CHRONO TRIGGER®

For years a heard people say that Chrono Trigger is one of the best game ever made and i aways thought its was just the nostalgia talking, but now i've played the game and i can say my own opinion:
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST GAMES EVER MADE!!
Thank you for the art, Akira Toriyama.

I remember when people hyped up this game as the 'best JRPG of all time' and I thought 'surely its not the best there's so many games in the genre'

This is the best JRPG of all time.

After finishing it, this game was a very satisfying 25 hours. One thing I like about it is how it doesn't put down the plot or the pacing with meaningless side content. Every quest feels thought out, matters, and has some meat to it.

Initially, I didn't really like the combat. I like turn-based games, but this felt very simple in the beginning. Attack, use team techs, oh i got hit lemme heal and repeat. But the game manages to find it's groove later on with interesting enemy types and boss design, and the sheer amount of combo moves your party can do.

And then there's everything else. Art and character design, the soundtrack, the story, this game feels so simple but it's done with the most amount of care. This game shows that simplicity in RPGs is a lost art, which was one of the key considerations in this game.

Anyways I won't glaze any longer. Go play the game if you haven't.

This was my first time finishing Chrono Trigger and i gotta say....get this game! Its amazing! Fantastic characters, backstory, music, and it handles time travel so well. There wasn't much i disliked about this game. Totally recommend if you have never experienced CT!

can't recommend this game enough but this steam version is probably my least favorite. I prefer the DS and original SNES versions much better than this. Interface is janky and settings are not easy to toggle.

This was actually the reason I got a steam deck.
My all time favourite JRPG from the greatest collective creators of that era.
Music is sublime, combat is SO much fun and it’s hard not to fall in love with every character in this.

My Playtime: 59.3h (100% achievement, finished the game twice)
My First Playthrough: 33.3h
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (12 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Intro
CHRONO TRIGGER is a JRPG about time travel. You play as a man with the default name of Crono, who travels through time and recruits up to six allies from different eras to save the world.
Pros:
- Adjustable combat speed
- Touch encounters
- Bosses require a specific strategy to beat
Cons:
- Sometimes it can be hard to know how to progress the story
- Most endings are empty
Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
Should you buy this game?
JRPG fans who like great combat without grinding will like this.
In-Depth Review
Visuals
For a game that was originally released in 1995, the pixelated art does a good job of making the game still look good in 2025. There might be some limitations like how surprised characters look too exaggerated and how sprite animations are made with so few frames, but as I said before, they still look good. Heck, some environments also look grand with their detailed pixel art, although you won't see them that often.
Story
Dialogues tend to be brief. This makes it hard to resonate with the characters during critical moments, especially since the cutscenes seem to focus more on brevity rather than emotions. The animation cutscenes that were shown at certain points helps to build the suspense, although the game doesn't seem to use it that much.
That being said, most main characters in this game have their own story and backgrounds, and for those whose past is unknown, the game will try to let the said character bond with the main casts. It's also admirable to see that each character has a specific line in all cutscenes whenever they become an active party member. However, this also makes the characters sound empty, as they tend to spout dialogues that don't connect to what the other characters say.
Despite having 13 endings, most endings are just a bunch of characters being animated without context. A few of them have short dialogues, although they aren't that interesting to follow. This might be happening because of how the endings are triggered, though. The one that seems to be well thought out was only three, which can be obtained rather quickly.
The Game
Gameplay
First of all, the game has no random encounters. There is no unnecessary grind and you can just kill enemies whenever you feel like it. Exploration can be done quickly as a result, with you focusing on the environment rather than the battles.
Progression is done vaguely. You need to talk to all NPCs in the area to get the context of what happened, and the game hardly tells or reminds you whenever you have to move somewhere else. Luckily, there aren't many new areas that you can explore whenever this happens—progression is linear, although it's possible to explore some areas before the story asks you to. These areas usually have stronger enemies, although it's still doable to finish them if you are over-leveled.
Characters
You can have up to 7 characters in your party. However, you can only bring 3 of them to battle. Inactive party members will receive a lower EXP boost, and despite the smaller amount, it's enough to get them ready for the battle, even if you never use them.
Each character has different perks. Some are healers, some are attackers, and some are hybrids. The game lets you try them all by forcing them into your party at certain points, allowing you to eventually choose which one suits you for the last stretch of the game. Moreover, some bosses are immune to physical or magical attacks, forcing you to change your strategy and your party members in battle. There are still some party members who will eventually be left out due to the clash in roles, but the game still encourages you to use most of them.

Combat
The combat uses an Active Turn Battle (ATB) system with a twist. Enemies will change their position in battle, and they might or might not be able to attack depending on their position relative to your character. Your character can also use skills whose range depends on your enemies' position, although some will target all enemies without checking the range.
The double and triple tech might look good on paper, but they get outdated fast. Double and triple techs are skills that use two or three characters. These characters will then use the skills that are meant to be used in these techs and combine them with other characters' skills. While these are useful at first, the damage was soon outpaced by other single attacking skills that some party members have, rendering them useless.
Enemies are unique. Some are weak to physical attack, some are weak to magical, while others need a certain strategy to beat. You need to talk to some NPCs near the location where the enemies show up to figure it out, although the information might be lost if you are not good at remembering.
Despite the enemy variety, the game still manages to make bosses to be more unique. There are simpler ones that have weaknesses and resistance to certain elements, but you also need to cater to their counter and high damage. Moreover, some also require a certain strategy to beat, whether it's the order of beating them or something else. You need to figure out how the bosses work by trial and error before you can finish them. Moreover, changing party members that are suitable for the boss fights might also be needed since you need all the damage you can get.
I like that you can speed up combat. If you choose to use this feature, all characters will use their default attack. However, I wish that the ATB bar and command selection don't progress when someone else casts a skill. There were times when I wanted to fast-forward the skill animation and ended up having my characters attacking enemies that shouldn't be attacked instead.
Length and Difficulty
I finished the game in 33.3h, finished all the side content for that playthrough in 47.6h, and spent the rest of my playtime replaying the game for the second time to get the other endings. I didn't finish my second playthrough, but I'm pretty close to the end.
As for the difficulty, even though strategy and equipment matter more than level, having a high level still helps to make the game easier. The difficulty in this game mostly lies in figuring out how the bosses work, although once you get it nailed down, the game should be simple enough to finish.
Conclusion
CHRONO TRIGGER is a JRPG with a lot of content that doesn't feel like a slog. Each sections are made brief and concise, with a lot of planning and exploration mixed within. It's easy to get hooked while playing the game, and the game does its best not to disappoint. I can recommend this if you enjoy playing JRPGs.

The game I highly recommend, port is awful. The original snes version plays and looks much better.
Buy this on sale and only for the license so you can with good conscience play a downloaded rom with a snes emulator.