Lavos Blind: Our Obsession with Chrono Trigger
This is my last word on nostalgia and an unsubtle condemnation of nostalgia-bait done from the convenient on-ramp of 1995’s Chrono Trigger, a superb game that I never want to hear anyone (including me (especially me)) talk about ever again.
0:00 Introduction
2:09 The Past (It's not coming back)
9:21 The Present (The Humanities Centipede)
17:37 The Future (All your old pals are back!!!)
23:17 The End of Time (If you love something, set it free)
28:10 Sources & Attributions (Links below!)
Video:
ESPN Throwback. “Joey Chestnut beats Takeru Kobayashi to win 2007
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest | ESPN Archive.” YouTube, 6/29/18.
• Joey Chestnut beats Takeru Kobayashi to wi...
IGN. “Sonic star Ben Schwartz LOVES Chrono Trigger!” YouTube, 12/18/24.
• Sonic star Ben Schwartz LOVES Chrono Trigg...
Nayar, Anjali. “Hack Your Health.” Netflix, 2024.
TV-CM JAPAN. “NISSIN 日清のどん兵衛 × FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH CM 「片翼のどんぎつね」篇 30秒.” YouTube, 4/6/24.
• NISSIN 日清のどん兵衛 × FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH...
ゆう坊とマシリトのKosoKoso放送局. ”【3/20(木)生配信】『クロノ30』＆ 『Vジャンプ』などなどをスペシャルゲストと語る!” YouTube, 3/20/25.
• 【3/20(木)生配信】『クロノ30』＆ 『Vジャンプ』などなどをスペシャルゲストと語る！
ゆう坊とマシリトのKosoKoso放送局. “【11/30(日)生配信】㊗️堀井雄二「旭日小綬章」受章！｜マクロン大統領の写真が！？｜「DRAGON BALL STORE」に行ってみた！｜「ドラクエ1&2 リメイク」やってみた!” YouTube, 11/30/25.
• 【11/30(日)生配信】㊗️堀井雄二「旭日小綬章」受章！｜マクロン大統領の写真が！...
Official film trailers used: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Sinners, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Official game trailers used: Cris Tales, Detective Instinct, Sea of Stars, Threads of Time
All other game footage captured locally.
Image sources:
Chrono Trigger text boxes & font via Death Generator
https://deathgenerator.com/#ct
Dream Team photos: Shmuplations.
https://shmuplations.com/chronotrigger2/
Joe Swanberg photo: Victoria Will / Associated Press
Print sources:
Hines, Will. How to be the Greatest Improviser on Earth. Pretty Great Publishing, 2016.
Hodgman, John. Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches. Penguin Books, 2018.
Klosterman, Chuck. The Nineties. Penguin Books, 2022.
Sante, Luc. Low Life. Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 1991.
Tucci, Stanley. What I Ate in One Year. Gallery Books, 2024.
Web sources:
Chrono Compendium. A Mea Culpa for a Sea of Plot Holes. Chrono Compendium, 2024.
https://www.chronocompendium.com/Term...
Cryer, Hirun. Chrono Trigger’s creators shower Sea of Stars with praise: “it looks great”. Games Radar, 1/3/24.
https://www.gamesradar.com/chrono-tri...
Garner, Glenn. Ryan Coogler Explains How DCOM ‘The Luck of the Irish’ Influenced ‘Sinners’: “A Touchpoint”. Deadline, 11/16/25.
https://deadline.com/2025/11/ryan-coo...
Jackson, Matthew. The True Stories that Inspired A Nightmare on Elm Street. Syfy, 12/27/23.
https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/the-tr...
Moher, Aidan. Sea of Stars is the game Chrono Trigger fans have been waiting for. Insert Cartridge, 8/25/20.
/ sea-of-stars-looks-is-the-game-chrono-trig...
Nightingale, Ed. Newly-revealed RPG Threads of Time will compete with Sea of Stars as Chrono Trigger spiritual successor. Eurogamer, 9/26/24.
https://www.eurogamer.net/newly-revea...
Taylor, Steve, PhD. Why We Feel Time Speed Up as We Start to Get Older. Psychology Today, 9/10/25.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/bl...
Wikipedia. Sinners (2025 film). Wikipedia, 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinners...)
Yarwood, Jack. Interview "I Didn't Want It To Be A 'Whodunnit'" - Detective Instinct Dev On Its Mystery Influences. Time Extension, 2/13/24.
https://www.timeextension.com/feature...
Podcast:
Parkin, Simon. Episode 57: Yoshinori Kitase, director & producer (Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger). My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin, 2024.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...
Music:
"Cool Reggae Party" by Juanitos (juanitos.net)
Creative Commons — Attribution Share Alike 2.0 France — CC-BY-SA
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: Free Music Archive (freemusicarchive.org)