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Did anyone here actually beat Chrono Trigger... without a guide?

andymcc

andymcc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,271
Columbus, OH
Gaia Lanzer said:
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).
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i picked up a copy of Chrono Trigger in summer 1996 at Funcoland for like.... $10 or $15 dollars lol how times have changed.

'95 Christmas was so good for me too. I got: DKC2, Yoshi's Island, Playstation 1, Tekken, Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtua Cop w/ the light gun bundle.
 
GreenMonkey

GreenMonkey

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,861
Michigan
The game isn't remotely hard. Chrono Trigger is very straightforward. If you're a completionist, some of the endings and items are probably hard to find. I just played it last month.

There's almost always plot to tell you where to go, and once the End of Time opens up, Gaspar gives you hints on where to go.

I can think of a hundred NES , or even SNES, games that are hard to complete because "WTF" but Chrono Trigger isn't remotely one of them.
 
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JustinH

JustinH

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Oct 27, 2017
10,390
I'm almost certain I didn't use a guide for it because when I finally got around to playing it (maybe 98-99?) is when I was some edgy teen and looked down on using guides at all.
 
Giga Man

Giga Man

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 27, 2017
21,209
I played it for the first time on Wii Virtual Console and didn't use a guide. The game is pretty straight-forward, which is what I love about it. There's no filler and it's easy to know exactly where to go next. The only thing I looked up was that last line Gaspar said after listing all the final sidequests that ended up being nothing more than a mistranslation.

When I eventually replay it, I'll be looking at a guide so I can 100% it, including defeating every form of Spekkio.
 

AzVal

Member
May 7, 2018
1,873
Yes, with a fraction my current English knowledge, I did at a later playthrough looked into a guide to see every ending
 
VariantX

VariantX

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,879
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Chrono Trigger wasn't the type of game with obtuse mechanics or puzzles you would need a guide to finish. As far as I know, you got guides if you wanted to 100% a game
 

CanUKlehead

Member
Oct 30, 2017
3,393
Yep, I was 15/16 when I played it on SNES that entire summer, not sure if I did all side quests on my first go, but did at a subsequent play through. The only guide i had was in the manual, where they went over the first bits of the game.
 

Deleted member 75954

Account closed at user request
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Jul 24, 2020
105
Well, yeah? Game is straightforward as hell. I only needed a guide for sidequests, different endings, and the DS content.

Now say, EarthBound, is a nightmare without a guide.
 
RPG_Fanatic

RPG_Fanatic

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Oct 25, 2017
3,623
You know, it has been long enough since the first time I played through Chrono Trigger that I don't remember if I used a guide at any point. Although, considering the state of the internet back then, I think the answer would have been no for me.
 
Menx64

Menx64

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,774
I beared the game like 15 years ago, and then on the DS. The game is hard at times in terms of knowing what to do, but never used a guide.
Funny thing, I only beat it once on the snes, and then first time playing it on the DS got the same ending lol.
 
OP
OP
Metanoia Prime

Metanoia Prime

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Oct 26, 2017
4,153
California
Gaia Lanzer said:
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).
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That's probably the best Christmas, quality of games-wise, of all time.
 

GabriocheXD

Member
May 27, 2019
784
Not only did I beat this without a guide, I also didn't understand more than half the words because I'm French ;)
 
Mochi

Mochi

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
1,704
Seattle
Played it for the first time on the DS. I remember there was one double boss in the second half of the game in some god-forsaken cave that, for some reason, I just couldn't beat. Had to use a guide for that one. Otherwise went in as blind as possible and it became my GOAT.
 
OrigamiPirate

OrigamiPirate

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 31, 2017
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San Francisco
Hecht said:
Yeah. Those definitely need a guide or else it's just trial and error.
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The game came out when I was in Jr High and my classmates and I pretty much did it exactly this way. While cataloging our endings, we found the "chapter title" on the save screen to be the best indicator of what we were going to get, as I recall. Ahhhhhh, memories
 
Truly Gargantuan

Truly Gargantuan

Still doesn't have a tag :'(
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Oct 25, 2017
8,034
CT is one of the easier JRPGs of it's time. I don't see how one would even reach a point to require a guide unless you're trying to 100% it.
 
DiipuSurotu

DiipuSurotu

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Oct 25, 2017
53,148
A guide is absolutely necessary to get all the endings. The windows of opportunity for getting some of the endings are ridiculously small
 
Aaron D.

Aaron D.

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,306
Yeah, I don't remember being engaged with the internet back in '95 when I beat Chrono Trigger.

Wasn't much on gaming mags either. Though I did pick up a random one here and there, I don't recall seeking them out for game-guide purposes.

Funny aside, my older (maybe 10-something years or so?) housemate at the time asked me for a video game suggestion for his niece & nephew as a holiday gift and it was right in the window where I played the game. Without pause I told him to get them Chrono. The only problem was that while they were way into SNES, they were also pretty young.

The msrp at the time was $79.99(!)...$135 in modern currency. Neither of us were cash-flushed at the time so my roommate asked me if I was sure it was worth the inflated standard SNES price. I didn't blink an eye and told him it most certainly was.

Looking back, at the age range of 8-10'ish, I think those kids were too damn young to play/enjoy Chrono Trigger. But I didn't connect the dots enough to see past my own nose and suggest something more age appropriate. In retrospect perhaps Yoshi's Island would have been a better call.

My only hope is that one of those kids remained engaged with the pastime long enough to realize that they were gifted a true all-time classic title back in the day.
 
LuckyLinus

LuckyLinus

Member
Jun 1, 2018
1,935
I mustve beaten CT about 4 years before I had internet, not sure how many endings I figured out on my own but I do remember looking up how to get the remaining ones at school.

