It is impossible to deny the impact thatChrono Triggerhas had on the gaming industry as a whole. The game is stillinspiring modern RPG designersandfans have been clamoring for a sequel for years. Its fantastic storyline as well as its lovable characters will keep it a favorite of RPG fans for years to come.
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One of those fantastic characters in the game is Ayla. Ayla isn’t just a strong, smart, and confident woman who struggles with modern grammar. A lot went into her character design and there aresecrets about Ayla that even some diehardChrono Triggerfans don’t know.
Updated on August 05, 2025, by Kirkland Fortner:Fans ofChrono Triggerhave come to love Ayla as an entertaining character and one of the more powerful members of the party. That said, we have come across a couplemore interesting tidbits about her that the player may not know. So, they have been added to this article. Let us know in the comments if there is anything we have missed.
12Her Animal Connection
Ayla’s fur ismore than just a fluffy bikini. Fans have noticed her name highly resembles that of the Tayra, a member of the weasel family that lives in the Americas. While Tayras in the real world don’t come in purple, some of their furs do have the same greyer color that Ayla’s outfit has in the Chrono Trigger AMVs.
11Her Unused Club
All of Ayla’s official artwork depicts her with her signature club. However, all of her attacks in the game primarily use her fists —never a club. It’s easy to not think about when casually playing through the game but it’s one of the biggest inconsistencies in all ofChrono Trigger.
10Her Bisexuality
That’s right, Ayla would be a part ofthe pride parade! Many players missed this bit of dialogue from theChrono Trigger, “You strong, too. Ayla like strong person.Man, woman… both like!” This was changed when the game left Japan for the first time, likely to not upset more conservative audiences at the time.
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Localization teamshave long been known for making these kinds of changes but fans tend to prefer direct translations for their stories. Luckily, thedialogue was given a more accurate translation to the original text when it was re-released on the Nintendo DS.
9She Was The Director’s Favorite Character
Parents only say they don’t have favorite kids but this isn’t always the game for game designers. In an interview in Famitsu back in March of 1995,Takashi Tokita identified Ayla as his favorite characterinChrono Trigger. He also claimed he added in the game for the potential humor she could add to the game.
8Her Confusing Family Tree
Ayla’s family is beyond confusing in theChronofranchise. Players have speculated she is either the parent of or the child of Leah fromChrono Cross, but the timeline is too confusing to confirm either option. It is confirmed however thatMarle is a descendant of Aylaand her husband Kino.
7Her Changes And Censorship
Ayla has faced a lot ofchanges and censorshipto make her more palatable to general audiences. Her healing move was actuallycalled Arousal in test builds of the gamebut was changed to Kiss later on. Her love of sake was also removed in US versions of the game.
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There were alsosome issues concerning the… “jiggle physics” of certain portions of her anatomyduring development (an impressive feat for sprite-based animation, anyway). The game’s producer, Kazuhiko Aoki, commented on it being too extreme andforced them to change her final animationsfor the game.
6Her Design Was Inspired By A Singer
Takashi Tokita has confirmed that a large inspiration for Ayla’s character came from Ouyang Fei Fei,especially Ayla’s wavery hair. Ouyang Fei Fei is a Taiwanese-Japanese singer who had two number one songs on the music charts there —Ame no MidōsujiandLove Is Over. It’s likely Tokita was listening to her latest album at the time, Orthodox, during the development of the game.
5The Meaning Of Her Name
InChrono Cross, Leahsays that Ayla’s name means “new song of land” while saying it is what she plans to name her child. Thisdoesn’t line up with real-world meanings of Ayla’s namesat all. In Hindu, the name means “born of knowledge” while in Turkish it means “halo of light around the moon.” In Spanish, the name translates closely to “Island” but in Urdu its meaning as “noble” certainly fits Ayla’s nature.
4She Inspired A Playboy Model
Chrono Triggermight nothave a rare Adult ratingbut pictures from Pamela Horton certainly should. Pamela is a Playboy Magazine alumni but not just for her time as Miss October in 2012. She also is famous for the notoriousBayonettaphotoshoot Nintendo used as a promotional stunt.She has saidthat Ayla isone of her favorite video game characters of all timebecause she’s a “big badass woman who doesn’t care what other people think and is just really assertive and doesn’t let herself get pushed around.”
3Her Literary Connections
Takashi Tokita has confirmed thatAyla received her name in honor of another fictional woman living in prehistoric times. The Ayla found in Jean Auel’sEarth’s Childrenseries also has blonde hair and a strong will just like Ayla inChrono Trigger.The Clan of the Cavebearmovie premiered in 1986, nine years beforeChrono Triggerwas released with enough time to inspire Tokita to check out the books.
