Chrono Trigger DS: Absolutely perfect

[Ace Gunman]

a new translation? that might not be good. i'm not a big fan of some of these retranslations square-enix have been doing - i trust them at least to not turn it into an overly literal mess like the fan retranslation, or a pun-ridden accent-fest like the post-merger dragon quests, but i'm still a bit wary of this.

it'd be nice if they used the original script as a base but made small changes to it to correct mistakes or restore anything censored according to nintendo's old content policies... or maybe had an option to switch between the new and old script. doubt they'd do either though.
Don't worry about the translation. The original was mostly accurate, it will mostly be a presentational change. That's why two of the hands-ons thought the translation had only been tweaked. Because the difference is so minimal it's difficult to tell unless you know the script by heart.

So say a character said "Go to Mount Kookaberra and pick the golden fruit!" it might be changed to "Travel to Mount Kookaberra and pick the holy fruit of gold!". Now obviously those aren't actual sentences within the game, but you get the idea. Chrono Trigger was a fairly accurate translation regarding most spoken dialog, it was just simplified for the audience and translation styles of the time.

Spoiler

[titlen the whole there are really only 3 major inaccuracies (minor spoilers):]1) Janus being called Schala's step brother. They are not step siblings, they are actual siblings. This wasn't even a mistake, it was just a random addition by the translator.

2) A certain line said by a certain character saying something along the lines of "someone close to one of you is in trouble, find them fast". In the original that was actually him telling you to ask your fellow playable characters about their sidequests. This line has confused many a person.

3) Frog does not speak ye olde English. No other characters in that time period do, and he didn't in the Japanese version. It's likely they'll either leave that bit be, change it so that he speaks ordinary English, or change is so that the rest of the time period speaks in a similar accent.

QUOTE(XeonZ @ Jul 22 2008, 07:24 PM) I think they'll be mostly retranslating characters names, attacks, and some stuff to the script. Nothing that would alter the story I would imagine.

Can't wait.

It won't be that. The names are the only thing that *are* set in stone.

 

[silent sniper]

Is the Japanese version still gonna be harder than America and Europe?

 

[Ace Gunman]

Is the Japanese version still gonna be harder than America and Europe?

I wasn't aware that it was, but with all of the optional features they're putting in (a single screen mode for purists? Now that's serious fanservice). I wouldn't be surprised if there was a difficulty option. However that has NOT been confirmed, that's pure speculation.

 

[blahman]

Great news, Chrono Trigger fans! Everything you could have hoped for has come to pass (except those of you who believe the spectacular 16-bit visuals, arguably the greatest of all time need to be removed in favor of blocky DS graphics).

Are you assuming that the game has more colours simply because its on the ds now or did they say its going to have more colours.
if there is enhanced graphics, i dont see it. the colours are still very much snes looking.

AS much as I liked the CT visuals back on SNES, it is definitely dated looking now. they should at least redo the backgrounds and sprites to make it look as nice as, say, lunar knights. Not saying they should get new designs, they should smooth things out. And cmooon they should update the effects of magics. I for one wanna see sooper dooper flashy looking luminaire.

so, not perfect. And hardly excited.

 

[Ace Gunman]

Great news, Chrono Trigger fans! Everything you could have hoped for has come to pass (except those of you who believe the spectacular 16-bit visuals, arguably the greatest of all time need to be removed in favor of blocky DS graphics).

Are you assuming that the game has more colours simply because its on the ds now or did they say its going to have more colours.
if there is enhanced graphics, i dont see it. the colours are still very much snes looking.

That single line is actually an assumption given the fact that every single Final Fantasy Advance port by this team took advantage of the GBA's color palette. Even if it was barely noticeable. It's just logical to assume the same for a DS enhanced port.

As for the perfect statement, this is a perfect enhanced port. That's the point of this entire topic to show fans that it's everything they've come to love, plus a bit more with no sacrifices made.

For those wanting a full-on remake, why? What will it change? You may actually lose content. With a remake there's always the chance that something may get lost in the conversion. Suddenly a plot element is different, or the battle mechanics change for the worse. Not all remakes are perfect, many have more flaws than the original.

And I for one will take one of the best looking 16-bit games of all time over blocky DS graphics where everyone is slightly square and jittery any day. Games like Final Fantasy IV get remade because they looked iffy to begin with. FFIV always did look more like a last generation NES title than a first generation SNES. Games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI don't need new visuals because they're considered the best of what they represent.

 

[Ferrariman]

Me want: Redrawn sprites, background , some better english (Crono's level up!), cool special effects for technique moves and combination moves, and CGI (mobi-clip) cutscenes

 

[Ace Gunman]

Me want: Redrawn sprites, background , some better english (Crono's level up!), cool special effects for technique moves and combination moves, and CGI (mobi-clip) cutscenes

Sprites are the best parts of it, changing the sprites would change Akira Toriyama's entire visual style. The signature style of the game itself. The backgrounds can't be changed as Chrono Trigger doesn't work on a random encounter engine. The backgrounds are the exact spots you're standing in when you run into an enemy. So to replace the backgrounds would be to redraw every single area in the game.

