1. Chrono Trigger
Criminally, the original SNES version Chrono Trigger was also never released to European gamers, who had to officially wait for a DS remake in 2009 to legally sample what is one of the finest games of all time. Developed by a 'dream team' of staff including Hironobu Sakaguchi (the creator of Final Fantasy), Yuji Horii (the creator of Dragon Quest), Masato Kato (the writer of Xenogears), Takashi Tokita (the lead designer of Final Fantasy IV) and renowned manga artist Akira Toriyama, the RPG is exquisitely plotted, focusing on a group of individuals from a number of different of periods in time who band together to prevent the world's destruction at the hands of the destructive Lavos. Tweaking the Active Time Battle system featured in the Final Fantasies of the time, the games combat manages to be both enjoyable and effective, whilst its musical score, though not exclusively composed by Nobuo Uematsu, is certainly comparable to his finest Final Fantasy soundtracks (and is something I've also
written about previously). Chrono Trigger was followed by a Playstation sequel of sorts, Chrono Cross, though this was once again not released in Europe (and still hasn't been, to this day). Though comparable to its predecessor in scope and quality, it struggled in terms of sales, killing off the prospect of additional titles. Such is the original game's enduring popularity amongst fans that such an additional title (Crimson Echoes - starring the original cast) and a high definition remake have been unofficially developed in the past, with the former clocking in at around thirty hours of gameplay before Square's legal team had it shut down. Given the sheer commitment of those responsible for such projects, its bewildering that they and the series' other fans are still left yearning for a new release, particularly whilst the company continues to pump out drivel in the form of cash cow mobile Final Fantasy spin-offs that are undeserving of the name.