Timeless Classic: A Look At Chrono Trigger 25 Years Later

Timeless Classic: A Look At Chrono Trigger 25 Years Later
September 21, 2020 
By Ryan Porzl

25 years ago, video game fans were introduced to one of the greatest games of all time: Chrono Trigger, a role-playing game that tells the story of a group of time travelers who travel back and forth through time in order to right wrongs and destroy an intergalactic parasite who is supposed to bring about the apocalypse and destroy their world at the end of the 20th Century. In this article, we'll celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of the greatest games ever made by looking back at both the game and the behind the scenes stuff. 

Characters

Crono- The silent protagonist of the game, Crono only speaks when you, the player, make a decision on behalf of the party. Crono lives in 1000 AD with his mother and cat and is best friends with Lucca. His adventure begins when he bumps into Marle at the Millennial Fair and Crono chases through time to retrieve her after her pendant and Lucca's invention, the telepod, cause a time warp that sends her to 600 AD. Crono eventually leads a group of friends from various time periods across time largely to save the world from Lavos, a parasite set to bring about the Apocalypse in 1999 AD as well as right other wrongs through out time. At one point, Crono dies after sacrificing himself during a confrontation with Lavos in 12,000 BC and the player is giving the option of reviving him or leaving him dead. Until his death, the player is forced to use Crono as one of their three party members. If the player decides to bring him back, it's now optional to have him in the party or not. Crono's main weapon is a katana and his magic is Lightning.

Marle- Real name Nadia, Marle is actually the princess of Guardia Kingdom. At the time of the game, she ran away from Guardia Castle and attends the Millennial Fair where she bumps into Crono thus beginning the adventure. After accidentally being sent back to 600 AD, she's briefly mistaken for her ancestor Queen Leene who went missing, resulting in her briefly ceasing to exist until Crono, Lucca, and Frog rescue the real Leene from danger. She's also at odds with her father King Guardia XXXIII resulting in the two having a falling out and her running away with Crono. Marle is the one who pushes to save the world after the party finds out about the Day of Lavos in 2300 AD. Marle is later revealed as a descendant of Ayla and Schala including inheriting the latters pendant. Marle's main weapon is a crossbow and her magic is Ice.

Lucca- Crono's friend and inventor. Lucca creates the mini teleporter called the telepod that's on display at the Millennial Fair which causes a time warp along with Marle's pendant when Marle attempts it. With pieces of the telepod, Lucca eventually creates the gate key, which is one of the inventions the party uses to travel through time as it opens time gates. Lucca also rebuilds Robo after they find him in 2300 AD. Originally, Lucca hated science and machines but eventually got into them in 990 AD when her mother was crippled in an accident with one of her father's inventions to make sure future accidents never happened. Lucca's main weapon is a gun and hammer and her magic is Fire.

Frog- An anthropomorphic frog, Frog was once a human and young man named Glenn who was good friends with legendary knight Cyrus during the Middle Ages as well as his squire. He's transformed into his Frog appearance by Magus in 590 AD after Magus killed Cyrus. Eventually, Frog becomes a great warrior and first meets Crono and Lucca when all three began looking for the missing Queen Leene at the cathedral. When first met, Frog is overcome with guilt both for Cyrus' death and Leene's disappearance. Ashamed he wasn't able to do anything to prevent Magus from killing Cyrus, he went into exile for a decade. He joins the party for good and begins to regain his confidence when the party presents him with the reforged Masamune which he hopes to use to slay Magus and avenge Cyrus. Frog's main weapon is a sword and his magic is Water.

Robo- A robot from 2300 AD, Robo (real name Prometheus and serial number R-66Y) is discovered by Crono, Marle, and Lucca when they venture into the Proto Dome and Lucca rebuilds him with the party then giving him his Robo name after he had lay dormant for over 300 years. Robo originally helps the party activate a power generator at a nearby factory in order to power up Proto Dome and allow the party to enter a room with a gate in it. However, he's beaten and damaged by several R-Series robots along the way, forcing Lucca to rebuild him. Robo joins the party afterwards and it's because of this that results in the party first going to the End of Time as only three can enter a gate at a time while more than three get sent to the End of Time. As they journey on, Robo discovers more about himself and his origins including coming from the Geno Dome which is on an island which contains his corrupt maker Mother Brain and his companion Atropos XR. He also discovers his mission which was to protect and survey humans while preventing Mother Brain from corrupting other robots. Robo's main weapon is his mechanical arm but he is unable to use magic since he's a robot and Spekkio being unable to read his character.

Ayla- A cavewoman and chief of the Ioka tribe from 65,000,000 BC, Ayla originally is met when she comes to the party's aid when they are attacked by a reptilian species known as "reptites". Ayla befriends the party during this time and originally joins them in battles against the reptites before joining permanently as well as providing them with a dreamstone which is needed to reforge the Masamune. Because she's a cavewoman, Ayla can be primitive fighting with her hands (which can be useful when the party is captured on the Blackbird) and speaks in third person. She's considered to be morally pure as well as brave and confident. It's also revealed she's an ancestor of Marle and she's the one who names Lavos with "La" meaning fire and "Vos" meaning big in Iokan language. Ayla's main weapon is her fists and she's unable to use magic because she was born before the creation of magic and before humans became genetically evolved to use it.

Magus- A powerful wizard, Magus was originally Janus, prince of the Kingdom of Zeal. As Janus, Magus is the son of Queen Zeal and brother of Princess Schala and resembles his mother in he was cold and kept to himself. A loner, Magus' only friends were Schala and his cat Alfador. He's thought to have strong magic, even stronger than his sister but eventually refused to use it when Zeal changed due to Lavos' corruption. Eventually, Magus was thrown to the Middle Ages after the activation of the Mammon Machine where he met his future general Ozzie. After defending himself with magic, Ozzie took him in and raised him with Janus eventually assuming the Magus name and became leader of the mystics. By 590 AD, Magus was leading the Mystics to war with Guardia Kingdom as he killed the legendary knight Cyrus, destroyed the Masamune, and transformed Glenn into Frog. It turns out his intentions were to gain more power in the hopes of eventually slaying Lavos. When Crono and his friends arrive in 600 AD, they align with Guardia and specifically Frog and assist them in the battle with Magus while eventually reforging the Masamune and travel with Frog to Magus' castle while Magus was attempting to summon Lavos. After their battle and confrontations in 12,000 BC, Magus' true intentions are revealed as he hopes to kill Lavos. Later in the game, Magus decides to join Crono and his friends but unlike other party members, Magus is optional with the player deciding to either have him join or have Frog engage in a one-on-one battle with him. Magus' main weapon is a scythe and his magic is shadow. 

Lavos- An intergalactic parasite who came from space in 65,000,000 BC and burrowed himself into the Earth's core to drain the planet's energy. Eventually, Lavos emerges in 1999 AD and destroys the world in an event known as "The Day of Lavos". Crono and his friends first find out about The Day of Lavos while using a computer in 2300 AD and decide to save the world from it happening. Through out the game, Lavos is an important figure as Queen Zeal tries to absorb his energy using the Mammon Machine and her daughter Schala in 12,000 BC and Magus tries to summon him in 600 AD seemingly to help the Mystics but has his own intentions. During the game, Lavos repeatedly shows his power including killing Crono. Along with his own techniques, Lavos is also capable of copying moves and techniques of other bosses in the game.

