Chrono Trigger Review Super Nintendo

The following review featured in the November 1995 edition of Superplay published by Future Publishing in the UK.

The Review is writtin by Wil Overton.

Chrono Trigger is one of my all time favourite games. I will aim to include some screen shots soon

With the mighty Final Fantasy III the reining king of the RPG world, and still generating a huge amount of interest around the globe a year after its Western release, it's no wonder that Chrono Trigger has been one of the most eagerly awaited games on the American SNES calendar since we covered its Japanese launch back in issue 32.

Even Square USA's own project, Secret Of Evermore, seems to have been pushed back to make way for the time-travelling creations of Messrs. Toriyama (DragonBall), Horii (Dragon Quest) and Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy), the aptly entitled Dream Project responsible for this, Square's first 32Mbit title. It's a tad unfortunate for Chrono Trigger that it has got such an illustrious predecessor to live up to in FF III, when it's actually got more in common with Secret Of Mana than Square's flagship series. With a smaller cast of characters and a more action-led story, it doesn't set out to convey the same sort of epic drama that has endeared FF to its fans' hearts (surely it would just be Final Fantasy VII if it did?).

What it does try to be is a fast-moving adventure with always somewhere to go, some item or person to find, and less of all that wandering about without a clue where to go next. If you get stuck for what to do in Chrono Trigger, then you really haven't been paying enough attention. The game could have modelled itself on FF a little more in the character development department though. Whereas Locke and co. in FFIII all had histories and a story to tell which was essential to the game advancement, the only character in Chiono Trigger to have any sort of past is the noble frog prince as we learn how he came to have his amphibian form.

As for the rest of them - nothing, nix. Your hero is just as anonymous as the boy from Mana, and the rest only reveal anything about themselves when you first meet. It's surprising how much of a difference it makes when a character has some sort of motive for his actions - in the end I felt more for the frog than anyone else.

If it's emotional attachment to characters and an exciting story you're after, then the words you read on the screen are all important. Unfortunately Ted Woolsey's English translation is on a par with his previous efforts in that if you don't mind monsters talking hip, and horrendous puns such as eating Jurassic Pork soup in the prehistoric age then fine. Personally, I wish he'd think a little more about the atmosphere the game is trying to create. It's hard enough to lose yourself in a video game world without being constantly reminded of how clever the translator's trying to be. After all, you are meant to be 'role' playing. If the script doesn't quite hit the literary heights, the rest of the game works fine. The battle engine straddles FF and Mana nicely with a good mix of avoidable and non-avoidable encounters to keep you on your toes when wandering about.

There's a little strategy in that you can sometimes hit more than one enemy at a time and, of course, the nice addition of the combo attacks improves things no end. Square have given the magic in particular some lovely graphical effects that easily match those in FFIII and even if the graphics in general don't quite match Final Fantasy (although they do surpass it in some parts) they're definitely superior to Mana. If all the above sounds a little negative don't be too put off. This is a fine game and one Square fans will get a lot out of. The time travel premise is superbly implemented, and the way things are intermingled through the different periods means the main underlying story stays strong throughout all the individual quests. Definitely recommended... if you've got the time (ha!).

Bahamut Lagoon review Super Nintendo

The following review of Bahamut Lagoon, a 24Mbit cartridge on the Super Nintendo produced by Square Soft was originally published in the May 1996 edition of Superplay magazine in the UK.

Nintendo may have lost Final Fantasy VII, but there's still more than enough Square to go round...

With a young programming team under the supervision of Final Fantasy producer Hinorobu Sakaguchi, Bahamut Lagoon continues Square's foray into the world of simulation wargames that started last year with the stylish Front Mission.

While the RPG elements are negligible and only really serve as intermissions that tie the thirty-odd skirmishes together, the game's real gimmick is that you can feed a dragon, who fights alongside your party, with anything that comes to hand. Armour, weapons, spells and potions can all be forced upon the hapless beast to change his characteristics and sometimes even his appearance.

Although raising your dragon is supposedly a large part of the game, in reality, it's a rather hit and miss affair. Whilst as a general rule, if you feed them fire magic, their fire attack will increase, you can't actually see how much the dragon will be affected until you feed him the item. What's initially appealing about Lagoon is the sumptuous graphics.

The lead graphic designer, Hitoshi Sasaki, obviously had a vision, and, as he is also credited as the head game designer, it would appear that Lagoon is really his baby. Every screen seems to be overlaid with a mist and diffused light effect that creates a very convincing mystical look. Character designs are yet another variation on the Final Fantasy SD look, but with more fluid animation during the battle sequences.

The downer is that, like Front Mission, Bahamut Lagoon just isn't hard enough. Even without a grasp of Japanese, it's possible to make steady progress through the battles using just the default parties and settings. Make sure you've got enough healing potions, and regularly upgrade weapons and armour and even bosses fall fairly easily. After the sixth round, bonus levels are also available where you can boost your supplies and also uncover treasure which makes life even easier.

Compared to the likes of Tactics Ogre (which we defy anyone without a thorough grasp of the Japanese language to get more than a few hours into) Bahamut Lagoon seems fairly lightweight, and Square fanatics shouldn't feel too cheated if it never appears on Western shelves.

Not content with providing Super Play with two new games in this issue, Square Soft (Japan) are assaulting the Japanese market not only on the ground, but via satellite as well. Their next official cartridge release after Treasure Hunter G is Treasure of Rudola - The World of Downfall and Revival, an RPG which, instead of providing different story endings depending on what characters you choose, gives you three totally different scenarios.

The human race has only sixteen days to live before the, not so benevolent god, Rudola fufills his habit of making a new dominant race of beings every four thousand years. Races like the intelligent Danan's, an aquatic race and even a society of giants have all risen and fallen by Rhuda’s hand over the years. Each scenario has its own hero, Sirent, Cion or Dune and you can choose to complete the tasks in any order.

You also get to decide how many days out of the sixteen you spend with each party. As certain events happen on specific days, there's a fair amount of playing involved if you're to uncover all of Rudola's 32Mbit of secrets. Treasure of Rudola also allows you to mix up your own magic (or Kodama as the game calls it).

The actual spell you cast is determined by whatever name you call it. You can use up to six words to label your magic, and, although the game supposedly generates a spell depending on what you type in, we suspect it's just a random choice from a set list, as you only get to discover what the magic does by casting it.

Whether you type using romanji (Western characters) or Japanese isn't yet known. With a battle system that looks very much like Final Fantasy and graphics dissimilar to Bahamut Lagoon, Treasure of Rudola is set for a Japanese release on 5th April. Meanwhile, in what might seem like a bid to get rid of all their remaining Super Famicom projects in one fell swoop, Square have no less than four games running on Nintendo’s Satellaview channel at the moment. Dynamite Racer, Love Balance, Trigger Conflicts and Radical Dreamers are all RPGs, but with some interesting twists.

Trigger Conflicts has a vertical shooter at its heart, and, by finding treasures and money, you can upgrade your ship for the next stage. Radical Dreamers: Unstolen Jeweller is more of a storybook affair somewhat like Chun Soft's Sound novel series with a time limit on battles and multiple endings. Whether these are full Satellaview-only mini games or demos prior to a proper release we've yet to discover, but They certainly sound more interesting than Square’s current line-up.