The Chrono Trigger Retrospective
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- In 1992, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yuji Horii, and Akira Toriyama took a business trip to America that would lead to them collaborating on one of the most celebrated games of all time.
Special Thanks to Majuular and Frank Wood from Super RPG Friends for lending their voices to this project.
Majuular: @Majuular
Super RPG Friends: / superrpgfriends
Bsky: bsky.app/profile/drubie.bsky....
Twitter: / lorddrubie
Patreon: / andrewbluett
Chapters
0:00 - Intro
1:22 - Part 1: The Dream Team
10:04 - Part 2: All Hands On Deck
14:15 - Patreon
14:28 - Part 3: Chrono Trigger
23:47 - Presentation & Tone
36:42 - Gameplay
43:27 - Pacing & Storytelling
50:19 - Characters
1:17:00 - Lavos & Existentialism
1:29:09 - Personal Thoughts
1:32:05 - Part 4: Connecting Threads
1:38:47 - Part 5: Masterpiece...?
Sources
1. V Jump Festival 94 VHS Tape 1
2. biturl.top/rQrEne
3. V Jump Preview Video 2
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6. biturl.top/aqeEVf
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8. biturl.top/ENnq2y
9. biturl.top/Eryeue
10. biturl.top/ea6rMb
11. biturl.top/7BnqUz
12. “Masato Kato Mail Interview.” Chrono Trigger Ultimania. Square Enix, 2009. p. 582-583. biturl.top/B3qUzu
13. biturl.top/FnQN73
14. biturl.top/RfQ7re
15. biturl.top/UjQ7Nj
16. Chrono Trigger credits
17. biturl.top/eEva6n
18. biturl.top/f2EV3e
19. “Yasunori Mitsuda Interview.” Chrono Trigger Ultimania. Square Enix, 2009. p. 586-587. biturl.top/z2iQB3
20. Kohler, Chris. Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. Dover Publications, 2016. p. 138-142. Originally published by BradyGames Publishing in 2004.
21. Leone, Matt. 500 Years Later. Chapter 2. Read-Only Memory, 2018. Adapted from Polygon’s “Final Fantasy VII: An Oral History”, 2017.
22. biturl.top/ENnAzq
23. biturl.top/EbMnq2
24. Chrono Trigger Original Soundtrack
25. Williams, Michael P. Chrono Trigger. Boss Fight Books, 2014. p. 118-125.
26. biturl.top/eaERNr
27. Miyazaki, Hayao. Laputa: Castle in the Sky.
28. Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels. Part III.
29. • Exclusive: Chrono Trig...
30. Credits. Chrono Trigger. Sony PlayStation. Square.
31. Williams. p. 126-135.
32. biturl.top/NfER3q
33. biturl.top/feiiei
34. biturl.top/2qYvua
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36. Famitsu 332
37. Famitsu 335
38. biturl.top/Af2QJj
39. Scary Larry. “Chrono Trigger.” GamePro. Sep 1995. p. 78-80.
40. Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Semrad, Ed; Sushi-X. “Chrono Trigger review.” Electronic Gaming Monthly. Aug 1995. p. 34.
41. biturl.top/bENRBf
42. “Titles of game software with worldwide shipments exceeding 1 million copies.” Square Enix. 2 Feb 2004 - 4 Feb 2004. p. 27.
43. “Unit Sales of Game Software (April 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009).” Results Briefing Session - Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2009. Square Enix. 19 May 2009. Updated 12 Jun 2009. p. 7.
44. biturl.top/v2E7F3
45. “Chrono Trigger.” Next Generation. Sep 1995. p. 105.
46. biturl.top/EbIbai
47. biturl.top/3ENBFb
48. biturl.top/INrMbi
49. biturl.top/rMvua2
50. biturl.top/F7Nfya
51. biturl.top/bEZVF3
52. biturl.top/22MnIr
53. biturl.top/fe2Erq
54. biturl.top/uyENjm
55. biturl.top/yee2Mf
56. biturl.top/ruAjAz
57. biturl.top/qYvIVb
58. biturl.top/fymMNr
59. biturl.top/2iArYr
60. biturl.top/2IVN3a - Hry
To defend the Luca flashback scene I will say this, when you see this scene for the first time you do not know you can change it. When I first played it, it came off as a clever and devastating way to show a flashback of Luca's most traumatic experience growing up. It was only on repeat playthroughs that I realized I could change her fate, and that had was really powerful for me and many others. That is why its genius that to fix the machine, it uses the controls of the crane machine, it doesn't pull up some menu where you can quickly put in the code, using the controller buttons instead and forcing the player(and Luca) to act with certainty. If the player fails this section though, they aren't allowed to go back and change things. Ultimately that's what so brilliant about the scene itself, it forces the player to truly role play Luca for a moment, and face a moment of trauma with certainty and precision, a moment that the player only gets one chance at. One that they have to make count.
While I realize that this does not really refute any arguments brought up in the video, its not supposed to. I just wanted to give my reasons as to why this scene is loved by so many including myself.
that flashback is soooooo dramatic and the despair feels so real.
This game just did something to me as a child... the haunting music, the graphics, the gameplay, and the way that the story just skirted around intriguing ideas such as evolution, fate, time travel, and human progress. Not only did we get prehistoric and futuristic settings but multiple medieval-type settings that were all so unique. I think it was the combination of all elements of this game that made it a masterpiece.
>The Haunting Music
Don’t forget that dreaded Lavos Scream
Still remember walking my dog as a kid and I saw my best friends moms car go by with him in it. He held the chrono trigger box up to the window when he drove by and I sprinted two blocks to his house to make sure I didn't miss a thing.
