When my dad died I was forced to sell all of my videogames and my snes to make ends meet. Selling my mint condition CT (with map) was my biggest regret. Years later, the guy I sold it to became my friend without us immediately remembering we were the ones that had done the deal. When we did he gave me back CT as a birthday present and this is now my most treasured possession.
I also played Chrono trigger for the first time in 2012, so I can say it definitely isn’t nostalgia goggles. The game is a masterpiece, and it’s in my top 3 games of all time.
All you RPG plebs, I got the original on SNES for Christmas the year after it's initial release, opened it at my Grandparents, drove home to play it for a while before going back for supper, I didn't want to go back I was pulled in by the game so much. FFVI is still my favorite RPG of all time but Chrono Trigger is up there as well. J/K about the plebs thing btw. I'm glad more people are finally picking up these old classics and seeing where things came from. Check out Secret of Evermore if you havn't as well, highly underrated game imo.
@@NormireX I actually had that FF Chronicles game on Playstation 1 back in the day, but I only played Final Fantasy 6 on it (Honestly, there was just no way any one person kept up with every RPG coming out in that era). It wasn't until the Wii Virtual Console that I finally played Chrono Trigger
Chrono trigger is honestly just a fun little adventure. A very refreshing break from other RPGs trying to be the coolest thing since, well, chrono trigger. It's ultimately a simple story, which is fun since as a cinematic experience. you run around finding new characters and you pick the ones you think are the coolest and those characters get extra lines during the story. And then you do all their sidequests to tie up their short arcs and then you fight lavos. It never feels complex, and you always want to do something because it's just the right thing to do, and that makes it very easy to enjoy.
I remember going on a cruise a few years back and I gave my mate my phone to have a go at chrono trigger. Didn’t see him for most of the trip he had his nose buried in it the whole time
Yasunori Mitsuda deserves 95% of the credit for this amazing soundtrack. He's easily right up there with Uematsu for "best game soundtrack composer ever" for me. I get it; he's not nearly as well-known as Uematsu, but hot _damn_ is he an absolute master at his craft.
100% correct. Did you know Hironobu Sakaguchi had plans for a direct sequel, but the execs at Square prevented him making his Chrono Trigger 2. Travesty. They told him "it doesnt have final fantasy potential for sequels"....then years later chrono cross lol.
@@Jmerithew87 i felt so strongly about this subject I sampled Hironobu's interview about it into a lofi remix of 'Wind Scene'. Its on Bandcamp, my artist name is 'Octavators'. Did a bunch of other lofi beats on there as well.
@@guesswho7881 If I were younger, I would replayed it to see all the endings. I only saw one ending. I think I got the best one. I have to replay it, though, because I was not aware that Magus can be added to the party. So I have to play it again to not kill Magus when he and Frog fought.
The younger part of your comment made me laugh lol, yeah I was 13 when it came out so younger me wanted to play it again and seeing new game+ was really cool back then. I also don’t think you get the best ending in the first play through, but that’s a whole different discussion
@@guesswho7881 Yeah, possibly that I didn't get the best ending. But I'm okay with it. Nowadays I just play a "one and done" playthrough. Due to work and other responsibilities, I just play to finish. No more 100% completion, unlock everything madness LOL.
This game was ahead of it's time. No random battles (this didn't happen until Final Fantasy 12). Your choices in the game effected future events. Multiple endings. Incredible musical score, loveable cast. I'm not sure how you don't fall in love with this game.
I don't mean to take away praise from Chrono Trigger, the game deserves it, but it wasn't the first game with overworld encounters, there were multiple before it. One example I can think of is Romancing SaGa, all 3 have this feature, and the first one is at least 3 years older than Chrono Trigger.
@@rubemevangelista3868 I was using the Final Fantasy series as a reference. But that I suppose is being narrow minded. Good examples of other RPGs without random battles.
@@joes1109 Sorry for misinterpreting it. That was actually a great parallel. Since this game had a bunch of people from Final Fantasy, and lots of similar features, it's astonishing how well Chrono Trigger stands up to the whole FF franchise. It's truly one of a kind.
I always pronounced her name "Marl". No idea if that's correct either. But you're spot on here, it's not that this game had some amazing story that resonates in you and makes you sad. (Final fantasy X did that for me) But it literally lavos spawned so many of the different things we see in games today. The time travel and the ability to ACTUALLY change things in different times...I've searched for so many other games with that idea and I've found so very few. That blows me away, because it's one of the coolest ideas and ways to play a game I've ever experienced. I can only think of Chrono trigger, Radiant Historia, FF 13-2. But yeah, this game is an all time favorite.
Me too. Final Fantasy VI is my favorite game of all-time, but Chrono Trigger is the best game I've ever played. More than a quarter century later, it has yet to be rivaled.
@@SuperSupersoda Agreed! Those are my top two games of all time. It’s so close it’s hard to pick a favorite honestly, but FFVI came first for me and I have more of an attachment to it for a multitude of reasons over CT but that doesn’t discredit it as any less of a masterpiece.
Now go play DQ 3 on Nintendo Switch and complete it. Just as Goated of a game with the rest of them, DQ 3 the most influential JRPG ever in 1988!!!! Still holds up so well today. Play DQ 1-3 on Switch in order because its a goated trilogy and gives the best impact on DQ 3 playing it in order like that. After that, play DQ 5 and you'll be good man.
Interesting.. I have beaten Chrono Trigger 2-3 times, but never FF6. Actually I almost started playing it couple of weeks ago, again. Every time I start it I like it, but there are too many characters, and they aren't as interesting as in CT. And those random encounters.. Actually, a couple of years ago when I tried FF6, I probably played 10-20 hours, and started to realize how good it is. I guess that's the problem, Chrono Trigger is great from the beginning (when you hear Morning Sunlight/Peaceful Days..)
@@strummerrr One thing about FF VI: you play it for the villain. Chrono Trigger has a very good villain, as far as villains go, but FF VI's has the best villain maybe ever. The quick plot summary of FF VI: it's like Avenger's Infinity War and Avenger's End Game, only in this case, there is no quantum realm, no undo button. In FF VI, once the finger snap happens, it's permanent.
I am an OG Chrono Trigger fanboi, so much so that I still have the original box and cartridge that I got on the first day of release and I still replay it from time to time on the super nintendo. I have beaten it well over 40 times and each time I replay it, it still stands the test of time and should be considered one of the greatest games of all time, a true masterpiece.
I played this on release back in the 90s...imported it from the US to the UK for £70. That was ALOT back then. Best RPG I have played alongside final fantasy 6 (3 in the US). It's graphics have dated now but back in the day was pixel heaven with a fantastic story. It was top tier and still is amazing.
My love for the game comes from the New Game + and all the various endings you can get. Never before or after has there been a game that I enjoy beating repeatedly.
4:50 Sea of Stars, and this game has also the same music composer as Chrono Trigger, Yasunori Mitsuda... 10:13 and for Uematsu: he is my most admired composer of all time, but he composed only parts of the Chrono Trigger Soundtrack, Yasunori Mitsuda composed the bulk of the soundtrack and was even hospitalized after he collapsed from overwork. dont want to be that guy who points out little mistakes and correct others, but credit were credit is due and Mitsuda nearly worked himself to death over Chrono...
The game by the Messenger team is called Sea of Stars, and the main composer of Chrono Trigger, Yasunori Mitsuda, reached out to those developers and offered to help compose for Sea of Stars!
On the other hand about telegraphing hints my family had to brute force the masamune fight because we didn't realize you used the tech slash, I think that was the name, on them when the tornado attack was about to hit. I don't remember if the sign post telling you to do that was there on the SNES version but I had head desk moment when I read that sign on the DS version.
We owe everything not just to Chrono Trigger but to the Dream Team that made the game possible. They each brought their A game and it paid off big time. Nearly 30 years after its release and Chrono Trigger is still getting discovered by new players.
