Chrono Resurrection
Encyclopedia
Chrono Resurrection, also known as Chrono Trigger: Resurrection, is an unreleased, non-profit fangame
developed by North American team Resurrection Games under Nathan Lazur's direction. It is based on the critically acclaimed Super NES
role-playing game
Chrono Trigger
by the Japanese company Square
. The project was initially called CT64 and was meant to be a complete remake of the original game for the Nintendo 64
, with both 2D
and 3D
playing modes.
After a first interruption in development, the project was redefined as a short interactive demo
for Windows
-based personal computers. New team members, including professional artists and designers, were recruited for the demo, which would feature ten scenes from Chrono Trigger and most of its playable characters. In 2004, the project was publicly closed after Square Enix
issued a cease-and-desist
letter to Resurrection Games for trademark
and copyright infringement
. Despite its closure, the project has received critical and popular praises.
-based homebrew tools
. Lazur's motivation for the project came in 1999 when playing Chrono Trigger and Super Mario 64
. The remake, developed by a team of four people, was Lazur's first attempt at creating a complete title. The game was intended to have two playing modes and the same battle system as the original.
The first mode would feature 2D and pre-rendered
graphics enhanced with 3D spell and battle effects. Some of the effects created by Lazur would rely on software programming rather than the Nintendo 64 hardware, as the latter would not be capable of rendering them directly. The second mode would be a full 3D mode played in either regular or high display resolution
, and would feature different level of detail
textures depending on camera distances, to maximize clarity and performance. Both modes would be in a top-down perspective, although more cinematic camera angles, similar to those from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
, were also considered for the 3D mode.
A gallery feature was also planned and would allow players to unlock bonus material depending on their progression in the game. Fan artwork and music would be unlockable through this feature, as well as minigame
s, including a card game similar to Triple Triad from Final Fantasy VIII
. The remake was expected to be released on the Internet for free and played on console emulators, since there would be no cartridge version due to financial constraints. Only a semi-working 3D test was actually completed, and the project was discontinued in mid-2000 due to a number of factors, including the accidental loss of Lazur's data and his desire to improve his programming skills.
, programming for game developer DC Studios, and playing Chrono Cross
, the official sequel to Chrono Trigger for PlayStation
. Unlike CT64, the second version would be a short demo developed in a cross-platform
engine
with a single 3D playing mode. The Windows
version was planned for a free Internet release, while Nintendo GameCube
and Xbox
ports would be reserved for official developers with access to development kits
of either of the two consoles.
The new development team was mostly recruited on the game developers website Gamasutra
and worked in a small studio in Lazur's apartment, in Montreal
, Canada. The team included up to nine members, most of which had about two-and-a-half years of experiences in the industry. Lazur has admitted that he began to seriously focus on the quality of the demo only after art director
Luis Martins joined the project. Other professional designers in the team included Moise Breton, a 3D artist who had worked on character models for the commercially successful movie The Matrix Reloaded
, and Michel Cadieux, an animator
who had worked for game company Microïds
. Difficulties were encountered in the game engine development as Lazur was the unique programmer and worked from scratch.
The score for the demo was composed by Mathew Valente, who had been with the project since its Nintendo 64 version. The score was to consist in arrangement
s of the official Chrono Trigger soundtrack written by Yasunori Mitsuda
, Nobuo Uematsu
and Noriko Matsueda
. Valente's goal was to retain the feeling of the original music while enhancing it for a modern platform. Most of the arrangements were created in the Impulse Tracker
format, then converted to MIDI
and enhanced with a number of tools.
The demo was meant to be played using a "default party" of characters, with other party members unlockable
for additional replay value. Due to time constraints, the development team expected that two of the seven characters of the original game, Robo and Ayla, would have 50% chances of not being featured. While the team tried to capture the feel of the original game with updated graphics and sounds, the artists and animators faced difficulty in reproducing the characters due to the differences of style between the sprites
, artwork and PlayStation
version anime
sequences. They noted, however, that they overcame the issues and managed to add a bit of their own art style into the game.
2004 release. However, Square Enix issued a cease-and-desist letter to Resurrection Games before the release for trademark
and copyright infringement
. Faced with a threat of legal action, the project was publicly closed on September 6, 2004. According to the development team, the website of the project had received significant hits from Square Enix Japanese IP addresses
for a period of three months before the letter issuing. They assumed these visits were mostly from employees rather than top executives, and hoped the company would see the demo as how the team sees it, a tribute to Chrono Trigger rather than a replacement.
Gaming websites 1UP.com
and GameSpot
called the project's second version "ambitious" and praised its graphics, noting that the art style is mostly faithful to that of the original game's character designer Akira Toriyama
. Website Nintendo World Report
praised the game's graphics and music, and called the quality of the artwork "professional". 1UP.com judged the project's closure "unfortunate" but deduced that Square Enix could not leave the possibility of a "competing" Chrono Trigger remake open. GameSpot also expressed their disappointment in Square Enix's decision to shut down the "furthest along" of Chrono Trigger fan remakes, pointing at the fact that with no news of another official sequel, fans of the Chrono series "have been left in the cold". Website GamePro Australia
called the project "possibly the greatest fan remake to get crushed under the huge shoe of a big-time developer".
