Blast to the Past

I've revisited many of my "old favorite" games, and sometimes observed age getting the better of them. But I just can't look at Chrono Trigger through that same lens. I may never be able to objectively measure it against contemporary games.

Chrono Trigger is a cornerstone of my gaming life; I don't know if I can fully describe this game because of how integral it is to the way I think about games.

I'm not blind to its imperfections -- I know that it's too easy to get lost if you don't remember the plot by heart, and battles start to feel like a grind even before New Game +. But I'm way too overwhelmed by the nostalgic art and music to get hung up on those problems.

And even though I'll never get to experience Chrono Trigger "for the first time" again, I think I'll always have the same grin on my face when I meet Robo, or storm Magus's castle, or retrieve the Epoch.

... it's a bit of a shame that the PC port didn't receive the love this game clearly deserves. And while it's gotten better, the current state of this version still isn't ideal. (Button responsiveness on the end-of-battle text still feels very fuzzy, and the rendering quality on pop-up damage numbers is surprisingly bad.) But it's good enough to enjoy the game again, and again, and again.

I could really only add that this is my first time playing a version of the game with the animated cutscenes, and they feel pretty damned superfluous. The game flows better without them.

Progress: Working on a second ending.