The world was such a different place back then and gaming was so magical compared to it being like reality television now for 90 percent of releases
I can't echo that enough ever since 1996 this game has been a part of me, the soundtrack and the game play with multiple endings. It's been unrivaled in my eyes
Okay, I have listened to many a person rate, praise, criticize and in some cases, loathe Chrono Trigger in the last 20-25 years. People can have their opinions but let’s look at why it is held in such high esteem among RPG fans:
1. You have a story about time travel, which the creators did their best to establish rules and consequences of using said medium as a plot device.
2. You have characters, though not too deep, do leave an impression upon the player. This is amplified by Akira Toriyama’s very memorable character design. Some character’s motivations and development are better than others but overall, they are a cast whom the player can grow attach to over this 20+ hour time-traveling drama.
3. You have a unique and creative combat system that emphasizes individual and collective techs that for some new players who never experienced combined techs was an absolutely wow moment. And it isn’t something that is glossed over but is a very thoughtful and thorough part of the combat system.
4. You have a game where the main protagonist dies and you DO NOT have to revive him. Yes he is a silent protagonist but a protagonist nonetheless. And the fact of not reviving him having an impact on the ending can really appeal to certain players who want a more dramatic ending to their playthrough.
5. The game has a brisk pace with chosen enemy encounters, which definitely would appeal to both traditional and modern player sensibilities.
6. You have a phenomenal soundtrack for the game, for which the composer literally became sick over that captures the many emotional and character-driven moments of the game, to the point where players often go back to the soundtrack as one of the best RPG soundtracks ever.
7. It had the dream team of RPG creators / developers behind it, which created a lot of buzz that is still referenced to this day.
8. It has created its own share of imitators to which the imitations are compared, usually falling short of their inspiration.
9. While nostalgia may play a role for many, for others, being able to play a game where you as the player are not only trying to save the world, but are also changing people’s futures for the better can be very appealing concepts for the player, especially if certain opportunities do not exist in real life. I am sure many a player has played around with the question, “If I could go back and change certain decisions/events in my life or other people’s lives, would I do it and how would I do it?” The game can create a bit of personal introspection for the player.
10. It is an RPG that most players, veteran and new alike can just pick up and play and have a good time with, completely turning their brain off and just escaping into a fun new world (or worlds) but the game is short enough not to wear out its welcome. And along with number 1, the time travel aspect and new game plus feature allows for fantastic replayability.
I will stop there with 10 points. Most casual players will fall into a few if not multiple points I have listed above as to why they esteem Chrono Trigger the way they do. Whether justified or not, Chrono Trigger is one of those RPGs that if cannot be credited as being one of the best ever for its own in-game qualities, you would have to credit for being one of the most influential RPGs ever created, as it opened the door to so many possibilities for RPGs to come, including future Final Fantasy games and beyond.
Also, people get hung up on the word “masterpiece.” What is a masterpiece? According to the dictionary, masterpiece means “a work of art such as a painting, film, book, (or in this case a video game) that is made with great skill.” Another definition is “a skillful or impressive example of something.” “Masterpiece” does not mean “perfection.” So with those definitions in mind, does Chrono Trigger meet the definition of the word masterpiece? From a RPG perspective, yes it does because it is very impressive and very skillful in what it aims to do, which is entertain the player, much less all the effort and skill it took to create it.
Chrono Trigger is my favorite game of all time. Hearing the amount of work that went in to it, especially Mitsuda nearly overworking himself to death in the process, gave me a brand new appreciation for a game I already consider a masterpiece.
@Khalith did u play, sea of stars?similar to chrono. Keep hearing about a chrono 2dhd
@@paulsmith9192 I did play Sea of Stars, it was pretty good. I enjoyed myself a lot! My only real complaint is that the battles against the trash enemies making your way to the bosses take just long enough that it starts to get tedious.
Same!
Was editing my own hour-long review of this game when I saw the notification roll in. What a coincidence! I'll have to watch yours and see what different aspects of the game we focused on.
What a weird self promote!
@@memersupremer9993 It's not really a self-promotion - the video isn't even out yet. It's just cool seeing another guy share his perspective on this game in the same format, but with a completely different take - we had very different opinions on Marle's side quest, for example.
@@octorokreviewsBut even if it is self promotion, who really cares? It’s still a comment that contributes to the algorithm, and has something of value to say. Don’t know why that person had to be weird about this.
@@octorokreviewsBOY IF YOU DONT GTFOH WITH THAT. People have been making chronic trigger retrospectives for at least ten years. How tf is that not self promotion to come on to another channel and talk about the same game and even try to tell us what you did differently. Mfer if you making a chrono trigger retrospective in 2024 it better be tf different. What you want a cookie for doing some shit somebody else beat you to?Post the damn vid link or stfu
I'm about to watch it after this one
I don't know if you tried this, but you can actually move around during the scene where he's being beaten up by the other R-series units, and if you try and interfere with their assault, Robo begs you to stop, asserting that they're his brothers despite what they're doing, and your attempts to alter how it plays out are ultimately fruitless. It really heightens the scene that you can do that, IMO.
Instantaneous subscribe. Most thorough examination I've ever seen.
I went to high school with two "identical" twin brothers. They were polar opposites- one was warm, outgoing, friendly gentle and considerate, and highly athletic but couldn't care less about academics. The other was the opposite- cool, collected and confident- but not outgoing and an academic in pursuit of an engineering degree, but having no interest in athletics whatsoever. Their parents, their friends and eventually their wives loved them equally for very different reasons.
