Hahaha...me too. I never did it, but it was an option back then.
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Did anyone here actually beat Chrono Trigger... without a guide?
- Thread starter Metanoia Prime
- Start date
Chrono Trigger is actually on the easier side when it comes to JRPGs and it's not horribly long. Also, you gotta remember that at the time, there wasn't a deluge of JRPGs coming out in English so when you found a good one, you had plenty of time to play and replay it while waiting for the next one.
Not a guide, but a friend told me how the last form of Lavos worked because i was dying a lot there.
Also took me months to understand i had to run around Spekkio 3 times to get magic, also solving that with the help of a friend lol I mean, i was complete stuck on that end of time hub with almost zero english knowledge.
That aside, the game was smooth sailing imo.
Also took me months to understand i had to run around Spekkio 3 times to get magic, also solving that with the help of a friend lol I mean, i was complete stuck on that end of time hub with almost zero english knowledge.
That aside, the game was smooth sailing imo.
Definitely beat it without a guide. Finding out where (and when) you needed to go in CT was relatively painless I though, and I can't recall any puzzles I might have need a guide for. Even managed to somehow figure out the LARA thing on my own.
Yeah, they totally existed, and they were the #1 upsell opportunity for gaming stores. I remember being offered guide books with almost every purchase. No idea how big an industry it was, but it felt huge.
I think there was a two-page hint thing in that month's issue of EGM or Nintendo Power, so I would've looked at that. Thinking back on it, some of that late-game stuff is pretty wonky, isn't it? That damned Jerky.
Only problem I had playing this was the button press in the future because I was playing on emulator. Other than that, its straight forward.
back when i first played it in the 90s, i got stuck at a certain point in the medieval period i think .. what i had to do was go talk to the cook in the castle, but somehow i couldn't figure that out. i was perusing a game magazine rack at a local store, there was a mag that contained a small guide that got me past exactly the section that i was stuck on. think it was EGM.
I remember finding a few endings at the time, by trying everything myself. I also had a friend with who I exchanged some game tips who helped a bit. Of course I had no idea how to find some secrets, I still have to find some.
Well, first I had to import the US game because almost no RPG were released in Europe at the time, and living in the south of France, I had to order it from a specialized shop in Paris.
As for guides, if you were lucky the game was sold with one (Earthbound, metroid) or you could find some tips in game magazines a few months after the release.
I had my first internet subscription in 1999 with my dreamcast and its 33k modem, and discovered online guides and faqs - a few years after beating CT. And the internet was fucking expensive and time-limited. Only 20 hours a month, and after you paid a massive fee if you still went online.
My mom almost killed me when we received the bill after the release of phantasy star online...
Well, first I had to import the US game because almost no RPG were released in Europe at the time, and living in the south of France, I had to order it from a specialized shop in Paris.
As for guides, if you were lucky the game was sold with one (Earthbound, metroid) or you could find some tips in game magazines a few months after the release.
I had my first internet subscription in 1999 with my dreamcast and its 33k modem, and discovered online guides and faqs - a few years after beating CT. And the internet was fucking expensive and time-limited. Only 20 hours a month, and after you paid a massive fee if you still went online.
My mom almost killed me when we received the bill after the release of phantasy star online...
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I can't think of anything in Chrono Trigger that would need a guide. You just talk to NPCs and characters name a place and you go there and then the next story thing happens.
Getting ALL of the endings is unneeded. The side quests are just revisiting everywhere you've been when you get the thing that lets you revisit. It's extremely straightforward.
Getting ALL of the endings is unneeded. The side quests are just revisiting everywhere you've been when you get the thing that lets you revisit. It's extremely straightforward.
Yes and it is the best game ever. I ended up using a guide to see all the endings though. And I got some stuff on NG+ I didn't on my first run through. CT deserves so much credit from even non-fans for the NG+ mechanic which was done almost perfectly on early go. No need for 10 years of experimentation to figure it out. Game is a damn masterpiece even today.
Uh...yeah? There really wasn't a useful internet to look up tips back when that game released, and print guides were expensive and not sold in a lot of places.
The game is very short and dead easy, honestly. You may not find every secret in the game (some stuff isn't obvious) but completing the game and finding most of what's there doesn't require any guides.
Ogre Battle though? Jesus christ
The game is very short and dead easy, honestly. You may not find every secret in the game (some stuff isn't obvious) but completing the game and finding most of what's there doesn't require any guides.
