Chrono Trigger is a landmark title in gaming history. Originally released for the Super NES in 1995, it's a perennial entry in industry-wide "greatest game of all time" lists, lauded for its interesting storyline, attractive visuals, and unmatched soundtrack. Developed by a "dream team" of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest developers, Chrono Trigger was a refreshingly original role-playing game that would become a benchmark for comparison in years to come. The DS remake sets out to be the definitive version of the game, enhanced with a new touch-screen interface and an assortment of extra content features.


Whether you're interested in playing Chrono Trigger for the first time or the fifteenth, this latest edition is well-executed, if only marginally better than the original. There are some of you who will want to have a playthrough as a notch on your proverbial belt, a chance to play a classic game that is commonly discussed in the same breath as classics like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Others will want to experience it one more time, bringing newfound appreciation for games, and an older, wiser perspective on Chrono's trip there and back again.

Required Reading

To gain a profound understanding of the games that we play today, and how they came about, it's crucial to know where they come from, and that can only come from experiencing the classics first-hand. Chrono Trigger is the gaming equivalent to fantasy literature's "The Hobbit." "The Hobbit" isn't as commercially successful as "The Lord of the Rings" (which would be the Final Fantasy games in our comparison), but it's a classic that set the stage for what we read today, and remains as entertaining in its latest release as it did when first published. Just as "The Hobbit" is an unsurpassed introduction to fantasy literature for younger readers, Chrono Trigger is an unsurpassed introduction to role-playing games that can be enjoyed by gamers young and old.

Not everyone has had the chance to play Chrono Trigger, so luckily the game holds up remarkably well over a dozen years later. Its stylized character designs and unique gameplay mechanics are responsible for that. It's an example of how certain design philosophies age better than others. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker will age more gracefully than Twilight Princess for the same reason: As time goes on, graphics will improve on a technical level exponentially. But attractive art, particularly that created from traditional methods, is timeless.

The same can be said for gameplay concepts that never get old, like the combat system in Chrono Trigger. Things we take for granted today, like positional importance in combat, a lack of random battles, and interesting teamwork-based attacks, make this a game that not only entertained, but also set important precedents.

Now Featuring: Grammar

The DS version features a new translation that cuts out the awkward "thees and thous" of the popular knightly character, while faithfully preserving the original storyline. Items have been renamed and characters are more coherent in their conversations. Purists may feel that some of the charm of the original has been lost in the new translation, but on a whole it comes across as a more soundly written work.

It's difficult to recommend this DS version if you have the original game committed to memory from start to finish. Chrono Trigger isn't a particularly challenging or lengthy game, and at $40 it's hard to recommend anything based on nostalgia alone. There are new dungeons, and a new ending, however, and those will undoubtedly draw in some who have played the game before. The new multiplayer monster-battling mini-game explores the possibilities of bringing friends into the Chrono Trigger experience, but it isn't as well-executed as we'd have liked. It feels much like Pokemon, down to the held items and training, only not as fleshed out, and ultimately tangential to the core game.

The new DS interface, however, is an all-around win. With the top screen serving as the main stage and the bottom screen dedicated to menu screens and interface elements, the game is now presented in a completely uncluttered way. Maybe it has something to do with how the sprites and artwork look better when crunched down to fit the small screen, but this is arguably the most attractive presentation that Chrono Trigger has ever had. It also helps that there are absolutely no load times, so it feels like you're playing on the original SNES cartridge and not the sluggish PlayStation port.

The Brink of Time

The soundtrack by Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu is also worth noting. You can find hundreds of remixed versions of Chrono Trigger themes across the Internet, but the originals are still well worth a listen. Make sure to use a proper set of headphones as the DS' tinny speakers don't do the music justice. This is an incredibly varied soundtrack featuring many memorable songs that may just end up becoming some of your all-time favorites.

Chrono Trigger is one of the best examples of what the Japanese RPG experience can offer. Its gameplay feels more unique and inviting to those who aren't enamored with selecting boring attack commands for their static sprites to follow. Its sprite-based characters are charming in a way that modern character designs rarely allow. While the new DS-specific features don't manage to make the game seem modern in any way, that doesn't seem to be the intent. Instead, the classic time-spanning storyline has been presented in its original form, with a tweak here and there, out to prove that it's still incredibly entertaining to this day.