Frog's Sidekick
What to say about Crono? Well, Chrono Trigger is widely considered to be one of the best JRPGs of all time and one of the best games of all time period. Even I, whose favorite game ever is Earthbound, can look at it and recognize it's the better game. Much has been said about how Chrono Trigger was a dream project made by a dream team - the creators of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Dragon Ball together - and will likely never be replicated. Maybe, then, we should be grateful that there was never a real attempt to capitalize on its success to make a cashgrab sequel that would only tarnish the original's reputation. Even Chrono Cross smartly took the route of being more of a spiritual sequel and doing it's own thing - pretty successfully, I might add.
But, while Chrono Trigger can't be said to have spawned a franchise to carry its torch for generations, it can hardly be called irrelevant. It's one of the seminal classics of the medium, one that is still frequently cited as a must-play a quarter of a century after its release. I think its fair to say that it didn't need to have dozens of needless sequels and spin-offs to stay in the hearts and minds of people, and that I believe is a testament to the game's sheer quality and uniqueness.
So, Smash. Should Chrono Trigger be in Smash, or rather, has Chrono Trigger earned its place in Smash? I don't think there's any doubt about that. I can completely understand having certain reservations about it. After all, Chrono Trigger is a 1995 game, and Crono himself has made no appearances in any media after 1999. And to be fair, as is tradition with Square Enix, we can assume that perhaps there are rights issues involved (likely nothing that would stop Sakurai). But I want everyone to think if there is any other singular game that has earned the accolades and respect that Chrono Trigger has. Not part of a franchise, no Ocarina of Time or Metal Gear Solid here, I'm talking about singular games. Because I can't think of any.
What I'm trying to convey here (I hope successfully!) is that it's no small feat for a single game to have the legacy that compares to the great franchises. I think that counts for something.
A lot has been said about Crono versus his party members. Of course, I understand. RPG protagonists tend to lean towards the bland, and Crono appears (at least for part of the game) to follow the same genericness. While his great Toriyama design would have stood out before, the DQ heroes have stolen some of his thunder - I don't think all of it due to Crono's distinct and iconic appearance and also his different height, but the impact has somewhat been muted. But let's be real, games are represented by the main characters. That's been the rule with very few exceptions and none of Crono's awesome party members would be another one. There's also the question of uniqueness; "Another anime swordsman? Pah!" "Hero and Robin can already do lightning, so he's absolutely redundant." While hoping that these are strawmans and not actual beliefs that people have, the answer to this matter is also the answer to the previous one: Crono's party members would absolutely be represented in his moveset. How else would the game's unique Active Time Battle 2.0 system and the Techs be represented? Some might say that would be a lot of work, but to that I point to Masahiro Sakurai, the guy who wanted to represent Dragon Quest properly so much that he gave one character four different skins and like ten times more special moves than usual. I trust that it would be done, not for wishful thinking but because it would be the way to represent the game properly.
Bottom line is, you get everything you could possibly want out of a playable character. A great unique moveset. Iconic and creative locales for a stage. Wonderful music. If he were base roster, the best possible selection of potential ATs.
But of course, we all know it's not happening. Square Enix already got one character, they won't get another one this Pass. And the existence of the second Pass is subject to much debate and speculation.
But what does the future hold for Crono? It's hard to call. Square Enix has made some of the greatest games of all time and has acquired quite a few of the others. Lara Croft is one of the most iconic gaming characters of all time period. Sora isn't too far behind. Deus Ex is one of the most legendary western RPG series. Bubble Bobble is a beloved classic. The World Ends With You, Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler could break out and become the next generation of legendary RPG franchises. NieR: Automata is one of the best games of the generation. And there's the ever-present Geno, a beloved character with similar issues as Crono but a massive backing to compensate. At least Square Enix no longer owns the rights to Hitman because hoo boy.
But I do believe that Crono has a chance to rise to that strong challenge. Not much else to say, sorry for the lousy ending.
(Oh, those of you who haven't played it. Do yourself a favor.)
Chance: 1%
Want: 100%
Noms: Prince of Persia x5
Cadence prediction: 11.13%
