would like to get to eventually, many of them being JRPGs. I would love to further explore series like Dragon Quest, Suikoden, and Shin Megami Tensei but finding the time for these massive games is hard, especially when I’m actively reviewing new releases. I was recently given an opportunity to contribute to another project which led me to warrant playing through Chrono Trigger, a game hailed as one of the best ever crafted. Thankfully, Chrono Trigger is a concise adventure that can be finished in about twenty hours so it fit into my tight schedule well enough. It’s a game that I have started on multiple occasions but never saw it through, getting stuck when facing down Lavos; albeit I was attempting this climactic encounter way earlier than expected. Almost twenty years later, that monstrous screech echoing in my subconscious, I faced the beast once more and finally prevented the cataclysm. 

I first encountered Chrono Trigger as a teenager, where a friend of mine introduced me to the PSOne version. We had been combing through a dusty book of RPG discs, popping them in to see a few opening cutscenes, maybe summon a few monsters, but the pixel art and unique gameplay of Chrono Trigger enchanted me so we decided to finally beat it one summer week. Every waking moment was dedicated to Chrono’s adventure, Frog’s tragedy, and the impending force of Magus and beyond, that otherworldly creature known as Lavos. 

Lavos may be one of my favorite monsters in video games. Looking more like a giant crustacean with the beak of a squid than anything else, this creature sports an iconic cry almost like that of Godzilla or many other Toho kaiju. Throughout the time-hopping endeavor, there was always the threat of Lavos hanging over everything. Much like how the monster was a parasite lodged deep in the muscles of the planet, Lavos infected my mind. 

After seeing my party of heroes ripped apart time and time again by the seemingly unstoppable force of this alien beast, I think I was genuinely afraid of Lavos. 

Lavos bursting from the ground and destroying the planet is nightmare-inducing.

I later realized that I was attempting the fight too early in the story where I was instead supposed to take down Magus and eventually discover the floating Kingdom of Zeal. Some of the best parts of the story I missed out on and I admit that I dropped the game there, defeated, bested by a laser-shooting turtle. Later attempts would leave me distracted by the time I restored the Masamune sword or I would only play the beginning chapter. I am deeply familiar with the first couple hours of Chrono Trigger; I’ve had similar experiences with Final Fantasy VI, another masterpiece RPG. 

Unlike FFVI, I had the time and the reason to come back and finish what I started. With newfound knowledge of games and story-telling, I poured through Chrono Trigger and every single detail I could find. This time I played the Wii port of the game on a Wii U, using the SNES Classic controller. It was a roundabout way to play but the SNES Classic controller feels authentic and I felt like I was playing in a traditional enough fashion. 

About two weeks of playing in the evenings is what it took to finish it but I know if I was more focused I could have knocked it out in a weekend. I quickly began to understand what drew so many people to this game. Chrono Trigger is incredibly well-realized but not to the point of excess. There’s enough room left in the margins of the world-building and script for imagination to fill in the gaps. 

No wonder so many players my age cite Chrono Trigger as a favorite! The game is perfect for younger minds, full of wonder and not too difficult to understand, especially now that guides can be found in abundance online. 

Simple but expressive sprites and clever gameplay scenarios help drive the dramatic moments. When first meeting Robo, there’s a moment where other robots like him call him a traitor and brutally beat him. Robo is starkly outnumbered and the player can freely move around as Chrono during this encounter. Every time I moved to help, Robo would push me back, begging me to not hurt his brothers. Giving the player the ability to try and help adds a level of depth to this scene that I hadn’t expected. Of course, Chrono and Lucca demolish those bots for their cruelty but the scene still stands as one of the most memorable. 

Flying through the sky on the Dactyls is another cool moment in Chrono Trigger.

Another favorite involved meeting Magus after the party was defeated and forced to continue the quest after losing someone close to them. Magus, one of the main antagonists of the story, stands alone overlooking the ocean. Frog and the team approach and Magus asks if they’re looking for a fight. Frog, the party leader at this point, lost his best friend and his humanity to Magus. By all means, Frog should want to strike this wizard down for all of the atrocities performed by his hands but the player is given the option to refuse. 

I consider this act of kindness to be one of the most dynamic examples of Frog’s growth as a character. Frog has lost enough and would rather turn his attention to the larger threat, Lavos. Magus also learns measured compassion, reveals more of his story, and offers to assist the party. As a player, it’s awesome to have Magus as a member of the squad; his magical strengths are unparalleled and he’s capable of clearing groups of late-game monsters with a single spell. 

There is the option of a strange, seemingly tacked-on quest created just to reverse that pivotal moment in the story. Yet, that’s an optional quest. I actually kind of prefer the story keeping that event intact, leaving the heroism to be carried on with the rest of the party. Magus joining is also optional so the final battle could be a much smaller group, adding to the desperation of the struggle. That said, I opted for reversing that moment and completing all of the side-quests for more insight into the characters. 

This final act of Chrono Trigger is really charming and full of wonderful storytelling and character development. This culminates in a moment where our heroes are discussing their odd fates around a campfire, opening up some larger theories about the game’s world and inviting philosophical thought. The series of quests leading up to this are some of the most impactful moments of the game with layered emotions that are rarely replicated in other games. I think the margin for imagination to seep in helps these scenes tremendously but I was nonetheless moved and it only made me desperate for more stories from these characters. 

Akira Toriyama’s art style really shines in the character designs and the concept art.

Gameplay was certainly revolutionary for the time but there are definitely moments where combat drags on. Even though there are no random encounters, there are some areas where enemies jump out after every few steps. Entering a room and coming back through can result in repeated battles and I once found myself in a loop that put me in a duplicate, six-battle gauntlet just because of one wrong turn. On a second playthrough, I lost a fight because I forgot to bring along a water magic caster and the loss set me back almost two hours since I hadn’t saved since. Some attacks take far longer than others and some sound effects are just grating to the ears. 

I also found some environments to not portray variations in verticality properly, leaving me confusingly running into barriers I didn’t expect. I also had to look up a guide for what to do on a few occasions thanks to some less than stellar direction. This seems to be improved in the DS release but I could just be more familiar with the key flags that move the story along. Yet, these are incredibly minor nitpicks in an otherwise incredible experience and it’s one that will stick with me for years to come. 

Unfortunately, as with all things, Chrono Trigger has an end. There are lots of endings to experience but I was satisfied with the one I earned so I left it at that. An unfinished quest of my youth had been completed. The credits rolled, faded to black, and there was my reflection in the black of the TV, happy. 

I may still one day finish my journey on the Nintendo DS but for now, I’m happy to have seen this long-awaited experience through. I understand why people connected so deeply with these characters and why it’s one of the most requested sequels in the medium. At the very least, I would love to see Chrono Trigger brought to modern consoles and it wouldn’t hurt to finally localize Radical Dreamers and port over Chrono Cross. Thankfully a lot of design philosophy and spirit has carried over into various indie games and even larger studios such as Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have taken cues from Chrono Trigger. 

Regardless of what happens to the series in the years to come, I’m glad to have finally finished Chrono Trigger. 

Concept art images belong to their respective owners but were archived by Chrono Compendium. Screenshots come from the official Steam listing for the purpose of having larger resolution images. Patches and updates actually make the Steam version into a decent port of the game but most fans point to the Nintendo DS release as the best while I personally prefer the SNES release.

For more musings on the world of JRPGs, check out my review of Final Fantasy VII Remake, a game that left me in tears of joy. We also were given an opportunity to pick one of the brains behind the romantic adventure Haven. For something unique with similar moments of somber reflection, check out my thoughts on Void Terrarium, an addictive dungeon-crawler with heart.