There are many imposing forms a boss can take, but I don't know I'd count a bucket among them. And yet, that's what Chrono Trigger does. It puts a bucket in front of you and as??ks if you think you can ?beat it. It's a question that's lingered every minute since.

I've been playing through Chrono Trigger for the first time, nigh-unspoiled on what makes this role-playing game such a legend in the genre. (So if you're scrolling down to the comments already, please be chill.) I've already been majorly impressed with how Squaresoft's team signals to the player that their actions, big and small, ripple out through the story.

So imagine my surprise when I've been brought to The End of Time, Chrono Trigger's equivalent of the archetypal RPG campfire, and there's a few anachronisms lingering around. The ar??ea itself is strange, floating in some kind of void; a man stands alone in the center, underneath a modern lamppost. Golden fencing runs around the edges. And in the corner, there's a bucket.

I'm told what this place is, and how my party members can rest here while I travel. I can meet Spekkio, the Master of War, who teaches my team the ways of magic. Further out, I can see portals in a grid, letting me travel through all the h?oles in time I've ripped open.

And in the corner, there's a?? bucket. What's in the bucket? The end of the world, apparently.

Mr. Bucket's Wild Ride

There are a lot of ways to build out narrative tension, and dangling a looming threat overhead like an axe is a great one. The bucket in Chrono Trigger is a little different, though. As the old man tells the player, inside that bucket is the gate towards Lavos, the big bad I've only just learned about. Lavos is coming, and will end the ?world. I need to time travel around and find a way to beat him.

Or, theoretically, I could just go there now. I've alre??ady fought a dragon tank?? and slain hordes of monsters. How bad could one measly world-ending calamity be?

An easy comparison to draw here would be the hot stove; you touch a hot stove once, get burned, and you've learned your lesson. For me, this is a little more like that shock button experiment that was making the rounds again on social media. Men, left alone with their though??ts in a room with a button that would shock them, still hit the button. One pressed it?? 190 times. Not only do dudes rock, but we want to know what's up with that shock.

I, too, wanted to know what was up with the bucket, Chrono Trigger's proverbial hot stove/shock button. The old man warned me, but I needed to know. And you know what? I learned real quick. I didn't make it more than a few fights into what turned out to be a boss rush of everything I'd fought, up to that point. I even got a glimpse of a boss I hadn't fought yet, who proceeded to wi??pe the floor with me. Lavos ??wasn't even a factor; I still wasn't ready for the breadth of what this game was going to throw at me.

The burden of knowing

The bucket in Chrono Trigger is the sort of narrative tension I adored in another adored game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. After completing the Great Plateau and acquiring its tools, Nintendo gives you the si?ngle, main objective of the entire game: Defeat Ganon. You can do this at any point in time, right now or 100 hours later.

Every time the calamity-ridden Hyrule Castle peeked out over the horizon, I thought of that. ?As I rode by the fields, fleeing Guardians who could send Link back to a long sleep in one laser, I was ?reminded how unprepared I was. For hours, I built up both my arsenal of weapons and my knowledge, until I was ready to tackle the looming evil before me.

This tension sits in the bottom of that buck?et, too. I've only wandered back to the End of Time a handful of times now, as I've gone back to the Medieval era and even further to a prehistoric age, ??learning a lesson about partying with my ancient ancestors.

All the while, the bucket looms. It is an ever?-present reminder of Crono and crew's end goal, the evil we are seeking to defeat. It is always there, and we still aren't ready. The one advantage we've? got is time, and we have to make the absolute most of it, because right now we can't even get through the front door. We're barely rapping our knuckles on it before the world's end kicks us out.

Even in the short few hours I've spent picking away at Chrono Trigger, it's these design decisions that feel inspiring. Like seeing the Millennial Fair, I'm seeing years of development stemming out; I don't know if Breath of the Wild's team was thinking of Lavos and that bucket when they built the narrative framework of their game, but I'd like to think Chrono Trigger was on at least person's mind in that process.

I know that, eventually, I will level and grind my way up to match Lavos' power. Maybe I'll even see if?? there's more to this fight than the brief glimpse I've seen. But for now, that bucket looms?? in the corner.

Every tim?e I'm back, I can ask myself, "Am I ready now?" It's a compelling question to push Crono and crew further. How do you know you're ready to fight the end of the world? Can you ever be ready? Or do you just decide it's time, and let the chips fall? The future refusing to change is, after all, one possible end.

I'm looking forward to seeing where my journey takes me. What events must transpire, obstacles overcome, and power gained to stop something I still, frankly, don't comprehend. I just know the end of my Chrono Trigger journey lies at the bottom of that bucket.

The post Chrono Trigger puts a sea ??of tension in a sing??le bucket appeared first on Destructoid.

Time is a curious thing. It can strengthen bonds or ideas, but it can also smooth out the edges and bumps we might not overlook today. It makes going back to older and influential games like Chrono Trigger an interesting prospect, as playing the classic in 2023 can be its own little window in time, to see the impact of something right at the moment it hit. And the trial of Chrono Trigger did not disappoint.

It's not an overstatement to say Chrono Trigger has had a profound effect on the general gaming landscape. In fa?ct, playing it nowadays, I can see all the ways in which games have paid homage and been inspired by it, even in the opening moments.

I'm in a bit of a unique position: I've never played Chrono Trigger. This is my first time experiencing this gem, afte??r enough curiosity and jabs from friends convinced me this was something I needed to experience. I also know next-to-nothing about this role-playing classic, aside from a few back-of-the-box highlights: time travel, Akira Toryiama designs, RPG battles, and at some point, I was going to jail.

You might think it's bizarre I could go so long without playing this game. I counter with this: I get to play Chrono Trigger for the first time, something people who have played Chrono Trigger never get to do again. That's all good for me.

But seriously, I knew a trial scene was going to happen. I had seen a screenshot of it before. I figured it must be an endgame thing, looking back at my journey. Not only was I delighted to be wrong, but incredibly impressed with what actually happens instead.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEcwtSkRz2Q

The Trial of Crono

Famously, Chrono Trigger opens with protagonist Crono going to the Millennial Fair. Everyone's celebrating the 1000th year of the kingdom of Guardia. Dotted ??all around are different NPCs to chat with and activities?? to explore.

It's ?an incredibly effective opening, as you get so much space to interact with and learn more about the world. There's a bunch of ways to earn points, talk to people, and kill time before your pal Lucca's demonstration. Importantly, you bump into a girl named Marle and help her up. She pals around with you at the fair, taking in the sights and commenting on the things you do, encouraging you to do more stuff while you wait.

So far, I was just enjoying the vibes. And then, some time-travel plot stuff happens, and you get whisked away from all that.? It's after you come back, from a full arc in a different era, that the story picks this thread up again.

As you've discovered, Marle is actually Princess Nadia, the roguish daug?hter of Guardian royalty. And after Crono escorts her back to her home (read: castle), things get bad for ol' Crono. He's taken into custody under suspicion of kidnapping, with a very rude Chancellor ignoring Marle's objections.

Do (not) click everything

At this point, Crono is put on trial. And so far, I was figuring I'd have to maybe make some dialogue choi?ces for our silent protagonist, or maybe just see a scene where Marle's insistence clashes with the King's frustrations. Instead, I—the player—got put on trial for what I did when I thought no one was watching. As it turns out,?? Squaresoft was watching.

The trial quickly turns into a battle of character witnesses. On some, I performed well, like reuniting a girl with her lost kitten. On others, I did not. It turns out that eating someone's lunch is, in fact, a bad idea if you want that person to later testify in your favor. Squaresoft caught me in 4K on this one.

[caption id="attachment_401970" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Destructoid[/caption]

Ultimately, the outcome is decided. Whether Crono is a saint or sinner, he goes to jail, and then the prison break sequence starts. After looking a guide up later, I confirmed as much; no matter whether Crono is found innocent or not, you're still queued up for execution, and sent down the main path. The impressive part isn't the possibility of branching storylines; it's how Chrono Trigger makes it clear th??at your actions are perceived, and judge??d.

Devs will be watching

While I clearly missed the SNES era of RPGs, I did grow up with many generations of Pokemon, all of which encourage the player to poke and prod. Heck, many RPGs do, and even other genres of the era like search-action (Metroidvania) titles or platformers ??encourage poking interactable objects and boundaries, in pursuit of secrets and rewards.

Chrono Trigger makes it clear that yes, there are interactable items and objects. And there is an importance to how you interact with them. If you run to grab the pendant before checking on Marle, the game calls you on it. If you're impatient at the candy sta??nd, that can hurt you later. Yet it's not qui?te a punitive situation. Sure, you miss out on some consumables.

What makes this moment work so well is how it clues the player in. This is a role-playing game, and your role-playing choices will mean something. It's made me rethink my usual approach to situations and my internalized order of operations, just by making me aware that all my actions are being watched, not just the seemingly pivotal?? one??s.

And still, Chrono Trigger's world feels all the more involved for it. A seemingly nonchalant, fun-filled fair is filled with?? little moments of choice and, later, consequence. This playground for exploring and learning game mechanics?? is also a place where the player's actions, intentions, and mannerisms will be recorded and eventually put on trial.

Chronological

So yes, I have come to the extremely original and thunderously groundbreaking conclusion that Chrono Trigger is, in fact, a good video game. I know it's not a take that reinvents the ??wheel. But it's also something that merits exploration.

I've held for a while that, as our industry's history gets lengthier, it's increasingly worthwhile to go back and re-examine. Not just to scrutinize, but to better understand why these games can stand the tests of time, and how they influence the way we play today. Sure, cosmetically, Chrono Trigger's opening hours can be felt in dozens upon dozens of RPGs. I've seen the Millennial Fair-alikes. I'm n?ot 100% certain, but this feels like the origin point for the double-attack sword strike (a.k.a. X Strike). And h?onestly, more games should have plucky frog-knight companions like Frog.

But the trial in Chrono Trigger is a moment where I saw, plainly, why it's inspired such a devotion in others over the years. It's a clever, fun nod to the player that actions have consequences, that informs them to think about their actions moving forward. And it lets Chrono Trigger start to play with interactions in the space, too??. You know darn well I was knocking out guards when I could.

So maybe I'm writing a lot of words about an ultimately smaller moment, in the grand scheme of things. But as I'm quickly starting to appreciate, Chrono Trigger deserves the words. And I'm eager to see how it continues to?? play with these ide??as as the time travel tale twists on.

The post Chrono Trigger’s trial is still absolutely brilliant appeared first on Destructoid.

All of them, actually

I will never say no to a rhythm game spinoff. I am, of course, a loud and unashamed fan of the genre. I'm always down for more rhythm games, but I'm especially fond of titles that recon?textualize the music found in other games. I think nearly every video game wo?uld benefit from a supplemental mechanical examination of its soundtrack.

