3.5/5 ★ – peacebrendanp's review of Chrono Trigger.

Man. I feel very defeated by this game lol. I don't know if it was the long breaks I took in-between playthroughs, or if it was just the actual style of game this is, but I ended up not finishing this one. This is an even bigger tragedy, because I made it to the final stage of the game: fighting Lavos. There's a lot to love here, but I found most of the actual game a little tedious to navigate. The art style used in the game is incredibly beautiful. Some of the most beautiful sprites and animations I have seen in a game like this. Also, shoutout to Akira Toriyama for all the key art. The in-game cutscenes are also so beautiful and wonderfully crafted. I like the basic gameplay loop here, or at least I appreciate it. After playing the first five-hours of the game, I thought, "this feels like a more mature Pokemon game." Hopefully that doesn't sound like a bastardization of either game, but I really appreciated the scaled difficulty in the early hours of the game. I also appreciated the in-real-time, turn-based combat. It added another layer of difficulty that I haven't experienced in a game like this. Granted, I have not played a lot of turn-based JRPG's, but it was still a new mechanic to me. The "open world" mechanic of this game was pretty cool, specifically in the art-style department. I found the overworld to be pretty to look at. However, actually navigating the world felt pretty confusing to me. I have not idea what it was, but I never really knew where to go, and had to use a guide throughout a majority of my playthrough. I felt pretty stupid, as I have been playing video games since I was a child, and normally feel like I can navigate an open world with a decent level of comprehension. The added aspect of time-travel made the navigation more confusing and convoluted to me. The game doesn't always tell you where you need to go, or when you need to go. There may have been something I missed, but as my experience went, I just felt more and more confused. I put nearly 20-hours into the game, and made it to the final boss, but after constantly failing the battle, and reading online that I would be best to do more side-quests to level my characters, I just couldn't do it anymore. I thought the story was fun and cute, I thought the combat was alright, and I found the art style mesmerizing. I also wanted to experience a game that many people consider to be one of the best games ever made. However, by the time I got to the end of my playthrough, my true feelings surfaced; I just was not having fun playing this game. I don't know if it was the huge breaks I took in-between picking the game up, or if it was me not being entirely focused on the game while I was meandering through it, but I was ready to be done. Ultimately, I found many things to appreciate in this game, but most of my experience felt tedious. I never really wanted to pick-up the game, which is why I took so many breaks in between playthroughs. My score probably would be the same whether I beat the game or not, and I put a decent amount of time into the game either way, so I wanted to get my thoughts out. I really just like to get my thoughts out on a game after I have played some of it, so hopefully my thoughts aren't taking too seriously. Maybe this is a game I could give another go in a more focused setting down the road. But, for now, I'm just going to chalk this up to this game not really being for me, and that's okay. I respect it for what it is. Also, quick shout-out to the 3DS, that console is so fucking sick, and it felt great to use it again after a decade of not touching it. Console Played On: 3DS (DS Version) Game Played: 05/2024 - 10/2024 Review Written and Published: 11/01/2024