When one thinks of classic RPGs from the 90′s, there is a pretty long list that should pop into every true gamer’s head. Unquestionably, Chrono Trigger is a masterpiece that continually appears at the top of this list. Being not only one of the best RPGs for the SNES, it is also a contender for the greatest game of its genre. Chrono Trigger for the DS brings this experience into the world of portables.
Chrono Trigger puts you in the boots of a silent protagonist default named Crono. You are checking out the Millennia Faire, a local celebration for the thousandth anniversary of the kingdom of Guardia, where your good friend Lucca is showcasing one of her new inventions. This teleportation device accidentally ends up being a time machine. Crono, Lucca and the princess of the kingdom get entangled into a time traveling adventure meeting new friends along the way and even maybe saving the world. The story and world are believable and compelling. The characters are very memorable and you will probably care about each and every one of your party members. The game itself has multiple versions of each scene depending on who is in your party at the time and even has multiple endings. A few extras are tacked onto the DS version including a battle arena, a new dungeon and some extra side quests.
The gameplay in Chrono Trigger DS contains the standard exploration of most JRPGs and the battle system is amazingly
fun and intuitive. Characters rank up when using spells and eventually are able to unlock powerful duel techs and triple techs to use with each other. Mixing and matching party members to deal with areas of the game is made easier through being able to switch at any time via new touch enabled menus for the DS version. Overall there is not that much change to the combat system, but this is not a bad thing considering it was pretty great to begin with.
Art in the game is great. All the designs for characters are by the famous Dragonball artist Akira Toriyama, and the music is by now famous Yatsunori Mitsuda. Chrono Trigger’s soundtrack is possibly one of the most memorable in video game history and has been remixed and redone countless times. As you play through the game on the DS you unlock music, animated cutscenes and much more in the game’s Extra Mode which is often fun just to read up on.
In the end, Chrono Trigger is not the longest RPG of all time, but it is in my opinion probably the best JRPG or even RPG ever created. If you are a fan of the genre and have not played this, I suggest picking it up for DS as you can take it with you and will surely make time for you just fly by.
Pros:
- Great Story and Characters
- Amazing Soundtrack
- Extra Content not in original game
Cons:
- I wish this game lasted forever.
Score: 5/5