Ogre Battle though? Jesus christ
Yup, sure did. Like everyone says, I don't think guides were around then... although Gamefan and Gamepro had great pictures of it, lol.
I empathize a lot with that, I'm not from Europe but I live in Québec and we never ever received the french version of games on console back then except the very rare exceptions (like Zelda ALTTP). Even instruction booklets were alway in English, my mom had to call Nintendo to get us the french version of the booklet every time and it always came in a shitty black and white format.
We had some French video game magazines (from France), with some of them being "Soluce" magazines that we could buy, but most of the stuff was in English. The rare Québec based magazines were mostly for news. Most stores didn't keep the French magazines at all because it was a lot more niche I guess.
GameFAQs was started the same year as Chrono Trigger released, even. Nintendo also put out a lot of these "Player's Guides" in the 90s.
Anyway, I had to use a guide for the same reason as this person:
Getting human Glenn in the ending is also a bit tricky unless you know this can happen at all
I had a Genesis during that generation, so I didn't play Chrono Trigger until I was an adult. I've only played through it once and I beat it without a guide. It's been quite a few years, but I'm having a hard time recalling any part of the game where I felt as though I needed a guide.
I was able to complete the DS port without a guide, and the first time I completed it was without Chrono in my party (and I got that ending with the team reminiscing their adventure with the red-haired mute).
I'm not talking about internet, I mean printed guides. They've been around for quite a while.
I had the guide but it took a while to arrive since at the time you could get a free player's guide when you renew your Nintendo Power sub.
So when I was playing it in 1995, a friend who also had the game and I would talk about how to solve certain sections.
Definately clearable without a guide.
So when I was playing it in 1995, a friend who also had the game and I would talk about how to solve certain sections.
Definately clearable without a guide.
Here's a fact I wonder if most people know Gamefaqs has been around since Nov. of 1995, Chrono trigger came out March of 1995. I was able to beat Chrono Trigger with no guide, although I eventually bought one cause I wanted to see other endings and I collected them as a kid.
Yeah. I honestly find it strange that you think a guide is needed, as I finish that game a lot of times when I was still in my early 10s.
Doesn't the game flat out tell you where to find Belthasar? I think the only vague part is that he doesn't tell you exactly where Norstein Bekkler is, but he tells you that he loves festival and the first thing you do in-game is go to a festival.
I beat it as a child without a guide, I feel like it'd be hard to get totally lost in it. I think I had to play it again to figure out how to revive Crono though. I didn't have the player's guide for it and I didn't start using FAQs until the N64/PS1 era.
I def beat it as a kid back in mid school with no guides. Back when I didn't own many games but a lot of classmates had games I can borrow to play for the SNES and Chrono Trigger was one of them. I think the highest play time for a save then was 80ish hours.
And back then the only way to get a guide was when I went shopping with my mom and she left you in the magazine isle reading non stop gamepro or EGM.
And back then the only way to get a guide was when I went shopping with my mom and she left you in the magazine isle reading non stop gamepro or EGM.
Okay and maybe the thing with the mayor of Porre is kind of running on moon logic.
That's the only part of the game I feel is just straight up "click on things until you find the right thing" but the solution to your problem is in Porre across 600 AD and 1000 AD and it's the only important event that occurs in that location in 1000 AD, so it's not really that egregious.
That's the only part of the game I feel is just straight up "click on things until you find the right thing" but the solution to your problem is in Porre across 600 AD and 1000 AD and it's the only important event that occurs in that location in 1000 AD, so it's not really that egregious.
I beat it a bit later due to living in Europe but don't remember getting stuck anywhere. The game was very clear about where to go or what to do next, and I'm saying this as someone who easily gets lost in old (pre-SNES) jrpgs and frequently has no idea how to progress without looking stuff up.
(edit: I suppose getting all endings would require guides to expedite the process unless you don't mind milling around endlessly until you find them on your own)
In 1995? We definitely did. Strategy guides / magazine mini-guides or hints have been a thing since forever too.
