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BS Chrono Trigger cover

1995 · Square · Role-playing · Time travel

BS Chrono Trigger

In this turn-based Japanese RPG, young Crono must travel through time through a misfunctioning teleporter to rescue his misfortunate companion and take part in an intricate web of past and present perils. The adventure that ensues soon unveils an evil force set to destroy the world, triggering Crono's race against time to change the course of history and bring about a brighter future.

Released
11 March 1995
Platforms
AndroidNintendo DSPlayStation 3PlayStation PortablePlayStation VitaSNESSatellaviewWiiWindows
Genres
Role-playingTime travelTurn-based Japanese role-playingVideo game with LGBT character
Developers
Square
Publishers
SquareSquare Enix
Series
Chrono
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
FantasyScience fictionOpen world
Country
Japan
Age ratings
PEGI 12GRAC ALLUSK 6ESRB E10+CERO AACB PG
Languages
English, Japanese
Copies sold
5 million as of 2025-03-11
Time to beat
18hmain story29hwith extras45hcompletionist
Directors
Takashi Tokita, Yoshinori Kitase, Akihiko Matsui
Composers
Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu

About

Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the first installment of the Chrono series. The game's plot follows a group of adventurers who travel through time to prevent a global catastrophe.

The game's development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dream Team": Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Square's Final Fantasy series; Yuji Horii, creator of Enix's Dragon Quest series; and Akira Toriyama, character designer of Dragon Quest and author of the Dragon Ball manga series. In addition, Takashi Tokita co-directed the game and co-wrote the scenario, Kazuhiko Aoki produced the game, while Masato Kato wrote most of the story.

›Story

Crono Meets Marle

, a teenager named Crono from Truce attends a fair made to celebrate 1000 years since the Kingdom of Guardia's founding. While at the fair, he meets Princess Nadia, or Marle, who is the immediate heir to Guardia. , the middle ages. Crono immediately follows using the pendant, and discovers that Marle has been mistaken for the Queen of Guardia of that era (Queen Leene had been missing prior to Marle's entrance, and the search party mistook Marle for her).

While visiting Marle, Crono watches her vanish; Lucca, after entering the area via a Gate Key (device that can open Gates), explains that Marle's ancestors never being found causes this (On a side note, Lucca is almost surely wrong here, as her explanation contradicts all other instances of temporal transforms in the Chrono series. Marle's detainment was most likely an action done by the Entity to start Crono on his quest). Crono, Lucca, and a knight who is in the form of a frog together rescue Queen Leene; subsequently, Marle reappears in Guardia castle. D.

Lavos is Discovered

Lucca immediately heads home, while Crono is instructed to take Marle home to Guardia Castle. Once arrived, Crono is charged with kidnapping the princess and placed on trial. He is found either guilty or not guilty, and sentenced to three days solitary confinement with possibility of execution. With the aid of Lucca, Crono breaks out of jail and battles the Chancellor of Guardia; after winning the fight, Marle joins the party and the trio escape into Guardia Forest.

Cornered, they duck into a Gate in a meadow nearby. , in which a battered, ruined world exists. D. and destroyed the entire world.

Unwilling to let this pass, Crono's party swear to battle Lavos. , they meet a damaged humanoid robot. Lucca repairs the mechanical man, named Robo, and attempts to return home through a Gate in the Proto Dome, in which Robo was located. A door blocks the way, causing Crono, Robo, and either Lucca or Marle to venture to a nearby factory to restore power to the deactivated doorway.

The party then goes through the Gate.

The End of Time

Due to the Conservation of Time Theorem (see the article Principles of Time and Dimensional Travel), Crono, Marle, Lucca and Robo end up at the End of Time, which is presided over by an old man. The man gives a bit of hope to the party, who are eager to defeat Lavos; before leaving, Crono and friends visit Spekkio, the so-called 'God of War' who also lives with the old man at the end of time. Spekkio imbues each member with magic ability, and afterward provides magic to new members (for the tech of this process, see the forthcoming article on Magic). All Gates connect to the End of Time, the old man states.