I remember this game costing $70 when it first came on the SNES. SNES cartridges tended to be more expensive than the CD-ROM based games of the 90s. I think that was because cartridges included chip technology that boosted the performance of the SNES. Chrono Trigger was definitely one of those cartridges that pushed the SNES to its limits and had to include additional memory on the chip for the game to work. Needless to say, I had to mow a lot of lawns to buy this game. But back in those days you really got your money's worth when you saved up for a game. It took me over a year to 100% complete it. With all of the endings, there was so much replay-ability. It was definitely one of my favorite games of all time. Back then I had a lot of free time, but not too many games, so having a game that lasted a long time was worth a lot to me. I feel like nowadays I have the opposite problem. I have too little time and way too many games I want to get through, so today I tend to prefer smaller games that I can finish quickly and don't have time for side quests and 100% completion. But even though I had fewer games as a kid, I felt like I got so much more out of them because I really put the time in to master them. I kind of miss those days.
I'm at this point where I just play whatever the hell I want. I don't make a concerted effort to cut down the backlog if I'm not feeling like picking up a new game. It if interests me I'll get to it eventually, but I find it's important to not let things like that distract you from how you are feeling in the moment. If I feel like playing Xenoblade Chronicles again, then dammit nothing's going to stop me. 40 unplayed games and 50 hour runtime be damned.
honestly, even with all the forward thinking ideas Trigger had at the time, theres still to this day only 4 words you need to describe Chrono Trigger; NO FLUFF, JUST FUN
It's difficult to overstate how satisfying "no fluff" is in a world dominated by empty open worlds, fetch quests, collectibles, and other low-effort filler.
Chrono trigger is my favorite RPG of all time and helped me to change my perspective on games for the better. I'm always happy that others are playing this game for the first time, it just has a unique magic and passion filled in it. Artistic masterpiece.
When I was younger, my brother played it and did not know you could switch out the equipment…and he got all the way to Black Omen…with only the wooden sword
Played C. Trigger in the 90s when I was in middle school. Please - Please - Please - Remake it in HD-2D. I will buy it for whatever system it releases for ~ Thanks for the video!
I will obtain chrono trigger for the second time this december(probably). I played it on the DS many years ago, but wasn't into rpgs then, so I am looking forwards to experiencing the game again, I have new goggles on. Everybody says Chrono Trigger is a true masterpiece, so I have to give it a try!
The moment you said you love Final Fantasy 13-2. I hit the subscribe button. Thank you my friend. Don’t worry, there are some people out there who like that game. I’m one of the few who platinumed it.
You have to play the sister game. Live-A-Live. It was made by the same director and came out a year before Chrono Trigger and has a lot of similarities. I actually have a theory that much like many other Squaresoft games of the time, the devs were working on a new game idea and they ended up with 2 different ideas and instead of scrapping one in favor of the other, they made them into 2 separate games.
Chrono Trigger is like comfort food. It's simple, but delicious and makes you happy every time you play it, even if you know what it's going to taste like. It has elements that all JRPG fans would enjoy.
I would love to see Final Fantasy 9's quick time events in Chrono Trigger. Just imagining seeing how the various party members react to the food, culture, people and technology in various timelines. It would make for endless entertainment.
"I'm not even a big Zelda fan," he remarked casually. So much said with so little.
2 года назад
Playing this game as a kid on the SNES, I couldn't put it down. I remember reaching Magus' chamber in his castle, when everything was dark and quiet, and then ghostly blue torches started to light up the way. It was already late at night and I was alone in front of the screen as everybody else in my family was already asleep, so it was pretty spooky for kid me back then. And then the M man revealed himself, and that legendary musical score played, and we battled. And he kicked my party's ass. Great times.
Just finished this for the first time yesterday. I was blown away. Before this only JRPG I have ever played were Golden Sun and Pokémon. But this game was a monster. And I loved no random encounters
This game was the perfect blend of pudding from the expression when they say the proof is in the pudding well Chrono Trigger is that pudding. Loved your review mate.
Hey Matty I just want to say I’ve been watching your videos since the fallout four hype and speculation. I just want to say it’s been a pleasure watching you grow over the years and I’m really enjoying this new channel. You seem like a really chill guy I could sit down and just talk about our love and passion with gaming. Have a good day bro
This was my first completed game as a kid and one of my fondest memories with my brother. We played this game together for what felt like months on end. We loved this game. It definitely has a special place in my heart
I started with Suikoden 2 Then I realised I could have another character if I played Suikoden 1 so I went back to 1 and redid 2 right away. These games are so well crafted! Then I tried playing Suikoden 3 but it wasn't really the same anymore.
5:54 That's just suspension of disbelief. The term Ludonarrative Dissonance originated from a Bioshock analysis, where the gameplay allowed the player to choose between embracing objectivism (kill the Little Sisters for a big boost in power) or being humanist (heal the Little Sisters for a small boost in power), while the rest of the narrative has you railroaded into antagonizing objectivism until you beat the final boss. The main thing everyone misses is that this dissonance is intentional and not an obvious incongruence between narrative and gameplay that gets you out of the immersion (like the rest of the Internet started using the term for). 11:07 Because the original Chrono Trigger didn't have cutscenes (the cutscenes first were added in the PS version), so if you're playing for a SNES nostalgia trip, they'll pull you out of the experience. 11:34 Gotta love how one can characterize a silent protagonist. It reminds me how a couple of youtubers complained about the Persona 5 characters being at first hesitant on going back to the other world (like if risking life and limb on a dangerous place for no good reason is something a normal teenager is eager to do) 12:48 Oh, yes! The Trial is one of the most memorable parts of the game. I wonder how many people got the guilty verdict in their first run. Fun thing: if you don't attempt to escape the jail on your own, you get taken to the execution room, Lucca breaks in during your execution, saves you and joins your party for the whole jail break level (instead of joining just before the boss fight).
Just had to say thanks to Retro Rebound (and subscribe) because I did not know about Sea of Stars somehow. I'm obsessed with The Messenger. It's one of my favorite games of all time. And by some crazy coincidence I've been searching for a game similar to Chrono Trigger for the past 3 weeks and so far I've found nothing comparable, so I'm just replaying Chrono Trigger on mobile. Anyway, I'm beyond words excited for Sea of Stars now, and thanks!
Let’s talk about the real reason this game is the best of all time. The characters feel United. Unified. You form an instant lovable bond with all of them. Magnus a character who’s a villain in his own right. Puts his ego aside and helps our heroes fight the real evil thats threatening both of their timelines. It felt like you held the weight of this world on your shoulders. And these characters are all main characters in their own right. All would be loved as main characters in other games but each of them brings something so absolutely vital to the table you never consider your companions “side” characters. You can fully rely on all of them and at some points are forced to use certain ones to progress, that often you have an existential crisis just choosing which characters to pick. And you can only choose three. There’s so many elements from the music. The sprite design. The story the replay ability, the emotional toll it takes on you. This isn’t a video game it’s a journey. You feel apart of it as much as the characters in the game. You care about them as friends who always have your back. I’ve existentially pondered over this game after I completed it for the second time. Like I sat back with tears in my eyes like I actually am in love with this game. You play it and realize it’s perfect. You can’t even nitpick it. It blows your expectations for an rpg out of the water. Everything has haters. But with crono trigger it’s a different case. Anyone actually hating on the game just looks stupid and is instantly mocked. It’s impossible to genuinely hate the game without coming off like you belong in special education class. So to end it off. Crono trigger isn’t a game. It’s an experience. I can barely remember the miniseries I watched on Netflix last year. But crono trigger a game I only complete twice. Was burned into my brain like learning a language. Every element was memorable. Every aspect was flawless. If you never played it. Don’t feel like you missed the boat. I’m jealous. Go experience this masterpiece! Do yourself a favor!!!!!
How many CT game designers looked at the cover and thought "Hmm, Marle has ice as her magic and in this picture she's shooting fire. Hmm, that looks like an inconsistency." My guess is none. Not a single person thought it and if they did, they kept it to themselves.
Better late than never. Glad you've finally played this masterpiece. Small correction: Most of the music was done by Yasunori Mitsuda, not Nobuo Uematsu. Both legendary composers.
