by ShinRyuu » Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:13 pm
Chrono Trigger is a game developed by SQUARE to test the fan base for reaction to new elements for the RPG gene back in 1995. Don't forget back in 1995, the two biggest RPG series competing head to head are Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Other smaller RPGs by SQUARE are Secret of Mana and Romaning SaGa, but they have diffrent styles.
SQUARE can't afford to lose out to Enix by introducing new elements that the fans don't like to FF, so they put a team to create another RPGs similar to FF style with added elements to see how the fans react. It turns out the fans loved it. So without Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross wouldn't have borned because there is no need to make a sequel if the fans didn't demanded it. There is also no real reason to make sequels either since Chrono Trigger was not intended to be a series like FF.
Most noticeable feature in Chrono Trigger is it is the first RPG to feature multiple endings that depends on the choices you make during the game progress. Without this break through, perhaps all RPGs in today's market might still be in the form of linear ending.