Author Topic: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.  (Read 7496 times)

aylakat

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Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« on: April 07, 2015, 03:55:27 am »
Hoping I'm putting this in the right forum subcategory.  Sorry if you have to move it.

I know I'm a wee bit late to Crimson Echoes.  Ya'll put this little miracle together years ago, and by then I had long stopped playing video games, even though I'd periodically collect some stray piece of CT memorabilia and remember what the game meant to me as a teen.  I've been so far removed from my gamer youth for so long, that even when CC came out, I wasn't terribly thrilled with it. At the time, I thought it was burdened by cliches that in hindsight I should have ignored.  And nowadays, the most gaming I do is when it's time to let my niece win at Wii Sports Resort.

This spring break, that urge came to play this game at the suggestion of an internet rando on OKCupid.  I had finally had some spare cash to collect some of the outrageously priced Chrono Trigger memorabilia and it sparked the urge to rediscover the universe.  I decided to devote spring break to Crimson Echoes.  I figured I'd be amused and then lose interest and find other ways to spend my vacation time. 

It's been three days and I've only left my laptop for food and bathroom breaks.

All of the original sprites and music being used in tandem with beautiful new locations and artful use characters, new and old, make it feel like some secret "part two" that could very well have been hidden on the original SNES cart.  And while that's to be expected, what wasn't was the creative story that was told, using parallel realities and creating challenging new situations.  I mean, really, some of this is totally clever.  The part with the team being split in time and each fighting their way through the same dungeon throughout the ages feels like an opportunity that Square missed out on.

The best thing so far is the battle strategies.  Playing through CT could usually be done by brute force and heals, but in CE I'm finding myself using spells like Provoke, Hypno, and Protect more than I ever did in the original games.  Not only that, but they end up being essential strategy for certain monster encounters, which really allows maligned battle characters (like Marle) to shine in ways the original wouldn't allow them to. 

And the changes to spells are magnificent, but not overpowering, because the monster encounters are tuned to be just the right amount of challenging, sometimes even moreso than bosses.  The opportunities to use AOE spells are much more plentiful, without actively nerfing the content.  In the original, Napalm and Max Cyclone were kind of wasted for me.  Now, Frog's Venom Mist is far superior to Water 1, and it actually fits the character, you know?  He's a frog.  Why wouldn't he be poisonous?  Duh.  I use that all the time, but even with the added poison status, the high enemy HPs still make it a process to win fights.  Interesting battles are so essential, because so often in RPGs, slogging through easy random encounters is like grinding levels and drops and it becoms tedious.  In CE, it is really really easy to die if you don't pay attention, which is so wonderfully engaging.

The biggest thing for me is this sensation of needing to play this game.  Like watching a really engrossing TV show or reading a really compelling book, any time I try to put the laptop away I get that sense of anxiety that pulls me back to the story.  I feel like I'm sixteen again, with all the time in the world to spend on the only thing I want to spend it on:  Chrono Trigger.  I'm not a sucker for geek nostalgia like most people my age, but this is a really special thing that brings up a lot of feelings and memories, and I get the sense that it's going to inspire the same creativity in me that the original did when I was a little weirdo writing terribly weird Chrono Trigger fanfiction and obsessively drawing Magus all over my notebooks.

So I'm writing this post just to say thanks for that.  This was clearly an incredible undertaking frought with legal peril but the results are well appreciated.  If SquareEnix had any sense, they'd adopt this game into the universe, add what they need to make it fit their worldview, and sell it out for $10 a pop on the Wii Store so you all could get your due for what you put in.  Clearly they don't have a lick of sense.

ZeaLitY

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2015, 11:34:54 am »
No problem. I've kept wishing for an idea for another one, but I can't come up with anything. it feels like we took all the low-hanging fruit with CE as a CT/CC interquel. Even trying to think of a short-term Prophet's Guile hack has been impossible for me to conceive -- it just worked too perfectly as that hidden chapter in CT, and I can't think of any other short hack that wouldn't feel like glorified fanfiction and lack immediate appeal. (Not that I have time/desire to make another hack right now, especially in light of the C/D concerns...)

