THE ULTIMATE DEBATE: Final Fantasy VI vs. Chrono Trigger

[Forsaken Lover]

So CT, FFVI and DQV? That's 3. What are the other 2 out of curiosity?

[The Man]

Seiken Densetsu 3 and either Secret of Mana or FFV, depending on my mood.

[chionos]

Better Story?
Final Fantasy VI,
but only by a tiny margin, because Chrono Trigger's story is epic and fun and zany and wonderful in so many ways. FFVI integrates its characters into the story more, makes it a character-driven game. I like that. It's quality.

Better Characters?
Final Fantasy VI
This one, for me, is a little easier than the other questions. FFVI has the best ensemble cast of any final fantasy, of any game period, so there's not much of a contest. Nothing against CT's characters really, because I love many of them, but you just can't beat the FFVI cast.

Better Gameplay?
Chrono Trigger.
I like a lot of things about FFVI's take on the FF battle system personally, with each character having its own unique toolset to bring to the battles, but Chrono Trigger was even better. It was very satisfying, and I've always loved combined attacks which took CT's system up a notch. It's close, though.

Better Soundtrack?
Final Fantasy VI
Nobody's Nobuo.
Uematsu.
Brilliant soundtrack.

Better World/Towns?
Final Fantasy VI
I love FFVI's settings. Just love 'em. Chrono Trigger had some I liked, but nothing like what FFVI gives. Nothing.

[Forsaken Lover]

Didn't Uematsu contribute to CT's soundtrack?

Chrono Trigger as a whole seems like it was the sum of a lot of people's efforts. The plot was all written by various people and then combined into a whole, diffrent people composed the score, etc..

[Wolf Kanno]

Didn't Uematsu contribute to CT's soundtrack?

Chrono Trigger as a whole seems like it was the sum of a lot of people's efforts. The plot was all written by various people and then combined into a whole, diffrent people composed the score, etc..

Well technically VI was a group effort as well with two directors, about four confirmed writers and both Amano and Nomura worked on the character designs. Nobuo did the music himself though.

In CT's case, most of the OST is Mitsuda but he had was hospitalized towards the end of development thanks to an ulcer and Nobuo stepped in to finish the work though Mitsuda has said that a lot of the midi experimentation Nobuo had done with VI was used to help compose CT's OST.

[Vyk]

I played both shortly after their heyday. I got a second-hand SNES in like '96? Maybe '97. I think I even played them both in tandem. I got it over the summer and spent a couple months playing FFIV and attempting Secret of Mana and Super Mario RPG (didn't finish either of those), and then started FFVI and got CT that Christmas to round out my collection

I never finished CT either. I was over the whole silent protagonist thing. I hated the world map. The main characters were interesting, but nothing about them or the story really gripped me other than my love of Frog, but he couldn't carry the game for me. The gameplay to me was just alright, it seemed a little experimental to me though. I guess a lot of people like it for being untraditional. I don't necessarily like traditional battle systems simply for being traditional, but it's generally one of the better ways to go, as I did not like Super Mario RPG's participating battle thing. I guess it's because I don't really like encounters, and being forced to actively participate in them annoys me lol

The music was great in both, but CT just never drew me in other than that. I didn't find any aspect of it compelling. The plot was so disjolted by time travel I have trouble even recalling if there was much plot at all. But then, I haven't played the game since. And I've played FFVI a few times since. So it's possible the game just didn't jive with me as a juvenile and I may appreciate it more now as an adult. Obviously I missed out on a LOT. So I'm certainly not going to pretend that my opinion is definitive, since it is FAR from being an informed opinion. So I can't honestly say which is better. But I guess I prefer (or at least preferred?) Final Fantasy VI

[The Man]

Uematsu composed nine tracks from Chrono Trigger's soundtrack, although one of those was only a jingles. The songs "Sealed Door", "People Who Threw Away the Will to Live", "Tyran Castle", "Silent Light", "Underground Sewer", "Burn! Bobonga!" "Bike Chase", and "Primitive Mountain" are his work, as is the jingle "Mystery of the Past".

Noriko Matsueda also co-composed one track from the game, "Boss Battle 1", for which Uematsu provided the arrangement.

[Bright Shield]

Dragon Quest V is a great game. It's in my top 5 SNES RPGs, along with Chrono Trigger, FFVI, Mario RPG, and Lufia 2.

[Vyk]

Ow wow. Some Lufia love. They have a cult following, but the name rarely ever comes up

[Bolivar]

I know the DQ games have been going on for a while but nobody ever recommends them. I always assumed they were bare-bones RPGs with little plot or characters worth remembering and I'm primarily interested in JRPGs for plot/characters.

Going into DQV with this expectation is part of what makes it such a surprising experience. You could check out shion's Let's Play for reference.

It might just be the threads you visit, as I know many members here cite DQV and VIII as two of the best JRPGs.

[Pumpkin]

Oh my gosh yes, DQV is a wonderful game and I would highly recommend it to RPG fans

[Vyk]

The grinding requirement is what usually turns me off from trying DQ games. Grinding for a couple of bosses is par for the course, but grinding in every area just to proceed to the next area seems like it'd get old fast. Is that a stigma the game shouldn't have as well? Or maybe the battle system is fun enough make it worth while?

Or maybe there's a rom hack out there that re-balances some of them..

[Bolivar]

If you use your MP efficiently you can make it through each area and defeat it's boss without grinding. Worst case scenario you have to use a Chimera Wing to TP back to town and you give it another go but I never really "grind" in DQ games, as in pacing back and forth a high XP/Gold area. It's differect from FF where you really only use nukes and heals, and the generous gold allows you to stock up on near-infinite potions. DQ is more about resource management and seeing if you can complete each dungeon in one shot.

[Freya]

I'ma go with chrono trigger. I think VI was just too big. CT was able to keep me engaged longer and easier.

[Wolf Kanno]

If you use your MP efficiently you can make it through each area and defeat it's boss without grinding. Worst case scenario you have to use a Chimera Wing to TP back to town and you give it another go but I never really "grind" in DQ games, as in pacing back and forth a high XP/Gold area. It's differect from FF where you really only use nukes and heals, and the generous gold allows you to stock up on near-infinite potions. DQ is more about resource management and seeing if you can complete each dungeon in one shot.

This depends on the version, if you're playing the original versions, the XP/Gold given by enemies is much less than most of the ports. DQ is one of those series where the ports/remakes finally make them playable. In the GBA port for DQI and II you get nearly twice as much XP and Gold from enemies for instance reducing the need to grind whereas the original NES versions did require you to basically reach a new town and grind until you had enough money to purchase new equipment and gain levels before tackling the dungeons and then moving onto the next area.