Chrono Trigger and FF6 are like those twins. They are both masterpieces in very different ways.
I am one of those that holds this game in high regards. However, I understand your critiques and appreciate your explanations. A solid retrospective.
Yup, the critiques are fair while understanding why we love the title
I think the problem with judging old games like this is the tendency to compare them with everything that came afterwards, anachronistically holding them to unfair standards and overlooking their contextual significance.
Chrono Trigger was an extremely innovative RPG that was cutting edge on its release. There was really nothing like it at the time, and its influence can arguably still be felt in the entire gaming industry today.
I remember my mom called me in to school sick when she saw how excited I was to play this when it came out! She NEVER did stuff like that but my brother and I were rabidly excited due to Nintendo power so when it came out we were playing non stop lol
I guess she saw how much enjoyment we got from final fantasy 3(6) and realized this was the world to us at the time.
Miss you mom
@@jjcoola998 I remember there was some kind of SNES game advertisement display at Target that showed clips of this game before its release. Being a big fan of FF3(6) and Secret of Mana, I was so hyped for it and got it on day one.
I don't think there was any SNES game I played more than this one. I used New Game+ to see all the endings, and I just loved playing through it again and again.
Needless to say, my grades took a hit 😅
@@jjcoola998Seems like you had an awesome mom :)
I remember renting this game from Blockbuster when it came out. Definitely my favorite video game ever. I remember it was the first game that I remember that had a New Game + feature.
so, we all agree this feels a bit disingenuous and nitpicky. I personally feel a certain sanctimoniousness to it all, especially when he talks about the story and the characters. "I felt nothing" and then he knows he fucked up and goes "i judge no one for liking these" as if diminishing those who happen to like easily digested stories over convoluted plots. You are not the authority on RPG's nor is this a good video because you use big words. If you don't like it just say so and stick to it.
Damn, this is probably the most critical review of Chrono Trigger I've ever watched.
Good. He kinda covers my feelings with the game.
And right on the money.
I rescinded my like by the time it was over...so much negativity. I will say the development stuff was fantastic, learned some things I hadn't heard before.
I was 13 when Chrono Trigger was released on the SNES. Crono dying hit me in the feels and gave me a sense of urgency to drive me on once you figured out he could be brought back.
I've played this game since it came out and I have never seen the scenes at 58:24. Incredible that there's still something new to experience in this game after nearly 30 years
The cholesterol thing, right? I've played this game a hundred times and never seen that scene,lol.
Same buddy, on a different note we got to grow up in the golden age of RPGS
I don’t think you put quite enough stock in just how remarkably playable this game is. This is game with a runtime that’s just barely over 20 hours with effectively no downtime and no padding. With no random encounters, every single fight is deliberately designed and transition into and out of combat is smooth as butter. Combat itself is straightforward and streamlined, but with enough options that you’re still constantly making decisions and staying engaged, especially as the game constantly throws new enemy types at you requiring new strategies. Three party members with four gear slots each hits the sweetspot where you have to be mindful of your loadout but you’re never getting bogged down spending extra time staring at menus. The whole system works to constantly keep you moving, never giving you a moment to get bored and lose immersion.
And the story works the same way - because it’s constantly catapulting you across time, there’s always some new and exciting event for the story to build towards. There’s no pointless fetch-quests or grinding, just consistent forward momentum. Add on to that Toriyama’s instantly eye-catching designs which make every character memorable even without a ton of actual development beyond their introductions, and you get a game where you’re always meeting somebody cool and doing something impactful. Every minute of those twenty hours feels well-spent, with more memorable setpieces than you can count. It just feels good to play, which is so rare in an RPG.
And then when you tie that package up with some of the best soundtracks and visual design in the medium, bar none, and yeah, you get what I feel you can only call a masterpiece.
Chrono Trigger is Earnest. It doesn't pad with random encounters, the quests are quick and to the point, the bosses can be solved like a puzzle rather than brute force, and it's just an uplifting story. FFVI barely edges it out in my mind due to stronger character arcs, but I found all the endings of CT and New Game+ enough times to max everyone's speed. The DS version is still my favorite.
My 15 year old cousin visited me on vacation in 2012, I suggested CT to him, and he was hooked for the entire week. It wasn't nostalgia, he's not a huge JRPG fan (especially menu based) but I could see how content he was. It really is an anime you can play, and that accessibility gives it a wide appeal.
Chrono is a fun fairytale adventure while FF6 is more serious. There is your split. I’ve played every FF and CT at release and while FF 4&6 good a special place in my heart, CT just sparks joy just thinking about it. The characters, the music, the environments. It’s just plain fun.
I have only finished 1 week ago. I'm absolutely in the camp that this game is a masterpiece. It has done such amazing things with it's gameplay that I still consider them utterly unique and mindblowing 30 years after it's release.
Yaaaaay, a new upload! Thank you thank you! You're gonna keep me company at work once again!
Heading Majuular’s voice was a pleasant surprise! One of your best videos
Your retrospectives are so comprehensive. Genuinely love these videos
For my money, this is the greatest game ever made for the SNES. When I first played it, I had rented it from Blockbuster, and I ended up getting so wrapped up in getting all the endings that I kept it for about two weeks past the rental period. With the late fees, well I couldn't have bought the game, it was a $70 one, but it was up over 20 bucks for sure, and I caught hell for it. Well worth it though, and I picked up a used copy as soon as I saw one for sale. I had never enjoyed an RPG of any kind more complex than Zelda until then, and I had rented Final Fantasy 3 (6). I just didn't get the appeal, the gameplay was so boring and static, and the random battles were annoying. Chrono Trigger changed my mind about the entire genre, and without it, I doubt I would have even picked up FF7 when that came out, nor any RPG since.
