I Am Setsuna - Can it recapture Chrono Trigger?

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HiddenX

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Inverse checked out the upcoming JRPG I am Setsuna and compared it to the classic Chrono Trigger:

Can I Am Setsuna Recapture Chrono Trigger's Nostalgic Glory?

Square Enix's quaint new RPG is pulling for a classic feel in the vein of their SNES classic. Will that be enough?
 […]

The date was March, 1995, and the SNES had entered its twilight years. Squaresoft released Chrono Trigger, a new game from a team that included Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Dragon Quest designer Yuji Horii and longtime collaborator Akira Toriyama, equally famous for creating Dragon Ball as drawing slimes.

Chrono Trigger, which followed the adventures of Crono and his eclectic, ragtag band of allies across several eras in time, was revolutionary. Its list of innovations were like nothing anyone had ever seen before: the battle system had players teaming characters up for special tech skills, an unheard of redress to the relatively staid, one-at-a-time combat that turn-based RPGs, even Final Fantasy, were known for in the era.

[…]

In a sea of other RPGs, Chrono Trigger remains timeless for its personality as much as its innovative systems. It had heart the way that few games do, then or now. If Setsuna is going to succeed it needs new reasons to compel players, and hopefully with the advances in localization, and possibly a clever surprise or two in the wings, it may.

I’m pulling for the team at Tokyo RPG Factory. It’s no small task to stand in the shadow of a giant and say, “this is my version.” The potential for its own flavor is certainly there – particularly with beautiful, almost Ghibli-esque piano compositions that make up the game’s soundtrack. That, coupled with the curiosity of this kind of nostalgia in 2016, might be a good sign.
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More information.
 
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I hope it can. But Chrono Trigger was the product of a single place in time, when the stars aligned just right. It distilled the bright, sparkling optimism of 1994 and early 1995 and immortalized it. We'll probably never see its like again.

And having said that, Setsuna seems like a really gorgeous but really tragic and sad game. Chrono Trigger was the opposite. It was bright with hope, optimism, and promise.

I think Setsuna and Chrono Trigger are both, in that light, reflections of the time in which they were made. Sadly.
 
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I keep seeing "Chrono Trigger" mentioned lately on this site and I was born before 1994 and 1995 - and I never heard those words in past 20 years before recently.

What I suspect is that Chrono Trigger is just another Tamagotchi.
A product everyone had, a product that filled someone's pockets, but in fact bless the ignorance product just like Farmville and Candy Crush Saga today are.

I am Setsuna is available as preorder on PC and it's screenshots look like recent remasters of ancient games from ZX Spectrum hardware based machines. While it promises a beefy story which would always mean instabuy from me even if I don't like the graphics style, it's advertised as jRPG makes me skip the preorder and wait till someone says if it's actually a grinder. If it is, I'll patiently wait for norespawn mod before buying.
 
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Aubrielle said:
And having said that, Setsuna seems like a really gorgeous but really tragic and sad game. Chrono Trigger was the opposite. It was bright with hope, optimism, and promise.
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Great point about the theme of both. All these CT comparisons are silly, IMO. CT was a huge triple-AAA game in 1994, built by the best of the best at Squaresoft. I Am Setsuna is a very small game that is thematically the opposite of CT. I get that Setsuna sort of copies the battle style of CT…but that isn't why CT is beloved by millions (see below for why).

I do get annoyed when people throw around classic game names just to hype sales of upcoming games. Setsuna will be a mildly interesting tale that vaguely reminds you of how insanely good CT was and still is today. That's not negativity; it's just the scope of both projects.

To attach Chrono Trigger to Setsuna is to ensure disappointment.

joxer said:
I keep seeing "Chrono Trigger" mentioned lately on this site…

What I suspect is that Chrono Trigger is just another…
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NO. CT isn't "just another" game. It's one of the most deeply impactful and relatable tales ever told. The characters are so desperately human. The locations and enemies are so exuberant and creative. The whole tale is so wildly optimistic in the face of total annihilation. The music is astonishingly good, perfectly syncing to how you are feeling as a player. CT is all that is good about humanity, for real.

CT is simply a one-in-a-million game. It's just that good. Joxer, as penance for your crimes, you shall listen to the following tracks and KNEEL BEFORE THEIR GREATNESS:

Island of Zeal Remix

Crying Mountain Remix

Town Life
 
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You sure you won't change nick into Unella? :p

Yes. CT is "just another" game. If it wasn't, being 20 years old, it'd be listed or wishlisted on GOG. And it isn't. It's Nokia3310 snake. Something your kids can't believe you even touched.
 
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I also keep seeing Chrono Trigger, and it's praise all around.
I don't know anything about the game and never bothered to at least take a look at it. And today I changed that.

So…the next thing I did is, enter: YouTube….and this review pops up Chrono Trigger - ProJared

After watching the video I realize why people love this game.
It really seems like a great game, with great mechanics, nice graphics, and some pretty good story line, Game Plus+ and NO GRINDING. Sweet!

So,now, I really hope I Am Satsuna can recapture some parts of the CT and bring it's own cool charm.
 
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I see people talking about Chrono Trigger all the time, Joxer, I think you're mistaken about that comparison. It may not be the best JRPG of all time (at least not to me), but together with Final Fantasy VI it is the most famous JRPG of the SNES. And it does really have an awesome story (though FFVI is better in this department).
 
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Yay, shall we now go declaring the best game on C64? And, I mentioned it above, the best game on ZX Spectrum?

