To fans of JRPGs, Chrono Trigger is often considered the pinnacle of the genre.  Over the years, it's been released in many forms, but each time it rekindled the interest of players with its fast-paced battle system, time-traveling story, and gorgeous 2D artwork.

These aren't the only factors that made Chrono special, but to list each way in which Chrono Trigger broke new ground would take too much bandwidth.  So instead, I've decided to compile a list of twenty things that developers of RPGs could learn from Chrono Trigger.  Read on to find out what will help your RPGs sell.

1) Padding is for chairs only

It's unnecessary to pad your game with endless battle sequences.  I'd rather have fifteen hours of exciting content than a sixty hour game, where ninety percent of your time is spent grinding.

2) Random battles are so twenty years ago

No more random battles.  Those were acceptable back in the NES days when cartridges had limited memory, but in an era of HD consoles and powerful portables, there's no excuse for jarring transitions to battle.

3) Let there be instant KOs

Make your battles snappy.  I'm tired of long, drawn-out battles that take over two minutes.  Instead, I want my battles to be simple, yet strategic.  And for the love of God, please don't make them on a separate screen.

4) Party members don't belong in your pocket

Make all party members visible at all times.  RPGs are typically a team effort, so why only show one character walking around?

5) No more pointless dungeons

Add a unique mechanic to each dungeon.  Allow us to stealthily slash guards from behind in prison.  Let us race a jet bike across ruins.  There's no excuse for bland dungeons that add nothing to the experience.

6) Pretend that the four warriors of light never existed

Create an original story.  It doesn't have to be as complex as the dense narratives found in Xenogears and Final Fantasy Tactics, but at least make a cohesive story that is full of new ideas. 

7) Hire Yasunori Mitsuda

This man crafts superb, emotionally charged soundtracks that resonate with players years after they've completed a game.  If you didn't feel chills running down your spine immediately upon entering the Kingdom of Zeal, you wouldn't feel scared in a torture chamber.

8) Animation does matter

Spend some time with your animations.  Don't simply make your characters shrug their shoulders--give them some personality!  Even though Chrono Trigger didn't pack as much dialogue as modern RPGs, it still managed to give its characters personality through their animations.  Who couldn't feel Marle's enthusiasm when she jumped for joy with both knees in the air?

9) Dude, where's my replay value?

Give us some replay value!  Chrono Trigger went all out and gave us over a dozen endings fourteen years ago, so why can't developers today?  Sure, modern graphics and animations take a long time to develop, but at least give us some subtle variations to the ending.  I mean, come on: How cool was it seeing the main ending change slightly if you killed Magus?

10) The more mini-games the merrier

Most people still see video games as twitch experiences, so why not throw in some simple mini-games?  Don't give us something that takes a year to learn like Blitzball--give us beer drinking contests and betting games.  Actually, it's better to come up with something new, but the trick is to keep it simple.

11) Send Vaan back to modeling school

Create characters that we can actually care about.  Who can hate a normally proportioned character that actually looks like a guy, has spiky red hair, and cares about other people?

12) Enough with the stereotypes

Don't create stereotypical characters.  Well, it's impossible to completely distance yourself from stereotypes, but why not make a character like Lucca?  Instead of a bimbo with boobs bigger than her head, Lucca is an intelligent female who plays an important role in saving the planet.  What's not to like?

13) Excommunicate villains who say, "Mwa ha ha"

Quit making megalomaniacs as your villains.  Okay, they're fine once in awhile, but why not make something greater?  By the end of the journey, Lavos isn't completely understood, but it's clear that he's some sort of parasitic organism that feeds on other planets.  Fighting a being more powerful than humankind actually made saving the world a plausible theme.

14) Side-quests should enhance the experience

Give us meaningful side-quests.  I'm tired of playing RPGs that give players trinkets.  I want side-quests that flesh out the characters, give us ultimate weapons, and bestow us with useful new abilities.  Basically, I want them to be useful and add to the experience.

15) No more lame bosses

Make the bosses fearsome.  Quit giving us bosses that look and fight like regular enemies.  Make us take them down in ways that don't involve holding down the fight button or spamming Ultima.  Here's a hint: Look at the Ozzie battle in Crono Trigger.

16) Difficulty spikes, be gone!

No more cheap ramp-ups in difficulty.  To beat a game, you shouldn't have to grind for hours on end.  In Chrono Trigger, Lavos is beatable as long as you spend some time with the useful side-quests.

17) Put some Bioware in my JRPG

Give us events where the players can influence the outcome.  Remember how donating an expensive strip of spicy jerky turned a mayor's greedy descendant into a generous man?  It feels great to influence the world around you, even if it's only a side-quest.

18) Learn from techs

Add a unique mechanic to the battle system.  Remember how awesome it was combining different characters' attacks?  That wasn't too difficult, was it?  But it was fun.

19) Fire, Fira, Firaga!  Really, that's all?

Quit giving us the same old abilities.  Sure, Crono and crew have some traditional spells like fire and ice, but what other game lets a giant frog pass fiery gas out of his ass?

20) No more identical looking towns

Give us a world that's fun to explore.  Once again, this is easier said than done, but take the time to make each area unique.  One of the reasons Chrono was special was because floating magical kingdoms and apocalyptic wastelands actually looked believable.  It's no fun exploring towns that all look the same, so change it up a bit, even if it shortens the game's length.

I hope you found these twenty lessons from Chrono Trigger helpful.  Occasionally, finding ways to move forward can be frustrating, but during those times, it's helpful to look to the past for inspiration.  With these tips, perhaps you'll be inspired to build a modern RPG that will resonate with a variety of players.  I look forward to seeing your future titles.