The Top 5 Time Travel Games

Manipulating the fabric of time and space is tricky business, but hoo-dang, is it ever fun! Time travel has been a favorite element of science fiction, and as such, it’s proven to be just as entertaining when applied to video games. Done right, you can not only add depth to a game’s plot, but also the gameplay mechanics. Let’s flip on the flux capacitor and take a look at some highlights from video games past.

#5 - Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego?

Oh, that crazy Carmen Sandiego… It’s not enough that she swipes ancient artifacts from around the world, but now she has to go through time and steal them when they were new! That’s some temporal double-dipping!

Carmen Sandiego enjoyed a pretty sweet ride of success from her line of computer games. They eventually beget a game show on PBS and a Saturday morning cartoon. With a following like that, they couldn’t resist developing a new game. This time…in time. Someone get Van Damme on the horn, he can straighten this out!

#4 - Sonic CD

Sonic CD is a very unique chapter in the series. Not only did it offer upgraded graphics and sound, but it also added an extra layer of gameplay with the use of time travel. The evil Dr. Eggman planted his sinister assimilation machines in the past so the could slowly turn all the critters of Mobius into deadly robots. You can play through each level normally, but by the time you reach Act 3, the future will become dark and dismal.

However, Sonic can use his super speed to break through the time barrier to go back to past versions of every level. There, he can destroy the machines; by the time he’s set to face the boss of that Zone, he’s paved the way for a better future.

#3 – The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

This game needs little or no explanation; it’s arguably the best game of the series. Rather than getting tossed directly through time as Link did in “A Link To The Past,” he has more of a Quantum Leap experience. Only instead of being guided by a holographic Dean Stockwell with a PDA named “Ziggy,” you have an annoying little fairy.

#2 - Maniac Mansion: Day Of The Tentacle

The lesser-known sequel to Maniac Mansion: Day Of The Tentacle pits you against a purple tentacle, hell-bent on taking over the world after drinking nuclear waste. Rather than take him head on, you’re sent on a mission to go back in time and destroy the machine that produced the very waste that imbued the tentacle with awesome power.

One problem: You’re dealing with a particularly mad scientist. His time machines are made out of port-o-potties that run on diamonds. Only, he doesn’t have any real diamonds on hand, so he uses imitation ones. What could possibly go wrong?

Three kinds of wrong, as each team member is sent to a miscalculated time period. You must then manipulate events in each time period to stop the tentacle’s evil plan, return to the present, and save the world!

#1 - Chrono Trigger

Who didn’t see this coming? Chrono Trigger has become the Back To The Future of time travel video games. Right down the to vanishing descendants and the pimpin’ ride.

While the general progression of the game is fairly linear, once you’ve fought your way through the end you’re given the infamous “New Game +” feature. This feature did more than simply give players a easier second go at the game by allowing them to play from the start stocked full of experience, items, and weaponry from the previous run. It also allowed them to further explore the Butterfly Effect of time travel by exploring alternate endings, depending on which point in time you chose to face the final boss. You could end up marrying the princess or create a timeline where dinosaurs rule the earth! (Insert Jurassic Park theme.)

My favorite trick was creating a paradox by destroying the Black Omen in the future, then the present, then the past. To hell with the space-time continuum! I want triple the EXP and loot!