Yuji Horii Acknowledges Chrono Trigger Remake Requests, Says He's Starting To Contemplate It

Yes Square Enix give us a remake but do not screw it up like Final Fantasy VII Remake. This game is beloved beyond anything else, you screw this up then we're gonna have a problem.

Remake it, but keep it loyal to the base game. Just some modern graphics and maybe some small QoL changes, but otherwise the game doesn't need much. Sincerely hope that contemplation comes to fruition.

They’ve brought back Snes RPGs that probably had a fraction of the requests and significance of CT, so if it truly hasn’t been in any phase of planning then that’s very odd. I’m going to say it’s a key release in any year that it comes out, and they’ve likely had it somewhere in planning since their 16-bit revival business has been cranking them out

I want it to be a passion project that honors the atmosphere and world of the first... Not just a project to please fans.

I loved Chrono Trigger. On the Top 5 of my favorite RPGs as a multi-platform player.

I don't want to be catered to. I want them to craft a masterpiece.

Finish DQ first please.

And thus the impossible task of keeping everyone happy with a remake begins:

Don't you dare make a modern 3d remake
HD-2D is ugly
The combat must stay the same no matter what
Please update the combat and give us QOL features
Don't eve think about changing a single bit of dialogue or costume
The original translation was a bit naff, please update

Etc, etc, etc

He's just now realizing interest in a remake? Not that I'm not ride-or-die on DQ and bringing those games forward, but this just seems like a masterful troll.

@DemonKow Right? He make it sounds like this is the first time he has become aware people have been asking for it!

Even just a simple remaster for current devices would make me happy. I am sure that Dragon Quest I+II will be great.

This has been NLife’s semi-periodic reminder that I really need to unlock more endings on my DS copy of CT. And while I am doing that, I should prep my DS copies of the DQ games to be played once I play the remakes of III, I&II.

This is starting to get tedious.

@NinChocolate Games with a fraction of the fan base actually makes way more sense to remaster. No expectations means more people will enjoy it. Sky high expectations, like with CT, means a lot more disappointment. I mean, even here, right now, some are lamenting FF7 Remake. Nobody is complaining about the Romancing Saga remake.

The vocal minority is strong with Chrono Trigger. And let's be honest, they can do no right with this one. Whichever choice they make, there will be backlash.

Got a confession, feels like this is the crowd to admit this. I'm a little over 4 hours in and just dropped it one day. Like the writing is charming and the combat seems pretty standard RPG stuff to me. How long before I'm like wrapped up in the story? I feel scared to spoil anything for anyone reading who might not have played it like me, but I've made it to the crossroads or whatever it's called, the place outside of time.

I'm playing it on DS since it's cheaper but like I said it's not slapping me up the head like Earthbound or other RPGs have done.

I'd a million times rather have a port than a remake. Just put the Steam version on consoles and call it a day.

Or at least if you're going to remake it also port it so I can just get that version and not mess with them probably completely ruining its aesthetic.

Why not just release the original game on NSO or in the eShop?

A Physical HD-2D Remaster of Chrono Trigger would sell many copies no doubt about it.. 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Nintendo Switch system bundle would be Amazing

@Daniel36 the entitlement of vocal minorities is rarely indulged by these publishers. They make products based on their own data and expertise, that’s the filter major decisions go through. Customer surveys then account for a much smaller part of that planning. The games that get the most attention are typically the better sellers, not the obscure stuff. We’ll always have a pile of deserving obscure games that publishers will never touch again. But Chrono Trigger is not in that category having received multiple ports to various consoles and handhelds over the decades. So as a piece of software it’s gone through the enhanced rerelease process multiple times already. A remake is probably their own natural conclusion about how to approach yet another reissue of Chrono Trigger and have it stand out

Honestly, the OG was perfect, the DS version added stuff that could be refined, but was still nigh upon perfect...
A rerelease would genuinely be okay. If they wanted a remake, they coulda hired the ppl who tried making Chrono Resurrection, but they didn't.
At this point, I'm more curious, is there anything beyond Cross?

@NinChocolate Yeah, I guess you are right. I spoke too soon.

I went and looked up sales data. FF7 understandably did better, but 5 million for Chrono Trigger is no mean feat. Even if accounting for double dippers, and even if only a fifth of these sales are diehard fans, that would probably still mean a commercial success.

But I don't know. Maybe a million isn't worth it for Square, maybe it is... I wouldn't know...

Ok if we’re in the contemplation phase I guess I’ll forget about it for now. And the next 3-4 years.

I have to say the replies on the topic of a Chrono Trigger remake always rub me the wrong way. “Uh I guess it would be ok”, “Honestly the OG was perfect”, “Ugh they better don’t do x or y” - quite spoiled and entitled.

We get it, you’re purists and true retro gamers™️, but let others have their fun, your SNES cartridge (or rather Rom) isn’t going anywhere.

