Poll

Who is your favorite character?

Crono
6 (17.1%)
Marle
1 (2.9%)
Lucca
2 (5.7%)
Frog
6 (17.1%)
Robo
1 (2.9%)
Ayla
7 (20%)
Magus
12 (34.3%)

Total Members Voted: 35

Author Topic: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition  (Read 3551 times)

ZaichikArky

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Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« on: July 31, 2009, 01:00:24 am »
Just thought it'd be fun to try this out again and see if the result would be any different from the 1st edition in 2004 (found here- http://www.chronocompendium.com/Stories/5 ). if the result is any different, ideally it would be interesting to have us write up descriptions about why the results ended up this way for each character. It's kind of hard because ideally I'd like to just rank each character based on my liking them not just my favorite... I think that could produce better results.

My ranking would be:

1. Frog
2. Ayla
3. Marle
4. Lucca
5. Crono
6. Magus
7. Robo

Please post your ranking too if you don't mind because I could see another option where the average of the rankings could be taken to provide a more accurate result....

FaustWolf

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2009, 01:08:07 am »
Ah, why not?

1. Magus
2. Lucca
3. Frog
4. Robo
5. Ayla
6. Crono
7. Marle


BUT! If we were going by Crimson Echoes, it would become...

1. Robo
2. Ayla
3. Frog
4. Magus
5. Lucca
6. Marle
7. Crono

Zephira

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2009, 01:10:18 am »
1. Magus. Nostalgia, he's a wizard, and (if you don't over-level) he's one of the strongest hitters.
2. Ayla. Nostalgia, pure and simple (and I almost got named Ayla, so it's kinda sentimental.)
3. Marle. Stereotypical runaway princess, but she did it first (in my experience). She also never leaves my party during the entire game, except when grinding for ** in NG+.
4. Crono. I don't know how to justify it. He never leaves my team either except for when he's dead (or grinding for **).
5. Frog. He's one of my heavy hitters for the first half of the game and he does have a great theme and story, but he is immediately replace/overshadowed by Magus after Zeal.
6. Lucca. I never use her.
7. Robo. Same as Lucca.

Now in fanfiction and fanart, it's a bit of a different story. Magus and Lucca would share slot one for that, Marle would get 2, Crono 3, and Ayla and Robo are just forgotten.

mav

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2009, 01:23:13 am »
1. Frog
2. Magus
3. Lucca
4. Ayla
5. Crono
6. Robo
7. Marle

Really, the first two are the only ones who I can really rate; the others are shuffled around constantly. In fact, I could easily say that the rest of the cast come in a five way tie for last place.

Truthordeal

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2009, 01:29:24 am »
1. Magus-He is a man who transcends games!
2. Crono-I like swords!(Oddly enough, I was saying that long before I read 8BT)
3. Frog-He's Magus's character foil and rival. Plus, he has awesome attack power.
4. Ayla-Bronze Fist. 'Nuff said.
5. Lucca-Fire makes bad people go away. Plus she's probably the second strongest magic user after Magus.
6. Robo-His only saving quality is the Roboroll.
7. Marle-Hate white mages.

But, if we were to go by CE, as FW said:

1. Magus
2. Frog
3. Ayla
4. Robo
5. Crono(I liked him better when he kept his mouth shut!)
6. Lucca
7. Marle(Simply because of the Reptite Timeline)

ZaichikArky

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2009, 01:38:19 am »
^ aw but Marle isn't exactly a white mage :p.  She has some really good double techs. Not to mention that IMO haste is probably the most powerful single tech in the game. At least, I used it a helluva lot. I always had a hard time if I was fighting a boss and Marle wasn't with me.

Samopoznanie

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2009, 01:57:46 am »
1) Frog - great theme music. refreshing take on princess-and-the-frog stuff. Mostly though, I think it was just his medieval vibe, as he's the first developed character you meet in that era (my favourite).

2) Crono - as I've stated elsewhere, I'm a fan of silent protagonists. Crono's the best one I've encountered in a game; you really get immersed in his personality as things move along. Good text choices too (i.e. the trial). Plus he was the most colourful of the bunch.

3) Marle - I always liked her. A simple character, but she fit the game nicely, and consistently brought a sense of lighthearted optimism to things, in contrast to the emo mopiness of most end-of-the-world RPGs. Crimson Echoes, i thought did a great job with her, giving her the side-quest etc. Rubbed out some of the original stereotypes of her character.

4) Lucca - The most well-developed of the female characters, IMO. I've always dug inventor-type characters, and they managed to give her a personality as opposed to just leaving her as a plot device.

5) Robo - I never used him back when I played the game on the SNES, and found him about as interesting as a tin can. changed with the DS version though. I use him all the time and enjoy his dialogue. He's rather hollow compared to the others in that he doesn't have magic, and I think that's the biggest turn-off of his character.

6) Magus - Never been a part of the Magus fan club. Loved the guy as a villain. Shrugged once he joined the team. Felt that he lost a good deal of his personality after that. I look at Magus as I do at Zeal, cool, even awesome at first, but overhyped in the grand scheme of things.

