Difference between revisions of "Chrono Trigger Prerelease Coverage"

Revision as of 08:24, 28 December 2008

General Information

The Prerelease is a "beta" version, with nearly all main features of the game intact and ready for serious testing. But in software engineering, before beta versions come alpha versions, which are stages of the game's rough development. Other betas and alpha version of the Chrono Trigger Prerelease may exist, most likely sent to magazines for review. While the chances are slim that some of these may ever find their way to the internet, surviving pictures from old magazines depict such versions. Also displaying the alpha version is a preview video issued by Nintendo, depicting a completely different overworld.

Magazines

One shot illustrates an extra door to the Guardia treasury in 600 A.D. (recall that it did not exist in that era), and pale guards.

The second is the more interesting. Crono's hair is different; it lacks the usual spikes. The status screenshot shows a count of "5" for each of the four elements, suggesting that characters may have different charges or levels of elemental power despite having a primary element affinity. The Epoch is flying over the ground, and jet vapor seems to be coming from two exhaust pipes. The details of the Arris Dome are also a little different.

V-Jump Preview Video 1

The V-Jump preview video reveals huge overworld differences between versions and other changes. It's an incredible contribution by Chrono fan Carnivol, and features interviews with Chrono Trigger's creators. The video begins, amazingly, with the Untitled track from the Chrono Trigger Prerelease. Several alpha arrangements of the tracks play throughout, featuring very rough and basic instrumentation.

Interview Translation

Transcribed by GekkaHikko and translated by GlitterBerri.

Video and Screenshots

You can watch the video here, or download it here. To play Youtube's "flv" format files on your computer, you can use VideoLAN, a great freeware tool capable of handling countless types of encoding. The video begins with the title of the game with the "Untitled" music playing.

Title Screen

The preview then shows the announcer talking about the Dream Team, which cuts to a clock background with a spinning Crono sprite.

The preview then shows the beginning of the game as normal. The overworld is distinctly different; Truce appears larger and more primitive than its future self. The graphics are pretty standard and Leene's Square appears bare save for the bell and a few balloons.

The Epoch then appears with the exhaust vapor behind as in the magazine screenshot. What's interesting is that the back grill raises and closes during the course of the video, hinting at some other function of the vehicle.

The narrative continues as the Epoch flies over 1000 A.D., revealing Guardia Castle (which appears as a normal house) and the Cathedral. As the Epoch flies north, it passes several planes.

Two battle scenes are then shown. Robo uses his rocket arm and Ayla uses Charm. Robo's sprite is especially unpolished.

Two sets of four monsters each appear following the battles. Very minor differences, if any, exist between sprites. The Cave Ape retains the sad face in the Prerelease beta version.

Character art and brief explanations of every character but Magus are then supplied.

• Crono
• Marle
• Ayla
• Frog
• Lucca
• Robo

The scene shifts to the Dream Team, including Sakaguchi, Horii, and Aoki. A brief shot of unreleased Epoch concept art flashes in the background with the rest of the preview.

• Interview 1
• Interview 2
• Interview 3
• Interview 4
• Interview 5
• Interview 6
• Interview 7
• Interview 8

Guru of Reason Chrono'99 has linked the screenshots together for composite pictures:

• Composite Map of Truce 1
• Composite Map of Truce 2
• Composite Map of Unknown Regions

Forumer cald attempted to recreate the plane's graphics:

V-Jump Preview Video 2

This is a second V-Jump video lasting 18:56 in length. It features scenes from a build of Chrono Trigger a little earlier in development than the Prerelease. The extended demos are narrated by developers in Japanese as an extended interview. The personnel interviewed include Akira Toriyama, Yuji Horii, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and then Hoshino Masanori (art director), Keizo Kokubo (main program), Yoshinori Kitase (director), Takashi Tokita (director), and Kazuhiko Aoki (producer). The instrument sampling is different. Thanks go to dan_death for finding it on NICOVideo, and to Chrono'99 for helping analyze personnel. You can download the source FLV by clicking here. You'll probably have to get the great, open source freeware player VideoLAN to play it.

Recordings of the altered instruments are available by clicking Alpha Tracks. Getting started, the demo scenes proceed like this:

• Dactyls flying to Tyrano Lair

The lava burns brightly as it does in the later Prerelease.

• Crono standing near campfire

• The Blackbird sailing over water

The thrusters burn brighter.

• Zeal, with the Blackbird docked
• Crono, Lucca, and Robo crossing Zenan Bridge

• Magus's Lair
• Crono slashing the Dragon Tank
• Crono arriving at trial
• Lavos erupting (with early sprite)

The demo then features Crono, Marle, and Lucca's arrival, a short trip to the Arris Dome, and the Day of Lavos cut scene. Instead of triggering the video, Marle engages a menu with the three Dream Team members on it (Toriyama, Horii, and Sakaguchi) and other developers. Each narrates several scenes of the game while music plays.

Early sealed door design is present.

Toriyama is selected first. Character and scene art follow; the scene stuff includes the full picture frame, which has never been seen before.

Yuji Horii is then selected in all his plot-hole creating glory.

Here's the unknown village.

One of the imps is gray instead of green.

The party enters the Proto Dome Gate.

Sakaguchi is then selected.

The King's sprite may be slightly different.

These Chancellor lines are different.

This judge dialogue is different.

This Lucca line is unique to the video. It takes the place of her line about identifying the Prometheus Dome.

Here's Hoshino Masanori, art direction. Remember "Hoshino Trigger"?

The flowers at the base of the Mystic Mts are purple instead of beige (as they are in the Pre). Ultimately, this would turn mostly into dirt for the final version.

This Masa & Mune fusion line seems to be different.

Two Leapers chase the party down a primitive-looking Mystic Mts entrance. The palette hasn't even been adjusted to fit the 65000000 B.C. look, yet.

Keizo Kokubo (main program) appears.

Barrels are on the conveyor belt rather than robots.

The Ioka Meeting Site design is primitive.

Yoshinori Kitase (director) is next. His segment is mostly composed of music.

Next is the race.

Frog's dialogue contains an extra character at the end.

We then come upon Takashi Tokita (director).

Johnny's dialogue here is slightly different.

The Underground Sewer unused area appears here as host to a staged battle. Until the text is translated, its purpose will remain a mystery.

Though unimportant to analysis, the famous mountain Kilwala makes an appearance.

The Chancellor's "justice system" dialogue is slightly different.

There's a long pause (two ellipses' worth) when Lucca talks about robots' hearts which isn't present in the final.

Doan's wording is slightly different when talking about 'healthy'.

Finally, there's Kazuhiko Aoki (producer).

Orange bats are present.

Flea's eyes seem different.

Crono, Robo, and Lucca try out a prototype triple tech on a Goon (whose name is different from the final's).

The bit stays in the center of the Guardian, and the strange gun emplacement removed in the final can be seen in action.

Lavos spits fire and battles on the ground.

Lavos exhibits a prototype of the Shadow Doom Blaze.

The graphics beneath the information center's monitor are different.

The Blackbird sprite flies over a totally static Zeal with the blimp also seen on the hologram cards. The fact that Zeal's sky is totally stationary suggests that this was completely a mock-up. If anyone knows the purpose of that blimp, it's Masato Kato.

From: Chrono Trigger Prerelease