Queen Zeal- The leader of the Kingdom of Zeal and the mother of Schala and Janus (Magus), Zeal was once a good ruler before becoming power hungry and greedy with Melchior speculating her mental deterioration grew as she took more power from Lavos. She seeks immortality and hopes to achieve it with Lavos' energy. She exploits her daughter Schala's power to draw energy from Lavos via the Mammon Machine which is stationed in the castle and then at the Ocean Palace. Only caring for power and immortality, she shows no concern for her people or even her children. Following the fall of her Kingdom and the rise of the Black Omen, she gains immortality as she appears in various time periods.

Schala- The kind hearted daughter of Queen Zeal and older sister of Magus, Schala is one of the most powerful magic users in the game. Sadly, her mother exploits her magic abilities by having Schala use her magic and pendant to control the Mammon Machine to absorb energy from Lavos in the hopes of using Lavos' energy to obtain immortality. Unlike most people in the Kingdom of Zeal who look down on the Earthbound people (non-magic people), Schala does not and cares about them even willing to entertain the children.

Gasper- Originally, one of Zeal's Three Gurus who served as an advisor for Queen Zeal in 12,000 BC, Gasper was known as "The Guru of Time". He was flung into the End of Time by Lavos following the activation of the Mammon Machine. Gasper appears in the game as an old man at the End of Time who offers the party advice when you talk to him as well as the side missions the player can choose to complete near the end of the game. After the party finds out who he really is following Crono's death, he gives them the Time Egg or "Chrono Trigger" which is an item essential to reviving Crono.

Melchior- Another one of Zeal's Three Gurus, Melchior was once known as "The Guru of Life" and the creator of the powerful sword: the Masamune. Melchior was flung to 1000 AD by Lavos following the activation of the Mammon Machine. Speaking of the Mammon Machine, Melchior was the creator of it as it was used to drain and harvest power from Lavos in an attempt to reach immortality. Melchior also gave Schala a powerful pendant which could be used to control the machine as well as open sealed doors scattered throughout time. Melchior's biggest contribution is reforging the Masamune for the party after they find a rare dreamstone needed for the reforging which they then give to Frog in the hopes of slaying Magus. Speaking of the Masamune, Melchior also gives the party the ruby knife in 12,000 BC hoping it could be used to destroy the Mammon Machine with the knife becoming the Masamune. Along with this, Melchior also sells weapons and armor to the party in 1000 AD and eventually creates powerful equipment once the player completes the sun stone and rainbow shell side missions.

Belthasar- The third of Zeal's Three Gurus, Belthasar was known as "The Guru of Reason". An inventor, Belthasar originally created the Blackbird and the Ocean Palace before being flung to 2300 AD by Lavos following the activation of the Mammon Machine. While in the future, Belthasar meets the party and eventually creates the time machine known as Epoch which he eventually gives to the party after they were sealed away from 12,000 BC. After Crono's death, Belthasar also provides assistance via poyozo dolls to the party to help them climb Death Peak which they must do in order to revive Crono.

Dalton- A former assistant to Queen Zeal before being replaced by The Prophet, Dalton is another cruel individual who craves power and immortality but doesn't appear to be consumed by Lavos as Zeal. The party encounters Dalton several times during which they either fight him or he sics Golem monsters on them. After the fall of the Kingdom of Zeal, Dalton kidnaps the party, steals Epoch, and declares himself king of what remains. Dalton does contribute accidentally as he and his men equip the Epoch with wings allowing it to fly as Dalton intended it to be his personal chariot.

Ozzie- One of Magus' three generals, Ozzie is a heavy set green mystic who the party encounters several times. Originally, Ozzie found Magus after he was thrown to the middle ages and raised him with Magus eventually becoming leader of the mystics. Ozzie first meets the party when he leads an attack at Zenan bridge that the party fights off. He is later encountered at Magus' castle and his own fort. After the disappearance of Magus and him eventually joining the party, Ozzie sets up a fort and takes control of the mystics. A powerful magic user, he can create monsters from dead bodies and his main strategy is fighting opponents while concealing himself in a powerful ice barrier. His descendant Ozzie VIII is a resident in the mystic village of Medina in 1000 AD.

Slash- Another one of Magus' three generals, Slash is a tall, skinny blue mystic who, unlike the other generals, is more of a swordsman than magic user with his weapon of choice being his slasher and slasher II katanas which the party can acquire and Crono can use. Slash is first encountered at Magus' castle and later at Ozzie's Fort.

Flea- The third and final one of Magus' three generals, Flea is a regular sized, red feminine mystic. Flea is perhaps best known for his androgeny as he's a male but looks and is mistaken for female. Like Ozzie, Flea is another powerful magic user or magician and like Slash, Flea is first encountered at Magus' castle and again at Ozzie's fort.

Mother Brain- A central computer that took control of all domes and robots following "The Day of Lavos" in 1999 AD which she was likely able to do because robots aren't alive and Lavos did not or could not take their energy. Over the next 300 years, Mother Brain built an army of robots that resulted in an uprising against humans with the party encountering some at the Derelict Factory. She resides in the Geno Dome and the mission to confront her is optional. If the player does the mission, Robo finds out more about himself.

Cyrus- A knight who was once the captain of the Guardia knights. Cyrus was a longtime friend of Frog back when he was still Glenn with the two going back to their childhood days. By 590 AD, Cyrus, with Glenn as his squire, made the journey to slay Magus by acquiring the Hero's Medal and then the Masamune but he was not able to stop Magus as the Masamune was broke in half and Cyrus was killed while Glenn was transformed into Frog during the battle. Cyrus would eventually be buried in the Northern Ruins east of Guardia Kingdom on the island of Choras which he would haunt as a ghost in 1000 AD. An optional mission sees the party attempt to restore the ruins in 600 AD and Frog eventually succeeding in helping Cyrus' soul rest in peace.

Azala- The queen of the reptite tribe, Azala is Ayla's rival with humans and reptites at war with each other in 65,000,000 BC. The party faces Azala and the reptites several times during their adventures in that time period. Azala first comes into contact with them when the reptites steal the party's gate key and they must retrieve it after the reptites give it to her. The second is when the two sides have a final battle at Tyrano Lair after Azala's reptites led an attack on the hidden Labura Tribe and kidnapped some of their people. Unlike humans during this period, Azala is more evolved, intelligent, and well spoken.

Spekkio- A resident in the End of Time along with Gasper, Spekkio is the Master of War and is the one who gives the party their magical abilities (except Magus who already has magic and Robo and Ayla who are unable to use magic). Depending on the players levels, Spekkio's form changes throughout the game from a prehistoric frog to a kilwala to a dark blue Ogan to a red Gaoler to a blue Masa and Mune to a pink Nu. As he explains to the party, he's weak if the party is weak and he's strong if the party is strong. As a result, the stronger the party gets, the stronger he gets. The player has the option of fighting him and the first time they defeat Spekkio in one of his forms, he will reward them with items with the items getting better as they defeat stronger versions of him.