But obviously, some franchises are more suited to rhythm gaming than others. If I were to make a list of the greatest video game series soundtracks of all time, it would probably include Metroid and Halo, but those scores aren't exactly full of toe-tappers. So while I would play a rhythm game based on absolutely any soundtrack, I'd like to outline the franchises I think truly deserve the Theatrhythm treatment.

??[embed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0??IxUMu036k[/embed]

10. Shovel Knight

Jake Kaufman is a very prolific and accomplished composer. The Shantae series could easily have made this list, but limiting myself to one Kaufman-heavy franchise, I have to give it to Shovel Knight. These games, from Shovel of Hope to Shovel Knight Dig, emulate the strict and structured chiptunes of the NES era but with more contemporary musical stylings. These are perfect rh?ythm game soundtracks because they're stable and rhythmically readable, even to the? layman.

Plus, Shovel of Hope has a couple of tracks by Manami Matsumae, and I felt really bad about leaving Mega Man off this list.

[embed]//www.youtube.com/watch???v=UND5wg??nIino[/embed]

9. Assassin's Creed

I don't play Assassin's Creed very often. It's just not my cup of tea. But I do listen to Assassin's Creed pretty regularly. A rotating cast of phenomenal composers has brought ??an awful lot of wonderful tracks to life. A lot of score pieces from the series' history are so driven and thumping that I can practically see the beatmap in front of?? me.

I'm particularly fond of the Assassin's Creed Odyssey soundtrack, and I've found myself finger-drumming to the beat of "Legend of the Eagle Bearer" more than a few times. At the very least, we deserve a shanty-filled Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag rhythm spinoff.

[emb??ed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH-G??AwLAO30[/embed]

8. Undertale

Across Undertale and the first two episodes of Deltarune, series creator/composer Toby Fox has established a coherent and delightful sound to accompany his series' world. Like Kaufman, Fox plays in the realm of chiptunes, and his are especially earworm-i????sh.

Some of Undertale's bullet hell moments already feel like a carefully orchestrated dance set to one of the game's wonderful battle themes. Concretizing that comparison with a full-throated Undertale rhythm game would be pretty great. As an aside, you can get a pretty Undertale-ish rhythm game experience out of 2021's Everhood.

[embed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=D??TLfV7Ru5VY[/embed]

7. Donkey Kong Country

We've gotten pretty close to a Donkey Kong Country rhythm game in the past - there were no fewer than three Donkey Konga games, and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat almost counts - but there's never been a rhythm game solely focused on music from the actual DKC series.

Across the first three DKC games, David Wise, Eveline Fischer, and Robin Beanland redefined what Donkey Kong sounded like. Just about every track from the series is groovy and pleasant. To me, the beautiful soundtracks are the number one reason to return to Donkey Kong Country.?? A game dedicated to those? soundtracks would be a dream.

[embed]//www.youtu?be.c?om/watch?v=ikQHkhL8YMM[/embed]

6. Guilty Gear

The precise inputs fighting games demand make them feel like natural siblings to rhythm games, but Guilty Gear feels particularly suited to travel between genres. Music has always been central to the franchise—series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari has composed music for nearly every franchise entry, and as of Guilty Gear Strive, every ch??aracter has an independent absolute?? banger for a theme.

Guilty Gear is indebted to music on nearly every level. Characters like Axl Low take blatant inspiration from real-life rockstars, and there are probably more fans of the Guilty Gear soun?dtrack than there are fans of the actual series. A rhythm-based spinoff is an all-too-obvious pitch.

[embed]//www.youtube.com/w??atch?v=nO3Ap0xOcAE[/embed]

5. Chrono

The Chrono duology will get a bit of rhythm representation in the form of DLC for Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, but honestly, I'm not sure that that's enough. Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross collectively play host to some of the greatest JRPG music around. Yasunori Mitsuda is an incredible composer and his work alongside the legendary Nobuo Uematsu elevates the first game to incredible heights (the ??second one is pretty wond??????????????????????????erful, too).

The presence of these soundtracks in Theatrhythm proves that they translate into a gamified context, so I think it would be nice to see them in their own game entirely. If you'll permit me to dream for a moment, I'd love a rhythm game incorporating some of Chrono Trigger's classic dual and triple techs.

[embed]//www.youtube.com/watch??v=e9r5hx47kxM[/embe??d]

4. Super Mario

I honestly can't believe this doesn't exist. If you ask a random person to hum a tune from a video game, good money says they'll go for the main theme from Super Mario Bros. There's no denying that the Super Mario series plays host to some truly iconic music.

After The Legend of Zelda got its own Crypt of the Necrodancer-themed rhythm spinoff, I figured Mario, king of the side-game, would follow close behind. But somehow, the series' soundtrack is still limited to cameo appearances in different rhythm games. I do want a Mario rhythm game, but?? more tha?n that, I'm just shocked that there isn't one yet.

[embed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8O?H??SXvneOE[/embed]

3. Celeste

I dig the soundtrack from the original PICO-8 version of Celeste, but the series' sonic identity really came into view when composer Lena Raine joined the team for the 2018 remake. Raine's music makes Celeste feel ?like a sincere musical adventure, and that ?feeling is only enhanced by the game's "B-Sides"—tougher takes on individual levels featuring brilliantly remixed takes on the original soundtrack.

Raine returned to score Celeste's DLC, Farewell, and she also wrote a couple of smaller tracks for the game's miniature PICO-8 sequel, Celeste 2: Lani's Trek. All of? this music is phenomenal, and all of?? it would be as well-suited to a rhythm game as it is to a series of precision platformers.

[embed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=55uDJ39W4i0[/embed??]

2. Sonic the Hedgehog

I'??m not even gonna write anything for this ?one. Just listen to it.

??[embed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XV7TeThdVA[/embed]

1. Nier

Like the Chrono games, the Nier series will be featured in Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, but it deserves an awful lot more. Composer Keiichi Okabe's work is responsible for at least a solid 40% of my personal fondness for Nier, and I don't think it's a stretch to call it some of the best video game music ever. Okabe's work is often melancholy and complex, but it's also frequently catchy and lig?ht.

The music of Nier is truly brilliant. I'd love to see it paired with a set of mechanics specifically built around it?. The only issue I can see with this plan is that I would probably never play anything else again.

The post 10 video game franchises that deserve ??rhythm games appeared first on Destructoid.

Maybe it’s not about the hours

I got to the Dark World in A Link to the Past in an afternoon.

I’m aware the debate over game length has raged for so long that it’s old enough to drive. I also acknowledge that games just run longer than they did 25 years ago. Yet replaying A Link to the Past and reaching this critical story moment so quickly was genuinely mindblowing. This game felt massive to me as a kid. Even when I wrote my Zelda list, I still internalized A Link to the Past as a solid 20+ hour adventure. All this time, I thought I wasn’t playing as many games because I was an adult with less ??free time. Have games really gotte??n so much ??longer that my childhood favorites feel minuscule in comparison?

After surveying other retro games and comparing them to recent releases, I realized that maybe the great game length debate has precious little to do with the number of hours we’re spending in games. It’s how we’re spending those hours that ?counts.

[caption id="attachment_361550" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The miracle of pacing

To demonstrate this point, let’s discuss two RPGs across different generations: Chrono Trigger and Omori. According to HowLongToBeat.com, both these titles are approximately the same length. Yet many call Chrono Trigger short while Omori is often criticized for running too long.

See, Chrono Trigger has fantastic pacing. You are constantly visiting different time periods and following small plots with self-contained story arcs. Battles are unique spectacles, like the Dragon Tank boss battle that plays with perspective and has several components to target. You even have inventive gimmicks popping up in rapid succession, like the trial scene or the racing minigame. Chrono Trigger is a beautiful game with rock-solid gameplay that is filled to the brim with ideas, so you never get bored enough to let your mind wander thinking about how long it is.

Meanwhile, Omori’s pacing is all over the place. Its main story is fantastic and contains genuinely? sp??ectacular moments. However, an unholy amount of time in Omori is spent in a barebones RPG dreamworld that functionally grinds the plot to a halt. There’s relevant stuff in there, but it stretches roughly ten minutes of symbolism into ten hours. These segments are visually spectacular, but the gameplay isn’t robust enough to sustain several hours of play. The RPG stuff here isn’t terrible, but it feels agonizin??g because it blocks off the game’s major sellin?g point.

To be fair, the issues in Omori almost certainly stem from Kickstarter promises. But that illustrates the point. It’s obvious when games are deliberately padded out?? or drowning in slow animations. This kind of filler content might have been welcome when we were younger, but it feels unnecessary in the current gaming landscape.

[caption id="attachment_361551" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Do we want for playtime?

Memes of Steam Backlogs date all the way back to when I was Cblogging here a decade ago (oh no I’m old!). Even disregarding this, I wonder why we continue to value games that are specifically long.

I’m not going to say free-to-play games are great, but if you’re looking to kill time, we have so many options now. Want to endlessly grind? Warframe is still going strong. Want a long RPG? Final Fantasy XIV has that free trial you always hear about. Fortnite, Destiny 2, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact; there are a staggering number of w?ays to fill time in the modern era?. And if you’re allergic to F2P shenanigans, Itch.io and other indie portals exist.

It’s not that filler content can’t exist in premium games. There just needs to be a distinction between the meat and the potatoes. Breath of the Wild does a really good job of this. Your main story objectives are clearly marked, with shrines serv?ing as the major side distraction for you to pursue. Meanwhile, the Korok Seeds are fun little distractions that are clearly separated from the previously mentioned goals. Collec?ting every Korok Seed veers closer to the “filler�category, but because it's clearly treated as such, it isn’t detrimental to the game.

The longer a game gets, the harder it is to keep you engaged in a cycle of rising and falling action before you just want to see the end. To me, this is the heart of why we pine for shorter games. A title like A Link to the Past packs so much into its playtime that it feels complete despite its brevity. You still h??ave a fun world filled with secrets to explore, but you get those rushes of discovery and excitement consistently. The more a game's scope expands, the ?harder it is to curate that experience.

[caption id="attachment_361552" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

It's okay for games to end

I do think it’s important to not stigmatize long games. Titles like Elden Ring g?enuinely pull off immersive worlds filled with fresh ideas and enemies, and games like these should be celebrated as major events. It’s also reasonable to expect a game to last a certain length to justify its respective price tag. That said, I wonder if this innate desire for long games stems from that bittersweet feeling when games finally end.

We all have that game that we wish lasted longer than it did. Maybe it was one of your favorite games, and you long for that joy you felt playing it blind. The more games get padded, the less likely we are to have this feeling. Instead, getting to the end of a game makes you feel exhausted and drained, but is that a good thing? Being sad that something ended means it was a great experience. Maybe not a perfect one, but it’s a memory you can treasure and hold onto. I would much rather have that bittersweet feeling than feel sick of a game after dedicating dozens of hou??rs to playing it.