, but to a continent other than the one in which the Kingdom of Guardia is located. D. under the leadership of the mage known as Magus. D.

, and finds the Kingdom of Guardia under serious attack. After warding off the Mystics on Zenan Bridge, they learn that a special sword, the Masamune, is capable of defeating Magus. They ascend the Denadoro Mountains to retrieve the swords, and do battle with spirits residual in the blade. After winning, Crono receives a broken piece.

Reconstructing the Masamune

The party then visits the abode of Frog, the knight who helped them save Queen Leene. They receive from him the other piece of the Masamune. D. He instructs the party to find Dreamstone, the material used to forge the sword.

C. and learns that the chief of a village of humans (Ioka Village) engaged in war with a race of sentient beings half-dinosaur, half-human has the mineral in question. Ayla meets the party instantly by fending off Reptites, and invites Crono to a party. By successfully drinking more soup than Ayla, Crono receives the Dreamstone.

However, the Reptites undertake a midnight raid on the villagers, stealing the Gate Key. Kino, Ayla's mate, stole the Gate Key out of jealousy for Crono's party, but later surrendered it to the Reptite raiders. Crono's party seeks out the item in question by infiltrating a Reptite hideout within a forest; on this journey, they encounter the Reptite leader, Azala, and coax her forcefully into giving up the Gate Key. D.

and has Melchior repair the sword. D. (It is revealed in a flashback that the squire Glenn was turned into Frog in that event as well). Together, they sojourn to Magus' Lair, and defeat his top knights -- Ozzie, Slash, and Flea.

After battling with Magus himself, the party and Magus are devoured by an unfathomably huge time warp caused by the summoning of Lavos he had begun prior to fighting the party. Also, it is here revealed that Magus merely summoned Lavos, and that the notion that he created the beast is false.

The Magical Kingdom

, the dark ages. After a Reptite attack demolishes the village of Laruba and concludes with the capture of Kino and other villagers, Ayla and Crono's party opt for a direct assault on the stronghold of the Reptites. After a lengthy battle to Azala's quarters, a fight ensues in which Azala is defeated and his Tyrano defender squelched. Lavos descends at this point (note: Azala did not summon him), pushing Azala's fortress far underground.

Crono's party decides to fight Lavos immediately, as he would be weak, having just landed. , a time beleaguered by an ice age brought about by Lavos' impact upon the planet. While there, the party finds a teleporation center that leads them to the ancient kingdom of Zeal, composed of several islands floating in the sky, and housing tomes on magic and various elemental sources of power. The party travels through Enhasa, city of sleep (in which a child-prince informs the party that one among them will soon perish), Kajar, city of magic, and lastly reaches Zeal Palace.

Here they observe the Mammon Machine, which is used to extract energy from Lavos. Plans for the moving of the machine to a palace under the ocean surface are announced, and the party later battles the evil queen of Zeal, who is aided by a prophet. Schala, sister of the child-prince Janus mentioned above, pleads with the prophet and successfully brings about the sparing of the party. Crono and team are banished from the era, and the Gate by which they came is sealed.

The Ocean Palace

D. was working on a machine that could travel through time. Crono forthwith enters that era, and receives the Epoch from the sage -- albeit his passing away and memories containment in a being known as the Nu. C.

via this machine, and explores a cave that houses members of the human race that cannot use magic (called Earthbound) -- as opposed to the magic-users of Zeal. They notify the party of a guru of Zeal's banishment to a floating mountain nearby, and the group departs to this landform to rescue the man. After defeating a guardian, they find the man Melchior (which later elaborates on a peculiarity of the game -- this will be explained at the North Cape). Melchior recognizes that the moving of the Mammon Machine to the undersea palace will result in ruin, and gives the party a Ruby Knife (later becoming the Masamune in the grand scheme of time) to destroy the Mammon Machine with.

