GameCareerGuide Feature: Narrative Review - Chrono Trigger

Author: by Staff

In its latest feature, GameCareerGuide presents a student's look at the narrative of enduring '90s cult classic Chrono Trigger -- including a look at its characters, world, and successful and unsuccessful plot elements. The RPG, originally released on the Super Nintendo in 1995, captured the imaginations of fans then; its popularity has persisted through a 2001 re-release on the PlayStation and a DS port, which came to market late last year. The GameCareerGuide article, originally written for the IGDA Writers' SIG and GDC Austin -- learn more here -- takes a look at the characters and situations in the '90s classic. Author Michael Brannan describes one particular strength of the game's narrative this way: "This false climax (crisis) marks the first in a series that lets the player get inches away from completing their ultimate goal, but pulling them away at the last moment. This provides a very active overall plot arch with several moments of high emotion and periods of falling action while maintaining a visible goal throughout the vast majority of the game. Chrono Trigger creates its tension not through the usual mire of ambiguity and slow, gradual revelation of mysteries, but instead provides a clear goal and builds tension by setting obstacles in the player's path toward achieving that goal." Says Brannan, the highlight of the game is one of its most enigmatic character, Magus: "Magus was an early villain and for a time seemed to be the game's final boss. Portrayed as the ultimate bad guy, Magus waged war on the otherwise peaceful kingdom of Guardia and was pegged as Lavos's creator when he supposedly summoned the monster to his castle. However, as Crono and co. later learn, Magus was more of a tragic figure, thrown into a dark and distant future from his homeland in the kingdom of Zeal and searching for his lost sister, Schala." To read the rest of the exhaustive narrative analysis, head on over to the full feature at GameCareerGuide.com now.