Chrono Trigger Review

 *Disclaimer: I played most of the game on my own but very close to the end of the game I got stuck and resorted to a guide. I played the rest of the game with the guide. I got ready to fight Lavos after doing the side quests. I used the "crash the epoch" method to defeat Lavos' first manifestation, then I beat the second manifestation. I died on the third manifestation and realized I would have to redo the second manifestation every time I die on the third. So I haven't technically totally finished the game but I just don't seem to have much motivation left for this game.*

 *Disclaimer 2: This review was mostly written part way through at maybe like the 2/3s point. But after getting like 99% of the way to the end I still agree with everything.*

 *basically overall very mixed feelings. 5/10

+Bought and played because it seemed to get a lot of votes in a reddit thread that I found about what are the best jrpgs to start with. Since starting it I have come across a lot of references to it in "best" lists and youtubers mentioning it as a classic game that really want to get to some time. Also, I mentioned it on the weekend thread on RPS a couple of times and got some good responses. In some ways this has motivated me to play and made feel excited that I am engaging with the history of video games. This is my first real exposure to retro gaming and I think it was a pretty good place to start.

-at the same time, it has often felt like that motivation is kind of abstract. Sometimes I feel like if it wasn't for all that I wouldn't really be playing or sticking with this game. So there is a bit of disconnect between an abstract intellectual motivation and some kind of more direct engagement with the game.

+I have enjoyed playing enough to keep playing. That is just to say that if I really wasn't enjoying it I probably would have quit and moved on to something else.

-But at the same time, despite the fact that I do enjoy my time with it, it has sometimes been a struggle to get myself to pick it back up. I think part of this is just my own psychology as sometimes I just feel resistance to continuing with a game even when I am more engaged. For example, I was pretty into the Thaumaturge but there was still part of me that put up some resistance to continuing with and wanted to play some other things. But I also think with Chrono Trigger some of the mixed feelings have exacerbated that issue so I have gone a week or more between play sessions on several occasions.

+the characters and story have some interest. the story has had some twists and turns that helped to keep me engaged. The whole time travel thing is cool and gives some variety. Some of the characters have a bit of backstory that sort of makes them seem more interesting.

-at the same time, these things aren't really very fleshed out. For example the main character in the story is a total blank slate. There is no backstory to him and there are basically no dialogue options other than a couple of yes/no answers given at a couple of points. The other characters are a bit more interesting but not in any sense deep or complex. Modern rpgs give you a lot more chance to do some actual roleplaying with dialogue choices and story options. Characters also tend to be a lot more complicated and with moral ambiguity in modern rpgs. The story is also for the most part pretty straightforward in terms of there being a great evil that has to be defeated and you progress through without any kind of complications or wrinkles to that basic premise.

+the tone of the game is pretty upbeat and happy, there is a world ending apocalypse that has to be averted but the characters don't seem down about that. They are totally ready and willing to save the world. In some ways this is a nice change of pace from modern games that can sometimes be in your face about making you feel bad about how grim and dark everything is. The only one with any real trauma is the frog guy. But the heroes pretty quickly solve his problem and get him back on track with being a hero.

-but at the same time the tone feels kind of childish or bubble gummy so there is some lack of engagement compared with more sophisticated modern titles.

+the game is quite easy (up until the very end) which makes it easy to progress and continue the narrative. It is also possible to avoid a lot of encounters if you want to.

-While the Steam page for the game touts the fact that the encounter system allows you to skip most encounters this isn't quite true as there are plenty of places where you can't go through without dealing with the enemy in that area. Enemies also respawn every time you leave and come back so you have to deal with them no matter how many times you have been through that area. I often found myself being bored with encounters that posed no challenge and just seemed to be a time suck. Even most of the bosses I beat on the first try or only with one death and retry. gold is plentiful and shops have infinite supplies of the resources they offer. It is easy to get upgrades that are just a straight improvement over previous equipment.

+there is a bit of a nostalgia factor as it is from the same era as the original Final Fantasy game that I played and beat with my brother on the original NES. That has been kind of fun.

-at the same time that nostalgia factor isn't very strong and doesn't do much work in terms of carrying the game. 

+it works very well on the steam deck.

-depite the fact that I am playing a PC port it seemed impossible to play with keyboard and mouse.

+most of the stuff in the game is pretty intuitive

-the main exception is the save system. there are two kinds of saves, bookmarks and save files and they seem to be mutually exclusive. when you can do one you can't do the other. the bookmark system seemed to have some features of autosaves because there were some places where the game bookmarked for me. But this whole system makes no sense. The save points give rise to some interesting shenanigans that one Youtuber called (in a video that is not specifically about Chrono Trigger) the greatest evil a game could commit.

-another place that is not very intuitive are many of the side quests that you do at the end. If I hadn't used a guide I wouldn't have been able to do some of them and I would have missed out on key wrinkles even if I had progressed through them. This also kind of left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

=Conclusion: I am glad that I played this but at the same time if wasn't for all the references to it as a classic game I probably would have given up on it. I am likely to think twice about retro gaming in the future. Part of it may be that I just am not a fan of JRPGs but I am not totally ready to throw in the towel on that score yet.