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ddduran's Chrono Trigger (DS)
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| [October 5, 2009 09:47:19 PM]
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GAMEPLAY
As the story progresses in Chrono Trigger there open up many possibilities for completing the game since the plot is not set linearly. Most games have to move in chronological order for them to make sense because that is simply the rules of the world that we inhabit. The time travel aspect of Chrono Trigger allows it to break that rule and gives the player control over what time periods are visited and how the story unfolds. There are also decisions during the game that affect the plotline for all of the different dimensions like the decision of killing Magus after the death of Crono. I personally liked Magus and decided to keep him around, but I have been told that the quests performed afterwards would change based on Magus’ presence in the group.
The battles also became interesting in the later parts of the game because not only did they get more powerful, but they also required different strategies. I generally refuse to grind for more level ups in role playing games and I also refused in Chrono Trigger and at first I assumed that my difficulty with bosses was because of a low level. However, I realized that it was because most bosses needed a strategy or a certain character in order for it to be easy. There was a battle where I foolishly believed that Ayla was useless because of her lack of magic only to realize that her physical abilities were better suited to the battle. I enjoy this type of strategy because it makes the battles into more than just hitting the same button over and over.
DESIGN
The game provides a good variety in the different types of worlds visited. Each time period is distinct from the others and range from a primitive world with cavemen to a desolate future inhabited by robots. The variety is unique because technically it is the same world, but during different times and there are pivotal events that sculpted the different geography in each era. There were times that I actually forgot the characters were not traveling across worlds and only through time. Characters from each era were representatives of that time period and each used a different color scheme or style from that era. Robo had a muted gold color scheme to represent the gloomy future and Frog’s green skin and bright attire displays the flourishing of the natural world during his time period and how green everything was.
The tone of the game is generally lighthearted, but definitely tries to portray how delicate our reality is and the power of our choices. The future that Robo lives in displays the tragedy can occur due to a cataclysm such as Lavos. The time paradox that occurs in the beginning of the game involving Marle losing her existence is also an interesting aspect of time travel that occurs due to free will and choice. Culturally, this game can be viewed as a comment on how we need to shape up and take care of our world because even the smallest thing can help or hurt.
The conflict of Chrono Trigger is never boring despite the lethargic villain nestled underneath the Earth’s crust. Every era has a conflict and in order to restore peace the protagonists must aid the people in that time period. My favorite aspect of the plot was Magus because he was an interesting villain that I eventually pitied. The characters blamed him for summoning Lavos and Frog wanted him dead to avenge the death of a fallen friend. Magus seemed like the main antagonist for much of the plot until it is revealed that he was simply a misguided boy who fell into a rift in time and was still bitter about the destruction of his entire race. Magus was an appropriate villain and after he was set aside the plot did not end because Lavos was a problem even though Magus was ousted. The characters were wrong in blaming Magus because Lavos was going to end the world anyway. I thought the use of these two villains was well done and kept me interested in the plot and made me want to hurry and view the ending.
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| [October 5, 2009 09:46:23 PM]
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SUMMARY
Chrono Trigger is role-playing game that focuses on time travel. The player controls the protagonist, Crono, as he tries to stop a girl’s death due to a time paradox and must eventually go through time to fight an extraterrestrial parasite threatening to consume the planet from the inside out. The player can go through the chronological progression of the story any way that they would like and can even face Lavos shortly after he is formally introduced into the story if they so please(not advisable).
GAMEPLAY
Chrono Trigger begins interestingly with a bright and sunny opening to the plot. The story seems to balance a sense of humor with a serious conflict and keeps the atmosphere light despite the tragic events that occur. Time travel is an integral part of the story and part of what makes the story tragic is the inclusion of many bleak time periods that involve much despair and death. The second time period visited in the storyline is a future marred by the arrival of Lavos who destroyed the Earth during the same year that the protagonists happen to hail from. This gives the characters an emotional attachment to Lavos that I feared would not be present. Many games feature teenagers saving the world and I always doubt the character’s motives, but Chrono Trigger does a good job of giving the characters a mission and a desire to complete it.
The battles are also a very interesting rendition of the active battle system made popular by the Final Fantasy series. The battles are turn based and the characters fill up an action meter and can attack once it is full. What Chrono Trigger does very well is allows for combo attacks among characters if both of their action meters are full. This makes a cool dynamic because it can make a huge difference based on which characters are in your party and whether or not they can combine to do attacks together.
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ddduran's Chrono Trigger (DS)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 30 September, 2009
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