What can I say about the Chrono Games that hasn’t already been said? They are masterpieces! The only reason this game does not have an “Overwhelmingly Positive” reputation is that it is a bad port; there, I said it! No real surprise here when you think about it: this reflects the same disrespect AAA studios have for turn-based RPGs, retro IPs and PC-gamers (thank the gods for stuff like Baldur’s Gate and Clair Obscur), but since I have complained about that elsewhere and the base game is such a good one, I cannot bare to give this game a negative recommendation. The only tips I can provide to alleviate this problem is that you may need to manually update several versions of C++ and always click “communicate the problem to Microsoft” when it becomes “unresponsive” if you are running it on Windows (SERIOUSLY, this is how I made it through the game with minimum difficulty: I was literally amazed by how much better it ran after doing this).

Anyway, about the game itself: yes, this game is a direct sequel to Chrono Trigger, but the game-play is very different from the active-time battle system (as in Final Fantasy 4 through 9) and the unique AOE techs (similar to “tactics” games and later revived in the likes of Cosmic Star Heroine and I Am Setsuna). The battle system is purely turn-based and the enemies arranged more like a traditional JRPG (the closest analogue I can think of is Final Fantasy X), but the basic attack system is unique (in my experience anyway) in the fact that there are three different levels of attack that can be used and the more powerful your attack gets, the more stamina it takes and the less likely it is to hit, but stronger attacks charge your element gauge more (pro tip: start with weaker more accurate attacks before going to the more powerful ones as each successful hit you score in succession increases your overall hit rate, regardless of chosen attack level). Speaking of elements, the character-specific techs of the first game are replaced by interchangeable, item-like “magical spells” which do not require MP but can only be used once per battle and must be charged and equipped to the proper level to be used, which again is an interesting alteration from more traditional JRPGs (IMHO, it smacks a little too much of the materia or spell-drawing systems from Final Fantasy 7 and 8 respectively--at least you don’t have to worry about them messing up your character’s stats), while each character only has at most 3 unique elements (the idea of double-techs are still present from the first game, but they are much rarer and more difficult to identify and utilize). Speaking of characters, one of the things that kind of irks me about this game is the massive list of recruit-able characters. Since you only have three slots for available party members, one or two of which are usually forced by the main-story, there is absolutely no way for all of the characters to get their due in the same way as in most other Square Soft releases of the time. The idea instead is to find characters whose play-style and aesthetics conforms to your taste or what the different areas of the story require. On the other hand, this adds to the game’s replay-ability. Story-wise, the characters, while being somewhat derivative (not unusual for the Chrono games: an anthropomorphic frog named Frog, a robot named Robo, a dark magician named Magus and so forth) are all very well done and full of personality, even down to the way their accents are portrayed in text. The overcharging story itself is bit convoluted and, since it is a direct sequel, if you haven’t played the first one, you are going to feel like you missed a big middle-part about halfway through the game, but this is a good reason to play the first one, which is shorter and also readily available on steam. On the other hand, I think it is pretty genius that the one biggest unanswered question from the first game is the basis of the entire plot of the second game (no spoilers: if you play them both you will see what I mean). Ultimately, the game feels very character-driven and explores themes of identity and alternate paths through life, while highlighting the emotional relationship between characters. All this is enhanced by haunting and mesmerizing music and graphics, leading to a one-of-a-kind gaming experience that is powerful and holds up decently.

Finally, I want to talk about the future of the series. (This is a song for all the fans and devs out there, but Square-Enix, pay attention!) The first game was mainly about actively time-traveling based on the paradigm in which things can be changed in the past to affect the future (basically “Back to the Future” rules, similar to things like Timespinner or The Messenger) while the second explores alternate realities created by branching timelines (like in the Zelda games, or “Sliders” rules if anyone remembers that show). If there is ever a third game, to revert to the paradigm of the first game would to do the series a disservice: it would ostracize the second game to the status of unloved middle-child and black sheep of the family (like Super Mario Bros. 2 or Adventure of Link). No, the best thing to do would be to advance to a new paradigm of time travel lore! My suggestion (and indeed my preference) would be to explore the idea of a time-loop (as in games like Majora’s Mask or In Stars And Time--what I would call “Groundhog’s Day” rules) possibly involving events leading up to the “time crash” referenced in the second game. Also, while I would generally prefer to have it remain a more traditional turn-based RPG style, since this is the way the wind at Square-Enix has been blowing of late, I would not be adverse to it having more action RPG elements, which might be interesting since, again, I do not think the third game should regress to what has come before.

Anyway, if you are still reading, I thank you from the bottom of my heart as these games have always been very important to me and I thoroughly enjoyed both playing them again and writing about them! This is the truth! This is my belief! At least for now...