Several Internet petition
s were created by fans to pressure Square Enix into green-lighting Chrono Resurrection; none has had any effect, however. Nathan Lazur, though disappointed, holds no ill will towards Square Enix for protecting its intellectual property, and he has stated that he "felt honoured to even be recognized" by the company. He added that to avoid legal issues, developers of fangames should present their polished demos directly to the original publishers so that the products can be handled in a "more traditional business procedure". Mathew Valente has expressed his hope for the "unlikely day" that Square Enix asks the team to continue their work for the Wii
Virtual Console
. Before the closure of Chrono Resurrection, Lazur had stated that his team had no plans to remake other games after the project's completion and would have liked to develop an original concept based in feudal Japan.
Fangame
Fangames are video games made by fans based on one or more established video games. Many fangames attempt to clone the original game's design, gameplay and characters, but it is equally common for fans to develop a unique game using another only as a template...
developed by North American team Resurrection Games under Nathan Lazur's direction. It is based on the critically acclaimed Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
role-playing game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. Chrono Triggers development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dream Team": Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Square's Final Fantasy series; Yuji Horii, a...
by the Japanese company Square
Square Co.
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
. The project was initially called CT64 and was meant to be a complete remake of the original game for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, with both 2D
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
and 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
playing modes.
After a first interruption in development, the project was redefined as a short interactive demo
Game demo
A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
-based personal computers. New team members, including professional artists and designers, were recruited for the demo, which would feature ten scenes from Chrono Trigger and most of its playable characters. In 2004, the project was publicly closed after Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
issued a cease-and-desist
Cease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
letter to Resurrection Games for trademark
Trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees...
and copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
. Despite its closure, the project has received critical and popular praises.
Nintendo 64 version
Nathan Lazur initially planned to create a Chrono Trigger remake for the Nintendo 64, called CT64, using GNUGNU
GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
-based homebrew tools
Homebrew (video games)
Homebrew is a term frequently applied to video games or other software produced by consumers to target proprietary hardware platforms not typically user-programmable or that use proprietary storage methods...
. Lazur's motivation for the project came in 1999 when playing Chrono Trigger and Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
. The remake, developed by a team of four people, was Lazur's first attempt at creating a complete title. The game was intended to have two playing modes and the same battle system as the original.
The first mode would feature 2D and pre-rendered
Pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputing or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of a footage that was previously rendered on a different equipment...
graphics enhanced with 3D spell and battle effects. Some of the effects created by Lazur would rely on software programming rather than the Nintendo 64 hardware, as the latter would not be capable of rendering them directly. The second mode would be a full 3D mode played in either regular or high display resolution
Display resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
, and would feature different level of detail
Level of detail
In computer graphics, accounting for level of detail involves decreasing the complexity of a 3D object representation as it moves away from the viewer or according other metrics such as object importance, eye-space speed or position....
textures depending on camera distances, to maximize clarity and performance. Both modes would be in a top-down perspective, although more cinematic camera angles, similar to those from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998...
, were also considered for the 3D mode.
A gallery feature was also planned and would allow players to unlock bonus material depending on their progression in the game. Fan artwork and music would be unlockable through this feature, as well as minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s, including a card game similar to Triple Triad from Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII
is a role-playing video game released for the PlayStation in 1999 and for Windows-based personal computers in 2000. It was developed and published by Square as the Final Fantasy series' eighth title, removing magic point-based spell-casting and the first title to consistently use realistically...
. The remake was expected to be released on the Internet for free and played on console emulators, since there would be no cartridge version due to financial constraints. Only a semi-working 3D test was actually completed, and the project was discontinued in mid-2000 due to a number of factors, including the accidental loss of Lazur's data and his desire to improve his programming skills.
Second version
Development
The second version of the project, tentatively called Chrono Trigger: Brink of Time then Chrono Resurrection, started development in April 2003. Lazur has given several reasons to explain his willingness to restart the project, including his experience coding for the Dreamcast Visual Memory UnitVMU
The VMU, or Visual Memory Unit is a memory card peripheral for the Dreamcast. Its official name was changed by Sega for each of the three key regions:-* Japan = Visual Memory System * North America = Visual Memory Unit...
, programming for game developer DC Studios, and playing Chrono Cross
Chrono Cross
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Chrono Trigger, which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System...
, the official sequel to Chrono Trigger for PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. Unlike CT64, the second version would be a short demo developed in a cross-platform
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
with a single 3D playing mode. The Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version was planned for a free Internet release, while Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
ports would be reserved for official developers with access to development kits
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
of either of the two consoles.
The new development team was mostly recruited on the game developers website Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
and worked in a small studio in Lazur's apartment, in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada. The team included up to nine members, most of which had about two-and-a-half years of experiences in the industry. Lazur has admitted that he began to seriously focus on the quality of the demo only after art director
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
Luis Martins joined the project. Other professional designers in the team included Moise Breton, a 3D artist who had worked on character models for the commercially successful movie The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
, and Michel Cadieux, an animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
who had worked for game company Microïds
Microïds
Microïds is a French software brand belonging to Anuman Interactive that publishes and develops video games. In recent years the company's collection of brands and game licenses has grown since being a part of MC2 France...