True story. It was Mitsuda's first big project and he was so stressed out during the whole process that he became ill and Uematsu came in and finished the soundtrack.
@@WCCXtra He supposedly developed a stomach ulcer and started losing his hair if I recall correctly. Mitsuda is my favorite game composer of all time. Glad he made it through. His OSTs for Xenogears and Chrono Cross are truly incredible.
He wasn't even credited during that time, but now everyone knows he's behind almost all the music of Chrono Trigger. Not even a part of The Dream Team, so does other current Square-Enix employees that grew from Squaresoft.
@@Eclectic.Nostalgia To be fair we don't really know who did which songs in Chrono Trigger. The majority of the songs have a very Uematsu-like style to me.
I remember playing this game back when it came out in 1995. It was the SNES version and I remember being blown away by the story. It was like a sci-fi story (which I'm really into). my family didn't have money to buy the $60-65 (would be like $120-160 in todays dollars) game cartridges back then, so I only ever got to play the first quarter of the game. The SNES had awesome RPGs. A link to the past, Chrono Trigger, EarthBound (this one I played later on), Secret of Mana (will be playing this one next!). I'm so glad Nintendo doesn't own the rights to this game! It's on PC, iOS, etc. Not sure if it's on Android or not. I'd say this might actually be the best game that was on that system.
You should get a DSi XL. It's the best way to play original DS games since they don't scale correctly on 3DS screens. You can hold select on the 3DS when a DS game is starting to make it a pixel match to a DS screen, but it makes it display in a smaller window.
Agree with everything you said. It’s not the story. Like many JRPGS they introduce too many characters, worlds and side plots. But it doesn’t even matter because the music, art and mechanics hold up very, very well.
I remember, 20 years ago, picking up Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV in a bundle on PS1. Never played any RPG before, booted FFIV and didn't understand a single thing. Played CT and absolutely loved it. What a way to start my JRPG journey, which still continues to this day,
my younger brother pawned all my snes and snes and ps1 and genesis games including ff3 and chrono in really good condition when i went off to army basic training...
Cool video. I have yet to play it but have been interested in it for a long time. I've honestly just been waiting on a remastered version to release on modern consoles. With it being as good as everyone says, I want to experience it the best way possible. *P.S.* I also fell in love with FFXIII-2. It's a genuinely great game. I actually hesited on it, a lot, then got blown away by how great it was/is. While its story isn't quite as good as XIII's, it does so many other things better. Battles, exploration, upgrading, pacing, comic relief, etc. It also added the monster collecting, and time travel, mechanics which were both very well implemented and added so much fun to the game. It also has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in my life. It's in my top 3 FF OST's along with FFVII and FFVIII. Although FFXIII's is very close, almost tied, with XIII-2's. FFVI and FFX also come very close with their OST's. No other FF OST's compare to those six games.
Chrono Trigger is a classic, around 20 hours in a first time play through, near perfect pacing, and characters that are linked together throughout time. It gives you multiple endings, lots of freedom and still is such a tight story driven adventure that people can talk about it for all these iconic moments. Sometimes graphics get in the way, and this might have been a problem for you, it is on the DS and would have looked even worse on a 3DS with the screens being cut down, hopefully one day they do a remake of this game, a straight up retelling with modern graphics, because I think it deserves to be played on modern systems. I'd give it another go at that point if I were you. I do wonder what your choices were in the game, what did you do with Magnus? Chrono? how did you feel about 12,000bc? This game remains my favorite RPG of all time, FF7 and Xenoblade being 2 and 3, I just tip my hat to Chrono because of it's story telling and in such a brief game.
11:06 - The reason why you can turn off the anime cutscenes and why you would want to do that, is because they have in-game spirite-based equivalents made for the SNES version, which in some cases are way better than their FMV counterparts
I had the exact same experience that you described here watching The Godfather recently where I realized that the movie was the progenitor of a lot of movies/tv shows I loved, including Breaking Bad. I also had a similar experience recently with FF VII where I've seen a lot of its DNA in more recent FF's. Although I can't say that I "love" the classics more than the things I experienced first - for instance, I still love Breaking Bad more than The Godfather - I still have developed a sincere appreciation and gratefulness for the classics which inspired my favorite shows and games.
Ahhhhh! Such a great memory during this up when I was in middle school. I knew NOTHING about it and just knew I had loved FF4 and FF6. I’m jealous you got to have your first time with it.
I just got a Game Boy Advance SP with Advance Wars, though it was only the Cartridge but i always hated the Game Boy Advance boxes anyway, with them being cardboard but i also got a complete in box copy of Advance Wars Dual Strike for the 3DS so i can just keep the original in the game boy holder with the DS case, i haven't played a Game Boy Advance for years, this will be a great trip down memory lane :)
I can't even begin to explain how amazing it was to play through this game back in 1995 when in first came out. This game was on another level compared to anything we had back then. Such an incredible experience.
@@maulressurected4405 FF 6 was a great game also. FF2, which is 4 now, was my first rpg. I had no idea what I was doing at the time, but had a ton of fun playing it.
@Rex Trowbridge 4 was good, huge step up from the very first game and the first ff that I actually got to finish. FF 1 the nest always locked up when I got halfway through the final dungeon and would always wipe my save data.
The segment with the Dragon Tank where the game told the player what to do was early in. It was the second boss fight, iirc. And it introduced a mechanic that continued to apply to many of the other multi-part bosses of the game. So it was basically like having a tutorial level or boss fight without having it explicitly called a tutorial level.
I remember buying the SNES version of Chrono Trigger in January 2020 for about $100 cad, then returning to that same game store about three or four months later and seeing another copy for more than double what I paid.
I have an odd history with Chrono Trigger as well. Originally i bought it digitally on the ps3 back in 2015 (also my very first digital bought game EVER). Only ever played the first half hour since i couldnt stand the 5 second load time between opening menus and battles. Then in 2017 i got the DS version for $15 at gamestop, and played all the way until a bit after getting the robot. Now in 2024 im playing it once more and giving it the time it deserves. Funny enough im playing the old ps3 version since load times dont bother me anymore (and just enjoy playing on a tv).
Been playing Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, Megami Tensei, and Final Fantasy for over 25yrs. I own the original NES/SNES copies and even Famicom imports. Those four franchises defined my gaming experience.
I played Chrono Trigger in 1995 on SNES; blown away as the best RPG of it's time (right next to FF6) but now I play Octopath (first time this year) and I completely in awe in how much it reminds me of CT and FF6 put together.
The biggest advantage of that game is how accessible it is. No grinding is required to complete the game: as long as you do all the battles on your path, you will be fine. They also created the world and story where you can literally stop playing for months, come back and not be lost (unlike tons of others games). I completed the SNES game every once in a while. But now, I somehow felt into the definitive edition (DS version) adaptation for mobile phone and currently going through it for the second time in the same month just for the additional content.
I played Chrono Trigger on my SNES when it first came out. An absolutely amazing game, but the first jrpg I ever played (FF2 as it was called when it was released) will always still be my favorite.
Love this. There are so many older games, especially JRPGs, I want to play and discover for the first time, but it’s kind of a lonely feeling when the titles feel almost obsolete at this point. Idk if anyone else feels this way, but just knowing others are still exploring classic games for the first time, makes me feel more motivated and cheerful about doing the same
I mostly only enjoy older jrpgs. I try to get into all the new ones, but I just get bored. Using graphics and flash to cover up the story and characters just aren’t there. So much filler, it’s just hard, but I continue. I’ve played some that really stand out ie Child of Light, Nier Automata, Radiant Historia, DQ11…so there is still hope out there. Ready to play Tales of Arise, Scarlett Nexus, Triangle Strategy, and Sea of Stars.
@@hugbuzzard I'm kind of in a similar boat, but DQ11 caught me off gaurd with just how good it is. A proper modern evolution of the DQ games. Shame the same can't be said of Final Fantasy...
