Chrono Trigger - Square Enix - DS

[Triforcer]

I am writing this review from the perspective of having beaten the SNES version (not counting Lavos shortcut Game+s) at least fifteen times.  To get the easy parts out of the way:

(1) People who have never played Chrono Trigger and own a DS and don't hate RPGs- must-buy.  Thousands of different reviews anywhere on the internet can explain why.  The story is not terribly innovative, but is executed very well.  And considering the graphics (which still largely hold up for me as great stylized art), music (spectacular), depth, replayability, etc.- its one of the greatest games of the 90s, and imho of all time as well.

(2) Chrono Trigger Fanatics like Me- if you are a fanatic, you already own this.  And if you don't, you'd buy it even if it added one new item or character.  But be warned:  they have changed some iconic lines of dialogue which may cause nerdrage.  They even changed my sig line to something far less cool.    

This review is for those who have (3) played Chrono Trigger at some point, liked it, but are wondering if you want to pay money for the new features when you could just fire up ZSNES and play the ROM.  Verdict: not worth it.

The Good to Mildly Ok

(a) Ending log and bestiary.  These are pretty standard on rereleased RPGs now.  They are done well, but you still need spoilers to figure out all the game endings (a couple are very tricky on the timing, and the ending log doesn't give any hints beforehand).  Nice, but meh.  I think there is also a feature to look at any map too (out of game) and see where treasure chests are- I never really used it.

(b) Dimensional Vortex.  One of the two new dungeons.  Pretty darn fun, this was the best part of the added features for me.

The Neutral

(a) Monster fighting sidegame.  It really didn't win you any new items, and this has been done better and in more depth in many games. I tried it once or twice and never went back.

The Ugly

(a) Lost Sanctum, the other of the two new dungeons.  Jesus, this one hurt.  Whoever designed it came from the world of MMOs.  There is a little village of reptile people that give you shitty quest after shitty quest, some of which involve repeated mob grinding and almost all of which involve crossing the same three bridge and ladder screens over and over and over (complete with unskippable fights each time you cross).  Your DS will be thrown onto a soft surface the 10th time you have to do that, and will probably kill a neighbor's indoor pet the 50th time.  


Besides that, there is one new ending (nice for us completists) and a few new items from the new dungeons (nothing you really need to beat the game, but some of it is nice if you are having trouble on the End of Time Nu fights).  No new characters, no real extension of the storyline, no new techs.  They may have cleaned up the graphics a bit in places, but they are pretty much the same.

I suppose I am complaining they should have added another whole game or at least an expansion, but the extras here really aren't enough to justify 40 bucks if you aren't a fanatic or a Chrono virgin (again, for you, must-buy).  And if you hate MMOs, the Lost Sanctum will only pollute your pure SNES memories.

Rating (for category (3) people)- 2.5 urine-filled Sunny D bottles out of 5 urine-filled Sunny D bottles

[Slyfeind]

So what did they change "begins with Nu and ends with Nu" to?

[Valmorian]

People who have never played Crono Trigger and own a DS and don't hate RPGs- must-buy.

RPGS, or just JRPGS?  I love RPGs but I LOATHE JRPGS.. if this game is all about teenagers vs. the end of the world I have no interest at all.

[Triforcer]

People who have never played Crono Trigger and own a DS and don't hate RPGs- must-buy.

RPGS, or just JRPGS?  I love RPGs but I LOATHE JRPGS.. if this game is all about teenagers vs. the end of the world I have no interest at all.

You should...probably avoid it. 

And @ slyfeind- I will have to check, I'm not sure I have a file at the right point.  It was a pretty nerd-ragey moment for me though. 

[Slyfeind]

That's like changing Error's name in Zelda II. That "At least for now" part is the most subtle (unintentionally?) philosophical statement I've seen in a CRPG.

[Kail]

The big dialogue change I noticed is that Frog doesn't speak in Olde English anymore ("Thou art allowing thy enemy in" becomes something like "You allow your enemy in").  Kind of makes sense, given that even back in his native time period, he was pretty much the only guy who talked like that, but still kind of weird.