Facts for sure it is the Goat
I guess I’m the rare exception that enjoys both FF6 and Chrono Trigger. However, if someone were to point a gun to my head and make me pick just one I’d say Chrono Trigger is my preferred choice as it has more meaning for me personally. I also think the simplicity of the game is its greatest asset. It doesn’t ask too much of the player to enjoy the work being presented. I also enjoy works that can challenge people’s perceptions on multiple aspects but I’d say it’s more impressive if a narrative can be easy to understand while having a lot of depth. I’m reminded of Shadow Of The Colossus a game with a similar level of minimalism especially in the story telling yet people can go for hours talking about its complex themes. Perhaps Chrono Trigger is like that for a lot of people.
Honestly, I do not think someone liking both FF6 and CT is rare at all, I know that I personally do. And yes, if I had to pick one, it would be Chrono Trigger.
Chrono Trigger might just be my all-time favorite game of all time. It’s definitely the greatest RPG ever. Great retrospective. Thank you. Instant subscriber! ❤❤❤❤
As always, an absolute pleasure to watch, and I always end up learning so many new things from your videos! Phenomenal job Andrew!
YOU CAN BRING THE KING JERKY?! Such a minor detail but I've played through this game so many times that it's exciting to learn anything new.
Mitsuda was composing for Chrono Trigger around the time a Japanese pop group called TRF had a song making the rounds on the radio called EZ Do Dance.
If you listen to it you will hear similarities to Robo's theme. It is more likely this might have been on the radio in the background at Squares offices.
Robo's Theme also sounds uncannily like "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley.
I remember hearing this when I was a kid and immediately thinking of that song.
@@Davethe3rd yes that's the rumor that is always going around. Hence my comment. Mitsuda claims to have never heard Rick Astely's song until people began comparing it to Robo's theme. It's far more likely that EZ Do Dance was playing on the radio in Japan in 1993/94
Funnily enough I used to be a Chrono Trigger adorer who didn't care much for FF6, but now I'm skewed more the opposite way. I think the way I look at media simply changed as I grew older. One thing I do agree with my past self is that Tales of Phantasia is an excellent foil to Chrono Trigger, both games about a group of kids traveling through time to stop a sole entity from starting a cataclysmic event but they go in vastly different directions. I wouldn't say the characters have that much more depth than the ones in CT, but the world and politics of ToP are much more vast, complex and important to the title's story and themes while maintaining equally good graphical and musical fidelity. The one thing CT has it beat outright is it's pacing, it's a much longer game with some blatant padding, but makes up for it by having some unlinear parts and allows you to circumvent some of it with prior knowledge and preparation. I highly recommend you to give it a look if you hadn't already.
What a great video. Bit slow to start, but part 3 onward was just a joy to watch! Thank you!
While I certainly understand your critiscism to the game, I have to admit that nostalgia does play a huge part for me when it comes to Chrono Trigger. I first played it back when I was about 9 or 10 years old and can still clearly remember those days playing Chrono Trigger together with my brothers and remember how we all reacted to everything in the game: from the music and all of the soundtrack, the dialogs, the characters, when Crono dies and how shocked we were to see our main character die haha, I just have a ton of fond memories playing this game. The same happened with Final Fantasy II(IV) which I also played together with my brothers. All in all your retrospective videos are superb, great job again! I'm looking forward to your Chrono Cross retrospective, I never finished that game now that I remember haha. Greetings from Monterrey, México!
You might like this memory of mine reading your comment
I remember being outside my parents house when my best (kid) friend's mom drive by in her car, and I vividly remember recognizing the car and then seeing him pushing the chrono trigger box against the passenger window.
Being that I was a child who read every Nintendo power I was so excited and ran the two blocks to his house immediately!
What a different world we grew up in
My favorite video game of all time, the true GOAT. Love your breakdowns, was ecstatic to see this in the feed. Keep up the good work! (Also hearing Maj was a nice treat)
Discover this video and your channel just now, in the videos first hour? Hell yea. Nice work
I played Chrono Trigger well after release, and I'm generally not one for nostalgia, but I still hold the game in high regard. For me it's a pretty simple reason: Chrono Trigger respects the player's participation in the story by providing plenty of choice but without sacrificing any of its themes or messages. Chrono Trigger doesn't try to be a dungeon master that reacts to whatever the player is going to do, it instead restricts player choice to the things that will have the most impact. This is felt through every part of its design, from progression systems to side quests. As much as I may prefer the stories of various Final Fantasies, Chrono Trigger stands above them all in how I was able to explore its story.
But I also live in a world where Xenogears exists, and Xenogears feels very much like a recasting of Chrono Trigger in which the setting and story is taken a lot more seriously. So I don't find myself longing for more story from Chrono Trigger. You also have Chrono Cross, and Final Fantasy VI and VII, which have overlapping thematic material.
wow it was really cool to just hear majuulars voice randomly. top tier 'tuber, and he's helpin a bro out. based
This came out really good! Great work
Haven’t even watched this for five seconds and already dropped a like- I already know this vid is gonna be phenomenal, as all your retrospective vids have been.
Yeah this guy is a one man army that takes most channels four or five people on salary it's insane
I came when he released his FF6 video as that's my ultimate game as a millennial but this was such a treat too
So glad to see this up! I can't eait to watch it!
damn dude, ur a machine. great videos! Square in the 90s was unstoppable.
