Micro Narratives in Chrono Trigger

                      As promised, here is an in-depth look at the various micro narratives you'll find in Chrono Trigger. A micro narrative, in the sense that I'm using, are stories that are created and resolved within the long term narrative of the game. The entire first world of Super Mario Bros. 3 could be considered a micro narrative, as you go through the entire story of chasing the princess and beating her supposed captors, while still having to continue on to other worlds to bring about a final resolution.
Warning: There will be tons of spoilers in this and I suggest that anyone who hasn't played the game refrain from reading this.


The amazing thing about the micro narratives in Chrono trigger is how the game allows the player to actively participate within them as opposed to barraging them with a mass of text.

This is really making me want to play through the story (Soul Calibur something) 

Or a pointless cutscene

I bet that won't get repetitive (Final Fantasy 13) 

For example, there is a scene in Chrono trigger where Robo runs into his 6 "brothers". They then proceed to tell him he is faulty and the scene ends, beginning in game action with the 6 brothers viciously beating on Robo. At that moment you control Chrono and have the choice to either jump in or let them continue. If you decide to jump in, you will find Chrono pushed back instantly, with Robo telling Chrono "Stop, they are my brothers". No matter how many times Chrono jumps into the fray to help Robo, he continues to get pushed back and Robo will continue to repeat that same phrase. The game could have just chosen to do this for you. In fact we constantly see gorgeous cut scenes that simulate high emotion parts of the game like this. The difference is that when you as a player get to participate within the situation, you feel the powerlessness of Chrono. 

  I can't wait to kick all of your asses. 

Another example of when Chrono trigger does this is the dream quest with Luca that allows her to save her mother. In this sequence Luca is allowed to go back in time to stop her mother from dying due to one of the inventions her father made. The player can choose to let Luca's mother live or die by actively putting in the password. The first time I played through this sequence it never occurred to me where the password should be put into. When I finally found the console it was too late. How often do we see situations like this in games, where just to avoid an awkward mishap (like missing the console) they forgo the scene with a simple "would you like to do this" yes and no box? When you take ownership away from the gamer, they feel invested within the moment in general. 

I will admit the trigger to this memory came totally out of the blue

These are just two of the many times Chrono Trigger gives the play the ability to control a micro narrative. More games need to allow the player ownership of these critical moments within a game. These moments don't always need to be combat. In life we don't always fight our way through situations and the same should apply to video games. These moments are what set Chrono Trigger apart from other RPGs. They make you feel invested within the characters and the world you are playing in.