Chrono Trigger (SNES) - Part 001: The Queen Is Gone

It was about time I finally got around to playing Chrono Trigger, I know I didn't get it here until England until the DS, but even that is a long time ago now.
This is just a standard playthrough going for the normal ending. I go for the sidequests, but there's one optional fight that you can rematch at higher levels that I don't bother with. This is the SNES version as the title says, I just felt like it would be the best version overall. The PS1 adds anime cut scenes, but longer load times. The DS I didn't think about setting up recording for at the time and the Steam version I didn't get on with. I did enjoy playing this quite a lot, it might just squeeze into my top of jRPGs 10s, ironically just behind another time travelling one that is nowhere near as popular.
The game starts with Crono heading off to meet Lucca at the Millenial fair, but you might want to get some tutorial in from the Mayor's House. I was used to games from this era having formation based attacks because of Lunar, but it was nice to know you had AoE and straight line type attacks here. Nab the treasures too, and head to Leene Square.
Crono will bump into a girl there and her Pendant will go missing. Find it and she'll tell you she's called Marle (or whatever you pick). She tags along and you can enjoy the festivities. I try a couple of things out, but none of them are necessary for story progression. We will come back here later for points for something, but for now it was just nice to mess around here.
Melchior will sell you a couple of items. Don't attempt to sell the pendant. There's a girl in the NE looking for her cat. It can be found in the NW and slowly dragged back to her with guidance. Wait for Marle at the candy store and then head N to see Lucca's machine. Marle decides to test it out, and she is transported into a void, leaving the pendant behind. Crono decides to be brave and follow her, and our adventure begins.
We find Crono teleported near some Blue Imps looking like Namekians that we fight. Head through this canyon are (Truce Canyon) and you'll discover a similar, but different looking world map. It becomes quite clear through speaking to Blacksmith that you are either in a different time or parallel dimension considering Queen Leene is mentioned (and the name of the game makes it obvious which is correct). Head through Guardia Forest making sure to nab the Power Tab.
Enter Guardia Castle and you'll see someone called Queen Leene who does like Marle. Explore around the Castle for treasure and then talk to her to find out it is Marle, who has been mistaken for Queen Leene by the locals. She then disappears and we find Lucca who reveals that Marle is Princess Nadia. We're then explained about a potential paradox involving Queen Leene being killed and Marle never existing as a result, so we have to go save Leene. Lucca joins the party.
Head out and back through Guardia Forest and to the nearby Cathedral to the W on the World Map.
The women inside are acting suspicious, and upon approaching the NW one you will find a hairpin and they'll reveal themselves to be Naga(-ettes). Kill them and a Frog Knight will turn up and you can name him as he joins you.
Play the Organ to reveal a passage and head into the depths of the Cathedral. Make sure to nab the Naga Bromide to the W up the stairs in some drawers. It's used later. Bromides were quite a thing in early 90s RPGs, and we barely hear them mentioned anymore. Guess they kind of don't make sense when a celebrity/model would have a largely digital library of imagery. The Hench are easy to kill.
Speak to the Soldiers for another Power Tab and advance along the main corridor and ut the back door. There's a switch to press near some Mad Bats to unlock a chest, and to the E of the main corridor you can follow a monster to the Magus statue to progress. Head back to the backrooms and flip the switch in the E to lower the spikes in the central area and play the Organ again to find the backrooms.
You'll find Queen Leene and the "Chancellor" who reveals himself to be the first boss fight - Yakra.
X Strike combo with Crono and Frog does well, and Lucca can use Fire or heal when needed. Combo attacks work well for a lot of bosses, 2 character combos usually being best. They're similar to the combo attacks in Phantasy Star IV, but easier to pull off.
After the fight the Queen thanks us and Frog departs for his failure to protect the Queen in the first instance. Marle is then found at the back of the Castle (alongside more loot on the way). Marle decides to go by that name to hide her identity and be normal. Select "wrong" when she asks you about her identity. Marle then rejoins and the part ends on the World Map after speaking to the royals and resting up.
0:00 - Millenial Fair
18:58 - Lucca's Machine.
22:25 - Arrival at 600AD
26:25 - Guardia Forest (600AD)
30:57 - Guardia Castle (600AD)
38:55 - Cathedral (600AD)
45:08 - Naga-ette Bromide
1:03:09 - Yakra Boss Fight