Recs.
Updated
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro Deep levels of gameplay exploration
One of the first thing you will notice in the game, is that the story is based around time travel. This eventually becomes a gameplay mechanic in that you need to decide what time period and place to venture to in order to further advance the plot. Second is that there are tons of characters in the game. Twelve to be exact, that are all playable. You get to eventually build the team you like by selecting three of these characters at a time. Third is that there is a great battle system in the game. As you progress you not only use each individual characters skills, but that you can combine them as well. All of these mechanics add up t a deep game that will take a lot of exploring and trial and error in order to figure out what works best for you or what combinations seem the most appealing.
Pro Quality art and music
Chrono Trigger has a wonderful art style and soundtrack that make the game worth going back to over the years. The 2D sprites are expressive and unique to each character's personalities, all as a nice fit to the funny moments and the more serious points in the story. Their original designs have a cool and colorful anime look, hand-crafted by the creator of the Dragon Ball series. And the music, despite the old SNES sound from the 1990s, is filled with meaning in a way that makes it obvious the composer poured his heart into each track. Everything is still worth a listen today, giving off a timeless and classic feeling.
Pro You can obtain multiple different endings depending on your choices
Depending on when and how you tackle certain bosses, you can get quite a few different endings. There are more than a dozen or so endings to go after, each of which show outcomes that vary from one another in some intriguing ways. Some are quite funny, while others have more troubling implications or positive outcomes for certain time periods. Going after all of the endings can be a fun challenge.
Pro Battles happen seamlessly out on the field, with no random encounters
You don't have to worry about random encounters in Chrono Trigger. Enemies are all visible out on the field, so you can avoid them whenever you want to focus on exploring. And, when you do get into a battle, there's no transition screen from the field to the turn-based environment. Everything happens seamlessly, with your party members taking up formation and moving around to take their turns to attack on the available space around the enemy. This was pretty advanced for its time, and it's a mechanic that hasn't lost its impact over the years, keeping the game from ever feeling like a grind.
Pro Captivating storyline that centers around time travel
Chrono Trigger has an expansive and touching story that shows all the ways the world can change over time. You begin the story as the young man named Crono, exploring a fun festival called the Millennial Fair, when his friend Marie gets caught up in a malfunctioning time machine.
Crono's quest to find her takes him on a journey across several different time periods in the past and the future where he meets the rest of his companions; together they find out about the greater problem overtaking the world, and so they set off to stop the catastrophe. Getting to see all the ways the world changes across centuries has huge implications that you discover as you go along, with some really emotional moments that still hold up today.
Cons
Con Ports (mobile, PSX, PC) have totally unnecessary video cutscenes and other additions
Original game is for SNES console and fit into 3MB. Ports take considerably more space and time due to video cutscenes. Some ports have DRM protection, making game unable to play in offline mode. Consider playing it on original SNES console, or on SNES emulator.
Recommendations
Comments
Flagged Pros + Cons
Con Online DRM check
The game uses a DRM (Digital Rights Management) scheme that will at times check to see if it has been purchased through the Google Play Store, which requires internet. If the user does not have a connection when the game does this check, they will be unable to play the game. This can inhibit the paying customers gameplay, all due to not having a data connection at the time of the check, which can easily happen when on planes, or a bus or train/subway as well as the many areas in the world without a good mobile data signal. What is worse is that the game is easily found through piracy methods, which of course this DRM check has been removed. The only people this DRM check affects, are the ones who legitimately paid for it.
Con Game is only downloaded to device in pieces
If trying to play with no internet connection, such as on a plane, you may run out of content as pieces of the game are downloaded as you progress. So if you reach the next point that the game needs to download the next piece, if you have no internet, you will not be able to proceed. This was done as an anti-pirating measure, which was instantly worked around by pirates, but of course is a limitation for paying users. Being that the original game for SNES came in at under 3 megabytes (and that this port is basically unchanged other than the anti-piracy measures), there is no actual advantage for downloading of the game in pieces for the consumer.