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Square Enix gives 'Chrono Trigger' the PC graphics update it needs
Square Enix came under fire back in February when it released the mobile version of Chrono Trigger onto Steam, and not the anticipated SNES version. Players weren't happy, but now the publisher has made good its promise to fix things by releasing a patch that better aligns the game with its original look.
Square Enix pledges to fix the PC version of 'Chrono Trigger'
Square Enix is going to make it right for Chrono Trigger fans. In late February, the publisher dropped the classic JRPG onto Steam, but it was the oft-derided mobile port from six years ago -- not the original SNES game from 1995. To right that wrong, Square Enix will patch the game with an option to switch between the current visuals and "the original graphical style" of the game.
Surprise! A bad mobile port of 'Chrono Trigger' is on Steam
Last year, Nintendo one-upped its NES Classic retro console with the SNES Classic, a powerful and value-packed trip back to the best of 90s gaming. But among all the gems bundled into the box, one was notably missing: Chrono Trigger. Out of nowhere, that exclusion was given a chance for redemption when the game appeared on Steam today. Unfortunately, a flood of negative reviews pointed out the truth: This new PC version appears to be straight-up ported from the 2011 mobile version.
Coming to terms with my game backlog
I used to be scared of the RPG genre. Growing up, I played plenty of video games like any other kid, but I stuck to stuff I could pick up and put down. Mario, GoldenEye, Doom. I lacked the dedication, the loyalty and the skill to tackle an intimidating dozens-of-hours role-playing adventure. And yet I would ogle screenshots in GamePro or exotic box art like on the SNES game Secret of Evermore or even just mysterious, enticing names like Chrono Trigger. The idea of these cartridges, and the fantastical little universes they contained, had a pull over me: They promised a story-based experience that's unique to the medium of the video game. Sure, I made some stabs at playing the games, but even the high-school-freshman version of me was too busy for the commitment. I had just gotten a car and a part-time job. I played sports, there were girls to date. You know, non-nerd stuff. But oh, how I longed for the nerd stuff.
These are your favorite video game soundtracks
Not that long ago we published a list of the Engadget crew's favorite game soundtracks. But, of course, we left some of your favorites out. Well, we listened. What you'll find below are a selection of soundtracks that y'all made impassioned pleas for in the comments and on Facebook and Twitter. The big takeaway? You gals and guys really like the music from Eastern-developed games like Chrono Trigger and Shadow of the Colossus. You'll find those along with other, perhaps more modern, examples as well.
Chrono Trigger travels across mobile platforms, arrives on Android (video)
Pulling out another classic from its storeroom of 16-bit hits, Square Enix has finally ported Chrono Trigger, almost a year since we saw its reappearance on iOS. While it may have taken its time to get here (despite the Japanese version getting an early release), you can now relive the SNES hit on any Android device running version 2.2 or higher. The download resides at the link below -- and it'll set you back 10 bucks.
Chrono Trigger hits the App Store, lets Square Enix fans turn back time
Square Enix just couldn't resist plucking at our heartstrings -- not to mention willing bill folds. As a timely holiday treat, the company's made good on its end-of-year promise, delivering the SNES RPG epic and cult hit -- Chrono Trigger -- to Apple's App Store. If you're wielding either a third generation and up iPhone or iPod touch, the endless hours of non-linear, time-traveling gameplay can be yours for the re-hashing, albeit on a maddeningly tiny screen. That 16-bit nostalgia won't come cheap, either, at $10. But it's a small price to pay for a welcome walk down gaming's memory lane.
Vintage console RPG Chrono Trigger is now on iOS
In addition to all of the other great games that appeared on the App Store last night (Batman: Arkham City Lockdown is available, and the Skyrim Dragon Shout app is out as well), the long-awaited Chrono Trigger has also arrived, and as a game, I have to give it my highest recommendation. This is one of the best Japanese RPGs ever made, if not the best, and it's a must-play if you haven't yet. The sprites and graphics are gorgeous, the characters are well-defined and the story is intriguing. The combat system does some really fun things that I haven't even seen replicated in other titles since the game came out in 1995. This version includes two additional areas not in the original game; they were added in the Nintendo DS version. Unfortunately, this one suffers a little bit from the usual problems of porting an old console title to iOS -- the fonts aren't quite right, and the overlay controls, while workable, do cover up some of that gorgeous art. If you want to play it on an actual console, you can find versions on the Wii's Virtual Console and the PlayStation Network, as well as the DS. But no matter how you play it, don't miss this one if you haven't ever given it a shot -- even years later, the game still shines. It's on the App Store now for $9.99.
