Chrono Alter

Indeed, this is probably the best attempt at a completed fangame that I have ever seen, at least one that was not ordered ceased by the powers that be. It's excellent on just about every level, save for a few problems, but those are few and far in between.

First, we have the story, which is written from the continuation of the SNES game and chooses to ignore the PS/DS ports and the Chrono Cross sequel. The story itself is very in debth and well written (save for a few misspellings here and there) and it will more than likely keep any Chrono fan's interest long enough to play through this adventure.

The gameplay was fun, if not altogether inventive, and the designer makes every effort to try and retain the style of the original game. The ABS works well here, surprisingly, since it's often cumbersome in so many other games. Each character has unique sets of abilities and brings a lot to the plate. Although the game was short, there were a few optional quests, and the New Game + is an added bonus to any completist that's trying to find every secret.

Although the mapping is not quite like the original Chrono, compared to the previous RM game this was remade from (Chrono Chronicles) it is on an entirely different scale. The mapping is simple, yet nicely done. The visuals were enjoyable, and I had a lot of fun playing through the game.

The audio pulled from various Square/Enix games, most notable Chrono Trigger, and I thought the pieces fit well in here. Nothing was terribly overused, and I did not get bored or have to turn the volume down at any time.

My only real gripe comes from the balance of the game play, which often times throws you in a dungeon with limited resources, but for the most part the game was never ever too difficult nor too easy.

My other gripe comes from the story, namely for anybody who has never played Chrono Trigger before or might not recall every detail. For that reason, somebody with limited knowledge may feel as if they were tossed into this game with no idea of what was going on.

My suggestion to fix this:


1. Add in a sort of prologue which serves as the end of the first game, in which our characters are facing off with Lavos. They defeat Lavos, move on with their lives, and now it's some time later.
2. Chrono and Marle are confronted by Lavos again, and sucked into this new world.
3. Like we get to play with Lucca and Robo and Ayla for awhile before they find Chrono, I think Magus needs a big part as well, before Dalton brainwashes him. Have him going through some sort of event that makes him recall a bit about Zeal and Schala and his dealings with Dalton. A flashback showing that Dalton died, but then Magus sees Dalton and is surprised to see him alive, right before Dalton brainwashes him.
4. I would also suggest a similar approach with Glenn, to at least show a flashback of losing his best friend, getting turned into a frog, and confronting Magus.


Anyways, those are all just suggestions. I'm looking forward to trying out the sequel next.