. Difficulties were encountered in the game engine development as Lazur was the unique programmer and worked from scratch.
The score for the demo was composed by Mathew Valente, who had been with the project since its Nintendo 64 version. The score was to consist in arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s of the official Chrono Trigger soundtrack written by Yasunori Mitsuda
Yasunori Mitsuda
is a Japanese video game composer, sound programmer, and musician. He has composed music for or worked on over 35 games, and has contributed to over 15 other albums...
, Nobuo Uematsu
Nobuo Uematsu
is a Japanese video game composer, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is considered as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community...
and Noriko Matsueda
Noriko Matsueda
is a Japanese former video game composer. She is best known for her work on the Front Mission series, The Bouncer, and Final Fantasy X-2. Matsueda collaborated with fellow composer Takahito Eguchi on several games. Composing music at an early age, she began studying the piano and electronic organ...
. Valente's goal was to retain the feeling of the original music while enhancing it for a modern platform. Most of the arrangements were created in the Impulse Tracker
Impulse Tracker
Impulse Tracker is a multi-track digital sound tracker . It was one of the last tracker programs for the DOS platform. It was authored by Jeffrey "Pulse" Lim, and example music was provided by Jeffrey Lim and Chris Jarvis...
format, then converted to MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIDI is an industry-standard protocol, first defined in 1982 by Gordon Hall, that enables electronic musical instruments , computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and synchronize with each other...
and enhanced with a number of tools.
Content
The team tried to capture the feel of the original game with updated graphics and sounds in the demo. It was to feature ten short interactive scenes from Chrono Trigger. Despite receiving requests from fans, the development team did not intend to create a complete remake of the original game since they would not have the necessary resources, and because they thought the result would not have been on par with Square Enix-developed titles. The story of the game was altered slightly to allow for the ten scenes to better flow from one to the other.The demo was meant to be played using a "default party" of characters, with other party members unlockable
Secret character
A secret character can be a player character or a non-player character in a video game that must be unlocked by completing a goal within the game...
for additional replay value. Due to time constraints, the development team expected that two of the seven characters of the original game, Robo and Ayla, would have 50% chances of not being featured. While the team tried to capture the feel of the original game with updated graphics and sounds, the artists and animators faced difficulty in reproducing the characters due to the differences of style between the sprites
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
, artwork and PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
version anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
sequences. They noted, however, that they overcame the issues and managed to add a bit of their own art style into the game.
Closure and aftermath
Chrono Resurrection was originally set for a ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
2004 release. However, Square Enix issued a cease-and-desist letter to Resurrection Games before the release for trademark
Trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees...
and copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
. Faced with a threat of legal action, the project was publicly closed on September 6, 2004. According to the development team, the website of the project had received significant hits from Square Enix Japanese IP addresses
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
for a period of three months before the letter issuing. They assumed these visits were mostly from employees rather than top executives, and hoped the company would see the demo as how the team sees it, a tribute to Chrono Trigger rather than a replacement.
Gaming websites 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
and GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
called the project's second version "ambitious" and praised its graphics, noting that the art style is mostly faithful to that of the original game's character designer Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
. Website Nintendo World Report
Nintendo World Report
Nintendo World Report is a Nintendo-specific video game website that covers Nintendo's current consoles, the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, and Wii.-History:...
praised the game's graphics and music, and called the quality of the artwork "professional". 1UP.com judged the project's closure "unfortunate" but deduced that Square Enix could not leave the possibility of a "competing" Chrono Trigger remake open. GameSpot also expressed their disappointment in Square Enix's decision to shut down the "furthest along" of Chrono Trigger fan remakes, pointing at the fact that with no news of another official sequel, fans of the Chrono series "have been left in the cold". Website GamePro Australia
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
called the project "possibly the greatest fan remake to get crushed under the huge shoe of a big-time developer".
Several Internet petition
Internet petition
An Internet petition is a form of petition posted on a website. Visitors to the website in question can add their email addresses or names, and after enough "signatures" have been collected, the resulting letter may be delivered to the subject of the petition, usually via e-mail.-Pros and cons:The...
s were created by fans to pressure Square Enix into green-lighting Chrono Resurrection; none has had any effect, however. Nathan Lazur, though disappointed, holds no ill will towards Square Enix for protecting its intellectual property, and he has stated that he "felt honoured to even be recognized" by the company. He added that to avoid legal issues, developers of fangames should present their polished demos directly to the original publishers so that the products can be handled in a "more traditional business procedure". Mathew Valente has expressed his hope for the "unlikely day" that Square Enix asks the team to continue their work for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
. Before the closure of Chrono Resurrection, Lazur had stated that his team had no plans to remake other games after the project's completion and would have liked to develop an original concept based in feudal Japan.