Is Chrono Trigger worth it?

So i just got the DS version of Chrono Trigger, and I must say that I like it overall. The enemies are all unique and challenging, the combat is unorthodox and entertaining (at least early on. More on that later), the characters are all unique and likable in their own ways (I even like Magus, and ordinarily I can't stand characters that have a ton of angst luggage) and I'm enjoying the insanity that the story has to offer. Seriously, one minute you're in a post-apocalyptic world, talking to some survivors about the symbolism of seeds, then you're in prehistoric... wherever you are getting hit on by hot cave chicks, and somehow it all makes sense in its own, twisted, insane universe where the spot logic usually sits is taken by a five year old that just watched Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future and Terminator back to back. But you see, here's my problem. The only other JRPG that I've really ever played before is FFIII (DS version), so I have no idea if the problem I'm about to talk about is a universal truth in JRP Gs, and it's part of their charm, but, well... the boss battles. Take. FOREVER. In FFIII, bosses were barely tougher than five regular opponents combined. They existed more as a benchmark to measure yourself by, to see whether you had level ground enough, with the possible exception of the salamander boss on the Dwarve's Island. This game is the exact opposite, with bosses being an endurance test more than anything else. I just used the Chrono Trigger, and have been running quests for the reptites for the past two or three hours of game play, having barely come out of the archaeofang battle. It made me realize that the past three or four bosses have taken about a half hour to take down each. And that's not even counting the times I had to restart. I guess that I'm asking if it is truly worth it to play through to the rest of the game just for the story, because somewhere in the past few hours combat has become a pain in the ass, and I find myself avoiding as many enemies as possible. So what do you think? Can the story carry the game through to the end?

The content exclusive to the DS version is a bit sub-par, but otherwise it would definitely be worth it.

If the bosses are taking forever you're doing something wrong. Also if they're killing you. Most of them go down inside of five minutes if you know what you're doing.

Yeah, the bosses really aren't hard. You must be seriously underleveled or have bad equipment or something.

Chrono Trigger bosses aren't long if you find their weak point. Most of them are variations of "Kill part A to expose part B" or "Part C changes weaknesses, use the right elemental attack".

By the way, equipment counts for way more than level in Chrono Trigger.

What a stupid question. Chrono Trigger is THE good JPRG if there ever was one.

Weird. I'm pretty sure that I have the best equipment possible right now. Maybe I just suck at this game.

If the bosses are taking that long, then you weren't grinding enough before hand.

Oh, and you probably haven't figured out their weakness yet? There's usually a pattern or exploitable weakness to fighting them.

You shouldn't need to grind. At all. Ever. As long as you don't run away from fights and did the sidequests, you shoulf be at the right level, if not higher. And I seem to recall the specific bosses spoken of being Glass Cannon types.

You're using techs, right? At that point in the game, your regular attack is pretty much useless.

Okay, well I exaggerated a bit when I was originally posting, but it sure felt that long for some of them. I think a more reasonable guess would place the tougher battles at ten or fifteen minutes, which I say is still too long.

Another thing: If you're using FFIIIDS as your point of comparison, you should probably be aware that it has exceptionally short bosses, made up somewhat by the fact that absolutely everything in that game is a Glass Cannon. Taking three to five times as long as a FFIIIDS boss is normal, possibly still on the short side.

Yeah, now that I think about it, most JRPG boss fights tend to be lengthy and I would actually be surprised that they would be so short in a well known one like a Final Fantasy game.

Final Fantasy bosses were actually all hella short until the active combat era. Most would go down in about 3-5 turns.

Regarding bosses in Trigger, be aware that many of them will counter certain things you do, so don't queue consecutive hits on something right out of the gate or you'll just get yourself triple-nuked. Cautiously poke them once and have a healer ready in case you get counter-nuked. Throw a spell once under the same circumstances. Don't go into all-out damage until you know what they throw back and have a turn rhythm to heal it, or have found alternate targets that don't fire back. You should never ever have to grind in this game, and there are relatively few bosses that even necessitate dipping into your items, but you do need a bit of strategy — this is not a game where you can just mash A and keep heals flowing and expect to win, you need to look for patterns.

edited 14th Dec '10 9:13:56 PM by Pykrete

Watch HCBailly's Let's Play of Chrono Trigger (if you don't mind minor spoilers of mechanics and what you should do). He fights bosses pretty quickly.

Is he the same one that dropped Ocean Palace Lavos without a New Game Plus?

Yep.

Yes.

@ Pykrete: I'd never played an FF Game so I was just guessing based on other JRPGs I've played.

Oh, man. I remember beating the game the first time. Nezbel took hours and hours because I couldn't figure out you're supposed to hit him with lightning first.

I thought you learned lightning beat dino in like the village or something, the point is we learned that early on.

If your paying attention to the battle messages, you see that defense goes down for certain dinosaurs when you hit them with lightning.

I hadn't noticed, and no one tells you that's the only practical way to beat Nezbel is to lower it's outrageously high defense with a lightning attack.

One of the few criticisms of Chrono Trigger is that it's actually rather easy.

I'd say that if you're having trouble on a boss, go and level a little bit. And honestly I like fighting them at lower levels, it adds to the effect. Of at least taking the bosses rather seriously. If you're interested in any kind of challenge, keep going at the pace you're going.

If not, you can always grind your way through the game. And it doesn't take much grinding to make Chrono Trigger easy.

Considering Nizbel is a Dino like the rest of them... Just saying...

If you talk to the NPCs they tell you that dinosaurs don't like lightning.