There’s no clear answer to this debate. The quality of games is already subjective enough, let alone their ideal length. But the older I get, the more I desire that bittersweet feeling. That’s an experience that turns players into fans, and I’d rather get excited about new games in a series than begrudgingly accept them. As always, let me know in the comments your thoughts on this eternally raging issue. I’ll enjoy reading them with a cup of tea as I play through the Dark World in A Link to the Past, and at this rate, I imagine I’ll finish?? both at the same time.

The post The sweet spot: Debating the optimal length for a video g??ame appeared first on Destructoid.

Cblogs of 1/19 to 01/28/2023

-GoofierBrute continues their Games That Time Forgot blogging series with this write-up on Fire Emblem: Fates.

-Spazzzh20 reviews "The Worst Sonic Game Ever" in Sonic Frontiers.

-Exber discus??ses similar themes ??in three very different games.

-RoomWithaMoose shares their own ga??ming award prizes for 2022 in ??this blog.

-Siddartha85 shares their A-list of games released in 2022.

-Siddartha85 shares their B-list list of movies released in 2022??.

-Lord Spencer reviews One as part of his PS1 REVIEWS blogging series.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtrack of Chrono Trigger and Latin music.

-Xeo explores the concept of the Horror genre.

-ChronoLyn?xx opens this week's TGIF community forum for open discussion.

Thanks for all of your fine blogs, opinions, and write-ups, folks, not just this week. We really do appreciate each and every one of them. And thanks to Lord Spencer, as always, for taking the time out of their week to recap them for this here front page. As always, if you wanna join in on the HOT TAKE party for the discourse of 2023, (and there will be discourse), then head on over to the Cblogs section right now. We are aware that the cblog editor has been incredibly testy of la??t?e. We apologize. We are hoping we can encourage someone more tech-savvy than ourselves to take a look at it this year.

The post How are you finding Fire Emblem Engage? appeared first on Destructoid.

From an old PlayStation magazine

This past week or so, a bunch of Chrono Trigger fans were looking around the internet for Chrono Trigger content (as retro fans, myself included, do!), and found t?hese "PSX [PlayStation] reference sheet" gems.

According to Chrono Compendium, one of the best sites out there for the game, these were shared on Twitter this month and were originally sourced from "The PlayStation" magazine in Japan, volume 170 (which was originally released in 1999). However, this was not widely shared on the internet back then, and is basically a new discovery, following a revelatory tweet.

According to the site, Tadayoshi Yamamuro (who worked on various Dragon Ball shows) was the chief illustrator for these designs. There's designs for Chrono, Marle, Lucca, Robo, Frog, Ayla, and Magus. So basically, the player party crew! You can find all of them here.

It really just goes to show you how much of a force this game was, that people are still excited to talk about it all these years later. I remember when I first popped it into my SNES from a rental place (which had an end game save file on it, classic!) and I was completely blown awa??y.

I would never forget it, and still go back to it from time to time. It's that ?good!

29kyu [Twitter via Chrono Compendium]

The post Whoa newly unearthed Chrono Trigger art? I’m into it appeared first on Destructoid.

Cblogs Recap: Week 19

-Genki-JAM makes a video discussing Devil May Cry 5.

-Shoggoth2588 shares his gaming journal in the month of April.

-EnigaticRanger ??wonders if the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us all closer to an? all-digital future.

-Exber reviews Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

-Black Red Gaming reviews DOOM: Eternal.

-Gus TT Showbiz continues his odyssey into the Fallout 76 universe.

-Blanchimont reviews Final Fantasy VII: Remake on the PS4.

-Skazfest discusses what is the best weapon in Smash Bros. history, which is not actually in Ultimate.

-BlackAdler reviews Tanglewood on the PC and the Sega Mega Drive.

-Acefondu discusses how his gamin?g tastes have changed as he grew older.

-Kerrik52 reviews Prince of Persia: Sands of Time as part of his "Traveler in Playtime" bl??ogging serie??s.

-JoLoBird discusses with us the games that "broke" him.

-Exber discusses a few game recommendations that are outside of his c??omfort ??zone.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the Chrono Trigger soundtrack and some famous pop tunes.

-Marcel Hoang shares his Anime q??ueue for your reference in this time of quara??ntines.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the Double Dragon soundtrack and some Japanese pop music.

Thanks as always to Lord Spencer for this week's Cblog Recap, and to our awesome community bloggers for their great content! If you fancy seeing yourself in next week's roundup, then simply head over to the Community Blogs and share your thoughts with us.

The post Cblogs of 5/1 to 5/8/2020: Prince of Persia, Fallout 76, a?nd best Smash Bros. weapons appeared first on Destructoid.

Featuring Joker and Morgana

In today's contest, we're giving away awesome keychains celebrating the Another Eden and Persona 5 Royal crossover event!

I know y'all like classic RPGs. Who doesn't? A couple of the bright minds behind genre favorites Chrono Trigger and Xenogears are at it again, this time with mobile RPG Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space. What a silly kitty.

Since classic RPGs are already well represented in the title, why not throw some new flavor into the mix? The game recently launched a permanent crossover event with Persona 5 Royal, putt??ing series standouts Joker and Morgana into the game. To celebrate, we've been given some keychains featuring art of the characters -- come take one off of my h??ands!

I'm in ??way over my head on this one??, so just read below for deets.

Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space, the story-driven JRPG from WFS, summons Joker, Morgana, and the Phantom Thieves from ATLUS' Persona 5 Royal into the fight to save ??the future via a free and permanent crossover event.

Accessible after completion of chapter two in Another Eden, a prologue to the crossover Symphony "Bound Wills and the Hollow Puppeteer" is unlocked, while the full saga is available upon completion of chapter 13. After rendezvousing with the iconic gang of thieves, Joker and Morgana from Persona 5 Royal become playable characters.

This event represents the first time the international version of Another Eden, released in more than 40 countries, receives a content update simultaneously with the?? Japanese version of the game. The Persona 5 Royal character voices are in Japanese and are voiced by the original voice actors Jun Fukuda (Joker) and Ikue Otani (Morgana).

Ok, I did it withou??t breaking anything! While I'm not terribly familiar with Persona, I'm assuming all of you out the?re who are will be stoked about this one.

As the genero?us robot Mr. Dtoid is and always shall be, we're ?giving away keychains celebrating the crossover event. Check 'em out!

To enter to win, use the widget bel??ow to leave your name and email address. You can enter daily. Click around in the darn tootin' thing for ways to pick up bonus entries.

We've got three of each model to give away at random -- you must?? have a United States shipping address in order to win. Winners will be drawn Monday, January 20.

Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space is available now for iOS and Android with all of the Persona 5 Royal content awaiting your tender touch.

Contest: Win a sweet keychain featuring Persona 5 Royal ?and Another Eden's crossover event

The post Contest: Win a sweet keychain featuring Persona 5 Royal and Another Eden’s crossover event appeared first on Destructoid.

Promoted from our community blogs

_{[The Goku Effect is something that may be slowly lost to time. As more and more games begin to favor a scaling challenge, there's something nostalgic about the choice to go back to the beginning and stomp all the trash mobs that used to give you trouble. ~Marcel]}

I submit to you a controversial statement: Vanilla Diablo III on PS3 is secretly the best version of the game. Now, you might be thinking: how the hell is the version with the crappiest graphics and least amount of content the best way to play Diablo III? Wasn't Reaper of Souls supposed to be the savior that fixed all of its problems anyway? Well in order to make my case, first we need to take a long walk down Snake Way and talk a little about Dragon Ball Z.

So what does Dragon Ball Z have to do with any of this? Well ya see, a big part of Dragon Ball Z's appeal is seeing Goku's evolution as a fighter over time. When he begins his journey on planet Earth, he can barely even take on a low-rank scrub warrior like Raditz without forcing himself to team up with his arch nemesis, Piccolo. And even then he still has to sa?crifice himself just so Piccolo could take the final shot. Despite being one of the most powerful martial artists the planet had ever known, Goku was still just an insignificant peon compared to the numerous oth?er dangerous alien races lurking among the cosmos. He needed to get stronger. And fast, as even more powerful Saiyan warriors that were leagues above Raditz were on their way to Earth following his demise.

It's these massive differences in power scales that made the experience all the more satisfying to watch when you would see Goku reach new heights and take on an even bigger baddie. He was constantly breaking new barriers and achieving things no one else could even imagine. Over time, Goku eventually went from being wrecked by his low-class brother, to taking on the most powerful tyrants in the universe with planet-destroying magnitudes of power. He was a giant among men. It was awe-inspiring to watc??h.

To tie this all back to video games, my first experience with the RPG genre was Chrono Trigger for the SNES. One of the most striking things I noted about the game after getting a taste of it was the fact that the gameplay was so heavily driven by stats and numbers. Not only that, but you could go back to revisit previously-explored areas and fight old enemies that you have long since surpassed in level. The game even encouraged this after you beat it, as this would unlock New Game+ mode, where players could take their existing characters with all their exp?erience and equipment, but start over at the beginning of the game with them.

Sure, going back to slay small-fry didn't provide any tangible rewards or a steep challenge, but it was just a cool novelty. It would remind you of how far you've come, and what you've already achieved. You felt empowered because of it. To be honest, it wasn't even the act of slaying these poor creatures with a single effortless blow that made it fun. It was merely the thought that I could do it if I wanted to; that such differences in strength are allowed to? exist in the game. This is what makes the prospect of leveling up so exciting; to see how far your characters can push the limits and rise above everything else.

I call this little phenomenon, as you might guess, the Goku Effect. Because much like Dragon Ball Z, Chrono Trigger and other stat-driven games l?ike it simulate an experience not unlike being Goku. You start out an untrained fighter with nothing more than a wooden sword to your name, but after a long journey of training and hardships, you find yourself battling an ancient alien creature; so powerful that it was viewed as a god to the people that once worshiped it during the ice age.

In fact, you fight Chrono Trigger's biggest baddie, Lavos, on more than one occasion, and well before you reach the end of the game. What's interesting about this is that he has the same stats each time too; it's just that the first time you encounter him, you're most likely far too underpowered to take him on, so you'll end up losing the fight as part of the story. This is a cl??ever way that the game showcases just how powerful your foes can get, and how much you'll need to train yourself for the fights to come. It's a very satisfying progression to see unfold, and it's made all the more meaningful by seeing the sheer disparity in power between Lavos and the mere forest creatures that you once did battle with.

Now let's imagine a new hypothetical scenario. In this scenario, Goku trains as hard as he can to get stronger just like he always does, and he continues to reach new heights and break new barriers just as you would expect him to. However, there's now one crucial difference. Each time Goku achieves a new power level, everyone else in the entire universe suddenly and inexplicably gets buffed along with him. Now no matter who Goku fights, even if it's just some Joe Schmo from Earth who tends to his llama farm and never trained a day in his life, Goku is always going to have an opponent who is at least somewhat close to his power level. Now Goku is only a slightly bigger giant among giants; effectively diminishing any gratifying sense of achievement that he has worked so hard to reach. Why would we imagine such a bizarre and unsatisfying scenario? Because that's exactly what Reaper of Souls did to Diablo III.