Schala enters briefly, but is abducted by the Queen's aide, Dalton. Crono and his team use a Skygate at Zeal Palace to infiltrate the Ocean Palace, and battle their way to the grand hall in which the machine is interred. Crono thrusts the knife into the Mammon Machine, but Schala reveals that this shall have no effect. Lavos, awoken by the machines draining effects, appears (this and other phenomena are explained in the forthcoming Lavos article).

The New World

The prophet immediately reveals himself to be Magus, and tries to defeat Lavos. He cannot; Queen Zeal stands atop Lavos and the creature begins sucking Magus and Schala towards his maw. Crono bravely sacrifices himself; before the Ocean Palace collapses, Schala transports the remaining party members and Magus out to the main continent (note that what transpires in the Palace after this moment is directly responsible for the whole of Chrono Cross's plot). Lavos annihilates Zeal afterward, causing a tidal wave to engulf most of the land.

Magus and Crono's party awaken to find that the Earthbound (those who cannot use magic) have left their cave and are mingling with survivors from Zeal in a place called Last Village. While conversing with the Elder, the party suffers an attack from Dalton, Queen Zeal's former aide. The party is detained upon a flying ship known as the Blackbird, built by the guru Belthasar. Dalton has stolen the Epoch as well, and orders the construction of wings and a flying system complete with weapons.

The party manages to escape from prison and battle Dalton; they regain control of the Epoch afterward, and accidentally shoot down the Blackbird. After returning to the ground, the party finds Magus gazing across the sea from the North Cape of the remaining land. Magus reveals that he was Janus, and that he lived only to seek revenge on Lavos. Also revealed is that Melchior, Gaspar (the old man at the End of Time), and Belthasar (builder of the Epoch), the three gurus of Zeal, were originally scattered across time by the Ocean Palace incident that occurred before Crono intervened in time (a villager later remarks that this timelines Melchior and Janus disappeared involuntarily, confirming that they are preserved in history).

Magus joins the party, and offers hope for reviving Crono. While leaving the era, they witness the rise of the Ocean Palace into the air, which is now called the Black Omen and is ruled by Queen Zeal.

The Salvation of Crono

The party return to the End of Time, where the old man (Gaspar) declares that Crono can be revived by the use of a device called the Chrono Trigger, or Time Egg. In order to do this, however, the party must have a clone of Crono to replace him with. , and at the Millennial Fair, acquire a clone of Crono. D.

as instructed by Gaspar, consulting the memory of Belthasar for instructions on reviving Crono. D. and the breeding ground of Lavos. At the peak of the mountain, the Chrono Trigger shatters and transports the party to the instant before Crono's death in the Ocean Palace.

His body is swapped with the clone, and Crono is extracted to Death Peak. Upon returning to the End of Time, the party are given knowledge by Gaspar of several sidequests that will empower it against Lavos. D. to restore a forest ruined by one of Magus' creations or associated Mystic monsters known as Retinite.

The party enter the desert that is encroaching upon Fiona's Forest, and defeat the beast. Robo decides to stay and till the land for 400 years. , the party camp in the forest, and have a discussion involving the quest. It is here that Robo proposes the existence of an Entity that shaped the quest of Chrono Trigger in order to destroy Lavos (said Entity is most likely the planet; see the forthcoming Entity article).

D.

Several Sidequests

D. D. Robo is revealed to have originated in the islands facility, and told his purpose was to watch humans. A female robot called Atropos attempts to destroy him due to her brainwashing by the crazed AI (known as Mother Brain).

Robo succeeds in fending her off, and eventually defeats Mother Brain -- receiving his greatest weapons in the process. Following this event, the party search for the Sun Stone, a stone charged with solar energy that once powered Zeal. D. (it rose off the ocean floor apparently) and locate the Sun Stone.

C. to charge. D. D.

and used to make useful items by Lucca.

