5 ms·

Exactly what elements of Chrono Trigger do you think modern games are missing? (Not critical, just curious)

jonnathanson 13y ago
Music is a big one. Most of the early to mid-90s Square RPGs had amazing soundtracks, and Chrono Trigger was no exception. Today's game music is technically of a higher quality and complexity. But it's nowhere near as interesting, and I dare say, not 1/10th as good. Yesterday's game composers had to possess a certain ingenuity, working, as they did, under tight constraints. Creativity can flourish under a constricting framework, often in ways it fails to do in the absence of limits. This is why $200 million Michael Bay movies often suck, while a movie made for a fraction of the price can kick ass. Bay doesn't have to be creative. Nothing presses him toward ingenuity. That's not to say that today's game composers aren't good, or that I necessarily compare them to Michael Bay. Rather, it's to say that the composers in the '90s had to be good. They had to go out of their way to be good. They had to achieve so much with so little.
- pshin45 13y ago
  Same with me and Final Fantasy VII - 17 years after it came out, I'm still listening to the soundtrack[1] regularly while I work, and while I'm doing so I can vividly see all the scenes from the game playing out before my eyes. Makes me wonder how many teenagers nowadays have played the original Chrono Trigger and/or Final Fantasy VII, and how they would compare them to today's games (and their music). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtlLpYcCAQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtlLpYcCAQ
  - EpicEng 13y ago
    Not too many unfortunately. Many people poo-poo video games as nothing more than mindless drivel, but I put some of these games on the same level as any great work of fiction that these same people may recommend you read. My son will be getting an SNES emulator loaded with all of the great RPG's of my childhood for his birthday sometime soon (he's three months old, I thought I should wait a bit.)
- ekianjo 13y ago
  I agree on the music part - most of the recent video games music is utterly boring, but there's still some interesting soundtrack in a few recent games. There's too many game developers doing games as a day job and who have no passion for it (whereas in the 70s, 80s, most people were highly educated pioneers experimenting with the new tools of the day). But kid you not, lots of 90s video games music was utter crap as well. You probably remember the good ones only, but there was also a lot of garbage back then.
- notastartup 13y ago
  I remember listening to the .psf files for the HE plugin on winamp. http://www.neillcorlett.com/he/ http://www.neillcorlett.com/he/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Sound_Format http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Sound_Format
- nightski 13y ago
  Chrono Trigger had amazing music. But to say there aren't quite a few games today that have similarly outstanding music is just not true.
- xerophtye 13y ago
  I have a weak audio memory so i suppose I am unable to appreciate it in that regard :) what else?
- sp0rk 13y ago
  There's a pretty good Extra Credits episode that examines this phenomenon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKgHrz_Wv6o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKgHrz_Wv6o
- EpicEng 13y ago
  I listen to Epilogue and To Far way Friends on a regular basis. Yes... slightly lame (or so my girlfriend believes...), I agree, but the orchestral music was so good in Chrono Trigger, FF IV & VI, Lufia II, Secret of Mana, et al. On a side note, I actually made a music box which plays the music box song (Epilogue) from Chrono Trigger for my son. He loves it.
  - andrem 13y ago
    Off topic - but do you happen to have a blog post about how you made the music box?
    - EpicEng 13y ago
      I do not, and I wish I could make one. I started by buying one of those cheap music box kits... not realizing that the scale was simply C Major. That didn't work. I am fortunate to work with a mechanical engineer who is also an amateur musician. So, we built our own. It was neither easy nor efficient (nor cheap if you don't know someone with all of the tools who is nice enough to donate their time), but we got it working in the end.
- chongli 13y ago