Did you know that if you return to Act 1 Normal with your completely decked-out max-level demon hunter, you still can't one-shot-kill a level 1 zombie right in the starting zone? Maybe you think you're a pretty badass demon slayer now after racking up a few dozen paragon levels, and you're rolling in 500K damage per second from all that gear you've collected. Nope. Still doesn't matter; not unless you happen to land a lucky critical strike. Meanwhile with Diablo III? on PS3, I can be not even halfway to the level cap and dispense with the ca?nnon fodder in one clean shot every single time.

How is this possible you might ask? This is because Reaper of Souls radically changed the way stats function from the original game. Previously, all enemy stats were fixed based on the difficulty setting that was selected. But now since the expansion, enemies?? scale with your character's level regardless of difficulty. Changing the difficulty only tweaks their stats further with customizable precision. As a result, no matter how hard you try; no matter how big your numbers get, the entire world of Sanctuary will always be only a few steps behind you. You can never become Goku. Instead, you're now more like Piccolo with his weighted gear on, and the more you train, the more you have to keep putting on even heavier weight to constrict your true power level. It's a system that makes you think you're climbing a ladder when you're actually running on a treadmill.

There has been an alarming trend among stat-driven games to strip away the meaningful value of the stats themselves. Blizzard's other popular title, World of Warcraft, recently fel?l victim to this as well. On the one hand, I can certainly see the utility of such a change; it ensures that no matter what challenges you're facing, there will always be a minimum level of effort required. But in doing so, it robs you of the sense of achievement that comes from the Goku Effect, and in turn ruins much of the point of having stats i?n the first place.

Ultimately whether I hit a creature for a thousand damage or a million, if it still shaves off the same per?centage of health anyway??, then why even bother with stats at all? It just seems dishonest and exploitative in that it's trying to trick you into deriving a sense of pleasure from seeing bigger numbers on the screen, but you're not really hitting any harder.

I'm not saying that I want to turn into a wrecking ball throughout the entire game; I'm saying I want to faceplant my f??oes as well as get faceplanted by them, so I can feel the difference in power scales and have a strong motivating goal to work toward. That big baddie who demolished you so thoroughly before, you can become just as much of a destructive force like them if you work toward it. But in order to fully capture that feeling, you need to have the Super Saiyans as well as the mere Earthlings fully represented. Sadly, more and more games are turning away from this philosophy in game design.

Thankfully, I can still cling to my Diablo III vanilla experience like the old curmudgeon that I am. And the great thing about the console version too is that it still contains many quality-of-life improvements over the original PC version like no online connection requirement, no auction house, and crappy item drops fixed. I can even still play online for free because unlike all other console versions, the PS3's multiplayer doesn't require a subscription. So relieve yourself of Piccolo's weighted gear and experience Diablo III as? it was meant to be in glorious 720p! Err, something like that.

I think game designers should be reminded that not all of the entertainment val??ue of a game can simply be derived from a carefully-crafted challenge. Sometimes it's just about granting the player the freedom to make their own experience, or capturing a certain atmosphere or feeling.

In a side quest for NieR: Automata, the player must collect stamps throughout an amusement park. It's just a fetch quest really, and not a particularly difficult or remarkable one at that; until you reach the theater, at which point you are treated to a delightfully nonsensical Romeo and Juliet play performed by the park's robot inhabitants. As the play goes on, the robots seem to either forget their lines or have intentionally ignored Sha?kespeare's original writing, as it quickly devolves into them brawling and insulting each other in pseudo-old English speech until they all explode. This play really doesn't further the main plot or offer up some new challenge to overcome; it just exists as a hilariously quirky manifestation of Yoko Taro's genius, and that's OK to have in a video game. We need more of that.

So let me feel like I'm Goku d??ammit! Even if it doesn't service the gameplay in any immediately practical sense. Sometimes I just want to blow shit up and feel badass and unstoppable while doing it. Is that really so wrong?

The post Promoted: The Lost Art of the Goku Effect appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't think we'll see Chrono Break anytime soon

Owlboy developer, Simon S. Andersen, posted a mock-up for a Chrono Trigger sequel on Twitter today. While this is something Simon did for fun and it's almost guaranteed to say we'll never get Chrono Break, the whole video is pretty freaking awesome.

Simon is one hell o?f a pixel artist, and this quick teaser, for a fake game no less, really tugged hard at my nostalgia strings. You can check it out below?.

What you're about to see does not exsist. It is not endorsed,?? licensed or under development.

I make game sequel mockups for fun, and after planning to do this for years, I finally convinced myself to bring this to life. Enjoy. #ChronoTrigger #ChronoCross//t.co/3rOhmNQxMw pic.twitter.com/lAf4L2VB3q

— Simon S. Andersen (@snakepixel) August 26, 2018

The post Owlboy creator makes ??mock-up for Chrono Trigger sequel appeared first on Destructoid.

It's come a long way

Several months later, the PC port of Chrono Trigger is now in a pretty good place. Square Enix released its fifth and final "major" patch tod??ay with extra little features and the option to rebind keys.

Prior updates introduced a much-needed "Original" graphics setting, fixed the font ??and dialog boxes, overhauled the user interface, offered better support for gamepads and keyboards, and addressed bugs. The PC port launched in an unenviable position but the developers have put in work.

I would've thought this last big update would come with a discount, but Chrono Trigger is still $14.99 on Steam. (Which, to be clear, is not a bad price for a now-decent port of an all-time great RPG.)

Patch #5

Key binding function implemented

Key binding funct?ionality for game pad, keyboard and mouse controls has been implemented to improve the game controls.

• When using a game pad, you can now change some of the button settings from the game menu or title menu by going to settings -> controller settings -> game pad settings.
• When using a keyboard, you can now change the various key settings from the game menu or title menu by going to settings -> controller settings -> keyboard settings.
• When using a mouse, you can now click the right mouse button to cancel. You can confirm using a left click, and move characters and cursors by dragging the mouse. Changes to the mouse settings in the operating system will also be reflected in-game.

An extras section has been added!

This has been added to the title menu. After? complet??ing the game, the following sections will be unlocked:

• Movies - View all movie scenes from the game
• Illustrations - View various illustrations from Chrono Trigger
• Sound - Listen to the BGM from the game
• Endings - Can view any endings that have been unlocked

*Only endings that have been unlocked/viewed already will be viewable in the “Endings” option. All other content is unlocked at once.
*Please be aware that the game completion status prior to the update being applied will not be reflected. In order to unlock the extras and endings, you will need to view the game ending again after the latest update has been inst??alled.

Adjustments to various features

• The item selection window has been changed to adapt its size to the actual number of items in the player’s possession. Due to this, it is now no longer possible to leave gaps between items in the list.
• Movement settings have been re-implemented on the config. Screen. When set to “dash” the default movement speed will be running, and holding down the cancel button while moving will make characters walk. The “walk” setting is the opposite configuration.
• A confirmation dialogue is now shown when selecting “return to default” from the config screen.
• It is now possible to use direct keyboard input when entering names.
• A confirmation dialogue is now displayed when confirming entered names. If characters unable to be displayed in-game are used when entering a name, this can be checked when the dialogue is shown.
• The Simplified Chinese font used has been changed from the devices standard font, to one that better fits the aesthetic of the game.

Bug fixes

• Issues where the game would sometimes not boot correctly on PCs with specific graphics cards installed has been fixed.
• Issues where some graphics and effects would not display correctly at specific screen sizes has been fixed.
• Several minor bugs have been fixed.

Chrono Trigger - Patch #5 Update [Steam]

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Long-term repair job

A fourth update has gone live for the PC re-release of Square Enix 1995 SNES classic,  Chrono Trigger. This patch is the latest in a series of updates that are attempting, bit-by-bit, to addr?ess a host of complaints rallied against the title upon its February release.

This latest fix mainly address Chrono Trigger's UI and menu sub-system, including changes to visual appearance and screen layout, as we?ll as providing a much smoother experience for players using controllers or keyboards. Alongside these changes are some undisclosed general bug fixes.

And the beat goes ??on?, a fifth patch is already being worked on in order to allow plays to redefine their controls. This will allow for button bindings to be switched around to suit your own playstyle. There is no specific date for the next patch, but is expected in late July.

Chrono Trigger is available now on P??C, Nintendo DS and mobile devices.

The post Square Enix release fourth?? patch for Chrono Trigger PC?? port appeared first on Destructoid.

And that's why, you never port a mobile version to PC without fixing it up first

Steam releases, especially for developers who are relatively new to the PC platform are so hit or miss it's crazy. Sometimes a studio will pl??op out an amazing PC edition that needs next to no updates, and on other occasions teams will leave complete disaster?s untouched.

Square Enix is scrambling to address their Chrono Trigger PC release to prevent the latter scenario from happening, and in just a few months ??it's hosting its third major update -- all of which are meant to clean things up. The UI is now more keyboard or controller friendly (previously it was linked more to the mobile edition which was not fun), and battles will be a lot smoother going forward, as well as the general speed of the game.

They still have a litt?le ways to go if you can be?lieve it!

Chrono Trigger [Steam]

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Today's update has a new UI

Square Enix put the classic Super Nintendo RPG Chrono Trigger on Steam back in February, and it was such a pleasant surprise -- until we got a closer look at the port. In short, it just seemed off.

The PC version used a mishmash of graphical filters that made the character sprites and background art look like a blurry mess, and the user interface wasn't well-suited t??o the ??platform. Needless to say, this wasn't the "definitive edition" the company originally suggested it would be.

In the time since, Chrono Trigger got a patch that added an "Original?" graphics setting and cleaned up the font and dialog boxes. Today, Squar?e Enix has issued a second update with more refinements:

• A new battle user interface (UI) has been added based on the look and feel of the original Chrono Trigger.
• An option has been added to select between the UI optimised for controller/keyboard mentioned above, and the current UI optimised for mouse & touch panels. This option appears in “settings” in the main menu.
• The game can now be paused during battle by using the pause button on controller, or the Space bar on the keyboard.
• Adjusted the look of playable characters on the world map to be more in-line with the original version of Chrono Trigger.
• The resolution of animated cut-scenes has been improved.
• The display area of animated cut-scenes has been increased.
• Fixed instances where the game slowed down during certain scenes.
• The Korean font has been updated.
• Other small bugs are fixed.

The PC port of Chrono Trigger looks better every time I see it, but given its less-than-ideal starting point, there's still plenty of work left to be done when it come??s to touching up the visuals. Square Enix plans to roll out another update in early June that will "continue to tweak the UI outside of battle."

Lesson ??learned for futu??re ports of old games, I hope.

Chrono Trigger – Patch #2 Update [Steam]

The post Square Enix is still cleaning up the PC port of Chrono Tr??igger appeared first on Destructoid.

'Original' graphics are back!

