31 Years Ago, Square Enix Released One of the Most Legendary Video Games in History
It's hard to believe, but it has been 31 years since Square Enix released a JRPG that would change video games forever. With the recent mostly positive reviews but disappointing sales of modern Final Fantasy entries, and with an internal business restructure ongoing, Square Enix's popularity amongst fans has wavered, but the game that changed everything remains legendary--31 years later.
Today, March 11, marks the 31st anniversary of the original Japanese release of Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo. This time-traveling epic about friendship and fate saw a charming group of six main heroes (plus an optional party member) attempt to stop a force of evil from feeding on the Earth across different points in time.
Chrono Trigger garnered a lot of praise at its release and has become a cult classic, with some fans citing it as one of the most influential RPGs ever made, thanks to its large scope, innovative-for-the-time battle system, and clever use of time-travel mechanics. The Rolling Stone even called the game "perfection."
According to Metacritic, the game's modern 2008 Nintendo DS port is sitting at an impressive 92 metascore and a 9.2/10 user score.
Chrono Trigger was developed by Square before Square merged with Enix to form Square Enix in 2003, following the financial successes of Final Fantasy 10 and Kingdom Hearts. The game was originally released in 1995, but has been re-released several times and is available to play on modern PCs and console hardware.
Chrono Trigger would be followed by additional games in the "Chrono" series, but the game would never get a direct sequel continuing that game's characters and world. Chrono Cross, however, would be released in 1999 for the PlayStation. It would go on to do well among critics, sitting at a staggering 94 metascore on Metacritic--even higher than Trigger.
However, the fan response to Chrono Cross was much more divided, with many fans praising the game as an individual product, but also feeling disappointed by the game's more limited party system and barebones time travel mechanics.
Chrono Trigger has also been the subject of many remake rumors, after Square Enix's remake trilogy of the original Final Fantasy 7 put the idea into some fans' minds. Currently, it is being rumored that Square Enix is internally working on something related to Chrono Trigger or the rest of the Chrono series, but with the company's ongoing restructuring, plus the continued development of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series, a remake is far from certain.