If ever there was a classic game that didn’t need a remake, it’s CT. Just port it and let us play it!

make it plain and simple a hd-2d remake.. it will sell millions..

yuji is 71 years old better hurry up and remake the game while there is still time..

Dear Nintendo, you have more money than Smaug from the Hobbit.

Please pay Square Enix to make this a timed exclusive for Switch 2 because I'm horrible and would love to see the internet freak out.

😈😈😈

@Ryu_Niiyama it’s a long time since the last news of DQXII. I need some news about dragon quest monsters too!

But right, chrono trigger is a big hit of course

@The_MANSLAYER we still have the remakes of dragon1&2 first before we get dragon quest 12..

It's just a matter of time until it happens. I'm just afraid that by the time we see it, none of the original "dream team" will be able to work on it, which will make the release within the next 7+ years, a bittersweet moment for me.

Sounds like Square approved teasing. They could have remade it using the HD-2D engine a long time ago, but they haven’t bothered for a number of reasons we’re not privy to.

And honestly the SNES original holds up well, a remake feels needless. You could also just grab it on DS and play it there.

I'd be fine with a faithful port or light remaster, but I would like to see what a passionate, modern, faithful remake would look like.

So they'll remake anything and everything first and then, maybe, if we behave, they'll consider remaking CT. Jeez...

@Coversnail you're so right, the negativity is coming no matter what lol
But out of the classic ones, CT is what is left for me, I absolutely loved it as a child! Give it to me in any type or form!

@obijuankanoobie
It's a matter of what you look for in a story/game.
It's like how huge FF fans don't understand the appeal of DQ or Xenoblade games.

Chrono Trigger's appeal is the overall world/experience. Not characters. Not enemies. Not towns. Not maps. Not music. Not battle. Not story. But all of them together. You can't separate them from each other. Can't dissect them, or you lose the entire point.
If you enjoy it like a storybook, enjoying it as you go, rather than trying to find the appeal or hook: you MAY fall in love with it by the end. If you don't, it's not your kind of world and that's 100% okay and understandable. But if you do, you do and that's awesome that you enjoyed it.

If you want it quantified (which lowers one's own honest opinion about it, imo):
Chrono Trigger is like an innocent JRPG with a fun adventure. There's nothing in there trying to rock your world or change your philosophy in life. No astounding hook to try to convince you it's a good game (though its battle system was unique during its time, including its combination attacks - but now that stuff's bread and butter - as well as its New Game+ features. REALLY wasn't something you'd find in games during that era). It's just a big fun adventure. And it's up to you to fall in love with the world.
Nowadays, people can print out small, fun adventures like this with ease (those indie RPGs and RPG Maker games)... But 99% of these won't compare to the cohesive, consistent storytelling and atmosphere and overall character of Chrono Trigger.
There's a reason why games like Sea of Stars try to emulate Chrono Trigger as their main goal. It's not just the graphics and gameplay: it's the soft yet firm storytelling, world, and charm.
A mix of classic and new, familiar and strange, without trying to be showy about it.

A fun Saturday Morning Cartoon that you get into, and touches your heart, but obviously it isn't Game of Thrones, Invincible, Evangelion, or Gurren Lagann.

Says He's Starting To Contemplate It
This seals the deal they are working it. He is speaking PR talks folks.

@johnedwin Well remembered, friend. In fact I entered in DQ by DQM entrance at the game boy. The first DQ classic that I played is the 11 and to be sincere my expectations increased to the clouds for the DQ 12

So they dub over the original so can't confirm the original Japanese. Seeing this dubbed interview and the western media outlets again reporting on a possible remake, Japanese game news outlet Gamespark contacted Square about this specific new interview and his comments. They responded back that it is a mistranslation and he has not made any such comments.

So either the translators once again made up things (same event), mistranslated lip service that really meant "won't ever say no we wont" (which the English version was already very weak comment) or square really just wants to stop people from taking a small comment and go "deff means they are" and then square be badgered about it for the foreseeable future

@obijuankanoobie Since you haven't gotten a straight answer yet:

Obviously, you're looking to split the difference between not giving it a fair shot and not playing the entire game just to find out that you didn't like it. With that being said, it's not a long game, and it's not grindy as long as you do the optional parts at the end. (For the love of God, don't do the non-canonical and mind-numbing Lost Sanctum and Dimensional Vortex.)

Without spoilers, if you get to the chapter titled "Forward to the Past," no one can say you didn't give it a try. But I would give it at least through "Footsteps! Follow!" to give it a chance to show you its charms and gameplay variety.

With that being said, there's a new area still to be found after that, and it's probably most people's favorite by far. I think most people find the climax of the game to be the chapter What Lies Beyond? and the one after it (which is almost as memorable as the ending sequence for Super Metroid). Those chapters are a bit after Forward to the Past. Towards the end, the game gets a bit more philosophical, but by then you're likely committing to finishing it. I will say the ending is one of the best in gaming, and the ending music is THE best in gaming.

@Thomystic Thanks for the answer! K I'll pick it up again and give it til footsteps follow then!