Good read. I disagree with a few points, though, and would love to share and hear your opinion on them.

First, I think it is a bit unfair to say that Chrono Trigger does not have descendants. I am Setsuna, for example, is a good spiritual successor that has the same battle mechanics and combat encounters, as you said. Also, if you think about more action-rpg games, such as the Secret of Mana, the combat mechanics are very similar, turning the UI elements of the combat when an enemy was engaged.

Then, I couldn't understand where you got the answers for the "Why weren't J-RPGs big in the USA". Were that just your opinionated guess? Because there are big and good discussions on the topic, that, as I see, should not be summarised like that. Also, the statement on how Chrono Trigger would solve that by somehow keeping the game flow is a bit weird to me. It is a known fact that Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was released as an attempt to get the North American Market and it does not share the same planning, besides being produces by the same company.

I do think that CT was indeed ahead of its time in many aspects: multiple endings, focused on character development, and even graphics.

And, finally, I disagree with the 3D world dynamic camera issue. To be fair, I actually do not see how that could be a problem at all. Most of the recent action-jrpgs have very similar mechanics (but are not turn-based).

In any case, CT is indeed, one of the greatest games (if not the greatest) of all time, and I could not not discuss more about it :)