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• 1 2015-06-28T01:26:02-07:00 History and Features of the Chrono Trigger SNES Release 23 History and Features of the Chrono Trigger SNES Release plain 2015-07-01T01:37:27-07:00

  
  The History

  "Passing through a variety of eras
  from the past, present, and future, it is a story
  of a fight against monumental evil.”
  - Announcer from Chrono Trigger V-Jump preview video (1994)

  Having anticipated a late 1994 release date, Square co. (also branded as Square Soft in North America) and Chrono Trigger's “Dream Team” – comprised of the famed Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy, Yuji Horii, creator of Dragon Quest, and Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball – decided to push back the game to the following year.¹ Prior to this release, early alpha versions of the game were shown at the 1994 and 1995 Japanese magazine V-Jump festivals and subsequently, a beta version of Chrono Trigger was also released to magazine subscribers and video game reviewers.² These early depictions of story and gameplay footage excited fans at the time, and now serve the purpose of providing significant commentary on the developmental history of Chrono Trigger – which has been analyzed in detail on the Chrono Compendium website.
  
  
  Chrono Trigger began its legacy in Japan on March 11, 1995 on the Super Famicom and later the North American version of the console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) on August 22 that same year. Although the two systems are identical in hardware specifications, discrepancies between the two releases are noticeable even at this early date – although the North American release isn't considered a re-release itself.^[3][4] In this instance, unique changes between localizations play a part in differentiation.
   

  The Features

  Firstly, design distinctions between both systems affected outward appearances of the consoles, game cartridges, and controllers, in the end creating separate playing experiences and regionally locking the Super Famicom and the SNES to their locales. It is also noted that the North American version lacked art for the game's ending as well as hosted various translation discrepancies, along with various omissions enforced by Nintendo of America, including references to breastfeeding, consumption of alcohol, bisexuality and religion.⁵
  
  
  Differences in character depiction are fascinating as well. Most notably, Frog (a prominent anthropomorphic character) is removed from his original Japanese characterization, which was serious and informal in tone – whereas the North American translation imbued Frog with Elizabethan English dialogue characteristic of a knight; and Robo, (a robotic companion) along with other androids found in the Chrono Trigger universe, all communicate in capital-casing.⁵
  
  
  
  Most of these alterations are attributed to translator Ted Woolsey, who was asked to localize Chrono Trigger within a thirty day time period.⁶ Lacking the contemporary setup of a dedicated localization team, Woolsey had to rely upon marketing materials – and in some cases were incomplete.⁶ Memory constraints also hampered the process, in the end leading Woolsey to having to rethink an entire plot without actually changing any of the parameters that govern how the plot has implications on the rest of the game.⁷

  "So, inevitably,
  some depth is lost in the translation
  from Japanese to English.”
  - Ted Woolsey Super Play Magazine interview (1994)