Chrono Trigger 30th Anniversary

When you think back on your time as a kid, if you are a gamer, I am sure a few games that impacted you stand out. Chrono Trigger is one such title for me, and as of the 11th of March, it has been 30 years since it was released on the Super Famicom in Japan. I dare say it was almost perfect: it had a great story, memorable characters, beautiful pixel graphics, and an amazing soundtrack, making this game one of the best-looking and -sounding titles of the 16-bit era. With 13 different endings, you can change how your story goes, with either a happy ending or a bad one.

If you think the characters look like they belong in an anime like Dragon Ball, you aren't totally wrong; the creator of that series, Akira Toriyama, designed all the characters in Chrono Trigger. The pixel visuals in this game are among the best to appear on the Super Nintendo, along with a soundtrack that is epic and super memorable. After all these years, it still sounds amazing.

Our game begins in the peaceful kingdom of Guardia in the year 1000 A.D.; the year is important to note. Our main protagonist, Crono, is snoozing away in bed, and getting woken up by his mother. He is supposed to be meeting his friend Lucca, who is an inventor, at the Millennial Fair that is taking place in Leene Square. She has a special invention on display that she created with her father that teleports a person from one podium to another placed across the stage area.

Crono finds Lucca as she is setting up for her display, so he decides to explore the fair in the meantime, but he runs into an orange-haired girl named Marle with enough force to knock her pendant off. Being the nice guy that he is, he retrieves it, and the two hang out at the fair together. They play a variety of carnival games to pass the time, like a soda drinking contest, betting on which runner will win the foot race, and taking part in a game of strength trying to hit the bell at the top. Once Lucca is all set up for her show, the two head over to check out this new invention.

Crono wants to help Lucca out so he volunteers to be the test subject to teleport from one side of the stage to the other. Everything works well and he is transported with no problem. Marle is excited, as she wants to try it, too, so she runs up and gets on the pedestal. When the invention is used again, something different and unexpected happens: it reacts to the pendant she is wearing and seemingly opens a portal that pulls her in, sending her somewhere else. This event takes us through multiple periods in the past and future to prevent Doomsday from happening in 1999 (seems odd now that it is now past), meeting new allies who will join your team and aid in this battle.

Chrono Trigger wasn’t the same as a typical turn-based RPG: the attack system was incredibly unique. You were able to team up with the other members of your party to perform powerful attacks. There are single, dual, and triple techs to learn, changing depending on who you have in your party at the time of battle, each pair or trio has their own unique attacks that they perform. These moves were fully animated and looked super cool when used, making you feel powerful against the foes you battled.

There are so many things about this game that make it one of my favourite games of all time. The story is amazing, it’s incredibly interesting and all the characters that you meet and team up with are fun and full of personality, making you care about their wellbeing. Travelling through the different periods of time makes the game feel fresh and familiar, since you visit the same locations, they look totally different based on the year you are in. Battles are fun, especially when you can use the different techs available depending on your current party, and the main enemy is truly scary and intimidating.

 

If you want to try out this title for yourself, it is quite pricey to purchase for the original SNES, but it is available on Steam. The version on there is the one updated with the anime cutscenes that were on the PlayStation so even if you have played the original game in the past, this version does have something new for you to see. I will warn you that there are a few bugs here, so it’s not perfect, but it’s still playable.

Here’s to 30 years for a game that has given me so many good memories, Chrono Trigger will always be one of my favourites! I wonder if they will ever do a remake that retains the gorgeous pixel graphics but update it like other RPGs we have seen as of late.