The one I remember getting stuck in way more was the first Breath of Fire.
 
Aladan

Aladan

Member
Dec 23, 2019
496
My first time beating was shortly after the release on a modded SNES (I'm from Germany) with a US Cartdrige. There was no guide to refer to and my English back then was...Jeah I could understand some words..nothing more. ;-)
 
Biske

Biske

Member
Nov 11, 2017
8,255
Funnily enough when I played it years and years ago I ended up in one of the boss fights where you fight many forms of lavos, maybe all of them. I dunno if thats normal or I just ran out of luck and got the longest most boring one.

The fight was so long and tedious that I never finished it. It was also the Playstation version of the game so the whole menu load time insanity really hurt too.
 
Weiss

Weiss

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Biske said:
Funnily enough when I played it years and years ago I ended up in one of the boss fights where you fight many forms of lavos, maybe all of them. I dunno if thats normal or I just ran out of luck and got the longest most boring one.

The fight was so long and tedious that I never finished it. It was also the Playstation version of the game so the whole
menu load time insanity really hurt too.
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Yeah when you encounter Lavos for the final battle by clearing the Black Omen you land right in front of him and he goes through like 14 other boss' forms, but none of them have been buffed at all since you first fought them so they all die in one or two hits. It's already really boring so I can't imagine what it must have been like on the PS1 version.

You can skip this by selecting 1999 AD on the Epoch which gives you the option of ramming Lavos, destroying the Epoch but automatically letting you go to the second phase. This also changes the ending you get and is one of three you can get in your first playthrough.
 
Biske

Biske

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Nov 11, 2017
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Weiss said:
Yeah when you encounter Lavos for the final battle by clearing the Black Omen you land right in front of him and he goes through like 14 other boss' forms, but none of them have been buffed at all since you first fought them so they all die in one or two hits. It's already really boring so I can't imagine what it must have been like on the PS1 version.

You can skip this by selecting 1999 AD on the Epoch which gives you the option of ramming Lavos, destroying the Epoch but automatically letting you go to the second phase. This also changes the ending you get and is one of three you can get in your first playthrough.
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Yup thats the one I got, I'm sure I sucked at the game and battle system, but from my memory, I did that battle for at least an hour plus and eventually was like F this. I should really get the DS version or something and play through it
 
Weiss

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Biske said:
Yup thats the one I got, I'm sure I sucked at the game and battle system, but from my memory, I did that battle for at least an hour plus and eventually was like F this. I should really get the DS version or something and play through it
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It's also on Steam and mobile if you can't get the DS version.
 
Hecht

Hecht

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Oct 24, 2017
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OrigamiPirate said:
The game came out when I was in Jr High and my classmates and I pretty much did it exactly this way. While cataloging our endings, we found the "chapter title" on the save screen to be the best indicator of what we were going to get, as I recall. Ahhhhhh, memories
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Yeah that's the best way to do it. There are a couple weird ones though, like...I can't remember the exact conditions but it's like somewhere in the middle of Meet Tata -> Go to Denadoro -> Get Broken Masamune where there's a point you need to go back and fight Lavos for a specific ending.

EDIT: Oh, then the one where you go to the Mammon Machine, but then don't go through the sealed door in Zeal. That seems like a weird trigger for an ending.
 

Skulldead

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,450
yep didn't had internet was able to complete pretty much all sidequest say by the old men in the end of time. But
revive chrono with the Chrono trigger took me a really long time before discover it, i had pretty much anything done other then that
 
Nocturnowl

Nocturnowl

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Oct 25, 2017
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I played it on the WiiVC (PAL lander here) and I definitely must've got a guide up when Crono got vaporised or something like that, I recall the steps to getting him back weren't all that clear, but I haven't been back to the game for a decade so my memory is fuzzy.
 
SlasherMcGirk

SlasherMcGirk

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Oct 27, 2017
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I think Chrono Trigger's only fault is that the game is too easy. So no OP i don't agree with you. The only remotely challenging thing is the last spekkio fight.
 
Weiss

Weiss

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SlasherMcGirk said:
I think Chrono Trigger's only fault is that the game is too easy. So no OP i don't agree with you. The only remotely challenging thing is the last spekkio fight.
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Don't you have to be level 99 with max stats to do that fight anyway, in a game where you can beat the final boss at level 50?
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

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Oct 27, 2017
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VyechnayaSlava said:
Yep. As a kid we didn't exactly have guides or the internet.
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this, but also: RPG's showed up so seldomly in the pre FF VII days, and the size of them really allowed you to replay & fully explore every corner you could find, moreso here on CT since it was literally built around replays.
firmly recall being one of the kids that'd want to max level/stats on games like this that i adored, nothing but time for months and months before the next one dropped anyway
 
Kenstar

Kenstar

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DiipuSurotu said:
No because I played on emulator (CT SNES never came out in Europe) and there's a part in the future where you have to press 3 buttons at the same time to open a door, and I got stuck on that part because I didn't realize my keyboard couldn't register 3 key presses at the same time. Finally I read a guide that told me to configure the emulator to map the 3 buttons to one keyboard key to pass that part.
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Dude, did you just admit to a crime?
 
SlasherMcGirk

SlasherMcGirk

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Oct 27, 2017
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Weiss said:
Don't you have to be level 99 with max stats to do that fight anyway, in a game where you can beat the final boss at level 50?
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Nah only like 50ish. It's that bad to get to level 99 but the max out the stats it is a very very long grind. I was doing it for like two years on the PS1 version. Ayla has something like 19 magic stat at 99 and there is only like 20 magic tabs the entire game so yea...it takes a great deal of time to get everyone maxed out.
 
Kenstar

Kenstar

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