With the enormous success of the Playstation, FINAL FANTASY VII, VIII and IX, and CHRONO CROSS, re-releases of the classic titles were far overdue. Couple this with the rising costs due to the high demand of the cartridges and it made a recipe for success for Squaresoft. FINAL FANTASY CHRONICLES now hits the market and is a compilation of FINAL FANTASY IV and CHRONO TRIGGER, two of the most revered RPGs for the SNES.

FINAL FANTASY IV was released in 1991 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as FINAL FANTASY II (the original FINAL FANTASY II and FINAL FANTASY III were never released in the United States). It was the first FINAL FANTASY to include the Active Time Battle (ATB) system which keeps battles constantly moving instead of the previous, "your turn/enemy turn" systems of previous RPGs. The updated version features a brand new dash feature allowing the player to navigate dungeons and towns much more quickly. This is a very welcome addition as in the original game making your way through these areas quickly became tedious.

Another laborious task must have been the re-localization done for the game. Squaresoft, in an effort to please fans of the series, re-translated the entire game and restored story elements excluded the first time around. Several new monsters, spells and items were also put into the game. A two-player mode was added and allows you and a friend to fight through the battles together. Finally, Square has added several CG sequences to the game to further improve upon it.

FINAL FANTASY IV stays true to the first game, although I have encountered some slowdown. The new translation is far better than the original.

While CHRONO TRIGGER doesn't receive nearly as big an overhaul, it really wasn't needed. CHRONO TRIGGER is considered by some to be the best RPG in history. Dubbed "the dream project", it was a joint effort from Hironobu Sakaguchi (FINAL FANTASY series), Yuji Horii (DRAGON QUEST), and Akira Toriyama (DRAGON BALL Z). It was first released in 1995 and with its non-linear gameplay and multiple endings, CHRONO TRIGGER was bound for success. The game sold over 2.5 million copies in its initial release and paved way for a Playstation sequel. Square has added several new movie sequences and as well as an extra game mode containing resource material. There are no new components to the gameplay department but I can't think of anything that would have been needed either.

Essentially CHRONO TRIGGER plays like the original. There's a few new cut scenes and the theater mode is pretty cool, but otherwise this is the same game that came out in 1995 (except with the addition of the above mentioned load times). The game's twelve endings and new scenes will leave RPG fanatics delighted.

While the new extras are great, there is one drawback to putting both of these classics onto the Playstation -- load times. These games were both originally on cartridge and of course had no load times. Now you have to wait a few seconds between screens and before battles (particularly in CHRONO TRIGGER). It's not a killer problem, but it does prove annoying at times.

FINAL FANTASY CHRONICLES is an excellent addition to any RPG fan's library. Don't come here expecting to find FINAL FANTASY VII, both games are outdated, both graphically and in interface. Old-school fans, however, are highly recommended to check this out. If you are a new FINAL FANTASY fan (VII or beyond) and you do want to play the old games, look at FINAL FANTASY ANTHOLOGY first. FINAL FANTASY V and VI are probably a better bet. Otherwise, for old-school gaming, FINAL FANTASY ANTHOLOGY just can't be beat.