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I'm just about to start my very first play through of Chrono Trigger DS. I never played the original Snes version, and have no real idea of what to expect, aside from hearing that it's one of the best rpgs of all time..
What can I expect and how much does it differ from the Final Fantasy games?
It is far better than the majority of Final Fantasy games.
FTFYQuote:
Originally Posted by Bunny
The main difference from Final Fantasy games other than quality (the only FF game I feel is on a par with CT is FFVI) is that you don't have random encounters - monsters either are plainly visible or hide in opportune locations, and you do battle on the same screen as you wander around on. The physical positioning of characters actually affects how much damage they do, and your characters can combine together to do double and triple techs that have far more effect than either character would be able to pull off on their own.
Other than that, enjoy the game - I wish I were playing it for the first time.
I don't want to oversell it or anything but if you're a fan of Final Fantasy and other jrpgs expect an amazing experience and one of the greatest games you'll ever play.
It's so much better than most games, including Final Fantasy games. The biggest difference you will see is that there are no random battles whatsoever. When you see enemies, you can either avoid them or run into them to start a battle.
There are a fair amount of sidequests. You can use Time Travel to travel to different parts of the world, and what you do in the past might even affect a part of the world in the future! Also this is one of the first games to have a "New Game +" feature, beating the game faster in a New Game + can give you a different ending.
There's a LOT of exploration. The epitome of why world maps are awesome.
I don't have much to add other than enjoy. IMO it is the best game on SNES, and probably in my top 3 overall.
Chrono Trigger is just a classic. The combo attacks, or whatever they were called, were also an interesting dimension to the battles I always really loved.
There's not too many characters, but they're all interesting, and the main character is a voiceless sort, probably a blank slate for yourself. I like all the characters though. And the NPCs are even better! Man! I love the NPCs in this game! I always wanted to know so much more about Schala.
The music is great too. Am I overselling it? Was there anything I didn't like? Hm. The character art is kind of disappointing, but who cares? I like their get-up still.
The multiple endings give the game a lot of replayability. I find I only replay FFs out of a sense of nostalgia, but Chrono Trigger is genuinely fun to start all over again, even if you've just finished it moments before.
Other differences?? Crono doesn't speak. No cheesy protagonist monologues here!
I feel like playing devil's advocate. I really didn't enjoy the game the way most people speak of it. So maybe you shouldn't buy into all the hype and just go into the game fresh and form your own opinion. I can imagine how it was a magical experience for some people. I've had games like that myself. Just unfortunate this one wasn't one of them. But I had expected it to be when I first played it due to everything everyone always says about it. So that was rather disappointing. Hope you enjoy it more than I did. It does do a lot of different things. How many RPGs have post apocalyptic worlds and cave women. Its an interesting story, with interesting locales and interesting characters
::Major spoilers that you know almost right away::
The game virtually begins with you seeing the outcome of humanity. A space creature called Lavos takes over Earth. The main flaw that I'm spoiling is that if you beat Lavos and the game, you wouldn't see Earth get taken over. This is a subject in it's self so that means you're not crossing time but dimensions.
Unless you've actually time-traveled how would you know the future? If you beat the game does that mean you'd 'forget' what you saw. Also, it's called tech not magic but it still uses MP.
Chrono Cross solves the mystery of why Chrono and friends were chosen to time-travel. Chrono Triggers plot begs for a sequel anyway. ;)
The biggest difference between Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger is the characters are dependant on each other for techs and normal support. The battle system is different. Collecting armor and items are pretty much identical imo.
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff."Quote:
Originally Posted by Greatermaximus
Changing the past changes the future. Time is not merely a straight line. You are not changing dimensions, you are reshaping a non-static timeline.
Now I will use the term Duex Ex Machina. I think that's the modern saying for a 'paradox'. Otherwise I'd like to meet someone real who has time traveled. I might be interested in aquiring a Delorean myself. ;)
How's the gaming going, Realm25? :D