Reloading Reviews: Chrono Trigger DS

Here’s a review of Chrono Trigger for the DS. Yes, I know I talk about Chrono Trigger a lot and I know that I have already reviewed the original game. But the DS game bears some significant differences worth discussing. That said, I’ll try to keep this short and focus on those changes. Here we go!

For those who only own Xbox consoles or never had a proper childhood, Chrono Trigger is a game that was originally released on the SNES but was ported to several other consoles, including the PS1, PS2, PS3, Wii, WiiU, DS, 3DS, mobile phones, PSVita, PC (pirated), and possibly the PS4 (I don’t know if they can get it on PSN yet). If you don’t own one of these consoles to play it and have never played it, you should do something to change that as soon as possible because in my previous review of the original game, I’ve said how it is probably one of the best games ever made and while it’s visuals are dated, it still looks perfectly fine and has gameplay elements that are still better than most games today.

It’s the argument of simplicity versus complexity. This game happened to be great because it kept it simple and easy to approach but had lots of hidden complexity whereas so many games nowadays want to make things appear complex and difficult to approach but end up being kind of shallow and ultimately uninteresting. And, as for as the core experience goes, Chrono Trigger DS still is basically the same perfect game as it once was. But do the changes in the DS version of the game make the experience better, thus making it the definitive version?

First, a brief explanation of what the game is. You play as the hero, Crono, who must venture through time with his friends to stop a massive catastrophe in the future. You travel to the distant future, the middle ages, a strange futuristic past, and even the dinosaur age. During your adventure you’ll encounter many new allies to fight alongside you against very well design boss battles that are meant to test your ability to pay attention and require different methods of attacking for the most efficient damage output.

Gameplay is very standard SNES-era JRPG gameplay. But it’s good because it has a quick pace to it, leveling up doesn’t feel like a massive chore, and so long as you beat every enemy encounter in the game at least once, you’ll have leveled up enough to have no major issues against the final boss of the game. The fact you don’t have to spend hours grinding makes this stand out as one of the better JRPGs you’ll probably ever find. But let’s focus on what’s different from the core experience of the game.

One of the biggest changes that is immediately recognizable is the fact that you now have anime-style cutscenes. These take place during very specific events (mostly when a new character is introduced or when a major moment takes place like a death of *spoiler*). These cutscenes are cool to see, but jarring at the same time when you are switching from 32-bit pixels to well-rendered anime scenes and then going back to the pixels again. It makes me wish we could just get a Chrono Trigger anime instead of these 15-20 second cutscenes. These don’t take away from the game, but I don’t necessarily feel like they add to the game either.

Another confusing bit is the name of certain attacks and weapons have changed. This isn’t too big a deal for new players, but for those of us who actually remembered some of the moves, you might see an attack think that it’s something new and wonder where the attack you remembered is. Relax, it’s there, the name is just changed for seemingly no reason. This was especially confusing when I looked up a walkthrough to compare the differences between a couple of weapons so I know what the better of the options were, only to realize that one of them had a completely different name from what the guide was showing. It was then I realized that the guide for the SNES version wouldn’t quite work here.

Additionally, while Chrono’s best weapon is still the Rainbow sword and Frog’s is the enhanced Masemune, some characters now have new “best” weapons you can find in the new side missions. Most notably, Magus and Robo get their better “best” weapon from the new side missions you’ll do. Which I suppose leads me into this discussion… New Side Missions.

These came as a surprise to me. I was travelling and found the area where these new missions were and thought that maybe I had missed them in my original run of the original game. Not sure what I was supposed to do, I looked up the walkthrough again because the characters kept referring to “Emerald Mountain” and I flew all over the map unable to find it. When I eventually did, I regretted every second. These missions aren’t horrible, but their needlessly long with enemies that constantly repopulate and slow down progress of what should be an otherwise quick area. And the rewards are probably not worth it, as you could complete this game beating everything once with all of the previous “best weapons” with the right team going into the final boss fight. Here you get slightly better weapons (and I mean very slightly) any more unnecessary experience in exchange for fighting the same waves of dudes for probably a couple hours.

The only positive note is that these side missions are completely optional. I mean, they add to the lore of the game and the world, making everything feel bigger. BUT the fact is these particular side-missions aren’t all that fun in comparison to the main game and you’d be well within your right to just skip them completely. Not only do you spend hours fighting the same enemies and going over large areas repeatedly, but you also have to deal with LOTS and LOTS of backtracking. And these side missions feel like other JRPGs in that regard.

But before I conclude, there is one alteration that has left a sour taste in my mouth and makes me consider the DS game, for all its added content, a lesser version of the game. And that’s the game over screen. The original version of Chrono Trigger, the game over screen appeared and always stated, “But the Future Refused to Change.” It was a unique but very interesting way to state the game over that you never really saw in other games, and it fit with Chrono Trigger perfectly. But while I have died a couple times (due to stupid mistakes of faulty memory) this game over screen never appears. The game just freezes until you hit a button that takes you back to the title screen. And while it’s a petty thing to mark the game down for, it’s something that was uniquely Chrono Trigger and not having that just feels… off.

All that being said, Chrono Trigger for the DS is a mostly great game that both shows how good Square Enix used to be with the core game and how bad they’ve gotten with the mangled mess of new content and removal/changes of old content. This is certainly an interesting case study and I’m sure there are more changes I have missed during the experience that I haven’t looked for. If you liked Chrono Trigger before the DS game, do yourself a favor and play the Virtual Console or PSN port of the game. If you have never played Chrono Trigger before, then the DS port won’t feel so alien to you. But regardless of which one you choose to play, play it. It’s one of the best games you will ever get your hands on.

And as for you Xbox kids who don’t have access to it on your consoles… I guess you bought inferior consoles. If you like this review and want to see more content like it, please be sure to like, share, and subscribe. See ya next time!