• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

SNES RPG Showdown: Chrono Trigger VS Final Fantasy VI

Pick One

  • Chrono Trigger

    Votes: 649 59.7%

  • Final Fantasy VI

    Votes: 335 30.8%

  • I can't choose (you've failed!)

    Votes: 103 9.5%
  • Total voters
    1,087
Dice

Dice

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,203
Canada
xp2UqyJ.jpg


Possibly the most undisputed champs of the 16-bit era. Two games arrive, and only one may reign champion.

Is Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger the "desert island game" of choice?
 
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,846
Final Fantasy VI is the better game for me. It did things Chrono Trigger would have never dared to even come close.

The Opera and the World of Ruin are etched in my mind as some of the best moments I've played in my life, majestic set-pieces that weren't afraid to go against the grain to create compelling moments. Only Magus' Castle is something I'd consider it to be at that level.
 
DiipuSurotu

DiipuSurotu

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
53,148
FFVI on a desert island would be a bad idea if fish makes you sick and you're depressive...
 
Vincent Alexander

Vincent Alexander

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,729
Chrono Trigger. It comes down to the cast and memorable moments. Chrono Trigger simply has more memorable moments, and every single character is fantastic.

As I have gotten older, I've come to dislike the World of Ruin more and more. And Kefka.
 
Ladioss

Ladioss

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
847
Probably FF6. They are close, and CT was that truly ambitious all-stars 16bits JRPG killer, but FF6 is much more dear to my heart - and I like the large cast, the special move sets, and how the second part is much more free form.
 
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,846
I'll quote myself from another post

I remember the first time I played it, it was the PS1 version, on PAL console to boot. 10 seconds to get into a battle, 3 seconds to open a menu, as much to close it. Everything was slow and lagging, I didn't even know a lick of english back then because obviously it wasn't translated in multi-5. I still loved it to death. The Celes scene at the WoR, it ruined me.

FF6 is notable for me because it used its game system in every way, even turning it on its head. The World of Ruin still remains the most brilliant, smart piece of game design I've encountered. You spend all your time in the World of Balance getting close to the characters and then you're here, all alone and the game just tells you : "you can do whatever you want now...don't you want to get them back ?"

Maybe you don't want to, and as such you only need the three mandatory characters to go into the final dungeon. But maybe you love Cyan, and you want him back, so the whole world is not just a place of exploration, it has more meaning than this, you are searching for your friends. It also solves the issue of JRPGs not giving enough exposure to characters past their introduction. You are doubly rewarded here, you get the character back, and you get a piece of backstory. There is a forward momentum in every step, the characters evolves in a ruined world and shows what they were up to, then they try to make peace with their past, and then they find themselves ready for the fight ahead. It's more development than most JRPGs, and it's a game with 14 characters!

FF6 is the game that solved its open-world, in 1994. They made a world about characters, about people you want to care about, about rewards you'll find at every corner. This is why it's so good, the idea of making designers pitch in a character into the world means that they all deeply cared about their creation and how they're implemented in the game. I remember an interview that I can't find anymore about Soraya Saga just giving a ridiculous amount of details about characters like Edgar & Sabin that you almost never see in the game, but it just made sense. She didn't need to show it for the players to feel it, that's how organic they all were.

A masterpiece. I always enjoy talking about it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

edit: i found the interview after all this time from Soraya Saga

D3VWVoyXkAAwIO4.png
 
massoluk

massoluk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,573
Thailand
Hmmmm, I'm not really a big fan of World of Ruin. So, Chrono. I think that portion is more divisive than people think. The pacing went everywhere after WoR happened
 
oscar

oscar

Developer
Verified
Oct 30, 2017
31
San Fransokyo
Chrono Trigger for me. FFVI is a game that I've grown to appreciate as I've gotten older, and I think it has the better, more poignant and epic story. But Chrono Trigger is not only nostalgic to me, but just has the funner gameplay. Maybe it'd be different if I played them both for the first time today, but I'd have to pick Chrono Trigger.
 
uncelestial

uncelestial

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,060
San Francisco, CA, USA
My real answer is FFIV

But in second place, Chrono Trigger. So endearing, full of life, possibilities, choices, and characters.

