Friday, October 20, 2000

Chrono Trigger | 10

If there is any RPG game that everybody must play at least once in their life, it has to be Chrono Trigger. Ever since its original release in 1995, the game has stood the test of time and has been highly regarded as a classic. Thirteen years after its original release, the game gets the handheld treatment and even throws in some new features as well.

The story is brilliant, as it utilizes the theory of time travel to the past and the not-so-bright future. The characters are classic and memorable, and the soundtrack is one of the best that I ever heard (thank you Yasunori Mitsuda).

However, if you're a veteran of the series, you may notice that the script was changed and the names of the techs and items are not the same as before. "Tonic" is now "Potion", "Flame Toss" is now "Flamethrower", and that alone could take a while to get used to. This doesn't bring the overall experience from this handheld version down in any way.

The game itself has plenty of replay value to make up for its seemingly short length. After the game is beat, with the New Game+ feature, you can play the whole story again, but keeping the same stats the characters had when they defeated Lavos.

Did you enjoy the animated cutscenes from the PS1 release? You can adjust them either on or off as you please. With the Touch Screen controls, you can make a new use out of the battle screens (even though I personally enjoy the classic view). But the thing that really makes this worth playing again are the inclusion of some new side quests to add on to its already splendid storyline.

I can't recommend this enough. Its price is cheap for a worthwhile DS game, its play value is addicting, and if you missed out on the SNES or PS1 versions, here you go.

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