Game Debate #75: Chrono Trigger

[Sumez | 2,945]

Chrono Trigger has three basic endings based entirely on how you choose to access the final boss. It's essentially the same ending though, with logical differences based on the aforementioned approach.

You can choose how to do this at any time once you reach the end of the game, but I predict most completionist type players will go through the Black Omen and fight all forms of the final boss.

Every other ending in the game, which are the ones that have the real wacky variations, are all gimmick endings based on replaying the game on New Game+ to rewrite history sorta. It's really just a way for the game to give you something fun to do after completing it regularly. I don't know if you're interpreting one of those as the "best" ending, but it definitely isn't so. 

Tldr, despite having a multiple ending system, the game isn't really about that. It's about the friends you make along the way. 

Edited November 12, 2021 by Sumez

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

33 minutes ago, WhyNotZoidberg said:

Seriously tho Chrono Trigger can be beat by anyone on a first playthrough in about 25 hours.

0 grinding required. If you stick to fighting the encounters you run into naturally, you'll get to the final boss at around lvl 52 and that's more than enough to fight him. There are 2-3 points in the game that might feel like difficulty spikes, but they aren't really. It's just the game throwing a curveball and you have to figure out an appropriate strategy, ie some bosses will have nasty counterattacks and you have to fight them in such a fashion that it doen't trigger those counterattacks.

Maybe I'll have to give it a try when I know I'll be able to finish it in a reasonable amount of time. I don't want to get halfway through it one weekend and not go back and finish it.

[Tanooki | 4,932]

No I've never played another time skipper RPG, not even Cross on the PS1.  Not sure what the deal is, but my critique stands on the whole as it (multiple endings) which everyone is focusing on isn't the only problem.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

3 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

No I've never played another time skipper RPG, not even Cross on the PS1.  Not sure what the deal is, but my critique stands on the whole as it (multiple endings) which everyone is focusing on isn't the only problem.

Except your critique doesn't stand, since you literally can't get locked into a bad ending outside of getting killed before the end of the game and having to restore.  I never ended up finishing it either, but it was a blast and easy to get into and enjoy while I did play it.  Not sure what your problem is beyond listening to the wrong people and apparently never actually sitting down to enjoy it versus overthinking things that weren't going to happen.

[Tanooki | 4,932]

I've played it, you're wrong there, but I haven't really gone much beyond the floating rocks/chains area and getting Magus into the party for a little while.  I'm not over thinking it, hitting a bad ending while playing was abrupt and enough, to then read the guide sometime later to see about the many endings.  After that, I've just never put as much depth into it, DS version included.  I think this is as much as a bunch of 10/10 fanboys getting upset someone doesn't agree it's not Super Nintendo perfection.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

1 minute ago, Tanooki said:

I've played it, you're wrong there, but I haven't really gone much beyond the floating rocks/chains area and getting Magus into the party for a little while.  I'm not over thinking it, hitting a bad ending while playing was abrupt and enough, to then read the guide sometime later to see about the many endings.  After that, I've just never put as much depth into it, DS version included.  I think this is as much as a bunch of 10/10 fanboys getting upset someone doesn't agree it's not Super Nintendo perfection.

Dude, only reason I didn't rate it an 8 is I had to disagree with Driftwood.  I've played many older and newer PC RPGs that knock Chrono Trigger's dick in the dirt.  But it's still a great game.  And there are zero bad endings save if you get killed somewhere and just don't bother to pick up and start playing again.  Everybody chiming in being a bunch of fanboys doesn't really have anything to do with the fact that there's one main ending, and the only one you can get to by finishing the game the first time, then a bunch of slightly different ones, none of which are bad, which only come about when you replay the game.

Here, let's go about it this way so you can try to actually prove your point.  What, exactly, are the bad endings that you're talking about?  Provide as much detail or as many links to places that talk about it as you'd like.  If they're there, surely you can actually state what they are, right?

[Tanooki | 4,932]

So I'm imagining jumping into the Day of Lavos and outright getting hosed, yeah...I'm not, bad ending.  It's been so damn long, maybe it was off the waystation from those time portals.  I've not touched the game in probably 10-15 years now.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

34 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

I've played it, you're wrong there, but I haven't really gone much beyond the floating rocks/chains area and getting Magus into the party for a little while.  I'm not over thinking it, hitting a bad ending while playing was abrupt and enough, to then read the guide sometime later to see about the many endings.  After that, I've just never put as much depth into it, DS version included.  I think this is as much as a bunch of 10/10 fanboys getting upset someone doesn't agree it's not Super Nintendo perfection.

Nah, someone gave it a 5/10 and no one batted an eye.

We were just trying to help alleviate your confusion.

[peg | 370]

Yeah it's a 10 although I still might pick FFIII over it head to head.

[Philosoraptor | 468]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Nah, someone gave it a 5/10 and no one batted an eye.

We were just trying to help alleviate your confusion.

And I expanded upon the 5 I gave it and still no one batted an eye. Honestly. I'm kinda shocked. I expected to get flamed for my opinion. I've been spending too much time on Reddit.

I also benefited from the discussion. I realized that the endings I saw were because we lost to Lavos first and then saw the normal ending later. I stand by my 5/10, but it's a "good to know" sort of fact.

[Sumez | 2,945]

You can go to the game's final boss, any time you want, even before you really understand its true nature, that's a really cool aspect of the game IMO.

Yeah, you won't be strong enough to beat it right away. 

And yeah, if you die against the boss you get a slightly different game over sequence. 

Locked into a "bad ending" though? Lol!