I'm biased, though, because I've had my face against the glass with the Chrono series for far too long. Can you ever see another hack holding the appeal that CE and PG did?

Schala Zeal

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2015, 08:27:06 pm »
I suppose it would be okay to distribute it in the form of a patch? After all, it'd be the changes themselves, not the game.

Feeso

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2015, 07:17:23 pm »
I'm so glad someone made this thread, so I can gush about echoes to you guys. To me Echoes is almost as good as Chrono Trigger. I've only just turned 19, so I'm too young to have played Chrono Trigger when it came came out. I discovered the game thanks to a review done by a Youtuber called Kwing in 2008. It was love at first sight. The gameplay, graphics, story, art style, music and characters were all amazing, so I wanted more.

This is where Crimson Echoes came into my life. I discovered the project late in 2009 ironically because of the C/D controversy and was really crest fallen it was canceled so I took to the internet for a couple hours and was actually able to find a link to the leaked 98% beta. Actually the version I have is really odd now that I mention it, the link was gone the next day and it was leaked long before the leak that is currently going around the net. Also this version was more advance than the one on the CE memorial play-through as there was no level select. Regardless I played the hell out of it and to date have beaten it three times to date. I loved almost everything about it, the story was so awesome and it was very challenging. (Maybe too challenging, I mean OMG Dalton in the fall of Guardia chapter, the Vision serpent and the entire of the Marle alone chapters were freaking impossible without extreme grinding. Also that drum puzzle made me go crazy). I had so much fun seeing where the characters were going and it was a full game, not some glorified expansion pack. After I finished Crimson Echoes I was sad that I apparently couldn't play the new game plus but still it was great. King Zeal was so awesome BTW, he's in my top 10 villains of all time.

Later I discovered flames of eternity. I like how they want to finish the game and remove the glitches but why did they remove the CE developer cameos? That's so annoying to me. Also making Agent 12, Agent 51 with an odd accent is so dumb!! Also Glenn's accent is awful and they made dumb changes to the story like, letting Kino live. Finally why is Glenn a human? I mean it makes 0 sense, he's a frog at the end of CT.

Something I really want to do one day is finish CE but still have my version give credit to the CE staff. I want to add a title screen, balance the difficulty, remove the glitches, implement the unused sprites, make the New game plus work and finally add some side quests that can trigger an event where Magus turns Frog human for the rest of the game. Also I'd like to add a side quest that explains Norstien Beckler and a "happy" new game plus ending that has Schala rescued and doesn't lead to Chrono Cross, just for closure for people like me who don't like Chrono Cross. I've downloaded as many CT hacking programs as possible to try and do this but I have no idea how to use them or if they can be used to edit the version of CE I have.

I am curious, I know you guys made the human Glenn sprites used in Flames of Eternity but how was that going to work in CE? Would there be a point in the game where Magus would make him human? Because he's still human at the end of Trigger if Magus is still alive.

So any way thank you guys so much for making it, and yes ZeaLity if you ever decide to make a new project you can bet there would be a tonne of interest. (At least from me :D)

« Last Edit: April 28, 2015, 07:21:40 pm by Feeso »

Lennis

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2015, 02:31:26 am »
Allow me to thank you guys as well.  There were some really thoughtful story elements in Crimson Echoes, and it was principally those things (along with numerous pieces of fan-art) that got me thinking about a serious piece of fan-fiction that reimagined Chrono Trigger.  Marle finally had a chance to shine as a character, and her having to choose between Cedric Guardia and Antaeus Poore was a golden moment in CE as well as overall Chrono lore.  The notion that Belthazar may not have had noble motives was also a great moment and brought a little more believability to the tale.

Your creation of Cedric Guardia, more than any other character, might be your greatest contribution to the Chrono Universe.  With him, you give us a whole new time period to explore that doesn't feel arbitrary or tacked on.  The Kingdom of Guardia has endured for a thousand years, so the story of its founding must be a story worth telling.  Hopefully, I can bring further justice to that tale at some point in the future.