  Music has got to be it. Every time I hear Corridors of Time[0] it sends shivers up and down my spine. I don't know what it is but the music of Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu is intimately connected with the memories of my childhood. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsj5xjoLXtE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsj5xjoLXtE
  - EpicEng 13y ago
    I love getting to Zeal for the first time, even to this day (when it's really the 50th+ time.) So eerie and fascinating :D
  - llllllllllll 13y ago
    You'll appreciate this, an entirely acapella rendition of Corridors of Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtKCt8Afk9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtKCt8Afk9s He has a couple albums worth of acapella video game music out. Here's another of my personal favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uVnR9B2vY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uVnR9B2vY
    - chongli 13y ago
      Haha, that's already a visited link for me. I'm a subscriber to Smooth McGroove and I love this rendition.
- muraiki 13y ago
  If you like jazz, check out "Brink of Time." It's a CD of jazz (well, more like acid jazz) remixes of Chrono Trigger's music. It was composed by the original composer, Yasunori Mitsuda. There are some tracks I'm not that fond of, but overall it's a great listen.
- jader201 13y ago
  Did you guys play Chrono Cross? To date, this is by far my favorite soundtrack. I will sometimes go back and play through it again just to experience the music with the game (because I listen to the music so much outside of the game). If you liked Chrono Trigger's OST, there's a good chance you will like the Chrono Cross OST. It's definitely more mellow and playful up front, but it builds in energy and intensity up until the perfect vocal closing, "Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel ~". Here's the title opener: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J46RY4PU8a8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J46RY4PU8a8
  - jmduke 13y ago
    This is somewhat belated, but Chrono Cross's OST (and art in general -- the backgrounds was incredible) is superb. Definitely makes up for the game's numerous other issues. Xenoblade Chronicles is the only other recent game whose music has really stood out for me, though I'm hardly well-versed in modern gaming at this point.
EpicEng 13y ago
I suppose it was the way in which I felt attached to the characters. Like reading a good book, that is my #1 criteria for "was the story good?" I mean, Crono didn't even speak. Not once. But, when [spoiler] he "died"... I don't know, I still get a bit choked up at Marle breaking down in front of the tree. Same for Lufia II when Maxim and Selan [spoiler] die at the end. I felt like I was losing a friend. I just haven't found emotion like that in modern games. For me it was all about story. I love great gameplay, but I wanted to be engrossed in a storyline while I played the game. That's why I played RPG's to begin with. I have found games since the 16-bit era which have had the same effect (FF IX, FF Tactics, Kingdom Hearts I & II, and Suikoden I & II to name a few), but there seemed to be an abundance of them on the SNES. Modern RPG's just don't feel the same to me. I still play my SNES favorites every year when I can find the time. I'm going out on a bit of a limb here, but I wonder if the limitations of the hardware didn't force the creators to be more creative in different areas. I mean, there was only so much you could do on the SNES (even though they managed to do some cool things on such a limited platform.) After it was all said and done, the games had to offer more than cool looking pixels. The great games had great stories, interesting characters, and innovative gameplay (to be fair, it was probably easier to be innovative in those days.) Graphics were less of a concern.
- the_mat 13y ago
  It's easy to forget that the SNES game library was mostly a sewer filled with "character with attitude" platformers. Loads of really, tremendously bad, unoriginal stuff
  - EpicEng 13y ago
    I didn't forget that, but that's true of pretty much every system, no? Most games are bad.
- kmkemp 13y ago
  Honestly, the Playstation 1 was probably the greatest system ever for RPGs.
  - 13y ago

