If the community is expecting a new game in the Chrono series, then this will be a very long night indeed. The industry has changed markedly since Chrono Cross was released. The sheer amount of money it takes to make a AAA title nowadays has made every major publisher risk-averse. And Square/Enix's claim that a Final Fantasy VII remake is financially unfeasible is not wholly without merit - assuming said title uses the most modern graphics and has voice-overs throughout. (And if it doesn't, what would be the point of remaking the game?) Remember that the most recent Tomb Raider was critically praised, yet was considered a commercial failure because it didn't have Call of Duty-like sales figures. To be blunt, I no longer have confidence that anyone in the video-game industry has both the capability and the will to make a new Chrono game and do it well.
So why are we all here? Just to reminisce?
I say no.
Chrono is very much alive, but the reason it's on life-support is that no one of importance seems to realize that the story can no longer be told or retold effectively in the medium it was originally released in. People expect more. As much as we adored the original game, we, as a community, know that the world of Chrono is much bigger than what could be portrayed in a 16-bit cartridge. That is the reason why there has been so much fan-art/fan-fiction released over the years, both to continue the story and to fill in the blanks in the original. Taken together, all of those works, canon and non-canon - however inconsistent - paint a picture of such depth that no game can do justice to the overall mythos and not disappoint a whole lot of people. To the people that clamor for a new game, I wonder if you even know - I mean really know - what you are asking for. Most of the people who made the original Chrono have moved on with their lives, and the odds of them getting back together to do it again are close to zero. Would a new game have any chance of capturing the magic of the original, or even of Chrono Cross?
What I'm trying to say is that the underlying story of Chrono has evolved, while the underlying mechanics of gaming - go from point A to B, kill X - has not. There would be a disconnect where the gameplay actually interferes with the telling of the story rather than being a seamless part of it. We have seen countless examples of this from video-game publishers, including Square/Enix, on other projects. Why should we believe that anyone can find the right storytelling/gameplay balance for a new Chrono game when no one else has been able to do it with other IP's? That is a path of tears. In addition, consider the difficulty of deciding what kind of platform or distribution method should be used for said game. How do you get your game into the hands of as many people as possible without breaking your bank account making versions for every existent - and likely not completely compatible - platform? Making a profit in these conditions is extraordinarily difficult unless your game is a multiplayer FPS. Hence, one CoD clone after another, at least until that fad dies out, and then what do you do? The big publishers are doomed. The future is indie. But does anyone honestly believe that an indie can do justice to what Chrono Trigger could be? Let me tell you what an indie Chrono would look like: it would basically be the 16-bit game with a new coat of 2-D paint capable of scaling in or out with a smattering of new dialogue and a few new side quests. That's it. No new cinematics. No new eras or characters. Certainly no voice-overs, at least none of any quality. What would be the point of such a project except to give a small base of dedicated fans a short-term cure for nostalgia? It would be a rehashing of the old instead of something fresh and new. It would not sell. And fans, in the end, would not be satisfied. We would be left wanting with no hope of getting anything more. The franchise would truly die at that point, and a part of us would die with it.
There is only one viable path forward for Chrono the way it should be, and that is film. I say that not just from a storytelling standpoint, but from a financial one. Say, you can make a high-quality film adaptation for around $200 million per installment. A worldwide distribution would net at least $800 million in ticket sales. And then you would see hundreds more millions in sales when the film goes to Blu-ray six months later. (Note that you are only dealing with two distribution platforms here, and they are very well meshed. The same cannot be said of gaming distribution.) With the total proceeds from the first film alone, you might have enough money to make two or even three more and still have enough left over to give the executives the big bonuses they expect. Now, of course, this would all be a castle in the sky unless the film appealed to enough people to generate that level of interest. To do that, Chrono has to move away from its gaming origins and more towards a solid narrative. This is something that I think Chrono can do better than any other gaming IP, including Final Fantasy. The core story is just that strong. Advent Children has proved the limitations of Final Fantasy VII in a cinematic medium. That story is just too weird in places to appeal to a wide audience. Chrono Trigger, on the other hand, is a timeless story that I think anyone can relate to on some level. It is a modern-day fairy tale with deep philosophical undertones. The fairy tale would appeal to younger viewers. The more serious implications of the adventure would appeal to the older. The characters would appeal to both.
My novelization/remake of Chrono Trigger is an attempt to create a narrative foundation where these films might arise from. It's a combination of what made original canon so compelling along with the best ideas created by the larger community. I cannot envision Square/Enix wanting to take the latter tack with any game adaptation, given their less-than-amicable attitude towards fandom in general. If you want to see Cedric... If you want to see Queen Anne, or Antaeus Poore, or a mention of Alphard Zeal, or of Belthazar's less-than-virtuous motives - as all seen in Crimson Echoes, you will not get that in a Square/Enix game. Only film.
Square/Enix owns the legal rights to Chrono Trigger. We, on the other hand, own it in our hearts. We have kept the flame alive in the middle of the night and have not let it burn out. The long night is not upon us. We have already been living it for 15 years. And like all nights, this one will come to an end. There is dawn at the end of the tunnel. To reach that end and endure the remainder of this night, we need to keep doing what we are doing. Keep drawing fan-art. Keep writing fan-fiction. Keep composing Mitsuda-inspired music. Post it everywhere and often. Get the word out that Chrono is not just another forgotten franchise. Most importantly, abandon your swear-filled apathy and believe in a better future. It's what Crono, Marle, and Lucca would do.
