Chrono Trigger: The Perfect

General Information

This guide contains nearly all the weapons and armor concept art, as well as an interview with Yuji Horii and Hironobu Sakaguchi. Check out the interview at Supporting Material Translation or below.

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Limited Availability

Interview

Source

V Jump Books Dokusen Project!!

Two members of the Chrono Trigger team discuss the secret story behind the game!

It’s a scorching hot TALK BATTLE!!

Y. Horii VS H. Sakaguchi

DREAM PROJECT

Event ideas, character design, the real story is just inside! See the dynamic relationship between the developers revealed as we present this information to you!

They are, of course, Yuuji Horii and Hironobu Sakaguchi, masters of the Chrono Trigger world!! We conducted this special interview for our readers!

Let the interview begin!!

The game and its graphics were beyond belief.

—Let’s start the interview off with something basic. After completing the game and playing the final version, what were your thoughts? Do you think you were able to accomplish what you set out to do?

Horii:
In my mind, the game went beyond our expectations. There were highlights that, in the end, were more than I thought they’d be. The scene where you’re going into the jail – just the feeling I got from entering the dungeon surprised me. Seeing the scrolling background of the passage left a deep impression on me. Not just the mountains in the background; the inside as well.

Sakaguchi:
Our colleagues who worked on the graphics were also talking about that. If the prison had been done in the normal style, it would have been rather devoid of colour.

—Horii, would you say that he dungeon had the best visuals, in your opinion?

Horii:
Yes. The graphics were excellent, if that’s what you mean. I’m not a professional artist, so I appreciate someone else going in there for me.

—Sakaguchi, how about yourself? Do you find that there was a place that went far beyond what you had imagined?

Sakaguchi:
Something like the stained glass of the courtroom. That part was amazing. At the beginning I imagined the courthouse to be suspended in the sky, connected by a floating bridge to the mountains. I wasn’t thinking about the contrast with the light, that was created the efforts of the staff who drew it.

Horii:
As for this game, I’m only involved with the plot. If there’s a fairground, I just write that there’s a fairground; I don’t write down any of the details. Then the staff brainstorm and come up with a variety of attractions to put in. With entertainment like a robot battle and Square’s ride, there are many things with which to amuse yourself. I think it lent a certain freshness to the game to have everyone working together.

Ideas were brainstormed under the orders of the director.

—Do you think that working with each other, there were parts of the game that reflected your personalities?

Horii:
Off the top of my head, I think that the fairground events were very Sakaguchi-esque. Characters like Gonzalez, especially.

Sakaguchi:
I was the one who created Gonzales. (laughter)

—Is that so? (laughter)

Horii:
Suddenly bursting into song…

Sakaguchi:
Actually, I was also behind the primeval dance next door. (laughter)

Horii:
It’s a good thing that I started dancing to it too.

Sakaguchi:
Actually, Kitase, who was directing the game, was the one who asked me to put something in there.

—Was it because you would always say that to him when you were the director and now your positions have been reversed?

Sakaguchi:
That’s right. (laughter) Kitase only recently became director, so he was always saying “Sakaguchi, Sakaguchi, I’m really sorry about this, but since I’m the director now, I’m going to have to ask you to do this.” (bursts out laughing)

Square had a variety of new ideas – Horii

Chrono Trigger had a degree of freedom never-before-seen in games.

Sakaguchi:
There were times that I felt under pressure to make as much of a Toriyama-style world as possible, but contrary to my expectations I found that it was okay to play around with Toriyama’s universe. It felt like anything was possible.

Horii:
Because of this, even in really serious scenes there’s a lot of silliness. Take the part where you defeat the Dragon Tank after escaping from the prison. The enemies hanging off the edge link together to form a human bride. (laughter)

—Even with the character names, like “Sir Krawlie.” (laughing)

Sakaguchi:
That would be impossible with something like Final Fantasy. It would be rejected immediately. (laughter)

Horii:
We had a lot more freedom than we would with Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. We weren’t worried about the feel of the world; it would be whatever we ended up making.

Sakaguchi:
It was a totally new game.

—Sakaguchi-san, would you say there was a part where Horii’s personality shone through?

Sakaguchi:
Yes and no. When I read the faxes he sent me, I was surprised. They were written like flowcharts, and the response time showed an almost user-like mentality. I thought it was amazing.