Final Fantasy Origins is an impressive little collection that bundles the Wonderswan remakes of Final Fantasy I & II for the PlayStation, with a slew of quality-of-life improvements that make Final Fantasy's earliest entries more accessible to new audiences without cheapening their "old school" difficulty. About the only impressive thing Final Fantasy Chronicles does is introduce intrusive load times and slowdown to Super Nintendo games in the year 2001 and with the full space of dedicated CDs at Square's disposal. Astonishing.
I'm sure there's worse ways to play these games. I know my ears wouldn't be able to tolerate a full playthrough of Final Fantasy IV for the Game Boy Advance, at least, but Chronicles is still less than ideal. I didn't tear into the technical aspects of the game in my review of FFIV, but the amount of slowdown here is agonizing. Scroll through your inventory mid-battle and watch it tick by like molasses slowly pouring from the tap. I also encountered a somewhat frequent bug where Rydia's summons would appear for a couple of frames and then vanish, taking any ensuing effects or damage along with them. Granted, I have no (contemporary) frame of reference to say whether these problems are unique to Chronicles or simply part of the FFIV experience, but it definitely hampers the experience of playing this release regardless.
Chrono Trigger is a game I don't currently have the motivation to sit down and fully replay, but I did mess around in it for a while just to get a sense of what the Chronicles edition was like. Bad, it turns out! The load times are so disruptive to the pace of the game that I can't see myself bearing it for a full play in the same way I can FFIV. You do at least get a nicely animated FMV intro, but hear me out: you can just watch that on YouTube before starting an ill-gotten SNES ROM up in your emulator of choice.
Final Fantasy IV also gets an FMV intro, but uhh... uhhhhhh.... Square was respected for the quality of their CGI cutscenes during the PlayStation era, so what happened here? Was all their money tied up with Spirits Within?
There are simply better ways to play these games, and the only real value I see in Chronicles today is if you're trying to fill out a PlayStation 1 collection and are still in the "I don't want to spend a lot on old games" phase of what is sure to be a mounting problem that will ultimately lead you to financial ruin, like it has me. It starts with this and then the next thing you know you're eyeballing copies of Ehrgeiz and Xenogears and contemplating taking out a loan. I'm writing this review on a Chromebook from the back of my 2003 Toyota Avalon, which I live out of now because i bought too many video games, please donate to my patreon i need to eat i promise i won't spend it on Suikoden II thats not who i am anymore i've changed!!
I'm sure there's worse ways to play these games. I know my ears wouldn't be able to tolerate a full playthrough of Final Fantasy IV for the Game Boy Advance, at least, but Chronicles is still less than ideal. I didn't tear into the technical aspects of the game in my review of FFIV, but the amount of slowdown here is agonizing. Scroll through your inventory mid-battle and watch it tick by like molasses slowly pouring from the tap. I also encountered a somewhat frequent bug where Rydia's summons would appear for a couple of frames and then vanish, taking any ensuing effects or damage along with them. Granted, I have no (contemporary) frame of reference to say whether these problems are unique to Chronicles or simply part of the FFIV experience, but it definitely hampers the experience of playing this release regardless.
Chrono Trigger is a game I don't currently have the motivation to sit down and fully replay, but I did mess around in it for a while just to get a sense of what the Chronicles edition was like. Bad, it turns out! The load times are so disruptive to the pace of the game that I can't see myself bearing it for a full play in the same way I can FFIV. You do at least get a nicely animated FMV intro, but hear me out: you can just watch that on YouTube before starting an ill-gotten SNES ROM up in your emulator of choice.
Final Fantasy IV also gets an FMV intro, but uhh... uhhhhhh.... Square was respected for the quality of their CGI cutscenes during the PlayStation era, so what happened here? Was all their money tied up with Spirits Within?
There are simply better ways to play these games, and the only real value I see in Chronicles today is if you're trying to fill out a PlayStation 1 collection and are still in the "I don't want to spend a lot on old games" phase of what is sure to be a mounting problem that will ultimately lead you to financial ruin, like it has me. It starts with this and then the next thing you know you're eyeballing copies of Ehrgeiz and Xenogears and contemplating taking out a loan. I'm writing this review on a Chromebook from the back of my 2003 Toyota Avalon, which I live out of now because i bought too many video games, please donate to my patreon i need to eat i promise i won't spend it on Suikoden II thats not who i am anymore i've changed!!
I first got to play both of these games on the PS1 through this collection. They both play well, but have predictable loading problems due to being on an PS1 disc. FF4 plays the same as the SNES version, and only features some extra FMV cutscenes. Chrono Trigger, however, got a lot of extra features: a music player, movie player, bestiary, and a move compendium.
Both games are timeless classics, but there are better ways to play FF4. The extras included in CT were eventually added in later versions, but I prefer the gradual unlocks in this version, rather than completing the game first.
Both games are timeless classics, but there are better ways to play FF4. The extras included in CT were eventually added in later versions, but I prefer the gradual unlocks in this version, rather than completing the game first.
The four stars are entirely for my favorite version of FFIV. The CT port is ruined by bad load times.
How about them loading times :/
This was my introduction to both of these wonderful games.
I originally borrowed this from a friend in 7th grade, to play Final Fantasy IV at his request. Funnily enough, I got distracted by Chrono Trigger and played that through to completion first. I did get to FFIV though eventually. :)
Ironically though, this is by far the worst version of Chrono Trigger you can play anywhere. The load times are absurd when comparing them to any other version on the market.
From what I recall, Final Fantasy IV on the PS1 still holds up though, and didn't have the insane load times that CT had.
At the end of the day, this still contains 2 amazing JRPGs, albeit with all the other remasters in the last 20 years, you should play them elsewhere now.
Ranking on this one is a bit bias as to my original experience - for a more comprehensive review of CT/FF4, see my SNES reviews for them.
I originally borrowed this from a friend in 7th grade, to play Final Fantasy IV at his request. Funnily enough, I got distracted by Chrono Trigger and played that through to completion first. I did get to FFIV though eventually. :)
Ironically though, this is by far the worst version of Chrono Trigger you can play anywhere. The load times are absurd when comparing them to any other version on the market.
From what I recall, Final Fantasy IV on the PS1 still holds up though, and didn't have the insane load times that CT had.
At the end of the day, this still contains 2 amazing JRPGs, albeit with all the other remasters in the last 20 years, you should play them elsewhere now.
Ranking on this one is a bit bias as to my original experience - for a more comprehensive review of CT/FF4, see my SNES reviews for them.
I remember being hyped for the collection as i never played either game. Must have watched the trailer on a playstation demo disc like 100 times. Put over 100 hours on this version of CT too. Cant imagine doing that today with the crappy load times.