Chrono Trigger: Yeah its pretty good

[Scowling Dragon]

Well I posted a thread a while ago complaining about Chrono Trigger.
And Hours and Hours later....Yeah its pretty good.

Plot takes me in directions I don't expect multiple times with great re-incorporation, and I love that sort of thing.
When it ends with a "Oooh," moment.

Gameplay is pretty good for a guy who REALLY doesn't like most RPGs. Its a game not wasting my time. It sets up all the encounters you need to progress through the game and thats about enough.

Im not left wondering how much I SHOULD grind because I always get enough. Then the Boss Battles are solid management that left me thinking about how to best overcome challenges.

[DomaDoma]

Warning: in the Black Omen, you will actually need to grind, and given the way random battles are integrated into the dungeons, it's even duller than in most JRPGs of the time.

But apart from that, yeah, Chrono Trigger's gameplay is great. The only battle system I've liked better is in Final Fantasy X, and as a very story-oriented person, I'll take the hit.

[tyckspoon]

Warning: in the Black Omen, you will actually need to grind, and given the way random battles are integrated into the dungeons, it's even duller than in most JRPGs of the time.

But apart from that, yeah, Chrono Trigger's gameplay is great. The only battle system I've liked better is in Final Fantasy X, and as a very story-oriented person, I'll take the hit.

Not certain if OP has actually completed the game or not yet, so putting this under spoiler

Of course you don't actually have to do the Black Omen unless you want the Very Definitely Final Dungeon experience - there are at least 3 ways to get to the actual end boss fight, and 2 of them pretty much put you right at fighting Lavos. If you do the rest of the sidequest section of the game you'll get plenty of experience/skill point leveling/gear to do the end fight without going through all of the Omen anyways.

[Scowling Dragon]

Warning: in the Black Omen, you will actually need to grind, and given the way random battles are integrated into the dungeons, it's even duller than in most JRPGs of the time.

Ah, shame. Well, hopefully the game builds up enough momentum up until that point that I will struggle on through.

Its not like I don't EVER grind. The game seems rather nice about levelup speed and the like.

[DomaDoma]

Where are you at, out of curiosity?

[Seerow]

Man it's been like 10 years since I've played this game, y'all are gonna make me go buy the new steam version and relive it aren't you.

[Kato]

Warning: in the Black Omen, you will actually need to grind, and given the way random battles are integrated into the dungeons, it's even duller than in most JRPGs of the time.

But apart from that, yeah, Chrono Trigger's gameplay is great. The only battle system I've liked better is in Final Fantasy X, and as a very story-oriented person, I'll take the hit.

Really? It's been a while but I don't remember needing to grind in the Black Omen either. Though, I guess the last fights are not easy, especially for the first time.

Also : eeeh... Not that I dislike FF X or its battle system but it's far from my favorite, to be honest.

[Cazero]

Really? It's been a while but I don't remember needing to grind in the Black Omen either.I remember grinding in the Black Omen, but only because Ayla can charm permanent stat boost items out of some enemies there.

[Scowling Dragon]

Where are you at, out of curiosity?

That Mountain Woe floating place and beginning to take back the nice things I just said.

The last two bosses have been an UTTER chore. Like complete chore a really painful, and a DULL chore.

This is RPGS at its worst....I feel like Im going to have to look up guides to just get the strategies right away and skip painful dull fights if this is how its going to continue.

[DomaDoma]

Ah, don't worry. THAT won't kill your momentum in the long run. You're in the Zeal segment, dude, and the Zeal segment in its totality disappoints absolutely no one.

(Fun fact: the Golem fight is actually programmed to be losable. Not that any gamer worth even my salt would assume that.)

[GloatingSwine]

Warning: in the Black Omen, you will actually need to grind, and given the way random battles are integrated into the dungeons, it's even duller than in most JRPGs of the time.


You don't need to grind at all. Just do all the optional endgame quests before the Black Omen and don't fall into "too precious to use" with your items and you're fine.


A quick tip for now you have a number of abilities: The shape of various dual tech attacks can be very useful to managing boss fights.

[Scowling Dragon]

Ah, don't worry. THAT won't kill your momentum in the long run. You're in the Zeal segment, dude, and the Zeal segment in its totality disappoints absolutely no one.

I was fighting Giga Gia. Without Falcon Strike it was super frustrating.

[GloatingSwine]

Although that does imply that there was a point where you were able to have Ayla in your party and didn't.

Which is one of the classic blunders alongside getting involved in a land war in Asia.

[DomaDoma]

Ah, but Ayla's dialogue is the worst available, and you just get the two slots. Thus, I recall having Frog and Lucca first time through that battle.

