• Chrono Trigger Ds Changes

Chrono Trigger, one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time, received a surprise Steam release in February this year – which ordinarily would’ve been cause for much rejoicing, except it was a horrible mobile port with blurry graphics and a giant UI that was made for a touchscreen.

All credit to Square Enix though, since Chrono Trigger’s Steam release and the outcry from PC gamers, the publisher have released multiple patches designed to make the game more acceptable – from improving the graphics and UI to sorting out bugs. Now, however, the publisher have released what they call “the final major update” for the Steam version of Chrono Trigger, which adds a number of interesting and important features to the port and brings the sad tale to a happy end.

Was a patch for the US version of Chrono Trigger, which changed some. Translations into the NDS version (example the italian translation).

Chrono Trigger Ds Changes

You can check out the full Patch Notes on Steam. Perhaps the most important new feature is the ability to change key bindings – which includes mouse, keyboard and partial binding for gamepads. There have been some control tweaks as well, including the common-sense functionality of being able to use the keyboard to type your name in.

The other big addition is the Extras Mode, which was available in the PS1 and Nintendo DS versions of Chrono Trigger but not the mobile port. This section is available after completing the game and gives players access to the game’s cutscenes, music, sounds and any of the various endings they’ve unlocked.

This and previous patches go a long way to making up for the awful initial release on Steam. We’re proud that Square Enix didn’t just dump the port on PC and run off, instead they’ve worked hard to get it to the point where it’s now an excellent version of one of the best games ever made. A happy ending, for sure.

Now then… how about a patch for Nier: Automata or Final Fantasy VI?

Are you ready for the feel-good story of the year? Square Enix did a thing, fans didn’t like the thing, and then Square Enix actually addressed and fixed the thing in a way that will make everybody happy.

Here’s what happened. In February, Square released a surprise version of Chrono Trigger on Steam, which briefly delighted RPG fans before they noticed that it didn’t look great. Last week, after a month of review-bombs and widespread negative reception, Square said it would patch the game with a setting that lets you enable the original SNES graphics. Yesterday, that patch went live, and it’s just about everything you could want.

When you load up Chrono Trigger on PC, you’ll be asked whether you want to play with high-resolution graphics or old-school ones, so you can pick your poison. Square also made some other big tweaks and fixes. The two most significant changes are 1) the font, which now has proper kerning and no longer looks like it was ripped from a terrible iPhone app, and 2) the battle screen, which no longer has giant mobile blocks all over it:

For context, here’s what battles used to look like:

Advertisement

Now we just need these same fixes for Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI, which I’ve asked Square about. Crossing my fingers.