this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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There are a lot of JRPGs from this era that I love dearly but would have a hard time recommending to anyone who didn't grow up on these kinds of games. Games that are slow, grindy, and mostly consist of clicking Attack every turn.
Chrono Trigger is the one exception I can recommend to anyone, and then say that if you liked this entry point then you can try some other JRPG classics.
Just note that the original SNES translation should be avoided, play a modern rerelease or a retranslation patch.
But Ted Woolsey's original SNES translation is gold for what it is. Remember that he did the whole thing basically by himself and had to get extremely creative to cram the script into the ROM space since English text takes up more characters than Japanese, while also avoiding NoA's insane censorship rules at the time.
I respect the hell out of him for doing the best he could with very limited resources, difficult technical limitations, and an insane deadline. I just can't recommend playing that version today over a better alternative.
I love Woolsey but have never played Chrono Trigger. Is there a mashup "best of both worlds" version out there that adds the best Woolsey-isms to the longer script version, like the Woolsey Uncensored for FF VI?
CT doesn't feel quite as wacky as Woolsey's earlier scripts--the lighter tone of the game helps with that--and most of the problem with the original stems from Nintendo of America's censorship and a handful of localization choices that won't land with everyone (for example, a main character speaks like Cyan).
Unless you hated the FF6 revision in the GBA games or later, I'd say the DS or PC versions of Chrono Trigger do what you're looking for by revising but not completely rewriting the original.
I got a bit worried after your first sentence but it sounds like Chrono Trigger should be more than okay.