Findings Concerning the Chrono Trigger Mobile Re-Release
After the Nintendo Dual Screen (NDS) iteration, a period of three years passed before the mobile re-release of Chrono Trigger entered Japanese, North American, and European markets on i-mode, Apple App Store, and Google Play distribution services. In its wake, three other North American localizations — the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), PlayStation (PS), and NDS iterations — articulated Japanese cultural material overseas, exposing generation after generation of gamers to the video game experience that is Chrono Trigger. This latest version was no different, enhancing accessibility of quasi-original Japanese content to smartphone and tablet users. This newest rendition promised the inclusion of extra NDS game content, bundling “The Dimensional Vortex” and “The Lost Sanctum,” along with the full game, into a touch-screen control environment. The partial retranslation featured in the NDS re-release was also utilized, as opposed to the SNES script — which is arguably less authentic in its nature (see SNES Findings and NDS Findings). In addition, it was not convenient to carry over the PS anime style cutscenes that were further embedded into the NDS re-release, as such, the mobile version lost a part of the anime aesthetic that once embellished Chrono Trigger (see PS Anime Aesthetic and PS Cutscenes).
Less encouraging, however, are the problems that arise from mobile technologies — in this instance, operating system updates (which may cause potential bugs), the prevalence of unsupported device models, and digital rights management efforts (particularly witnessed on Android devices). These impediments are equally bothersome between the Japanese and North American localizations, hurting accessibility to Chrono Trigger in the long run.
Less encouraging, however, are the problems that arise from mobile technologies — in this instance, operating system updates (which may cause potential bugs), the prevalence of unsupported device models, and digital rights management efforts (particularly witnessed on Android devices). These impediments are equally bothersome between the Japanese and North American localizations, hurting accessibility to Chrono Trigger in the long run.
Though virtually identical in game content (with the exception of PS animated cutscenes), when compared to the NDS localization, the mobile re-release of Chrono Trigger permeated North American society. Japanese culture, yet again, was rearticulated, but this time, as an incomplete version of the NDS iteration.
