Difference between revisions of "Chrono Trigger Prerelease Coverage"

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On the first page, the Giga Gaia battle is clearly taken from the [[CTPC:Scene_Cards#One Peaceful Day|One Peaceful Day]] scene prism card mock-up. The EGM writer also claims that Crono is from a town called "Stoal" (significantly different from Truce). The tiny character images near their descriptions are taken from other screenshots and mock-ups in the article.
+
On the first page, the Giga Gaia battle is clearly taken from the [[CTPC:Scene Cards#One Peaceful Day|One Peaceful Day]] scene prism card mock-up. The EGM writer also claims that Crono is from a town called "Stoal" (significantly different from Truce). The tiny character images near their descriptions are taken from other screenshots and mock-ups in the article.
  
Things get interesting on page two. In the upper left, there's an early screenshot of a Heckran battle; the battle menu is very rough. The battle is clearly meant to show the cover art of the game, and it features a mountain tileset that doesn't appear in the final version of the game or the Chrono Trigger Prerelease (it's quite beautiful with snow-covered leaves). In the next screenshot to the right, the party's fighting a Goon in a forest setting (this isn't on any of the cards). And to the right of that is the scene from the [[CTPC:Scene Cards#All Star Cast|All Star Cast]] card. The next row of screenshots begins left with an image of the Epoch flying over Guardia Kingdom in 1000 A.D.; interestingly, there's no western landmass leading to Zenan Bridge, but there does appear to be extra eastern landmass. To the right of that is the Epoch [[CTCP:Character_Cards#Lucca|Lucca]] prism card scene, followed by the [[CTCP:Scene Cards#Riding the Pterans|Riding the Pterans]] scene. The final row begins and ends with a tall image of Magus's castle and an image of the courtroom, respectively; the courtroom image is what the [[CTPC:Scene Cards#The Silvard|The Silvard]] scene card is taken from, and this EGM issue allows us to see that King Guardia XXXIII is the one sitting above the judge. Between these two tall images are three screenshots; the first shows the Telepod experiment. The second shows the party fighting a Goon in Manoria Cathedral with dialogue (which is completely new), and the third shows the party running around the early version of Algetty with Ayla seemingly pasted in the lower right corner in her victory pose (this is probably a mock-up image).
+
Things get interesting on page two. In the upper left, there's an early screenshot of a Heckran battle; the battle menu is very rough. The battle is clearly meant to show the cover art of the game, and it features a mountain tileset that doesn't appear in the final version of the game or the Chrono Trigger Prerelease (it's quite beautiful with snow-covered leaves). In the next screenshot to the right, the party's fighting a Goon in a forest setting (this isn't on any of the cards). And to the right of that is the scene from the [[CTPC:Scene Cards#All Star Cast|All Star Cast]] card. The next row of screenshots begins left with an image of the Epoch flying over Guardia Kingdom in 1000 A.D.; interestingly, there's no western landmass leading to Zenan Bridge, but there does appear to be extra eastern landmass. To the right of that is the Epoch [[CTCP:Character_Cards#Lucca|Lucca]] prism card scene, followed by the [[CTPC:Scene Cards#Riding the Pterans|Riding the Pterans]] scene. The final row begins and ends with a tall image of Magus's castle and an image of the courtroom, respectively; the courtroom image is what the [[CTPC:Scene Cards#The Silvard|The Silvard]] scene card is taken from, and this EGM issue allows us to see that King Guardia XXXIII is the one sitting above the judge. Between these two tall images are three screenshots; the first shows the Telepod experiment. The second shows the party fighting a Goon in Manoria Cathedral with dialogue (which is completely new), and the third shows the party running around the early version of Algetty with Ayla seemingly pasted in the lower right corner in her victory pose (this is probably a mock-up image).
  
 
''Thanks to ONSLAUGHT''
 
''Thanks to ONSLAUGHT''

Revision as of 14:46, 1 October 2009

General Information

The Prerelease is a "beta" version, with nearly all main features of the game intact and ready for serious testing. But in software engineering, before beta versions come alpha versions, which are stages of the game's rough development. Other betas and alpha version of the Chrono Trigger Prerelease may exist, most likely sent to magazines for review. While the chances are slim that some of these may ever find their way to the internet, surviving pictures from old magazines depict such versions. Also displaying the alpha version is a preview video issued by Nintendo, depicting a completely different overworld.