Chrono Trigger randomly appearing on Steam should have been a dream come true, but Square Enix's ports of classic RPGs have always been plagued with issues. The most pressing thing wrong with Chrono Trigger was the hideous filter applied to the backgrounds and cha??racter sprites, but today's update has added the option to trigger the? "Original" graphics, which is a good start.

The first in a series of updates that is?n't stopping at just presentation, this patch also addresses things like font sizes, text boxes, t??he intro sequence and dialogue window graphics. This should bring the game more in line with how fans remembered it instead of the softer, less distinguished look the PC port originally had.

Here are the patch notes, for those interested:

• ‘Original’ Graphics Setting: A new option will allow players to choose between the current high-resolution character sprites and background graphics, or an ‘Original’ mode which has a display style closer to that of the original Chrono Trigger.
• Updated Font and Dialogue Boxes: Fonts and dialogue window graphics are updated to give the game a more classic look and feel.
• Adjusted Start-Up Sequence: The order of the animated opening sequences when starting a new game is reworked to be more in line with previous versions of the game.
• Additional enhancements and fixes to the text and graphics within the game to enhance the PC play experience.

CHRONO TRIGGER – Patch #1 Update [Steam Community]

The post Chrono Trigger’s PC port gets its first patch appeared first on Destructoid.

Taking it back to '95

A lot of people were initially stoked when Square Enix announced that beloved old-school RPG Chrono Trigger was coming to Steam. That sweetness turned a little sour when it was then realised that it was the mobil??e port, which features new visuals and a new UI system that turned off many in the community.

Well, it seems that Square are acknowledging their nostalgia faux-pas, as the publisher have announced that work is being done to, among other things, make the PC port feel more like the SNES original that fans k??now and love.

"We have been working on addressing the issues that you’ve raised, and will be releasing a number of patches over the coming months," said Square Enix in a post on the game's Steam page. "We’re aiming to release the first of these patches in the first half of April, and the biggest change is that it will include an option to switch between the current high-resolution graphics, and the original graphical style of Chrono Trigger."

The post goes on to say that a full list of changes to the game will be posted in the near future. In addition to this, the availability of the game's Limited?? Edition has been extended until April 30. Hopefully fans that were disappointed in the initial release of the five-star classic can take heart in these upcoming changes.

Chrono Trigg??er to receives new patc?hes, classic graphics mode [Steam]

The post Chrono Trigger on PC will be getting a ‘retro graphics’ option appeared first on Destructoid.

Not like this!

A cherished game like Chrono Trigger appearing on Steam should be a clear cause for celebration, yet once again, fans are torn. Toda?y's PC version isn't how you remember the SNES classic.

"If you've had the pleasure of playing Chrono Trigger before, then you'll be pleased to find out that this version includes animated cutscenes, as well as the Dimensional Vortex and Lost Sanctum dungeons from previous versions of the game," Square Enix announced. "We've also updated the controls, graphics and sound to make this the definitive version of Chrono Trigger!"

That's all well and good, at least in theory. Unfortunately, though, the new $15 PC version is based on the mobile port of Chrono Trigger first released in 2011. So the game ends up looking like t??his:

Yeah. Not exactly ideal. It's the Final Fantasy V (and FFVI!) snafu all over again.

Chrono Trigger [Steam]

The post Chrono Trigger has come to Steam, but it loo??ks off appeared first on Destructoid.

From the sublime to the silly, here are a collection of tunes that would make Professor K proud

I am fond of a video game mashup or two, so I was stoked when I heard 2 Mello (the composer for 2064: Read Only Memories) was releasing a Streets of Rage mashup album this week. When it came out on Tuesday, I downloaded it right away for listening to during workouts, and it hasn't disappointed me. He has also released a Notorious B.I.G. and Earthbound mashup album, which is consistently great.

My interest in mashups has been reawakened, so I thought I'd check out what else is out there on SoundCloud and YouTube. And boy, was I in for a treat. Spanning the thoroughly brilliant and the brilliantly daft, there's ??a lot out there to listen to when you want to let the twin worlds of video games and mu?sic collide. Below are a few starter picks that put a smile on my face.

1. "Tetromino Crusher", Undertale x Tetris, NoteBlock

I knew, as soon as I heard it, that "Metal ?Crusher" sounded like Soviet music, but I never put two and two together and realised that the Tetris theme would fit it perfectly. So props to NoteBlock for figuring that out and making the tunes blend together so well! I'm not the biggest fan of the synthy direction they went in with the mashup – I think I would have rather heard the original pieces smashed together – but th??e arrangement gets full marks.

2. "Crash Dat", Crash Bandicoot x Soulja Boy, SteveOfWarr

Yeah...time to start with the silly ones. If you're around my age, you will remem??ber "Crank Dat" as the song that inevitably got put on when everyone was blind rolling drunk. Then everyone tries to Superman at the same time, in different directions. Then someone gets punched in the face. Well, you can relive two different levels of? your youth without getting a honking black eye by listening to this track! Delightful.

3. "Hotline Spikes", Hotline Miami x Death Grips, Sadboy Sheldon

The soundtrack to Hotline Miami is genuinely good "everyday" music, and I have had it on in the background while finishing off uni work. "Crystals" by M|O|O|N and "Deep Cover" by Sun Araw are my favourite tracks from the original game, but this mix of "Miami 2" and "Spikes" by Death Grips works equally well. I often walk to work with this playing on my phone, because the spacy electro backing sort of cancels out MC Ride's aggression – which is better for first thing in the morning than "GUILLOTIIIIIIIINE".

4. "Walking on Sherbet Land", Mario Kart 64 x Katrina & The Waves, FizzyNote

Oooh, this one gets me giddy. Katrina & the Waves are a bit of a cheesefest, but have a special place on British radio for getting us a hallowed Eurovision win in 1997 with "Love Shine a Light" (this was before we pissed off the entirety of Europe and everyone started voting against us...mumble mumble rigged mumble mumble). The Mario Kart OSTs have the same kind of cheerful, bouncy flare as Katrina & the Waves's most famous track, "Walking on Sunshine", so it makes a lot of sense to combine the two songs. I dare you to be miserable listening to this. It's like a Solero lolly for your ears. 

5. "Get Gerudo", The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time  x Daft Punk, Greg Wood

I think most people are quite bored of hearing "Get Lucky" used in anything and everything, but this fresh remix isn't too overwrought and puts a nice spin on the original. And the tracks blend together like peanut butter?? and chocolate. Good job, Greg!  

6. "Piece of My Mind", Lisa: the Painful RPG x Dr. Dre, Overl00k

LISA: the Painful RPG, like Undertale, was created by a one-man team (Austin Jorgensen), including the music. Austin has become one of my favourite video game composers thanks to LISA, because he knew exactly how to use the soundtrack to portray a bleak hellscape, where men are doomed to fight forever over porno mags and heroin. Adding some Dr. Dre – he of "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" fame (check out the single art) – over the top is a nice touch.

7. Life Will Change (Full Cornered Version), Persona 5 x Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Tsunscreen

Yeah, this works, alright! The parallels between Persona 5 and the Ace Attorney series are pretty obvious (fighting for justice, fancy attire, dramatic musical interludes), so it's great to see the two together. We've had Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton cross-over games, so a Persona Q with Phoenix Wright ch?aracters wouldn't be hal?f bad. I'm not the only one who wants that, right?

*tumbleweed*

8. "Holla If Ya Hear Me in the Corridors of Time", Chrono Trigger x 2Pac, DatManOverDer

2Pac is kind of a staple in the mashup world, but Chrono Trigger is not a frontrunner when it comes to the games side of things. Still, Chrono Trigger is a classic Squaresoft JRPG, so it deserves some l?ove. I've yet to play it, but if this tune is a??nything to go by, I will be swept away by the atmosphere.

9. "3005 PM", Animal Crossing x Childish Gambino, pomelojuice

There's something very fitting about putting one of the dreamy AC songs together with Childish Gambino, one of the more mellow rappers on this list. While "Walking on Sherbert Land" is a bright orange ??fizzy drink, th??is mashup is a soothing cup of chamomile tea. 

10. "If I Could I Would Play Mii Channel??", Mii Channel (Wii) x Blackbear, ?miyu

I couldn't round off this list without a Wii hardware reference, right? But instead of going with one of the cheesier Wii Shop mashups (and Lord knows I love the "Hotline Bling" mashup), I decided to go with something a little more R&B-influenced that also pays homage to the defu??nct Mii Channel. I have fond memories of downloading Mii models based on various celebrities and pop culture icons, and people used to put a bucketload of time and effort into creating the most life-like and/or grotesque avatars they could muster. I'll never forget you, Kermit Mii.

Do you have any favourite video game mashups that I haven't mentioned? Which is your favourite track on the list? Let me know in the comments down below!

The post Video game mashups to brighten up your day appeared first on Destructoid.

I still can't tell the difference

[Ricky Namara absolutely nails that feeling of paranoia I get every time I go into a game store and look at box art while looking over my shoulder to make sure nobody thinks knows I'm a pervert staring at particular titles. My mother still probably thinks I'm a pervert from watching me beat Metal Gear Solid 3 while being chased by a robot with a bikini-clad chick on the back of the bike driven by my one-eyed Snake. Even typing that out felt dirty. My main man Ricky got featured on Destructoid by writing a kickass blog. Write one for yourself, and see as your perversion is splayed out for the [m]asses! - Wes]

My love affair with JRPGs began with Chrono Trigger on a cold winter afternoon in 1995. I was a young, bright-eyed kid on an exchange student program experiencing the U.S. of A. for the very first time in my life, and my host family owned an SNES that their kids barely? ever used. One of their kid's friends brought over "this game with a kewl box art" that he impulse-bought, but both were quick to lose all interest over it, for what they told me later was the massive amount of, "talky-talky bits."

I asked them if I could play the game if they weren't going to play it. They said they didn't care before rushing outside to play like normal kids. I p??icked up the controller, restarted the game, and pressed the button for "New Game" before succumbing to its warm, gentle, lover-like embrace.

You never forget your first.

Now bear in mind I was not a video game virgin. I had an Atari 2600 when I was in elementary school and had a blast navigating Q*Bert up and down those blasted?? hexagonal pyramids before Mario took over platforming duties for the NES. I got a Seg??a Genesis for my tenth birthday, and spent so many unforgettable afternoons navigating the raging streets in order to try and save the city from the dastardly Mr. X with my trusty partners Blonde Caveman, Stripper Xena, and Robot Grandpa.

That last part was not a joke.

Yes, that boxing kangaroo is a playable character. No, that's not a joke either.

Even then there was something that felt missing from the games that I played up to that point: A plot that makes sense to me. Why must a plumber be the one to save the princess from an evil dino turtle? What, was Link too constipated from Taco Tuesday and had to relegate his duties to the guy who cleaned his pipes? Also, why did the police force only send three ass-whoopin' detectives to combat the waves of crime hitting their city, and yet still have the reso?urces to spare for rocket-launching officers in Lamborghini patrol cars?

