Chrono Trigger

Chrono Trigger is a role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom in Japan in 1995, with a North American Super Nintendo Entertainment System release the same year. Its principal creators were producer Hironobu Sakaguchi, director Yoshinori Kitase, scenario writer Yuji Horii, and character designer Akira Toriyama. Yasunori Mitsuda composed most of the score; Nobuo Uematsu contributed pieces after Mitsuda became ill. The game follows Crono, a silent teenage protagonist from the Kingdom of Guardia in 1000 AD, after a teleporter built by his friend Lucca accidentally sends Princess Nadia, called Marle, into another era far away. Marle’s disappearance leads Crono and Lucca to 600 AD, where they rescue her and the kidnapped Queen Leene from Yakra. Their journey expands across several periods: prehistoric 65,000,000 BC, the ruined world of 2300 AD, 12,000 BC during the floating Kingdom of Zeal, and 1999 AD. In 2300 AD, the party learns that the extraterrestrial parasite Lavos will emerge in 1999 and devastate the planet. Allies include the knight Frog, the robot Robo, the prehistoric warrior Ayla, and Magus, whose attack on Lavos had accidentally transported him from Zeal’s fall to the Middle Ages, centuries before Crono's time in Guardia. Chrono Trigger uses an active time battle system, derived from Square’s earlier Final Fantasy games, while displaying enemies directly on field screens rather than relying solely on random encounters. Party members can combine techniques: Crono and Lucca perform Fire Sword, while three-character combinations include Delta Force. Characters gain abilities through Tech points, and equipment, accessories, and elemental magic affect combat. The story allows players to confront Lavos at points after reaching the End of Time, a hub outside history. This structure produces multiple endings, with outcomes changing according to when Lavos is defeated and what events the player has completed. Square released expanded versions long after the original. A PlayStation port arrived in Japan in 1999 and North America in 2001, packaged with Final Fantasy IV in Final Fantasy Chronicles. Nintendo DS received a version in 2008 that added an Arena of the Ages mode, a Bestiary, and the Dimensional Vortex areas. Later releases appeared for mobile devices, Windows, and other platforms. Chrono Trigger’s development team was widely promoted as Square’s “Dream Team,” referring to Sakaguchi, Horii, and Toriyama. The game’s commercial and critical standing has remained notable, and its direct sequel, Chrono Cross, was originally released for PlayStation in 1999.