FF is my favorite series but I always felt 6 was the weakest of the three 16-bit games. It's kinda dreary and overly long and poorly paced and feels "smaller" than FFIV, in which you go to the sea, the underworld, the air, and the fucking MOON.
 
Glass Arrows

Glass Arrows

Member
Jan 10, 2019
1,414
I played VI recently for the first time and while I enjoyed it overall, I think a lot of the appreciation for it comes from being a formative game for a generation of SNES gamers, a group to which I don't belong. I get why it receives the praise it does but personally, while it might be one of the better Final Fantasies it's not a top 10 JRPG for me by any means.

You can make a similar argument for Chrono Trigger as well, but I think it has some interesting things going for it that few JRPG's have done since, the same which I don't necessarily think can be said for VI. While time travel can be a maligned storytelling element, it is a boon to CT because it allows the game to have a strong diversity of memorable, evocative locales with their own personality. The game's structure is also unique, with the fact that you challenge Lavos at different points in the game on subsequent playthroughs in order to get different endings. Magus is also one of the best "secret party members" of all time (a dead art at this point, no JRPG's do that anymore), and recruiting him actually has a significant effect on the endings. Its gameplay is also much better than VI's IMO thanks to the tech mechanics, I'm not generally a fan of the ATB but it's one of the few times that a system got added to it that has a tangible effect on strategy, at least in theory.

Between the two I'd pick CT, but I'll admit that in part it's because CT is a game I grew up playing while VI isn't, so there's definitely some nostalgia at play.
 
KtotheRoc

KtotheRoc

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
56,604
Voted for Chrono Trigger. Such a wonderful little masterpiece. But I don't think anyone who voted for FF VI, or couldn't choose between CT or FF VI is wrong. They are both great games.
 
Devilgunman

Devilgunman

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,451
Chrono Trigger is the best video game ever made. Period. Comparing it to other video game just doesn't seem fair. Maybe it should be compared to the best movies and anime for the best digital entertainment ever.
 
Philtastic

Philtastic

Member
Jan 3, 2018
592
Canada
I've tried playing through FFVI twice and, both times, I stopped shortly after reaching the World of Ruin. The game already feels over at that point, and I can't muster the interest to continue it. In contrast, I've actually finished Chrono Trigger and have a lot of fond memories of it.
 
Zen

Zen

The Wise Ones
Member
Nov 1, 2017
9,657
I haven't voted yet but given past threads and general sentiment I assume CT will take it.
 
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,310
If you're stuck on a desert island, Lufia 2 is the best choice thanks to the roguelike mode.
 
Tpallidum

Tpallidum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,157
I think Chrono Trigger was doing crazier stuff. Both among the best rpgs ever created though
 
JustinH

JustinH

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,389
I liked Chrono Trigger a lot more. I actually never finished FFVI (I got to
Kefka's Tower at (I think) near the end (?) but like other than the group with my most used characters who did fine, the other two groups like... weren't leveled up enough so they were getting slapped around. At least that's what I remember, it's been a couple years
but still haven't picked it back up yet).
 
HanSoloCup

HanSoloCup

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,638
Richmond, VA
FFVI for me. It completely changed my mind on RPGs. The sweeping melodies, the battle mechanics, the beautiful characters, and the epic storytelling . It's my most played game of all time.
 
deftones r cool

deftones r cool

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,050
Devilgunman said:
Chrono Trigger is the best video game ever made. Period. Comparing it to other video game just doesn't seem fair. Maybe it should be compared to the best movies and anime for the best digital entertainment ever.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This x1,000. ^

Chrono Trigger just doesn't age. I'm so glad it was the first RPG I ever got my hands on as a young'n, and continues to shape my gaming habits to this day. The only two games I've played which even come close are Witcher 3, and Star Wars: KotOR. Even then... Chrono was better, and more memorable somehow.
 
Anoregon

Anoregon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,020
I always choose Chrono, but it's always close. FF6 is also a truly fantastic, GOAT-tier game.
 
pikachief

pikachief

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,518
I played Chrono Trigger first on DS then FF6 a year later and while still to this day the opera impressed me, I fell in love with ULTROS, and the whole of ruin and the path to it made my jaw drop.

That being said Chrono Trigger is the best game ever made, theres no contest. Sorry FF!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.