Story

1000 AD

The game starts one morning in the village of Truce which is part of Guardia Kingdom. Crono is awaken by his mother who brought up how excited he was the previous night of the Millennial Fair and specifically brings up Lucca's display at the fair. Crono heads to the fair and after enjoying many of the activities, he bumps into a girl near Leene's Bell. After finding and giving her pendant to her, she introduces herself as Marle and asks to tag along with Crono which he agrees. The two eventually go to Lucca's display where she and her father created a telepod which transports someone from one pod to another. After Crono tries it and it works smoothly, Marle tries it but her pendant and the telepod cause a chain reaction that opens a time portal and sends Marle into it. Crono offers to go after her by grabbing her pendant, which she dropped, and follows thanks to the pendant and the telepod. 

600 AD

Crono lands in the Truce Canyon in 600 AD where he fights off monsters and heads out. Crono first visits Truce village and finds the Zenan Bridge leading to Porre is broke to prevent an invasion as Guardia Kingdom was at war with Magus and his mystics or fiends. After visiting the village where he finds out the missing Queen Leene has been found and traveling through Guardia Forest, Crono heads to Guardia Castle where he finds out Queen Leene is actually Marle who was mistaken for the missing queen. Shortly after their reunion, Marle vanishes. As Crono leaves the castle, Lucca finds him and reveals Marle is actually Princess Nadia from their time which explains why she was mistaken for Queen Leene. She also believes Marle vanished because the search for the real Leene ended and if Leene is killed then Marle won't exist. The two decide to find the missing Leene believing that's the only way to bring Marle back. After hearing the chancellor liked to make late night visits to the Manolia Cathedral, they decide to search there. Upon going there, they're attacked by monsters disguised as nuns after discovering the queen's coral pin but fight them off with the help of a knight named Frog who is also searching for Leene. The three team up and with the use of the cathedral organ find a secret door. They explore the cathedral which is crawling with fiends and fight off the monsters until confronting the chancellor who has Leene. The chancellor reveals himself as an impostor as he's actually a monster named Yakra. The three fight him and eventually slay him. After killing Yakra, they open the two chests in the room with one containing the real chancellor and they return to Guardia Castle. With Leene safe, Marle returns and comes clean on who she really is. Before leaving, Frog expresses guilt over Leene's capture and leaves the party. Crono, Lucca, and Marle then return to Truce Canyon and find the gate they came from. Lucca then reveals with parts from the telepod that she built a gate key which activates these time gates. 

1000 AD

The three return to 1000 AD where Marle offers them a visit to the castle for dinner but Lucca is busy and politely declines while Crono agrees. However, upon going to the castle, Crono is accused by the chancellor of having kidnapped Marle, is captured, and put on trial. During his trial, Crono's character is called into question and witnesses are questioned about Crono's actions during the Millennial Fair which either lead to a innocent or guilty verdict (Crono's verdict depends on what the player did or didn't do while at the Millennial Fair). Crono is found innocent but is still sentenced to three days in jail for running off with Marle. However, upon heading to the prison, the chancellor instead says Crono is to be executed in three days and Crono is knocked unconscious and put in his cell. Crono awakens and finds a way to escape by banging repeatedly in his cell which brings the guard in to stop him but Crono knocks him out. Crono fights his way out of the dungeon until making it out, during which time, Lucca shows up to help and the two escape before fighting the castle's dragon tank. Crono and Lucca damage it piece by piece including it's head and wheels before Crono stabs it to destroy it. As they make their escape, Marle tries to help but can't so she has a falling out with her father and escapes with Crono and Lucca. They run to the Guardia Forest and appear trapped when they find another gate. Despite not knowing where it leads, they enter anyway. 

2300 AD

The gate takes them to the Bangor Dome in 2300 AD and upon leaving the abandoned and run down dome, they find 2300 AD is a post-apocalyptic world. After traveling through the Site 16 section, the three head to Arris Dome where they find a group of survivors led by a man named Doan, later revealed to be Marle's descendant. The survivors are starving but are able to survive via a machine named enertrons. The three volunteer to go to the lower parts of the dome but are warned that everyone that's tried has been killed. Despite the warning, they head down where they run into a giant machine named Guardian who has two bits with it. Despite a tough battle, the three emerge victorious and continue on where they find most of the food is bad due to the refrigeration having gone dead but they find a seed. After traveling further through the dome, they find a computer which Lucca uses to find another gate at the nearby Proto Dome. However, when Marle touches a button, they stumble upon a news report from 1999 AD which chronicles a day known as "The Day of Lavos" which shows a parasite resembling a spiked shell turtle named Lavos emerging from the Earth's crust and rains fire from the sky before the feed goes out. Realizing Lavos is responsible for what happened there, the three decide to use time travel in the hopes of stopping Lavos and save the future. After returning to the top and giving the seed to Doan who then gives then the key to a jet bike, they journey first to the sewer system. After emerging, they come towards the Keeper's Dome where they meet an old man name Belthasar who is working with a robotic Nu creature and a sealed door they can't access.  After that, they venture to Site 32. After traveling through it, they make it to Proto Dome where they come across a deactivated robot who Lucca decides to fix. While Lucca is fixing the robot, they find out the door where the gate is has been sealed. After activating the robot, he introduces himself at R-66Y but is given the name Robo. They find out they need to activate a power generator at the nearby Derelict Factory in order to open the sealed door. Crono, Robo, and either Marle or Lucca head to the factory to turn on the generator. After fighting their way through the factory, they activate the generator and make their escape until being confronted by R-Series robots. Robo greets them but they attack him, break him, and dump him since he supposedly forgot his mission. The remaining two party members face off against the six robots and defeat them. After winning, the two get Robo's remains and return to the Proto Dome where Lucca repairs him. With the door opened, Robo decides to remain with them and the four venture into the new gate.

The End of Time

The four then land in an unknown small location in the middle of nowhere with other gates. They find an old man who reveals they're in the End of Time and they got here because when four or more travel through a gate, they end up in the End of Time. He tells them they can leave but only three at a time while the other party members remain. They then enter a room where they meet a creature named Spekkio, the Master of War who explains his appearance and strength depends on how strong the party is. He then gives Crono, Marle, and Lucca magic with Crono capable of using Lightning, Marle is capable of using ice, and Lucca is capable of using fire. However, because Robo is a robot and Spekkio can't read his character, he can't give him magic.

1000 AD

Using one of the available gates, the party returns to 1000 AD but land in the mystic village of Medina which isn't kind to humans and worships a statue of Magus. They visit Melchior outside the village who sells them items and weapons while telling them to go through the nearby Heckran Cave to get back to Truce. They venture into the cave, fight monsters, and eventually fight the namesake of the cave: a monster named Heckran but they defeat him. Upon defeating him, Heckran said the fiends would be controlling the world if only Magus had summoned Lavos 400 years before. The party then suspects Magus is responsible for Lavos and decides to return to the Middle Ages to stop him. Using a vortex pit, they get transported back to Truce near Lucca's house. After exploring the village, they return to the Millennial Fair and use the gate there. Returning to the End of Time, they now have more gates available including 600 AD.