@@ERWebster I have faith for the quality of Final Fantasy 16. I’m digging the “gothic fantasy”/Game of Thrones-type vibe I’m getting from the trailers. I think it’s gonna surprise everyone. And FFVII Remake was absolutely stellar, so I know the boys at Square still have it in them to create some solid work.
I fell in love with the game for all the reasons you mentioned, but also because you could recruit magus in the party if you wanted, or you could kill him with frog. Having one of the bad guys join you was so awesome… and magus is just awesome with the dark magic.
Me playing Chrono Trigger as a kid for the first time: wow, the sprites are so beautiful. It looks better than Mario. And the music is kinda catchy. Umm, how do you play this? I’m confused… A few hours later: time travel? this is fun! What a goofy, fun adventure! Then: a trial!? Hahaha. I’m enjoying this! The music here is so catchy. Then: wait, what just happened? Why does the future look so dreary? Lavos, what the hell is that? Wait, The world ended?????? A few hours later: i just killed Magus, wasn’t he the big bad guy? I fixed the future, right? Hold on, where/when the hell was my party sent to? A frozen landscape? (Corridors of time starts to play), this music… It’s gorgeous! Hours later: wow, this story is deeper than I originally thought. This is not a goofy time traveling adventure at all. The reason this story even exists is because a mother abused her children to the point where she forced her own daughter to commune with the evil that is slowly killing their world. My 12 year old brain can’t handle this. A few hours later: we have to save Crono, guys! We have to fix this! For Schala! For Janus! Let’s rid our world of this parasite! End credits: I just played the greatest game ever made.
I obsessed over this game when it first came out. Had to get every item and skill, do all the side quests, and of course try for all the different end scenes. After doing all that, I decided to grind New Game+ and attempt to defeat Lavos during that first encounter, via The Mammon Machine and Queen Zeal… and eventually did just that. It’s very hard and time consuming breaking through the shell, you need dozens of Megalixers, but it can be done. The inner parts, they’re not beefed up so the rest is a cake walk.
We never got this here in Europe. I got it immediately when it finally made it to Germany via Nintendo DS. I absolutely loved it. It's one of those insanely good games we missed... just like Earthbound (which I finally got to play on Wii U).
A lot of big character moments in CT happen in the sidequests. This game has a simple story, but it's how they decided to tell that story is what makes it perfect. The paciing is flawless and there is no fat, they knew what they needed to do, and they nailed the execution.I also didn't have much a problem with Chrono's motivation because he is just the player's avatar.
Like Kefka Queen Zeal Destroyed her world also not sure if she did it before Kefka but it was monumental to see Queen Zeal and the Black Omen hovering the sky it was kind of creepy knowing she's right there all the time waiting to ruin the world. Zeal and Kefka should hook up XD I love the character designs being DBZ style great art style helps the game.
I had been an SE fan since FF on NES, and I got most SquareSoft games at launch. I love this game so much. I can't count how many times ive played this game over the decades
You’d turn the anime cutscenes off if you want the Snes experience. There are ingame cutscenes instead of animated I’m assuming that play if you turn them off since the original game did not have them. Sometimes I prefer the way it originally looked for the oldschool experience. Snes version still my favorite, it’s the one I had an original cart for way back in 2004 or 2005.
First time I played the game was on my iPhone xr in 2019, and I didn’t regret it. The feeling of open world/time travel give it a really unique feeling.
I also loved ff13-2. They took ff13 and improved on it in everyway and added time travel. I still haven't played chrono trigger but maybe I'll get to it soon now that starfield is delayed.
It is great whenever you hear so much hype about a game and finally sit down to play it, even after years or decades, for the first time and realize that the hype was real. The game is as good as all the stories you have heard. But it is a completely different story when a game does not. That is what happened to me and Resident Evil 4. I hated the Game Cube controller, so I never picked up a game Cube. So, I never played RE4 when it was first released. But I heard about it. From everyone. Every magazine, website, person, gamer, employee, I mean everyone. Fast forward several years when RE4 is finally released for the PC. I buy it off of STEAM, install it, and prepare to have my mind blown. I mean, it is RE4. Everyone and their grandma have this thing on a pedestal like it is the greatest video game ever created by man. And boy howdee. After finishing RE4 for the first time I was thoroughly disappointed. To me the hype was not at all deserved. Sometimes, though, a game has to be played in it's time to see the greatness shine, sometimes good games don't age well. Was RE4 bad? no. but playing it for the first time over a decade after it was released did not help any. I had seen many of the trends in the video game industry that RE4 helped cement. I was annoyed by the unimaginative plot devices which told the player where to go. it felt like it was holding my hand the entire time instead of letting me just figure it out myself. It was a far cry from RE 1&2 that I loved so much. It is great when a game lives up to the hype. But it is equally sucky when they don't You may be asking yourself "what is the point of this story?" I like stories.
Yasunori Mitsuda is the main composer for Chrono Trigger (and Cross) He had a hard drive crash that made him lose all compositions and health problems close to the deadline, and Mr. Uematsu stepped in for a number of tracks, but he is still regarded as the main music guy for Chrono
When my dad died I was forced to sell all of my videogames and my snes to make ends meet. Selling my mint condition CT (with map) was my biggest regret.
Years later, the guy I sold it to became my friend without us immediately remembering we were the ones that had done the deal.
When we did he gave me back CT as a birthday present and this is now my most treasured possession.
My guy...
that's poetic.
Great story, man
Man, that’s incredible.
Thanks guys 🙏
This was the best thing I've read all day.
I also played Chrono trigger for the first time in 2012, so I can say it definitely isn’t nostalgia goggles. The game is a masterpiece, and it’s in my top 3 games of all time.
Yeah, I didn’t play it until I was 25 and it is one of my favorite games.
I'm playing it for the first time now, it's on my top 10 favorite games!
All you RPG plebs, I got the original on SNES for Christmas the year after it's initial release, opened it at my Grandparents, drove home to play it for a while before going back for supper, I didn't want to go back I was pulled in by the game so much. FFVI is still my favorite RPG of all time but Chrono Trigger is up there as well. J/K about the plebs thing btw. I'm glad more people are finally picking up these old classics and seeing where things came from. Check out Secret of Evermore if you havn't as well, highly underrated game imo.
@@NormireX I actually had that FF Chronicles game on Playstation 1 back in the day, but I only played Final Fantasy 6 on it (Honestly, there was just no way any one person kept up with every RPG coming out in that era). It wasn't until the Wii Virtual Console that I finally played Chrono Trigger
I agree. FFVI is still better but CT is up there.
Chrono trigger is honestly just a fun little adventure. A very refreshing break from other RPGs trying to be the coolest thing since, well, chrono trigger. It's ultimately a simple story, which is fun since as a cinematic experience. you run around finding new characters and you pick the ones you think are the coolest and those characters get extra lines during the story. And then you do all their sidequests to tie up their short arcs and then you fight lavos. It never feels complex, and you always want to do something because it's just the right thing to do, and that makes it very easy to enjoy.
I remember going on a cruise a few years back and I gave my mate my phone to have a go at chrono trigger. Didn’t see him for most of the trip he had his nose buried in it the whole time
Yasunori Mitsuda deserves 95% of the credit for this amazing soundtrack. He's easily right up there with Uematsu for "best game soundtrack composer ever" for me. I get it; he's not nearly as well-known as Uematsu, but hot _damn_ is he an absolute master at his craft.
While Uematsu did assist a little, the bulk of the OST was done by Yasunori Mitsuda.
100% correct. Did you know Hironobu Sakaguchi had plans for a direct sequel, but the execs at Square prevented him making his Chrono Trigger 2. Travesty. They told him "it doesnt have final fantasy potential for sequels"....then years later chrono cross lol.
And ofc chrono cross did not have the dream team. Hironobu had nothing to do with it.
@@beyondz55 yup, it’s an absolute shame. I would have loved to see what could have been
@@Jmerithew87 i felt so strongly about this subject I sampled Hironobu's interview about it into a lofi remix of 'Wind Scene'. Its on Bandcamp, my artist name is 'Octavators'. Did a bunch of other lofi beats on there as well.
