If there is one game that fans would love to see return more than any other in the midst of the industry’s remake fever, it would have to be Chrono Trigger. The 1995 time-traveling RPG made by a dream team of developers who had worked on Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy remains one of the best games of all time, at least in players’ memories. Yoshinori Kitase, the game’s director and a producer on the Final Fantasy VII Remake Trilogy, seems to be thinking about how fans (and possibly Square Enix) could revisit and revitalize Chrono Trigger.
While appearing on the My Perfect Console podcast, Kitase (speaking through a translator) brought up the idea of Chrono Trigger getting a new life to host Simon Parkin. “If players are to play this game today, what would be the most favorable way in which it is presented?” Kitase asked, “Would it be something that’s just directly as-is from before on a modern platform/console? Or is it something where the graphics are remastered? Or is it something like Final Fantasy VII Remake where the game design and visuals are completely revamped and updated to meet the modern trends?” While this doesn’t confirm Kitase and Square Enix are working on a Chrono Trigger remake, it does speak to Kitase’s current mindset, which seems to be concerned with how developers can best approach updating past titles. It’s a challenge that he called difficult to pull off during his appearance.
There are rumors that a Chrono Trigger remake is already underway. Those rumors suggest that the remake will be an HD-2D remake in the style of the 2022 version of Live A Live,. blending the pixel art graphics of the original with a more 3D environment. If there is indeed a Chrono Trigger remake and Kitase is involved, hopefully it will be able to keep players interested whether it’s HD-2D or has all the splendor of FF7 Rebirth.