The re-translation will likely fix the so-called improper English aspect. The traditional special effects are part of the charm! There will be cutscenes, but not CGI scenes. They're hand drawn animated scenes produced by Akira Toriyama's animation studio, Bird Studio.

 

[Unchi-san]

why are people still complaining? A great classic is coming to the DS. So what if it is a port? At least it will be free to download and play!

I am very excited for this. the retro graphics and gameplay bring back great memories....

 

[Ace Gunman]

why are people still complaining? A great classic is coming to the DS. So what if it is a port? At least it will be free to download and play!

I am very excited for this. the retro graphics and gameplay bring back great memories....

I would hope you'd buy the game. The purchase of this game is the only way we'll ever see a third game in the series. Everyone in the team is up for it even though they're scattered, the only thing holding it back is Square-Enix refusing to fund the project. If we all purchase the game, even if not for ourselves (perhaps for Christmas gifts) for our brother, or cousin, or aunt, etc. If we purchase it, we can support the production of a future installment.

For those who know about it I liken the situation to the Firefly TV series. It was canceled on TV, but massive DVD sales allowed Joss Whedon to get a theatrical film follow-up made. It's the same scenario.

 

[Ferrariman]

Me want: Redrawn sprites, background , some better english (Crono's level up!), cool special effects for technique moves and combination moves, and CGI (mobi-clip) cutscenes

The backgrounds are the exact spots you're standing in when you run into an enemy. So to replace the backgrounds would be to redraw every single area in the game.

Exactly, get him to redrawn the sprites and the backgrounds. I can wait till 2012

 

[blahman]

Me want: Redrawn sprites, background , some better english (Crono's level up!), cool special effects for technique moves and combination moves, and CGI (mobi-clip) cutscenes

The backgrounds are the exact spots you're standing in when you run into an enemy. So to replace the backgrounds would be to redraw every single area in the game.

Exactly, get him to redrawn the sprites and the backgrounds. I can wait till 2012

its not like toryiama draws the sprites himself. he just does the character designs and someone else turn them into sprites. They can just dig up the concept arts and redo the sprites.

 

[LordMelkor]

I don't really think they should redo the sprites, they were quite well done to begin with, but some graphical filtering might make them look better.

 

[Ace Gunman]

Newly updated:

UPDATE 3: It's been a while since my last update, but a great deal of new information has become available. Lets start with the release dates: The game will be available in North America on November 25, 2008, Japan during Winter 2008, and in PAL territories in early 2009. The official boxart has apparently been released by Square-Enix, as seen here, and above.

Gameplay-wise the "Wireless Play Mode" is now being called the "Arena Mode", what this entails in unknown. Also, the additional game dungeon is cited as being "dungeons" now; plural. Finally, the game has apparently been rated E10+ for Animated Blood, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes, and Use of Alcohol. We couldn't have asked for a better rating as it means the original content is intact, yet it can reach the widest audience possible. Further updates as they become available.

http://gonintendo.com/?p=52933

 

[PizzaPasta]

Man, they even kept the box art the same. Kind of lame.


I'm not going to feel bad at all when I steal the shit out if this game.

 

[AshuraZro]

Yeah, a new box art would have been nice. Oh well, doesn't matter either way in the end still, as it's simply a printed piece of paper on a package.

 

[DeMoN]

You're right, that box art does look lame. Way too much white.

 

[Ace Gunman]

You're right, that box art does look lame. Way too much white.

Doesn't almost every DS, and for that matter Wii boxart have excessive amounts of white?

 

[Twiffles]

Sadly, mom's looking for games to buy their kids, are probably not gonna get it now.

 

[Lumstar]

I'm skipping both this and FF4. Not interested in spending $80 for both separate, when the PSX versions were $20 together due to Greatest Hits.

Then again I skip nearly all of the newer remakes/spinoffs/etc. Crystal Chronicles, Crystal Chronicles RoF, Tactics Advance, Tactics A2, Tactics War of the Lions, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core, FF4 Advance, FF5 Advance, FF6 Advance, FFXI and expansions...

Not keen on XIII. Bring back random battles and ATB!!

 

[Ace Gunman]

I'm skipping both this and FF4. Not interested in spending $80 for both separate, when the PSX versions were $20 together due to Greatest Hits.

Then again I skip nearly all of the newer remakes/spinoffs/etc. Crystal Chronicles, Crystal Chronicles RoF, Tactics Advance, Tactics A2, Tactics War of the Lions, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core, FF4 Advance, FF5 Advance, FF6 Advance, FFXI and expansions...

Not keen on XIII. Bring back random battles and ATB!!

Um, Chrono Trigger isn't a spin-off of Final Fantasy. It's entirely separate game series which was bundled with FFIV for the hell of it. Also, the PSX version is vastly inferior, excessive load times, musical and graphical glitches, and so on. None of which were present in the original SNES version. The problems were caused by the title being emulated rather than being ported properly.

For the record, all of those things have been eliminated in this version as well, apparently.