600 AD

The party uses the gate to head to Truce Canyon in 600 AD. Upon their return, Guardia is fighting off Magus' forces at the repaired Zenan Bridge but are struggling as the King was injured in battle and the knights are hungry. Crono and the party head to the bridge and volunteer their services, first returning to the castle for jerky and then fighting on the frontlines. They meet Ozzie, one of Magus' three generals who is leading the attack and who transforms dead soldiers into monsters but the party fights them off. Eventually, Ozzie creates a monster named Zombor but the party eventually beat him and Magus' forces retreat. The party then travels to the villages of Dorino and Porre where they learn some new things. One is the elder of the Dorino village has hired an explorer named Toma to locate the Rainbow Shell which becomes important later. The second is a boy named Tata is being billed as a hero after finding the hero's medal. Eventually they go to the Cursed Woods where Frog resides. They inform him the King is injured but Frog says he can't do anything to stop Magus without the legendary Masamune sword and the hero's medal. The party leave and head to the Denadaro Mountain where the sword is supposed to be. During the climb up the mountains, they run into Tata who is also seeking the Masamune but runs away from monsters. After completing the climb, the party enter a cave where they find a boy and what looks to be the Masamune. However, when they attempt to get the sword, the boy stops them and asks if they want it. When the party says yes, the boy calls for his brother who is named Masa while he is Mune. The two decide to test the party and revert to their real identities to fight the party. After the party wins, Masa and Mune then combine to form a bigger monster but the party still beats them. Having passed the test, they give the sword to the party and ride them out of the mountains. Unfortunately, it's only the blade as the sword is broken. The party then travels to Tata's home where he comes clean, admitting he's no hero and only got the hero's medal after Frog got drunk and dropped it. He then gives it to the party. They return to Frog's home but he mentions the sword is broken and needs it reforged. The party then finds that Frog has the hilt and take it. They then find that an ancient language is written on it which Robo translates to "Melchior" which reveals Melchior is the one who forged the sword.

1000 AD

The party then return to 1000 AD and visit Melchior with the Masamune. However, despite revealing he forged it, he can't reforge it without dreamstone, a stone that no longer exists. The party return to The End of Time where the old man tells them to look for one in the prehistoric era.

65,000,000 BC

The party lands in 65,000,000 BC at the Mystic Mountains but the gate is positions in a way where the party falls off a cliff upon exiting the gate and must jump off a cliff to land in the gate. As they fall, they're attacked by a group of beings name reptites but fight them off. When more show up, a cave woman comes and helps fight some off while the party finishes the rest. The cave woman introduces herself as Ayla, chief of the Ioka Village. Impressed by their performances, she befriends them and even has a party in their honor. Later that night during the party, Crono asks about some dreamstone which Ayla has but will only give it if Crono can beat her in a drinking contest which he does. The following morning the party wakes up to footprints and the gate key gone. They seek Ayla's help and she believes it's the reptites. When they follow the footprints to the forest maze, they meet Ayla's boyfriend Kino, who admitted he stole the gate key out of jealousy but once Ayla claimed that Kino is most important to her and Kino, apologized, he brings up reptites stole the key from him. The party travels through the forest and into the reptite lair where they fight their way through it until running into Azala, the queen of the reptites. Azala refuses to give the key back and sics a monster named Nizbel after the party but they defeat him and Azala gives the key up. Having gotten the gate key back and the dreamstone, the party parts ways with Ayla.

1000 AD

The party returns to 1000 AD where they give the broken Masamune and dreamstone to Melchior who is able to reforge the sword. He does question where they got the Masamune and the dreamstone but it doesn't bother him.

600 AD

Returning to the Middle Ages, the party heads to the Cursed Woods and present Frog with the reforged Masamune. Frog tells them to remain the night while Frog does things with the Masamune. Frog remembers his time with Cyrus including Cyrus getting the hero's medal, Magus breaking the Masamune, Cyrus getting killed, and Magus transforming Glenn into Frog. The following day, Frog joins the party and they make a brief trip to The End of Time with Spekkio giving Frog the magic of water. Back in the Middle Ages, Frog uses the Masamune to cut a mountain and opens the magic cave. After traveling through it, they head to Magus' castle. Along with fighting their way through the fiends, the party comes into contact with Magus' three generals. They first fight Slash first by himself and then after he arms himself with his slasher katana but they defeat him and take the slasher for Crono to use. The second is Flea as they first beat an impostor before fighting the real deal but they defeat him. Finally, they face Ozzie who shields himself in an ice barrier that the party can't break but they defeat him by triggering a trap door that plunges Ozzie below. They then confront Magus who is in the middle of a ceremony. The three fight him and after a tough battle, they win. After they win, it's revealed that Magus did not create Lavos but was summoning him. As Lavos awakens and sucks up the castle, Magus creates a time warp throwing him and the party to different time periods.

65,000,000 BC

The party awakens in Ayla's hut but Magus is nowhere to be found. After resting for a few more hours, the party awakens to the reptites attacking the hidden village of Laruba and burnt it along with some of the forest it was hidden in. It turns out the reptites followed Ayla to the village and attacked it, capturing several villagers as well as Kino. The party heads there where Ayla is having an argument with the elder and she reveals she came because she needs dactyls in order to fly to Tyrano Lair and fight the reptites in one last encounter. The elder points them to the nest and Ayla heads out with the party following her. The party meets up with Ayla and insist on coming with her. The party flies off in the dactyls all the while a suspicious red star is in the sky. The party flies to Tyrano Lair and fight their way through it all the while freeing the captured humans. They eventually run into Nizbel II but defeat him. Finally, they confront Azala who leaves the throne room and joins her pet, a giant dinosaur named Black Tyrano to fight the party in one last battle. Despite another tough battle, the party emerges victorious. Afterwards, Azala hints this is the end of the reptites. She then reveals the red star will crash towards Earth and start an ice age. The star turns out to be Lavos and it's here where Ayla coins it's name using Iokan language with "La" meaning fire and "Vos" meaning big. Kino then comes with the dactyls and Aylas offers to help the injured Azala but she refuses believing the Earth made it's choice so the party flees right as Lavos crashes into Tyrano Lair and burrows itself in the Earth's crust. The party then find a gate in the crater. After Crono tells Ayla he wishes to fight Lavos, Ayla permanently joins the party. The party enter the gate into an unknown time period.

12,000 BC

The party then emerges in the Dark Ages and Azala's prediction is correct as it is an ice age. While exploring this time, they find transporters which take them to a magical kingdom in the sky called the Kingdom of Zeal which ruled by Queen Zeal. While exploring the floating islands, they meet a number of people and learn new things. One person is a creature named Doreen who is the older sister of Masa and Mune and who welcomes them. The second is a young boy named Janus who tells them the black wind howls before warning the party that one among them will shortly perish. They also learn of a thing called the sun stone which was a moon stone kept in the sun shrine for centuries. The stone was once the source of Zeal's power before the creation of the Mammon Machine which the kingdom uses to drain energy from Lavos. They're also told, weapons can be made from it but only Melchior is capable of this. Along their travels, they run into the ported Blackbird which is a giant air fortress built by Belthasar. It's here they meet Zeal's former advisor Dalton who taunts the party before telling them how they resemble the people that Zeal was warned about by a stranger named The Prophet before leaving. They then go to Zeal Palace where they run into Masa and Mune before finding Princess Schala in her bedroom talking with Janus. It turns out they're Zeal's two children and Janus warns Schala that Zeal has changed. Schala is then called to Zeal's throne room where the party follows her. She opens the door to the throne room with a suspicious looking pendant that looks exactly like Marle's. The party try to use their pendant but no luck. They then travel to where the Mammon Machine is and use it to power the pendant. With that, the party is able to open sealed doors scattered throughout time. They make their way to the throne room confronting Zeal, Schala, The Prophet, and Dalton. Dalton sics a Golem monster on them and the four teleport out. Regardless of whether the party wins or not, they're then captured by Dalton and sent to the Mammon Machine room where they're trapped. Schala and Janus sneak in and free them which Janus is against but Schala feels they could save Melchior from the Mountain of Woe. However, following the rescue, The Prophet shows up and threatens to kill them. Schala and Janus are against it so The Prophet asks Schala to cooperate with him and then asks the party where they came from. They take The Prophet to the gate and are forced into it. After they're gone, The Prophet forces Schala to cast a seal on the gate to prevent them from returning.

