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Chrono Trigger Remake Concept

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Mjolnir Mark IV Cyborg:
I have an idea for a Chrono Trigger remake. The concept is comprised of three core tenets:

* Characters by Arc System Works

* Environments by Level-5

* Orchestral Music

Character Models and Animation by Arc System Works
Arc System Works has demonstrated their unparalleled ability to bring Akira Toriyama's characters to life in the 2018 game Dragon Ball FighterZ. For Toriyama's designs of the Chrono Trigger characters to be brought to life as faithfully as possible, looking as good as they can possibly look, Arc System Works is the only choice for handling the game's character models and animation. But if a deal can't be worked out between Square Enix and Arc System Works, then perhaps key character artists who worked on Dragon Ball FighterZ can be commissioned as freelancers.

If nothing else, the same method documented here should be used as a paradigm. Junya C. Motomura wrote the book on converting 2D anime styles into 3D:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhGjCzxJV3E

And here's a more concise video that also demonstrates how the same principals are applied to Akira Toriyama's style:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZsboyfs-L4

Environments by Level-5
No developer has demonstrated an ability to translate 2D anime style backgrounds into interactive 3D environments as well as Level-5 did when they created the environments for the 2011 game Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. Level-5 is the best choice for translating Chrono Trigger's 2D environments into 3D, and would perfectly complement the Arc System Works renditions of the game's characters. But if a deal can't be made between Square Enix and Level-5, then perhaps key environment artists who worked on Ni no Kuni can be commissioned as freelancers.

If nothing else, the environment artists should strive for the same level of quality or higher as Ni no Kuni. Here's a sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mrgKrS5VuE#t=01m23s

Orchestral Music
The only musical update a Chrono Trigger remake needs is orchestral renditions of the original game's classic melodies. None of the melodies should be changed. An orchestra should perform each track, note for note, set to the same tempo as the original music, using the same real instrument counterparts for each of the chiptune instrument sets used in the original music. It would also be great if the user could switch between the original chiptune music and the orchestrated tracks on the fly. Too many options is better than too few options! The original game itself was loaded with many customizable features, and something as potentially divisive as a remake should have no shortage of options for customization.

Voice Acing
While I don't consider the addition of voice acting a core tenet, top acting talent should be chosen to bring the characters' voices to life (Square Enix has already demonstrated this with great success), but there should also be an option to mute the voice acting to make the audible aspect of the experience closer to the original game, if the user so desires. Once again, too many options is better than too few.

Petition
If people like this concept, it's something I'd like to see someone turn into a petition. Any volunteers? ;)

For those of you who want a remake, what do you think of this? And is there any way to improve my concept, or get Square Enix to consider it, or make it more feasible as a petition?

Boo the Gentleman Caller:
Maybe overly ambitious, but great ideas all around. I mean, the Dream Team was a combination of multiple talents from different studios (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest), so what's to say that different studios here couldn't work together?

Alas, I don't think a petition is going to go anywhere. It's been done before and Square knows that there is interest in a Chrono game (or remake/remaster), but I don't think they care.

They also apparently weren't impressed with the 3DS port sales, so I don't know (although in my opinion, they had already ported it several times before, so I don't know what they expected).

I also get the impression that most of the scenario writers have moved on from Chrono -- Masato Kato has put all his Chrono-esque time travel ideas into Another Eden: Cat From Beyond Time and Space. Meanwhile, Takashi Tokita has blatantly admitted that his ideas for Chrono Break went into making Final Fantasy Dimensions II. That gives us two Chrono, heavily-inspired spiritual successors.

The next question be -- graphics and music aside, who then act as scenario writers? Bring back old blood where possible? Allow new writers to take a stab at reinvigorating the Chrono universe?

Mjolnir Mark IV Cyborg:

--- Quote from: Boo the Gentleman Caller on August 17, 2020, 09:59:50 am ---the Dream Team was a combination of multiple talents from different studios (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest), so what's to say that different studios here couldn't work together?
--- End quote ---
That's the exact rebuttal I had ready to fire at anyone who might have argued otherwise! So thanks for nipping that one in the bud. :)


--- Quote from: Boo the Gentleman Caller on August 17, 2020, 09:59:50 am ---Alas, I don't think a petition is going to go anywhere. It's been done before and Square knows that there is interest in a Chrono game (or remake/remaster), but I don't think they care.

