I have had mixed emotions while playing Chrono Trigger. Obviously I haven’t played much of the game, which is probably why there has been mixed emotions but the game has been very interesting as well. What I thought was confusing which made me have mixed feelings about it was the back and forth of the time frames throughout the game. I couldn’t 100% figure out at what point I was whether if I was in the past or the future at first. It made me interested though because I had questions that I wanted to be answered. I wanted to figure out when to realize what was the future and what was the past. It seemed like two different settings which confused me because I thought that it was two different worlds that I didn’t know how they correlate. I am sure once I continue playing the game, I will figure out and answer all the questions that I had that confused me. What I thought was cool is that you didn’t play as just one character. You played multiple characters which made you have multiple views of the game which I think is good because only playing as one character you lock into that one character and I feel like you make choices that’s best for their character rather than the other characters throughout the game.

For a game that came out in 1995, I feel like the game is well developed for a game that came out that long ago. The graphics I feel like are pretty good for it being 1995. Obviously it isn’t going to be as good as what games now are like that with everything that is high definition and the technology we have in video games today, but I thought it was a good for it being released 25 years ago. Overall, I think for it being released in 1995, I thought the graphics and the overall game was good and that they can easily remaster it with technology our video games we have today and make the game very popular again.

With time going from the past to the future, it is very unpredictable of what is going to happen next. They can go whichever route they want to go based on the twist and turns that constantly come up in the game. I think that is a good thing to have because it keeps the player interested. It keeps them thinking and interesting as they question “What is going to happen next?” People can get draw into games so much where all they think about is playing wanting to know what is going to happen next.

First playing Chrono Trigger, the biggest thing that amazed me early on in the game was the quality of the 8-bit animations of the characters. The reason being is because some of my earliest and memorable 8-bit games that I played in my childhood were Pokémon titles, and for a game that came out in 1995 to be comparable to my favorite Pokémon title Pokémon Platinum that came out in 2009 tells me how much effort the makers of Chrono Trigger put into graphics. The encounter early on a game that I’m referring to is at the festival where if you explore well enough, you may stumble across a group of NPC’s dancing on a stage with music playing in the background. The mind-blowing part was that I could make out that the characters were pulling off dance moves. In the 90s, I would expect 8-bit characters just to be hopping around with no animation from the limbs of their body. Early on, Chrono Trigger gives the player a friendly, soothing vibe to start with, but in my experience of gaming, I can assume that Chrono Trigger will take a dark turn real soon as starting that way did not mean good for the main character and their friends. This was similar to my experience playing Kingdom Hearts One. I am at the point where Chrono gets arrested. For some, they may feel that’s the worst that things can get. However, I feel like it will get super dark based on my past experiences

I am going to be honest about my Chrono Trigger playing experience so far-

….. This game is hard!

Well, it’s at least too hard for me.

I am very used to playing first-person-shooter (FPS) games, not top-down, RPG games. It was so nerve-wracking and hard to defeat even the little goblin/troll-looking enemies when you travel back in time to save Marle, but only for a short while before I got the hang of it.

I believe Chrono Trigger provides a very unique gaming experience for video game players. For a game that was published in 1995, some of the graphics, such as the portal that opens after Marle gets sucked back in time amidst the 8-bit art style around it.

It does still feel like an old game since I am not able to move left and down or right and up at the same time as in newer games, but I believe it still holds its own. I’m not too surprised by the game mechanics and motions for the time period, since Mortal Kombat 3 (a game I have played before) came out the same year, and these two games feel just as slow as one another.

Actually, I think Crono walks a bit faster than the characters in Mortal Kombat 3 do if I remember correctly…..

Anyways, story-wise, I feel like I have no idea what is going to happen next. I have a semi-high expectation that the game will throw me a curveball plot twist in the next hour or so of me playing, even though I’ve only put a few hours in so far. Most of my playing experience has just been defeating Emps and ugly goblin enemies, more than the story.

However, I have been talking to as many NPCs as I can to pick up on the history and politics of what is going on in their country at that moment in time. I hope that the more I play, the more I will be able to collect more of the story from the main characters and the side characters.

