Next up in our series of classic RPGs that have inspired us in our game development – Chrono Trigger!
Chrono Trigger was Square’s big finale (in the US anyway) for the SNES. Larger & more detailed sprites, on-map battles, an amazing soundtrack, a fun & crazy plot involving time travel and time paradoxes, and a colorful cast of characters (some of whom had really stupid names like Robo & Frog) were some of the highlights.
But what really stands out to me the most about Chrono Trigger is just how fast-paced it is. Despite the reputation for grinding that some of the earliest RPGs rightly acquired (Dragon Warrior 1 & 2, Final Fantasy 1 being big examples), a lot of earlier RPGs are briskly paced compared to your average modern-day RPG. Games like Final Fantasy IV and Suikoden I show that you can have an epic adventure in under 20 hours when you keep things from getting overly complicated. 20 hours in a modern RPG? I think that’ll get you about halfway through Persona 4’s opening cutscene (Just kidding! I love you Persona 4!).
With that said, Chrono Trigger is about as fast as you can make an RPG without turning it into Half-Minute Hero or cutting out all non-story battles out entirely. The game is constantly throwing out new worlds, new plot twists, and more to keep the player entertained over the course of a game that is unlikely to take anyone more than 25 hours (and that’s if you take your time & do all the optional content as well).
So how is Chrono Trigger likely to influence us as we develop Cosmic Star Heroine?
Good example on how to make on-map battles work from a technical & design perspective.
Pacing, pacing, pacing!
Great variety of locations & scenarios.
Multi-character combo techniques!
Keep basic systems relatively simple & add depth through abilities & situations.
Replay value through New Game+.
I would love a Zeal styled town in your game, with its depth and many secrets. Also, please add the ability to steal and make it worthwhile. Stealing is one of my favorite things to do in any rpg, especially when it is worthwhile, like stealing genji gear off Gilgamesh in Final Fantasy 12.
The Zeal themes have always been my favorite. But the music throughout the whole game is simply astounding. I would argue it’s the best video game soundtrack of all time. It’s definitely what I name as my favorite game of all time.
The way it did time travel was also neat and really fit the story. Encountering the wasteland in AD 2300 was a chilling experience, but then seeing the Magus-sealed doors and knowing that there had to be more was also great (this is one thing many great RPGs (and related games like Zelda and Metroidvania) do: They show you an obstacle that you can’t pass right now, so that you know there will be more)
Frog was a great character. And out of all the amazing music tracks, Manoria Cathedral is my personal stand out track.