Was shifting for retrospectives for games that I love..... You earn those subscriber brother.
This is a great video.
Thank you for another upload! P.S. I love Majuular's work 😊🎉🎉
I had to pause the video to type this comment.
The line "Chono Trigger is a bulk standard 'Save the World Plot's but with a 4th dimensional twist" is SUCH as good line
I love this game, would love a HD 2D remake or at least a HD remaster.
I'd toss all my money at them if they did. I've only ever pirated this game on emulation software. I'd be happy to pay for a Switch remaster.
As a Chrono Trigger fan, I have to disagree with the idea of a remake. The game is already a masterpiece; ever heard the saying, "Don't fix what is not broken."?
@@Loner098 it's fine, just don't buy it. If it's bad, then too bad, no harm done I guess
Oh my god yes, I've loved all your videos so far and am I really happy to see this game covered. Hyped for FFVII as well!
Oh man sooooo hyped for this.
Right now you have 12.1k subs. It will be fun to come back in a year and see how many more you'll have. I'm pretty sure your channel will blow up :D
Just saw this posted on the CT subreddit, but it was already at the top of my recommendations by the time I got to CZcams. The algo knows my soul
Because of Pokemon, I can say that I have a life-long history with jrpg games, but it wasn't until I was about 14 or 15 that I ventured outside the series, renting FF13 after seeing how gorgeous the visuals looked. It actually took me until last year, at 28, to finally give Chrono Trigger a try. I was watching the "was it good?" retrospective videos from Josh Strife Plays and started up the Chrono Trigger video... I was aware of the game in name, but upon hearing him talk about the premise of the game, I stopped the video dead in its tracks, picked up the steam version of it, powered my way through every ending and steam achievement the game had to offer, and then finally got back to his thoughts on it.
That said, I'm in the category of recent adult fans that still call it a masterpiece. I'm one game short of playing all the mainline (non mmo) final fantasy games (just need 12), and I put Chrono Trigger above them all, even 9, 6, and (yes, I'm serious) 13, which are among my favorites.
That said, on Chrono Cross, which I played immediately after, my thoughts are this: why? Just why??
Ff13 is total poop. I bought it, sat and played it and never found myself having any sort of fun whatsoever. Beautifully looking game but, in my opinion purely style over substance.
I think the reason why the game has such a lasting legacy is because...it's ironically a bit 'timeless'. Is it perfect? I think with age I can see some of the points you've brought up, but the flaws don't take away so much as to diminish the 'whole'. The fact that it can stand so strongly on it's own all these years later really is a testament to it's nature, it's strength, it's ability to keep going despite how much gaming has changed, and what people expect of it.
Often times, in the art world, regardless of the medium, masterpieces and masters of their craft, are not people who are necessarily "the best" at it, but those who evolve a medium, who bring something completely new, and change the name of the game. I'm not saying people can't be excellent at their craft and be famous for it, plenty of people are. But the truly *legendary* ones are those who truly change things. Alfred Hitchcock is a great example of this. Movies before him, and movies after him, are two completely different worlds.
But it is also worth noting that the 90s are often times called the 'golden age of RPGs', and for JRPGs specifically, Chrono Trigger is essentially the culmination of all of that on the SNES for it's life time. It's from a lot of creators who had already spent years of their life making JRPGs already, and then all of those people came together to make this, which altered how all JRPGs went going forward.
This channel is just constant bangers. I can't wait for the playstation 1 stuff!
Me scrolling CZcams today: Oh, the guy who did the 7 Hour Pokemon Omega Ruby game analysis did an 11 hour Pokemon Diamond analysis, that's my day sort--- WAIT! An hour and twenty minute Chrono Trigger Retrspective!? DETOUR!
video essays are kinda getting out of hand these days 😭
I love this game. It’s my childhood. The music just puts me back in my room playing all weekend on freezing cold winter days.
A video on my all time favourite game Chrono Trigger, this is going to be a treat. I’m so in the mood to replay it again every year.
I get it I play ff6 every year and think of my dead brother who I played with back in the 90's , but I also watched him play this one too all the time!
Oh man the feelings
@@jjcoola998both games carry that magic
I’ve yet to replay FFVI again
@@jjcoola998but it’s great that your brother is happy that you are playing FFVI to this day.
I found your final comment about FF6 people and Chrono Trigger people fascinating because that seems to be the case for me. I first played Chrono Trigger (on DS) as a late teen and it immediately became one of my favorite games of all time. And then a few years later I played FF6 for the first time and while I thought it was good, I felt it was a little overrated based on how many of my friends called it the best game ever and such.
While I have no idea what quite causes this, I can at least offer this perspective. When I play a video game typically I put myself very much in the role and mind of the main character. And as such, silent protagonists often are easier for me to identify with. So when I played Chrono Trigger, I REALLY connected with Lucca and Marle, because to me at the moment Lucca was MY childhood best friend, and Marle was MY love interest. And when Crono died... well, it was me who died defiantly. And while it was ultimately a fairly simple RPG story, it felt like in the end me and my friends saved the world.
In contrast FF6 has a larger ensemble cast without a clear cut permanent main character. So for me, while I loved all the characters I couldn't connect to any of them the same way. So even while the story was epic and had a lot more depth in areas, in the end it felt like I witnessed Terra and co save the world, not me and my friends. And I think that might be part of what makes the difference between FF6 people and Chrono Trigger people.
Regardless, great video. Even though I obviously had some different opinions, it was still a good and very fair video.