Chrono Trigger has been a pleasant experience so far. One of the first things I found myself forced to do is remember that this game was made in 1995. From what I’ve heard, this game was way ahead of its time in its game mechanics, storytelling, and many other aspects in the game. However, from someone who was born 7 years after this game was created, and grew up playing video games that were far more developed than Chrono trigger, it is hard to appreciate all the things that Chrono Trigger did that was “before its time”, because I have played games that did this three times over. So in order to understand and truly appreciate Chrono Trigger, I had to play the game looking through a specific lens in order to level the playing field.

In order to create this “lense”, I had to find some other games that were created around this time in order to have something to compare it to. Comparing it to games that I have played growing up is almost unfair because of how far technology and video games have developed since 1995. So some games that I kept in mind while playing were: the original Pokemon, Mario brothers, and Donkey Kong. All games that came out about relatively the same time and that I have played, or have a general idea about. Now with these things in mind, I was able to play the game from a different perspective and appreciate it a little more. 

As far as the storyline of the game, I feel as if the plot is very detailed and has some depth, which is also my favorite aspect of this JRPG so far. After only playing the first quarter of the game, there have been plenty of plot twists and “what in the world” moments for me. When talking about the mechanics of the game, this is where I still feel a little iffy about. While I am able to appreciate how advanced they are compared to other games during its time, I almost find the battles to be a bit repetitive and lackluster. Maybe this is until I reach a boss fight that I fail miserably at, so I still do have some hope that I’ll be able to find some enjoyment in that aspect of the game.

Besides that, I have really enjoyed Chrono Trigger thus far, and am looking forward to what else it has in store. 

Upon booting Chrono Trigger for the first time, and being greeted by the pocket watch swinging, I was not entirely enthusiastic to say the least. The intro already made me think, “Yeah, this game is old old.” Upon jumping in and navigating between objectives I could see how no objective journal or markers got annoying. As impatient as I am, I noticed how much games nowadays hold our hands in making sure players do not get lost. This mechanic (or lack of) really makes you listen actively to the NPC’s rather than spamming the next button.

I am impatient but I do like turn-based combat for the most part. I have played games like Divinity Original Sin 2, Civilization games, and of course Pokemon when I was younger. But this type of turn-based combat is very different from all the games I have played. It still is turn based but opponents can still attack you while choosing your attack method. The combo attacks are also a nice addition into effectively managing your character’s resources.

I do have to say that the game is enjoyable thus far. I am more interested in the story than the mechanics though but I find going back into the past and future really is what made me interested in the story. I also just now learned that to use Shelters you need to stand on top of the green save spot (would have saved me so much time). Lastly, I noticed that the art work (like the one above) reminds me of the Dragon Ball artwork, so I assume Akira Toriyama had designed these characters.

Having played about 5 hours of Chrono Trigger, I can say I’ve enjoyed the game WAY more than I thought I would. I’ve never played a game like this before and I’m playing on the computer, which is a first for me since I play all of my games on console, so this has definitely been a unique experience compared to what I’m used to. That being said, it took a little while to get the controls down and get used to the gameplay, but after that I was just rolling along.

For a 1995 game, most of my expectations have been met, but were exceeded in one case which I will talk about later. For the most part though, the graphics and gameplay were what I expected. For the time it was probably fast-paced and smooth, but it felt a little clunky and slow to me. In cases where I want to interact with something, sometimes it wouldn’t work unless Crono was in a specific spot looking directly at the character or chest. Besides that though, the game is what I expected considering its age.

In terms of the story, the game so far has met my expectations. I have not gotten to any plot twists or huge character moments yet, so this may be why the story is fairly basic so far which was my expectation going in. It is hard to say where I think the story will go since it is so early, but obviously time travel plays a huge part, even going so far as to put a pendulum on the main menu. I do think the backstory of the world will play a big role though.

The gameplay was simple and easy to get used to. I really like the leveling system and how items can be used and equipped. The fights have started to become tedious though, only due to their repetitiveness.

The one aspect of this game that truly exceeded my expectations was the trial scene. I was not expecting this style of game to feature a moment where all of my small, and seemingly insignificant actions would be judged. I really enjoyed this part and it has been my favorite moment in the game so far. I hope there are more sections of the game like this.

