Chrono Trigger DS

Welcome to the Chrono Trigger DS preview page! Here, we'll post screenshots and other information pertaining to Chrono Trigger's port to the DS. Chrono Trigger DS is a chance to show a ton of support for the Chrono franchise, and that Square is putting it out demonstrates that the franchise has not been relegated to the dust bin. If there are enough sales, it's possible Square will have the incentive to even produce a new Chrono game. Square also apparently felt that Chrono Trigger would sell better on the DS than on the Virtual Console, and this is a good thing as far as the franchise goes. Support it; buy it; convince your friends to buy it. Not only will we show support for the Chrono series, but we'll also help create a new generation of fans.

News

July 1-2 - Teaser Site and Press Release

On July 1, 2008, someone at 2chan uploaded a scan from a Japanese video game announcing Chrono Trigger DS. That night, people discovered http://www.square-enix.co.jp/ctds/ and its American counterpart, http://na.square-enix.com/ctds/. These websites, with the title COUNTDOWN SITE, depicted a clock synchronized to the viewer's computer time and the ticking sound from A Premonition, the pre-title screen track to Chrono Trigger. Square Enix's Japanese news feed also touted the date July 7. On July 2, a press release appeared on Yahoo Business confirming several things.

A holiday release for Japan and North America
Touch-Screen functionality
"Wireless Play mode"
Dual screen presentation
A new dungeon

On July 4, a countdown to July 7 was added to the sites.

July 7 - Trailer Debut

At the break of July 7 in Japan, chronotrigger.jp launched with a trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Au0Vmu8yg

Here's a translation of the trailer and the information card displayed at the end, thanks to Ichiro78:

~

After 13 years have passed...

..."time" once again is set in motion.

CHRONO

MARL

LUCCA

To the unforgettable past...

KAERU (Frog)

EIRA (Ayla)

... the distant future...

ROBO

...and finally, the end of all time.

The curtain opens for a great adventure to save the planet's life, passing time and space again and again.

2008.Winter

After 13 years have passed "time" once again is set in motion. The decade-surpassing, everlasting classic "Chrono Trigger" finally comes to the Nintendo DS!

This is a perfect port of the 1995 Super Famicom exclusive title "Chrono Trigger". It will go on sale in winter 2008 using the hardware's double screens and featuring a new system, as well as new, fun elements.

CHRONO TRIGGER

System: Nintendo DS
Genre: RPG
Players: 1 (1-4)
Release date: Winter 2008
Price: Not yet fixed
CERO age rating: Inspection pending

July 9 - Weekly Famitsu Coverage

On July 9, four new magazine scans appeared, with the last seeming to have some kind of mini-interview with Yasunori Mitsuda. The scans confirmed that

Mitsuda is on board to keep the music close to the SNES aesthetic
The battle menu may have been moved to the bottom DS screen with a green and blue HP and MP bar beneath each character on the top screen

1UP.com translated Mitsuda's interview; here are his remarks:

"When I first heard about this, my first response was 'Finally!'," he says. "That's partly because it was my debut work, but it's still a very deep, very high-quality game even when you play it today. I'm very interested in seeing what kids today think about it when they play it, so from that perspective, it was a very happy piece of news."

"I couldn't even count all the memories it brings up. I was in a slump because I couldn't compose anything, I was going to the hospital regularly for stomach ulcers while I worked, I had a hard-drive crash and lost nearly 40 in-progress tracks...great, I guess I'm only remembering the negative things! But when the entire staff gathered around to watch the ending, I wound up crying anyway (a lot of other staffers were just as deeply moved). I think all of us put a lot of our emotion into the game."

"I think a lot of [Famitsu] readers were hoping for a Chrono Trigger port, and now we're finally making that wish come true. I had the music for the Nintendo DS version stay as close as possible to the SNES original, so I think you'll like how it turns out. Whether you're playing for the first time or reflecting on the past as you go, I hope all of you enjoy it."

The same day, RPGamer confirmed here that CT DS would be playable at E3.

July 15 - E3 Preview

From E3 and reports 1 and 2, we learned:

A new translation has been done
The first bar is for HP, and the second for ATB
The bottom screen will have status, items, a bestiary, and a map, including maps for dungeons that light up as they are explored
The game is flawlessly done compared to the PSX emulation
The PSX cut scenes will appear
A single-screen version will be available for purists