In my mind, the three greatest games ever all came out on the Super Nintendo. In order they are: Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III, and Final Fantasy II. In the extreme wisdom of Square, they have decided to reissue two of these great games together for the Playstation. The instant that I heard about this combo, I spoke immediately with Omni and begged to get my hands on this title. These games absolutely kick ass and are even better than I remember. The average gamer today will look at these games and say, "Why in the world would I want to play an old game like that?". I'll tell you why. These games bring something to the table that most games do not or will not bring anymore – an amazingly intricate story that is actually interesting. (For a full review of Chrono Trigger see Mr. Nash's review in Classic Reviews section. I'm going to be focusing in on Final Fantasy IV.)

For the uninitiated, Final Fantasy IV is the gripping story of Cecil, a black knight for the military kingdom of Baron. The king of Baron has become obsessed with collecting the Light Crystals of the Earth and has been using the Red Wings (Baron's Air Force and military might, of which Cecil is the captain) to achieve this. Unsatisfied with his station and being involved with killing and dominating other people, Cecil confronts the King of Baron and is subsequently striped of his command. Ordered to deliver a package to the nearby Village of the Mist, which subsequently kills all of the inhabitants, Cecil cannot take anymore of the current situation and starts the resistance to Baron and the plan to collect all of the Light Crystals. Enter one of the greatest FF villains . . . Golbez! He's evil personified, and certainly not above using any character in any manipulative manner to achieve his goals. This is a story where all major characters are greater than they seem, each provides their own strengths and weaknesses and the characters are more human than I can ever recall.

For today's market, the two games have some things added from the original versions that were held out of the world releases. The additions to Final Fantasy IV include the re-translated dialogue, the sprint function, the memo-save function, and the re-added Developer's Room. The re-translated dialogue (plus items and villains) is a real nice touch because it really smoothes out some of the cultural differences between North America and Japan. The memo-save function is a sort of temp-save-file that you can use to keep playing quickly without having to wait for the memory card to finish – it will save your game as long as the power remains on and you don't reset the console. The sprint function is a life-saver! You no longer have to plod along in every dungeon, you can now sprint which is great when you are just trying to finish the dungeon without fighting every three steps. The Developer's Room was an "Easter Egg" that was held out of the world release of the title because once again someone thought that it might offend children's sensibilities. I can't fathom that kind of thinking either and I'm definitely glad to see that it was included again.

Chrono Trigger has the famous Extras Mode where you gain access to the Theatre, Art Gallery, Music Box, Tech Showcase, Monster Data, Boss Data, Ending Listings, and Treasure Map. The theatre is a place where you can view cut-scenes that you've already viewed and the music box should be self-explanatory. The Art Gallery is chock full of pictures and stills of the Making Of Chrono Trigger. The Tech Showcase is a demo-room of all the available techniques that can be uncovered in the course of the game. The Monster Data and Boss Data as one would expect are beastiaries which contain both their vital statistics and strategies for handing them their lungs. More interesting is the inclusion of the Ending Listing which gives tips on how to achieve the alternate endings for the game – not just what to do but which paths to take. Finally is the Treasure Map, which provides the gamer with positions and listings for all of the treasures in the game by a timeline listing. Cleverly, most of these extras are not released until you have earned them by completing the game via the alternate endings. For example, you get another ten songs in the Music Box for each solution path that you take in finishing the game (I think that it will help entice the replay value of the game, as if you really needed another reason to play it).

These two games look really dated in today's gaming atmosphere, but I hope that people can look beyond their appearances and get into the great stories and advanced game play (for its time). This title is a must have for anyone who loved these games on the Super Nintendo or anyone who wants to play the greatest Role Playing Games ever!