The Royal Family

D. to find that Cyrus, the fallen knight and friend of Frog, is restless and haunting his gravesite. Through hiring carpenters, the party repairs the gravesite, locate powerful weapons and armor, and make peace with Cyrus -- resulting in a boost in the power of the Masamune. Following this, the party decide to look for the Rainbow Shell, a priceless mineral formation sought by the legendary explorer Toma.

D. While exploring, the party realizes that the Giant's Claw houses the Tyrano Lair -- Azala's headquarters, buried by Lavos when he impacted upon the planet. They battle his Tyrano one last time and locate the shell, employing Guardian knights for extraction. D.

finds the King Guardia of that era under trial for selling the Rainbow Shell. The party locate the shell deep within its treasury, and eventually prove that the evidence presented by the Chancellors prosecution is false. D. The party defeats Yakra XIII, resulting in the ending of Marle's dispute with her father and the construction of unbelievably powerful weapons, done by Melchior using the Sun Stone and Rainbow Shell together.

The Final Battle

Nearing the end of their quest, the party enter the Black Omen and battle in its corridors to reach Queen Zeal. She contends in a fickle manner at first, and later tosses the party into the Mammon Machine (how this is possible even after the Mammon Machine's apparent destruction is explained in the forthcoming Lavos article). After destroying it, the party encounters Queen Zeal atop the Black Omen. Defeating her leads to a confrontation with Lavos; the party bravely fights the parasite, eventually destroying its outward functioning organs.

Crono and his team enter the shell to find an alien creature within that has collected the DNA of all creatures on the planet. ), the party battle once more. Following this, Lavos morphs into his true form, derived from the best possible combination of the gathered DNA. He at last succumbs.

, where King Guardia jests that Crono still must face execution. It is then revealed that he has been informed of the valiant quest of Crono, and the party are celebrated in the last day of the Millennial Fair. Lucca remarks that the Entity is now at rest, and each guest and party remember returns to their own era. Before the Gates close due to their purposes removal (that of existing to allow the travelers to defeat Lavos), Crono's mother and cats enter the Telepod Gate.

Crono, Marle, and Lucca use the Epoch to locate her. (Chrono Compendium, 2015).

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Chrono Trigger features standard turn-based role-playing video game gameplay. The player controls the protagonist and his companions in the game's two-dimensional world, consisting of various forests, cities, and dungeons. Navigation occurs via an overworld map, depicting the landscape from a scaled-down overhead view. Areas such as forests, cities, and similar places are depicted as more realistic scaled-down maps, in which players can converse with locals to procure items and services, solve puzzles and challenges, or encounter enemies.

Chrono Trigger's gameplay deviates from that of traditional Japanese RPGs in that, rather than appearing in random encounters, many enemies are openly visible on field maps or lie in wait to ambush the party. Contact with enemies on a field map initiates a battle that occurs directly on the map rather than on a separate battle screen.

Story

Chrono Trigger takes place in an Earth-like world, with eras such as the prehistoric age, in which primitive humans and dinosaurs share the earth; the Middle Ages, replete with knights, monsters, and magic; and the post-apocalyptic future, where destitute humans and sentient robots struggle to survive. The characters frequently travel through time to obtain allies, gather equipment, and learn information to help them in their quest. The party also gains access to the End of Time (represented as year ∞), which serves as a hub to travel back to other time periods. The party eventually acquires a time-machine vehicle known as the Wings of Time, nicknamed the Epoch (this default name can be changed by the player when the vehicle is acquired). The vehicle is capable of time travel between any time period without first having to travel to the End of Time.

Chrono Trigger's six playable characters (plus one optional character) come from different eras of history. Chrono Trigger begins in 1000 AD with Crono, Marle, and Lucca. Crono is the silent protagonist, characterized as a fearless young man who wields a katana in battle. Marle, revealed to be Princess Nadia, lives in Guardia Castle; though sheltered, she is at heart a princess who seeks independence from her royal identity.

