Chrono Trigger DS Impressions

When I first wrote up the Nintendorks announcement of the Chrono Trigger DS port, I casually mentioned that I had never played this modern classic. Now, months later, the game has actually been released, and I’ve received it as a gift during this odd end-of-the-year holiday bullshit that has been happening about now (has anyone else noticed this crazy crap with the lights and the trees and the same five songs repeating over and over? also what is the deal with the food served on airplanes?). I’ve been playing it for a while, and guess what? It is good.

Well, no shit, right?

You all knew this. You don’t need impressions of a game that is considered to be the best RPG of all time. Well, it is so good that it is actually making me want to play more of it. This is an important thing, as I am a fickle video-game asshole. RPGs can be tedious, and while a lot of people construe this mindless menu-tredding as making a game “mature”, I can’t stand it. It’s just my own opinion, but I don’t see the point of spending more time fiddling around with menus than in the action. Chrono Trigger, thus far, has been painless, with very minimal time spent choosing attacks and techs and equipping bronze/iron/whatever versions of the latest gun/sword/helm/pants/cowboy chaps. The cast of characters is unique and interesting, the enemies and bosses varied, and thanks to the eight million potions that everyone keeps dropping, the game isn’t so difficult.

I’m only a few hours in, but it’s honestly lived up to (most of) the ridiculous amount of hype. It’s a fun game. The DS version has cleaned up the screen and put the menus down on the bottom screen, and if you hate controlling the characters, you can even move them around with the stylus. And hey, you can even play the classic SNES version if are one of those types. It’s got a little map that fills in as you run around, and while I haven’t been there, there are apparently add-ons like dimensional vortices and sanctums that are possibly lost?

Here is the bottom line. If you like RPGs, and haven’t played Chrono Trigger already to death, buy this game. If you don’t like RPGs, but figure you may as well play one before you die, this is probably the one I would choose. It’s smart, fun, features a fun time travel story, and even the leveling up has been a breeze. It’s a damn fine game, and I am looking forward to playing more, which is something I’ve never desired with an RPG that doesn’t feature Mario and give out Skittles when you beat bosses.