Tell me that doesn't bring back some great memories?

While it wasn't the first RPG I've played, Chrono Trigger is definitely one of my favorites (2nd only to FFVI). The idea of time travel always fascinated me as I've wondered what it'd be like to travel back to Feudal Japan, or Ancient China, or Egypt. Or what the future would be like 50, 100 or even 1000 years from now (post-apocalyptic zombie world anyone?). Chrono Trigger brought my fascination into a 16-bit world and mesmerized me with its characters, story, music and presentation.


The Dream Team

Square Enix brought together arguably the best minds in the business for this game.

Masato Kato - Writer, also wrote for Final Fantasy VII & Xenogears
Hironobu Sakaguchi - Supervisor, also directed Final Fantasy I thru V and produced FFVI
Kazuhiko Aoki - Producer
Akira Toriyama - Character Design, also of Dragon Ball fame
Nobuo Uematsu - Composer, dare I say Legendary?

While I didn't know who the first 3 guys were at the time, Akira & Nobuo were definitely selling points for me. I remember seeing the box art at Toys R Us and immediately taking my ticket up to the counter. After all, this was an RPG by Square and Square always delivered! Not to mention that Nobuo has composed some of the most beautiful songs in video game history, including my personal favorite Terra's Theme from FFVI:




Characters

Crono - our brave hero, he's like a red-haired Goku w/ a katana. How badass is that? I'll tell you how badass that is... seriously badass. Baaaaaddaaaaaaasssssss even.

Lucca - every hero needs a sidekick that invents stuff. James Bond has Q or M or P or whoever the #$@!, Crono has Lucca, and she built the teleporter that kicks off an epic adventure. Plus she lives w/ the guilt of causing her mother's inability to walk. Hmmm Time Machine, Tragedy... I wonder what'll happen.

Marle - tomboy princess turned damsel in distress turned ass-kicking ally.

Frog - forget Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this amphibian kicked some serious ass. A true knight in shining armor, he wields the mighty Masamune.

Robo - the selfless robot companion. He turned a deserted waste land into a friggin' forest through 400 years of manual labor.

Ayla - feral cave woman with super model looks, yes please.

Magus - he doesn't walk, he glides and he fights with a scythe! You know who else fights with a scythe? Death, that's who.



Story

I'm not going to spoil anything for those of you who haven't played this game. But let me make one thing clear, time traveling wackiness can lead to all kinds of awesome adventures. And depending on what you do or don't do you'll be treated to one of the game's thirteen endings. Yes, that's right, 13!

I remember waking up every morning before school just to play a little Chrono Trigger. I was probably in Middle School then. And every day when I got back home, I was in front of the TV w/ the SNES controller in hand wandering through different eras and fighting all sorts of villains. And the battles occured right on the map! No screen-change to battle mode. The bad guys jumped in and it was on.

On the weekends, my little brother and I would play for hours. It was like an interactive movie that I just couldn't let go of. Chrono Trigger wasn't just a game, it was an addiction, an addiction that lasted through school and well into the summer. While other kids were outside enjoying the summer or going on family vacations, my brother and I were experiencing one of the best RPGs ever. Then again, those other kids had friends. Oh well, we didn't need no stinkin' friends, the SNES introduced us to some of the most memorable characters in our lives. Even after beating the game a handful of times it was still fun to play. Shit, it's still fun to play now. I still have my original SNES cartridge... now I just need to find an SNES that works.