Overall, while not my cup of tea in terms of what I’m used to and what I enjoy playing, Chrono Trigger has been surprisingly enjoyable considering its age and genre. While not something I would go off and play in my free time, I appreciate what it brings to the table and am excited to see how the story plays out.

Chrono Trigger is an RPG wonderland, and honestly, it is one of the better-looking and playing games of 1995. I was unfortunately not born when it came out, but playing it now I can understand why it was so popular in the RPG community and still is to this day.

Typically, RPGs are not my favorite genre because they seem to move slowly and it’s a lot more reading than I prefer when playing video games. I actually do not mind it on this game however and think it brings a lot more immersion. Something I have found quite interesting about the game so far is the fact that there are no quest bars or maps to help you. You sort of have to navigate on your own and find what you are looking for solely based on what the characters tell you. I am not used to this type of game mechanic, but I think it works very well because it forces you to explore all the areas until you find what you are looking for.

For a game that was released in 1995, I must say it is exceeding my expectations. Although the art style is still 8-bit, it is very high quality for its time and the colors are very vibrant. I have also been enjoying the soundtracks that are played in the background. It definitely adds an element to the game and the compositions are very well made for their time. I have also had lots of fun interacting with different characters and objects, such as in the cathedral when you play the organ, it opens up doors or retracts spikes that you could not previously get to before.

As for the story, though I am not too far in, I can predict where the story may possibly be going. We started off with a random girl at the fair, but then she gets teleported to another world and becomes a queen. Apparently, she was a descendant of a previous queen and so it is your goal to find the girl and figure out what happened to the queen before. You have to make sure the queen does not die in that timeline so that the girl may stay alive. I think that you will most likely have to travel through lots of different timelines and find out the different situations of what happened in the past and piece them together. I am unsure where the story will go but this is just a prediction I have based on what I have seen and played so far. I can’t wait to continue through and see what happens next.

My progress so far:

Now, I don’t know a ton about what video games were like back in 1995.  The closest reference I have that comes to mind is that the movie “Baby Geniuses” was released in 1999.  With this said, it’s (I imagine) a lot more difficult to produce a video game than it is to produce a movie what with all the programming, design, interface, choice, and more that has to go in that movies don’t necessarily incorporate.  From what I can tell based on research and what others have said about it, Chrono Trigger is a pretty impressive game.  The most easily recognizable title that I spotted on Wikipedia that released in 1995 was Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island and, as far as I know, that game wasn’t quite on the same revolutionary scale as Chrono Trigger is.

I was pretty unimpressed with the game until the scene came where Crono is on trial for kidnapping the princess.  When it comes to RPGs, choice is key in my opinion, as I like games that have replayability value and that I can personalize and craft my own unique experience.  Of course, it is a video game, so to an extent nobody is going to have exactly the same experience I am, but I’m referring more to programmed variations than player-determined things like “oh I spent x amount of time in this area while you spent y amount of time there, how amazing” or “you missed x item but I found it even though that didn’t actually have any effect on the core gameplay.”

When the trial scene did arrive, however, I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much my choices mattered.  I thought I was doing all the right things until that point but I was proven wrong.  When Crono and Marle collide, I swear on my life that I went for the pendant first specifically in order to give it back to her!  When you bump into someone in a hallway who’s got a bunch of books and the books fall and they audibly are like “oh no, my books!” then you’re gonna go and start helping with the books, not be like “are you okay?” stand there awkwardly for a second, and then help with the books, but whatever, game.  She was clearly more concerned about where her pendant was since she literally said something about her pendant, not about being hurt.  Greed.  Pfft.  Also apparently I bumped into her so I guess I “lied” about that to the court (even though who the hell would remember that tiny little detail).  Also also, I stole that dude’s lunch on accident while I was wall humping to see what I could interact with and it didn’t give me a choice to be like “do you want to eat this?” but I digress I guess.

Screw this game for maliciously twisting my actions with perfectly reasonable explanations against me.  Good game, broken judicial system, very realistic.  It really made me feel like a treason offender.