Magazines

One shot illustrates an extra door to the Guardia treasury in 600 A.D. (recall that it did not exist in that era), and pale guards.

Ctbeta600ad.jpg

The second, from a Brazilian magazine, is the more interesting. Crono's hair is different; it lacks the usual spikes. The status screenshot shows a count of "5" for each of the four elements, suggesting that characters may have different charges or levels of elemental power despite having a primary element affinity. The Epoch is flying over the ground, and jet vapor seems to be coming from two exhaust pipes. The details of the Arris Dome are also a little different.

Third is EGM's Chrono Trigger coverage (#7), which features some interesting screenshots (many of which seem to be taken from the mock-ups made for the prism cards).

On the first page, the Giga Gaia battle is clearly taken from the One Peaceful Day scene prism card mock-up. The EGM writer also claims that Crono is from a town called "Stoal" (significantly different from Truce). The tiny character images near their descriptions are taken from other screenshots and mock-ups in the article.

Things get interesting on page two. In the upper left, there's an early screenshot of a Heckran battle; the battle menu is very rough. The battle is clearly meant to show the cover art of the game, and it features a mountain tileset that doesn't appear in the final version of the game or the Chrono Trigger Prerelease (it's quite beautiful with snow-covered leaves). In the next screenshot to the right, the party's fighting a Goon in a forest setting (this isn't on any of the cards). And to the right of that is the scene from the All Star Cast card. The next row of screenshots begins left with an image of the Epoch flying over Guardia Kingdom in 1000 A.D.; interestingly, there's no western landmass leading to Zenan Bridge, but there does appear to be extra eastern landmass. To the right of that is the Epoch Lucca prism card scene, followed by the Riding the Pterans scene. The final row begins and ends with a tall image of Magus's castle and an image of the courtroom, respectively; the courtroom image is what the The Silvard scene card is taken from, and this EGM issue allows us to see that King Guardia XXXIII is the one sitting above the judge. Between these two tall images are three screenshots; the first shows the Telepod experiment. The second shows the party fighting a Goon in Manoria Cathedral with dialogue (which is completely new), and the third shows the party running around the early version of Algetty with Ayla seemingly pasted in the lower right corner in her victory pose (this is probably a mock-up image).

Thanks to ONSLAUGHT

V-Jump Preview Video 1

The V-Jump preview video reveals huge overworld differences between versions and other changes. It's an incredible contribution by Chrono fan Carnivol, and features interviews with Chrono Trigger's creators. The video begins, amazingly, with the Untitled track from the Chrono Trigger Prerelease. Several alpha arrangements of the tracks play throughout, featuring very rough and basic instrumentation.

Interview Translation

Transcribed by GekkaHikko and translated by GlitterBerri.

Japanese

司会者:
スクエアの新作、CHRONO TRIGGER!
青木和彦さん、坂口博信さんからの紹介だ。

青木和彦:
鳥山先生がキャラクター、モンスター、
そして時代のイメージをセットして下さって、
堀井さんがシナリオ、
そして坂口がシステム全般を担当して、
「まったく新しいRPGを作ろうじゃないか」と言う事で、
出来上がったのが、
このCHRONO TRIGGERという事です。

司会者:
CHRONO TRIGGERの意味は時の引き金。
あの鳥山明先生、堀井雄二さん、坂口博信さんの三人が集まって作る夢の超大作だ。
現在、過去、未来のいくつも時代を駆け抜け、
巨大な悪を倒していくストーリー。
また光と影の表現をテーマに、
今までにない深みのある美しいビジュアルも特徴の一つだ。

鳥山明先生デザインによるタイム・マシンで時をかけめぐる。
モンスターキャラとプレイヤーキャラは動きながらの戦闘攻撃が可能。
また、魔法の効果はファイナル・ファンタジー6よりかなり派手な物になってる。
モンスターも小さなものから、迫力のある大きいなものまでたくさん登場するぞ。

キャラクターも紹介しておこう。
日本刀に武器に持つ東洋的な主人公クロノ。
ボウガンを武器としたマール。
棍棒(こんぼう)を持ち回転スピンキックなどの技を持つエイラ。
剣が得意なカエル。
主人公のアドバイザー的人物、発明家ルッカ。
有力と戦力となる頼れるロボ。

さてここで、坂口さん、堀井さん、青木さん!
この三人の方から制作秘話を聞いてみよう!!!

