I wouldn't call the game 'brilliant' myself , unfortunately
sure the game's still good & very enjoyable , but it's was a let-down compared to Chrono Trigger. The stroy in CC is too shallow , only like a couple of the 44 or so characters even have a story of somesort , and the main story plot is kinda weak too.
CC has great graphics , great gameplay , really good music & interesting ideas (the paraller dimensions or whatever). Too it doesn't have a great plot to match the other good qualities.
oh , if you haven't already I really suggest you play CC's other prequel besides Chrono Trigger , called Radical Dreamers. You'll have on your comp tho ( use SNES emulator) It's only released in Japan to some bizarre add-on thing to SNES which let you download the game from cable-network or something? There's an fan-made english translation available.
the game plays like an "choose-your-own-adventure"-book , but it's different and fun in my opinion. and adds a lot of depth to CC's story