Do I need to explain this game? It’s from 1999, so I guess there are folks that don’t recall it. I picked it up again on a Steam Sale, like less than $10 type of deal. Nostalgia I guess.

It’s a sort of Chrono Trigger in 3D, a spiritual successor with next to no thought on the lore conflicts between both games. In order to collect all the possible characters, you need a minimum of 3 playthroughs. The difficulty level isn’t really there (aside from 2 specific fights), making it a rather weird game in the SQUENIX repertoire of JRPGs.

There are 40 characters to start, which is an absurd number with very little meaningful purpose. Feels like every NPC with more than 2 lines becomes someone you can recruit. Each character’s set of abilities is determined by their elemental grid. Some have a lot of low level slots, some more near the end. You can more as you level, which is realistically only occurring when you defeat bosses… so no point in grinding for levels! Combat is a mix of melee + magic. The first playthrough favors magic, in fact the ‘perfect’ ending requires it. Eventually you become so strong that a small knife attack is enough (the final boss is balanced for level 48, you can max at 99). This could have been a rock/paper/scissors type of system, but it lacks the mechanical depth to do so. I mean, how could you with 40 characters and find any semblance of balance, right?

The story is convoluted and hard to follow, especially with the final twists and turns. In fact, I’d argue you are better off not having played Chrono Trigger to make sense of it all as there are too many conflicting plot items as a result. Time traveling, fate, destiny, and warring reptiles all play a big part. There are some interesting, though short, side quests throughout. That part is actually a lot of fun to run through! The thing about RPGs is that the plot needs to have some sense… but this feels more like ideas were thrown on the wall without any thought. Which is a real shame.

The good here, is that it plays really well on the Steam Deck and is bite-sized enough to playthrough in small sittings. My 3rd replay was maybe 20% of the time of the first one, just because I knew what I was doing and there was no real combat challenge.

The less good is that the plot makes little sense, the meaningful moments are hidden in a diluted cast, and that we’re unlikely to ever see a Chrono Trigger 3.

Rose-colored glasses were certainly part of the purchasing decision. I have spent more on a bad coffee, so no real complaints here. In fact, it’s a great marker in the SQUENIX journey of RPGs. This experimental game worked in some areas, didn’t in others, and the next game out learned a ton of lessons.