Chrono Trigger was released in 1995. It's an epic about a young lad named Crono, who by chance gets transported to the past, but ultimately ends up fighting for the world, alongside his friends. During his journey he visits various time periods and alters the course of history and the outcome of the future.

Chrono Trigger really shows off the SNES. It has beautiful visuals and music plus a long quest with various plot-twists throughout. The game is also quite fun and captivating. The battle system is fairly original and each character has unique and visually-impressive attacks and magic. In this game the characters can learn various "Techs". Techs are moves that they learn by gaining Tech points. There are also experience points (of course) that increase your level. Double and Triple Tech moves use two or three characters who can combine their magic, in a sense, to do major damage. You can even access new techs by finding certain items. How nice!

Each time period has you doing many different things. For instance, the future has you saving the remaining humans from starvation, the prehistoric era has you fighting dinosaurs (sort of) etc. "The End of Time" is a period where all other time zones are connected. From there you can access all the time zones, at least later on in the game. There is also a time machine which makes things easier.

An innovative feature is the "New Game +". This lets you start a new game but saves all your weapons, armor and even level so that you have the chance to access all the endings (more than ten!). At the same time it also lets you rip through the game which is both good and not so good.

GRAPHICS: 98%

This game has some beautiful visuals. The characters all have distinct personalities. The graphics are also very colorful and the animation is fluid. Most notable are the magic and techs. The world map is nothing really special but more than suits its purpose. What more could you ask for?

CONTROL: 92%

Controls are accurate. Everything is quite easy to learn. If you are uncomfortable with the settings you can even choose others but I prefer not to. However it can get irritating when you are low on HP and trying your best to avoid enemies only to have a couple of them suddenly dart at you from hiding, because you can't do anything about it. You can run away during battle, but it doesn't work every time.

SOUND/MUSIC: 100%

The music is definitely the best feature of the game. There are some beautiful tunes that you almost never tire of hearing. Each character has his/her own theme. Frog's and Robo's themes are my personal favorites. The battle music is good and seems to get you in the mood. So many wonderful soundtracks in one game!

The sound is very crisp. When some characters speak, you can hear the noise they make. i.e, Frog croaks, Robo sounds like a machine etc. The boss roars, the weapon sounds and all others are just downright fitting.

STORYLINE: 100%

The whole time-travel aspect is well done. Each character joins the party for a certain purpose but sticks with you throughout. After you beat the main quest there are a few more sub quests you can take up if you wish to. Most of the endings are very interesting except for a few. I even managed to get the "best ending"! You can get this by fighting Lavos with only Crono and Marle at the very beginning of the game. It's superb!

GAMEPLAY: 91%

The most innovative gameplay element is the battle and tech system. However if you choose "New Game +", the battles get pretty boring. You feel like closing your eyes and tapping the buttons. This feature obviously exists mostly for the extra endings. The bosses can get very hard. (I still remember the number of tries it took me to beat Magus the first time I played through the game...hooo boy!) Lavos, the last boss, can easily be tackled by the appropriate magic, however. There are different sections like flying in an aeroplane, going to jail after a trial etc. (it's inevitable). On the whole, Chrono Trigger's gameplay is solid and incredibly engaging. However as with RPGs the replay value (after you get all the endings) is low. Also, I wish there were more exploring.

OVERALL: 96%

Chrono Trigger is a great game. It has a lengthy quest, a wonderful soundtrack, great graphics and incredibly tight gameplay. The storyline has some very emotional moments (for a videogame at least) and by the time you're done playing the game, the characters will most definitely be a part of you for some time. This game is gradually becoming a classic and I guarantee it will be more than well worth your cash.