65,000,000 BC and The End of Time

The party returns to 65,000,000 BC and the gate is sealed. They then head to the Mystic Mountains and use that gate to return to the End of Time. They meet with the Old Man who tells them the seal prevents them from returning to 12,000 BC. However, he does bring up a friend of his invented a machine called "The Wings of Time" in 2300 AD.

2300 AD

The party return to 2300 AD and head to the Keeper's Dome. Using the fully charged pendant, they're able to enter the sealed room. Belthasar isn't anyway to be found but he left recordings for the Nu construct who advise them on Lavos, Zeal, and The Wings of Time which he gives the party. He then request the party name his wings of time which they do naming it "Epoch". With Epoch, the party is able to go to any previous time they want including 12,000 BC.

12,000 BC

The party use Epoch to travel back to 12,000 BC. There, they can't visit Zeal Kingdom so they explore the caves where they come across a village of people. It turns out people in this time period have been separated into two groups. The first are people capable of using magic who are called "Enlightening Ones" while the second group are people not able to use magic called "Earthbound Ones". Perhaps to no surprise, the Earthbound Ones are treated poorly by the Enlightening Ones as they're not only not allowed in the Kingdom of Zeal but are looked down upon as inferior. After speaking with the elder, they make the trip to the Mountain of Woe. They first fight a mud imp and two mudbeasts but defeat them and climb the mountain. After finding Melchior stuck in an ice barrier, the party fights a being named Giga Gaia but after another hard battle, they win and free Melchior. The meeting is awkward at first as the party knows him well but this version had yet to meet them and doesn't know them. Crono tells him about Zeal with Melchior speculating that gathering energy from Lavos with the Mammon Machine has driven Zeal insane. They then escape the mountain just as the chain connecting it breaks and the floating mountain crashes into the water. While at the elder's place, they're visited by Schala and Janus who tell them they activated the skyways, unsealed the gate, and that the Mammon Machine has been sent to The Ocean Palace which is underwater and now complete but she vows not to use her magic again leaving it worthless. Then Dalton shows up and kidnaps Schala taking her back to the Kingdom. Melchior tells them they have to stop it and gives them a ruby knife to use on the Mammon Machine. The party return to Zeal Kingdom and eventually the palace. There, they find Dalton alone in the throne room complaining about being ordered to remain and guard it while everyone else transported to the Ocean Palace. The party fight Dalton and eventually defeat him with Dalton escaping to the Ocean Palace. The party follow by using a teleporter to send them to the palace. The party fight their way through it as Zeal makes Schala use her magic to get the Mammon Machine at full power. After fighting their way through the palace, the party confronts Dalton again but he sends the Golem Twins against them. The party fight them off and Dalton escapes out of the palace. They confront Zeal who is getting more insane while Schala is working the machine. The party then throw the ruby knife into the Mammon Machine which turns it into the Masamune. Lavos then emerges and fights the party but they prove no match for it and are easily defeated. The Prophet then shows up and reveals himself as none other than Magus himself. Magus says he's been waiting for this moment and attacks Lavos but it's no good. Zeal stands on Lavos as Schala wants her mother to stop but she won't. Eventually, Lavos takes Magus and Schala down and then plans to suck all five up to increase it's power. As this happens, Crono recovers and despite pleas from others to escape, he instead challenges Lavos. However, Lavos shoots a beam at him and it's at that point where he remembers Janus telling them that one among them will shortly perish. It turns out that one is Crono as a spark comes out of him and destroys him. The remaining four teleport back to the Ocean Palace where Schala uses the last of her pendant's power to teleport them and Magus out and asks them not to hate her mother. Meanwhile, Lavos emerges and shoots beams into the sky, destroying Zeal Kingdom as the chunks of land crash down into the Earth destroying many of the lands on Earth as well as cause tidal waves. When the party awakens, they head to the Commons where the surviving Enlightening and Earthbound Ones have taken shelter. The elder says they didn't find Crono but that the Epoch followed them there. Just then, a group of Daltonite soldiers attack the village and tell everyone to hail their new king Dalton. Dalton confronts the party and declares himself the new king. He then notices Epoch and declares they don't deserve such a vehicle and then knocks them out with fireballs before capturing them fearing they would cause trouble. The party awaken in the Blackbird which is flying but without their weapons, armor, money, or items. The party use the ventilation shaft to sneak around the Blackbird eventually retrieving their stolen weapons, armor, money, and items. Along the way, they find out Dalton is having his crew work on the Epoch as they're constructing wings for him allowing it to fly. The party make their way to the outside where they meet the Golem Boss but defeat it as they take advantage of the monster's fear of heights. Dalton then flies the new Epoch which he considers his personal chariot and renames it "The Aero Dalton Imperial". The party see this and jump off the Blackbird onto the Epoch where they fight Dalton again. After Dalton is defeated, he tries to summon the Golem Boss but instead gets sucked into the black hole he opened since the Golem Boss was already defeated. With the party retaken control of Epoch they use the laser Dalton put in to destroy the Blackbird. With that taken care of, the party heads to North Cape where they meet Magus. He reveals that at the Ocean Palace, Janus and the three gurus were thrown through different time periods by Lavos. This explains how Melchior wound up in 1000 AD, Belthasar in 2300 AD, and Gaspar in The End of Time. As for Janus, he fell to 600 AD where he ran into Ozzie who tried to attack him with blue imps. The party deduces that Magus is indeed an older Janus. Magus then reveals he planned to summon Lavos to get his revenge when the party interfered. After being thrown to 12,000 BC, he set himself up as a Prophet waiting and abidding his time until he could fight Lavos but he still failed. He tells the party Crono was doomed to fail and the party will also die if they continue. The party is angered by this, especially Frog. However, when Magus challenges them, they turn it down realizing it won't bring Crono back. They start to leave when Magus follows them and tells them there might be a way to save Crono but they need to seek out Gasper, the Guru of Time. Magus then joins the party. Before leaving the time period, a ship that resembled the Ocean Palace emerges from the ocean and into the sky as the Black Omen which later centuries consider it a god.

The End of Time

The party returns to the End of Time and talk with the Old Man who realizes Crono is gone. The party tells him what happens and that they need to speak to the Guru of Time. The Old Man then gives them a time egg called the Chrono Trigger which is needed and the party realize the Old Man is Gasper, the Guru of Time.

