In a word?

Fuck. Yes.

All right, two words.

I know that, judging by the reaction that the choice has gotten in the forums, Chrono Trigger isn't exactly the most popular choice for the new Endurance Run. The past Endurance Runs were of recent games played by teams that went blindly forward with no prior exposure to the games. The choice of Chrono Trigger goes against those very concepts; the game is a well-known classic of its genre, and the team going in has already experienced it, though a lot of time has passed since then. Also, because of its age, Chrono Trigger lacks some of the qualities, such as voice acting, that lent the Persona 4 and Deadly Premonition Endurance Runs part of their charm.

That all being said, I have no problem with the choice of game. Having played the game on the SNES and again on the DS, I know the ins and outs of Chrono Trigger well enough. The story holds no surprises for me. But the Persona 4 Endurance Run was a similar experience; I had already beaten the game and attained the true ending well before Jeff and Vinny had sat down to record the first episode. When I watch the Chrono Trigger Endurance Run, I'll watch it because I want to see Ryan and Patrick's reaction to it. Yes, they're already both at least somewhat familiar with the game; it won't be the same sense of bizarre discovery as was the case in the previous ERs. But if each one was the exact same, take a recent, niche game and experience the oddities within, wouldn't that grow old in its own way?

And speaking of old, why should a game's age work against its favor? The Endurance Runs are not unlike the Let's Plays one could easily find on Youtube. I know of at least one person that's actually done a Let's Play of Chrono Trigger. And you know what? What I saw of it was actually pretty entertaining. It's all about how the participants react to the scenes on screen and the flow of the game. Chrono Trigger might not have voice acting, or Funky Student, or peculiarly-named murder victims, but it has its own charms. And in this case, the bonus quirks of the SNES-era Ted Woolsey translation. You know. The "spoony bard" guy.

If you don't understand that reference, I pity you.

But I'm getting off track here. The point is, despite its age, and despite the familiarity, Chrono Trigger has a lot to offer as an Endurance Run. For those of us that have played it and have our own particular fondnesses for it, we get to see the reactions of two guys that otherwise probably wouldn't have much reason to talk about the game in the context of Giant Bomb. For those of you that haven't played it for one reason or another, well, it gives you a way to experience it in the same way that those unfamiliar with Persona 4 or Deadly Premonition were introduced.

It's possible that the Endurance Run won't be very interesting, and Ryan and Patrick might not make the ideal pairing for this endeavor. But all the same, I'm going to give it a shot, because god damn it I love that game, and I am happy to see Giant Bomb give it this treatment. It will be an adventure.

Yes, thank you glad to see someone else see's that the new Endurance Run could be really good

I think I might end up avoiding it until I actually play the game for myself. Been meaning to get a DS copy for a while now, but I've forgotten about it. I'll watch it eventually, good choice for an ER game.

I'm sure the Endurance Run will be great, the only thing I'm disappointed with at all is a lack of Vinny.

I wouldn't care if they were just familiar with it, but if one of them has already played it that just sounds boring.
 
"Hey guys remember this part when this thing happened? Yeah I remember this too."
 
I'll still watch it, and I hope my expectations are overturned, but I'm not expecting much.

I played Chrono Tigger back in my Snes. It was a great game for the time. I bought it again on the PSN a couple of days back and honestly I'm not quite sure it is the best choice for an endurance run, This game belongs to other time and it was great back then, this isn't Art or Red whine. technology + time = obsolescence.

Anyway I hope this turns out well.

It's the familiarity factor that I think is potentially the most detrimental. Imagine how less entertaining it would have been if they knew everything about Thomas going in. Granted, Chrono Trigger doesn't have those kinds of bananas left-turns, but still.

Also, I feel like Ryan is at his best as the berate-er, not the berate-ie.

I'm sure it will be fine though.

I'm not really a fan of the choice. Why Chrono Trigger? It's been played out so damn much already; I can't imagine there's a lot to bring to the table. I am willing to be surprised, though.

@LordXavierBritish said:

I wouldn't care if they were just familiar with it, but if one of them has already played it that just sounds boring. "Hey guys remember this part when this thing happened? Yeah I remember this too." I'll still watch it, and I hope my expectations are overturned, but I'm not expecting much.

Well, we honestly don't know how much of the game that they remember. I know that when I played the DS version, there were a lot of things I just straight up forgot completely until I got to certain points, and other parts that just didn't seem familiar at all.

