Recently picked up Chrono Trigger - Amazing Game!

Chrono Trigger is so far ahead of its time, it's insane. Enemies visible on the field map, battles taking place directly on the field map, character positioning mattering immensely, multi-character attacks, incredible music that holds up today, a compelling story with something like 15 total endings (granted, it's not like they're ENTIRELY different from one another, there are a few major branches with a few variations each)... Most of these things would all but vanish from games for twenty-plus years. I remember when Final Fantasy 12 came out, it was lauded for having the enemies shown on the map and battles taking place on the map as well.

One of the best RPGs ever made. I'd jump to either the Breath of Fire series, Wild Arms, or Suikoden. All are solid, though none quite as brilliant.

Nothing is exactly like Chrono Trigger, it's in a league of its own as one of the best games of all time.

Final Fantasy 6 was released around the same time on SNES, and many people debate whether Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy 6 are better, because they're both great. 4, 5, and 6 are all really good. The Lufia series is also great.

From the same era but with much different gameplay is Terranigma, and there's also the Legend of Mana series.

More modern examples of games that want to invoke Chrono Trigger are Septerra Core and Anachronox. Both are PC games, but they're old enough that any reasonably modern PC can likely play them at full speed.

one of the best games of all time

and THE best soundtrack of all time!

https://youtu.be/koPZCRg9YiI

Now you gotta play Xenogears and really be ready for some mental shit.

For more modern CT-likes I would recommend Chained Echoes and the soon-to-be-released Sea of Stars. Chained Echoes was fantastic.

I would really recommend Chrono Cross for the PS1. It's set in the same world as Chrono Trigger but isn't a direct sequel. It has some really great elements to it. I played it when I was a kid and I still revisit it every few years.

One of the best games ever made.

When does Chrono Trigger really start to get good? I've tried to play it a few times but it never fully holds me.

Check out the "Tales Of" series. I feel those games don't get the attention they deserve

Chrono Trigger is that awesome game that I never played back in the day... Until now, I started it like a month ago (the DS version) and I'm liking it so far.

You're goddamn right, it is.

Play Terranigma.

Chrono Trigger, Earthbound/Mother 2, and Seiken Densetsu 3 were the trifecta of awesome.

I don't know why I never played it for so long. I played it on DS man it was amazing.

Try Secret of Evermore. The combat is very different but the game allows for two players! One controls the main character and the other can control his pet dog. It's one of the rare action RPGs of the time.

Game soundtrack is bop!

You know the game left an impact when the grand-daddy of another great franchise, Fallout, desperately wants there to be another Chrono game.

@Xylinna I did a post a few years ago: https://thingsiplay.game.blog/2020/02/11/what-to-do-after-chrono-trigger/

Replayed this game so many times as a kid.

I should really play this someday.

But for recommendations: have you played Golden Sun perhaps?

It remains, to this day, one of my very favorite games of all time. Top tier story, characters, gameplay mechanics, and musical score. Not to mention almost infinitely replayable. So much value packed into a single purchase. Enjoy!

There's nothing quite like Chrono Trigger.

Dragon Quest IV/Dragon Warrior IV was a strong influence on Chrono Trigger's medieval era. If you wanted an entire game about the Hero, DQ4 is the closest you're ever likely to get. (Does that make Recettear a sister game to Chrono Trigger?)

Phantasy Star IV has a similarly fast-moving and cinematic plot, but the graphics and gameplay are more archaic as befits a 1993 game. Strongly recommended if you want to play older JRPGs like DQ4.

Final Fantasy VI (released as "Final Fantasy III") is similar in quality and difficulty, but much longer and more complex.

Radical Dreamers and Chrono Cross continue the story, but they have a much darker tone.

Earthbound/Mother 2 came out the same year and is another of the greats, but that's where most of the similarities end. Earthbound might be the only 16-bit classic whose tone is "all of them". Earthbound can be quite hard early on, so don't get discouraged.

The official mobile port is well done. I know it wasn't always the case but after some past updates I haven't had any issues with it. I picked it up on Google Play and it was worth the $8 I paid.

People are mentioning all the ones I would have added already. Maybe also the Dragon Quest series, but I haven't played any recent ones.

Also if you can stand a mobile gacha (also a Steam version) one of the writers of Chrono Trigger & Cross started the game Another Eden that is kind of a spiritual successor - gorgeous graphics, fantastic music, and yes some pretty nice storyline as well (mixed in with crap but you can't win them all:-D). Like... one of the main characters is basically Frog! 🐸 (Another is essentially Lucca, and Robo, and Marle, etc.)

I just started playing this the other night. Was one of those games as a kid I wanted to buy but for whatever reason I never did. Amazing so far.

I played through Chrono Trigger multiple times as a teenager. It's a fantastic game for sure.

@Xylinna Chrono Trigger also had New Game+, which basically created the term for RPGs. I played another JRPG long before Chrono Trigger, where enemies was visible on the playfield in dungeons: the infamous Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (fantastic soundtrack BTW).

One of the few games I listen to the music from.