2300 AD and 1000 AD

The party travel to 2300 AD and the Keeper's Dome where they meet Belthasar's Nu who tells them in order to restore someone to life, they need a clone doll and to reach the top of Death Peak. They then travel to 1000 AD and attend the Millennial Fair. There, they go to Nortstein Bekkler's Tent of Horrors and play a game to win a Crono doll. After winning it, it's sent to Crono's house and the party retrieves it after talking with Crono's mon and saying Crono is fine. They return to 2300 AD where the Belthasar Nu sends three poyozo dolls to Death Peak to help the party and then requests the party turn the Nu off which they do. At Death Peak, the poyozo dolls turn into trees which help the party scale the mountain while avoid huge gusts of air that would throw them to the bottom again. The party then fight their way to the top beating monsters and Lavos spawns along the way. At the top, the Chrono Trigger breaks after reacting to Marle's pendant and causes an eclipse. The party travel back to right before Lavos kills Crono but time has frozen allowing the party to substitute the real Crono for the doll. They then return to Death Peak with Crono emerging from the heavens and falls onto land alive and well.

The End of Time

With Crono back, the party prepares for the final battle. Gaspar tells them they have multiple ways to get to Lavos. One is to use a bucket in the corner. Second is to fly the Epoch to 1999. The party can also fight through the Black Omen as it awaits Lavos awakening. Gaspar also tells them of other side missions of people who need their help.

The Sunken Desert

The party travels to 600 AD and meet a woman named Fiona who is trying to save a forest but it's been destroyed due to monsters in the desert. The party goes through quicksand and into the Sunken Desert where they fight the monsters and defeat the boss Melphyx. After escaping, the sunken desert is no more but the damage is done and Fiona says it could take centuries to restore the forest. Robo volunteers to stay and help which the party agrees to. They then travel to 1000 AD where the forest is restored and a shrine is created. The party find Robo there and take him to the forest where they camp for the night as Lucca repairs him. As the party sleeps, Lucca wakes up to sounds and sees a red gate. She takes it and it sends her to home in 990 AD. While there, she remembers this day as the day an accident to one of her father's inventions left her mother crippled. Sure enough, her mother tries to clean up but turns on the machine while her dress gets caught in the conveyor belt. While her young self can't stop it, Lucca is able to put in the password (her mother's name Lara) to turn the machine off, saving her mother who now is no longer crippled. She returns to the present and talks with Robo.

Magus' Three Generals

The party returns to 600 AD where Ozzie has now taken over the mystics and set up a fort. Upon seeing Magus, he believes Magus has betrayed the mystics and now considers him an enemy. They chase him around the fort and even face Slash and Flea but they don't come off as a threat. Finally, the party faces the three together who now equipped upgrades making them far stronger. Despite the difficult battle, the party emerges victorious and defeat Slash and Flea while Ozzie escapes. They face Ozzie again who decides to enclose himself in an ice barrier. The party tries to hit a trap door switch but it's the wrong one and they fall down a floor. They make their way back to Ozzie who is no longer in his barrier. They prepare to fight but a cat comes in and hits a switch to open the trap door Ozzie is under. Ozzie then falls but whether it kills him or not is unknown. When the party returns to 1000 AD, Medina Village is now run by a Blue Imp, Ozzie VIII is no longer elder, the village is friendlier towards humans, and no longer worship either Magus or Ozzie.

Homeplace of Machines

The party then travels to 2300 AD and to the Geno Dome where Robo was created and his creator Mother Brain resides. The factory welcomes Robo back and allow him and the party to advance though they must fight their way through the dome and collect figurines to get to Mother Brain. Along the way, they meet Robo's old girlfriend Atropos XR who wants to reunite with Robo and kill the rest of the party but Robo refuses. Atropos claims Robo's mission was to research humans by pretending to be on their side but Robo doesn't believe it and after the two go back and forth, they engage in battle with Robo insisting on fighting alone. Robo wins and as Atropos is dying, she reveals Mother Brain reprogrammed her to go against humans and gives Robo her bow which increases his magic defense and speed. The party then continues onward until finally meeting Mother Brain and it's here where Robo realizes his true purpose which is to research and protect humans while preventing Mother Brain from corrupting robots. The party fights Mother Brain and eventually beats her which shuts her down. With that, Robo is giving two powerful arms including his strongest weapon in the teraton arm and the dome is shut down.

A Prehistoric Stone

Still in 2300 AD, the party then travels to the sun temple where they face the guardian Son of Sun, a red eye with fireballs surrounding it. After a complex battle of having to attack the right fireball to deliver damage, the party defeats it and leaves a moon stone which has lost it's power. The party then travel to 65,000,000 BC where they leave the stone in the sun shrine to power it up. They then go to 1000 AD which it should be strong enough but it's missing. It turns out the elder of Porre took it and won't give it back while denying having taken it. The party then goes to 600 AD and gets some spiced jerky which they give to the elder's ancestor for free inspiring her to teach her children how to be nicer. Back to 1000 AD and the mayor is nicer and not selfish anymore. He then gives them the sun stone. Lucca then returns to her house where she creates her strongest weapon called the wondershot.

Spirit of a Proud Knight

Next, the party travels to 1000 AD and to the village of Choras. There the townsfolk are afraid of the Northern Ruins as they claim it's haunted. Sure enough, when the party investgates, they find the ghost of a knight. They fight it but nothing damages it. Eventually, Frog recognizes the ghost as Cyrus and they escape. They head to 600 AD where Cyrus' ghost isn't haunting the ruins but they can't get far due to the holes in the floor. They seek the local carpenter but he can't help as his tools were stolen. Back to 1000 AD and the party is given that carpenter's tools by his wife as he's busy at the tavern drinking. Returning to 600 AD, the party gives the tools to the carpenter and he and his crew start work on the ruins but have to stop several times due to monsters which the party clears out. Eventually, they repair the ruins which is now called Hero's Grave. They head to basement where Cyrus' grave is. As Frog pays his respects, Cyrus' ghost comes and thanks Frog for everything but Frog blames himself for Cyrus' death only for Cyrus to assure him he's done good and tells Frog to take care of things before ascending to the heavens. The Masamune becomes Masa and Mune again and tell Frog his guilt has held him and the sword back. Thanks to this and Frog no longer feeling guilty, the Masamune's true power is unlocked and becomes Frog's best weapon.

The Rainbow Shell

Still in 600 AD, the party meets Toma at the tavern and he tells them he's searching for the rainbow shell before giving them Toma's Spirits and tells them to pour it on his grave. The party heads to 1000 AD and near the village is Toma's grave. They pour the spirits and Toma's ghost comes telling them the rainbow shell is on an island called the giant's claw. Back to 600 AD, the party travels to the giant's claw and head in. Here they find the remains of Tyrano Lair with Lavos having buried it underground. After fighting dinosaur and reptite creatures, they come across a rust tyrano but despite a tough battle, they defeat it. The party finds the shell but they can't lift it as it's too heavy. The party then returns to Guardia Castle where they call in a favor to King Guardia XXI and Queen Leene to retrieve the shell. They agree and not only send their knights for it but they declare it will be a royal heirloom. The party then travel to 1000 AD but when they visit the castle, they're told a trial is about to start. It turns out King Guardia XXXIII is being put on trial by the chancellor who accused him of selling the rainbow shell which the king denies. Marle gets to the courtroom but is kicked out. The party then heads to the basement where the shell will be in order to find evidence that the king is innocent. As they travel through the basement, the trial continues with the chancellor bringing in false witnesses to incriminate the king. Eventually, the party find the shell where it's supposed to be and collect a rainbow shard. Not able to get in to the court room, Marle gets in by breaking through the glass window just as the king has been found guilty. Marle shows the shard proving the king's innocence. The chancellor then reveals his true self and his intentions as he's actually Yakra XIII who was seeking revenge for his ancestor. The party fight him and defeat him. Marle and the king then make peace while the party save the real chancellor. Later on, Melchior shows up and creates new items with both the rainbow shell as well combining it with the sun stone. Among the items include Crono's strongest weapon the rainbow katana.

