Week 11: Chrono Trigger

Following the blog on Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger is another RPG that enjoyed commercial and critical success.  Nintendo assembled a group of programmers known as the "Dream Team"; the team included the developers of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.  The resulting RPG, Chrono Trigger, is regarded by some as one of the most influential video games of all time.  Chrono Trigger is given this respect for its innovation in multiple categories, including its gameplay, score/soundtrack, and intricate storytelling.  Any of these elements by themselves could create a reasonably entertaining game, but together, they create a game worth recognizing and certainly playing.  


The Gameplay

So the world doesn't change angles and flash colors when you get in a fight?

The mechanics of Chrono Trigger, for the most part, are similar to other RPGs of the time.  The easiest comparison to make is with the Final Fantasy games, which helped introduce the concept of an RPG game to a broader market; however, it would be insulting to Chrono Trigger to assume that stark differences were not present.  In my opinion, the best change is the style of "map fighting" that is present in both games.  The encounters are randomly hidden in the overhead map of Final Fantasy, which can make it difficult and frustrating to find the monsters.  In Chrono Trigger, though, the enemies are visible on the map.  Not only that, but the fighting within Chrono Trigger occurs on the overhead map rather than moving to a side-view.  This allows for the gameplay to advance more smoothly than is customary in most RPGs.


Score/Soundtrack
The composer of nearly all of the music in the game was a disgruntled sound programmer named Yasunori Mitsuda.  After taking the advice of a co-worker, Mitsuda decided to try his hand at making the score of a game: Chrono Trigger.  According to Mitsuda in later interviews, he wanted to provide a score that seemed other-worldly.  He explained that the inspiration for the music came in many forms such as dreams, the setting of a particular scene, and even allusions to a significant other.  The score of the game was well received, and it has inspired others to re-create it.  One example is this girl, who did a violin cover of the main theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj4Pr3mk5As.


The Story
Chrono Trigger's story is so complex that trying to explain it in its entirety would be an exercise in futility.  The basics of the story are that multiple, wildly different characters travel through time in order to stop the bad guys.  Of course, Chrono Trigger does contain a decent portion of the cliches that one can expect in any RPG game like conveniently placed artifacts.  See example below:

One does not simply leave plot devices.

Because of the inclusion of time travel, Chrono Trigger added an interesting and very innovative feature to video game storytelling: multiple endings.  Based on the player's choices throughout the gameplay, the future of the game and the eventual ending will be affected accordingly.  This is one of the possible endings that could be seen at the conclusion of the game: Chrono Ending. The addition of multiple endings, along with the other aspects that have been previously mentioned, made Chrono Trigger a true game-changer.  Waka waka!