Final fantasy chronicles

In Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger , as in many other computer role-playing games , the player controls a squad of several people. The way the squad is controlled and the appearance of the game may vary depending on where the player is: on the world map, where the player moves between different locations, in a specific location (city, dungeon, etc.), or on a separate “battlefield” where the unit’s battle with the enemy ^{[9] [10]} .

Final Fantasy IV

Final Fantasy IV introduced the so-called Active Time Battle , developed by Hiroyuki Ito. Its essence lies in the fact that the player enters teams for his squad in “real time” during the battle (as opposed to turn-based battle) ^[11] . Each character is balanced, having its own strengths and weaknesses; for example, a strong mage may have low defense, and a mighty warrior may be slow ^[9] .

Chrono Trigger

The gameplay of Chrono Trigger differs from traditional RPGs in that most monsters are visible in locations, and battles do not start randomly, and the player himself can attack them, or the enemy will wait in ambush and attack the squad when it approaches. The battle will begin if the detachment comes close to the monster; the battle will take place not in a separate location, but in the same place ^[10] . Chrono Trigger also uses an improved version of the active battle mode, borrowed from Final Fantasy IV . Characters can perform special unique attacks, called "techniques", and the damage done and the accuracy of their hit depends on the location of the opponents ^{[10] [12]} . Other distinguishing features of the game include time travel and the ability to start a New Game +, which implies that the characters at the beginning will have the same abilities as at the end of the game ^{[13] [14]} .

Final Fantasy Chronicles compilation includes two games that have been ported to the PlayStation by TOSE : Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV , separately published in Japan earlier. Final Fantasy IV was also included in the Final Fantasy Collection , which was also released in Japan ^[15] . The designer and CEO of Chronicles was Kazuhiko Aoki , who was curated by Fumiaki Fukaya ; The producer was Akihiro Imai ^[16] . The collection was created immediately after the release of Final Fantasy Anthology , which included Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI ^{[6] [17]} .

The original Final Fantasy IV was released in North America under the name Final Fantasy II in 1991 with some modifications to improve the perception of the game by English-speaking fans ^[18] . These modifications were removed in Final Fantasy Chronicles and the collection was re- localized so that the script was closer to the original written by Takashi Tokita ^[16] . Chrono Trigger was released in 1995 and was localized by Ted Wolsey , but Chronicles included additional changes ^[6] .

The main innovation in the games were videos . In Final Fantasy IV , a computer - animated in-game video appeared , and in Chrono Trigger , videos drawn by Akira Toriyama in anime style appeared; they allow "to better develop the plot of the game." Final Fantasy IV also added the ability to play together , the “Sprint Function”, with which the gameplay was accelerated, as well as the “Record File” system to speed up saving the game. In Trigger , not new gameplay elements were introduced, but the bonus mode ( Eng Extras Mode ). In it you can see the bestiary and gallery of drawings created in the development process ^[19] .

Advertising

The release of the disc, which will contain Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger, was scheduled for December 2000, and the success of Final Fantasy Anthology ^{[17] was a} decisive factor. Final Fantasy Chronicles was announced by Square Electronic Arts on April 17, 2001 . Jun Iwasaki , president of the company, mentioned the “incredible number of requests” to reissue the game from fans, and added that this collection “will be interesting for all fans of original games and will enable a new generation of players to get acquainted with classic RPGs” ^[20] .

Final Fantasy Chronicles was released on June 29, 2001, during a marketing campaign run by Columbia Pictures in support of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within ^[21] . On July 10, a celebration was held in San Francisco to celebrate the release of the film and the game. It included cosplay , a lottery with souvenirs, and special tents were installed where everyone could play Chronicles and Final Fantasy X ^[22] .

Music from Final Fantasy Chronicles - a set of two CDs with music from the games of the collection, released separately by TokyoPop . The release of the Final Fantasy IV Official Soundtrack and Chrono Trigger Original Soundtrack albums took place on August 21, 2001 . The Final Fantasy IV Official Soundtrack is very similar in content to Final Fantasy IV: Original Sound Version , the soundtrack from the original game, with the only difference being that the tracks were recorded by TOSE , which led to some minor changes; some song names were slightly changed, and the 45th track “Theme of Love (Arranged)” was added, which was previously released only as a piano version of the second track from Piano Collections Final Fantasy IV . This release had a duration of 62 minutes ^[23] . The Chrono Trigger Original Soundtrack album, containing music from Chrono Trigger , lasted 1 hour 13 minutes 3 seconds ^[24] . In addition to these albums, BradyGames released a game strategy guide on July 2, 2001 ^[25] .

Final Fantasy Chronicles proved to be very successful from a commercial and critical point of view, holding the title of the best-selling disc for the Sony PlayStation for two weeks and received a 89% rating on the Metacritic aggregator site ^{[29] [30]} . The IGN website rated the collection 9.4, and also awarded the Chronicles the title Team Site Choice ( English Editors' Choice Award ), calling it a “must-have” for all RPG lovers ^[5] .

GameSpot site reviewer rated the game 8.5 out of 10 possible, citing “muffled sound effects” in Final Fantasy IV and long downloads in Chrono Trigger among the shortcomings. He also added that the graphics looked “amazing” at the time when the games were originally released, but now it is outdated and “many players hoping to get something incredible for their money will be disappointed” ^[6] . A Gaming Age reviewer noted that too few improvements have been introduced into the games, calling the ported versions “the same games”, claiming that the videos “turned out to be a good addition to both games, but in fact they change almost nothing” ^[31] .

• Official Game Website