Masato Kato Chrono Trigger Ultimania Interview Translated!

[ZeaLitY]

Thanks to volunteer translator Cal Hampton, the Chrono Trigger Ultimania interview with Masato Kato has been translated, and it's full of new information! Find it here. There's a bigger update coming at some point (that'll feature some previously lost VGMixes added to the remix section), but I had to rush this out. Kato divulges his original plans for Crono (that were changed by Square), plus his favorite alternate ending, among other things; go check it out!

[TheMage]

Oh wow! Can you imagine if they had gone with his idea? Of taking Chrono from before the fair and returning him knowing he would die!?

[ChronoMoogle]

Great translation and a very interesting interview! Probs to the translator!

[Acacia Sgt]

Interesting, that would've added a more bittersweet touch to the ending. Although I'm wondering about the implications of this. I can't see him coming back as a party member, unless they had a way to work why a version of him from even before the start of the game to catch back up to the one who went through a good chunk of the adventure. Unless he rejoined Level 1 but then it'd be tedious to bring him back up to shape.

Oh well, it's neither here nor there anymore.

[maggiekarp]

Excellent interview and an interesting twist (how the heck do you level up Crono though?),  but I think it's important to note for future screaming matches that this is definitive proof that Kato's ideas were too depressing for Trigger... and they let him write the sequel.

[FaustWolf]

It's awesome that Kato's interested in looking at Radical Dreamers again. A project like that would be a treasure trove of possibilities.

A super-duper thanks to Cal Hampton for translating! I found the interview wonderfully readable.

[Sajainta]

This is fantastic.  Whoever translated this, thank you!

[X4220]

Very good and interesting interview.
Lucca is my favorite CT character, probably because I look at her through CC glasses  .
Also, I really like Kato's sketches for Lucca.

[HeadlessFritz]

Nice interview. It's funny because when I first played CT, I couldn't read English (it's not my first language). So when Crono died, I had no clue that he could be revived. I thought he was gone for good, and Magus was a replacement for him as lead, which was kinda cool when you think about it.

[Insertclevername]

That was a very insightful, fun read.

[Lennis]

This was an enlightening read.  I found it interesting that Kato had a more bittersweet ending in mind, and yet believed in the power of changing history.  Challenging fate, as it were.  Most interesting were his thoughts about Lucca and how he most related to her.  I have to wonder if "inventor girl" was ever the protagonist at some point during the story's development.

Reading this makes me wonder what he would think of some of the core ideas behind my Chrono novelization.  We aren't as far apart as I thought.  Unfortunately, I don't know how I would even get in touch with him, let alone translate my thoughts into Japanese.

[tushantin]

Reading this makes me wonder what he would think of some of the core ideas behind my Chrono novelization.  We aren't as far apart as I thought.  Unfortunately, I don't know how I would even get in touch with him, let alone translate my thoughts into Japanese.

And I looked desperately for volunteers, but none seemed to want to test my machine. They were scared. Scared of the unknown that may befall them by accidents. Technology always scared people this way, and I wouldn't blame them.

"Lucca!" Someone called me.

There he was: scarlet punk-haired kid that I was familiar with for the past few years in my life. His smile stood out among the crowd as he approached me, followed by a blonde-haired girl in tow.

I also think Robo’s design is excellent. I wanted them to make a real one, but at the time the market for figures and the technology available to manufacturers hadn’t taken off as much as it has today. Maybe someone will make one sometime soon?

Yes! Hell yes!

Interesting thing about (spoilers) Crono's ending there: since the Zeal's ending would be a fixed point in time (Doctor Who reference), then the past Crono would have nothing to lose. He'd be UNSTOPPABLE!

[tushantin]

As celebration to Kato, I wanted to put this meme I made here.

[ZeaLitY]

http://www.translationsforprogress.org/showtaskdesc.php?id=1083

Next task is up. It feels a little dirty having that among other requests akin to "CURE FOR CANCER, PLEASE TRANSLATE" and "NEED MANUAL FOR SAVING ORPHANS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES", but it seems to be attracting interest and getting results.

[Kodokami]

I love Kato's description of Lucca.