Chrono Trigger screenshots out, with touch controls and redone menus
Square Enix's Members site has posted a few screenshots of the long-awaited release of Chrono Trigger on iOS, and truth be told, they're a little disappointing. Don't worry -- the game is still there, and as one of the best console RPGs of all time, I'm still excited to play through it again on iOS. But those touch controls, like a lot of Square's games remade for this platform, look pretty tacked on. The original menus for the game were so gorgeous, I'm sorry to see they didn't make the jump to the touch-based version. I guess that's all right for this title -- better to just have it out, at this point, and maybe these touch-based menus, ugly as they are, make the game play that much better. But hopefully we're seeing the end of ports like this, where classic games just get an overlaid virtual joystick and big clear buttons for their menu options. It'd be nice to have a really great old RPG remade into a port where someone has actually thought about how to do the interface justice. Chrono Trigger is due out sometime "before the end of December," with price yet unknown. [via Joystiq]
Square bringing Chrono Trigger, others to iOS (and Android)
The Tokyo Game Show is currently going on in Japan, and here's some news from there that us old school gamers will appreciate: Square Enix is planning on bringing my absolute favorite console RPG ever, Chrono Trigger, over to iOS. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information on when it'll be out or what's changed from the original (there was a DS version released a few years ago), but I'll wait -- Chrono Trigger is good enough to play through yet again no matter what's different. There are a few other titles also coming to the iPhone and iPad -- Final Fantasy Legends is on its way over, as is Dragon Quest Monsters. It's unclear exactly what Legends is -- it appears to be a new entry in the mobile realm for the Final Fantasy franchise, and nothing to do with the great old GameBoy game Final Fantasy Legend. Dragon Quest Monsters is of course the spin-off series from Enix's Dragon Quest series, so it'll be nice to have that on Apple's platform as well. And there's even more -- a card battle game called Diffusion Million Arthur (your guess is as good as ours on that one), a board game called Itadaki Street, and even a card battling game in conjuction with Epic Games (!) called Demon's Source are all due out at some point. Hopefully all of those will eventually land on the iOS store here in North America. That Epic/Square Enix collab especially sounds really interesting.
Chrono Trigger turns back DS clock on November 25
Thanksgiving this year will include both turkey and time travel, a magical cocktail made possible by Square Enix. The company said that it'll ship its DS throwback to SNES favorite Chrono Trigger in North America on November 25, just two days before families sit down for the annual feast.Giving players plenty to keep them busy while fighting off the adverse effects of tryptophan, Chrono Trigger's DS debut promises new dungeons, touchable controls and an arena mode. Additionally, as the RPG keeps with the original's pixelated sense of style, Square Enix has all but ensured that Thanksgiving 2008 will play out much the same way as it did some thirteen years prior, as we ignore seldom seen family members in favor of the more interesting trio of Crono, Lucca and Frog.
Square Enix E3 lineup loaded with sequels, remakes
With 2008's edition of E3 just days away, the role-playing steam engine that is Square Enix has revealed what titles that it will spring on press types as they shuffle past. Of the eleven titles on display, the company's lineup this year is noticeably remake and sequel heavy, with over half of the games representing a return to the well for another drink. Boasting "simultaneous global releases for several platforms," the company has also re-confirmed dates for much of its lineup as well, with the following games also noted as being playable during the show: Chrono Trigger (DS; Holiday 2008) Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (DS; September 16) Final Fantasy IV (DS; July 22) Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox 360; September 2) Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes (iPod; Now Available) In addition, the remainder listed below will be shown in non-playable form: The Last Remnant (Xbox 360, PS3; Winter for Xbox 360, TBA for PS3) Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP; October 21) Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP; January 6) Star Ocean: The Last Hope (Xbox 360; 2009) Exit DS (DS; October 7) The Legend of Kage 2 (DS; October 7) And coming soon to a grocery store near you, Star Ocean: Whole Wheat Clusters.
Final Fantasy IV coming to North America ... maybe
Role-playing fans can slip on their dancing shoes and party like it's 1991. A new interview with Final Fantasy IV director Takashi Tokita in the latest Nintendo Power seems to point to the game's recent DS remake being localized for North American audiences. Oh sure, he doesn't come right out and confirm the localization -- where's the drama in that? -- but given that the article comes peppered with English language screens and the game itself is featured on the cover, we're certainly leaning towards believing that the RPG will soon be getting some domestic love.Tokita also toys with our emotions, speaking to the possibility of a remake of SNES RPG classic Chrono Trigger provided "the demand is great enough." Though like coming down hard off a caffeine high, he sends us crashing back down to earth by adding that he really wants to "create new titles and not just series installments and remakes." Yours is a cruel love, mon cher.[Via DS Fanboy]
Interview with Penny Arcade game dev
Gamasutra has a nice interview with Darren Evenson, the lead designer of the Penny Arcade game with the long title that's set to hit Macs at the end of the year.The interview's got me more excited than ever about this thing-- apparently Penny Arcade and Hothead studios actually polled people on their site about what their favorite games were, and based on that, they came up with a point-and-click interface (a la the old LucasArts adventure games) combined with an RPG-style battle system (as in Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, which is one of my favorite games ever). That sounds great!As stated before, the game will be available in episodes downloaded from the website, and you'll be able to create a character that you play across the episodes. Sounds really fun-- the end of the year never seemed so far away.[ via Inside Mac Games ]
GameSpite gets teary-eyed with Chrono Trigger
1UP's Jeremy Parish has a reputation for critical reviews and an unapologetic style, but when it comes to Chrono Trigger, he's as soft and cuddly as a moogle. On his personal blog, Parish has been waxing nostalgic on the classic Square RPG, which first hit the Super NES back in 1995.Now in his second installment of the series, the rabid retronaut is walking readers through his experience of replaying Chrono Trigger, focusing on particularly salient gameplay moments and continually wondering why no game since has thought to copy CT's style.It's a darn good question, too. Beyond the branching, epic storyline and the flat-out amazing soundtrack, Chrono Trigger introduced variations to classic RPG elements -- same-screen battles, the Millennial Fair as tutorial area, dual and triple techniques -- that remarkably few games have capitalized upon since.Parish will undoubtedly continue to bring to light the finer points of Chrono Trigger's greatness. We'll do our part and keep our fingers crossed for a Virtual Console release of the title, however impossible that may be.
