Chrono Trigger (DS)

This article is about the game. For series information, see Chrono (Series). For other uses, see Chrono Trigger (Disambiguation).

Chrono Trigger
Details
Developer(s)	TOSE
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Release date	JP November 20, 2008 NA November 25, 2008 PAL February 6, 2009
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: 10+ PEGI: 12+
Media	Cartridge

Chrono Trigger was re-released for the Nintendo DS in late November 2008 in North America and Japan and in early February 2009 for the PAL region, the first time the game has been officially released outside North America and Japan. This version had some differences compared to the original SNES and PlayStation versions of Chrono Trigger.

Announcement

On July 2, 2008 Square Enix announced that they were officially planning to bring Chrono Trigger to the Nintendo DS. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda was pleased with the project, exclaiming "think about it when they play it." At the 2008 Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix displayed Akira Toriyama's original art, advertising the DS release.

Differences

For naming differences between the two versions, see List of Chrono Trigger DS name changes.

The DS re-release contains all of the bonus material from the PlayStation port, such as the anime-style cut scenes by Akira Toriyama, as well as other enhancements. The added features include a more literal translation by Tom Slattery, a dual-screen mode which clears the top screen of all menus, a self-completing map screen, and a default "run" option. The translation replaced Frog's Early Modern English with a more literal, normal English translation and also renamed various enemies and equipment.

Development

Masato Kato, who wrote the script for the SNES version, participated in development, overseeing the addition of the monster-battling Arena and two new areas, the Lost Sanctum and the Dimensional Vortex. One of the areas within the Vortex uses the "Singing Mountain" song that was featured on the original Chrono Trigger soundtrack.

Reception

The new dungeons met with mixed reviews; GameSpot called them "frustrating" and "repetitive," while IGN noted that "the extra quests in the game connect extremely well." It was a nominee for Best RPG for the Nintendo DS in IGN's 2008 video game awards.