7) Ayla - Her speaking style always annoyed me, and I've never liked the 65,000,000 BC period. She's much better in the DS version as her humour is more apparent. But her role for me is that of a dumb jock who's there for muscle and comic relief. Like a prehistoric Big the Cat (from Sonic Adventure) or something...

maggiekarp

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2009, 02:25:24 am »
This almost seems like a Rate the Crimson Echoes cast thread...

IAmSerge

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2009, 02:26:11 am »
Mmmmm... Magus?

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2009, 10:18:49 am »
1.) Crono - Because I'm a sucker for the main character motif (the no-back story, ever-brave, ever-vigilant, sacrificial hero-archetype)
2.) Magus - Good story, cool twist (the villain becomes a hero); plus, after Crono dies, I love putting him in the lead so all of the heroes are stuck following their former nemesis: truly sinister!
3.) Robo - Man vs machine always makes for a great spectacle!
4.) Ayla - Strong, smart, tough, bad hygiene.  Not much going on with her back story, though, so I never got personally invested.  But she's tough as nails, I'll give her that.
5.) Glenn - Great back story, cool guy. I wanna have a beer with him.
6.) Lucca - Brillance, shmilliance.
7.) Marle - Sexy blonde, bad attitude.  Physically weak.

ONSLAUGHT

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2009, 01:13:05 pm »
In response to maggiekarp's post I'm doing this solely by what's the official, the original. Only thing I'll add is stuff from the DS version(which is little to nothing). Plus I haven't seen ALL of Crimson Echoes yet, and I don't want to judge them by where I am now only to decide later I've changed my mind.

1.) Crono - He's the main character. Always been a sucker for them main characters. Where as usually silent protagonists don't work very well, they can be drab and boring, Crono gets it right. Because Crono helps show us "Silent Protagonist" doesn't mean "Emotionless". He's willing to risk life and limb for his friends and even for total strangers! What other bold badass is gonna see a girl he doesn't know anything about go through a blue vortex and take the chance of following her even though she COULD(and did) tiem or travel or maybe she just got shredded to little pieces? Crono'll face those odds.He'll face down the apocalypse itself knowing he's gonna die(SPOILER! NOT!). And in the standard ending where Gina gets sucked through the gate last second, we see one of the funniest things a typical hero can do... "Oh no! that gate'll never open again Crono!" "... *strike a BOO-YA! POSE!*" Next, the whipped cream! Crono's fighting style seems to flow so well. Back then, how often did you see Lightning heroes? Crono was unique and he's inspired a new generation of electric characters being one of the originals. Just hearing Luminaire for the first time is breath taking, practically makes you feel you're there, wind blasting past you holding up an arm to block the rays watching everything caught inside freeze for but a moment before it flashes away along with said enemies. Crono's got some sword skill to boot! Combine with all of this his not often referred but done enough friendships with his teammates, although the screen says that Crono is mute, you know all too well he's saying something. it's left off for a reason. You gotta love Crono because in truth YOU are Crono! What Crono feels YOU feel! What YOU say Crono says! When YOU obliterate all in your path Crono obliterates all in path! And so the story goes...
2.) Magus - Oh boy... here we go. Magus gets up as #2 for me since he seems to have more story than any of the other characters despite being a secret character! You know something's up and worth checking out when a game makes a hidden feature one of the best features of the entire game! Magus' techs are incredibly powerful and just as amazing to watch. The battle with him is intense and very memorable. The scythe makes him all the more frightening, as though he IS death. But in actuality he is a hero just with darker methods of victory and justice. Not getting the girl? Trying to push away all signs of emotion? Badass is a phrase that has been taken and abused nowadays. Now what I just listed are traits of a real one. Magus fits these traits. Magus really is a badass. Magus gets an incredible theme song that is one of gaming's most memorable songs ever. Magus' desparate search for Schala and protecting her from the events he ironically helped lead up to is both a sad, and enthralling tale that you can't deny getting caught up in. He's a character you want to hate, but once you realize you can get him and all he's capable of, it just becomes impossible.
3.) Frog - Frog has the true hero's tale. Even his song screams his sad life that leads to his epic triumph over Magus. Putting aside his sorrows to finally take on magus at his castle is already enough to earn him #4, what wraps it all up is when finally presented with the opportunity to kill Magus, his sworn enemy. The one sealing away his human form, the one who killed his best friend, he does what is possibly more awesome than Magus himself. He scheathes his sword and tells him that killing him won't do anything, he's not worth it, and he just walks away. Revenge I know from personal experience, especially life ruining revenge is incredibly difficult to deal with. much tougher than anyone thinks it is. It's about as challenging as getting tangled in barbed wire and getting out. Finding a hay in a needle stack. Taking a beating for 3 straight hours and living through it. Losing the love of your life. Losing both your parents in a car accident. Go through those, you may know how mentally difficult revenge is to deal, like a cigarette. Being the wielder of the Masamune isn't easy, but the way Frog pulls it off, Sephiroth's got nothing on him.
4.) Marle - I know this is where CERTAIN PEOPLE would disagree and say "Aww, you had such a good list going and then you did this." Well, this is MY opinion, post your own. Marle may not be the first but she was my first. Plus unlike most other princesses dealing with the issue of castle restraint, her father is more strict to the point of claiming terrorists are behind it and she's mind controlled. Some may say she complains often or seems stupid about things, but let's face it. How would you react to all this time travel? Way I see it, Marle is the realistic perspective on the adventure. Get used to it eventually and be amazed by the whole thing but at the same time, the different cultures, the way some of the people treat them, she has no idea how to behave. She puts up a brave front to hide the scared little girl inside, confused about why all of this is happening, especially since she's always had the castle life and has had the dark truths of the world hidden from her. As the adventure progresses she slowly but surely develops from faking her bravery for the sake of her friends and to not hold them back to actually making that courage a reality. The castle has kept her a child her whole life but by going on this adventure and seeing the world for what it really is side by side with Crono, she experiences fear, anger, joy, love. She isn't immature or stupid as everyone assumes. She's been contained her whole life and we're seeing her grow up. The climax of her growth though occurs in sadly a side quest(why she isn't as high)where she's learning the man she's hated for keeping her contained, her own father, is being framed and is to be killed. Her crashing through the window is almost like her blossoming into a full grown woman. Notice how she as the game goes on she gets less and less foolish in her actions but more wise and thoughtful. She's our little girl, behaving how we would if we were faced with death around every corner.
5.) Robo - Robo. The robot. If you're doing time travel you've gotta do a robot. Robots are generally the emotionless character with the cold truth perspective on situations. Robo changes this. Robo has some personality. In fact, Robo is one of the lighter themed characters of the game. Until his side quest. However now that we're lower in the list I guess I'll say the reason he isn't as high, it's cause the majority of him you get as a side quest instead of in the required game. I don't have as much to say here.
6.) Lucca - Lucca. She's got a lot going for her. But I never found her as interesting. Going by JUST Chrono trigger, she doesn't have as much going for her as the others either. She's got her backstory where she saves her mom's legs, but that's a side quest in a side quest. And on top of that, as sad and shocking as that mission is, it just shows what made her a scientist. Does she have any sort of deep story for her now that she is one? Not much of one until Cross then apparantly inbetween the 2 games she gets a lot. But that's not trigger, that's moreso Cross. So Lucca goes lower.
7.) Ayla - Short and simple. Backstory? Barely.

