Should I Play Chrono Trigger First?

So I realize CT is largely considered to be one of the best JRP Gs eve but I was thinking of starting with Chrono Cross simply because a friend of mine who also really enjoys Xenogears just played CC without playing CT and he said it was really good.

I've also talked to others who say that Cross is a better game as long as you don't really associate it with Trigger.

Any recommendations?

The two are rather loosely connected.
It really doesn't matter.
I personally prefer Chrono Trigger to Chrono Cross, and that's the only thing that would have me recommend playing the former before the latter.

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There's some stuff which will only have resonance if you've played the previous game, but Cross isn't a strict sequel to Trigger.

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It may depend on what platforms you have. I know Chrono Trigger has been remade for the DS and the PS 1, I don't know if it's available for digital download on the PS 3 or PSP.

Chrono Trigger is a good game. It is long, has a reasonably interesting story, and has multiple possible outcomes. I found it to be a fun game in general.

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My personal opinion is that Chrono Trigger is much better than Cross, you should play it first, and playing Cross is optional after that.

But ultimately, they're two very different and only loosely connected games. Play whichever one strikes your fancy.

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CT is available for digital download on both PSN and the Wii Virtual Console. If you have access to both, I recommend the Wii version, the PSN version is based on the PS 1 port, which had stupid-long load times. The DS version is probably the best if you can find a copy.

Should you play it first? I would say yes. While CC is not a traditional direct sequel, there are a couple of plot points toward the end that will seem rushed or poorly explained without knowing what happneed in CT (like the final goddamn battle for instance). However you still get a good 25+ hours of mostly coherent story before it runs into that wall, so on the balance, you'd still get your money's worth.

edited 2nd Jan '13 6:14:10 PM by J.C.Lately

Harem anime are like soccer. They go on for hours, nobody scores, and a million fans will insist that you just don't understand.

I recommend you play Trigger *only*, and skip Cross entirely. Even ignoring the CT connections, Cross is a non-stop mess of warped aesops.

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If you really want to play Chrono Cross that badly, play the DS version of Chrono Trigger, as it actually tries to establish a firmer link between the two.

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dear everyone who dislikes Chrono cross.

Screw y'all :P

No U.

The Strong Statured, Fine Featured, Flaxen Haired and Bronze Eyed Gentlepeople's Republic Of Chrono Cross would like to take this moment to suggest: "No U Times Infinity-plus-one No Takebacksies."

Also Cross is effective for having such loose connections, I reckon.

edited 2nd Jan '13 10:35:03 PM by Nicknacks

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Cross makes more sense if you're already familiar with Trigger, but there's a strong chance you'll hate Cross if you're already familiar with Trigger. As such, I'd recommend playing Cross first, then playing Trigger to understand all the references. Assuming you insist on playing Cross

edited 2nd Jan '13 10:49:47 PM by Hylarn

Cross is terrible.

I'd say the question comes down to which (worst case) scenario would bother you more: feeling a backlash against a game while you're playing it because it's not living up to its predecessor, or having fond memories of the sequel damaged when you realize how much better its predecessor is.

Those are worst-cases, though. You may be one of those people who its able to enjoy both games on their own merits, or who doesn't see what the big deal is about Chrono Trigger so Chrono Cross can't "ruin" it for you.

Also, CT's DS version trumps any other thanks to its superior translation. It even makes up for the Lost Sanctum.

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If you've decided not to play Cross however, you should at least grab its soundtrack.

The question isn't what games to play, the question is if they should play CT before CC. We've already had a fair few "don't play CC at all" posts, let's keep to the question.

edited 3rd Jan '13 1:00:53 AM by MrMallard

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I must respectfully disagree, kind sir. I found the DS translation to be rather flat and humourless compared to the SNES version, and removed some of my favourite lines. (Show us your stamp collection, son!)

As to the OP, I would say play CT first and then give CC a try later.

Eh, I found the writing quality about the same. Some parts weren't as funny, but others were improved. And the DS translation makes more sense. Which is particularly important in this context, as Cross is hard enough to understand in the best circumstances

Yeah the DS version is clearly the definitive version if you can find it. The SNES graphics look much better on the DS screens than they ever will on your HDTV, the translation is tighter, it has the anime cutscenes from the PS 1 port but without the crapy load times, and the added Dreams Eclipse sequence leads into CC in a more coherent manner. In order of recommend versions, it would go: DS, Wii Virtual Console, SNES ROM, PS 1 (via PSN).

edited 3rd Jan '13 6:24:14 AM by J.C.Lately

Harem anime are like soccer. They go on for hours, nobody scores, and a million fans will insist that you just don't understand.

Yeah, I found the DS version's translation to be better. Some lines lost their humor, but I found that acceptble because some lines weren't intended to be humorous.

Like, I think the "stamp collection" line was in the Mideival version of Guardia Castle, and I think it makes more sense that the soldiers in that time would be a little more formal than that.

Similarly, Magus no longer has lines like "kissed any princesses lately?", which I think kind of distracted from the overall feel of the character.

Or maybe I was just happy that Frog no longer sounds like Cyan on a bad day.

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I do have to say that I actually did play Chrono Cross first. I didn't finish because my save got corrupted about halfway through, and I don't know if I would give a lot of credit for some of the story stuff, but in and of itself, it was pretty fun to play.

Kind of a No-win scenario honestly. You kinda need to know CT to understand (So much as CC can be "understood") CC because CC makes little to no effort to explain the elements it uses from CT*

, and those connections, though loose, are integral to CC's story. So playing CC without CT is doable, but it makes the game even more confusing.

That said, Cross is not nice to Trigger and kinda sorta takes a dump all over it. So playing Trigger means "enjoying" that experience of Cross telling you that everything you did in Trigger was pointless (And in fact made things worst), and that most of the main cast had a bridge dropped on them.