Development

Chrono Trigger was conceived in October 1992 by Hironobu Sakaguchi, producer and creator of the Final Fantasy series; Yuji Horii, writer, game designer and creator of the Dragon Quest series; and Akira Toriyama, character designer of Dragon Quest and creator of the Dragon Ball manga series. Traveling to the United States to research computer graphics, the three, that Square dubbed the "Dream Team", decided to create something that "no one had done before". Toriyama's editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, later credited the concept to a fusion of "Dragon Quest plus Final Fantasy", and arranged for Enix to lend Yuji Horii to Squaresoft for development. After spending over a year considering the difficulties of developing a new game, the three received a call from Kazuhiko Aoki, who offered to produce.

The four met and spent four days brainstorming ideas for the game. Square convened 50–60 developers, including scenario writer Masato Kato, whom Square designated story planner; development started in early 1993. An uncredited Square employee suggested that the team develop a time travel-themed game, which Kato initially opposed, fearing repetitive, dull gameplay. Kato and Horii then met several hours per day during the first year of development to write the game's plot; Horii desired a silent protagonist from the outset.

Reception

Chrono Trigger received critical acclaim upon its original SNES release. The gameplay received praise, with Nintendo Power and Next Generation considering it innovative. Both magazines and Super Play cited the visibility of enemies in the overworld map and the use of combos as reasons for their enjoyment. Both Edge and GamePro felt the game was easier than Final Fantasy VI, though GamePro enjoyed it nonetheless.

The graphics and music received praise by Nintendo Power, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Nintendo Magazine System. GamePro found them better than in prior role-playing video games such as Final Fantasy VI, and Game Informer felt the graphical upgrades shortened the quests, though Edge considered them lacking Final Fantasy VI's grandness. Evaluations of the story and characters were more mixed. The critics for Electronic Gaming Monthly generally found the storyline compelling, and Game Informer felt that the game's character arcs were well-developed.

Legacy

Chrono Trigger inspired several related releases; the first were three games released for the Satellaview on July 31, 1995. They included Chrono Trigger: Jet Bike Special, a racing video game based on a minigame from the original; Chrono Trigger: Character Library, featuring profiles on characters and monsters from the game; and Chrono Trigger: Music Library, a collection of music from the game's soundtrack. The contents of Character Library and Music Library were later included as extras in the PlayStation rerelease of Chrono Trigger. Production I.G created a 16-minute OVA, Dimensional Adventure Numa Monjar, which was shown at the Japanese V Jump festival of July 31, 1996.

There have been two notable attempts by Chrono Trigger fans to unofficially remake parts of the game for PC with a 3D graphics engine. Chrono Resurrection, an attempt at remaking ten small interactive cutscenes from Chrono Trigger, and Chrono Trigger Remake Project, which sought to remake the entire game, were forcibly terminated by Square Enix by way of a cease and desist order. Another group of fans created a sequel via a ROM hack of Chrono Trigger called Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes; developed from 2004 to 2009; although feature-length and virtually finished, it also was terminated through a cease & desist letter days before its May 2009 release. The letter also forbade the dissemination of existing Chrono Trigger ROM hacks and documentation. After the cease and desist was issued, an incomplete version of the game was leaked in May 2009, though due to the early state of the game, playability was limited.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
SNES11 March 1995Japan · North America 11 August 1995
Satellaview31 July 1995Japan
Wii26 April 2011Japan · North America 16 May 2011 · Europe 20 May 2011 · Australia 20 May 2011

Editions and related releases

Expanded editions
Chrono Trigger
Followed by
Radical DreamersRadical Dreamers: Nusumenai HōsekiChrono Cross
Standalone expansions
Chrono Trigger: Music LibraryChrono Trigger: Jet Bike SpecialChrono Trigger: Character Library
Built on it
Chrono Trigger

In the same series

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Collections1 collection

Platform libraries

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