You know I’m definitely one of those people who thinks FFVI is a bit overrated personally I just prefer Chrono Trigger a lot more than that game
not sure why you don't already have at least 100k subcribers, these retrospectives are amongst the best on youtube
I'll have to make time for this! It looks quite lengthy but really good.
Great video, thanks
Awesome video as usual. Thanks for shouting out Chrono Compendium! Don't worry, you'll be spending a lot more time there after you play Chrono Cross, lol. We have had a lot of thought provoking discussions on Discord, some of the theories make it onto the site. Most of the stuff you'll find on the Compendium is from years ago, and some theories have been debunked (the Entity comes to mind, most people agreed on it being the planet but there are some who claimed it was the player, or the "spirit" of the Nu, or Schala's pendant, etc) but there is just so much left ambiguous between both games, we could probably theory craft forever.
Chrono Compendium was an invaluable repository of information that was well cited and translated. I had thought about perusing the theories section to expand on aspects of this video, but felt that it would be more intellectually honest if I interpreted as much as I could personally (with the occasional reference to other fans or development staff) than loading it all up with thoughts that other people have had.
I'll definitely be digging further into the site whenever I get around to doing Chrono Cross, whenever that may be.
There was a certain optimism with Chrono Trigger that other games have not been able to quite emulate. It really exemplified the spirit of the 1990s. The Cold War was over and the world seemed to be at relative peace. “The End of History” if you will. Chrono Trigger showed a history of conflict, but also an uncertain future where catastrophe was underneath the surface. It might not have the deep character narrative of FF6, but it captured the feeling of the age.
When I first played CT at the age of 17, I was just amazed at how solidly a video game could tell an effective, engrossing story while having its gameplay not feel like filler. To this day, it is my 3rd best game of all time (behind Suikoden 2 and Persona 3) and I am glad you decided to cover it after your FF analyses.
As a 38 year old who never got into persona this makes me want to pick up 3
@@jjcoola998 play the remake that's coming out Feb 2nd
one of my faves... in the middle of a play-through right now actually
I never knew what I was in for when I started playing this on my cousin's list of old games (like this and FFV/FFVI), and to this day it still remains one of my favorites for its music, narrative, and how it blew my mind of how time affected both the major story content and the sidequests/world being changed
Another awesome video! I've loved CT from the moment I bought it on release, one of my favorite games ever! I agree with a lot of your points on the characters and story, but I don't think it holds back any enjoyment of the game for me. It just plays so smooth and I love the combat system. Thanks for the video, I learned a bunch of stuff I never knew and gave me more to think about and added even more enjoyment to the game for me!
To me maybe it is all about what you expect to find in an rpg or in video games in general... Chrono trigger is a master piece (to me) and my favorite game of all time, not for its story but for its gameplay... which might be strange considering story is sterotypically the focal point of rpgs, sometimes to the point that in a certian rpg series the story might be the only thing that changes from game to game.
The pacing, like you said, is practically unparalleled. And the combat is so meticulously planned that you can skip every skippable enemy and still finish the game. Not to mention that EVERY single combat encounter is individually programed and animated. Which is crazy if you think about it... the way rpgs have achieved their longer playtimes was precisely because they reused constantly assests and where economical with the design, like transporting the player into a separate combat screen and dropping enemies into it. Here they didn't take any shortcuts, they designed every encounter individually right there in the same screen. Which allows for the player to never loose immersion and for the developers to tailor made a gameplay experience for you, slowly introducing mechanics and strategies that will later be used in the boss fight of the section. You are quite right... my image of rpgs was ruined for a few years after playing chrono trigger, I couldn't believe how much more primitive every other rpg felt.
Compare it to FF6, the story is a master piece and most of the characters have interesting arcs to explore, but the combat is kind of broken... some character gimmicks are kind of annoying, some mechanics simply do not work and you can completely cheese the game if you know what you are doing.
Yeah the story and characters in chrono is quite simplistic and I get that is not for everyone... but I the tone of the game and the story cleary presents itself as a more light hearted adventure for younger audiences than something like a FF6. Simple stories and simple characters are not synonymous with weak stories or weak characters. This is more like an Ocarina of Time or some disney classic movie like beauty and the beast, than like a citizen kane or last of us.
As much as I love the stories in FF6 or FF7, it is not something a child could easily understand and could beat the game feeling very confused about what happened or what the point of it was. While the main story of chrono trigger is crystal clear from very early on, stop lavos, save the world.
As a child what I really got from the game is a theme of extreme selfishness and bravery, executed by me through crono. Sparing magus, Luca repearing Robo despite it potentially being dangerous, crono sacrificing himself and friends working hard to save crono in return, and overall the story of a group of people trying to stop an apocalypse that doesn't affect them in any shape of form. I found it to be really inspiring. Partially due to its simplicity, not inspite of it.
Bravo, Syr. Your work here is distinctly excellent.
This is, has always been, and always will be my eternal favorite video game.
For a single game, which is itself unambiguously representative of its own point in video game history, to simultaneously be about time travel whilst only proving more and more to be the definition of a timeless masterpiece... is to my reckoning nothing short of miraculous.
And yet, there remain people who sincerely debate whether or not video games as a medium are even capable of qualifying as works of art. This has not been a legitimate question to my mind since the 1993 release of the equally timeless masterpiece that is MYST.
I pity those unable to recognize the reality that there are a staggering amount of video games that exist almost solely as exquisite works of breathtaking artistry, perhaps none more so than Chrono Trigger, though I admit that may be nothing more than personal bias tlaking.
I would love to see you do a Retrospective of Golden Sun 🌞 I think you'd do that game justice
Majuular did a good video on it
@@AndrewBluett He certainly did! I love his content as much as I love yours 😁
Excellent!
