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CHRONO TRIGGER Company: SquareSoft Released: August 1995 Genre: Turn-based RPG Graphics: 9.5 Control: 9.5 Sound/Music: 10.0 Storyline: 9.5 Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 SUPER-NES.COM

Before I go any further in this review, there's one thing I have to make perfectly clear. Chrono Trigger is the best game ever made for the Super Nintendo system. Period. You won't see a game like this one come along very often. A game that manages to have breathtaking visuals, arguably the greatest music ever composed for an rpg, and a storyline that just grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go until you see the credits begin to roll. Any rpg developer need look no further to see what a true rpg is supposed to be. Graphically, Chrono Trigger is among the best games, visually, ever made for the Super NES. Not only does the game sport some of the best looking Mode-7 effects seen on the SNES, it also has a level of color and detail that's just not present on any other Super NES rpg. Ever single area and time period in the game has its' own distinct and trademark look to it, and it really gives the game the feeling of being even bigger than it already is. Impressive details abound in every single area of the game. Even the characters themselves offer some very impressive animations that make them much more expressive than you'd normally see in a 16-bit game. Other than the handful of Super NES games that use rendered graphics, Chrono Trigger is the best looking "normal" sprite-based games and a good example of how impressive the Super NES is graphically. I've played over a hundred role-playing games in my time, and I've heard some of the best music ever to be heard in a video game. Square has always had a knack for really bringing some of the best music to their rpgs and Chrono Trigger steps to the front with it's wonderful soundtrack. Chrono Trigger has some of the most beautiful music you'll ever hear in a video game. From the softer ballads, to the up-tempo battle tunes, it has it all. It's worth mentioning that I consider Chrono Trigger to have the best video game soundtrack ever, and I stand behind that statement 100%. The opening song that plays when you first begin at Crono's house is my favorite but the music maintains its' high-quality throughout the entire game. Every peice of music composed for each area has a very distinctive mood to it that always seems to fit the setting of the scene perfectly. I really wish more rpg developers would take the time to create a soundtrack that's truly this amazing. Chrono Trigger takes the ATB, or "Active-Time-Battle" system from Final Fantasy III and improves upon it even further. Now you can perform something called a "Tech"which is a special attack move that can dish out damaging hits to enemies. You can also team up with a friend or two and put your powers together to perform "Double"and "Triple Techs" for really devastating results. These special attacks will come in really handy with some of the stronger enemies and bosses you'll face in the game. As with FF3, magic also plays a huge role in Chrono Trigger. One of the main changes with Chrono Trigger is that you can now see your enemies before they attack, so if you want to fight you can, and if you'd rather not, you don't have to fight them, unless they sneak up on you. But keep in mind that fighting enemies is an important part of the game as you have to fight in order to advance your characters abilities. The addition of techs and the ability to see your enemies really adds an entire new level of playability to an already impressive FF3-style rpg gameplay system. Couple these new features with the ability to move back and forth through time, and you have about as much gameplay as you could squeeze into one single SNES game pak. As I said above, this is what an rpg should be. Chrono Trigger is as close to a perfect rpg as I've ever seen. Great graphics, soundtrack, storyline, and game-play system just come together perfectly and what you're left with is an epic rpg that is widely considered to be the best ever made. Give Chrono Trigger a try and I think you'll find that it's about as good a game as you can get. Out-freaking-standing!