These were the kinds of thoughts that h??aunted my young mind as I played my games. Yes, I was a really weird kid.

"Time to rain some FREEDOM on this city!!"

With Chrono Trigger, that problem was not only solved but also turned into a proper motivation for my younger self to keep playing the game. Here was a kid, perhaps around the same age as I was at the time, who got transported into wondrous new locales and allied himself with a colorful cast in order to survive long enough to find his way home. Add to the fact that the lead was a silent protagonist that I could project whichever of my quirks and insecurities I wanted on him, and I learned firsthand what the word "immersion" truly meant before spending many sleepless nig??hts try??ing to foil the evil Lavos' plans to annihilate humanity.

From that day forth many JRPGs came a-knockin' on my door and I always welcomed them with open arms knowing full well they would continue to challenge my expectations. Tales of Phantasia showed that RPG battles didn't have to be boring; Star Ocean showed that you could, in fact, have an RPG set on the far extreme opposite of medieval times; and Persona showed that the daily lives of Japanese hi?ghschoolers were really,?? really weird.

But, like, sexy weird.

Indeed I fell truly, deeply in love with the JRPG as a genre right on time for the Golden Age of JRPGs to arrive with the coming of Final Fantasy VII, and that love only grew exponentially to the number of JRPGs that was being released for the PlayStation. I even started pursuing titles that were lesser known in the west (at the time), like Ys or Atelier Iris, to open up a whole new world of gaming experiences. Just like "Mambo N??umber Five," the genre only got sweeter as I continued to plumb its depths.

But as I became mo?re and more familiar with said genre, I began noticing some...problems.

Man, look at the size of those "problems!"

It all started with Ar Tonelico, a JRPG with interesting combat mechanics, colorful graphics, and most important of all, a killer soundtrack that was pretty much mandated by the plot. You see, the story revolves around Reyvateils, female "magicians" who use the power of "song magics," or "Hymnos," to unleash earth-shatteringly? powerful spell?s. And every single epic major boss battle fight theme you hear in the game is explained in-game as the Reyvateils singing their heart out to help you defeat said baddies with their Hymnos. Jump to 2:24 in the video below to skip the bad voice acting and go straight to the good stuff:

The song is called "EXEC_PURGER/" or "EXEC_PAJA/" by the way. You're welcome.

Before you could smite your foes with your almighty Hymnos, howev??er, you needed to learn them first, and you could only learn how to wield the power of the Hymnos if you earned your chosen Reyvateil's trust. And you earned that trust...by taking a bath with them.

Pictured: Not porn.

Okay, fine. Maybe the Japanese have a more, shall we say, "open" attitude about two teenagers who were practically strangers sharing the same open air bath with each other. Skinship is very much a real concept over there?, and given the context of?? trust and bond in correlation to harnessing new powers in the game, it still fits the theme. No biggie.

But then we got the Grathnode Crystals installation, a method to make your? Reyvateils even stronger by installing "?upgrades" directly into their bodies by...well, skip to the 2:54 mark and see for yourself:

I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going...

...HE FINGER-BANGED HER!! There's no other way to put it! Oh sure you can be? all coy about it all you want, but deep in the recesses of that perverted side of your mind, that's a finger-bang and you know i??t!

Ever since my encounter with this little title, my eyes started to open as I began to notice more and more of this "naughty" (and to some, kinky) trend encroach my chosen favorite genre. Tales of Vesperia had the series-tradition hotspring scenes, Resonance of Fate had one of the main characters imagining doing the cha-cha on a noble woman's admittedly-perky boobs, and Persona 3 allowed your inner Casanova to become your outer Casanova by giving you the option to (implied) bang every single fem??ale member of your investigation team. The PSP remake took it up a notch by allowing you to switch your main character's gender and (implied) bang every single mal??e member in your team, INCLUDING A TEN-YEAR-OLD BOY!!

"Paging Mr. Hansen. Mr. Chris Hansen."

There were even examples dating back before the Golden Age of JRPGs, which begged the question: Was this something that only recently started happening, or have JRPGs always been this "naughty" and only now, as a full-grown adult, was that something to which I began to take notice? Because I can't quite recall a scene where Crono peeked in on Marle and Lucca while the two were taking a nice long steamy bath in a hotspring while complaining about the sizes of their boobs, and yet those kinds of things all of a sudden became an accepted norm when anyone started talking about JRPGs. One would only need to simply take one look at the cover art of a Hyperdimension Neptunia game and knew PRECISELY what they were getting themselves into: Turn-based combat, grinding the level system, and lengthy dialog? filled w??ith innuendos and high-pitched squeals.

?"You kno?w, the usual JRPG fare," the general public would say.

Pictured: P-Porn?

"Having raunchy bits" had all of a sudden become one of the defining features of a JRPG, quite as much as protagonists that are barely old enough to drive and the power of friendship trumping the evil Anarkhog, The Howling M?ad Demon of Urd'urrr'urddd'rrrdu'urrrr. While it's true that these were mostly either light distractions or played for laughs in-game, the fact th??at they are prevalent in a large number of JRPGs coming out of Japan these days made me feel iffy each time I browsed the New Releases section of my local game store.

Because I knew that at least one of the patrons of that store was gi??ving me...The Look.

THAT look.

I have a younger brother, the runt of the litter who, due to our family's circumstances, was born much, much later than my younger sister and I. Whenever we go to hang out or buy games, we looked a whole lot more like a young father and his son than a pair of siblings. One day we went to a game store so he could pick up a copy of Atelier Rorona, and right before we could go to the cashier this girl stepped up to us and said, "You're setting a bad example by letting your son play those games."

I wish I could say I had a s?cathing comeback for her, but we both only stood dumbstricken as she walked out of the store shaking her head. My brother was genuinely confused as to what the hell was that all about, but I ?knew precisely what that was all about. It's right there in the way she said "those games": How could I, a responsible father," possibly allow my young "son" to buy video games geared for perverts?

Oh we laugh about that now, how she both mistook us for father and son, as well as her overall genre blindness over what JRPGs were supposed to be about. But at the time, what that girl said really, really stung. Especially given the fact that there was nothing even R??EMOTELY porn-y about the game's cover art!

"Eyup, that's a penis."

I suppose what I am trying to say with all of this, dear Internet, is that please don't misjudge us JRPG fans and our chosen genre too harshly. Yes, some of us got into this genre looking for the perfect waifu (or husbando, a term that requires another rant). Yes, some of us got into it specifical?ly looking for all of those naughty bits the developers threw our way. Yes, some of us can be perverted. But that's not what defines us as fans of JRPGs.

We became fans of JRPGs because, well, we liked them. We liked the aesthetics, we liked the themes and tropes, and we liked how the genre presented us with its uni?que brand of the call to adventure. We the fans of this beloved genre just wanted nothing more than to celebrate it by answering that call, just like how I did in that cold winter afternoon in 1995.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to lock my doors and shut my blinds, because I need to finish up Disgaea 5 and it takes waaaaay too long to expl?ain why two of my main characters are dressed like a pair of male and female strippers.

Don't judge me.

The post ‘It’s not porn, Mom! It’s a JRPG!’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Better late than never

Cosmic Star Heroine was successfully Kickstarted back in 2013, and was intended to be a throwback to latter-day 16-bit role playing games like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. Originally intended for release in December 2014, the title has been delayed repeatedly, but finally released a couple of weeks ago for the PC and PS4. You might know the developers, Zeboyd Games, from their work on the Penny Arcade role-playing series, or their own titles on Steam and Xbox Live. Cosmic Star Heroine is a hug??e step up from Zeboyd's ear?lier work, and it's pretty clear to see why this game took a lot longer than their previous titles.

Unfortunately, the delays meant that Zeboyd released Cosmic Star Heroine i??n the middle of one of the biggest months for RPGs I've ever seen. Was it worth the wait?

Cosmic Star Heroine (PC [reviewed], Linux, Mac, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One) 
Developer: Zeboyd Games
Publisher: Zeboyd Games 
Released: April 11, 2017 (PC, PS4) TBD (Vita, Mac, Linux, Xbox One)
MSRP: $14.99

Cosmic Star Heroine tells the story of Alyssa L'Salle, the top agent at the super-secret Agency for Peace and Intelligence. The graphics and gameplay are sort of a mashup of the greatest hits from '90s Japanese Role Playing Games. Chrono Trigger is the biggest influence but there's DNA in there from Final Fantasy X, Phantasy Star, Suikoden, and many others. The programmers are huge fans of JRPGs, and they got their start working together by making Dragon Quest knockoffs on Xbox Live's Indie game showcase. There are plenty of references in Cosmic Star Heroine to their earlier titles, especially Breath of Death VII and Cthulu Saves the World. 

This isn't to say that Cosmic Star Heroine is derivative, far from it. There are a lot of new ideas here, and all of the playable charact??ers are all extremely customizable. This makes combat a lot of fun, whether you choose to roll over everything on Tourist mode or play? on Super Spy difficulty, where one slip-up can mean a party wipe.

There are lots of different systems at play in combat. Every few rounds, a character goes into a "hyper" state, and can do considerably more damage that round. Every attack is worth a certain amount of "style," represented by a percentage under the character's hit points. Using a "burst attack" drains the style meter completely but significantly increases the damage or healing dealt by that ability. You can also gain access to different abilities depending on the shield or weapon and items you have equipped. Additionally, a personalized accessory for each character can augment certain abilities or change how they ??work. Finally, there are three different enemy types (organic, robotic, and spec??tral) that have weaknesses to different elements and status effects. There's a lot to keep track of, but somehow it never becomes overwhelming.

The four-person party is fully restored after every battle, so there's no need for an inventory full of healing items and status cures. Each character has eight slots they can fill with earned abilities, and you can swap these any time you're not in combat. With few exceptions, these abilities are used once per battle, though you can "??refresh" all of one character's abilities by sacrificing a turn. Figuring out which of the 11 playable characters' abilities synergize best with themselves and the other party members is a lot of fun, and exploiting the many systems here to break the game over your knee is encouraged. Every character plays completely differently, and it's an interesting challenge trying to figure out how to incorporate a mustachioed, hip-thrusting robot who gives the party bonuses by killing himself with a rookie cop who gets stronger the more he gets hit, or an insectoid alien who can kill enemies with a song.

Just like Chrono Trigger, battles play out on the same screen y??ou do your exploring. You can see the turn order on the right side of the screen and plan your moves accordingly. Once defeated, enemies never respawn, but you can choose to replay battles from the pause menu if you feel like grinding for credits or experience. Late in the game Alyssa can?? equip a special shield that allows her to team up with other characters, but if you're expecting characters to join together for triple and quadruple techs, you'll be disappointed. 

The story is reasonably well written and moves briskly, with plenty of humor thrown in. There are quite a few references to other games and pop culture, such as the Sonic Knuckles you can equip to make the bruiser character move faster, or the Resident Evil-inspired side mission you can undertake in a zombie-filled police station. The plot's not too dark for kids, though there are a lot of implied, off-screen deaths. Each of the characters has their own personality, and they're all pretty likable. Some are more unique than others, but I didn't have any problem putting the green-haired pop idol and the ghos?tly private investigator in a portly cybersuit on the same team. 

