$20 or Less – Chrono Trigger DS

As you might remember, the last $20 or less covered Final Fantasy XIII, an RPG I felt deserved more attention then it was given.  It wasn’t well received by fans, and for perfectly reasonable reasons. (both the game and the article) However; for what it costs now I felt, “Hey, why not give a try.” This time around I can’t express how much you must listen to my advice. The game I’ll be talking about is not only one of the most celebrated games released for Nintendo, ever. It’s also by far my favorite RPG title, and I would go as far as to say the best game period. I am of course talking about, Chrono Trigger!

Chrono Trigger

by Square Enix| Rated Everyone 10+|Platform: DS

Originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1995; Chrono Trigger was a RPG-fanatics dream game. With art by Akira Toriyama! Music by the three great composers Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu and Noriko Matsueda. A story by Yuji Horii, all under the watchful eye of Square! (Now known as Square-Enix) It really was the perfect game, and saw many re-releases! The latest being for the DS. With this new and  enhanced version you not only receive the original game as it was meant to be played (no load times), but you also get the added animated scenes that were included in the Playstation release! Oh, and a bunch of new content like raising your own little monster! If you can only buy one title this entire month, nay this year, and have never played this game…you really need to fix this.

Graphics and Music 10/10

Having been released back in 1995; Chrono Trigger isn’t going to be the most attractive game you see, at least no in the conventional sense. However; in fairness, for when it was released this was by far one of the best looking games! Truth be told, Chrono Trigger had better graphics then some of the first games released on the playstation! Artistically, this game is beautiful. Limited as the SNES was in comparison to modern games today, the game managed to pull together a very appeasing seetting. The character designs are gorgeous, and even the map layout is something to be praised. As this game has a emphasis on time travel the differences between the world layout in time eras is exact, and well designed. Even the enemies that are comically goofy looking are perfect for this title! It is a work of art, a classic that could be viewed as a modern piece. Beyond just art, the music is something that must be praised. Chrono Trigger’s musical score is one of the most highly praised, more so then even a few of the Final Fantasy games. Each piece fits perfectly into the story, setting the mood and really bringing out the full emotional potential of the game.  It’s hard to go on more about something that can literally be summed up as: Really Fucking Good.

Gameplay 10/10

Chrono Trigger’s combat has all the basic elements of your standard RPG from Japan. The battles are turned based with you controlling your characters actions by either using a standard attack, or unique technique/magic. What makes the gameplay unique in Chrono Trigger is the dual-tech/tripple-tech system. Dual-techs  combine two characters attacks to form an even more powerful, and uniquely named technique, with triple-techs doing the same but with all three characters. This does more then add flavor to combat, it really gives incentive to mix up your party. This is one of the few RPG’s where grinding the shit out of your characters is actually quite fun. It can also force you away from the party that you feel looks the coolest, as not all parties work well together, at least not in the way the player might wish to use them.

Story 10/10

It all starts with the ringing of Leene’s Bells. In the beginning of Chrono Trigger you find yourself on your way to the Millenial Fair where your friend Lucca is unveiling her latest invention. On the way you run into a girl who introduces herself as Marle. In a series of odd circumstance Marle is pulled into a portal that opens when her pendant and Lucca’s machine interact. From there, the adventure unravels into a story of time travel, and the dire effects of tampering with the past, in hopes of saving the future. Chrono Trigger’s story line is honestly one of the most well thought out plots in the industry. Combining elements of fantasy, science fiction, and sword and sorcery there really is nothing this game leaves out.

This is the game of the century, and there is no reason it should not be played. If you don’t own a DS, that’s fine. This game is so popular it has made appearance on almost all of Sony’s consoles. If you only buy one game from these articles, this is the one to get.