It might be bit offshoot from your current plans but that talk about existentialist themes made me think that it could be interesting to hear your take on Quintet trilogy and especially Terranigma. They might not be anything that deep nowadays but they had pretty theological undertones for the games of its time.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the shared motifs between Magus, Schala, and the Queen Zeal in the music section.
Great review, man. Fair takes. Keep up the good work!
I honestly didn't notice.
Great video as always! Loved hearing your thoughts on the game. Hope you get around to Chrono Cross - while it has its share of flaws it takes a lot of very interesting and cool risks in the game design space for its era.
Also how disheartening to hear that a perfect scary Larry can't get that sales boost.
So excited to watch this. All your videos are so well done. I'd love a Mother retrospective most, I bet you'd have loads to say about those games
With his critical eye I'm really interested in an Earthbound perspective.
@@Chadius Same. And no disrespect to he other great creators out there but honestly no one has done any Mother video on the level that this guy makes his retrospectives.
Mother 3 is probably one of the few RPGs that can compare to Chrono Trigger.
Absolutely one of my favorite games of all times. Big fan of your FF retrospectives too now! Subscribed!
Since you mention the franchise a lot in these videos, do you plan to cover the Dragon Quest games at some point?
He will when he blows up. Don't worry
Nice video! It's funny that you mention being a CT or FF kind of person in the end because that's exactly how it is. I missed playing both of these games growing up and played them both within the past two years. I started with CT, I played about 15 hours of it before I just stopped, got bored with it. 6 months later I played FFVI, I put about 50 hours into it, searched the corners of the map, got all the espers, all the optional characters twice, and did just about everything you could in the game. FF was just so much more engaging to me, and it was very intuitive in its own right, even coming out a year before CT. Both soundtracks are phenomenal, as I've listened to both of them hundreds of times by now. I just don't see the appeal of CT. It's a good game and a very good RPG, I just can't put it up as goat status.
i never played this game, but as i kid i almost thought this whole cast looked SUPER bad ass, it was dragonball Z before dragonball Z for me
I first discovered this game in the days of the GameCube, when I started emulating the SNES for retro games. For me, Chrono Trigger is the perfect game. The charming visuals, the God-tier music and the fun, fast paced combat. It easily takes the 1st place for favourite RPG ever, with Tales of Symphonia and Undertale coming soon after.
I just bought FFVI for the Switch since it's a lot like Chrono Trigger. So let's see how they compare.
I wouldn’t say it’s perfect but darn close. This is still my favorite video game to this day. FF6 is a close second. Followed by FF7
I love how Crono Trigger will always have people talking about it. Hope for a remake one day.
Very cool
imo, more of an FF6 person too, Chrono Trigger is more of a vibes game. It's actually really hard to explain a lot of the feelings that come about playing it. Definitely light and whimsical with an undercurrent of darkness.
Kinda see Earthbound in the same way. Even if it's a very different game, it has a kind of undescribable feeling too it. It also has the generally light with dark undercurrents thing too but it's a bit more extreme. But the gameplay and the story aren't amazing. As is with Chrono Trigger.
I mean I felt nothing "for" Crono when he died, or for Lucca's mom or Marle's scenes with her father. But those scenes made me feel things in general. Crono's death was a shock and I remember not really being sure how to progress. I ended up adjusting the same way you did. I didn't care about Lara herself but I still scrambled quickly for the password. There were the, certaintly unintended do to cultural gaps, disgust I had towards Marle's father. It's kinda weird really.
I also suck at communicating so don't feel bad if I rambled and lost you lol.
I like FF6, but the annoying random encounters singlehandedly put it below Chrono Trigger for me.
Agreed. Well said.
10 ten favorite games of all time. Can’t get enough of it!
Didn't expect to see you back so soon after FF6! Nice side track to cover one of Square's many 90s classics. I know your schedule is no doubt busy but I hope we might see similar side tracks for say Parasite Eve after one of PS1 FF games or well Chrono Cross.
Oh god this channel reviewing parasite eve would be orrgasmic
this is one of the formative games of my childhood. I rented it on a whim while visiting my cousin (his choice at the store was a wrestling game) needless to say we didn't play much of that wrestling game that weekend. I changed his taste in games for life, and bonded deeply with him over the experience of the game over a weekend. I'm not very close with him anymore due to us drifting. but it was a major event in my life.
I find the assertion that there are two types of people, CT fans and FF6 fans kind of unusual. I loved both games very much. they're pretty much my top two games on the SNES. (though I also love the MMX trilogy) I'm hard pressed to choose one over the other. they're both masterpiece games.
I definitely felt shocked when Crono was killed. Because this was the first time I played a game that actually killed off its main character midway through the game. 🤯
Now that I think about, is Chrono Trigger the first video game to do this?
I remember thinking as a kid, wait, he died???? WTF! How does the main character die. Best ending is not bringing him back!
Don't know about video games but the first Game of Thrones novel (in which Eddard Stark, father of 4 of the main characters and husband of another, is beheaded) came out in 1996. I think some kind of revolution in storytelling happened around then.
@@Winspur1982 Books have done this kind of thing for years. A few of Ernest Hemingway's books come to mind; "A Farewell to Arms", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", and "The Sun Also Rises".
But I can't seem to find anything for video games before Chrono Trigger, which came out in 1995.
@@_BenJaminCroft_ Interesting, I've never read a Hemingway. I do think the speed at which George RR Martin killed off Eddard Stark was shocking to Hollywood producers and it took them 15 years to get over it and cash in on the excellent writing with a TV series.
