by Matt Murray

Created on: March 05, 2009   Last Updated: March 08, 2009

It's a nearly inarguable fact - Chrono Trigger is one of the best games ever made. Not just one of the best role-playing games or Super Nintendo games; one of the absolute best games of all time. It's an extremely rare case in which almost everything comes together to create something that transcends the boundaries of a niche genre like the RPG and becomes something that fans of any type of game can enjoy.

Of course, Chrono Trigger does still keep a few of the cliches of the genre intact. You play as Crono, a spiky haired mute teenager with a sword, and travel the world, gathering an unlikely team of heroes whose ultimate goal is to (what else?) save the world. What separates Chrono Trigger from most other RPGs in this department, however, is the time travel mechanic - instead of traversing one unchanging overworld, you explore five different time periods, each with its own aesthetic, mood, and characters. Aside from being a clever way of making the most out of a relatively small overworld, the time travel aspect also allows for some pretty creative puzzle solving, mostly in the form of optional side-quests.

Even the characters themselves are well removed from the typical RPG archetypes. Nearly half of the party members are female, a robot and a talking, sword-wielding frog (appropriately named Robo and Frog, respectively) are the two easiest characters to relate to, and Crono himself dies near the halfway point. However, if there's one serious complaint that can be lodged against the game, it's that the character development falters in comparison to most RPGs, especially Chrono Trigger's own sister series, Final Fantasy. While all of the characters are interesting and certainly likable enough, only two main characters (Frog and Magus) really seem to have weight behind their actions. This complaint is forgivable, however, especially seeing how fully fleshed out Magus becomes later in the story.

What sets Chrono Trigger apart the most, however, is its battle system. While it's still a turn based affair, battles flow infinitely more smooth than any other RPG of its time, and indeed, even contemporary games of the genre. Random battles are completely nixed in favor of enemies usually being able to be seen on the map, and thus most battles can be completely prepared for ahead of time, letting you choose which characters are best for each encounter. That's all icing on the proverbial cake compared to the technique system, however, which allows for powerful double and triple character moves. The real genius, however, is that most of these techniques are best effective while your enemies are in a certain formation. Being that enemies are constantly moving around the battlefield, figuring out when to use each technique becomes a game unto itself. It's an extremely clever system that should be mined for some ideas in current generation games.

Perhaps the thing that Chrono Trigger is loved for above all else, though, is its soundtrack. To call it a masterpiece of video game music would be a gross understatement, as the 16-bit sounds that are on display here go above and beyond what many of the highest paid movie composers of today churn out. From the simultaneously sad and triumphant theme of Frog to the mystical Corridors of Time, to the downright beautiful ending theme, the music in Chrono Trigger is its greatest asset, drawing the player into its world and characters in ways that words and visuals could never hope to accomplish.

Outclassing almost every RPG to come before or after it in every way possible, Chrono Trigger is simply a remarkable beyond words game that should be experienced by everyone.

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