In a new interview with Takashi Tokita, the Chrono Trigger co-director shares some behind-the-scenes info on the seminal classic, as well as his hopes that the game may resurface.

Square Enix's Chrono Trigger may be over two decades old, but its timeless qualities have kept the title relevant to this day. In a new interview with Chrono Trigger co-director Takashi Tokita, a number of topics regarding the seminal classic were explored, including some very interesting behind-the-scenes info and Tokita's own hopes for the future of the series.

Chrono Trigger currently tops nearly every best RPG list for many fans due to a variety of reasons, but Tokita attributes part of the game's appeal down to the timing of its development and release. When Chrono Trigger was released in Japan back in 1995, Square and Enix had not yet merged, and each company controlled two of the biggest RPG franchises at the time - Square owned Final Fantasy and Enix owned Dragon Quest. Tokita thinks that part of Chrono Trigger's magic came from an unlikely collaboration from Square and Enix, which ultimately resulted in the best RPG developers from both companies working on the game.

“It’s probably considered sacred since the companies merged. It was essentially a dream mix between Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest; creating or exceeding what it was in its original form is a very difficult feat.”

But beyond being one of the must-play games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Tokita stated that the development process of Chrono Trigger was equally rewarding and fun.

“Once everyone was done developing Final Fantasy VI, hordes of staff helped out on Chrono Trigger. At the end, we had a couple hundred working on the game at the same time. It was kind of like a grand festival – it was really fun. [Tetsuya] Nomura was actually creating the environment background pieces in Chrono Trigger – like the courthouse scene, that was created by him. But everyone probably enjoyed how we were able to do things we’d never done with Chrono Trigger. That was the most exciting part.”

Despite all the love and acclaim for Chrono Trigger, Square Enix has been notably reluctant to produce a new Chrono game. While fans cling onto hope that a new Chrono game may still be on the cards, Tokita has said that he would love to see "a high-quality, high-end version of Chrono Trigger", or even a "a movie production". While it'll be interesting to see how the game would fit into today's video game landscape, a recent fan recreation of Chrono Trigger's Millenial Fair using the Unreal 4 engine suggests that the title would have no trouble making the leap from 2D to 3D.

As it stands though, the chances of a proper Chrono Trigger sequel are slim to none. But should fans of the game need their Chrono fix, perhaps they should take a look at Square Enix's new RPG, I Am Setsuna, which features a combat system and some old-school RPG elements that were heavily inspired by Chrono Trigger. 

Perhaps Square Enix may one day produce a new Chrono game or even that high-end version of Chrono Trigger that Tokita mentioned, but until that day comes, we'll just have to make do with I Am Setsuna and constant replays of Chrono Trigger on the SNES.

Source: GameInformer