@@Winspur1982 Actually I think one of the primary reasons why D&D wanted to do Game of Thrones in the first place was to show the Red Wedding on screen, and doing the rest of the show was just a bonus. Too bad as the source material ran out, so did their directing and writing ability.
Since the localization of the names is being discussed, I think it is worth mentioning that contrary to the note at 45:38 Magus doesn't have a name in the original in the middle ages storyline - everyone just refers to him by his title of the Demon King (魔王「Maou」). Also, after his defeat the Demon King title is passed on to Vinegar, as we find out from the dialogs in the version of Medina village affected by that alteration of history.
Although i played the PS1 port, ill never forget my first playthrough. I beat it, and then just 2 hours later Chuggaaconroy posted the first video of his lets play of the DS port. Great memories 😂
It's happening, ITS HAPPENING!
Thank you
I played the iOS port of this a few years ago. Absolutely INCREDIBLE
Back when i was a kid i ordered 2 import games from the US. Chronotrigger and Final Fantasy "3".
My first 2 JRPGs ever and they came the same day. It set my bar of expectations quite high by accident. To this day they are my favourite SNES RPGs and when it comes to RPGs overall..maybe Suikoden comes close, but thats about it.
Thank you for this nice retrospective. 🥰
Great video. I was working while listening, so apologies if you mentioned it, but I think that the game was like $70 on release I think. Assuming that limited sales in NA a little bit.
You should analyze Xenogears.
Chrono trigger is a masterpiece, it cuts the fluff and keeps the story going. That is what i though when i first played it in my 20's on the ps1 version. I noticed the issues with it but the story, music and characters keep it from ruining the game for me. I did love ff6 and only beat that for the first time in 2023. I had played several times but something always stopped me from finishing it. FF6 and chrono trigger are two of the best RPGs of all time and for slightly different reasons as you eluded to in the video. Both are work playing even today. Both are 10/10 games.
I always appreciate a new perspective on the games I cherished in my childhood, and I feel a lot of your criticisms are valid, though I think they don't take into account the intended audience for the game as much as they should. Through the lens of the preteen/teenage boy, which served as the effigy of all gamers to the industry in the 90s (unfair as that may be), some of the moments you call out as emotional dead zones would resonate much stronger.
I like your callout to Final Fantasy VI and the contrast between people who prefer one or the other. The best word I've found for each game is "Elegance" for Chrono Trigger and "Harmony' for FFVI. Chrono Trigger is elegant in that there's no element of it that is easily picked out as a flaw. It's art, music, characters, story and gameplay all cross the "good" threshold to some capacity or another, requiring careful digging to identity areas where it could be better. FFVI meanwhile is harmonious in that all its elements (characters, narrative, soundtrack, tone, etc) resonate with the game's central themes of loss and coping with loss. Which game you prefer might depend on how much you value a "beautiful" game vs a game with something interesting to say.
I remember being a kid and I was talking to my best friend who was the reason I ever played this game. Was talking about how i just beat magus and how crazy the game Is, and he told me after u beat magus u can play as him and slowly build his army, shit man I believed him, those schoolyard rumors days are long gone.
Good video, Andrew. I would highly suggest if you handle Chrono Cross, you eventually handle Final Fantasy Dimensions II in the long future one day. It was made from the remains of Chrono Break and handled by Takashi Tokita since he was really eager to go back to the Chrono series. Dimensions II does also use elements from Trigger's story, but I won't spoil what. However, I will mention the battle system of it is hit or miss.
I don't know if another game has ever used music this well.
Ayla - Chaotic Good, Opposite, Lucca - Lawful Neutral. Marle - Neutral Good, Opp, Robo - Neutral Neutral. Frog - Lawful Good, Opp, Magus - Chaotic Neutral. No evil protagonists, except arguably, temporarily Magus.
I never in my life paid any content creator on Patreon. You're the only one I've ever considered. I don't know if you have one, but send me a link so I can support you
Its in the video description
Now that you mention the ATL I think that the moment at the fair with Marle made the final cut. When Marle is shopping at the stall you have to stay still otherwise it changes the dialog and also the trial.
I love how they used the time travel aspect to their advantage and incorporated it into sidequests and items you can’t get until later which gives it a bit of a Metroidvania feel, and doing those sidequests affects certain time periods like having Robo stay in 600 A.D to create a whole forest for a Florist, and seeing the whole gang set up a campfire there and just all vibe with each other, reflecting back on their journey, eventually they all fall asleep but then Lucca wakes up and finds and hidden time gate and uses it to go back to the time before her mother got injured on a conveyor belt in their house, this is probably one of the few optional sidequests which you can fail and can’t try again unless you reload your save iirc, it’s pretty sad if you do end up failing, sort of like a Sonic CD Bad Future which 2300 A.D itself is.
Great video! Would love an Earthbound retrospective next!
My favorite RPG of all time. My favorite SNES game as well. It's the only SNES game I'm willing to put above A Link To The Past.
The only knock I have for Chrono Trigger is that it's too short!!!!
One of my favorite games, and what I cite when asked "what's the best game."
I play it every few years. It still draws me in like the first time. I was at my grandma's and managed to snag a used copy. I remember being called for dinner - but I had to save the princess!
I'd played Dragon Quest I, II, and III, but this was something else. There was no natural stopping or pause point. Nor did I ever have to grind for XP. I couldn't stop, I wanted to see what happens next!
I rarely play games for story. But the tragedy of Schala. Sometimes when I hear the Zeal theme, I wonder: is Schala out there?