@@beyondz55 Yet, Chrono Cross is one of the best games ever made and still an amazing sequel
I only played Chrono Trigger when the pandemic started. I was blown away. It was great. An amazing game. Played it on SNES.
Out of curiosity, how many of the endings did you see? I remember as teen being blown away that a game could have so many endings
@@guesswho7881 If I were younger, I would replayed it to see all the endings. I only saw one ending. I think I got the best one. I have to replay it, though, because I was not aware that Magus can be added to the party. So I have to play it again to not kill Magus when he and Frog fought.
The younger part of your comment made me laugh lol, yeah I was 13 when it came out so younger me wanted to play it again and seeing new game+ was really cool back then. I also don’t think you get the best ending in the first play through, but that’s a whole different discussion
@@guesswho7881 Yeah, possibly that I didn't get the best ending. But I'm okay with it. Nowadays I just play a "one and done" playthrough. Due to work and other responsibilities, I just play to finish. No more 100% completion, unlock everything madness LOL.
Total understandable, I’m the same way in my old age lol
This game was ahead of it's time. No random battles (this didn't happen until Final Fantasy 12). Your choices in the game effected future events. Multiple endings. Incredible musical score, loveable cast. I'm not sure how you don't fall in love with this game.
Grandia also didn't have random battles in 1997
I don't mean to take away praise from Chrono Trigger, the game deserves it, but it wasn't the first game with overworld encounters, there were multiple before it. One example I can think of is Romancing SaGa, all 3 have this feature, and the first one is at least 3 years older than Chrono Trigger.
@@rubemevangelista3868 I was using the Final Fantasy series as a reference. But that I suppose is being narrow minded. Good examples of other RPGs without random battles.
@@joes1109 Sorry for misinterpreting it. That was actually a great parallel. Since this game had a bunch of people from Final Fantasy, and lots of similar features, it's astonishing how well Chrono Trigger stands up to the whole FF franchise. It's truly one of a kind.
Fun fact: That poster that came in your DS copy was included in the original SNES copy, too.
I always pronounced her name "Marl". No idea if that's correct either. But you're spot on here, it's not that this game had some amazing story that resonates in you and makes you sad. (Final fantasy X did that for me) But it literally lavos spawned so many of the different things we see in games today. The time travel and the ability to ACTUALLY change things in different times...I've searched for so many other games with that idea and I've found so very few. That blows me away, because it's one of the coolest ideas and ways to play a game I've ever experienced. I can only think of Chrono trigger, Radiant Historia, FF 13-2. But yeah, this game is an all time favorite.
Great to hear the thoughts of someone playing this masterpiece for the first time. Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI epitomized my childhood!
Me too. Final Fantasy VI is my favorite game of all-time, but Chrono Trigger is the best game I've ever played. More than a quarter century later, it has yet to be rivaled.
@@SuperSupersoda Agreed! Those are my top two games of all time. It’s so close it’s hard to pick a favorite honestly, but FFVI came first for me and I have more of an attachment to it for a multitude of reasons over CT but that doesn’t discredit it as any less of a masterpiece.
Now go play DQ 3 on Nintendo Switch and complete it. Just as Goated of a game with the rest of them, DQ 3 the most influential JRPG ever in 1988!!!! Still holds up so well today. Play DQ 1-3 on Switch in order because its a goated trilogy and gives the best impact on DQ 3 playing it in order like that. After that, play DQ 5 and you'll be good man.
Interesting.. I have beaten Chrono Trigger 2-3 times, but never FF6. Actually I almost started playing it couple of weeks ago, again. Every time I start it I like it, but there are too many characters, and they aren't as interesting as in CT. And those random encounters.. Actually, a couple of years ago when I tried FF6, I probably played 10-20 hours, and started to realize how good it is. I guess that's the problem, Chrono Trigger is great from the beginning (when you hear Morning Sunlight/Peaceful Days..)
@@strummerrr One thing about FF VI: you play it for the villain. Chrono Trigger has a very good villain, as far as villains go, but FF VI's has the best villain maybe ever. The quick plot summary of FF VI: it's like Avenger's Infinity War and Avenger's End Game, only in this case, there is no quantum realm, no undo button. In FF VI, once the finger snap happens, it's permanent.
I am an OG Chrono Trigger fanboi, so much so that I still have the original box and cartridge that I got on the first day of release and I still replay it from time to time on the super nintendo. I have beaten it well over 40 times and each time I replay it, it still stands the test of time and should be considered one of the greatest games of all time, a true masterpiece.
I played this on release back in the 90s...imported it from the US to the UK for £70. That was ALOT back then.
Best RPG I have played alongside final fantasy 6 (3 in the US).
It's graphics have dated now but back in the day was pixel heaven with a fantastic story. It was top tier and still is amazing.
My love for the game comes from the New Game + and all the various endings you can get. Never before or after has there been a game that I enjoy beating repeatedly.
4:50 Sea of Stars, and this game has also the same music composer as Chrono Trigger, Yasunori Mitsuda...
10:13 and for Uematsu: he is my most admired composer of all time, but he composed only parts of the Chrono Trigger Soundtrack, Yasunori Mitsuda composed the bulk of the soundtrack and was even hospitalized after he collapsed from overwork.
dont want to be that guy who points out little mistakes and correct others, but credit were credit is due and Mitsuda nearly worked himself to death over Chrono...
Thanks for clarifying the name of Sea of Stars. It’s now on my list of games to keep an eye on.
I think you said it well. Yes, credit were credit is due.
Mitsuda is assisting with Sea of Stars, he's not the lead composer.
Literally my top game of ALL-TIME. Such a good story, characters, gameplay, MUSIC, everything.
The game by the Messenger team is called Sea of Stars, and the main composer of Chrono Trigger, Yasunori Mitsuda, reached out to those developers and offered to help compose for Sea of Stars!
Playing Chrono Trigger for the first time currently, and while it did take some time for me to get into it, I'm glued onto my screen now!
On the other hand about telegraphing hints my family had to brute force the masamune fight because we didn't realize you used the tech slash, I think that was the name, on them when the tornado attack was about to hit. I don't remember if the sign post telling you to do that was there on the SNES version but I had head desk moment when I read that sign on the DS version.
Whenever I play CT I’m amazed it’s a SNES game. All that story and gameplay in that format wow.
We owe everything not just to Chrono Trigger but to the Dream Team that made the game possible. They each brought their A game and it paid off big time. Nearly 30 years after its release and Chrono Trigger is still getting discovered by new players.
I remember this game costing $70 when it first came on the SNES. SNES cartridges tended to be more expensive than the CD-ROM based games of the 90s. I think that was because cartridges included chip technology that boosted the performance of the SNES. Chrono Trigger was definitely one of those cartridges that pushed the SNES to its limits and had to include additional memory on the chip for the game to work. Needless to say, I had to mow a lot of lawns to buy this game.
But back in those days you really got your money's worth when you saved up for a game. It took me over a year to 100% complete it. With all of the endings, there was so much replay-ability. It was definitely one of my favorite games of all time. Back then I had a lot of free time, but not too many games, so having a game that lasted a long time was worth a lot to me. I feel like nowadays I have the opposite problem. I have too little time and way too many games I want to get through, so today I tend to prefer smaller games that I can finish quickly and don't have time for side quests and 100% completion. But even though I had fewer games as a kid, I felt like I got so much more out of them because I really put the time in to master them. I kind of miss those days.
I'm at this point where I just play whatever the hell I want. I don't make a concerted effort to cut down the backlog if I'm not feeling like picking up a new game. It if interests me I'll get to it eventually, but I find it's important to not let things like that distract you from how you are feeling in the moment. If I feel like playing Xenoblade Chronicles again, then dammit nothing's going to stop me. 40 unplayed games and 50 hour runtime be damned.
honestly, even with all the forward thinking ideas Trigger had at the time, theres still to this day only 4 words you need to describe Chrono Trigger; NO FLUFF, JUST FUN
"If it's not fun why bother?" - Reggie Fils-Aime
(likely before getting back to playing Animal Crossing New Leaf on his Nintendo 3DS)
It sucks now, 3 words
It's difficult to overstate how satisfying "no fluff" is in a world dominated by empty open worlds, fetch quests, collectibles, and other low-effort filler.