(edit: I suppose getting all endings would require guides to expedite the process unless you don't mind milling around endlessly until you find them on your own)
In 1995? We definitely did. Strategy guides / magazine mini-guides or hints have been a thing since forever too.
i beat the game in 1996 or 1997 for the first time w/o a guide.
i really hated text-based walkthrus from gamefaqs and only relied on them for japanese-language games i'd get stuck on...
and in the mid-to-late 90s, the internet wasn't as ubiquitous-- especially at home-- as now. not a weird reply.
i really hated text-based walkthrus from gamefaqs and only relied on them for japanese-language games i'd get stuck on...
and in the mid-to-late 90s, the internet wasn't as ubiquitous-- especially at home-- as now. not a weird reply.
The guides for rpgs were pretty expensive though.
At least it was in the US not sure about other countries.
It was not easy to convince your parents to cough up $20 to get a guide for a $60+ rpg.
I didn't need it for ChronoTrigger but I remember using guides for other rpgs. Often borrowed from other friends (same with some of the games). Secret of Mana doesn't need a guide to beat the game but I did use one to get all the weapons leveled up.
I couldn't do it. I played it when I was 12 and back then I was just starting to learn English. The version I played was in English and I didn't have access to internet, so I legit had to use one of those old gigantic dictionaries to make some progress. By the time I reached the End of Time area and you are asked to walk clockwise around Spekkio 3 times, I got stuck for weeks. It wasn't until I finally checked an online guide when I was at school that I could finally move forward.
I once again got stuck trying to find the Magic Cave so I could finally access Magus' castle. I leveled up a lot believing I needed some specific level so Frog could equip the Masamune. Hell, I even remember I got to Lv50 with Chrono, Marle and Frog and challenged Lavos by entering the bucket in the End of Time. I made it through many of its phases without issues and always wondered where were those bosses that appear in this fight and that I hadn't encountered by then. I truly started to believe that this was the end of the game and it was meant to be finished this way; boy was I wrong. I later learned of the location of the Magic Cave and progressed smoothly until the very end.
Chrono Trigger is one of my favorite games now. Not only did it spark my love for the RPG genre, but it also taught me English over the course of few months. Man, take me back to 2004.
I once again got stuck trying to find the Magic Cave so I could finally access Magus' castle. I leveled up a lot believing I needed some specific level so Frog could equip the Masamune. Hell, I even remember I got to Lv50 with Chrono, Marle and Frog and challenged Lavos by entering the bucket in the End of Time. I made it through many of its phases without issues and always wondered where were those bosses that appear in this fight and that I hadn't encountered by then. I truly started to believe that this was the end of the game and it was meant to be finished this way; boy was I wrong. I later learned of the location of the Magic Cave and progressed smoothly until the very end.
Chrono Trigger is one of my favorite games now. Not only did it spark my love for the RPG genre, but it also taught me English over the course of few months. Man, take me back to 2004.
I didn't use a guide. I remember getting Chrono Trigger for Christmas '95 (my youngest sister got Yoshi's Island that same Christmas, might I add: AWESOME CHRISTMAS!!!). Played through the game throughout late Dec '95 through early '96 and passed it without a guide. I also stumbled upon some of the alternate endings without a guide, though, admittedly, didn't know about ALL the endings until I started to first browse GameFAQs (which was years later).
EDIT: I actually don't think I was using guides at that time. The only guides I got prior to that were some of the old Nintendo ones, like the infamous "Official Nintendo Players Guide", the NES Game Atlas, and the Nintendo Power Strategy Guides of Super Mario Bros. 3, Ninja Gaiden 2, and Final Fantasy. Didn't get the official CT Strategy Guide and wasn't subscribed to Nintendo Power in the mid-90s. Next time I would've picked up a guide would be for Final Fantasy VII, and remember buying two different FFVII guides (for the artwork) and the FFVIII guide for the metallic cover, but stopped after that (and hearing the FFIX guide sucked).
EDIT: I actually don't think I was using guides at that time. The only guides I got prior to that were some of the old Nintendo ones, like the infamous "Official Nintendo Players Guide", the NES Game Atlas, and the Nintendo Power Strategy Guides of Super Mario Bros. 3, Ninja Gaiden 2, and Final Fantasy. Didn't get the official CT Strategy Guide and wasn't subscribed to Nintendo Power in the mid-90s. Next time I would've picked up a guide would be for Final Fantasy VII, and remember buying two different FFVII guides (for the artwork) and the FFVIII guide for the metallic cover, but stopped after that (and hearing the FFIX guide sucked).
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No, in fact I tried it years ago and abandoned it because I was stuck back and forth in time without knowing how to progress. It's a game I want to replay someday, maybe when I plug in my mini-SNES again.