Chrono Trigger’s trial is still absolutely brilliant

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 fact, 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, after 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.

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 daughter 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 choices 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.

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 that your actions are perceived, and judged.

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 stand, that can hurt you later. Yet it’s not quite 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 ones.

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 not 100% certain, but this feels like the origin point for the double-attack sword strike (a.k.a. X Strike). And honestly, 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 ideas as the time travel tale twists on.