Warsong and Shining Force were better than Chrono Trigger and FF6 fight me.
@@kenny5844 They're not even the same genre.
Chrono trigger is my favorite RPG of all time and helped me to change my perspective on games for the better. I'm always happy that others are playing this game for the first time, it just has a unique magic and passion filled in it. Artistic masterpiece.
Have you given Chrono Trigger Crimson Echoes A shot?
My worst part of ChronoTrigger: the only thing I remember about it, is that it was amazing.
I hate getting old(er).
When I was younger, my brother played it and did not know you could switch out the equipment…and he got all the way to Black Omen…with only the wooden sword
@@angelredvivar LOL
That sounds like a positive, since now you can experience playing it for the first time, again.
@@lnsflare1 Absolutely! Hopefully sooner than later.
I remember almost everything about it
Played C. Trigger in the 90s when I was in middle school. Please - Please - Please - Remake it in HD-2D. I will buy it for whatever system it releases for ~ Thanks for the video!
I will obtain chrono trigger for the second time this december(probably). I played it on the DS many years ago, but wasn't into rpgs then, so I am looking forwards to experiencing the game again, I have new goggles on. Everybody says Chrono Trigger is a true masterpiece, so I have to give it a try!
The moment you said you love Final Fantasy 13-2. I hit the subscribe button. Thank you my friend. Don’t worry, there are some people out there who like that game. I’m one of the few who platinumed it.
You have to play the sister game. Live-A-Live. It was made by the same director and came out a year before Chrono Trigger and has a lot of similarities. I actually have a theory that much like many other Squaresoft games of the time, the devs were working on a new game idea and they ended up with 2 different ideas and instead of scrapping one in favor of the other, they made them into 2 separate games.
Chrono Trigger is like comfort food. It's simple, but delicious and makes you happy every time you play it, even if you know what it's going to taste like. It has elements that all JRPG fans would enjoy.
I would love to see Final Fantasy 9's quick time events in Chrono Trigger. Just imagining seeing how the various party members react to the food, culture, people and technology in various timelines. It would make for endless entertainment.
chrono trigger was also the first game to have new game +, I'd say that's a pretty massive concept as well. something nearly every game has now.
Game at 4:50 is Sea of stars, the creators must of been fans of CT because it definitely has CT vibes
Love your honesty and pure joy with this! Subbed!!
"I'm not even a big Zelda fan," he remarked casually. So much said with so little.
Playing this game as a kid on the SNES, I couldn't put it down. I remember reaching Magus' chamber in his castle, when everything was dark and quiet, and then ghostly blue torches started to light up the way. It was already late at night and I was alone in front of the screen as everybody else in my family was already asleep, so it was pretty spooky for kid me back then. And then the M man revealed himself, and that legendary musical score played, and we battled. And he kicked my party's ass. Great times.
Just finished this for the first time yesterday. I was blown away. Before this only JRPG I have ever played were Golden Sun and Pokémon. But this game was a monster. And I loved no random encounters
10:13 The socre is done by Yasunori Mitsuda, Uematsu only assisted on a few themes.
11:18 Somebody didn't complete Frog's side story.
This game was the perfect blend of pudding from the expression when they say the proof is in the pudding well Chrono Trigger is that pudding. Loved your review mate.
Man the snes had so many jrpgs.... Chrono trigger, dragonquest 3, final fantasy 3, super mario rpg, earthbound, etc.
Hey Matty I just want to say I’ve been watching your videos since the fallout four hype and speculation. I just want to say it’s been a pleasure watching you grow over the years and I’m really enjoying this new channel. You seem like a really chill guy I could sit down and just talk about our love and passion with gaming. Have a good day bro
same 😁
This was my first completed game as a kid and one of my fondest memories with my brother. We played this game together for what felt like months on end. We loved this game. It definitely has a special place in my heart
Chrono Trigger is the GOAT. You should also check out Wild Arms, Suikoden and Vagrant Story if you haven't had the opportunity yet.
Suikoden is my all time favorite jrpg series. Glad someone else enjoys it
I started with Suikoden 2
Then I realised I could have another character if I played Suikoden 1 so I went back to 1 and redid 2 right away. These games are so well crafted! Then I tried playing Suikoden 3 but it wasn't really the same anymore.
5:54 That's just suspension of disbelief. The term Ludonarrative Dissonance originated from a Bioshock analysis, where the gameplay allowed the player to choose between embracing objectivism (kill the Little Sisters for a big boost in power) or being humanist (heal the Little Sisters for a small boost in power), while the rest of the narrative has you railroaded into antagonizing objectivism until you beat the final boss. The main thing everyone misses is that this dissonance is intentional and not an obvious incongruence between narrative and gameplay that gets you out of the immersion (like the rest of the Internet started using the term for).
11:07 Because the original Chrono Trigger didn't have cutscenes (the cutscenes first were added in the PS version), so if you're playing for a SNES nostalgia trip, they'll pull you out of the experience.
11:34 Gotta love how one can characterize a silent protagonist. It reminds me how a couple of youtubers complained about the Persona 5 characters being at first hesitant on going back to the other world (like if risking life and limb on a dangerous place for no good reason is something a normal teenager is eager to do)
12:48 Oh, yes! The Trial is one of the most memorable parts of the game. I wonder how many people got the guilty verdict in their first run. Fun thing: if you don't attempt to escape the jail on your own, you get taken to the execution room, Lucca breaks in during your execution, saves you and joins your party for the whole jail break level (instead of joining just before the boss fight).
Just had to say thanks to Retro Rebound (and subscribe) because I did not know about Sea of Stars somehow. I'm obsessed with The Messenger. It's one of my favorite games of all time. And by some crazy coincidence I've been searching for a game similar to Chrono Trigger for the past 3 weeks and so far I've found nothing comparable, so I'm just replaying Chrono Trigger on mobile. Anyway, I'm beyond words excited for Sea of Stars now, and thanks!
Let’s talk about the real reason this game is the best of all time. The characters feel United. Unified. You form an instant lovable bond with all of them. Magnus a character who’s a villain in his own right. Puts his ego aside and helps our heroes fight the real evil thats threatening both of their timelines. It felt like you held the weight of this world on your shoulders. And these characters are all main characters in their own right. All would be loved as main characters in other games but each of them brings something so absolutely vital to the table you never consider your companions “side” characters. You can fully rely on all of them and at some points are forced to use certain ones to progress, that often you have an existential crisis just choosing which characters to pick. And you can only choose three. There’s so many elements from the music. The sprite design. The story the replay ability, the emotional toll it takes on you. This isn’t a video game it’s a journey. You feel apart of it as much as the characters in the game. You care about them as friends who always have your back. I’ve existentially pondered over this game after I completed it for the second time. Like I sat back with tears in my eyes like I actually am in love with this game. You play it and realize it’s perfect. You can’t even nitpick it. It blows your expectations for an rpg out of the water. Everything has haters. But with crono trigger it’s a different case. Anyone actually hating on the game just looks stupid and is instantly mocked. It’s impossible to genuinely hate the game without coming off like you belong in special education class.
So to end it off. Crono trigger isn’t a game. It’s an experience. I can barely remember the miniseries I watched on Netflix last year. But crono trigger a game I only complete twice. Was burned into my brain like learning a language. Every element was memorable. Every aspect was flawless.
If you never played it. Don’t feel like you missed the boat. I’m jealous. Go experience this masterpiece! Do yourself a favor!!!!!
