The Start of the Affair: Chrono Trigger

To top it all off Chrono Trigger had a deep and rich story, complete with a diverse breadth of characters both in appearance and personalities. In most games, you pick and choose your favourite characters and stick with them for the whole game; however in Chrono Trigger all the characters were so likable that I enjoyed playing with all of them. From the frisky Ayla to the quizzical Robo, each character had something to offer that was both unique and rewarding to the story.

Unlike other games, Chrono Trigger allowed the user to choose how the story finished in the form of 12 different endings, depending on when you the player decided (or was able) to defeat Lavos. This was something totally unheard of at the time. I was used to playing games with linear narrative progression, where I would have to beat all the worlds before I could face against the final boss. With Chrono Trigger, I was able to decide which quests I wanted to do and when; I became quite literally the master of time and destiny when playing the game. From a design stand point, having Lavos being available to fight once you got to the end of time was quite a genius move as a means of instilling a sense of fear and dominance over the player until they felt that they were able to overcome this obstacle.



Personally for me I remember trying to defeat Lavos once I was introduced into the bucket in the End of Time, only to be annihilated in one hit. Lavos’ power and difficulty really was instilled into me at that point as I watched the earth get destroyed in the cut scene that followed, with the words coming up “But… The future refused to change.” Chills, serious chills. At this point I was determined to overcome my brutal adversary, and when I did finally beat the shell I thought it was over...I had won! Wait what’s this? My true enemy lies waiting inside? The epic-ness of the Lavos boss fight is still to this day one of the better boss fights I have ever played both in difficulty and in immersion as the revelation of what Lavos actually is comes to fruition and is revealed to both the player and the characters.

As stated before I owe a lot to Chrono Trigger: firstly, it introduced me into the glorious world of RPG’s , and secondly, it connected me to a group of friends that shared the same interests at the time and that lasted for quite a long time. This is my story, I hope you’ve enjoyed it.