坂口博信:
あの~、二年程前、アメリカにですね、
最新のコンピューターグラフィックスをみんなで見に行こうというか
研究しに行こうと旅をしまして
そのときに偶然堀井さん、それから鳥山先生、一緒に旅をして、
その旅の途中でですね、
「何かその一緒にやろうよ、新しいことをやろうよ」
あの時は、結構、でも、気軽に-

堀井雄二:
そう盛り上がってね。
普通だったらその時で終わったかなと思ってた事で、
盛り上がるとは思わなくて

(談笑)

坂口博信:
はい、かなり盛り上がって、
まぁ、ただね、なかなかそう言う話は、
その場は盛り上がるんですけど、
いざやっぱり作ろうとなると、
それから1年、1年半ぐらい、
苦しい思いして作らなければならないんで終わってしまうんですが、
その時に青木が─プロデゥーサーの青木が、
「いや、そういう話だったらぜひ僕にまとめさせてくれ。それは絶対実現したい」
と言う事で受けてくれまして、
大変ですか?

青木和彦:
おかげでだいぶ大変な生活をさせられています(汗)

博信坂口:
結構合宿もしましたよね。

堀井雄二:
そうですね。1年ぐらい前ですかね

青木和彦:
そうですね。缶詰になって・・・
結構つらかったですよね・・・

青木和彦:
どんなゲームにしようかに始まって、
あ~だ、こ~だ・・・
四日くらいやりましたね。

Announcer:
Square's newest creation, Chrono Trigger!
With an introduction by Mr. Kazuhiko Aoki and Mr. Hironobu Sakaguchi!

Kazuhiko Aoki:
Mr. Toriyama designed the characters, monsters, and the look of each era.
Mr. Horii did the scenarios, and Mr. Sakaguchi was in charge of the entire system. Our desire to make a completely new RPG resulted in the creation of Chrono Trigger.

Announcer:
The meaning of Chrono Trigger is "time trigger."
This epic game was born from the collective dream of Akira Toriyama, Yuuji Horii, and Hironobu Sakaguchi.
Passing through a variety of eras from the past, present, and future, it is a story of a fight against monumental evil.
With its recurring themes of light and shadow, the game is partly characterized by the never-before-seen depth of its beautiful visuals.

Players can soar on the wings of time in the time machine designed by Mr. Toriyama.
Player and monster characters can attack while moving around during battle.
The magic effects are more impressive than in Final Fantasy VI.
The enemies are many and varied, ranging from small monsters to powerful giants!

Now to introduce the characters.
With a Japanese blade and a hint of the Orient, our protagonist, Chrono!
The bowgun-wielding Marle!
The spin-kicking, club-carrying, fist-fighting Ayla!
The skilled swordsman, Frog!
Our hero's advisor, the talented inventor, Lucca!
The strong and dependable battler, Robo!

And now, Mr. Sakaguchi, Mr. Horii, and Mr. Aoki take the stage! Let's listen as these three spill the secrets behind the creation of Chrono Trigger!

Hironobu Sakaguchi:
Around two years ago we traveled to America to do some research, checking out the latest in computer graphics.
I ended up travelling together with Mr. Horii and Mr. Toriyama.
During the trip we decided that we wanted to create something together, something that no one had done before.
We were really naive...

Yuuji Horii:
We got all fired up about it.
Normally you'd think things would have ended there, that we wouldn't have been so excited...

(laughing)

Hironobu Sakaguchi:
That's right, we were really enthusiastic about it.
Just talking about it was really exciting.
However, once we decided we were going to do it for sure, we spent a year or a year and a half thinking about all the difficulties we'd encounter.
We had almost given up when we received word from the producer, Mr. Aoki.
He said "No, if you're going to talk like that, please ask me. I definitely want to help make it happen."
Was it difficult, Mr. Aoki?

Kazuhiro Aoki:
My life was made considerably more difficult thanks to this project.