The Black Omen

The party then travels to The Black Omen but is only able to do this either in 12,000 BC, 600 AD, or 1000 AD. They fight their way through it and defeat monsters and bosses along the way until confronting Queen Zeal. She fights them but is defeated. She then sends them to the Mammon Machine which the party fights and destroys it. The party has one more battle with Zeal who now is in a transformed state of a giant head with giant arms. Despite being more powerful, the party still beats her. She then summons Lavos but the Black Omen is destroyed in the process. The party battles Lavos who changes it's fighting style to various previous bosses but the party beats each style. Finally, they face Lavos using it's own techniques but they eventually defeat it, destroying it's head and the party travel inside it. As they go inside, they come across the inside of Lavos and fight eventually defeating it. Then they must face Lavos' core and two pods. Finally, the party defeats it and stop Lavos. 

1000 AD

Crono wakes up one morning by a soldier who summons him to the castle. Crono visits the castle as they carry out his sentence. Marle gets involved to try and explain things but the king already knows they've saved the world. From there, Kino, King Guardia XXI, and Doan come out while Lucca reveals she brought them all to tell their stories to the king who then claims they'll celebrate them. From there, they celebrate the final night of the fair called the moonlight parade. Crono and Marle then head to where Lucca's telepod is and one by one bid farewell as the party members as well as Kino, King Guardia XXI, and Doan return to their respective times. However, just when it looks like things are done, Crono's mom shows up chasing his cat because he hasn't fed it. She accidentally chases the cat through the gate and the gate closes. Crono, Marle, and Lucca then remember they have Epoch but before they can do anything, a guard tells Marle, the king requests her presence. They go to the center of the square where the king announces the retirement of Leene's bell and the debut of Nadia's bell. The king sets it up thanks to some balloons but gets stuck as the three leave with Epoch to chase after Crono's mom. As they travel through the time periods, we find Ayla and Kino riding dactyls, Robo with Atropos at the Denadaro Mountains, Frog with the king, queen, and knights at Zenan Bridge, and Magus flies away continuing his search for Schala.

Gameplay

Chrono Trigger is like many Square video games in that it's a turn based Role Playing Game where players control three party members at a time. They explore an overworld as well as specific locations. Unlike most RPGs of the era, random battles didn't occur in Trigger but rather when the player explored dungeons, caves, and forests, enemies would be present. In many cases, the player will be able to avoid them to avoid fights but if they get too close, a fight would happen. Like other RPGs, the player's party members each have hit points and magic points with hit points being how much life a character has and magic points allow the character to perform techniques or magic be it attack or healing. The player also has the opportunity to use items during battles such as potions for more health or antidotes for poison or phoenix downs to revive fallen party members. The player and the enemies take turns attacking or curing each other until one side wins. If the player loses, they must return to the last place they saved their game, if they win, they collect experience points, gil (currency), and dropped items. Like most RPGs, Chrono Trigger has a level system. If the player earns enough experience points, they'll have the ability to gain a new level with 99 being the highest. Leveling up allows party members to gain more hit points or life, magic points, increase physical and magical strength, increase physical and magical defense, and in some cases, learn new techniques. The higher the level, the stronger your party members are. Like many RPGs, Chrono Trigger has a save feature which allows the player to save their game. However, like most RPGs, the player can only save their game in the overworlds or at save points which are stationed at certain points in almost every location.

Chrono Trigger also introduced a new concept called double and triple techs which allow two or all three party members to perform a single, combined powerful attack. However, for it to be pulled off, all three party members must be ready for a turn, be alive, and have the right amount of magic points. Chrono Trigger also introduce the concept of "New Game +". After the player beats the game, they can replay it with the level, weapons, armor, and stats they had when they beat the game. For example, if the player beat the game at Level 99 with 999 hit points and 99 magic points, they will start with that at the beginning of the new game. Players will also have access to most weapons, armor, and items they had when they beat the game. However, certain items that are story driven such as the Masamune sword, are not available. Chrono Trigger also has multiple endings as the player, especially with New Game +, can finish the game almost anytime they want and depending on the point of the game you beat it, you get a different ending. The endings vary depending on at what point in the game you finished, what party members you've gotten, and whether or not you've revived Crono.

Behind The Scenes

Chrono Trigger was directed by Takashi Tokita, Yoshinori Kitase, and Akihiko Matsui. Tokita was previously the lead game designer for Final Fantasy IV and later went on to be an event planner for Final Fantasy VII and directed Parasite Eve while eventually becoming the senior manager and producer for Square Enix's Business Division 8. Kitase previously served as director for Final Fantasy VI and later was the director for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy X while also later serving as a producer in the Kingdom Hearts series. Matsui previously worked on Final Fantasy IV and V as a battle designer and planner along with Romancing SaGa 2 while later going on to work for SaGa Frontier, Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy XI, and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. The artist was Akira Toriyama who is best known as a manga artist and the creator of Dragon Ball. Among the writers was Masato Kato who previously worked on the NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy and later directed Radical Dreamers and Chrono Cross while working on Final Fantasy VII, Xenogears, and Final Fantasy XI. Another writer was Yuji Horii who was the creator of the Dragon Quest series. 

The soundtrack was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, a then sound programmer, who got the job after threatening to quit Square if he didn't get to compose music and was offered the chance to do Trigger. Mitsuda not only would compose new music but he drew on personal collections of pieces he composed over the past two years. Dedicated to the project, Mitsuda would even sleep in the studio several nights. He would write each song to go two minutes before repeating which was unusual for Square's game back then. Unfortunately, Mitsuda would suffer several setbacks with one being he suffered a crash in his hard drive and lost 40 in progress songs. Second and worse would be that he suffered from stomach ulcers and was forced to take a break. Square would recruit Nobou Uematsu to compose 10 more tracks and complete the score. Uematsu was, of course, best known for his work on Square's Final Fantasy franchise. Mitsuda would eventually return to watch the ending with the staff right before the game's release and cried during the ending. Upon the soundtracks release, it was consider unprecendented at the time given the amount of songs and sound effects which stretched three discs.