[Calemyr]

I will say Ayla is a major help in the second half of the Zeal arc.
There's a section where you have your gear completely taken away from you. Without Ayla, this turns into a stealth mission where you get sent back to the start if a fight starts. With Ayla... well... she never used weapons to begin with, so she'll just clean everyone's clocks for you.

Ayla's just a really useful character in general, though. She's a powerhouse in melee, enough that her lack of magic isn't an obstacle, and her abilities include Charm - the game's equivalent to Steal. You can get some absurd loot early and duplicates of otherwise unique gear by charming bosses. If you can handle her "caveman" manner of speaking, she's a solid go-to character.

[JeenLeen]

I think I recall the Zeal arc being one of the frustrating ones, but the story payout is cool, and I think the game picks up again quickly after that. (I think I found some of the part where you get Robo a bit frustrating, too, to mention a section you've already gone through.)

Also agreeing on the usefulness of Ayla. Probably been over a decade since I played that game.

One really nice thing: it has a "New Game+" (or whatever they call it) where you can replay the game starting with... I forget exactly what, but I think your level & gear from the last game. (Magic is still sealed at the start of the game.) It can make replaying the game for the story a lot more fun than the first-time through, and the frustrating parts become a lot easier. I think, back in grade school, I probably beat that game at least a half-dozen times just to enjoy the story and gameplay again.

[Kato]

One really nice thing: it has a "New Game+" (or whatever they call it) where you can replay the game starting with... I forget exactly what, but I think your level & gear from the last game. (Magic is still sealed at the start of the game.)

Well, CT is often cited as the inventor of the NG+.. So it's kind of one of the features that made it stand out back in the day.
Also, pretty sure you keep everything, or getting some endings would not be hard but impossible.
I guess I'll have to give in and buy it on steam or somewhere to play it again now :smallsigh:

[tyckspoon]

Well, CT is often cited as the inventor of the NG+.. So it's kind of one of the features that made it stand out back in the day.
Also, pretty sure you keep everything, or getting some endings would not be hard but impossible.
I guess I'll have to give in and buy it on steam or somewhere to play it again now :smallsigh:

The only things you don't keep are your gold stockpile (not that it really matters much, and if you want some you can just sell off some of your pile of Elixirs or end-game level gear) and plot/quest related items; there's only a few equipment pieces that are covered under that.
Frog's Masamune and the upgraded form, since both of those come from plot or sidequest events; the GreenDream Robo makes if you leave him to rebuild the forest in that sidequest, the Taban armor Lucca's father gives you at certain points throughout the game, and for some reason the stuff you can win or Charm from Flea, Ozzie, and Slash.

[theMycon]

Well, CT is often cited as the inventor of the NG+.. So it's kind of one of the features that made it stand out back in the day.
Also, pretty sure you keep everything, or getting some endings would not be hard but impossible.
I guess I'll have to give in and buy it on steam or somewhere to play it again now :smallsigh:

One thing to note (that I'm not sure the OP realizes)- there's about a dozen endings. They're mostly determined by "when you end the game", so there's a real ending with a few variations, and two "most secret" comedy endings.

Probably why I played it through so many times, growing up. That, and I actually like puzzle bosses. Even if they weren't done that well, it was the late 90's and JRPGs were terrible about many things back then.

[tyckspoon]

Ah, but Ayla's dialogue is the worst available, and you just get the two slots. Thus, I recall having Frog and Lucca first time through that battle.

Line Bomb would make a decent alternative to Falcon Toss for that lineup. Although really you only need to kill one arm to prevent it from doing the double-handed/big full party attacks, so you can work with single-target attacks or weaker all-target ones as well: use multi-target to weaken the arms, single-target to blow one up. Hit the head while it revives the arm, then quickly destroy the pre-weakened arm and go back to hitting the head. Shouldn't take much longer after the second arm revival to bring it down.

[Scowling Dragon]

No I defeated Giga Gia. Im past that point now.

That...general? Who works for the queen was ridiculously easy in comparison.

Frog Person (I called him Legush), Chrono and Ayla work pretty ridiculously well together.

Why does Legush have the best healing spell? Its weird. Didn't think the Melee Striker would also have good healing capabilities.

[Kato]

That, and I actually like puzzle bosses. Even if they weren't done that well, it was the late 90's and JRPGs were terrible about many things back then.
I wouldn't quite call (most of) them puzzle bosses, more strategy bosses (though I guess the line is thin) at least to me, a puzzle boss requires you to do exactly the right thing to beat him, where a strategic boss fight can be beaten with pure force / levels but becomes much easier if you do it the "right" way.
Also, I think the FF series had a decent number of good bosses like that, too.



