Chrono Trigger... Those very words have become synonymous with Role Playing Games at their finest. Typically I don't like games with a silent protaganist because it's usually a cheesy and completely transparent method of making you feel like one of the team, but Chrono Trigger did it so well, I can honestly say that I feel a certain kind of bond with the characters.
The main ending to Chrono Trigger stands tall and proud as one of the best, most satisfying endings of all time, and in this age of crappy endings where they're more concerned with getting some J-pop singer to sing a song during the credits than properly wrapping up the plot, we NEED more endings like Chrono Trigger's! And when I saw the re-release's opening video, it was so great seeing them all again, I almost cried. True story.
Chrono Trigger blew away everybody with its amazing graphics, innovative and delightful battle system, the gripping storyline, and of course, the superb cast. A good cast is always essential for me to properly enjoy an RPG. In some ways (not all, but some), the cast was actually BETTER than that of my favorite RPG, Final Fantasy VI.
When I first played Chrono Cross, it had already been out for a while, and the reviews of it were somewhat mixed. As I began playing, I certainly didn't feel like we were dealing with any kind of a follow-up to the mighty Chrono Trigger, but it was still a decent RPG nonetheless.
...Then, the connections from the previous game began to appear.
Not only did the heroes of Chrono Trigger NOT accomplish the kind of peace they set out to do, killing the feeling of satisfaction that you so proudly carried away from the last game, but you actually fucked things up even more!
But that isn't even the worst part, not by a long shot... Not only does Lucca die in between Trigger and Cross, but she was MURDERED. Bloody murdered! The girl whose genius was the cornerstone of Lavos's destruction, who fought side-by-side with the mightest warriors from every era of the planet's history, murdered by Lynx, a goddamned cat-man! To pour a little more salt into that open wound of yours, Lynx later kills Robo right in front of you!
What the hell is wrong with Square? How could they put such a dark and demented twist to one of their greatest masterpieces? One of the best things about Chrono Trigger is just how perfect everything was at the end, yet they masterfully avoided a cheesy ending. You genuinely feel like everything is okay now, that you and your friends have done great good, and that, despite whatever new obstacles may come your way in the future, everything will be all right. You really DID save the world. You, and your new friends, with whom you will always remember with great fondness...
One of the great things about Chrono Trigger is how "pure" it was, even with some of the plot twists such as Crono's death, it was all in all a "wholesome" RPG. I don't want to sound like some kind of prude or anything, but I really liked that. I'm by no means not saying all RPGs have to be this way nor should they, but why does every RPG have to be about killing God? Why can't we just have some good, clean fun every now and then? Chrono Trigger was good clean fun at its best, and Chrono Cross, yet another victim to the craze of darker RPGs sweeping the genre, brutalized Chrono Trigger in a disastrous and futile effort to make itself look dark and sinister.
Squaresoft, how could you... HOW COULD YOU?!
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