Chrono Break

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1 General Information
2 Rumor Mill

General Information[edit]

The Facts[edit]

The Short Version

Chrono Break was being discussed by the Cross team and Sakaguchi in 2001, but was not greenlighted for development
Square registered the trademarks around the same time
Masato Kato (series leader), Sakaguchi, and other key personnel left Square shortly after
Richard Honeywood (Cross translator) in 2003 stated that they'd like to do another Chrono but were too busy with FFXI
US trademark expires in 2003; Japanese trademark still registered
Masato Kato returns to Square Enix in 2005
In 2007, Tanaka notes that the issue of making a new game is getting developers of the former games back together (whether they're in different companies now or split among Square projects such as World of Mana and FFXI)
Japanese trademark expires on July 26, 2012.

Chrono Break is the name of a trademark registered by Square Co. on December 5, 2001, and is generally considered to be the name of a proposed Chrono game that would follow Chrono Cross. A similar trademark was registered in 2001 by Square Enix in Japan as "Chrono Brake". The registration followed a press report of talks about a new Chrono series game. Within this report, Hironobu Sakaguchi mentioned that the team of Chrono Cross, especially Masato Kato, were interested in developing a new game in the series, and that script and story ideas were currently being considered. The project had not been greenlighted as of the press release. While Squaresoft did not publish any official news, this registration led many in the video game community to believe that a sequel to the Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross was in full development. However, Masato Kato and others who worked on Chrono Cross—such as Yasuyuki Honne—meanwhile departed to work for Monolith Soft, and Square published no news concerning a sequel. On November 13, 2003, the trademark was dropped in the United States. The Japanese trademark is still registered.

Fan inquiry over a new title was subsequently large enough to warrant an entry in Square Enix's FAQ page, in which the company noted that no new game was in development, though this did not mean the series was dead. Here's the entry:

Does SQUARE ENIX have any plans to develop a sequel to Chrono Cross?
A sequel to Chrono Cross is not in development. This doesn't mean we will never make a sequel. However, resources are being focused on other titles at this moment. Keep an eye on our Press Release page to keep up with current information on upcoming titles from SQUARE ENIX.

In 2006, the entry was revised to include sequel inquiries for any series. In an interview at E³ 2003, the development team responsible for making Chrono Cross stated that they would love to develop a new Chrono game, but that they won't be able to make one for a long time, as they must keep supporting and making expansion packs for their unique project—the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI. Ironically, Hironobu Sakaguchi (one of Chrono Trigger's creators) pitched the idea of an MMORPG to Square while working on Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. In February 2007, Square Enix producer Hiromichi Tanaka took part in several interviews while promoting games in Europe. Tanaka reiterated that no new game was in development, but that a return was certainly not out of the question.

...it's very difficult to be able to reunite the original team, to be able to make a sequel to the Chrono series...because if we don't try to reunite these people but take other people instead, we will find ourselves at that point with a game which will feel different, since there would be different persons in charge, and we would possibly lose the Chrono spirit.

Hope and News[edit]

Chrono Break Specific

In a 2003 interview, Richard Honeywood (Cross's translator) noted that a new Chrono game wasn't out of the question, but that the team was too busy with FFXI.
At a PLAY! video game concert in 2006, Mitsuda noted that he'd love to compose for a new Chrono game.
In February 2007, Tanaka revealed that the issue of a new Chrono game was reunited key personnel to ensure the Chrono feel, but reassured interviewers that a continuation was certainly not out of the question.

General Chrono News

In 2005, Yasunori Mitsuda and Masato Kato teamed up to do KiRite, a musical / story project. This reaffirms their continued friendship.
In 2005, Mitsuda announced a Chrono Cross arranged album to be released in 2007.
In 2005, Square Enix listed Chrono Trigger in polls to see which games should be ported to the GBA or other handheld consoles.
In 2006, Yasunori Mitsuda and Masato Kato worked on Labyrinth, a Nintendo DS game.
In 2006, Masato Kato returned to Square Enix, and worked on the World of Mana series.
In 2008, Chrono Trigger DS was released, notably on the DS and not the Virtual Console.

Square Enix, though planning and releasing scores of Final Fantasy titles, has not completely turned a blind eye to other franchises. Among the old series recently revived are:

Grandia III
Star Ocean 3
Front Mission 4 and 5
Valkyrie Profile 2 and DS
Seiken Densetsu 4 and DS
Drakengard 2
Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song
Musashi Samurai Legend

It is the duty of business to take advantage of enterprise and make profits. If the Chrono series is still a profitable enterprise (and it is; Chrono Cross is 2x Greatest Hits), it will only be a matter of time before attention returns.

Credit to Kaleb G. to finding the expiration first (no credit to RPGfan)

New Game Plot?[edit]

Many naysayers have accused the Chrono Series of having a wrapped plot that leaves no room for expansion. Firstly, remember that Masato Kato wanted to make a new game. This means he had a pretty good idea to begin with. Here are other ideas from GrayLensman:

Consider this: Lavos wasn't the sole member of its species. Lavos's goal was to reproduce so that its spawn could go on to visit other world and continue its lifecycle. The universe must be filled with others of Lavos's kind. This in of itself is material for more games. If nothing else, the series can start over on another planet.

The possibilities are endless:

Time travel
Dimensional travel
Space travel
Any combination of the above
"Lavoids"
The unspeakable things that prey on "Lavoids"
The pristine future never seen directly
Shadowy figures seeking to cleanse the timestream any trace of Lavos's kind, including humanity
Where is Magus and/or Schala
What happened in the Fall of Guardia
What happened to the Reptite Dimension
Time cops upset over all the time disturbances on earth
Any or all of the above... FROM SPACE!!!!!

Rumor Mill[edit]

April 5, 2005[edit]

A fake image debuted at Gamesarefun depicting a silhouette of Chrono and news of a new Chrono game. It was described as having been stolen off a Square Enix computer and delivered over e-mail. The captions read, "The burning soul of youth will bring this instant into the future. Is this a dream, or an illusion? Catch the truth hiding in history! Chrono Trigger: Sands of Time - Winter 2005."

View Image

It is undoubtedly a fake. The reasons follow:

It's a bad photoshop job and unprofessional.
It goes against the tradition of nomenclature in the series.
SE would not do something like this in business to prepare for a Chrono game, especially in the states.
We would have known about the registration of a trademark for CT: Sands of Time.

April 6, 2006[edit]

At the Japanese site 2chan, a post was made containing information on games soon to be announced in Famitsu for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. In addition to a new Lufia game, the post described something called Chrono Glance to be led solely by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the former head of Squaresoft. The prank was later taken down and removed from the website's video game news.

Toastyfrog's FAQ[edit]

A site called "Give me a Break" used to exist, and on it was posted a humorous Chrono Break FAQ meant to quell the relentless chatter and speculation around the community. It can be found here.

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