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

18 hours ago, Philosoraptor said:

And I expanded upon the 5 I gave it and still no one batted an eye. Honestly. I'm kinda shocked. I expected to get flamed for my opinion. I've been spending too much time on Reddit.

I also benefited from the discussion. I realized that the endings I saw were because we lost to Lavos first and then saw the normal ending later. I stand by my 5/10, but it's a "good to know" sort of fact.

Naw, your 5/10 mostly comes from not liking the mechanics and story. I may disagree with that, but it's your opinion to make. It's well thought out and I understand where you are coming from.

 

20 hours ago, Tanooki said:

So I'm imagining jumping into the Day of Lavos and outright getting hosed, yeah...I'm not, bad ending.  It's been so damn long, maybe it was off the waystation from those time portals.  I've not touched the game in probably 10-15 years now.

Unless you did a marathon without saving, you weren't locked out. It would just be an elaborate game over screen and you return to your previous save point. If you go to the Day of Lavos from the End Of Time on your first visit, expect to die. The Old Man actually stops and warns you to expect to die if you choose the Lavos portal. Unless maybe you didn't believe him?

[JamesRobot | 5,798]

Alright.  I can't ignore you people and your 20+ perfect 10/10 rankings.  I fired up CT last night to give it a proper 30 minute shakedown and see what all the hullabaloo is about.

Unfortunately, I got pulled into a 4 hour session and now I actually have to play the damn game.  I must admit the gameplay is quality and keeps you engaged.  Admittedly, I'm a sucker for time travel but the characters are charming, the storyline is intriguing without reading walls of text, and the battle system is quick and tight.  Plus the time travel sequence is dope!

 

So what kind of time sink am I looking at assuming my ADD doesn't get the best of me?

[Gloves | 11,776]

46 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

Alright.  I can't ignore you people and your 20+ perfect 10/10 rankings.  I fired up CT last night to give it a proper 30 minute shakedown and see what all the hullabaloo is about.

Unfortunately, I got pulled into a 4 hour session and now I actually have to play the damn game.  I must admit the gameplay is quality and keeps you engaged.  Admittedly, I'm a sucker for time travel but the characters are charming, the storyline is intriguing without reading walls of text, and the battle system is quick and tight.  Plus the time travel sequence is dope!

 

So what kind of time sink am I looking at assuming my ADD doesn't get the best of me?

An average first playthrough without a guide will be around 20-25 hours.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

13 minutes ago, Gloves said:

An average first playthrough without a guide will be around 20-25 hours.

That seems about 19-24 hours too long for my liking.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

35 minutes ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

That seems about 19-24 hours too long for my liking.

You could not watch wrestling for like 3 days 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

You could not watch wrestling for like 3 days 

That's kind of a big ask. Next you'll say I could go an entire weekend without watching football. 

[CMR | 519]

I remember back in the 2000's gamefaqs was running a poll to see what the number one game of all time.  Winning games would compete with one another month after month.  In the end it was Zelda ALTTP and Chrono Trigger.  Zelda came out on top but not by much.  I still agree with those results.

10/10 for me.

[themisfit138 | 523]

On 11/11/2021 at 12:18 PM, Jeevan said:

I prefer ff3

Change that to FF2. 
 

8/10. I enjoy the game but haven’t played it for quite a while. I did really like the music, though. Maybe if Square would do a rerelease I would give it another go. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by themisfit138

[MagusSmurf | 577]

16 hours ago, CMR said:

I remember back in the 2000's gamefaqs was running a poll to see what the number one game of all time.  Winning games would compete with one another month after month.  In the end it was Zelda ALTTP and Chrono Trigger.  Zelda came out on top but not by much.  I still agree with those results.

10/10 for me.

You're talking about the Best Game Ever contest from 2004. Fun contest, great match, but it didn't quite happen like you remember.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/1658-division-final-chrono-trigger-vs-the-legend-of-zelda-a-link

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

46 minutes ago, MagusSmurf said:

You're talking about the Best Game Ever contest from 2004. Fun contest, great match, but it didn't quite happen like you remember.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/1658-division-final-chrono-trigger-vs-the-legend-of-zelda-a-link

I guess 2004 was still close enough to bask in FFVII's initial glow

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

52 minutes ago, MagusSmurf said:

You're talking about the Best Game Ever contest from 2004. Fun contest, great match, but it didn't quite happen like you remember.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/1658-division-final-chrono-trigger-vs-the-legend-of-zelda-a-link

Damn, that was a tight one. I'd still call them two of the top ten games ever made, so I'm proud of the 2004 GameFAQs voters.

[MagusSmurf | 577]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I guess 2004 was still close enough to bask in FFVII's initial glow

Finding out all all the secrets, lists, and minutiae of a JRPG or just how to beat that one boss was one of the biggest reasons to use a text guide, FFVII was the most popular JRPG not named Pokemon, and an early FFVII guide was big for the site back in the day so yeah.

It has gradually lost strength over time. Cloud has fallen pretty far behind Link in the Character Battles, FFVII lost its rematch to Ocarina of Time in 2009, and in 2015 Chrono Trigger looked like it was stronger and would have probably beaten it had that contest not gotten overtaken by outside influences. FFVII remake might help a bit; hard to say.

[CMR | 519]

5 hours ago, MagusSmurf said:

You're talking about the Best Game Ever contest from 2004. Fun contest, great match, but it didn't quite happen like you remember.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/1658-division-final-chrono-trigger-vs-the-legend-of-zelda-a-link

It's because I'm from a different parallel universe.

[OptOut | 8,883]

On 11/15/2021 at 3:57 AM, JamesRobot said:

HARD SIMPING.

Traitor.