Also, this game has the added animated cutscenes from the PS version, without the load times, which is nice.

[Koyasha]

I don't know why they do that, change things that don't need to be changed in classic games.  When you have a classic game like Chrono Trigger, you don't change things for the sake of changing them...

On a sidenote, thinking about this reminded me that CT is one of very few RPG's I can think of that actually has a good explanation for the 'you can't bring your entire party with you, pick an arbitrary number of characters and let the rest sit around on their asses' thing.

[Triforcer]

I should mention that to get to the GOOD new dungeon, you have to play through the game twice (well, the second time until you get the flyable Epoch).  This means beating on baddies 30 levels below you for 10 hours or more again to get to it.  Not cool.  

EDIT: the net is now telling me that you can play it on the first playthrough, if you reload your save after you beat Lavos.  I will have to test this out.

[Mosesandstick]

So if you had the choice of playing the original or this version (assuming all other things equal) which would you recommend?

[Triforcer]

So if you had the choice of playing the original or this version (assuming all other things equal) which would you recommend?

If both were free or money is no object, the DS version.  Its not like the DS version makes the game worse, its just that I believe the additions are rather weak.  But if you are starting from a blank slate, might as well have the new features.    

[schild]

I just want to point out that you misspelled what is supposed to be like, your favorite game, no less than 4 times in this review - not counting the title (which I had to fix).

[Mosesandstick]

Brilliant, thanks. I might have to go buy a DS for Crono Trigger then. 

[Selby]

Also, this game has the added animated cutscenes from the PS version, without the load times, which is nice.

Are they still in Japanese?  My PS version has all of the cutscenes and movies in Japanese, so I have no idea if there is supposed to be anything learned from them.

I had a good time fully completing the PS version a few years back, being portable for DS is a bonus should I decide to go that route.

[Kail]

Also, this game has the animated cutscenes...

Are they still in Japanese?

I have no idea... as far as I can recall, the only dialogue in any of them is one line of text (flashback to Janus saying "the black wind howls"), which is in English.

[Delmania]

People who have never played Crono Trigger and own a DS and don't hate RPGs- must-buy.

RPGS, or just JRPGS?  I love RPGs but I LOATHE JRPGS.. if this game is all about teenagers vs. the end of the world I have no interest at all.

You should...probably avoid it. 

And @ slyfeind- I will have to check, I'm not sure I have a file at the right point.  It was a pretty nerd-ragey moment for me though. 

Meh, Chrono Trigger has teenagers vs. the end of the world, but they're not like the ones in current JPRPGS - cutesy optimists or brooding emos.  They're fairly regular RPG characters.

[Valmorian]

Meh, Chrono Trigger has teenagers vs. the end of the world, but they're not like the ones in current JPRPGS - cutesy optimists or brooding emos.  They're fairly regular RPG characters.

It's not the attitude that turns me off of JRPGs (Ok, it is a LITTLE), but the teenagers part, amongst other things.


JRPGs do a FABULOUS job of breaking any suspension of disbelief I can muster.

[Selby]

It's not the attitude that turns me off of JRPGs (Ok, it is a LITTLE), but the teenagers part, amongst other things.

I normally despise any JRPG with cute characters or teenagers\children too, but I enjoyed the game enough to track down all of the endings.  For another comparison I couldn't stand FF7.

[Ragnoros]

Bottom line: If you like old school NES/SNES RPGs you owe it to yourself to play Chrono Trigger.

Take it from me, the second biggest Chrino Trigger fanboy on these forums.

[Fabricated]

I couldn't stand the lost sanctum myself. I got so far as to chasing some guy down for a hammer and the incredibly poorly designed areas (looks like a fucking rom hack) and quit.

The new script is actually really great and way more accurately translated. Frog wasn't a thou-speake guy in Japanese, he was a short-spoken matter-of-fact hardass.