Supporting Material Translation

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Chrono Trigger

V-Jump Video 1

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...

The Perfect: Talk Battle

Chrono Trigger: The Perfect "Talk Battle" developer interview with Yuji Horii and Hironobu Sakaguchi, translated by GlitterBerri.

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Chrono Cross

Missing Piece

• 111 Serge, Lynx, Harle (Chris)

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The Real Cast and concept tidbits

Serge

1. This Serge is equipped in a fairly wild style. Odds are this guy would probably be scolded by Leena or Kid for trying dirty things.
2. This rugged looking Serge emanates an aura from his whole body of a fearless drifter. Completely different from the normal Serge.
3. Formal wear Serge. Lightly studded with accessories.
4. There was also a test Serge that wore a green and purple vest.

Lynx

1. The appearance of a drifter, or a nobleman that was turned down. “Very similar to a Mongolian,” was the strange reason for the drawing.
2. A sudden change, this is a more full on cat style Lynx. This one actually seems a little more obscene.
3. This is a more human version, rather than a cat like creature. Maybe the factor that he didn’t really look villainous was why he was turned down.

Harle

1. Tough to request any other characters to have more of an impacting appearance. Here’s a more clownish style.

• 113 Dario, Glenn, Karsh (GlitterBerri)

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Karsh:

1. Though Karsh is a brave knight, saying he is troubled and strange would be closer to the point...
2. Karsh with armour. It was judged that he looked like too much of a knight and didn't fit with the game's atmosphere, perhaps [the armour] was discarded?
3. Though misunderstood because of his character flaws, Karsh is one of the most attractive characters of Chrono Cross.

Dario

1. It's hard to tell in-game, but Dario is actually quite tall. Is this due to his Garai blood?
2. The epaulets on Dario's armor are big, differentiating him from Karsh.
3. Perhaps due to our (too?) strong desire to make the leader of the Acacia Dragoons a large figure, Dario gives off a rather amusing impression of a middle-aged fellow.
4. He looks more like a samurai than a knight? With his slender sword, Dario has an uncanny resemblance to a samurai.

Glenn

Glenn's appearance is that of a boy knight. His hairstyle is also the so-called "zealous hero." It wouldn't even be a stretch to call him the game's protagonist.

• 119 Unused Characters (Chris)

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Mechanical Doll

By combining various parts you could probably control the style and settings of her attacks. It’s a shame she was turned down.

Baker’s Daughter

Looks like a character that attacks with the bread she holds. The top picture looks like a child, while the one on the left is more developed.

Grappler

Appears to be a Chinese monk that uses his hands. Thinking about the salesclerk on page 118, maybe they originally planned a Chinese style town.

Ninja

Like the RPG’s of yesterday, there was always a ninja. This also could have been a variation of Grobyc.

Journeyer to the West (?)

What? There was a plan in Chrono Cross to have a Journeyer to the West (Character from a Manga)? Maybe some sort of heroic female preist, or a character wearing all seeing goggles…or whatever Square’s interpretation was.

Ultimania

Developer Interviews

• Masato Kato (Chris)

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“Serge and Kid were where I tried the hardest, moreover making a ‘boy meets girl’ kinda thing”

In the pace of Radical Dreamers

Interviewer – Many user’s (this magazine) have been hopefully waiting for a sequel to Chrono Trigger (CT), and finally you have made an appearance. Since you (Kato) were the scenario director for the previous games, you’ve thought a lot about the series. This time around, how are the story elements going to continue or take over from the previous games?

Kato – CT wasn’t just me (Square), but Yuji Hori and Akira Toriyama were also involved in creating it. If these members met again right now, I think a serious attempt to make a CT 2 is not at all a realistic possibility. When talking with the producer Tanaka about the possibility of making a new Chrono game, I was requested to do in the storyline vein of Radical Dreamers (RD).

I – Your talking about the text adventure game that came out on the Stellaview, right?

Kato – Yeah. Honestly, there were some story elements and unfinished business that I wanted to create in a sequel to CT itself. It seemed like there was another story in a parallel dimension. If we could do in that pace, I’d like to try making in the same flow and direction as the level of the Chrono series. Also, for RD, we only had 2-3 months to develop it, and I didn’t get to a point where I felt satisfied. I think I’d like to get that a little more completed too, since it’s always been in my heart.

I – The title “Chrono” is attached, but is the influence of RD also very strong?

Kato – This time I think we were really lucky. Many people played the Super Nintendo title CT, so first of all there was a hope to have a sequel or remake. Also, no one knew about RD, since it barely slipped by production. I like the story of RD, but we left it unfinished in an emergency rush, chased by the engaging gears of production. I wanted to somehow take it up again, since I thought about it daily. What’s more, I didn’t know that CT was being ported to the PS. (laughs)

I – Oh, you didn’t know? (laughs)

Kato – I learned about halfway through the completion of Chrono Cross (CC). Actually, I knew that CT was going to be ported. (laughs) I went to anime movie meetings for the porting publisher and we talked about connecting CT to CC with some hints through the ending movie. Like how we could link the pieces together well.