@DonPixel said:

I played Chrono Tigger back in my Snes. It was a great game for the time, I bought it again on the PSN a couple of days back and honestly I'm not quite sure it is the best choice for a endurance run, This game belongs to other time and it was great back then, this isn't Art or Red whine. technology + time = obsolescence.

Anyway I hope this turns out well.

Judging by the DS version, Chrono Trigger holds up very well.

I am looking forward to this ER, because I unfortunately haven't had any exposure to video games. I didn't really have much of an exposure to video games till about 2005 or so.

@SoldierG654342 said:

It's the familiarity factor that I think is potentially the most detrimental. Imagine how less entertaining it would have been if they knew everything about Thomas going in. Granted, Chrono Trigger doesn't have those kinds of bananas left-turns, but still.

Also, I feel like Ryan is at his best as the berate-er, not the berate-ie.

I'm sure it will be fine though.

It really depends on your definition of bananas. Some parts of Chrono Trigger get ridiculous. Dalton alone is a monument to the absurd.

@Video_Game_King said:

I'm not really a fan of the choice. Why Chrono Trigger? It's been played out so damn much already; I can't imagine there's a lot to bring to the table. I am willing to be surprised, though.

Why not? It's not like it's gotten much play around here. Though you probably wouldn't be satisfied with any choice unless it were either a Fire Emblem game or the most obscure, fan-translated RPG they could possibly dig up. :P

Chrono Trigger is the greatest JRPG of all time. I think Ryan and Patrick can make it entertaining, especially if they decide to do the voice acting.

Actually, the obscurity would be useful, since they could potentially bring something new to it and raise attention for that game. Also, Fire Emblem? Did you forget ChristopherTheExcommunicated so soon?

@Video_Game_King said:

Actually, the obscurity would be useful, since they could potentially bring something new to it and raise attention for that game. Also, Fire Emblem? Did you forget ChristopherTheExcommunicated so soon?

If I ever do a Let's Play of a Fire Emblem for any reason, I'll be sure to play it like a total ponce just for you. :P

I'm only disappointed that Patrick Klementia is a part of it.

Wait... when was this announced? Where?

@Gerhabio said:

Wait... when was this announced? Where?

It was first announced on the Tested Octoberkast and has since been talk about by the staff on Twitter.

Yeah. What the fuck are people talking about?

I don't think the game would be interesting to watch when they know what to expect from a game. I like Patrick/Ryan quick looks so the pairing doesn't bother me but Chrono Trigger?

It's pretty clear that these guys remember fucking nothing from, like, five-year-old games, so I doubt they'll have encyclopedic knowledge about Chrono Trigger.

I feel the game is overhyped. At the time it was about the best the industry could offer, now it amounts to a good deal of nostalgia, as it is obsolete in almost every way, not to mention overplayed over the years.

I rarely see the Endurance Run either way, still the choice seems weak to me. In the spirit of the choice, I would choose Zombies: Ate My Neighbours. That would be bananas.

Awesome, a game I've been meaning to play but never will.

You know if Chrono Trigger was a game I played in my childhood it would probably be one of my favorites. I picked it up on the DS and never finished it. I probably should, I'd like to see an endurance run. Though Patrick and Ryan seem like an odd pair. Maybe I'd just prefer Vinny and Jeff. Still cool. Also it would have been cool if neither of them had played it. The fear gauntlet has shown that there is interesting things you realize in looking back.

I obviously think that it is a great choice.

Everything about this sounds good. Every part of it.
 
Not least of all because I haven't played Chrono Trigger.

I'm pretty excited for it, it's one of (if not my single most) favourite RPG. I'd love to have seen Brad and/or Vinny in there, but I think Ryan/Patrick could make for a solid pick too. Patrick is pretty enthusiastic and fun, which will help cut the intentional Ryan jerkiness pretty well.

Never played this supposedly lovely game, looking forward to this!

I'm not that excited for it personally. I feel like having someone who's already played the game sort of ruins it, I'm not so hot on the fact that there is no Jeff or Vinny. (I like Patrick's articles just don't think he is that funny and Ryan needs someone to play off) and the game itself doesn't seem that interesting, it's a known quantity to a lot of people unlike Persona 4 or Deadly Premonition. All that being said, I will watch it start to finish.

I've lowered my expectations to "Staring at dirt" level of excitement so even if its boring I might be surprised.

I'm sure it'll wind up a great thing that I watch every day, but I was really hoping for something more obscure and crazy.

I don't have a problem with CT being the game, I just don't like Patrick.

@Hailinel said:

In a word?

Fuck. Yes.

All right, two words.