Alright now I'm going to go eat.

ZaichikArky

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2009, 05:10:12 am »
 This thread is coming along nicely, though the poll isn't  :picardno . Which is why I'd like for everyone to list their hierarchies so that later I can provide a more accurate result : ).  Otherwise, we just have Magus as first, Frog as second and... everyone else as third! LOL. It makes sense, but I would like to have a more defined ranking of the characters who aren't Frog or Magus.

ZeaLitY

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #12 on: August 01, 2009, 06:40:24 am »
1. Ayla
2. Magus
3. Frog
4. Marle
5. Lucca
6. Robo
7. Crono

Crono should honestly be on the bottom of the list, but his CE characterization stuck with me.

Edit: Yeah, putting Crono at the bottom of the list. Silent protagonists don't work in RPGs, and suck in a lot of other genres, too. It's the reason I haven't been able to get into the Zelda franchise at all; Link might as well be a magical mute refrigerator. It wouldn't make a difference with the character.

Ayla, on the other hand, is the definition of the springtime of youth.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2009, 06:44:08 am by ZeaLitY »

utunnels

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #13 on: August 01, 2009, 08:14:43 am »
Crono is a special case, he has completely no backstories, so I even don't bother to rate him down. LOL My opinio: he's cool enough to be the protagonist, but that's just not the purpose of this poll I think.
Frog and Magus' story is not new thus not unique at all, kind of a regular tale of vengeance, but when the Magus reveal his true indentity, it becames the best part of the game.  :lol:

Well, I still vote Magus.

1) Magus
2) Robo
4) Lucca
3) Frog
5) Marle
6) Ayla
« Last Edit: August 01, 2009, 08:19:32 am by utunnels »

mav

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Re: Rate the Chrono Trigger Characters- 2009 edition
« Reply #14 on: August 01, 2009, 01:01:54 pm »
Heh, in my opinion Crono is one of the harder characters to rate--he's given no backstory, but he still managea to be one helluva character if you look at his actions. Something as simple as helping a girl around a fair speaks wonders for his character; so does going to save her, so does helping a frog essentially regain his dignity, and most importantly Crono's self-sacrifice--though these decisions are pretty obvious for the archetypal hero, they do shine a pretty well on him. He didn't choose to be a hero; he just made heroic decisions. Though one of the key reasons I placed him fifth on my list was because we don't really get to see Crono's faults, or his downside. I wanted to see him vengeful or see him fuck up entirely (thankfully CE managed to show those sides of Crono), cause without them he really doesn't seem as easy to relate to: he's just a regular chum who makes above-average decisions.