Threads of Time - Chrono Trigger spiritual successor

[Cross]

Chrono Trigger's combat system (particularly, the double/triple tech system and the area of effect/positioning systems) was a breath of fresh air amongst final fantasy doing the exact same thing with it's combat from FF4 through 9.

That sounds awesome. Unfortunately, that's not how Chrono Trigger's combat works. You can't position characters or aim area of effect attacks. It's a bog-standard JRPG combat system.

On top of that, the time travel/era mechanics were also very cool from a world exploration perspective. It was a ton fun trying to change stuff in the past or check back in the future after doing something once you did a major thing to see the impact. I think that's what people still really want to see- a large world with many possible ways to fuck with the timeline in small way as minor sidequests, secrets and easter eggs.

That also sounds awesome, but it's not how Chrono Trigger works. From what I remember, the time travel "mechanic" is mostly used to allow you to open certain treasure chests twice (in multiple time periods). I don't think there's a single instance in the entire game where you can use time travel to change the structure of the main plot in some meaningful way. It's entirely linear. They could have replaced time travel with hopping between different dimensions and it would have made little difference.

Instead, games advertise time travel, but only use it as on rails story events, often badly.

That's what Chrono Trigger does.

 

[Yosharian]

Chrono Trigger's combat is being held up as special? Pfft it gets boring pretty fast. Definitely not its best aspect.

 

[Sergio]

It could be considered boring because it was too easy. I feel like CT was one of the easiest JRPGs of its generation.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

It's easy but it's fun, with the characters moving around the field so you can choose to wait and see if you can catch a group in a blast, or combos for your favorite party, and areas usually aren't long enough to overstay their welcome. The only really dull moment is the dinosaur mountain with the maze and the fairly repetitive encounters, and maybe one of the labs in the future it you don't notice the hint in the cutscene with the robot coming out of a wall.

 

[Zombra]

CT's greatest innovation was having enemies that were visible in the game world, something so obvious we completely take it for granted today. Before CT, in JRPGs you simply walked around an empty map, and then you were in the combat screen. Prior to CT, I have distinct memories of plotting the absolute shortest route between A and B in Final Fantasy 6, in order to minimize the drudgery of random trash combats. God I grew to dread the "surprise! another random encounter" music.

 

[Damned Registrations]

You can't position characters or aim area of effect attacks.

You can, in fact, position characters. Enemies will move around the battlefield, and you can influence them by getting them to attack a specific character so they move near them. You can't freely position characters wherever you want, which would actually be a far more common system that tends to be very boring and only add busywork. And obviously you get to aim area of effect attacks at specific enemies.

I don't think there's a single instance in the entire game where you can use time travel to change the structure of the main plot in some meaningful way.

You literally have the option of ending the game with the main character dead. Various optional side quests alter history in significant ways, even including altering geography.

You seem to want a personal DM so you can rewrite history in any way you can imagine or something. Good luck with that.