Ok, you asked for it!!

Why Chrono Trigger is GOAT

Squaresoft at the top of their game
The Dream Team, stronger together
Mitsuda AND Uematsu on one soundtrack
Some of the music came to Mitsuda in dreams
No grinding
No random encounters

thread 1/X

No JRPG voice acting cringe
Story doesn't rely on a ton of JRPG tropes/cliches
Not a sequel/part of an existing franchise: no baggage of tradition
Strong female characters
Accessible gameplay
Square's classic ATB system combining tactics & time

2/X

(art: AbyssWolf)

Tasteful use of Mode 7
Dual/Triple Techs
Cast not stock characters only differentiated by the color of their hair
Time travel mechanics
Meaningful end game sidequests that develop characters or tie up plot threads, not merely a list of chores

3/X

(art: unknown)

Not a ton of boring exposition to sit through
Akira Toriyama's cutscenes (they're on YouTube!)
At the crest of the 90s JRPG golden age
Not early 3D (sorry, polygonal Cloud)
Multiple endings
Balanced linearity and freedom

4/X

(art: Robert Porter)

Doesn't take 100 hours to complete or drag itself out
What padding? (Plz don't Remake it, SE)
Story makes sense and is presented with clarity (I'm looking at you Chrono Cross)
Quasi-sequel/spin off Chrono Cross one of the best PS1 JRPGs

5/X

(art: Xavier Garcia)

Religious imagery isn't ham-fisted
Roster of playable characters is the right size for each character to receive development and background (again, Cross or even yon holy FF6)
Coined the term New Game + and it actually thematically fits

6/X

(art: amade)

Lavos scream one of the most unique 16-bit sounds ever
Villain wins
You can set the text speed (thanks for nothing, Xenogears)
Didn't take 15 years to finish and it shows
No Kingdom Hearts melodrama

7/X

(art: Dave Rapoza)

Not a button-mashing ARPG like nearly every JRPG these days
No microtransactions, amirite
No need for character development DLC
No empty open world waste of time
No insane fandom
No uncanny valley faces
On the SNES
The best Final Fantasy

8/X

(art: chesterocampo)

The best Dragon Quest & Dragon Ball, too
Localization not a mess
Not one moody emo Hot Topic protagonist in sight
Impresses new players today
No politicization
No preachy themes
No anime perv
No quest markers, lets you figure things out

9/X
(art: HeavyMetalHanzo)

Cinematic without being a movie interrupted by moments of interactivity
No having to fuss with disc swapping
Deft use of silence for dramatic effect
Balance: humor, comedy, drama
Longer musical tracks mean songs don't become annoying/repetitive

10/X

(concept art)

Active or Wait, play at your speed
Hasn't been milked to death or infected with sequelitis
Not formulaic
Replay value
Made the best use of the hardware available to it
Still visually stunning
Not Square Enix

11/X

(artist: unknown)

If you know of the artists for any of the unattributed fanart images, please let me know.