Square Enix hesitant to bring titles to Japan Virtual Console
It sounds like Chrono Triggers' auction value won't be waning anytime soon. In an interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream (translated by IGN), 12-year Square Enix employee and Final Fantasy Versus XIII producer Shinji Hashimoto makes strong assertions that we won't be seeing many Square Enix titles on Nintendo's Virtual Console for awhile."We feel that the Japanese game market still requires media," he said. "Also, FF and Dragon Quest are played by a wide range of users, from children to adults, so there are limitations when you consider the problems that we would have with billing systems."So the prospects of Square Enix's pre-FFVII catalog arriving in Wii's online store shelves are pretty grim in Japan, but what about elsewhere? It's certainly not ruled out by Hashimoto's words, but Europe and to a greater extent North America are much lower on the pecking order in terms of Virtual Console releases.
Dream Games: Chrono Cross
Dream Games is a new weekly column where we explore a game we'd love to see on the PSP. Feel free to check in, and comment, every week.Chrono CrossYou may remember a little game called Chrono Trigger. It's considered one of the best games ever created, and the sequel is almost equally superb.Why PSP?Square loves remaking games. And the PSP is home to a good number of them: Valkyrie Profile, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Tactics. Surely, a Chrono Cross remake will be heading our way.Is it possible?Yes. I'd like to think it's quite likely. But, will Square put the effort to make a Rondo of Blood-like remake? Imagine: a fully graphically revamped Chrono Cross with Chrono Trigger added as a bonus. It would be the most value-packed UMD ever created. Hmm ... doesn't sound like Square's into that "value" thing. Regardless, both Chrono games are good enough to warrant a revisiting.
Microsoft buys Chrono series, news retracted [update 1]
Our RSS feed is a long reaching fish net across the sea of the interweb. It catches more or less everything regarding Xbox 360. This includes news stories that get immediately pulled from their site of origin. Xboxic had a story that hit our feed along with others, that reported on Microsoft buying the Chrono series, with Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger prime candidates for XBLA. Even the thought of a new gen Chrono title was bounced around. Then, in a puff of smoke, it disappeared. News items preceding and following are intact, though. Obviously something fishy is going on, and usually Microsoft doesn't care when one posts the wrong information. What they do care about is when the right information is posted at the wrong time. Feel free to speculate and tell us how you'd feel about seeing the Chrono series on you 360.Update: Regular reader dpcough points out that the story was a fake and that was the reason it was taken down. Mystery solved, and thankfully no memory wipes are required of our fanboys.
Sample some of Monster Kingdom's impressive soundtrack
Did you read my hands-on of Atlus' upcoming PSP-exclusive RPG, Monster kingdom: Jewel Summoner? The game has some serious talent behind it, especially in the music department. The RPG features works from celebrated composers, listed below: Shinji Hosoe (Ridge Racer series) Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy XII) Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Xenosaga) Kenji Ito (Sword of Mana) Yoko Shimomura (Street Fighter II) Masaharu Iwata (Final Fantasy Tactics) Tsukasa Masuko (Shin Megami Tensei series) Yasuyuki Suzuki (Doshin the Giant) Ayako Saso (Phantom Kingdom) Takahiro Ogata (Shin Megami Tensei NINE) The soundtrack to the game features 44 tracks from these famous composers, and samples can be heard on Atlus' newly opened official website for the game. The game hits stores on February 13th. Expect a full review closer to that date.
Happy Chrono Trigger Music Day
Ah, video game music day ... the one day every week where we can go back in time and relive our favorite tunes from the games of yesteryear. Hey ... going back in time. That gives me an idea ...Please enjoy the following guitar selections from everyone's favorite time-traveling Super Nintendo RPG, Chrono Trigger.Previous video game music days
