So I've been playing through Chrono Trigger...

[Arcana]

Chrono Trigger was relatively innovative for its time respective to other Japanese RPGs. There were many elements in Chrono Trigger that were already implemented by North American RPGs (namely, the Ultima series starting at #5) but Ultima was not a widely-released game.

Another thing was that Chrono Trigger had high expectations on it: it had the "dream team" consisting of some of the best minds from the two juggernauts of the JRPG in that time: Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy. For most North Americans, it was the last JRPG they would play on the Super Nintendo system (as star games after it such as Fire Emblem, Tales of Phantasia, Star Ocean, Tactics Ogre and Dragon Quest VI never made it to North America).

One thing that Chrono Trigger did very well was pace its story. In under three hours, you went through two forests, a castle, and were introduced to four significant characters in the story. After another hour, you learned about the game's main antagonist, which - and this is important - does not change throughout the course of the game.

Another thing about CT is its polish: little details such as shading on swords, battle poses, and changes in NPC scripts as you jump through the time periods are things that show its shine. The battle system was dynamic and fun without being extremely repetitive, and the battles, though not exactly difficult, were still challenging and required a bit of thought (fights like Magus and final Lavos were exciting and required a small amount of thought to get through).

Chrono Trigger was very short though: my first time through, finding all of the secret story arcs, took me only 24 hours: a pitiful amount compared to other JRPGs of the era (and even later eras) which capped at 40 hours for just the core game. However, in retrospect that probably played in the game's favour as it keeps the pacing tight. Chrono Trigger is kind of like the Halo of console FPSes - you played it not just for the awesome fighting (though it was good), not just for the awesome story (though it was extremely solid) but for the whole experience wrapped up into a nice package. It's one of those games that you say you should play once "just for the feeling".

The game does age, especially since what was really innovative at its time is nothing anymore (ex: on-map battle system, team attacks, New Game+). It's nostalgic for us who've played it before, because young minds are easy to engage. Don't worry if you're a bit underwhelmed overall - the game still follows the JRPG structure which kind of gets old as you get old

[The Pezman]

I think it's a combination of everything that's been said before.

To a lay person, a game like FF6 is nigh impossible to get into. There are so many things to keep track of - different characters, different equipment which can only be worn by some, dozens of items to do different things, enemies and bosses which sometimes require special ingenuity to beat, nooks and crannies and secrets of all sorts that the power gamer can discover, etc. It's a lot to balance.

Chrono Trigger, I'd argue, thrives on its comparative simplicity. The storyline pulls few punches and is modeled in the style of a traditional epic, so it's easy to get behind. Characters don't have customization and they almost all can wear the same outfits. They're also each very strong and well-defined, and given a lot of screen time (which is not guaranteed in FF6). This is even true for villains (who doesn't love Ozzie, Slash, Flea, or Dalton?). Even small design choices like not entering a separate battle screen make it very easy for first time gamers to get what's going on. And, of course, it's time travel, a really simple idea. No concepts like summon monsters or nega worlds to understand. And, of course, the graphics and music are gorgeous. So when taken all together, Chrono Trigger is just a great game that's easy, quick, simple, and loads of fun all at the same time.

Incidentally, I'm sure this is why Chrono Cross didn't do nearly as well. While hailed as a great game by many, I think most people would have been content with a "Chrono Trigger 2," without too many elements changed. Instead, they got almost the exact opposite, with a storyline and battle system more complex than almost any other I've seen. It was great for hardcore fans to really delve into things, but it no longer had the approachable, anyone-can-play mentality that made the first such a runaway hit.

[K.B.]

The music is what does it for me and Chrono Trigger. Great game as a kid, but the music is what I really loved about the game.

The point where I really felt like I loved the game was actually the first time I heard the Corridors of Time song play when I stepped out of the teleporter on the floating islands. Beautiful, and that image will forever be ingrained in my mind.

This still sends chills down my spine whenever I hear it. That was the turning point of the game for me where things went from fun to enrapturing. It was like I had entered heaven; it was magical.

The torture Mitsuda put himself through resulted in what I believe is his strongest work and very possibly, still, the greatest vg soundtrack ever made.

Chrono Trigger, I'd argue, thrives on its comparative simplicity. The storyline pulls few punches and is modeled in the style of a traditional epic, so it's easy to get behind.

This too. The characters are imperfect yet strive for genuinely good purposes; the background given to justify their actions make the observer appreciate the cast even more. Also, the themes of love, loyalty, good vs evil, and overcoming adversity resonate with everyone. CT is like a good Disney flick: using a fantastical story to convey basic ideas, or ideals, that even a child can appreciate with a few subtleties thrown in for the enjoyment of adults.

[Flare4War]

I think there's a simple elegance about certain 'old schoo' RPG's that's been lost over time.

Storyline and protagonist.

[1337 1]

Without a doubt the Battle system of Chrono Trigger will age badly when considered out of context.

Ironically, the battle system was one of my favorite bits; no bull battles ftw! (plus the fact there were no random encounters)

They kept the battle system simple, and I like that. Especially when compared to some battle systems (like FF12 which just tried to do things different for the sake of doing it different imho), I like a system where you don't try and confuse people with some fancy system. Press attack, choose your target; simple. CT got that right.

[MojoHamster]

I loved the Gambit system! My only gripe was that I couldn't design even more intricate gambits and was restricted to what the game gave me.

Although I played Everquest for about 4 years which has some of the most intricate PvE dynamics going.

But one man's chocolate is another man's....well...

I'm glad you enjoyed the battle system, personally I don't factor in the encounter system when talking about it (especially as the encounter system was top notch as I mentioned).

I think just after you've played thru CT, FF7, FF8, Chrono Cross, FF9 if you did and FF10 you may possibly start to see the limitations of the traditional turn based combat system. FF10 really did a good job of it, although Chrono Trigger still stands out for its multi-techs.

Crono has a few techs that really exploit certain battlefield positions too which is something other games lack. (a well timed 'slash' is a montage of pwntage)

I got spoilt by intricate 54 player online raiding and such probably.

If by chance you don't like MMOs then logically, you will dislike FF12. I find there's several tedious elements in it like chests with a 0.01% chance of giving you the rare item you want. Hours of loading slowish loading zones on a PS2 repeatedly just to get some crappy spear is beyond the pale. (yes I got the Spear by avoiding the chests on my 2nd play and didn't bother waiting for that chest the first time either - cue Masamune + Genji Gloves)

I expect that from an MMO cos I'm paying a monthly sub and they have to make you re-use content.