Chrono Trigger



Graphics
These are certainly some of the finest graphics of any RPG on the SNES. Many of the areas are bright, colorful and very detailed. However, don't worry that bright colors will be the only thing you'll be seeing in this game. There are plenty of dark, eerie places too, but they aren't any less detailed or less fun to look at than the brighter ones. You also see your enemies before you actually battle them in this game. This both saves the player from frustration of random battles and makes the overall effect of the areas better, especially the more eerie ones.

When you run into one of these enemies, you will enter battle mode, but the screen will not shift. Menus will appear and you battle the enemy in about the same position you were in when you encountered it. This prevents disorientation after battles and is generally easier on the eyes than having the screen distort and reform before battles like it does in most games. Spell effects generally look very good, particularly the more powerful ones you gain access to as the game goes on.

When you see your characters, you may notice they are styles similarly to Secret of Mana's characters. Towns are large and generally have plenty of people walking around on screen. These also vary in style quite a bit as the game goes on, and depending on which time period you are in at the time. Unless you haven't played a 2D RPG before, it's hard for me to imagine an RPG fan being at all disappointed with these amazing graphics.

Gameplay
Chrono Trigger is similar to other SNES RPGs in many ways, but it also adds some new and interesting features that make this game better than most of them. During the course of the game, your characters gain the ability to travel through time. You will find yourself visiting the same area in two time periods, and seeing all the differences and similarities. It's then that you realize how deep this game really is. To do some of the side tasks later in the game, you may find that you need to travel through time a lot to accomplish what you need to do.

Battles are very interesting as well, and how you fight them will vary a lot depending on which characters you have in your party. Characters have their own unique attacks, but they can also combine their attacks with others to do combos. The combos available will actually vary depending on who is actually in the party, so you'll have to do a little bit of experimenting to find out which combination of characters is best for you. Challenge isn't all that high, but you will run into some tricky places too.

The final feature of this game, and also the most interesting, is the New Game + mode. It allows you to start a new game with your characters in the same levels they were in when you beat the game. You will also retain most of your weapons and armor. If you really want to power your characters up, play the game a few times on this mode, and your party should be completely unbeatable. This mode is also good if you want to experience the story again, but don't want to worry about being defeated. Be aware though, that you'll need to do a lot of work to actually unlock this mode. I think it's well worth it, though.

The only other thing I feel is worth mentioning is that this is not one of the longer RPG's out there. If you decide to skip most of the optional tasks, you can probably beat it in less than 30 hours. It will take longer if you want to unlock New Game + and if you enjoy the New Game + mode, that in itself should more than make up for the slightly less than average length of the game.

Story
The time travel story makes this more interesting than the average RPG, but it's not for that reason alone that this story is excellent. The characters themselves are full of personality, and often talk with eachother, make jokes, etc. By the end of the game, you'll find yourself interested in almost all of them, each with their own unique personalities. The story can get a little bit slow in some places, but that happens with virtually every RPG. What makes up for that a lot is the mix of humor and seriousness in this game. It creates a perfect balance that makes this one of the best stories in any RPG I've played.

Sound
Another reason why this game is so great to play is the music. Definitely some of the best music on the SNES, possible even surpassing Final Fantasy 3(6j). There are excellent themes for the characters, and you'll find that most of the music changes depending on what time period you are in. There are really a lot of different types of music in this game, almost all of them well worth listening to even when not playing the game. I've always thought that RPG's can't be truly great without great music. Luckily, this game has plenty of it. There are also some really good sound effects.

Conclusion
This game is really a classic, and worth paying a lot for if necessary. Despite it's shorter than average length, it is one of the finest RPG's around, and unless you really have something against 2D RPG's, you're almost sure to enjoy it. While I don't think it's the finest RPG ever created, it is close, and I don't think a better RPG really could have been created on the system.
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