Chrono Trigger is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. The game’s story follows a group of young adventurers who travel through time to prevent a global catastrophe. Square re-released a ported version by TOSE in Japan for Sony’s PlayStation in 1999, later repackaged with a Final Fantasy IV port as Final Fantasy Chronicles in 2001. A slightly enhanced Chrono Trigger was released for the Nintendo DS on November 25, 2008 in North America and Japan, and will go on sale in Europe in early 2009. It has never been released in PAL territories on the SNES or the PlayStation.

The development team of Chrono Trigger was headed by three designers that Square dubbed the “Dream Team”, consisting of Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series, and Yuuji Horii and Akira Toriyama—two freelance designers known for their work on Enix’s Dragon Quest series. The game was produced by Kazuhiko Aoki. Masato Kato wrote most of the plot, while composer Yasunori Mitsuda scored most of the game before falling ill and deferring remaining tracks to Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu.

Chrono Trigger was well-received by reviewers and commercially successful. Nintendo Power magazine described certain aspects of Chrono Trigger as revolutionary, including its multiple endings, plot-related sidequests focusing on character development, unique battle system, and detailed graphics. The game has shipped more than 2.36 million copies in Japan and 290,000 worldwide as of March 31, 2003.

Gameplay

Chrono Trigger features standard console role-playing game (RPG) gameplay with several innovations. The player controls the protagonist and his companions in the game’s two-dimensional fictional world, consisting of various forests, cities, and dungeons. Navigation occurs via an overworld map, depicting the landscape from a scaled down overhead view. Areas such as forests, cities, and similar places are depicted as more realistic scaled down maps, in which players can converse with locals to procure items and services, solve puzzles and challenges, or encounter enemies. Chrono Trigger’s gameplay deviates from that of traditional RPGs in that, rather than appearing in random encounters, many enemies are openly visible on field maps or lie in wait to ambush the party. Contact with enemies on a field map initiates a battle that occurs directly on the map rather than on a separate battle screen. This concept had previously been featured in such titles as Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy Adventure, but was uncommon at the time for RPGs outside the action RPG genre.

Players and enemies may use physical or magical attacks to wound targets during battle, and players may use items to heal or protect themselves. Each character and enemy has a certain number of hit points, and successful attacks reduce that character’s hit points, while hit points can be restored with potions and spells. When a playable character loses all hit points, he or she faints; if all the player’s characters fall in battle, the game ends and must be restored from a previously saved chapter, except in specific storyline-related battles that allow or force the player to lose. Between battles, the player can equip his/her characters with weapons, armor, helmets, and accessories that provide special effects (such as increased attack power or defense against magic), and various consumable items can be used both in and out of battles. Items and equipment can be purchased in shops or found on field maps, often in treasure chests. By exploring new areas and fighting enemies, players progress through Chrono Trigger’s story.

Chrono Trigger uses an Active Time Battle system—a staple of Square’s Final Fantasy game series designed by Hiroyuki Itō for Final Fantasy IV—named “Active Time Battle 2.0″. Each character can take action in battle once a personal timer dependent on the character’s speed statistic counts to zero. Magic and special physical techniques are handled through a system called “Techs”. Techs deplete a character’s magic points (a numerical meter like hit points), and often have special areas of effect; some spells damage huddled monsters, while others can harm enemies spread in a line. Enemies often change positions during battle, creating opportunities for tactical Tech use. A unique feature of Chrono Trigger’s Tech system is that numerous cooperative techniques exist. Each character receives eight personal Techs which can be used in conjunction with others’ to create Double and Triple Techs for greater effect. For instance, Crono’s sword-spinning Cyclone Tech can be combined with Lucca’s Flame Toss to create Fire Whirl. When characters with compatible Techs have enough magic points available to perform their techniques, the game automatically displays the combo as an option.

Chrono Trigger features several other unique gameplay traits, including time travel. Players have access to seven eras of the game world’s history, and past actions affect future events. Throughout history, players find new allies, complete side quests, and search for keynote villains. Time travel is accomplished via portals and pillars of light called “time gates”, as well as a time machine named Epoch. The game contains thirteen unique endings; the ending the player receives depends on when and how he or she reaches and completes the game’s final battle.[10] The re-release of Chrono Trigger for the DS features a new ending that can be accessed from the End of Time upon completion of the final extra dungeon. The ending is reported to contain a new optional final boss. Chrono Trigger also introduces a New Game+ option—after completing the game, the player may begin a new game with the same character levels, techniques, and equipment (but not money) that he or she ended the previous game with. Certain items central to the storyline are removed and must be found again, such as the sword Masamune. Square has since employed the New Game+ concept in later titles, including Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve and Final Fantasy X-2.

More Information

• Developer(s)  Square, TOSE (PS and DS)
• Publisher(s)  Super Nintendo Entertainment System, JP Square, NA Square Soft, Inc., PlayStation, JP Square, NA Square Electronic Arts, Nintendo DS, Square Enix
• Designer(s)  Takashi Tokita, Yoshinori Kitase, Akihiko Matsui, Yuuji Horii, Hironobu Sakaguchi
• Writer(s)  Masato Kato
• Artist(s)  Akira Toriyama
• Composer(s)  Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu, Noriko Matsueda
• Series  Chrono
• Platform(s)  Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, Nintendo DS
• Genre(s)  Console role-playing game
• Mode(s)  Single-player

Links

• Official Japanese Chrono Trigger for Nintendo DS website
• Official North American Chrono Trigger for Nintendo DS website
• Chrono Trigger guide at StrategyWiki