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Heard the latest news? That glorious event fans have long dreamt of has finally arrived: Square Enix has announced plans to create a true and proper sequel to one of their most endearingly popular classic games. Yes, that's right -- eager gamers everywhere will soon be playing nothing other than Chrono Trigger 2.
Yes, that's right. Chrono Trigger 2.
Square Enix has reunited many of the key figures that made the first such a hit amongst the RPG fanbase. Akira Toriyama will once again provide his distinctively unique character and monster designs, while Yuji Horii will again serve as a supervisor and scenarist, crafting the time-travel story that will unfold over the course of the light-hearted yet epic game.
The primary cast of characters will once again consist of a young village boy with surprising skill at swordsmanship, a lovely and intelligent young woman with talent at magic, and an impish and rebellious child of the kingdom's ruling monarch. And again, the heroes will be joined by an older, enigmatic man with a long history in the world's affairs, and also by a slightly barbaric, almost animalistic human warrior. The gang, as they say, is all here.
And yes, time travel will once again be at its core. Unlike the much maligned Chrono Cross, which jettisoned many of the conventions of its predecessor to focus on a convoluted plot of multiple dimensions and dragons that aren't really dragons, Chrono Trigger 2 will return to the historical meddling that made the first such a success.
In the sequel, players will find themselves in a large world that expands throughout the course of the gameplay. Through the power of a mysterious location, they'll again be able to travel throughout time to different locations, often visiting the same place at multiple periods in its history -- seeing that exact history unfold and shape, as the actions the player takes in one time will direct the appearance, events, and people of the future world.
But it's not just a rehash -- Chrono Trigger 2 will actually explore much, much more than the first game. The world will be larger, the events more epic, the game much longer, the number of different time periods far greater. There will be more sights to see, more characters to fight alongside -- many of whom will be tied to their particular time period, lending each era and location a greater degree of personality and distinctiveness.
It's the game we've all been waiting for -- over a decade now, my friends, and I'm sure you're all just as ecstatic as I am. Of course, Chrono Trigger 2 is just the game's working title -- they may end up changing it to something silly like Dragon VII or something like that; it's hard to say what desperate game executives might do in the quest for greater sales.
All of which is a roundabout way of saying that a note of caution is in order, as sometimes we want something for so long, so badly, that we may even overlook it when we finally get it, its legacy lost on us due to trivial and negligent variances (what IS in a name, after all?); in this case, an open mind is called for, that we may find the things we love even in places where we are not looking. Or perhaps a reminder that it's silly and ultimately futile to hope for a recapturing of some childhood love, and the only way to adapt to this grim reality is to keep oneself open to new experiences -- the magic can never come back, so the best thing is to look for the next great new thing that can best encompass the meaning we're hoping for.
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