2. Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is almost as beautifully drawn as Secret of Mana 2, and has a plot which is much more innovative and compelling (although varies less between playthroughs). Travelling through time as Crono and his group of companions, youll visit the prehistoric, mage, medieval, contemporary and futuristic eras of your world in an attempt to stop Lavos (the apocolyptic force). The combat is smartly designed and enjoyable, the tech system is fun and the music is superb, but its Cronos companions who really stick in your mind after a play-through each of whom is well drawn and represents an era you travel to during the game. Croak, the frog knight of the medieval era, is amongst my favourite video game characters of all time, and the addition of an antagonist into your party towards the end of the journey offers a welcome surprise. Its not the only one, however, as youll find out as a major death towards the end will leave you reeling. Chrono Trigger is a masterpiece in gaming, and youll be amazed at the changes in the world map as you travel in time. If not sufficiently impressed by the initial jump of 400 years from 1000 to 600, youll later hunt raptors with a cave woman, rescue a robot who begins to question his programming in the future, and even visit an idealistic mage society floating high in the heavens. A good degree of thought has gone into the time shifts, and its amazing to see small actions in the past have ripples in the future arguably one of the finest game mechanics ever created.