December 21, 2017 - Takashi Tokita, IGN

General Information[edit]

See the original here and here.

Chrono Trigger

During a recent interview with Chrono Trigger's director Takashi Tokita, I asked him to weigh in on which ending he personally thinks of as canon. Here was his response (ye olde spoilers ahead!):

"It has to be the ending where you lose the Epoch and everyone is unable to see one another, ever again," he told me via email. "The fact that the game is coming to an end, and the fact that the characters are saying their goodbyes are in sync, and I’m sure those who have played the game can share the sadness and memories." An interesting answer, but that's not all.

"I personally like the face-off between Frog and the Fiendlord (Magus), which is a portion of the game I created," he continued. "It was depicted solely with sound effects throughout the credits, and it’s unclear as to who ultimately won the battle. It’s very minimal, but I feel like it turned into an impactful ending."

Chrono Break

During a recent interview with Chrono Trigger director Takashi Tokita, I asked if RPG fans will ever see another Chrono Trigger game. His answer was interesting to say the least.

"There was actually a time when I planned a new title called Chrono Break," Tokita explained via email. "Though it was canceled before accomplishing anything, the overall idea for the title was carried over to my latest game, Final Fantasy Dimensions II. Aemo’s character setting and the balance between the three characters at the beginning…these were based on the original concept [for Chrono Break] but were reworked for this title."

Speculation[edit]

From Boo the Gentleman Caller and http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_Dimensions_II:

The game follows a young man named Morrow and his companions as they travel through time and space in order to save the world from beings attacking the fabric of history.

Based on this, the game would have returned to time travel akin to Chrono Trigger, visiting different eras. More importantly, it would have revolved around the "Chrono Break" being the literal breaking of space-time by multiple aligned big bads attacking different points in space-time in unison.

  • Morrow (トゥモロ, Tumoro?) is an adventure-seeking youth from Navos Village who becomes embroiled in an adventure through space and time when a meteorite crashes near his village.
  • Aemo (エモ, Emo?) is a mysterious girl from the future who has lost her memories. She emerges from the meteorite impact near Morrow's village.
  • Wrieg (リーグ, Rīgu?) is a dependable adventurer that has traveled the world, which Morrow looks up to. He decides to inspect the crashed meteorite near Westa, which he gets to know Morrow on the scene.
  • Mootie (タツノコ, Tatsunoko?) is newborn summoned monster who serves as a travel companion to the party. It is also the newly selected king of the eidolons, having taking a liking to Morrow and his party.
  • Parai (パライ, Parai?) is a lone wolf who carries on the bloodline of the Dwarves.
  • Maina (マイナ, Maina?) is a descendant of ninjas who dwell in the shadows of time. She thrives to maintain peace in the present era through the shadows.
  • Jornee (アンジュ, Anju?) is an elven princess from the Middle Ages that is filled with curiosity.
  • Chronos (クロノス, Kuronosu?) is a general adviser of the team. She resides in Chronos' hall. Due to an incident which happened in a distant past called the 'Mysidia Crisis", she is forced inside a time crystal.
  • Atomos (アトモス, Atomosu?) is Chronos's helper. It has the ability to travel through time and dreams, and saves the party from many dire situations happening in many eras.
  • The Deathlord (不死王, Fushiō?, lit. Immortal King) is an immortal dark elf from the land of Mysidia. He controls an army of the undead.
  • Fake (フェイク, Feiku?) is a strange person who looks identical to Morrow.
  • Mist is a mysterious young woman with an impossible power. She is forced to pray for the faiths in Eureka, which prompted the Chrono Dragon to save her.

Looking at the characters, it's hard to tell who and what would have tied back to Chrono Trigger, although the character of Chronos sounds like she could have been Schala; an advisor to the party, trapped within a time crystal (sort of like Schala as a part of the Time Devourer).

The Deathlord character also reminds me a little of Magus, although the whole evil, pale-skinned medieval warlord commanding undead is sort of a JRPG trope.

Interestingly, there's also mention of a Chrono Dragon that I'm trying learn more about, but my Google-fu isn't revealing much.

Battle encounters are presented in rounds that start once the player enters a battle zone on the world map. Once a player enters a zone, they will have to fight a barrage of enemies until they reach the end. Entering a battle zone cost stamina points (AP). Players can choose to escape a battle if they find themselves overwhelmed by the enemies, however, any loot obtained during the battle will be forfeit. The loot will also be forfeit if they lose the battle. The game uses a turn-based battle system, similar to the Conditional Turn-Based Battles used in Final Fantasy X. Only a maximum of three party members can fight in battle, with the character Mootie taking up a support role. In battle, Mootie will never take damage from enemies since it cannot be targeted.

In battle, party member commands are present on a dual-sided command ring, one side with the character's normal battle abilities and the other for summon special attacks. This allows the three members to have up to five actions on each side; a regular physical attack in the ring's middle and four abilities from summon stones equipped to the party members before entering a battle zone. In addition, each character has three consumption meters that can be filled in battle. Characters receive 20%-60% of a consumption meter point for each action they make and can use consumption meter points to summon their equipped signets.

Reading about the combat, it definitely sounds inspired partially by Chrono Cross. Stamina that is used to choose various strengths of attacks in a round. The big difference stems from the equippable signets that are tied to both new summons and stat enhancements.

From: Interviews