06-10-2003, 07:03 PM
Elric,
It's interesting that you bring up Chrono Trigger's linearity--I found it to be one of the most non-offending linear games I've ever played. To me, linearity only becomes a problem when I don't like what I'm being fed, so to speak, or the linear nature of the game causes the player to get completely and utterly stuck, i.e. if you can't solve this puzzle, you can't go anywhere! Neither of these were a problem for me in Chrono Trigger. I felt that the plot, though segmented as it was through the different time periods, was very fluid. And obviously, as you noted, the game isn't dificult at all; I don't think anyone has gotten stuck on any of the "puzzles" in Chrono Trigger (are there any?).
Aside from that aspect, the lack of difficulty in the game didn't bother me at all. In playing console rpgs particularly, I just surrender myself to the storyline of the game. I can't think of a console rpg that actually had difficult-to-solve puzzles, other than those which weren't just bonuses for the over-achiever. I don't think I've ever been presented with a genuinely difficult puzzle that prevented me from going any further in the game. The only challenge, if any, would be the difficulty of combat, which, due to the lack of random combat, you can adjust yourself in CT. If you want the game to be more difficult, just run past all the enemies! (Coincidentally, I'm starting to see how you finished the game in one sitting now... :))
I think that much of the difference between CT and FFVI was in the way the stories were presented. FFVI feels more like a novel than a game to me. You follow Terra as the central character, sure, but the central character isn't *you* like it is with Mario in Super Mario RPG and with Chrono. You follow the party and plotline around in FFVI as they were, whereas in CT, you feel like you're the main character and make all the decisions accordingly (even if, as is the case with 90% of them, they don't affect the outcome of the game other than the ending). I enjoyed the elegance of Chrono Trigger; it made me feel like I was a part of the action, and it had a few neat hooks, like the ability to solve quests in the past and see their effect in the future, and the death of yourself as the central character. I don't think CT was as epic as FFVI, and no one can beat Kefka B) (except Golbeze?), but overall I think I enjoyed Chrono and the gang more.
It's interesting that you bring up Chrono Trigger's linearity--I found it to be one of the most non-offending linear games I've ever played. To me, linearity only becomes a problem when I don't like what I'm being fed, so to speak, or the linear nature of the game causes the player to get completely and utterly stuck, i.e. if you can't solve this puzzle, you can't go anywhere! Neither of these were a problem for me in Chrono Trigger. I felt that the plot, though segmented as it was through the different time periods, was very fluid. And obviously, as you noted, the game isn't dificult at all; I don't think anyone has gotten stuck on any of the "puzzles" in Chrono Trigger (are there any?).
Aside from that aspect, the lack of difficulty in the game didn't bother me at all. In playing console rpgs particularly, I just surrender myself to the storyline of the game. I can't think of a console rpg that actually had difficult-to-solve puzzles, other than those which weren't just bonuses for the over-achiever. I don't think I've ever been presented with a genuinely difficult puzzle that prevented me from going any further in the game. The only challenge, if any, would be the difficulty of combat, which, due to the lack of random combat, you can adjust yourself in CT. If you want the game to be more difficult, just run past all the enemies! (Coincidentally, I'm starting to see how you finished the game in one sitting now... :))
I think that much of the difference between CT and FFVI was in the way the stories were presented. FFVI feels more like a novel than a game to me. You follow Terra as the central character, sure, but the central character isn't *you* like it is with Mario in Super Mario RPG and with Chrono. You follow the party and plotline around in FFVI as they were, whereas in CT, you feel like you're the main character and make all the decisions accordingly (even if, as is the case with 90% of them, they don't affect the outcome of the game other than the ending). I enjoyed the elegance of Chrono Trigger; it made me feel like I was a part of the action, and it had a few neat hooks, like the ability to solve quests in the past and see their effect in the future, and the death of yourself as the central character. I don't think CT was as epic as FFVI, and no one can beat Kefka B) (except Golbeze?), but overall I think I enjoyed Chrono and the gang more.
-jms
*hemal2@USEast
*hemal2@USEast