Hironobu Sakaguchi:
We were staying together too.

Kazuhiro Aoki:
That's right, one year ago, wasn't it?
Packed like sardines...
It was hard.
We started thinking about what kind of game we should make...
This type, that type...

Four whole days we spent...

Video and Screenshots

You can watch the video here, or download it here. To play Youtube's "flv" format files on your computer, you can use VideoLAN, a great freeware tool capable of handling countless types of encoding. The video begins with the title of the game with the "Untitled" music playing.

Title Screen

The preview then shows the announcer talking about the Dream Team, which cuts to a clock background with a spinning Crono sprite.

CT Alpha Crono Sprite.png

CT Alpha Crono Sprite 2.png

The preview then shows the beginning of the game as normal. The overworld is distinctly different; Truce appears larger and more primitive than its future self. The graphics are pretty standard and Leene's Square appears bare save for the bell and a few balloons.

CT Alpha Truce.png

CT Alpha Truce 2.png

CT Alpha Truce 3.png

The Epoch then appears with the exhaust vapor behind as in the magazine screenshot. What's interesting is that the back grill raises and closes during the course of the video, hinting at some other function of the vehicle.

CT Alpha Epoch Grill Raised.png

CT Alpha Epoch Grill Regular.png

The narrative continues as the Epoch flies over 1000 A.D., revealing Guardia Castle (which appears as a normal house) and the Cathedral. As the Epoch flies north, it passes several planes.

CT Alpha Cathedral and Guardia Castle.png

CT Alpha Planes.png

Two battle scenes are then shown. Robo uses his rocket arm and Ayla uses Charm. Robo's sprite is especially unpolished.

CT Alpha Battle.png

CT Alpha Battle 2.png

Two sets of four monsters each appear following the battles. Very minor differences, if any, exist between sprites. The Cave Ape retains the sad face in the Prerelease beta version.

CT Alpha Monsters 1.png

CT Alpha Monsters 2.png

Character art and brief explanations of every character but Magus are then supplied.

The scene shifts to the Dream Team, including Sakaguchi, Horii, and Aoki. A brief shot of unreleased Epoch concept art flashes in the background with the rest of the preview.

CT Alpha Epoch Design.png

Guru of Reason Chrono'99 has linked the screenshots together for composite pictures:

Forumer cald attempted to recreate the plane's graphics:

Alphaplane.gif

Alphaplane2.gif

V-Jump Preview Video 2

This is a second V-Jump video lasting 18:56 in length, released as its own VHS tape by V-Jump. It features scenes from a build of Chrono Trigger a little earlier in development than the Prerelease. The extended demos are narrated by developers in Japanese as an extended interview. The personnel interviewed include Akira Toriyama, Yuji Horii, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and then Hoshino Masanori (art director), Keizo Kokubo (main program), Yoshinori Kitase (director), Takashi Tokita (director), and Kazuhiko Aoki (producer). The instrument sampling is different. Thanks go to dan_death for finding it on NICOVideo, and to Chrono'99 for helping analyze personnel. You can download the source FLV by clicking here. You'll probably have to get the great, open source freeware player VideoLAN to play it. Here's the cover art (thanks to Carnivol):

Recordings of the altered instruments are available by clicking Alpha Tracks. Getting started, the demo scenes proceed like this:

  • Dactyls flying to Tyrano Lair

Vlcsnap-119193.png

The lava burns brightly as it does in the later Prerelease.

  • Crono standing near campfire

Vlcsnap-119262.png

  • The Blackbird sailing over water

Vlcsnap-119525.png

The thrusters burn brighter.

  • Zeal, with the Blackbird docked
  • Crono, Lucca, and Robo crossing Zenan Bridge

Vlcsnap-119727.png

  • Magus's Lair
  • Crono slashing the Dragon Tank
  • Crono arriving at trial
  • Lavos erupting (with early sprite)

Vlcsnap-120451.png

The demo then features Crono, Marle, and Lucca's arrival, a short trip to the Arris Dome, and the Day of Lavos cut scene. Instead of triggering the video, Marle engages a menu with the three Dream Team members on it (Toriyama, Horii, and Sakaguchi) and other developers. Each narrates several scenes of the game while music plays.

