Chrono Trigger (Nintendo DS) - Review by Chris

Introduction

In 1995, the then Square (now of course known as Square-Enix) released Chrono Trigger to the world on the SNES. Well not exactly the world. While the title saw a release in both the American and Asian markets, the title never made the jump across the pond and so European gamers were only able to dream of playing the title if they couldn't afford the high import prices to get the American version. Luckily, in the Fall of 2008, Square-Enix announced that they would be bringing the RPG to the DS and it's wider audience. At first, many were sceptical that the title would get it's long overdue release in Europe but Square-Enix quashed those fears by announcing that the title would be finally receiving it's release after a 14 year wait in limbo. So, has the game stood the test of time to rightly be called one of the greatest games ever or has the game's magic been surpassed by newer, more varied RPGs?

Gameplay

Chrono Trigger tells the story of Crono and his friends who are accidently transported through time after the malfunctioning of a teleportation device. Upon travelling through time, they hear of the evil Lavos who will one day come and destroy the world as they know it and so they set out to thwart Lavos' attempt to destroy the world. The story is particularly good and, without spoiling anything, allows for some nice and shocking story developments, some of which haven't been seen much in the genre since.

The title employs several gameplay mechanics and ideas which were innovative at the time of its initial release on the SNES and many of them still remain innovative on the DS. In staple RPG fashion, the world is split between overworld, which is traversed by the 3 characters you have in your team, and towns/dungeons/caves/forests/etc, where you'll be accompanied by your team mates again in a more intimate setting where you can converse with locals and buy items.

The battle system employed here was completely revolutionary for the time and is incredibly easy to get to grips with. Entitled the "active time battle" system, each character has a time bar which fills up, based upon the speed stat they possess, and only when this is filled up can you use a basic attack, a more advanced attack or magic (known as Tech) or an item. The system employed is similar to the battle systems used in many modern day RPGs and so this will feel instantly recognisable to fans of the genre and is very clean leading to little or no confusion. The system allows for combining techniques with different characters and these along, with the Techs used by a single character, use up the stock magic points, or MP, for role playing titles.

One of the biggest innovations which Chrono Trigger brought to the RPG genre was the gimmick of time travel. Although initially you will be constricted to using time holes to travel to the places you need to go, you will eventually get free reign over your time travel thanks to the Epoch. At one moment you'll be in 65,000,000 B.C. and the next you'll be in 2300 A.D. While it may seem like a gimmick to some, this addition to the title, and the genre as whole, adds real depth allowing for a far wider range of environments catering to specific times and environments. It doesn't just affect the way the game looks. The time travel mechanic can affect the way in which you progress through the title. If you do something in the past and come to the future, the results can vary depending on what it is you have done. The title allows for a good amount of openness, even though you will have to go through with the main story arch to progress further, meaning you can explore to your heart's content and take up any number of side quests to help level you up and to further immerse the player into the story.

Because of the openness of the title, Square-Enix have given multiple endings, 13 in total with 1 being brand new and exclusive to the DS version, depending on what you have done through the course of the game. This adds even more longevity to an already beefy RPG. The main story can last you upwards of 20 hours and if you feel the need to go through for the other endings, you will definitely spend hundreds of hours on the title. However, there isn't much in the way of new features other than the single new ending and a new dungeon and so those who have already had the fortune of playing through the title on the SNES may not want to play through what is essentially the same game.

Controls

What would seem like a seamless inclusion to streamline the menus can be irritating as it means you always need to have the stylus at hand and so you'll simply find yourself selecting items and menus with the D-pad and the A button. However, the DS specific play features do unclutter the top screen, where the action takes place. Movement is handled in both variances by the D-pad and the face buttons are used for accessing several things, such a the A button being used to select, B being used to cancel, X being used to access the inventory menus and Y being used to access the Epoch's time travel later on in the game. It's your typical lay-out for button usage and it works well.

Graphics

The title retains the look that distinguished it as one of the most beautiful games of the SNES/Megadrive era and while some may not be happy that they remain as such, it's refreshing to see that Square-Enix haven't tried to update them as this could have offset the feel and immersion that the player gets when playing the title. What looked good back on the SNES, still looks fantastic now. The sprite work is top notch and looks sublime on the DS' relatively low resolution screens. Towns and dungeons all look great and include their on specific graphical touches depending on what time you are in and the variance that results from this time travel is great. While many of the locales are stock for the genre, they still look and feel very much original even though they are in a clichéd form. Attacks fill up the screen and there is never a drop in frame rate as a result. One inclusion for the DS title is the animated cutscenes which were present in the PS1 iteration of the title, and while they serve to tell specific parts of the story, they are unnecessary as they are followed by the exact same happenings but done ingame. However, the game represents a testament to the artists at Square-Enix for being able to look as good now as they did 14 years ago.

Sound

Again, the sound remains as it was on the SNES, although it is clearer coming out of the DS' speakers. Like the graphics, the music accompanying the game really pushed what was capable on the SNES and it still sounds fantastic here. When you hear the signature tune synonymous with the title, you can't help but start to hum along such is its grandeur. It may seem very clichéd now comparing it to the styles of music appearing in modern RPGs but it can still firmly hold its own as some of the best music in an RPG.

Dual screen

The DS version of the title allows you to play the title in one of two ways: the original or the new DS specific way where the touch screen is used to access battle commands, equipment menus and save menus. Regardless of how you choose to play the title, the battle system's menus are easily manoeuvred. However, both use the same buttons and the touch screen is only used for selecting stuff during battles or in the field.

Final comments

What was, and still is, one of the greatest games on the SNES and ever is now one of the greatest DS games ever. It's a testament to the skills of the development team that worked on it all those years ago that it still holds up incredibly well today on the DS and can even compete with the likes of The World Ends With You in terms of its greatness. The gameplay is innovative, the story is immensely engrossing and the graphics and sound are as sublime now as they were back then. There's nothing more that needs to be said other than if you didn't have the chance to play this on the SNES I urge you to go out and buy it because you will be missing out on one of the best titles available today if you don't.

Pro: Still looks, sounds and plays superbly well, time travel is still innovative and fun
Con: Little in the way of new material for those who've played it before
Final score: 9.5

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