Music is a big one. Most of the early to mid-90s Square RPGs had amazing soundtracks, and Chrono Trigger was no exception. Today's game music is technically of a higher quality and complexity. But it's nowhere near as interesting, and I dare say, not 1/10th as good. Yesterday's game composers had to possess a certain ingenuity, working, as they did, under tight constraints. Creativity can flourish under a constricting framework, often in ways it fails to do in the absence of limits. This is why $200 million Michael Bay movies often suck, while a movie made for a fraction of the price can kick ass. Bay doesn't have to be creative. Nothing presses him toward ingenuity. That's not to say that today's game composers aren't good, or that I necessarily compare them to Michael Bay. Rather, it's to say that the composers in the '90s had to be good. They had to go out of their way to be good. They had to achieve so much with so little.

pshin45 13y ago
Same with me and Final Fantasy VII - 17 years after it came out, I'm still listening to the soundtrack[1] regularly while I work, and while I'm doing so I can vividly see all the scenes from the game playing out before my eyes. Makes me wonder how many teenagers nowadays have played the original Chrono Trigger and/or Final Fantasy VII, and how they would compare them to today's games (and their music). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtlLpYcCAQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtlLpYcCAQ
- EpicEng 13y ago
  Not too many unfortunately. Many people poo-poo video games as nothing more than mindless drivel, but I put some of these games on the same level as any great work of fiction that these same people may recommend you read. My son will be getting an SNES emulator loaded with all of the great RPG's of my childhood for his birthday sometime soon (he's three months old, I thought I should wait a bit.)
ekianjo 13y ago
I agree on the music part - most of the recent video games music is utterly boring, but there's still some interesting soundtrack in a few recent games. There's too many game developers doing games as a day job and who have no passion for it (whereas in the 70s, 80s, most people were highly educated pioneers experimenting with the new tools of the day). But kid you not, lots of 90s video games music was utter crap as well. You probably remember the good ones only, but there was also a lot of garbage back then.
notastartup 13y ago
I remember listening to the .psf files for the HE plugin on winamp. http://www.neillcorlett.com/he/ http://www.neillcorlett.com/he/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Sound_Format http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Sound_Format
nightski 13y ago
Chrono Trigger had amazing music. But to say there aren't quite a few games today that have similarly outstanding music is just not true.
xerophtye 13y ago
I have a weak audio memory so i suppose I am unable to appreciate it in that regard :) what else?
sp0rk 13y ago
There's a pretty good Extra Credits episode that examines this phenomenon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKgHrz_Wv6o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKgHrz_Wv6o
EpicEng 13y ago
I listen to Epilogue and To Far way Friends on a regular basis. Yes... slightly lame (or so my girlfriend believes...), I agree, but the orchestral music was so good in Chrono Trigger, FF IV & VI, Lufia II, Secret of Mana, et al. On a side note, I actually made a music box which plays the music box song (Epilogue) from Chrono Trigger for my son. He loves it.
- andrem 13y ago
  Off topic - but do you happen to have a blog post about how you made the music box?
  - EpicEng 13y ago
    I do not, and I wish I could make one. I started by buying one of those cheap music box kits... not realizing that the scale was simply C Major. That didn't work. I am fortunate to work with a mechanical engineer who is also an amateur musician. So, we built our own. It was neither easy nor efficient (nor cheap if you don't know someone with all of the tools who is nice enough to donate their time), but we got it working in the end.
chongli 13y ago
Music has got to be it. Every time I hear Corridors of Time[0] it sends shivers up and down my spine. I don't know what it is but the music of Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu is intimately connected with the memories of my childhood. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsj5xjoLXtE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsj5xjoLXtE
- EpicEng 13y ago
  I love getting to Zeal for the first time, even to this day (when it's really the 50th+ time.) So eerie and fascinating :D
- llllllllllll 13y ago
  You'll appreciate this, an entirely acapella rendition of Corridors of Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtKCt8Afk9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtKCt8Afk9s He has a couple albums worth of acapella video game music out. Here's another of my personal favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uVnR9B2vY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uVnR9B2vY
  - chongli 13y ago
    Haha, that's already a visited link for me. I'm a subscriber to Smooth McGroove and I love this rendition.
muraiki 13y ago
If you like jazz, check out "Brink of Time." It's a CD of jazz (well, more like acid jazz) remixes of Chrono Trigger's music. It was composed by the original composer, Yasunori Mitsuda. There are some tracks I'm not that fond of, but overall it's a great listen.
jader201 13y ago
Did you guys play Chrono Cross? To date, this is by far my favorite soundtrack. I will sometimes go back and play through it again just to experience the music with the game (because I listen to the music so much outside of the game). If you liked Chrono Trigger's OST, there's a good chance you will like the Chrono Cross OST. It's definitely more mellow and playful up front, but it builds in energy and intensity up until the perfect vocal closing, "Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel ~". Here's the title opener: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J46RY4PU8a8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J46RY4PU8a8
- jmduke 13y ago
  This is somewhat belated, but Chrono Cross's OST (and art in general -- the backgrounds was incredible) is superb. Definitely makes up for the game's numerous other issues. Xenoblade Chronicles is the only other recent game whose music has really stood out for me, though I'm hardly well-versed in modern gaming at this point.

EpicEng 13y ago

I suppose it was the way in which I felt attached to the characters. Like reading a good book, that is my #1 criteria for "was the story good?" I mean, Crono didn't even speak. Not once. But, when [spoiler] he "died"... I don't know, I still get a bit choked up at Marle breaking down in front of the tree. Same for Lufia II when Maxim and Selan [spoiler] die at the end. I felt like I was losing a friend. I just haven't found emotion like that in modern games. For me it was all about story. I love great gameplay, but I wanted to be engrossed in a storyline while I played the game. That's why I played RPG's to begin with. I have found games since the 16-bit era which have had the same effect (FF IX, FF Tactics, Kingdom Hearts I & II, and Suikoden I & II to name a few), but there seemed to be an abundance of them on the SNES. Modern RPG's just don't feel the same to me. I still play my SNES favorites every year when I can find the time. I'm going out on a bit of a limb here, but I wonder if the limitations of the hardware didn't force the creators to be more creative in different areas. I mean, there was only so much you could do on the SNES (even though they managed to do some cool things on such a limited platform.) After it was all said and done, the games had to offer more than cool looking pixels. The great games had great stories, interesting characters, and innovative gameplay (to be fair, it was probably easier to be innovative in those days.) Graphics were less of a concern.

the_mat 13y ago
It's easy to forget that the SNES game library was mostly a sewer filled with "character with attitude" platformers. Loads of really, tremendously bad, unoriginal stuff
- EpicEng 13y ago
  I didn't forget that, but that's true of pretty much every system, no? Most games are bad.
kmkemp 13y ago
Honestly, the Playstation 1 was probably the greatest system ever for RPGs.
- 13y ago