I – There was only a difference of two weeks in the release dates of the ported CT and CC. (In Japan, at least…)

Kato – It was to give a feeling of wanting to continue playing. CT was already released 5 years before on the Super Nintendo. There were easily some people who forgot the story, or people who weren’t even the age to play it. That’s why we planned from the beginning to not have it take over the exact story. The people who wouldn’t have played the first game would have no reason for playing a game they couldn’t understand. Taking this into consideration, we thought about the timing, having the ported CT come before CC. If we did that, CC could be played right after CT, and the story relationships would be somewhat strengthened. That way, the previous game could be incorporated better.

I – Thinking about the various connections between CT and CC, what’s enjoyable now is not necessarily understanding the Chrono world, but actually playing it. That in mind, there are no real ways to play RD. To the Chrono fans, are there any stories from the works that could be handed down?

Kato – Actually, about RD, there was some attempt before CC was put on the market. The Stellaview data was planned to be put on a ROM cartridge and connected to a premier at Akihabara (Electronics district in Tokyo, nerd central). The porting development team heard this and wanted to put all of RD into the CT Playstation port, but was told to leave it as it was. I also rejected it. It was made four years about, and when I read the script now, I’m easily embarrassed. While the development of the RD story is in CC, I think there’s no reason you need to understand RD to enjoy CC.

I – Where did you get the conception to use parallel worlds as a platform?

Kato – From the get-go, I was against using time travel exactly like in CT, but wanted to keep on the same level in the series. Eventually, we decided not to do the “If something happened in the past, could it change the future?” pattern. If we did that, we would only be rehashing and cranking up the volume of the last game. That wasn’t at all what we wanted to do.

I – It’s only natural that you wouldn’t want to do something like that.

Kato – Yeah. If we ended up doing that, the gameplay wouldn’t dramatically change at all, would it? So we thought a bit about it, and I really liked CT’s style, but since we did time travel then, this time would be parallel worlds. Doing it this way made perfect sense to me. (literal translation: straight into my head it popped and fit) So, we started thinking about what would be most interesting when using parallel worlds as a platform.

I – Like meeting Kid in the world that you died in.

Kato – From a cursory look, it looks like the normal world, but some things are different. Then, the main character realizes the biggest shock of all…he’s supposedly dead. So he’s living in one world and not in another, and the puzzle begins; “Why did I die?” From there, Lynx gets involved, there are hints that fate is controlling the world, there are the six dragons symbolizing nature, and so on. Then, from CT, there’s more about Lavos, when Lavos came, how it lifted primitive people up to create a magic kingdom, and other connections. Maybe even Lavos was the trigger than caused humans to evolve from monkeys. Elements like that incorporate into each other, one after another. We thought about how it would flow together smoothly to surprise the players in the best way.

I – What was the main theme you tried to write into this work?

Kato – I usually don’t care too much for themes. The most important thing is whether the game is enjoyable. For this time…well, I already talked about the time element, but in CT I couldn’t write much about what happened to Schala. What truly could have happened what left an unfinished story, and that’s why I chose to properly complete it. Since both games could be played, I chose to make a conclusion between the worlds of CT and CC.

I – So you wanted to connect the works with the relationships between Serge and Kid, and also Schala.

Kato – To pin it down, Serge and Kid were where I tried the hardest, moreover making a ‘boy meets girl’ kinda thing. A kid named Serge meets a girl named Kid and together they get wrapped up in an adventure. From the world he doesn’t know about secrets are slowly revealed, about Serge himself, Schala from the past, and how fate is tied in. This could just be an ending where boy meets girl and they do their story, but perhaps there’s another dimension, another story, a different meeting, and a completely different life story that you could have. I persistently tried my hardest to get the player to question things like this.

I – So for a good ending movie, you tried to use the crossing point of a young girl and her other side to imagine “a story in another dimension.”

Kato – Yeah, like that. I thought that was the perfect material to use to give meaning to a parallel world. In each independent parallel world there would be respective developing stories. If we did it that way, people at home could use the experience of Serge in the game’s worlds to think about the reality of their own world. Maybe somewhere in our world there’s a Kid, and surely someday we will find and meet. For a long time I’ve wanted realizations developed from games to not just stop with the game, and now I feel I’ve done it right. There’s a message that comes after the ending movie finished, and I hope that all players will understand these words that have come from my heart. That’s what I’d love to have happen.

From: Games