Vlcsnap-120538.png

Early sealed door design is present.

Vlcsnap-125840.png

Vlcsnap-125860.png

Toriyama is selected first. Character and scene art follow; the scene stuff includes the full picture frame, which has never been seen before.

Vlcsnap-131565.png Vlcsnap-131589.png

Vlcsnap-131613.png Vlcsnap-131670.png

Vlcsnap-131697.png Vlcsnap-131772.png

Vlcsnap-131797.png Vlcsnap-131873.png

Vlcsnap-131897.png

Vlcsnap-131997.png

Yuji Horii is then selected in all his plot-hole creating glory.

Vlcsnap-133294.png

Here's the unknown village.

Vlcsnap-133895.png

One of the imps is gray instead of green.

Vlcsnap-134012.png

The party enters the Proto Dome Gate.

Vlcsnap-134129.png

Sakaguchi is then selected.

Vlcsnap-134952.png

The King's sprite may be slightly different.

Vlcsnap-135021.png Vlcsnap-135034.png

These Chancellor lines are different.

Vlcsnap-135057.png

This judge dialogue is different.

Vlcsnap-135315.png

This Lucca line is unique to the video. It takes the place of her line about identifying the Prometheus Dome.

Vlcsnap-135410.png Vlcsnap-135424.png

Vlcsnap-135439.png

Here's Hoshino Masanori, art direction. Remember "Hoshino Trigger"?

Vlcsnap-135909.png

The flowers at the base of the Mystic Mts are purple instead of beige (as they are in the Pre). Ultimately, this would turn mostly into dirt for the final version.

Vlcsnap-136103.png

This Masa & Mune fusion line seems to be different.

Vlcsnap-136177.png

Two Leapers chase the party down a primitive-looking Mystic Mts entrance. The palette hasn't even been adjusted to fit the 65000000 B.C. look, yet.

Vlcsnap-136212.png Vlcsnap-136229.png

Keizo Kokubo (main program) appears.

Vlcsnap-137239.png

Barrels are on the conveyor belt rather than robots.

Vlcsnap-137460.png

The Ioka Meeting Site design is primitive.

Vlcsnap-137719.png

Yoshinori Kitase (director) is next. His segment is mostly composed of music.

Vlcsnap-138230.png

Next is the race.

Vlcsnap-138438.png

Frog's dialogue contains an extra character at the end.

Vlcsnap-138672.png

We then come upon Takashi Tokita (director).

Vlcsnap-58062.png

Johnny's dialogue here is slightly different.

Vlcsnap-58095.png Vlcsnap-58137.png

Vlcsnap-58166.png

The Underground Sewer unused area appears here as host to a staged battle. Until the text is translated, its purpose will remain a mystery.

Vlcsnap-58396.png

Though unimportant to analysis, the famous mountain Kilwala makes an appearance.

Vlcsnap-58430.png

The Chancellor's "justice system" dialogue is slightly different.

Vlcsnap-58551.png

There's a long pause (two ellipses' worth) when Lucca talks about robots' hearts which isn't present in the final.

Vlcsnap-58643.png

Doan's wording is slightly different when talking about 'healthy'.

Vlcsnap-58751.png

Finally, there's Kazuhiko Aoki (producer).

Vlcsnap-58800.png

Orange bats are present.

Vlcsnap-59076.png

Flea's eyes seem different.

Vlcsnap-59315.png

Crono, Robo, and Lucca try out a prototype triple tech on a Goon (whose name is different from the final's).

Vlcsnap-59436.png

The bit stays in the center of the Guardian, and the strange gun emplacement removed in the final can be seen in action.

Vlcsnap-59556.png

Lavos spits fire and battles on the ground.

Vlcsnap-59608.png

Lavos exhibits a prototype of the Shadow Doom Blaze.

Vlcsnap-59722.png

The graphics beneath the information center's monitor are different.

Vlcsnap-61080.png

The Blackbird sprite flies over a totally static Zeal with the blimp also seen on the hologram cards. The fact that Zeal's sky is totally stationary suggests that this was completely a mock-up. If anyone knows the purpose of that blimp, it's Masato Kato.

Vlcsnap-61143.png Vlcsnap-61220.png

From: Chrono Trigger Prerelease