The 1990s proved a pivotal decade for gaming, fueled by technological advancements and new businesses that would go on to leave a lasting impact on the industry. The '90s saw the release of both the original Sony PlayStation (1995) and the Nintendo 64 (1996) which brought iconic titles such as Super Mario 64, Resident Evil, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

New opportunities in the '90s also helped pave the way for RPGs, and although countless technological advancements have been made in the past three decades, many of those games are still worth playing today. The games are just that good — and several of them also helped provide the framework for modern titles.

Nearly a decade before Square Enix was formed, two of the gaming industry's biggest players — Squaresoft and Enix — joined forces in 1995 to create an RPG that remains highly regarded today. In Chrono Trigger, players control Crono and a band of adventurers who travel through time to stop a global catastrophee and save the world from the alien entity Lavos. The game combines some of the best elements of the genre: a captivating story, charming music, and fluid combat based on the Active Time Battle system used in early Final Fantasy titles.

Perhaps the most enduring quality of Chrono Trigger, even after 30 years, is its replayability. The game has more than a dozen endings to discover, including a special secret ending that pays tribute to the developers — endearingly called the "Dream Team" — who brought Chrono Trigger to life.

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