CT DS >>> [1] The big news is that Masato Kato, according to
Siliconera (which cites
Famitsu), oversaw the new content additions. Perhaps he's done some retconning or has eliminated some of Yuji Horii's plot holes; we'll have to see. Siliconera notes that Famitsu's touting "shocking revelations" within the new content, so expectations are high!
[2] Frog's Middle English may have been corrected or trimmed. Remember the line "Lower thine guard, and thou'rt allowing the enemy in?" It's become "Lower your guard, and you allow the enemy in!"
[3] Famitsu's highlighted the three new additions to the game: the Dimensional Distortion dungeon, the Dragon Sanctuary, and a battle arena where you can control roughly fifty different monsters in competitive fights with other monsters. Sounds like the Grand Slam from Chrono Cross!
[4] Old, but since we haven't reported it yet...those who preorder the game at GameStop will receive a two-track disc called "Chrono Trigger Extra Tracks" with an orchestral version of the Chrono Trigger theme and an orchestral medley of other music. If you've preordered at GameStop, let me know, because we need to rip these tracks in lossless.
[5] The Japanese release date is now November 20, so they'll get it before North America after all. You may have won this round, but...
New DS Features >>> Let's dig deeper by examining the new Japanese videos.
[1] The Dimensional Distortion dungeon seems to kick off in a section of the Black Omen or Undersea Palace. The party hits a teleport and go to an underground lava cavern area. Next up is a snowy mountain that uses the Singing Mountain theme. The party continues through a futuristic dome setting and then what looks like the inside of Lavos's exoskeleton; they eventually end up at the End of Time, which will be "affected in some way."
[2] The Dragon Sanctuary seems to be created when a green distortion emerges on the prehistoric map , and simultaneously enters existence in 600 A.D. in the "last leg of the story." The party enters it through a sky gate type thing; it seems to be underground. Inside are Ogres with hammers and Reptites. Things get INSANE after this point. The party is seen tending to a sapling, going through a new prehistoric area, going through a new prehistoric mountain area, talking to a Reptite on the Guardia Castle dungeon bridge, and battling three twin snakes in a location using the Tyrano Lair tileset. One supposedly has to complete requests of the Reptites; I'm personally hoping Kato will show some new information about the Reptite Dimension or Dragonians with this.
[3] The battle arena uses the castle tileset (sound familiar?), where you can supposedly breed and control monsters in fights with other monsters. Most of the monsters have new palettes, but the totally bizarre thing is the presence of hairless, miniature Nu. So far, we've seen a purple and a yellow one.
To view Square's promotional videos with ease, click
here,
here, and
here.
General Chrono >>> [1] Square has added a Chrono Trigger museum of sorts to its booth at the Tokyo Game Show according to
Siliconera. If you're in the vicinity, try to get pictures, or at least tell us what was there!
[3] Square has created a new site pointing to their English Chrono Trigger DS page at
http://www.goodmorningcrono.com/.
[2] GlitterBerri has completed the first two pages of the Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yuji Horii interview found in the Chrono Trigger: The Perfect player's guide. View them
here and
here, and be ready for two new bits of information! All thanks go to GlitterBerri, so show your appreciation.
[3] Molotov's new speedrun has passed, meaning he's officially broken the world record for completing Chrono Cross in the fastest time with 6:42:11 (6:48:19 good ending). Watch the run
here.
Fan Projects >>> [1] Chrono Trigger Unglued 17 is out, and Cryo is back. Check it out
here.
[2] MagilsugaM has released Chrono Trigger Action!, an edit of the platformer Syobon Action. Download it
here.
[2] I've moved Chrono Shift down to the Abandoned category on the Fan Projects page after someone played the game and discovered it was only a demo. I've also moved Chrono Trigger Redux into the abandoned section since no work has been done in at least six months on it.
Music >>> [1] The Specialist has finished and released
Chronological Gangster, his 15-track mixtape of Jay-Z songs using music from both Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross. The application is well executed and really creative; you've got to check it out! View the full listing at
Albums and Doujins or download it straight
here.
[2] Mustin and The OneUps have released their Volume 2 album, packed with VGM and available for both physical and digital purchase. Chrono Trigger's main theme is remixed; you can purchase
here. They also recently played at PAX; find a video
here.
Fan Stuff >>> Zipp Dementia begins fiction with his vision of Chrono Break; check out the existing three parts
here. For art, tushantin gets things started - [
Magil of the Shadows -
Magus, King of Demons -
Reflections Beyond Time ] Jackson Ferrell keeps things going with a new Lucca piece entitled
Stars. Deezer509 hits next with
Demon King Doodle.