Why does Legush have the best healing spell? Its weird. Didn't think the Melee Striker would also have good healing capabilities.

Frog is pretty versatile, but then so are most characters.
I think its roster is one of the strongest features of the game. It's not only that all characters are about equally useful, you also kind of really want to bring all of them along because you want to see their reactions to the plot. Every character is a good character in CT, something I can say about few others.

[DigoDragon]

One really nice thing: it has a "New Game+" (or whatever they call it) where you can replay the game starting with... I forget exactly what, but I think your level & gear from the last game. (Magic is still sealed at the start of the game.) It can make replaying the game for the story a lot more fun than the first-time through, and the frustrating parts become a lot easier. I think, back in grade school, I probably beat that game at least a half-dozen times just to enjoy the story and gameplay again.

I remember something about doing a NG+ that it upgrades Ayla's fist since she doesn't use any weapons. I remember it becoming "Stone fist" or something like it, and her ridiculously powerful strikes just get even more powerful.

The game encourages you to beat it several times because there's about a dozen different endings to the game. That was something that made replaying the game extra interesting.

[GloatingSwine]

Ayla's fist upgrades at something like level 75 and 96.

Her level 96 version does 9999 on crits.

Ayla crits a lot.

(Not as much as Crono with Rainbow or Dreamseeker but still, like, a lot).



Why does Legush have the best healing spell? Its weird. Didn't think the Melee Striker would also have good healing capabilities.

Frog is basically a Paladin. He's a slightly better utility character than Robo because it's easier to get his speed up early, his techs are pretty versatile whereas Robo has a lot of "centre on me" techs and duals, and he doesn't have as many wacky late game weapons like the Crisis Arm.

Crono/Ayla/Frog is, I think, the best all round party. You have great single target with Triple Kick and Lightning Rod, and Crono can handle all your crowd control with Lightning II and Luminaire.

Marle suffers the slightly embarrassing condition of being too good at healing. You basically never need healing spells as strong as she can throw out and she doesn't have many ways to turn out damage because of the way ranged weapon damage works.

[JadedDM]

Ayla's fist upgrades at something like level 75 and 96.

Her level 96 version does 9999 on crits.

Ayla crits a lot.

(Not as much as Crono with Rainbow or Dreamseeker but still, like, a lot).

Yep, specifically at level 72 her fists upgrades to Iron Fist, which increases her critical hit ratio to 35% and sometimes inflicts Confusion on enemies. Sadly, it does not glow.

At level 96, she gains the Bronze Fist, which, as pointed out above, inflicts 9,999 damage on a critical hit.

I had to play the game several times on NG+ to reach that level, though.

[Scowling Dragon]

Do enemies get tougher in New Game+ or is it just an opportunity for new plot beats?

I still regret eating that Sandwich. :smallfrown:

[Bruno Carvalho]

Man it's been like 10 years since I've played this game, y'all are gonna make me go buy the new steam version and relive it aren't you.

Do NOT do that.

Play it in the SNES or DS or any other versions. Both Mobile and Steam Chrono Trigger are awful.

[DigoDragon]

Yep, specifically at level 72 her fists upgrades to Iron Fist, which increases her critical hit ratio to 35% and sometimes inflicts Confusion on enemies. Sadly, it does not glow.

At level 96, she gains the Bronze Fist, which, as pointed out above, inflicts 9,999 damage on a critical hit.

Ah. All these years and I'm still learning stuff about this game. :3

I echo Chrono, Frog, and Ayla as a good well- rounded team. Their duals are pretty good from what I remember.

[Cazero]

Do enemies get tougher in New Game+ or is it just an opportunity for new plot beats?
They don't get stronger.
Unless you decide to attack Lavos before recruiting anyone or something.

[Seerow]

Do NOT do that.

Play it in the SNES or DS or any other versions. Both Mobile and Steam Chrono Trigger are awful.

I haven't had an SNES since mine got sold in a yard sale like 15 years ago, and the DS version costs twice as much as the one on steam. I grabbed the Steam one.

I had heard the awful things about it as well, but apparently they've done several patches on it since originally releasing the ****ty mobile port, and what I got is pretty decent. I know the UI was originally overhauled to some touch UI, but there's now an option to revert that. Similarly there was some sort of HD graphics upgrade that makes everything soft and fuzzy, which there is also now an option to reverse to get classic graphics.

I've got about 3 or 4 hours in, and am about to the point where you pick up Robo. Enjoying it so far. I always forget how fast things move at the very start of this game.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Ayla's fist upgrades at something like level 75 and 96.

Her level 96 version does 9999 on crits.

Ayla crits a lot.

