Interestingly enough, Chrono Trigger had a number of gameplay features that were completely unique for their time as well. The title's inventive battle system worked like no other; for the first time ever, you can say goodbye to those tedious, annoying, interruptive battle transitions. In Chrono Trigger, you can see your enemies in-field and avoid them if you wish to. When you do choose to do battle, the game does not transition to a new screen for battle. Engage an enemy and watch as the battle menu appears on the top or bottom of the screen, accompanied by the sound of a sword being unsheathed. That's all there is to switching to battle in Chrono Trigger; your characters remain in their current locale and the only noticeable change is the battle menu over or beneath them. This was, without a doubt, the most innovative feature in Chrono Trigger. Other than this radical yet astounding change, Chrono Trigger played the same as any other role-playing game, complete with various pop-up battle menus, thick plotlines and, to me anyway, the most memorable characters I have ever seen. The characters you'll meet in Chrono Trigger are absolutely full of personality.

  You probably know about Crono, the young man who loves a good fight and a good celebration, but throughout the game, you meet many more interesting characters from a multitude of time periods, such as the single syllable speaking cavewoman named Ayla, the medieval knight turned frog named Frog who croaks as he speaks in old world style, the humanoid robot named Robo who makes clinking robotic noises as he speaks, the mischievous pendent-wearing, crossbow-shooting girl named Marle, an inventive, big-hearted, purple-haired girl named Lucca and the seemingly evil wizard with a mysterious past named Magus. Chrono Trigger primarily follows the story of Crono, who bumps into a girl named Marle at the Millennium Fair. This event coupled with Lucca's new energy transfer invention sends Marle far into the past, with Crono in pursuit, changing the essence of time itself. The next sequence of events throws Crono and his newfound friends into their inevitable destiny; to fix the very history and fabric of time and save their world from an evil alien parasite known as Lavos.

  The plot picks up very quickly and soon, you find Crono and friends fighting to right the very order of time and change crucial events, which in turn change the world's condition. Changing just one particular event in a certain time period will dramatically affect the course of all times. Getting back to the battle system, Chrono Trigger employs a non-transitional battle system that allows not only for instant battles in-field, and allows for a variety of combination attacks. When you need a more powerful attack, just have Crono and two of us friends put their Techniques, or Techs, together and watch as their magic combines and creates a visual treat as well as a superior attack known as a Triple Tech. You can also have just two characters attack together; this is called a Double Tech.

  Any of these features alone would make Chrono Trigger much more fun and fast-paced than any other role-playing title around and, as if that wasn't enough, Chrono Trigger also included one of the most unique modes ever seen in a console role-playing game: an innovative replay option known as New Game+. New Game+ is a game starting option which lets you use your last saved game's information, items, accessories, armor, weapons and such when you start your saved game over from the beginning. The primary reason for this New Game Plus option is to allow you a more enjoyable way to view all twelve or so of the game's endings. Though relatively short, Chrono Trigger makes up for its length by putting every other role-playing title to shame with its innovative battle system and unmatched replay value, showing just how great RPGs can truly be.
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