 A new indie homage to SNES classic Chrono Trigger is one of the best-looking games of the year and an ode to 16-bit JRPGs in general. Not for the first time, we can't help but wonder what the role-playing landscape would be like if Square Enix's Chrono Trigger had become the genre-defining hit it deserved to be. Released in 1995 on the SNES (but not in Europe until 2008) it was greeted with critical acclaim but its fast-paced combat, with no random battles, and equally expeditious storytelling had very little impact on any of its contemporaries. It took it almost five years to get a sequel and in the end Chrono Cross, while not without its merits, was almost nothing like it. Clearly, its moment to effect change has passed but while there's still no sign of any official new entries the game is a frequent inspiration to indie developers, most recently the excellent Chained Echoes and CrossCode, and now the even more blatant Sea Of Stars. As welcome as it is to see Western developers acknowledging the brilliance of Chrono Trigger, homages can often be obnoxiously reverent to the source material – the gaming equivalent of a bad tribute band, only in it for the member berries. That's a trap Sea Of Stars does occasionally fall into but it's hard not to be pulled along anyway, by its infectious love for old school role-playing. Our drawing a parallel to Chrono Trigger isn't any kind of stretch, it's been openly acknowledged by Canadian developer Sabotage – the same team behind Ninja Gaiden homage The Messenger, to which this is technically a prequel. The plot of Sea Of Stars starts off simply enough, with teenagers Valere and Zale training to become Solstice Warriors and then quickly becoming embroiled in a quest to save the world. There's no Chrono Trigger style time travel but there is a lot of exploration, with an eclectic cast of characters that includes chirpy best friend Garl, secretive assassin Seraï,){kind=link}
A new indie homage to SNES classic Chrono Trigger is one of the best-looking games of the year and an ode to 16-bit JRPGs in general.
Not for the first time, we can’t help but wonder what the role-playing landscape would be like if Square Enix’s Chrono Trigger had become the genre-defining hit it deserved to be. Released in 1995 on the SNES (but not in Europe until 2008) it was greeted with critical acclaim but its fast-paced combat, with no random battles, and equally expeditious storytelling had very little impact on any of its contemporaries.
It took it almost five years to get a sequel and in the end Chrono Cross, while not without its merits, was almost nothing like it. Clearly, its moment to effect change has passed but while there’s still no sign of any official new entries the game is a frequent inspiration to indie developers, most recently the excellent Chained Echoes and CrossCode, and now the even more blatant Sea Of Stars.
As welcome as it is to see Western developers acknowledging the brilliance of Chrono Trigger, homages can often be obnoxiously reverent to the source material – the gaming equivalent of a bad tribute band, only in it for the member berries. That’s a trap Sea Of Stars does occasionally fall into but it’s hard not to be pulled along anyway, by its infectious love for old school role-playing.
Our drawing a parallel to Chrono Trigger isn’t any kind of stretch, it’s been openly acknowledged by Canadian developer Sabotage – the same team behind Ninja Gaiden homage The Messenger, to which this is technically a prequel. The plot of Sea Of Stars starts off simply enough, with teenagers Valere and Zale training to become Solstice Warriors and then quickly becoming embroiled in a quest to save the world.