(Not as much as Crono with Rainbow or Dreamseeker but still, like, a lot).



Frog is basically a Paladin. He's a slightly better utility character than Robo because it's easier to get his speed up early, his techs are pretty versatile whereas Robo has a lot of "centre on me" techs and duals, and he doesn't have as many wacky late game weapons like the Crisis Arm.

Crono/Ayla/Frog is, I think, the best all round party. You have great single target with Triple Kick and Lightning Rod, and Crono can handle all your crowd control with Lightning II and Luminaire.

Marle suffers the slightly embarrassing condition of being too good at healing. You basically never need healing spells as strong as she can throw out and she doesn't have many ways to turn out damage because of the way ranged weapon damage works.

Marle/Chrono can do group heals, though, which is useful and something I don't think Frog can manage. Marle can also do ice spells. I remember I beat the whole game once using mostly Chrono/Marle/Lucca, because I figured that was the 'canon' party composition. And the triple-tech was pretty nifty looking, even though it wasn't remotely action-economy-efficient.

This game is responsible for many of my fondest childhood memories. This, Secret of Mana, and FF IV/VI are some of the best games I've ever experienced. There's a reason why I consider the SNES era to be the golden age of RPG's, and Chrono Trigger features prominently in this.

But yea, Frog is strong. Probably stronger than Chrono himself, actually, especially after you get Masamune+ put together. An interesting party might be Frog/Robo/Ayala, but there won't be much synergy between them. Maybe Frog/Ayala/*SPOILERS*?

[danzibr]

Man it's been like 10 years since I've played this game, y'all are gonna make me go buy the new steam version and relive it aren't you.
Says Seerow :P

On the topic of favorite battle system, I’m a fan of Barkley Shut Up and Jam Gaiden. Not my favorite of all time, but surprisingly good.

[GloatingSwine]

Marle/Chrono can do group heals, though, which is useful and something I don't think Frog can manage. Marle can also do ice spells.

Frog can group heal on his own, so can Robo. Frog/Ayla can do a group heal & status clear.

And Frog's Water spells are elementally the same as Marle's Ice spells (CT only has four elements, Ice, Water, Light, and Shadow. Anything that uses multiple elements counts as Shadow).

You do want to stuff all your magic tabs down him, but then you don't need those for anyone else anyway.

He's not stronger than Crono, because of Rainbow's ludicrous 70% crit rate, but he's the most versatile character with heals and good physical and magic damage (pity Frog Squash isn't so great).

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Frog can group heal on his own, so can Robo. Frog/Ayla can do a group heal & status clear.

And Frog's Water spells are elementally the same as Marle's Ice spells (CT only has four elements, Ice, Water, Light, and Shadow. Anything that uses multiple elements counts as Shadow).

You do want to stuff all your magic tabs down him, but then you don't need those for anyone else anyway.

He's not stronger than Crono, because of Rainbow's ludicrous 70% crit rate, but he's the most versatile character with heals and good physical and magic damage (pity Frog Squash isn't so great).

I wasn't aware Robo had a group heal. Odd. And I had thought that the Frog/Ayla did single-target heal/status clear. I guess this just means I am now obligated to play the game again because my memory is getting foggy.

On that note, I can't wait for the Nintendo Switch to FINALLY come out with their legacy library thing for an annual fee to have unlimited access to at least the NES/SNES era games, and maybe more. Not just for myself, my son is about the same age I was when these games came out originally, and I want to share the memories with him.

Still not going to LP it, though, because I do not agree with Nintendo's policy on that topic, but don't have the seven to eight figures to contest it.

[danzibr]

On that note, I can't wait for the Nintendo Switch to FINALLY come out with their legacy library thing for an annual fee to have unlimited access to at least the NES/SNES era games, and maybe more. Not just for myself, my son is about the same age I was when these games came out originally, and I want to share the memories with him.
:O

You just made my day! But now I need a Switch...

Also, my son is 7. About that time.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

:O

You just made my day! But now I need a Switch...

Also, my son is 7. About that time.Uhh... to clarify:

"I can't wait until..." this means it hasn't happened YET, and we aren't sure if it ever WILL at this point, since they have been saying 'Soon(tm)' ever since launch. In fact, it was SUPPOSED to be a launch product. It's starting to feel like vaporware at this point.

[danzibr]

Uhh... to clarify:

"I can't wait until..." this means it hasn't happened YET, and we aren't sure if it ever WILL at this point, since they have been saying 'Soon(tm)' ever since launch. In fact, it was SUPPOSED to be a launch product. It's starting to feel like vaporware at this point.
I understood it to be at some point in the future. But man... “soon” since launch, that’s disappointing.