--- End quote ---
What do you (or anyone else here) think is the best way I can at least get them to see my idea? Whether or not they might consider it.


--- Quote from: Boo the Gentleman Caller on August 17, 2020, 09:59:50 am ---I also get the impression that most of the scenario writers have moved on from Chrono -- Masato Kato has put all his Chrono-esque time travel ideas into Another Eden: Cat From Beyond Time and Space. Meanwhile, Takashi Tokita has blatantly admitted that his ideas for Chrono Break went into making Final Fantasy Dimensions II. That gives us two Chrono, heavily-inspired spiritual successors.

--- End quote ---
Thanks, these games weren't even on my radar before!


--- Quote from: Boo the Gentleman Caller on August 17, 2020, 09:59:50 am ---The next question be -- graphics and music aside, who then act as scenario writers? Bring back old blood where possible? Allow new writers to take a stab at reinvigorating the Chrono universe?

--- End quote ---
You make me realize I didn't mention the core concept behind my idea: I want a remake that doesn't change the artistic vision of the original game. What would Chrono Trigger have been like if the technology of today were available during its production, and the developers decided to use it? That's the remake I want to play. It's easy for me to imagine them giving the graphics and music a treatment similar to what I'm proposing, but it's hard for me to imagine them doing something different with the story. And this is quite simply because the story was one of the few things that wasn't really limited by technology.

You could argue that the sprite-based art may have limited the expression of certain ideas, but I think this corresponds more to character animation than it does the script. And I'm totally fine with giving the animators some creative license in order for character animations to be fleshed out as they would in anime. But as for the flow of the story and the dialog of the characters, I don't think it would have been much different had the technology available to the developers been more advanced.

If I were proposing a remake with realistic graphics, I might start questioning how well the original script would translate to such graphics. But because I'm proposing something that's so faithful to Akira Toriyama's style, I feel confident it's already been demonstrated that the quirkiness and humor found in Japanese media such as manga or JRPGs can translate directly into anime or games that adhere to his style. The Story Mode in Dragon Ball FighterZ demonstrates this very well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no7LVOKzHF8#t=01m08s

Another relevant thing about that Story Mode is that it lets the user decide when to progress the dialog (rather than having the entire cutscene play like a movie). I would consider this a positive attribute in a Chrono Trigger remake, because it's similar to how the user is given control over dialog progression in the original game.

When developers of a remake make an attempt to reinvent anything about the story, it's a huge risk if the story was already working well in the original—as is the case with Chrono Trigger. The approach that makes changes to the story of a remake has probably been done with varying degrees of success, but it seems much better suited for something that is to at least some degree a reboot—which I'm not proposing. I just want the same game I love looking and sounding as good as technology can provide without changing the original artistic vision.

One of Chrono Trigger's most defining personality traits is its charm, and you run the risk of losing the charm once you start fiddling with the script or changing the look of it too much (i.e. giving it realistic graphics). And also, the more you change things in a remake, the more potential there is for it to be divisive.

(Sorry for writing so much! I just have a lot to say about this.)

Boo the Gentleman Caller:
Would combat be changed at all or are you envisioning what would be, for the most part, a 1:1 remake (a la the recent Secret of Mana / Trials of Mana, but obviously with more advanced graphics).

CptOvaltine:
Weighing in on the music portion (I have a little experience in this area)...you wouldn't like the result of a 1:1 musical remake simply swapping everything out instrument for instrument.

The SNES was only able to play 8 concurrent musical instruments (audio channels) at one time. Orchestra sizes vary greatly, but a fairly typical symphonic orchestra will have 35+ different parts and around 60 to 90 players.  With the limitations of the SNES there were very conscious decisions made on what textures to include or to not include in the game that, while sounding good with the SNES, will not translate well to a live ensemble.  The actual result will sound very bare, empty, and underwhelming.

All of this is to say that you couldn't have someone orchestrate the original in a way that it would retain the original melody without changing anything fundamental to the song (which I suspect is your actual idea), but ultimately there will be A LOT of new material added to the music to both flesh it out for live musicians and to extend short loops to better fit the modern era.

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