I agree. The font and text boxes look terrible and completely out of place... Like a fish out of water.
I doesn't look terrible. It looks terrible to you because you are looking it at from a purely nostalgic perspective. As someone who is too old to have an emotional connection to SNES gaming, I can tell you that there was nothing special about its typography. It was ugly and hard to read. Quite frankly, this game is too good for nostalgia. It's not just for folks who played the SNES version: it's for anyone who appreciates great gameplay, great characters, and great storytelling.
It doesn't look terrible per se, but it sure does look out of place. This is coming from someone who never played the original, and has no connection to it or it's nostalgic value whatsoever. That said, are the battles in this game real-time or turn-based?? I've only really gotten heavily into RPG's in the last 4 or 5 years, and have heard nothing but praise for this game. Looking forward to it.
The fonts looked out of place on the SNES, too -- way too techie for the subject matter. I'd rather have something that reads well on a 3.5" screen than servicing what some folks think a 16 bit game should look like. In answer to your question, the combat system is turn-based, but the game allows only a limited amount of time to make decisions. One cool innovation is that you could combine different character's attacks to devastating effect. It also has a few sequences that play like arcade mini-games. As I mentioned earlier, there are no random encounters; enemies are visible and can be avoided.
Now that's great news. Looking forward to it. December 2011 should be awesome for releases just like December last year.
I never got the old version or the one on DS and Wii but I'd rather play on this anyway. But the game is worth full price. I already know that.
I kind of wish Square Enix would appreciate the retina screen for once... I for one would prefer the pixels to be as sharp as possible to scale the pixels right, versus anti-aliased out of clarity. At least they could make it look like a nicely-polished retro game instead of the slipshod port its blurry graphics evoke. I guess, if not the graphics, the gameplay is guaranteed to be great! =D
+1 to this. I understand that the iDevice resolution is not an integer multiple of the SNES resolution, but maybe they could fix that by showing more of the screen or something.
Hm? What does "too techie" even mean? If anything, the new text will be way "too techie" for the subject matter and even more out of place (supposedly) than the original. The original font would have read perfectly fine on an iPod/iPhone screen. I say this because I have the Chrono Trigger SNES ROM installed on my iPod 4G. The font clarity and readability is not a problem. If the font looks good and in place on a ROM file using third party emulation software, then why would it not look good on an official SE iOS port?* That said, if anyone has trouble reading the original font they should: a) get glasses/contacts/lasik b) schedule an eye exam with their local optometrist Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. I'm going to quit while I'm ahead so that I don't have to stick around and read/reply to the incoming SE fanboy (you guys know who you are) ravings, for obvious reasons. The main reason being is that fanboys can't be reasoned with. Have a good night! *-Hah! Just kidding. Nothing from SE surprises me anymore, at least not after their FFT: WoTL iOS port. What an abortion of a port that was...
The new font is neutral. It's Helvetica, which was designed in the 1950's -- nothing techie about it. For better or for worse, SNES system fonts look like 1980's Mac fonts. I say it's for worse. The crappy drop shadow doesn't help in the least. More to the point, there's nothing special about the font -- it was just something that the SNES could handle. They're uncomfortable to read on a computer screen and I'm sure that they're not better on an iPhone screen. I remember having a similar argument with someone else about the SoM port: he was trying to convince me that the crisscross pattern behind textboxes in the original game were "better." That was a nonsense argument -- as is yours. I understand that nostalgia requires that the game delivered exactly as you remember it. You will forgive me if I don't share on your neurosis.
just saw this on Kotaku but from the thread it looks like it was old news. out in december? man what a great month!
As long as they didn't cheapen the game in any way. The way they did the animation and such in the iPhone port of Secret of Mana made it feel like a KRPG, just did not feel like it should. If they did anything like this for Chrono Trigger, I'll be kinda pissed.
Really? Well that definitely perks my interest. Could you elaborate? Do you still get "whisked away" into that alternate dimension where combat takes place? Is there a logic to there not being random encounters? In what other (significant) ways does this vary from FF games? Or to put it another way, if I'm more than happy enough to just keep walking past every FF game ever released, is there a reason for me to stop and look at this one? Thanks.
i really dont like jrpgs and wish this genre never was so popular as it is, because then we would probably see more good rpgs on all platforms. but this game is very good. the graphics are so pretty for snes game. the story is very good too and combat system is nice. at least better than in shallow ff series. battles are in the same dimension. of course there are some typical stuff like limited equipment and items, also some jrpg type of dialogs but that's ok. i have not finished this game for some reason but going to buy it for iphone. there are plenty of gameplay videos around so you can check it too.
From a design perspective, Helvetica, or whatever they chose, looks terrible. (It might be Arial, the stem of the 'a' is throwing me off... or it could be a poorly condensed version of Helvetica... it's hard to tell from such a small picture) Anyway, it breaks the aesthetic of the game. The combination of the fine, smooth strokes of the letters and the blocky pixels of the game environment creates a jarring contrast that detracts from the presentation. Also, Helvetica isn't a font. It's a typeface. There are plenty of other typefaces Square could have utilized. I'm not saying Helvetica is bad (Arial IS bad, though) but it doesn't seem like they put much thought into choosing a proper typeface.
Well, typeface aside, the graphic looks horrrendous. They are just milking the franchise, proof me wrong if you disagree. FF3 looks fantastic, it's a given that it uses 3d engine which makes scaling up the graphic much easier, but at least they did do summat to make the game looks good. And they are going to sell this game for what? $15 or summat? Whereas you can get a much better looking version on PSN later on at $10! Hate SE for milking franchises. Still not doing a good or decent job. FF3 itself, even though it looks good, still doesn't play any better than its DS counterpart. I'm sure fanboys will be all over me for this, I don't care. I want to OCCUPY SQUARE-ENIX!
The jarring font change was the first thing I noticed when I saw the screen shots. It was fine as it was on the SNES. Think of how font and images go together like...say a calligraphy painting. (just find something on google, like these mountains or so) The brushwork that goes into the image is the same that goes into the writing, and fit together very nicely on a single unified surface. With Chrono Trigger (and 16bit titles) that would be the pixel graphics. Chrono Trigger on the SNES was a whole unified artwork, the iPhone port just slaps on new, jarring text. The charm of 16bit games is they're pixel perfect, every single square is in it's proper place and fits together. The helvetica text there just shatters it, like taking a magic marker over a mosaic. --- The overworld map has no random encounters, and you spend most of the game inside towns or dungeons. When in a hostile area you can see the enemies on screen. You can try out maneuvering them if you'd like (dodging diving birds, charging robots, spinning dinosaurs, leaping apes and whatnot). When a battle occurs the screen doesn't change, you just bust out your weapons and begin battle. In visual presentation it is similar to the Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu) series. In terms of 'no random encounters, enemies are visible', Final Fantasy XI, XII and XIII are the most similar. The art design is by Toriyama Akira of Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest fame. He's got a way of making really solid, memorable designs without a single line wasted. Perfect for translating to the 16bit environment where you can't ignore a single pixel. Every Final Fantasy game since 6 is quite different from the last though, S-E's pretty dedicated to that so it seems a shame to just 'walk away' from all of them.
Enemies are viewable in the map, so you can go around them if you are quick enough. Sometimes that's impossible, but at least you know it's coming . You are "whisked away" for combat, though; that said, I found the combat system to be one of the more engaging and tactical of any JRPG. What really makes Chrono Trigger shine is the masterful way in which story, theme, character, and gameplay are interweaved. What starts as a typical JRPG quickly reveals itself to be a mature exploration of the relationship between action and consequences, while still working as an actual game. Hope that makes you at least a bit curious .