I’m playing as well on steam. I played as a kid back in 95 Super NES…used to rent it from the BlockBuster. LFG
Chrono Trigger was one of my favorite games and helped introduce me to JRPG's
I owe a lot to this game
How many CT game designers looked at the cover and thought "Hmm, Marle has ice as her magic and in this picture she's shooting fire. Hmm, that looks like an inconsistency." My guess is none. Not a single person thought it and if they did, they kept it to themselves.
shhhhhhhhhhh
Better late than never. Glad you've finally played this masterpiece.
Small correction: Most of the music was done by Yasunori Mitsuda, not Nobuo Uematsu. Both legendary composers.
True story. It was Mitsuda's first big project and he was so stressed out during the whole process that he became ill and Uematsu came in and finished the soundtrack.
@@damonke79 , I think he also lost a lot of work early on due to data corruption, too. He definitely suffered.
@@WCCXtra He supposedly developed a stomach ulcer and started losing his hair if I recall correctly. Mitsuda is my favorite game composer of all time. Glad he made it through. His OSTs for Xenogears and Chrono Cross are truly incredible.
He wasn't even credited during that time, but now everyone knows he's behind almost all the music of Chrono Trigger. Not even a part of The Dream Team, so does other current Square-Enix employees that grew from Squaresoft.
@@Eclectic.Nostalgia To be fair we don't really know who did which songs in Chrono Trigger. The majority of the songs have a very Uematsu-like style to me.
Chrono trigger is my favourite game of all time and I’m glad you’ve enjoyed this game and it’s seriously a work of art.
That's an absolutely gorgeous looking 3ds. Shame ur not a big zelda fan. Loz the minish cap is also an amazing game most people completely missed.
I remember playing this game back when it came out in 1995. It was the SNES version and I remember being blown away by the story. It was like a sci-fi story (which I'm really into). my family didn't have money to buy the $60-65 (would be like $120-160 in todays dollars) game cartridges back then, so I only ever got to play the first quarter of the game. The SNES had awesome RPGs. A link to the past, Chrono Trigger, EarthBound (this one I played later on), Secret of Mana (will be playing this one next!). I'm so glad Nintendo doesn't own the rights to this game! It's on PC, iOS, etc. Not sure if it's on Android or not. I'd say this might actually be the best game that was on that system.
You should get a DSi XL. It's the best way to play original DS games since they don't scale correctly on 3DS screens. You can hold select on the 3DS when a DS game is starting to make it a pixel match to a DS screen, but it makes it display in a smaller window.
Agree with everything you said. It’s not the story. Like many JRPGS they introduce too many characters, worlds and side plots. But it doesn’t even matter because the music, art and mechanics hold up very, very well.
I played chrono trigger for the first time in 1996 still can't get enough of it
Him: It wasn't, like, a deeply captivating, emotionally moving story
Me: *Sheds a tear every few years for Schala and Kid
I was sad for Robot when he waited all those years lol
Saving lucca's mom :( sooo many cool parts
@@saintsr0w1 I’m not crying you’re crying 😭
I remember, 20 years ago, picking up Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV in a bundle on PS1. Never played any RPG before, booted FFIV and didn't understand a single thing. Played CT and absolutely loved it. What a way to start my JRPG journey, which still continues to this day,
Final Fantasy Chronicals (the bundle was called)
chrono trigger is a game that could stand up to modern titles if it got a graphical overhaul, that's how far ahead of its time it was
It already stands up to them without doing that.
It doesn’t need one
my younger brother pawned all my snes and snes and ps1 and genesis games including ff3 and chrono in really good condition when i went off to army basic training...
Cool video. I have yet to play it but have been interested in it for a long time. I've honestly just been waiting on a remastered version to release on modern consoles. With it being as good as everyone says, I want to experience it the best way possible.
*P.S.* I also fell in love with FFXIII-2. It's a genuinely great game. I actually hesited on it, a lot, then got blown away by how great it was/is. While its story isn't quite as good as XIII's, it does so many other things better. Battles, exploration, upgrading, pacing, comic relief, etc. It also added the monster collecting, and time travel, mechanics which were both very well implemented and added so much fun to the game.
It also has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in my life. It's in my top 3 FF OST's along with FFVII and FFVIII. Although FFXIII's is very close, almost tied, with XIII-2's. FFVI and FFX also come very close with their OST's. No other FF OST's compare to those six games.
Chrono Trigger is a classic, around 20 hours in a first time play through, near perfect pacing, and characters that are linked together throughout time. It gives you multiple endings, lots of freedom and still is such a tight story driven adventure that people can talk about it for all these iconic moments. Sometimes graphics get in the way, and this might have been a problem for you, it is on the DS and would have looked even worse on a 3DS with the screens being cut down, hopefully one day they do a remake of this game, a straight up retelling with modern graphics, because I think it deserves to be played on modern systems. I'd give it another go at that point if I were you. I do wonder what your choices were in the game, what did you do with Magnus? Chrono? how did you feel about 12,000bc? This game remains my favorite RPG of all time, FF7 and Xenoblade being 2 and 3, I just tip my hat to Chrono because of it's story telling and in such a brief game.
11:06 - The reason why you can turn off the anime cutscenes and why you would want to do that, is because they have in-game spirite-based equivalents made for the SNES version, which in some cases are way better than their FMV counterparts
Bought this the day it released for SNES. Terra's theme from FFVI and Frog's theme from Chrono Trigger are the only two ringtones anyone ever needs.
I had the exact same experience that you described here watching The Godfather recently where I realized that the movie was the progenitor of a lot of movies/tv shows I loved, including Breaking Bad. I also had a similar experience recently with FF VII where I've seen a lot of its DNA in more recent FF's. Although I can't say that I "love" the classics more than the things I experienced first - for instance, I still love Breaking Bad more than The Godfather - I still have developed a sincere appreciation and gratefulness for the classics which inspired my favorite shows and games.
Ahhhhh! Such a great memory during this up when I was in middle school. I knew NOTHING about it and just knew I had loved FF4 and FF6. I’m jealous you got to have your first time with it.
I just got a Game Boy Advance SP with Advance Wars, though it was only the Cartridge but i always hated the Game Boy Advance boxes anyway, with them being cardboard but i also got a complete in box copy of Advance Wars Dual Strike for the 3DS so i can just keep the original in the game boy holder with the DS case, i haven't played a Game Boy Advance for years, this will be a great trip down memory lane :)
Uematsu didn't do the score for this game, just helped a little bit when Mitsuda was ill
I can't even begin to explain how amazing it was to play through this game back in 1995 when in first came out. This game was on another level compared to anything we had back then. Such an incredible experience.
Was my top 2 favorite games on the snes the other ff 6, I remember me and my friend taking turns and we stayed up all night playing trying to beat it.
@@maulressurected4405 FF 6 was a great game also. FF2, which is 4 now, was my first rpg. I had no idea what I was doing at the time, but had a ton of fun playing it.
@Rex Trowbridge 4 was good, huge step up from the very first game and the first ff that I actually got to finish. FF 1 the nest always locked up when I got halfway through the final dungeon and would always wipe my save data.
@@maulressurected4405 yea I tried to play part 1 after beating 4, but I just couldn't get into it.
It REALLY was man.
Very good point, if I didn't grow up with it I would of seen it the same way. Games do improve I guess.
The segment with the Dragon Tank where the game told the player what to do was early in. It was the second boss fight, iirc. And it introduced a mechanic that continued to apply to many of the other multi-part bosses of the game. So it was basically like having a tutorial level or boss fight without having it explicitly called a tutorial level.
I played it when it came out. The music and the plot still stay with me till this day. 25+ years later.
I remember buying the SNES version of Chrono Trigger in January 2020 for about $100 cad, then returning to that same game store about three or four months later and seeing another copy for more than double what I paid.
I see by your profile pic that you are a person of culture
I have an odd history with Chrono Trigger as well. Originally i bought it digitally on the ps3 back in 2015 (also my very first digital bought game EVER). Only ever played the first half hour since i couldnt stand the 5 second load time between opening menus and battles. Then in 2017 i got the DS version for $15 at gamestop, and played all the way until a bit after getting the robot. Now in 2024 im playing it once more and giving it the time it deserves. Funny enough im playing the old ps3 version since load times dont bother me anymore (and just enjoy playing on a tv).
