Gaming with God: Crono’s Sacrificial Love

I want to publicly say thank you to TWWK for allowing me to be a part of this amazing group of people. I have been a follower for months now, and I thank God for all that’s being done here. I’m happy to be here and will do my best to bring some Japanese gaming posts to the table. My column will consist solely on gaming since that’s what I do! I hope you gain some insight into video games by viewing them through a biblical worldview.

ChronoTrigger03

This being my first article, I would like to start by writing a piece on one of my favorite games of all time, and a world-wide classic, Chrono Trigger. I actually wrote a review on it if you’d like to check it out here. To me, this has been by far the greatest RPG I have had the privilege to play. Why? The plot! It has so many twists and turns, the characters have a good development, and it’s not afraid to be dark or even kill off someone. The reason why I chose this topic is because of the sacrifice the main character, Crono, makes in the game.

*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CHRONO TRIGGER!*

If you’ve played this game, then you know what I’m going to talk about, if not, cover your….eyes? Anyways, Crono gives his life to protect his friends from the onslaught of Lavos, the antagonist. This was controversial because until then, I don’t believe a game had allowed you to continue without the main character. You have the choice to resurrect him or not, but the ending is different of course (another reason why CT is amazing!) but it’s just better if you get Crono back.

Sacrificial Love

Crono never says a word, only shakes his head or nods, that’s it! Not a peep. Yet his actions speak much louder than the noisier characters in the game, who talk a big game but in the end bow before the overwhelming issues in the storyline.

SFnK
Crono sacrifices himself in the fight with Lavos.

Jesus Christ did the same, standing before the religious leaders of His day. They told Him He wasn’t God nor could He forgive the sins of the world, but His sacrifice and resurrection proved them wrong. His ultimate sacrifice is what kept us from hell, and given us eternal life for those who believe.

Crono did what he did because he wasn’t thinking about his own life, but the life of others. He decided to save his friends who he knew could become strong enough to defeat Lavos and save the future from its calamity in 1999 A.D. He didn’t know that he would be resurrected since that detail wasn’t revealed until after the fact, yet Jesus Christ knew the outcome before He went to the cross. Christ knew that He would give up His life, giving eternal life in exchange for His own to those who would trust in Him and His forgiveness.

Sacrifice is motivated by love

There is no other reason to sacrifice something if not for love. Crono’s friends loved him enough to get the Time Egg (an item in the game) to go to Death’s Peak and bring him back. Unfortunately, we only live once and then face judgment (Hebrews 9:27), so there’s no Time Egg for us! Yet, when we do die, regardless of the situation, His love revives us to His presence in Heaven.

Chrono_Trigger_Artwork8

We can learn from Crono that sometimes the lives of others are more important than our own. You may be feeling an urge to give a donation to a charity like the one that was done here at Beneath the Tangles, or to another organization. There could be someone that needs your time, your words, or even money. Whatever it is, live a life where you sacrifice on a daily basis. You don’t have to physically die, but sacrifice often costs us something. In the end though, sacrifice is always worth it and the rewards are eternal.

Latest posts by Samuru (see all)

10 thoughts on “Gaming with God: Crono’s Sacrificial Love”

  1. Plenty of characters in the game make various sacrifices for reasons other than love. Out of guilt (Frog), for revenge (Magus) or for entirely selfish reasons (many of the villains). But those sacrifices fail to get the characters what they wanted.

    In the end, Crono’s seemingly hopeless sacrifice is the only one that pays off.

    1. Wow thanks for that comment Cytrus, you know your CT. Yes Frog and Magus both sacrifice themselves, especially Magus for revenge for Schala, but yeah Cronos is the only one that counts

      1. Come to think of it, there is another iteration of the sacrifice and rebirth story in Chrono Trigger, if not as obviously dramatic, when Robo decides to devote himself to bringing back the forest and life in AD600. There is no guarantee he will stay safe until AD1000 (and in fact, he is in a pretty bad shape when the others find him). When Lucca manages to bring him back on his feet, it turns out his sacrifice not only turned out for the better for the entire continent, but also unexpectedly helps the party gain a rare item (I don’t remember what that was, but I was sure moved at the time).

        On a different note, I hope you have fun contributing to Beneath the Tangles, Samuru. I’m a Buddhist with a Catholic background, but I’ve been cheering on the staff’s efforts with comments for some time now, so I’ll be looking forward to your future articles!

        1. Thanks Cytrus, I appreciate that 🙂 Your name reminds me of Cyrus from CT now that you mentioned it.

          And yeah, Robo gave his all for that forest, and you can do the side quest and beat the monster too, thats in the sand or something….Chrono Cross has lots of good stuff too

          Glad to see more gamers here too, I will do my best to bring my A game in writing for BtT. God bless.

          1. Cytrus is just the word “citrus” spelled in my native language (Polish), but there certainly is some resemblance to Cyrus, yes xD.

            I think I’m more knowledgeable in gaming titles that came out 15 years ago than anything that came afterwards, but I’m still looking forward to your articles.

  2. Reblogged this on Gaming And God and commented:

    I’m a new staff writer on Beneath The Tangles! I’m blessed to now be a part of this awesome team. Be sure to check out my bi-weekly column on their site.

Leave a Reply