Again, thank you for all you have done.  Crimson Echoes set a chain of events into motion that we cannot yet see the end of, but that end just might be something special.

chi_z

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #5 on: June 02, 2015, 08:46:47 pm »
Some sort of Radical Dreamers remake using Flux?

Schala Zeal

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #6 on: June 02, 2015, 11:14:37 pm »
Anything using Flux should be distributed as a patch I'd think. More lightweight and it's legal, I'd hope.

xcalibur

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #7 on: July 15, 2015, 11:01:36 am »
I appreciate anyone who puts their mind and effort into creating worthwhile stuff.

Doc_Cigarette

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #8 on: July 27, 2015, 09:56:51 pm »
I also had a great time with crimson echoes.  When i had to chose who was going to the final boss battle i sat for hours equipping and re-equiping.  The item list was very cool.  I did have the power to cut time and space, but i didn't use it. i was super excited when i got it.  talking about it makes me want to play it again.  I really enjoyed the alternate reptite timeline.  I can't imagine not having it.

PrincessNadia78

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #9 on: June 28, 2018, 04:27:02 pm »
THREAD REVIVAL!!

I also want to thank the team for creating this game. I'm almost finished with it and I have loved everything about it! To be honest, it feels like a true sequel to me. I really want to thank everyone who put the time into this game, y'all did a FANTASTIC job! I'm actually kinda sad now that I'm getting to the end. :(

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #10 on: June 28, 2018, 04:47:18 pm »
Quote
No problem. I've kept wishing for an idea for another one, but I can't come up with anything. it feels like we took all the low-hanging fruit with CE as a CT/CC interquel.

FALSE. YOU HAVE IDEAS. WE HAVE IDEAS.

:P

Quote
I'm biased, though, because I've had my face against the glass with the Chrono series for far too long. Can you ever see another hack holding the appeal that CE and PG did?

Actually, yes. If it's a new/untold story with new assets. I think people were impressed by CE before it was released not because it was a bridge between the two games, but because:

1.) Classic gameplay since it is based on the original ROM
2.) A sequel and return of characters they love(d)
3.) New assets that made it truly feel like a proper sequel in the same vain

It hit the nostalgia factor while being something entirely new. There's a reason it hit the front page of Reddit so long ago (that may have been due to the C&D, or perhaps it was both, I can't recall).

chrono.source

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #11 on: June 29, 2018, 11:01:07 am »
FALSE. YOU HAVE IDEAS. WE HAVE IDEAS.

:P


^ This. So much this.

THREAD REVIVAL!!

I also want to thank the team for creating this game. I'm almost finished with it and I have loved everything about it! To be honest, it feels like a true sequel to me. I really want to thank everyone who put the time into this game, y'all did a FANTASTIC job! I'm actually kinda sad now that I'm getting to the end. :(

Also, I'm going to toot my own horn here, but I made a prequel to Chrono Trigger, which albeit is not as grand as CE, I'd like to think it scratches the itch, as well as filling in some blanks between CT and CC.

Check it out:
http://chronosource.wixsite.com/home

Let me know what you think. Thanks!

PrincessNadia78

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #12 on: June 29, 2018, 01:41:25 pm »
Could I play this on the SNES9x? That's the emulator I'm using for CE. I would love to play this!

chrono.source

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #13 on: June 29, 2018, 03:05:35 pm »
Could I play this on the SNES9x? That's the emulator I'm using for CE. I would love to play this!

Unfortunately no I was too impatient to learn ROM hacking back then so I did it using the RPG Maker engine. It runs on windows only though, I believe you mentioned you use a mac computer? If so go here:https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/play-games-on-mac.21006/
and hopefully that can help you out.

PrincessNadia78

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Re: Thanks for Crimson Echoes.
« Reply #14 on: June 29, 2018, 03:25:53 pm »
I do also have a Windows laptop. In fact, that's what I'm playing CE on now. It is a slow computer though, I'm thinking about updating the processor when I have the money. It handles CE just fine though. I've had almost no issues!