Chrono Trigger – JC Cawley

Kong’s T’day Tune #3

J.C. Cawley — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 19:43:41 +0000

I’ve put together a list of 60 tunes that have stuck with me through the years, inspired by Jeffrey Canam (@GrahfMetal)’s Twitter rundown of his top 100 favourite video game tracks. I’ve attempted to limit myself to a couple songs per game, but there are exceptions.

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#3

This song is so damn cute.

Track: “Yearnings of the Wind ” (YouTube Link)
Game: Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)
Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda

Kong’s T’day Tune #29

J.C. Cawley — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 15:16:00 +0000

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#29

Yasunori Mitsuda’s Chrono Trigger work is legendary, widely considered one of the best overall video game soundtracks of all time. Despite making hard cuts and narrowing down my list to only one song per game as much as possible, there are three Chrono Trigger songs in the top 30. Here’s the second one. The third won’t be making its appearance for a few weeks yet…

“Frog’s Theme” is a one of the tunes from this game that stuck with me, partly because of the great, memorable hook, and partly because it was so well integrated into the game. Heroic music at a climactic moment in the story feels glorious.

Track: “Frog’s Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)
Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda

Kong’s T’day Tune #30

J.C. Cawley — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 13:58:42 +0000

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#30

We’ve reached the top 30, the top half of the list! Every tune up here is essential to my game music appreciation for one reason or another, and I had to make a lot of hard cuts.

Yasunori Mitsuda’s Chrono Trigger work is legendary, widely considered one of the best overall video game soundtracks of all time. Despite making hard cuts and narrowing down my list to only one song per game as much as possible, there are three Chrono Trigger songs in the top 30. If I hadn’t forced it, there would be a lot more than that. Here’s one of them. Try to guess what the other two will be.

“Schala’s Theme” is a great sad/slow song, because it doesn’t lean too heavily to the sappy side (like, for example, Rosa’s theme from Final Fantasy IV). There’s an undertone of potential here that also gives it a tinge of nostalgia, of loss, of grasping for something you can’t quite reach. Terra’s theme from Final Fantasy VI is another one that hits these same kind of notes. It’s great when the same tune can carry multiple thematic burdens for your game.

Track: “Schala’s Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)
Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda

Kong’s T’day Tune #47

J.C. Cawley — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 20:31:45 +0000

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#47

So I finally got to Chrono Trigger and this is the song I picked? Yes. Yes it is.

Maybe I’ll make an exception and include another tune from Chrono Trigger later in this list, but it was absolutely imperative that I start with this memorable little melody. Gato is supposed to be singing this, and this is one of the first video game songs without a vocal track where I could clearly hear the lyrics in my head. Great execution, and the music is a big part of what gives this damn robot so much character. The whole game works like that.

I sing this song to my dog.

Track: “Gato’s Song” (YouTube Link)
Game: Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)
Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda