Chrono break

The registration of trademarks was followed by a report in the press, which described opinions regarding the creation of a new game of the Chrono series . So, Hironobu Sakaguchi remarked that the development team, especially screenwriter Masato Kato , is interested in creating a sequel and that the elements of the plot are already being discussed. However, the project did not give the green light ^[8] . Earlier, Kato mentioned in the Ultimania guide for Chrono Cross that he would like to create a direct sequel to Trigger , thus completing some plot lines, but difficulties in creating such a sequel made the team release Cross ^[9] . Although Square Co. did not publish any news regarding the development of the new game, many fans were sure that the work had already begun. However, Masato Kato and many other people who created Chrono Cross , for example, Yasuyuki Honne , soon left the company, mainly switching to Monolith Soft . Thus, on November 13, 2003, the trademark expired in the United States , December 14, 2011 - in the European Union; in Japan, this happened on July 26, 2012 ^[2] .

The reaction of fans to the emergence of a new brand was quite stormy, so on the Square Enix website in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section an entry appeared, according to which the development of a new game was not started, which, however, does not mean that the series will not continue ^{. 10]} . After the release of Chrono Cross, many members of the development team left the company, creating a studio Monolith Soft , which was originally owned by Namco , but then began to work under the authority of Nintendo . Some people who worked on the Chrono series games stayed in Square and began to create Final Fantasy XI , a MMORPG game . In an interview at E3 in 2003, they claimed that they would very much like to create a new game of the series, but working on Final Fantasy XI will keep them busy for a long time ^[11] . It was Hironobu Sakaguchi , one of the creators of Chrono Trigger , who suggested Square to release the game in the MMORPG genre, working on Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within . Richard Honeywood explained the situation this way:

Takashi Tokita, director of Chrono Trigger , mentioned Chrono Trigger 2 in an interview that did not translate into English in 2003 ^[12] . Yuji Horia , one of the Trigger developers, expressed no interest in continuing the series; nevertheless, he added that he would “like to play the sequel when it appears” ^[13] . In February 2007, producer Hiromiti Tanaka gave several interviews in support of computer games in Europe. He reiterated that the new game Chrono is not being developed, but its appearance is quite possible ^{[14] [15]} .

... it’s very difficult to assemble an old team to create a continuation of the Chrono series ... But if we don’t try to reassemble these people and invite new ones, the result will be that the game will be completely different, because the other team will do it, and, probably, the chrono spirit will be lost ^[16] .

- Hiromichi Tanaka

In 2008, composer Yasunori Mitsuda noted that the creation of a new game in the series “involves many political issues”, and also stressed that participation in the work of screenwriter Masato Kato will be necessary ^[17] . In 2014, at the Penny Arcade Expo, Sakaguchi stated that he had plans to continue the series, but disagreements with the company's management prevented the ideas from being realized. “It would still be great to work on the continuation of my old creations,” he added. ^[18]

Chrono Resurrection

In 2003 ^{[6], a} team of programmers and artists from North America decided to develop a small demo version of the game , which is a remake of Chrono Trigger . According to the plan of the developers, their project, called Chrono Resurrection , was supposed to include several episodes from Trigger with improved three-dimensional graphics . The game was developed on a cross-platform engine ^[6] . However, a few months before the release of Resurrection , which received a lot of support from the fans of the original games in the series, Square Enix sent a letter to the development team demanding to cease its activities due to copyright infringement . Thus, the project was closed on September 6, 2004 , despite the protests of many players ^{[19] [20]} .

Computer game websites, such as 1UP.com and GameSpot , called the project “ambitious”, responding well to the graphics of the game being developed, also noting that the style in which the characters are drawn is very similar to the style of Akira Toriyama , the creator of the original characters Chrono Trigger ^{[20] [21]} . Reviewer 1UP.com also added that the closure of the project is “sad”, but Square Enix could not allow the game trying to “compete” with Trigger to come out ^[22] . The GameSpot observer, in addition to his disappointment at the closure of the project, noted that no news has been received regarding the creation of the official Chrono series game. “Fans are left with nothing,” he concludes. ^[21]

Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes

In 2004 ^[23], active members of the Chrono Compedium portal ^[24] , who organized the Kajar Laboratories team, decided to create a fan game that continues the Chrono Trigger events and also anticipates the Chrono Cross . The game was a ROM hack of the Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System ^[25] . The developers modified the source code of the game, added a number of new locations and special attacks for the characters, slightly improved the graphics ^[26] . It was planned that the game would be distributed as an IPS patch ( International Patching System ) in order to avoid the illegal distribution of the Chrono Trigger image ^[25] . Since the game worked on the same engine as the Trigger , the gameplay was similar to the original ^[7] ; game characters remained the same ^{[27] [28]} .

Work on the project was carried out for four and a half years, the release was scheduled for May 31, 2009 ^[29] . However, on May 8, 2009, Square Enix sent a letter to the developers demanding to close the project immediately due to copyright infringement , as is the case with Chrono Ressurection ^[25] . By the time the project was closed, the game was over "by about 98%"; according to the developers, it had 23 chapters, which required about 35 hours of playing time, as well as ten alternative endings ^[23] .

This event had a fairly wide resonance. CNET editor-in-chief Eric Franklin noted in his article that “it was very unfortunate to see how four and a half years of work went under the tail of the dog” ^[29] . Ernest Cavalli, a reporter for Wired magazine , wrote: “I perfectly understand the desire of Square Enix to protect its property, but the incident from this does not become more fun. The game could have been very good (although not too original) ” ^[7] . In February 2010, GamesRadar described the game in an article entitled “10 fan games that should not have been canceled” ^[23] .

Shortly after the developers received a letter from Square Enix, demanding that they stop developing the alpha-version patch was leaked to the Internet. Reviewers noted an interesting plot of the game, which skillfully combines the events of Trigger and Cross . New locations and improved graphics, as well as the fact that Chrono is also talking, were highly appreciated (his replicas were not shown in the Chrono Trigger ) ^[27] . The disadvantages of the reviewers include the inaccessibility of some locations (which is associated with the incompleteness of the game), excessive complexity in some game segments, grammatical errors in the characters' replicas, and also new style of speech of Frog (who used to speak Shakespeare's language) ^{[30] [31]} .

Press about the appearance of the sequel

Rumors about the appearance of a new game in the series began to spread again when screenwriter Masato Kato returned to Square Enix to work on the project World of Mana ^[32] . In an interview at a PLAY concert ! In May 2006, Yasunori Mitsuda expressed interest in writing a soundtrack for the new game Chrono ^{[1] [33]} . These hopes were shared by both Mitsuda and Kato, who had good relations with each other. Together, they released Kirite - a musical album based on a story written by Masato Cato. In September 2005, colleagues reunited, working on the game Deep Labyrinth For Nintendo DS ^[34] . In addition, in the same year, Mitsuda announced that they planned to release a new album with music Chrono Cross , but then the release was postponed several times; by the beginning of 2010 no news was received regarding the album ^[33] . These events, as well as the poll from Square Enix , which offers Chrono Trigger as a game that should be ported to a portable game console ( Trigger was later ported to Nintendo DS ^[35] ) as one of the options, confirmed that the company has not lost interest in the series and the release of the sequel is still possible; however, there was no news or even rumors about it. In 2007, Hiromichi Tanaka declared that there was a “likelihood” of the game, but because of the employment of Masato Kato and other developers, the prospects for the sequel seem vague ^[36] .

In the February 2008 issue of Game Informer , the Chrono series was in eighth place in the Top Ten Sequels in Demand contest ( Russian. Ten Most Expected Sequels ). “What the hell is this delay ?!” one of the journal observers asks in his article ^[37] . In the June 2008 issue of the Retro Issue of the Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine , a columnist claims that fans are most eager to see the continuation of the Chrono series ^[5] . In May 2009, Famitsu magazine assigned Chrono Trigger 14th place out of 50 according to the results of the survey “The most expected sequel” ^[4] . At the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo , Vice President Shinji Hashimoto Said that the Chrono Trigger discs are not selling as well as he expected. When the journalist told him that many players are really waiting for the sequel, he replied: “But the level of sales says the opposite! [...] If people want to continue, they should buy more! ” ^[38] . In 2011, the GamerNode website observer compiled a list of the “Top 10 Games That Should Have Been Finished” (in Russian, “Top 10 Games That Should Be Required to Be Released” ), awarding first place to Chrono Break . He notes with regret: “Fans were informed that, although at the moment a new game of the series is not being developed, its release is possible. And now, 2011, and no news from Square Enix regarding the sequel ” ^[39] . In 2012, the site Siliconera reported that Square Enix registered the trademark Chrono Bind ; In the same article, the columnist assumed that the name of the future game would be changed to Chrono Bind . However, it later emerged that this is the name of the downloadable card game for Final Fantasy XIII-2 ^{[40] [41] [42] [43]} . In the same year, the Kotaku website published a list of “5 games of 2000 for which sequels should be issued in 2012,” which included Chrono Cross . “Still, Square Enix, why not?” The journalist wonders. “The usual remake of the Chrono Trigger [for Nintendo DS] has been sold in the amount of 970,000 copies. Imagine how popular the third franchise game will be ” ^[44] . In 2017, an article appeared on the site of Siliconera, calling Chrono Break a “ray of hope” for fans and noting that since Square Enix was planning to release a sequel, it could still see the light in the future in one form or another ^[45] .

• Chrono Break in the US Patent and Trademark Database (Eng.)
• Examples for writing Square letters with requests to create a new game of the Chrono series (Eng.)

Compendiums

• Chrono Center is the largest Japanese-language resource for the Chrono series of games (Jap.)
• Chrono Compendium - the largest English-language game resource for the Chrono series ( Chrono Break information page )