Plans for Chrono Trigger began as early as 1992 when it was conceived by Final Fantasy creator and producer Hironobu Sakaguchi along with Horii and Toriyama. The three decided to do something no one else had done before after traveling to the United States to research computer graphics. The three spent a year thinking of the new game before receiving a call from Kazuhiko Aoki, who volunteered to produce. Aoki was an employee at Square who started as an assistant to Sakaguchi and is best known for working on the Final Fantasy and Chocobo Dungeon games in a variety of roles including director, event designer, battle designer, and remake supervisor. Square would put together a team of 50-60 developers as well as scenerio writer Masato Kato and work begain in early 1993. Originally, someone at Square had suggested it be based on time travel but Kato was originally against it fearing it would make the game repetitive and dull. Ultimately, Horii included a theme of time travel to his story outline as he was a fan of time travel fiction, specifically the TV show The Time Tunnel while Toriyama added input. Square originally planned for the game to be part of their Seiken Densetsu or Mana series with the working title Maru Island. The plan was for the game to be released on the Super Famicom's CD add on but once it was cancelled, the decision was made to put it on a game cartridge and rename it Chrono Trigger. The name "Chrono Trigger" was actually the codename for Seiken Densetsu 2 or Secret of Mana (which was originally to be Final Fantasy IV) during production. Toriyama designed the game's characters, monsters, vehicles, and the look of each time period while Kato contributed to character ideas and designs. Originally, Kato had planned on Gasper, the Guru of Time to be a playable character but this was dropped during development. Kato would eventually edit and complete the story's outline by writing the majority of the game's story, most notably everything from 12,000 BC. Kato went to great lengths to avoid what he described as "A long string of errands" including "do this", "take this", "defeat these monsters", and "plant your flag". Kato and others would hold meetings usually consisting of 30 workers to make sure there was continuity. Kato and Horii came up with the idea of Crono's death and intended for it to be permanent with the party having to get a past version of Crono to complete the quest but Square was against Crono's death being permanent as they considered it too depressing and requested he be revived later in the story. Kato was also responsible for the game having multiple endings because he could not branch the story out to different paths. Writers Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita wrote some of the subplots and came up with the idea of "Active Time Event Logic" system which allows players to move party members while talking to someone.

Square planned to release the game in late 1994 but decided to push it to early 1995 in Japan and the summer in North America. A beta version of the game was shipped to magazine reviewers and game stores in order to review it. For the beta version, some features such as music and locations were changed or removed from the final release most notably the singing mountain dungeon and it's song. Some names were also altered as Slash was named "Wiener" and Flea was known as Ketchappa. Upon it's release in North America, Nintendo of America would censor some things including references to breast feeding, consumption of alcohol, and religion.

Release and Reception

Chrono Trigger was released on March 11, 1995 in Japan on the Super Famicom and August 11, 1995 in North America on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was met with critical acclaim and has often been considered one of the greatest games of all time. 2.36 million units to both the SNES and PS1 versions have been shipped while internationally, 290,000 have been shipped. By the end of 1995, Chrono Trigger was the third highest selling game in Japan of 1995 behind only Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. The game sold well in North America and it's rerelease as part of Final Fantasy Chronicles topped the NPD TRSTS Playstation sales charts for six weeks. The DS version sold 490,000 copies in Japan, 240,000 in North America, and 60,000 in Europe by March 2009. Trigger also won several awards including three from Electronic Gaming Monthly which were "Best Super NES Game", "Best Role-Playing Game", and "Best Music in a Cartridge-Based Game". The game also won "Best RPG Game" from GamePro.

AllGame scored it a perfect five stars, Electronic Gaming Monthly scored it a 37/40, Famitsu scored it 34/40, Game Informer scored it 9.25/10, GamePro scored it a perfect 20/20, IGN scored it a 9.5/10, Next Generation scored it 4/5 stars, Nintendo Power scored it 4.5/5 stars, and GameRankings scored it 96%. Nintendo Power would compare it favorably to other classic games such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasy while bringing up it's improved graphics, gameplay, sound, and story. IGN said while it had every RPG cliche, Trigger still stood out with a great story, not taking itself too seriously, and having an excellent soundtrack. GamePro said it exceeded the classic Final Fantasy VI due to it's graphics, New Game + mode, humor, and graphics. They did bring up while the game is simplistic, people would probably prefer to play it over a more complicated game. Electronic Gaming Monthly would also praise it for it's graphics, music, and story. However, some reviewers such as RPGamer and RPGFan would criticize the game for being too short and easy compared to other classic RPGs.

Since the games release, it continues to enjoy praise and critical acclaim. In 1997, Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked it the 29th best console game of all time. In IGN's "Top 100 Games of All Time" list, it placed 4th in 2002, 6th in early 2005, 13th in late 2005, 2nd in 2006, 18th in 2007, and 2nd in 2008. In 2001, Game Informer named it it's 15th favorite game while the staff said it was the best non-Final Fantasy game Square had created at the time. Gamespot included it on it's April 2006 "The Greatest Games of All Time" and later that year, it was ranked 28th on an "All Time Top 100" list by Famitsu. In 2004, Trigger was runner up to Final Fantasy VII in GameFAQs first video game battle. In 2012, GamesRadar's ranked it #1 in it's "Best JRPGs" list, 32 on their "100 Best Games of All Time", and 2nd Greatest Super Nintendo game of all time, losing only to Super Metroid.   

Aftermath

Since the original 1995 release, Chrono Trigger has been re-released multiple times over the years including Playstation (1999 Japan/2001 NA), Nintendo DS (2008 Japan and NA/2009 AU and EU), i-mode (2011), iOS (2011), Android (2011 Japan/2012 World Wide), and Microsoft Windows (2018). 

For the Playstation version, new anime cutscenes from Toriyama, Toriyama's studio Bird Studio and animated by Toei Animation were added as well as bonus features that players can unlock like the soundtrack, cutscenes, and endings that they can go back and listen to or rewatch. While the Playstation version was released by itself in Japan, it was ported with Final Fantasy IV in North America as "Final Fantasy Chronicles". The game also expands the ending as the credit and post-credit cutscenes show Crono and Marle marrying, Frog returning to his human form, Lucca discovering Kid from Chrono Cross as a baby, the fall of Guardia Kingdom in 1005 AD by Porre, and the disappearance of the Masamune which was taken by an unknown person while it was stained with blood (possibly explaining why it was corrupted in Chrono Cross as Japanese superstition says weapons can be possessed by demons if blood is not cleaned off). 

For the DS version, the game had a dual screen mode, a default run option, and self-completing map. The player also had the choice of having controls similar to the SNES version or one that made use of the touch screen. Along with new boss battles, the game also featured two new areas in the Lost Sanctum and the Dimensional Vortex as well as a new ending that sows the seeds for Chrono Cross. The game again expanded on things as the players run into Dalton in the Dimensional Vortex and upon defeating him, he claims he'll go to Porre and build the greatest army the world has ever known and wipe Guardia off the map thus implying it was Dalton who lead Porre to victory in the Fall of Guardia in 1005 AD. The second is the player faces Lavos who has corrupted Schala thus becoming the Dream Devourer (a less evolved form of Cross' Time Devourer) in the Darkness Beyond Time. Upon defeating the Devourer, Schala briefly regains her senses and teleports the party away before telling Magus he can't help her and teleports him away. The ending then sees Magus emerge in a forest having lost his memory but still determined to find what he lost.

Along with the re-releases, an indirect sequel called Chrono Cross was released in 1999 and 2000 on the Playstation also to critical acclaim. In 2001, rumors began circulating of a third Chrono game called Chrono Break in North America and Chrono Brake in Japan but nothing came of it and in 2003, Square allowed the Break trademark to expire though they still hold the rights to Brake. As of 2020, no new game has been released nor does one appear to be coming as one of the greatest franchises continues to be wasted and gathering dust which it has already accumulated two decades worth. Who knows? At this point, maybe a true Day of Lavos will occur before we get a new game.