... Ryan and Patrick...

Dude, never have I gone from excitement to horror so quickly. It's like Kim Kardashian walked up to me and said, "Like I can't wait for me and my sister to like totally blow you [rushing to unzip my pants] away with awesome deals on dresses at our boutique."

Ryan and Patrick... yeah, no thanks.

I'll take a Chrono Trigger endurance run where they start with a NG+ file and get all the different endings.  Watching another Let's Play of the main play through is kinda...eh.

I think Chrono Trigger is a great game, but I don't think it has the levels of crazy Japanese insanity that made the staff's reactions to Persona 4 and Deadly Premonition so entertaining to watch. That, and the pairing of Ryan and Patrick rings some alarm bells for me, because Ryan will just be belligerent about everything and Patrick will try too hard to be funny while inadvertently going "I remember this part!" whenever something good is about to happen.

I dunno as I already said the idea of playing an old RPG dosn´t sound all that exiting , it´s the grinding man that stuff it´s just not fun to do less fun to watch someone else doing it , it may turn out great who knows I don´t mind Ryan and Patrick the kinect QL they make are always entertaining but I think it would´ve been better picking a different game for the SNES something action oriented to compesate the lack of voice acting at least and I just can´t see Ryan carefully reading text and commenting about it, hell Vinny and Jeff skipped a lot of text in P4 even when it was accompanied by voice.

@gladspooky said:

It's pretty clear that these guys remember fucking nothing from, like, five-year-old games, so I doubt they'll have encyclopedic knowledge about Chrono Trigger.

Exactly this. Ryan barely played it before and Patrick said he played it when it came out, 16 years ago when he was only 10.

The game isn't really all that long and it's very easy, it will be a quick ER than we all can have fun waiting 2 years for the next.

We didn't get Chrono Trigger in the UK until 2009.

I dunno as I already said the idea of playing an old RPG dosn´t sound all that exiting , it´s the grinding man that stuff it´s just not fun to do less fun to watch someone else doing it , it may turn out great who knows I don´t mind Ryan and Patrick the kinect QL they make are always entertaining but I think it would´ve been better picking a different game for the SNES something action oriented to compesate the lack of voice acting at least and I just can´t see Ryan carefully reading text and commenting about it, hell Vinny and Jeff skipped a lot of text in P4 even when it was accompanied by voice.

I've already played the hell out of it, so I probably wont watch it or my eyes will bleed.

I never played Chrono Trigger, how long is a normal playthrough?

All I wanted was Jeff and Vinny to be playing. My only other issue is that Patrick already played the game, I would rather the game be something that both guys never played before.

@Bocam:

15 - 20 hours if you know what you are doing. Also the last part of the game is comprised of optional quests, so it can vary a lot depending on how many of those you do.

no vinny

game they've already played

I think I'll pass

@Beld said:

@Bocam:

15 - 20 hours if you know what you are doing. Also the last part of the game is comprised of optional quests, so it can vary a lot depending on how many of those you do.

The game is really not that grind-intensive at all, but depending on the path you want to take toward the end, the more side quests that are pursued, the better. At least on the initial playthrough. In a New Game +, you can literally jump to the final boss fight within minutes of starting the game. Chrono Trigger is a game that's meant to be played numerous times and experimented with, so its play time from start to finish isn't as taxing as other RPGs of the era. I'd be surprised if Patrick and Ryan even come close to the 100 hour mark that the P4 Endurance Run nearly hit.

It's short as RPGs go. Anyone who doesn't like it won't have to endure it for long, eh? Eh?

I'm glad they're willing to experiment with a different sort of Endurance Run. If it works out, it might open the doors for this to be a more regular segment. Who says there has to be only one a year? They've certainly got the extra staff to make these happen more often now. Anyone who's upset should just think of this as extra content instead of a replacement for what could've been the next Persona 4 (which I would argue does not exist right now). Ever stop to think that Jeff and Vinny are holding off for the next perfect kooky niche game? I wouldn't want them to be burnt out (again) when the time comes.

Anyway, speculation aside, I'm stoked for this. Excited to see how the Ryan/Patrick dynamic plays out, and while Chrono Trigger ain't no P4, that doesn't mean it can't be hilarious. Ryan's driving, and I think that in itself is a lot of comedy potential. He's never struck me as someone very fond of JRPGs.

@dudeglove said:

@Hailinel said:

If you don't understand that reference, I pity you.

I think I can live with myself.

Never said you couldn't.

I will never understand anyone who complains about free content on a website that they love.