Chrono Trigger - Review and Analysis

It took longer than I expected, but here is my Chrono Trigger review at last. Because this is my favorite game of all time I really tried to be inclusive of dissenting points of view, and to analyze the game as fairly as I could. That being said, I also wanted to make it clear why I believe it is the best game ever made. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear your own unique perspective in the comments! I'm excited for the coming discussions!

If you like our videos, consider donating on Patreon:

Follow me on Twitter @resonantarc

Sources for the timelapse footage labeled under creative commons:

Chrono Trigger Research Sources:

[ResonantArc]

Thank you everyone who participated in my discussion videos for this game. Your input was invaluable in shaping the direction for this review. I appreciate all of your feedback and criticism, and look forward to continuing the conversation in the comments! Thank you all for being beasts!

[Cleancutchaos]

Mario rpg was my first exposure to rpg's as a kid. When I was done I took it to video game trader and asked if there were anymore like it. The guy immediately turned and handed me chrono trigger. He didn't even ask if I wanted to look at others. He knew. And he was right.

[BinaryDood]

Just realized this is technically a spoiler-free review... Damn, this video is pretty much perfect.

[Trunksr]

The music in Chrono Trigger makes my arms shiver. The scenes, still to this day, warm my heart.

[captawesome]

One thing I love about your reviews is that you really approach them in a unique way. Most reviews talk about three or four categories independently and then give a score. You go through the history of the games and relate that history back to its core mechanics, characters and plot. It's very refreshing. This was well worth the wait, great job!

[DreamcastGuy]

Feel like we havent seen a real review in almost a month. Glad to see they are back! This video was incredible. Definitely the best Chrono Trigger analysis I've ever seen. :D

[amo]

probably one of the best reviews I've seen so far.

[tigerlike]

"I know why you like these games. It's because of the music." That's a direct quote from my father while I was playing this game as a kid. Miss those days :/

[MystikAznvr]

100% accurate with the review AND the feels. Even at 28, sometimes when I hear some of the songs I tear up on the spot... it had THAT much of an impact on me. So perfect, so touching, beautiful, and well done. It's really quite hard to find the perfect word to grasp that whole mix of emotions. I can't count how many times I replayed Chrono Trigger every time I feel down, sad, lonely, or when I'm losing focus of who I am... the game pulls me back into reality, back to when I was just a kid and carefree and not constantly thinking about work, money, and bills. I would pay $500 for a Chrono Trigger sequel or a remake with modern graphics.

[slimebuck]

This game helped me deal with - :
Mother abandoning me,
Being abused by my family, taken away by police and given to old religious people when I was 3.
Having no parental figures in my life,
bullying,
having night terrors every night (nightmares that feel so real it wakes you up as you scream uncontrollably)

This game, followed by Xenogears was my childhood obsession, and to this day I have been disappointed by every game as nothing has ever lived up to these 2 games.

[BigA]

Oh my god! No review has had me in tears before! But that ending was just brilliant!

[brandonandveronicavandb]

Chrono Trigger, always, has been centered around the most emotional moments of every gamer's life, somehow without fail. Always. It is the greatest game ever developed, and the reason I joined Square-Enix as a developer. It will never be repeated.

Masato Kato, thank you for helping me become a great writer.

[kylebavender]

I first played Chrono Trigger in a chaotic stage of life — unstable family, moving to new places, losing friends & family — and the game's story and music swept me away. Growing up, I played video games partly for their story or challenge or aesthetics, but at least part of it was the escapism, having a safe place. With Chrono Trigger, I found my favorite "safe place" — but beyond that, it inspired me in so many ways — to create, to be a fierce friend, to affect change in the world around me.

Fred "Mr" Rogers was known primarily as being a nice-guy-on-TV doing a children's show, but in real life he was one of the wisest, kindest people anyone had ever met. He once said, "Deep and simple is far more essential than shallow and complex." I can't think of a phrase that better fits with Chrono Trigger, which is rich with deep themes of humanity, existence, friendship, longing, and works extremely hard at "keeping it simple" — a true challenge any designer knows well. The game manages to strike a chord at each corner, each turn, each mountain, each valley.

Without sharing & critique, art fades from the memory of history, but I don't fear for Chrono Trigger with videos like this. Your analysis was spectacular and I loved seeing your incorporation from the discussion videos & the comments they spawned. So glad to see that Mitsuda's story was spotlighted in the video — the game's music is really something else. I used to just go to the End of Time to talk to characters just to hear their theme come up and sit and listen — sometimes for fun, sometimes to cheer me up, sometimes just to have that safe place to be afraid or sad.

But today, I find myself on the other side of the turbulent years of my youth. Chrono Trigger was such a wonderful companion in that time (and remains today — I'm due for a replay!). The effort that went into it, and its sheer improbability always astounds me. It's an A+, 10/10 game in my book, and my favorite to boot. I am not at all surprised that you've done the game justice, Mike. Keep up the excellent, inspiring work.

[ThotBusterNo]

man...people gushing about Chrono trigger makes me cry like a little girl. till this day, this is my favorite game.

[MrGazillion]

You can't go wrong with a review of such a great game. Chrono Trigger, to this day, is still one of the best games ever made. Frog is my favourite character of any franchise, horrible dialogue and all.

[micahrobbins]

I cried while watching this, for real. I haven't had a review of a video game be so emotional that it brought me to tears. Amazing review as always.

[bender]

I play this game every year on its anniversary

[Luca_Ice-]

I recently hit a life goal and bought an absurdly expensive Chrono Trigger Snes cart. Possibly my favorite game of all time. I've been looking forward to this review.

[Zeta]

Holy... shit... dude.... This is an incredible video that deserves SO many more views.

Your thoughts on Yasunori Mitsuda finally made me understand what I've been feeling this whole time. I had no idea of his endeavors. It makes so much sense! The main theme makes me well with emotion and it's EXACTLY what you describe.

You and I share similar passion on music. I dig it, dude!

Great job!

[evaunit]

Wow.. the feels that you expressed about this game was explained so well. Your detailed explanation of what Yasunori Mitsuda endured writing the score put me in tears because I know EXACTLY how it feels when the music in anything especially a video game can hit you on such an emotional level. Well done sir