Been playing Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, Megami Tensei, and Final Fantasy for over 25yrs. I own the original NES/SNES copies and even Famicom imports.
Those four franchises defined my gaming experience.
I played Chrono Trigger in 1995 on SNES; blown away as the best RPG of it's time (right next to FF6)
but now I play Octopath (first time this year) and I completely in awe in how much it reminds me of CT and FF6 put together.
Live A Live is another great older JRPG! You should definitely play that one if you haven't yet!
The biggest advantage of that game is how accessible it is. No grinding is required to complete the game: as long as you do all the battles on your path, you will be fine. They also created the world and story where you can literally stop playing for months, come back and not be lost (unlike tons of others games).
I completed the SNES game every once in a while. But now, I somehow felt into the definitive edition (DS version) adaptation for mobile phone and currently going through it for the second time in the same month just for the additional content.
Well the point would be to get all the additional endings...theres like 13.
Played this game when it came out in 95'.
Got almost all the endings.
I still hear the music.
The messenger developers new game is called sea of stars, should be coming out sometime in 2023 and it looks amazing
I played Chrono Trigger on my SNES when it first came out. An absolutely amazing game, but the first jrpg I ever played (FF2 as it was called when it was released) will always still be my favorite.
Love this. There are so many older games, especially JRPGs, I want to play and discover for the first time, but it’s kind of a lonely feeling when the titles feel almost obsolete at this point.
Idk if anyone else feels this way, but just knowing others are still exploring classic games for the first time, makes me feel more motivated and cheerful about doing the same
I constantly play older games and mostly RPGs. Played through Wild Arms this year. 2022 is gonna be a big year for old JRPGs for me.
Tackle that game my boy its a first for me
I mostly only enjoy older jrpgs. I try to get into all the new ones, but I just get bored. Using graphics and flash to cover up the story and characters just aren’t there. So much filler, it’s just hard, but I continue. I’ve played some that really stand out ie Child of Light, Nier Automata, Radiant Historia, DQ11…so there is still hope out there. Ready to play Tales of Arise, Scarlett Nexus, Triangle Strategy, and Sea of Stars.
@@hugbuzzard I'm kind of in a similar boat, but DQ11 caught me off gaurd with just how good it is. A proper modern evolution of the DQ games. Shame the same can't be said of Final Fantasy...
@@ERWebster I have faith for the quality of Final Fantasy 16. I’m digging the “gothic fantasy”/Game of Thrones-type vibe I’m getting from the trailers. I think it’s gonna surprise everyone. And FFVII Remake was absolutely stellar, so I know the boys at Square still have it in them to create some solid work.
I fell in love with the game for all the reasons you mentioned, but also because you could recruit magus in the party if you wanted, or you could kill him with frog. Having one of the bad guys join you was so awesome… and magus is just awesome with the dark magic.
Me playing Chrono Trigger as a kid for the first time: wow, the sprites are so beautiful. It looks better than Mario. And the music is kinda catchy. Umm, how do you play this? I’m confused…
A few hours later: time travel? this is fun! What a goofy, fun adventure!
Then: a trial!? Hahaha. I’m enjoying this! The music here is so catchy.
Then: wait, what just happened? Why does the future look so dreary? Lavos, what the hell is that? Wait, The world ended??????
A few hours later: i just killed Magus, wasn’t he the big bad guy? I fixed the future, right? Hold on, where/when the hell was my party sent to? A frozen landscape? (Corridors of time starts to play), this music… It’s gorgeous!
Hours later: wow, this story is deeper than I originally thought. This is not a goofy time traveling adventure at all. The reason this story even exists is because a mother abused her children to the point where she forced her own daughter to commune with the evil that is slowly killing their world. My 12 year old brain can’t handle this.
A few hours later: we have to save Crono, guys! We have to fix this! For Schala! For Janus! Let’s rid our world of this parasite!
End credits: I just played the greatest game ever made.
@ absolutely! When I realized that you can recruit that villain my tiny little brain exploded. So many great memories.
I obsessed over this game when it first came out. Had to get every item and skill, do all the side quests, and of course try for all the different end scenes.
After doing all that, I decided to grind New Game+ and attempt to defeat Lavos during that first encounter, via The Mammon Machine and Queen Zeal… and eventually did just that. It’s very hard and time consuming breaking through the shell, you need dozens of Megalixers, but it can be done. The inner parts, they’re not beefed up so the rest is a cake walk.
Just finished beating it for the first time 🤠
Now I understand why everyone has such high regard for it. Wow!
We never got this here in Europe. I got it immediately when it finally made it to Germany via Nintendo DS. I absolutely loved it. It's one of those insanely good games we missed... just like Earthbound (which I finally got to play on Wii U).
Miss this game so much. Hands down my favorite rpg from my childhood.
A lot of big character moments in CT happen in the sidequests. This game has a simple story, but it's how they decided to tell that story is what makes it perfect. The paciing is flawless and there is no fat, they knew what they needed to do, and they nailed the execution.I also didn't have much a problem with Chrono's motivation because he is just the player's avatar.
Like Kefka Queen Zeal Destroyed her world also not sure if she did it before Kefka but it was monumental to see Queen Zeal and the Black Omen hovering the sky it was kind of creepy knowing she's right there all the time waiting to ruin the world. Zeal and Kefka should hook up XD I love the character designs being DBZ style great art style helps the game.
Absolutely love the start with the old school TV, really makes me feel the retro vibes. Mario RPG next please!!!
I had this on Super Nintendo.. I loved this game.. they should update it
I had been an SE fan since FF on NES, and I got most SquareSoft games at launch. I love this game so much. I can't count how many times ive played this game over the decades
You’d turn the anime cutscenes off if you want the Snes experience.
There are ingame cutscenes instead of animated I’m assuming that play if you turn them off since the original game did not have them. Sometimes I prefer the way it originally looked for the oldschool experience.
Snes version still my favorite, it’s the one I had an original cart for way back in 2004 or 2005.
First time I played the game was on my iPhone xr in 2019, and I didn’t regret it. The feeling of open world/time travel give it a really unique feeling.
Not even 4 minutes in and I already have to pause and say: based Radiant Historia enjoyer
I also loved ff13-2. They took ff13 and improved on it in everyway and added time travel. I still haven't played chrono trigger but maybe I'll get to it soon now that starfield is delayed.
It is great whenever you hear so much hype about a game and finally sit down to play it, even after years or decades, for the first time and realize that the hype was real. The game is as good as all the stories you have heard. But it is a completely different story when a game does not. That is what happened to me and Resident Evil 4. I hated the Game Cube controller, so I never picked up a game Cube. So, I never played RE4 when it was first released. But I heard about it. From everyone. Every magazine, website, person, gamer, employee, I mean everyone. Fast forward several years when RE4 is finally released for the PC. I buy it off of STEAM, install it, and prepare to have my mind blown. I mean, it is RE4. Everyone and their grandma have this thing on a pedestal like it is the greatest video game ever created by man.
And boy howdee. After finishing RE4 for the first time I was thoroughly disappointed. To me the hype was not at all deserved. Sometimes, though, a game has to be played in it's time to see the greatness shine, sometimes good games don't age well. Was RE4 bad? no. but playing it for the first time over a decade after it was released did not help any. I had seen many of the trends in the video game industry that RE4 helped cement. I was annoyed by the unimaginative plot devices which told the player where to go. it felt like it was holding my hand the entire time instead of letting me just figure it out myself. It was a far cry from RE 1&2 that I loved so much.
It is great when a game lives up to the hype. But it is equally sucky when they don't
You may be asking yourself "what is the point of this story?"
I like stories.
Yasunori Mitsuda is the main composer for Chrono Trigger (and Cross)
He had a hard drive crash that made him lose all compositions and health problems close to the deadline, and Mr. Uematsu stepped in for a number of tracks, but he is still regarded as the main music guy for Chrono
ive just started it on steam, ive been wanting to play it for years.