I'm old like a bible, I know, but living in the past is not my thing. I burried my C64. It's dead. And there is no way I'd still advertise it, it's games I had so much fun with, nor, god help me, I'd never advertise a new game by mentioning at that time superb products from the good old C64.

If the game in the topic is good, I'll buy it. That game, not some ancient crap so badly coded in the past it can't run on today's PC nor can be added to GOG catalogue.
If it's garbage being hyped by mentioning old games only some people enjoyed and publisher thinks everyone knows about those old games, I won't buy it.
Preorder is out of question, the whole thing smells highly suspicious, as if the publisher doesn't believe in their own game so has to pull out some ace from sleeves.
 
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joxer said:
Yes. CT is "just another" game. If it wasn't, being 20 years old, it'd be listed or wishlisted on GOG. And it isn't. It's Nokia3310 snake. Something your kids can't believe you even touched.
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03191404575596.gif
 
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An image (or an anmated GIF, in this case) is worthy a thousand words.
 
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joxer said:
Yes. CT is "just another" game. If it wasn't, being 20 years old, it'd be listed or wishlisted on GOG. And it isn't.
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Joxer. You usually are spot on with your comments and I regularly agree with you, but in this case I'll have to pity you for not having had the pleasure of having played Chrono Trigger. ;)

Just stating the obvious here, but:

1. It was a SNES / Playstation game and as such won't ever be on GOG unless they change their portfolio.
2. Being a 2D hand drawn SNES game with a focus on gameplay rather than fancy 3D graphics from later years it just doesn't age like other games do.
3. You can still play it today, even without GOG.


Anyway, pity if I Am Setsuna turns out to be a sad game rather than an optimistic one...
 
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Arhu said:
Joxer. You usually are spot on with your comments and I regularly agree with you, but in this case I'll have to pity you for not having had the pleasure of having played Chrono Trigger. ;)

Just stating the obvious here, but:

1. It was a SNES / Playstation game and as such won't ever be on GOG unless they change their portfolio.
2. Being a 2D hand drawn SNES game with a focus on gameplay rather than fancy 3D graphics from later years it just doesn't age like other games do.
3. You can still play it today, even without GOG.


Anyway, pity if I Am Setsuna turns out to be a sad game rather than an optimistic one…
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My god, you literally just said Joxer was spot on with his comments...I live in bizarro world.
 
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rune_74 said:
My god, you literally just said Joxer was spot on with his comments…I live in bizarro world.
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:D
Well, I was mostly thinking about his comments regarding EA, season passes, smartphone gaming and stuff like that. But mentioning a complex game like Chrono Trigger in the same sentence as a fad like Tamagotchi was just wrong. ;)
 
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Maybe this is the real game for feminazis?
 
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Black Rune said:
After watching the video I realize why people love this game.

It really seems like a great game, with great mechanics, nice graphics, and some pretty good story line, Game Plus+ and NO GRINDING. Sweet!
Click to expand...

Exactly. Chrono Trigger really is THAT good. I feel sorry for some people who just can't accept that amidst the sea of mediocrity there truly are a few near-perfect gems.

joxer said:
You sure you won't change nick into Unella? :p

Yes. CT is "just another" game. If it wasn't, being 20 years old, it'd be listed or wishlisted on GOG. And it isn't. It's Nokia3310 snake. Something your kids can't believe you even touched.
Click to expand...

I have no clue what you are saying. Reading your comment made me think you might be on crack cocaine when you post. This video is what came to mind…joxer, is that you?! ;)

rune_74 said:
My god, you literally just said Joxer was spot on with his comments…I live in bizarro world.
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I had the same exact thought…
 
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Hey Brumbek, I heard there is a new game which is a mix between Chrono Trigger and Dragons Do... ok that joke was just to cruel to type out :D

I do agree with you though that Chrono Trigger is a great game!
 
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GothicGothicness said:
Chrono Trigger and Dragons Do…
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Dragon's Dogma is so sublime! Do you realize how insanely good DD is?! What Chrono Trigger is for 2D old-school JRPGs, DD is for 3D modern action RPGs. Both are so insanely charming and well-constructed! I must contain my love...but...it so...much!!

Man, I need to play more Dragon's Dogma!! And actually, I should really replay Chrono Trigger! If you guys had known me about 20 years ago, I would have gushed about Chrono Trigger just like I gush about Dragon's Dogma today! So WHY NOT GUSH BOTH?!

Everyone must now listen to this delicious trio playing Corridors of Time. Use it as a pathway between the love of CT and the love of DD, decades separated but united in perfection.

PS: if this message seemed manic to you, it's because joxer gave me some of his crack.
 
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I though Cosmic Star Heroine looked more like a Chrono Trigger type game than this one does. I'm having a hard time really understanding how this particular game is like Chrono Trigger. It seems like it's going to be a story-heavy, heart-touching, make you cry type story. It does seem to have the 3 person party and similar combat as CT, but also, the world is like a winter wonderland.

While I'm excited to play both of these games (I Am Setsuna and Cosmic Star Heroine), I'm not seeing much Chrono Trigger in this one yet.
 
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Fluent said:
I though Cosmic Star Heroine looked more like a Chrono Trigger type game than this one does. I'm having a hard time really understanding how this particular game is like Chrono Trigger. It seems like it's going to be a story-heavy, heart-touching, make you cry type story. It does seem to have the 3 person party and similar combat as CT, but also, the world is like a winter wonderland.

While I'm excited to play both of these games (I Am Setsuna and Cosmic Star Heroine), I'm not seeing much Chrono Trigger in this one yet.
Click to expand...


Its in terms of gameplay much more like Cronotrigger.
 
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