- Two great games!This gem is the re-issue of two old SNES games for the Playstation, Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger. I remember my old FF II SNES cartridge very fondly, though I never had the chance to play Chrono Trigger until this reissue. I enjoyed these classic RPG's very much - now for more detailed reviews of the games:
Final Fantasy IV was originally released as Final Fantasy II here in the USA, since Square chose not to release the NES games of Final Fantasy II and III here at that time, and they changed the numbering of the game to avoid confusion here. The story follows the adventures of Cecil, commander of the famed Red Wings squadron of airships and a Dark Knight in the service of the King of Baron. The King, formerly a benevolent ruler, has recently begun to exhibit changed and disturbing behavior. When he sends Cecil and the Red Wings on a mission to assault the hapless mages of Mysidia and steal their Crystal, Cecil begins to seriously question his actions. When he brings his concerns to the King, he is rewarded by being stripped of his command and sent to deliver a package to the nearby Village of Mist along with his friend, Kain the Dragoon. And so the adventure begins...
Those who have mostly played the later Final Fantasies, especially VII, VIII, and X, will find the character creation system in this game to be different. As the game progresses, you will be joined by several different characters who rotate in and out of your party, and each has his or her own unique abilities. For example, Rosa, Cecil's lady love, is strictly a White Magic user, with a small offensive capability, whereas Cecil and Kain are strictly designed around being offensive powerhouses. So, there is not a lot of room for character customization.
Final Fantasy IV also introduced the Active Time Battle (ATB) system to the series. Basically, in this game, each character has a time bar that fills up according to the character's Speed stat. When the bar fills up, the character is able to take an action. The enemies have ATB bars also, but you can't see them. So you will need to plan your strategies carefully, but yet think fast, because while you are debating on what spell to have Rosa or Rydia cast, the enemies will continue to attack.
In addition, those who had previously played this game on the SNES will be pleasantly surprised to see that the game has been completely re-translated, resulting in a storyline that makes a little more sense and is a little easier to understand (and the infamous "Spoony Bard" line is still there). Also, there are many more items and abilities in the game that were left out of the original SNES version.
As to Chrono Trigger, this game is not part of the Final Fantasy series, though it is from the same company that produced those games. Many other reviewers have commented on the long loading times for this game. I found that the load times were on the order of 5 seconds or so for most battles and menu screens. Saving the game takes a little longer. It didin't bother me too much, but I can see how others, particularly those who played the SNES version, could be annoyed.
Chrono Trigger follows the story of Chrono, a young man who is good friends with Lucca, the local inventor. One day during the local town festival, they encounter a mysterious young girl named Marle. While looking at Lucca's latest invention, Marle suddenly disappears, leaving only her pendant behind. Chrono and Lucca follow her...
CT is different from most RPGs in that instead of traversing a large world to discover new places, this world is much smaller and the new discoveries come in the form of time travel. There are several different eras that you will visit in the course of playing this game, ranging from the mists of prehistory to the far future.
As in FFIV, each character in the game has his or her own unique abilities, with certain characters being more "Tank" types and others leaning more towards magic use. However, in this game, you have a little more control over who is in your party at one time. Also, each character has certain "Tech" abilities. Different characters can create powerful Double or Triple Tech attacks when working as a team, thus allowing for many different attacking strategies, depending on the party's composition.
Another cool thing about CT is the fact that, depending on your actions in the game, you will get one of a dozen or so different endings. The different endings enhance the replayability of this game quite a bit. The Chronicles version also contains several new anime cutscenes that were created by the same person who drew the Dragonball anime series. Anyone who has ever watched any episodes of Dragonball Z will see the resemblance immediately.
Overall, this is a truly excellent game, with a lot of nice surprises and features even for those who own the original SNES cartridges. Although the load times are noticeable, they really aren't that bad and shouldn't turn someone off this game. Highly, highly recommended.
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