The music is definitely worth a mention. Composed by HyperDuck Soundworks, the audio perfectly evokes the late '90s sci-fi feel the game is aiming for. There are plenty of synthesizers, saxophones, and wailing guitars, and even a mixed language vocal track performed by Plants Vs. Zombies' Laura Shigihara. Like Jordan said, the soundtrack is not messing around.

As much as I liked the audio, the visuals are just as good, if not better. Th?ere are three wildly different planets to visit, each with ??their own architecture, vegetation, and people to talk to. The spritework on display is extremely impressive, especially when you consider that most of the enemies you encounter only appear a few times each. There aren't a lot of palette-swapped goblins here, and every area you visit has a different ecosystem. On the harder difficulty levels, you'll constantly have to adjust your tactics as new combinations of enemies come into play. Since you automatically heal after every fight, every battle becomes a new puzzle to figure out. 

It's not all starshine and kittens, though. I really wanted to love this game, but it got in its own way far too often for me to give it an unqualified recommendation. I ran into a lot of bugs, and I'm not just talking about the Cyber-insect party member. My first crash came just 20 seconds in when I changed from windowed mode to fullscreen. Not the best first impression. On more than one occasion the combat froze after I entered a command, and each time this happened I had to reset. I lost about an hour and a half of progress the first time this happened because I didn't realize there was no autosave. After clearing that section, my character got st?uck in the scenery on the side of a corridor, ??forcing another reset. I ran into three or four places like this before I learned to save frequently and to avoid running alongside walls, but that took a lot of fun out of searching for secrets.

There are a few other annoyances I came across; nothing major, but they all detracted from the experience in some way. There's a run button, but there's really no reason not to run at all times, so I don't know why this couldn't have been a toggle. You can pass through non-player characters freely, presumably so that you don't need to worry about getting trapped by one. In order to talk or interact with someone, you need to be close, which makes sense. But if you get TOO close, the option to speak with that NPC disappears. I suppose it would be difficult to talk to someone while you were standing inside ?them.

Later in the game, you gain access to a home base, like the castle in Suikoden. Whenever you're on this base, the rest of your party spreads out so that you can talk to them, similar to the Normandy sections in Mass Effect. The only problem with this is that the shop on the base frequently updates its inventory, and it's hard to tell what's an upgrade because whenever you're there, Alyssa is the only character in the party. Unless you just want to buy some gear on faith, you have to leave t?he base to compare their current equipment to what's avai??lable at the store. Again, these are minor annoyances, but I feel that stuff like this breaks the flow of the game.

Playing through took me about 12 hours, though it might take more or less time if you bump up the difficulty or stick to the critical path. None of the problems I had with this game are insurmountable, and I'm hoping that Zeboyd will be able to fix them with an update. In spite of the bugs, I enjoyed exploring the galaxy with Alyssa and her crew, but you may want to wait for a patch or two before mainlining this Heroine.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Cosmic Star Heroine appeared first on Destructoid.

'Top secret'

Directly following statements by the company president that Square Enix would be investing more into the Nintendo Switch, here comes Chrono Trigger director and Square long-timer Takashi Tokita with another tease. Just th??e other day on Twitter he posted a picture of the Switch tablet, noting "top secret mission starts!"

In recent years Tokita has served as a producer for side projects like Final Fantasy ports, as well as garnering "special thanks" credits on a number of bigger projects like I Am Setsuna. A Final Fantasy legacy collection has been rumored for a long while on multiple platforms, and given the recent announcement of the Seiken Densetsu collection for Switch, ?this seems to perfectly line up with Tokita's recent happenings and Square Enix's business model of pushing mo??re remakes.

All we know for sure is tha?t there's going to be a l?ot of Square stuff to play on the Switch in a year's time.

Takashi Tokita [Twitter]

The post Chr??ono Trigger director teases new Nintendo Switch project appeared first on Destructoid.

Same

Creating a cultural phenomenon is a weird thing. Often times you see the top minds retreat into a hole somewhere, or try to desperately move away from being known as "the guy/gal who made one thing." On other occasions, they fall in love with their creation and make more of it throughout their lifetime. And in more complex situations, like Hideo Kojima, they feel simultaneously proud and imprisoned by it. But Chrono Trigger director Takashi Tokita seems just fine.

Speaking to game Informer, Tokita noted, "Personally, if there is ever an opportunity, I would love to see a high-quality, high-end version of Chrono Trigger. Or a movie production, or something of ??the sort."

He goes on to explain why Chrono Trigger was such a success, stating, "It's probably considered sacred since the companies merged. It was essentially a dream mix between Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest; creating or exceeding what it was in its original form is a very difficult feat. Once everyone was done developing Final Fantasy VI, hordes of staff helped out on Chrono Trigger. At the end, we had a couple hundred working on the game at the same time. It was kind of like a grand festival – it was really fun. [Tetsuya] Nomura was actually creating the environment background pieces in Chrono Trigger – like the courthouse scene, that was created by him. But everyone probably enjoyed how we were able to do things we'd never done with Chrono Trigger. That was the most exciting part."

Seeing that staff from the timeless Final Fantasy VI helped makes perfect sense. I still go back and replay Chrono Trigger every other year or so, and after renting it for the first time, it was one of the most impactful experiences of my life. I had played many JRPGs before it, but that was the one that? really made me fall in love with the genre. I hope we get to see more of it someday.

Chrono Trigger Director W??ould “Love To See” New Version [Game Informer]

The post Chrono Trigger’s director wants the series to live on with a ‘high-end version’ appeared first on Destructoid.

But... the future refused to change

Experience Points is a series in which I highlight some of the most memorable things about a particular game. These can include anything from a specific scene or moment, a character, a weapon or it?em, a level or location, a part of the soundtrack, a gameplay mechanic, a line of dialogue, or anything else about the game that is particularly noteworthy and/or awesome.

This series will no doubt contain spoilers for the games being discussed,?? so keep that in mind if you plan on playing the game for the first time.

This entry is all about Chrono Trigger. Feel free to sha??re some of your own favorite things about the game in the comments!

It's not easy being green

I absolutely love when games give us unconventional heroes. Chrono Trigger is full of them; apart from the three main protagonists, the party also recruits a humanoid frog, a ?robot, a cave woman, and even a villainous mage. But let's face it, t?he best character by far has got to be Frog.

Frog is a very mysterious character at first. He sort of appears out of nowhere to help Crono and Lucca out of a jam, and doesn't really explain who he is, where he came from, or why he is a? bipedal talking frog. But the party just sort of accepts this strange fellow and welcomes him into their midst without question. He is really good with a sword, after all!

Later, it's revealed that Frog's real name is actually Glenn??, and he used to be a human before Magus killed his friend Cyrus and transformed him into an amphibian. He has since dedicated his life to tracking down and defeating Magus to get revenge for the death of Cyrus, and probably to try and get his old body back as well.

Frog is just all around cool, though. I love everything about him: his triumphant theme so?ng, his victory animation where he flexes his surpris??ingly huge muscles, his fancy Old English accent, the way he hops around instead of walking, and simply the basic fact that he's a walking, talking frog wearing clothes and wielding a large sword. He's just the greatest!

Moral dilemmas at the Millennial Fair

Chrono Trigger is one of those games that makes the player very aware of their actions. Almost as soon as the game begins, the playe??r is being judged, even when they're just trying to enjoy a lighthearted? festival. Of course, they won't be aware of this until later on.

At a certain point during Crono's adventure, he is apprehended by the chancellor of Guardia Castle for allegedly kidnapping the princess, Marle, and is swiftly put on trial. As the trial progresses, the player may quickly become overcome with dread when they realize their seemingly simple gameplay choices are in question. Remember that man's lunch you stole at the fair? Or the girl with the lost cat who you failed to help? Or the moment you bumped into Marle and then went to pick up the pendant she dropped? The player may not have thought much about thes??e things at the time, but now these simple actions are being used as evidence against their c??haracter in a life or death situation.

Now, in reality the choices don't actually affect much. Crono will still be thrown in prison and given the death penalty whether or not he's found guilty. Of course, I had no idea of this at the time. I figured I had completely screwed myself over by stealing lunches and grabbing dropped pendants, and I was starting to feel really bad about the way I had been playing. I was so used to being able to do whatever I wanted in games, without repercussion. Going into other people's houses and smashing all their pots? No problem! Taking money and items from their cabinets without their consent? Go right ahead! But now, in Chrono Trigger, I'm suddenly being j??udged, and I look like a complete jerk.

Later, Crono finds out that the chancellor is, in fact, a fake and that the trial was a set-up. But even so, it still got me to think twice about every action I took in Chrono Trigger from that point on. You never know when some seemi??ngly insignificant choice could have major consequences!

Yearnings of the wind

Chrono Trigger has an excellent soundtrack in general, but there's one?? song in particular th??at I love more than the rest.

"Wind Scene" plays on the overworld map in 600 AD. I'm honestly not entirely sure what it is about this song that makes me love it so much, but hearing it always leaves me feeling peaceful and happy. Whenever I play Chrono Trigger, as soon as I get to the Middle Ages, I just sit around on?? the overworld and listen to this song play on a loop. It's just so lovely and m??ystical, I can't get enough of it.

A few other songs come close, including the heroic "Frog's Theme" and the mysterious "Schala's Theme" (which was bizarrely sampled in a rap song by Wiz Khalifa... anyone rememb?er that?), but "Wind Scene" is my comfort song. It never fails to lift my spirits.

All life begins with Nu and ends with Nu

If Chrono Trigger had a mascot, it would probably be the Nu. Nus are odd, round creatures found throughout the game. They exist in all eras, from 65,000,000 BC all the way up to 2300 AD. They can be mercha??nts, enemies, assistants, and regular old NPCs.

But what exactly is a Nu, anyway? The one found in 2300 AD is actually a robot built by Belthasar, programmed with his memories and left in charge of the time-tr?aveling ship, the Epoch. So are all of the Nus robots? It's not really clear, although some of the other Nus the player can come across behave more like living creatures than machines.

One example is my very favorite Nu. He can be found walking around the Zeal Palace, behaving very strangely and sidling sideways across a platform. He politely a??sks Crono to scratch his back for him. After a nice, satisfying scratch, a message pops up which says, "You discover??ed the Nu's scratch-point!" while a little victory tune plays (Oh good, I've been wondering where their scratch-point was the entire game!). This doesn't actually do anything significant, but it's still pretty much the best NPC interaction I've ever had. God I love those Nus!

Screams internally

This is the first time I've featured a sound effect as a noteworthy Experience Points memory, but this one definitely deserves praise. The sound of Lavos screaming is something that has stuck firmly in my mind whenever I think about Chrono Trigger.

