I went into Chrono Trigger pretty much blind. I recently got emulators for all the retro systems on my new laptop and wanted to try playing some of the classic turned based RPGs that I hadn't really played before, and Chrono Trigger was one of the most acclaimed ones, so I figured I'd start there. It lived up to the praise and then some. There's so much about this game to break down that make it great, from the uniquely designed battles to the interconnectivity created by its time traveling mechanic.... But what I want to focus on are my thoughts on its visual presentation, music, and themes that arise from the dialogue. Some of this is very subjective to me, but I think some of you who frequently visit hyperspace and enjoy to game might find there is something to be found in this game that is deeply relatable to the DMT and Ayahuasca experience.
In my most memorable psychedelic experience of my life brought on by Ayahuasca, I saw a world of what I would call pure fantasy... Fantastical imagery in its most distilled imaginative form bound to no particular culture. Magical crystal knights and dragons emerging from a black void, fighting with luminescent magic. Ornate castles and hallways. There was this strong theme of color, and transparency, luminescence, and contrasts of lights and darkness. The closest thing I could actually compare what I saw to is the general aesthetic of games like Zelda OOT and Majora's mask, or Kingdom Hearts. But Chrono Trigger's aesthetic is almost dead on to those visions from that experience. The way the monsters would almost fade in from the void and engage in a battle of magic, always lurking around the next corner. The bright colors and the lights, the many shades of magic. It's a very imaginative and intricate art style, especially in places like Magus's castle, the kingdom of zeal, the ocean palace, and the black omen. Here's some pictures from the game to show what I mean-
Another great thing about the game is the music. As the art direction took me back to my Ayahuasca experience, so did the soundtrack. And also like the art, it has this feeling of pure fantasy. In fact, the composer himself said that when making this soundtrack he was trying to make 'music of an imaginary world' and tried to detach himself from any influences. And to me, this music is the sound of fantasy and magic and adventure in a very distilled form. Just listen to some pieces of the soundtrack such as 'corridors of time', 'schalas theme', 'lavos theme', and 'brink of time'.
The last thing I would like to talk about and perhaps the most important are the persistent themes throughout the game. The main antagonist of the game is a lovecraftian esque alien parasite called lavos. He crash lands into earth in prehistoric times and begins sucking the energy of the Earth's core. Later, the people of the kingdom of zeal learn how to harness the energy of lavos and this gives them the ability to use magic. In this kingdom the people are able to literally sleep all the time and live in their dreams. NPC dialogue reveals that the people using this energy are literally able to make their dreams reality. To manifest their dreams, so to speak. And since this energy is from lavos, it's likely actually from the earth itself. Later in the game, all the characters are gathered around a campfire and are questioning why the gates that allowed them to travel in time opened in the first place. While they first believed it was Lavos, they speculated that it could be some other greater entity that had a will of its own. That entity very well could be the earth itself.
Another interesting theme in the game is that of destiny. There is a common theme in the game that we are the masters of our destiny and must act with intention to achieve what we need. This is similar to some things I learned on DMT as well. This theme is embodied in the game's namesake item the Chrono trigger which is given to you so you can alter time and save a fallen party member. The man who gives it tells you, "It is pure potential. By unleashing a specific course of events, it can have a powerful effect". By acting with the intention of bringing back their friend and changing time, this item was able to manifest the member coming back to life. While things like this don't really happen in this life, it's still similar to some lessons that might be gleaned from DMT.
There's so much more to say about this game, but I just wanted to get those thoughts out about it. I hope you enjoyed reading.