Crono

Crono
Chrono character
210px Crono as designed by Akira Toriyama
First game	Chrono Trigger
Designed by	Akira Toriyama

Crono, known as Chrono (クロノ, Kurono) in Japan, is a fictional character in the Chrono series of video games, and the series' namesake. He has appeared in two games: Chrono Trigger, where he is the protagonist, and Chrono Cross, where he makes a brief appearance. His design was originally created by Chrono Trigger's story planner Masato Kato, and finalized by Akira Toriyama. Crono is a silent protagonist who uses facial expressions to communicate; this is never addressed by any characters in the games. Since his appearance in Chrono Trigger, Crono has received generally positive reception, and has gained a strong fan following. He has been praised as a likable blank canvas for the player to project themselves onto, and his death scene in Chrono Trigger is considered by critics to be one of gaming's most memorable moments.

Concept and creation

Crono's original working design (fourth from the right)

Crono's initial design was created by Chrono Trigger's story planner Masato Kato. His final design was created by Akira Toriyama. In the initial design sketches, Crono was a "bad kid" wearing goggles and a cape. While he was called Chrono in the Japanese version, this was changed in the North American version. Crono is a silent protagonist who uses facial expressions to communicate; this is never addressed by any characters in the games he appears in. Concerning his death in the game, Kato noted that his policy has always been "to try and create games that run counter to users' expectations, surprise them".

Masato Kato and other developers held a series of meetings to ensure continuity, usually attended by around 30 personnel. Kato and Yuji Horii initially proposed Crono's death, though they intended he stay dead; the party would have retrieved an earlier, living version of him to complete the quest. Square deemed the scenario too depressing and asked that Crono be brought back to life later in the story.

Appearances

Crono is the spiky-haired silent protagonist of the Chrono Trigger. He never speaks, using facial expressions to communicate; this is never addressed by any of the characters. Crono originates from the year 1000 A.D., where he lives in the village of Truce with his mother. While attending the Millennial Fair, he meets a young girl named Marle, and the two go see a teleporter created by Crono's friend Lucca. As Marle tries the teleporter, it reacts with her pendant and creates a time Gate, leading Crono to travel back in time 400 years to rescue Marle. This begins a series of time travelling adventures, where Crono and his friends discover that Lavos, an extraterrestrial monster who crashed on Earth in pre-historic times, is set to awaken in 1999 A.D. and destroy civilization. In 12,000 BC, when the party is confronted with Lavos in the Ocean Palace of the Kingdom of Zeal, Crono sacrifices himself to save his friends, resulting in his death. With time travel, the player can manage to replace Crono in the moment before he dies with a copy received from the Millennial Fair in 1000 A.D, saving his life. The PlayStation and Nintendo DS versions of Chrono Trigger include an FMV scene at the end that shows Crono and Marle getting married. A second FMV depicts the fall of Guardia Kingdom in the year AD 1005, though it is unknown what happened to Crono during this event.

In sequel Chrono Cross, drawings of Crono are seen in the orphanage Lucca built in her house following the adventures of Trigger. Three times protagonist Serge and his friends meet Ghost Children versions of Crono, Marle and Lucca, accusing him of negating all their hard work to save the future and thwart Lavos.

Reception

Since his appearance in Chrono Trigger, Crono has received generally positive reception, and has gained a strong fan following. In a special Chrono Trigger Cross Review, Famicom Tsūshin scored Crono a 30 out of 40. GamesRadar's staff ranked Crono as the 21st best hero in video games; they claimed that while he seemed like a typical hero from a role-playing game, he makes a large impact on the characters around him. They also praised the game's narrative for Crono's quality as a lead character. Crono has also been called a likable "everyman" by IGN's Jesse Schedeen and GamesRadar's Matt Bradford. Bradford claimed that while Crono did have some advantages, he took on his role of a hero without them. Crono has been referenced by a character in the NBC TV show Heroes. The character Hiro Nakamura compared himself to Crono due to his newly acquired time-travel ability. Super Retro Squad developer Jay Pavlina wanted to feature a character based on Crono in the game, but never got around to it. Crono has proven a popular choice for an appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series by IGN and IGN's readers alike. The character was placed in many of the GameFAQs Character Battles, reaching two finals, in 2005's "Character Battle IV" (finishing as runner-up to Mario) and 2008's "Character Battle VIII" (fourth place).

His death scene is considered one of gaming's most memorable moment by critics. IGN listed it as the 39th most memorable video game moments; they called it "unforgettable", and felt that killing off the main character of a video game was both "brave and rare". They added that anyone who experienced this felt a "sting in their heart" when they thought about it. UGO Networks' K. Thor Jensen included his death in his list of the most "shocking deaths in gaming". He felt that among a genre noteworthy for having plot twists, this was one of the most significant examples. 1UP.com's Justin Haywald called his death the most memorable element of Chrono Trigger, which he identifies as one of his favourites. 1UP.com's Charles Hartley included Crono in his list of "Duded in Distress", owing both to his death scene as well as the earlier imprisonment. 1UP.com's Scott Sharkey featured him in a list of the 10 video game deaths that "didn't stick". He commented that the scene in Chrono Trigger felt right out of gospels. Game Informer's Kyle Hilliard called his death the game's biggest surprise, due to the fact that you can beat the game without reviving him. He also expressed surprise that it had not been spoiled for him. Game Informer's Dan Rykert commented that while Crono was supposed to be "wish-fulfillment" for players due to his silence, his death contradicted that idea.