It's a truly terrifying noise; a high-pitched, bloodcurdling roar which lasts just a bit longer than one might expect. It's got this otherworldly quality to it, and it definitely does the job of making Lavos ?seem like a frightening, formid??able foe.

In terms of classic villainous sound effects, I'd put Lavos's scream just about at the top of the list, well above Kefka's laugh, Sinistar's evil taunting, and even the horrifying ambient noises of Giygas. It's a scream that says, "I will destroy you and everything you love," and that's exactly what he'll ??do should Crono and friends fail in their mission.

The kingdom in the clouds

The world of Chrono Trigger is relatively small compared to most RPGs, but the game makes up for that by having the player explore through several unique eras, each with its own distinct theme and alterations to the world. Starting in the present day, players can travel all the way back to prehistoric times in a land roaming with dinosaurs and cavemen, and up through the ages to the future world, a desolate wasteland of machinery and food short?ages.

But the most intriguing time period is the Age of Antiquity in 12,000 BC. When Crono and the gang first arrive in Antiquity, the world appears to be even worse off than the post-apocalyptic future. It's essentially an Ice Age, with a powerful blizzard covering everything with snow and ice and only a few scattered caves are present for shelter. That is until the party comes across a strange building known as the Skyway, which teleports them u?p into the clouds to the floating island kingdom of Zeal.

Zeal is a kingdom created by magic as a way to escape the harsh winter climate. Only the Enlightened Ones, people who can use magic, are allowed in the kingdom, with normal folk cast away to live on the frozen continent underneath. Not only is Zeal a beautiful place, bright and sunny with a waterfall flowing down into the eternal blizzard below, but it's also full of secrets and strange occurrences. The kingdom is home to many strange individuals, books overflowing with magical power, and all sorts of neat stuff (not to mention an excellent theme song). A few buildings even have ??hidden passages which can only be found by players clever e??nough to solve a certain riddle.

I bet it would be really fun to live in a place like Zeal, even though many of its denizens are rather snobbish, and in some cases, total assholes (I'm looking at you, Dalton!). Luckily, there are other much nicer people like Schala and Janus to balance out the snobbery. I'll just chill with them ??instead.

The nature of machinery

Chrono Trigger has? a ton of lengthy, rewarding side quests, my favorite of which begins in the Middle Ages (and actually turns out to be two side quests in one!). A woman named Fiona lives in a barren desert wasteland, which used to be a thriving forest before enemies appeared and destroyed it. After defeating the fiend lurking in the desert, the party returns to Fiona, who is eager to start planting trees to restore the forest.

Unfortunately, Fiona fears it will take ages to plant enough trees for the forest to return to ??its former glory. She certainly would not be able to finish the task in her lifetime, as it could take centuries. Overhearing this, the party's mechanical friend, Robo, kindly offers his services to help Fiona plant trees. Robo b??ids farewell to Crono and friends, and tells them to look for him in the future. Outside in the desert, Robo can be seen working diligently by plowing the land, sowing seeds, and even acting as a scarecrow (adorable!).

400 years later, the party arrives to find a huge, lush forest in place of the desert. In the center of the forest is a shrine dedicated to its roboti??c creator. Lucca reactivates Robo, who is pleased to see everyone again after hundreds of years, and propos?es a party to celebrate their reunion.

During their celebratory campfire in the forest, a second side quest begins. A casual remark from Marle leaves Lucca dwelling on her memorie??s. Late at night, after everyone else has fallen asleep, Lucca steps out to open up a portal back to a moment from her past. It's a deeply personal, tragic moment where Lucca's mother gets caught in a machine, resulting in an injury that leaves her paralyzed. A young Lucca, powerless, must stand by and watch it all happen.

But this time, future Lucca can intervene! Well, possibly. If the player is very quick a??nd careful, there is a?? password to discover which can shut off the machine, saving Lucca's mother from a life without walking. This is actually very difficult to do correctly, though, so most players will unfortunately fail, leaving Lucca to watch her mother's accident all over again.

Afterwards, Lucca returns to the present to find Robo waiting for her. If the past remains unchanged, the two have a touching conversation where Robo offers to donate his legs to Lucca's mother so she can w??alk again. Now, this may sound cold of me, but I actually prefer to leave the past as is and not rescue Lucca's mother, just because the cutscene between Lucca an?d Robo afterwards is so much better. It shows a funny, caring side of Robo where he offers to help make Lucca happier, and Lucca calls him a friend which he seems to be pleasantly surprised by. It's such a heartwarming exchange, even though it comes at a cost.

Past Experience Points

.01: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
.02: Shadow of the Colossus
.03: EarthBound
.04: Catherine
.05: Demon's Souls
.06: No More Heroes
.07: Paper Mario
.08: Persona 4
.09: Final Fantasy IX
.10: Mega Man Legends
.11: Rayman Origins
.12: Metal Slug 3
.13: Animal Crossing
.14: Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
.15: Super Mario Sunshine
.16: Final Fantasy VII
.17: Nier

The post Experience Points .18: Chrono Trigger appeared first on Destructoid.

Listen to a sample of 'Scattering Blossoms'

_{[Disclosure: Jayson Napolitano, the producer of Game Music Lullabies Volume II, previously wrote for Destructoid. As always, no relationships, personal or professional, were factored into this news post.]}

"Aquatic Ambiance" was the song that got me hooked on Prescription for Sleep: Game Music Lullabies, a soothing album performed by saxophonist Norihiko Hibino (Metal Gear Solid) and pianist AYAKI. The duo is back for Volume II, which releases digitally on April 27, 2015.

Scarlet Moon Records is unveiling the track list leading up to that date. So far, three songs have been announced: "The Streets of Whiterun" from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, "The One Who is Torn Apart" from Xenogears, and "The Moon" from DuckTales. That last one makes me happy.

Today, we're able to announce the next dreamy track -- "Scattering Blossoms" from Chrono Trigger -- and share a sample. Listen to it on our SoundCloud page and try not to fall asleep at work.

The post Drift away?? with Chrono Trigger and Game Music Lullabies Volume II appeared first on Destructoid.

Mine involves a time machine

Although many people like to have a conversation about what the "best" game of all time is, the conversation about the most "important" game you've ever played in your life doesn't happen with the same frequency. Some games just come?? along at the right time in your life, whether it's adolescence or?? your journey into young adulthood, and influence you in ways that no other game has before it.

Let me explain mine to give you a bit more background on what I'm talking about, so you can share yours in?? turn.

The most important game I've ever played in my gaming career is Chrono Trigger. Although I had dabbled in many JRPGs before it such as Dragon Warrior and a select few games in the Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger arrived at a perfect time in my life. I was approaching my teenage years, and had more time to play games so long as my schoolwork was finished -- this allowed me to become engrossed in the genre like never before. Natu?rally, I rushed home to finish all my homework so I could play it as often as I could -- if there was a time to do the "act like I'm going to sleep then jump out of bed and play the SNES with the volume off" trick as a kid, this was it.

I was completely swept away by its world, characters, and narrative, and couldn't put it down. It was one of the first games I felt compelled to beat multiple times over right after finishing it, which is something I had never done before with an RPG. It was also one of the first games that really "enlightened" me in terms of learning how to play JRPGs when it comes to tactics, and the general rules of the fran?chise (grinding, dedicated exploration for best-in-slot super-items, and so on).

Chrono Trigger is far from my favorite game -- it's not even my favorite JRPG (Skies of Arcadia holds that honor) -- but it holds a speci?al place?? in my heart for a lot of other reasons, and I'll never forget it.

Has any game influenced you in similar ways?

The post What is the most life-changing game you’ve ever played? appeared first on Destructoid.

Time traveling bass frequencies

I was up very late the other night reading Mario Kart 8 reviews from all over the Intern??et. My excitement for this game can hardly be contained, an??d I'm looking forward to visiting my local GameStop this weekend to get my hands-on this highly anticipated title from Nintendo. This is one of those times where I wish I could hop into the Epoch and have the game in my hands right now.

In other news, I have compiled a new playlist on the Destructoid Soundcloud with some excellent Chrono Trigger inspired remixes. H?ave any other sugges?tions? Drop a line in the comments below.

The post Weekend Playlist: Sweet Chrono Trigger remixes appeared first on Destructoid.

Stay awhile and listen

Boston-based VGM folk band The World is Square just released their sophomore album Stay Awhile and Listen, a followup to their 2012 album No Phoenix Down Can Save You Now. Featuring songs from Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario RPG; the album wi??ll surely entic??e any SNES junkie to kick back, blow on a cartridge, and reminisce the days of top-loader gaming while relaxing to the band's acoustic arrangements.

The post The World is Square appeared first on Destructoid.

Have some free samples

Last year, Blake Robinson announced that he would be working on a three-part tribute to the legendary Square role-playing game, Chrono Trigger. Volume One of the Chrono Trigger Symphony released in August and Volume Two came out in September, but there was a much longer wait befor??e the final installment, which just released a few days ago.

Naturally, we have a few samples from the album on the Destructoid Soundcloud, which is conveniently embedded below. The full album can be downloaded from iTunes or Loudr.

The post Chrono Trigger Symphony Volume 3 is out now appeared first on Destructoid.

Original music in the style of 16-bit boss battles

Retro game inspired music speaks to me (as I'm sure it does for many of you), and while I do enjoy a good remix/remake/remaster here and there, a lot of my favorite pieces are original compositions. Electronic music creator Mark Reichwein appears to agree, and he is putting together an entire album done in t??he style of Super Nintendo boss battle themes.

Reichwein stresses that these are not to be remakes of the music from twenty years ago, but original pieces done in the style of various '90s era games, using the sounds from those games. He already has tracks based from Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI completed, and is seeking funding for the rest of the album. Naturally, I'm most looking forward to what he can do with the sounds of EarthBound.

The album is planned to have at least seven tracks on it, but depending on how much money ?the Kickstarter campaign raises, it could increase to up to twelve tracks. Interestingly, for the bonus tracks, backers will get a vote on which game he will emulate for the final product. Neat.

SNES Album: Boss Battles for the Soul [Kickstarter]
[Header image by MauroIllustrator]

The post Boss Battle??s for the Soul emulates SNES bo??ss themes appeared first on Destructoid.

Blake Robinson's second Chrono album takes the fight to Magus

Blake Robinson is in the process of reproducing the entire Chrono Trigger soundtrack into synthesized orchestral form, and the project started bearing fruit last month. For such a massive game wit?h an equally massive ??score, a single album was not going to cut it. No, this beast would come knocking three times.

The second volume of Chrono Trigger Symphony is now available through Loudr and iTunes for $7.99. The 24-track sophomore collection welcomes Robo and Ayla then runs us right through the showdown with Magus. As before, Blake has provided Destructoid with extended samples of select tracks, so g?ive th??ose a listen if you feel so inclined.

One more album to go! Same time next month, guys?

The post Chrono Trigger Symphony Vol. 2 is hot and ready appeared first on Destructoid.