One step closer to Chrono Trigger: the boxart

by Alisha Karabinus { Aug 23rd 2008 at 3:02PM }

Wow, we sure called this one. Like the rest of the game, the boxart for the DS version of Chrono Trigger is very similar to the original. Of course, in some cases, less (effort) is more, and this just may be one of them. Was there any way Square Enix could have improved on Chrono Trigger's boxart?

Gallery: Chrono Trigger

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Tags: boxart, chrono-trigger, port, rpg, square-enix

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

CJC @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:25PM

I'm torn.

They could make Marle use ice instead of fire, like in the game. I'm enough of an RPG nerd that it's always bothered me.

Then again, few things are as badass as a flaming sword. Hm.

Kimiko @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:27PM

Well, I only played the SNES version, but this boxart doesn't look much like the in-game art at all. Marle's magic is water/ice based IIRC, not fire, and that monster doesn't look familiar either. The characters faces aren't white in any case. Overall I think this boxart looks just ugly, and they should hire a different artist.

Ashkental @ Aug 24th 2008 12:49AM

Wtf? You DO know that this box art was made for the SNES version by Akira Toriyama Right? The creator of Dragon Ball series, the most famous Anime of all time, you know? You can't get better than that...

BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Aug 24th 2008 1:27AM

I think the enemy is Heckran. From Heckran's Cave, west of the Village of Magic, in 1,000AD.

Still no clue why Marle used fire on the box... But, apparently, that is original Toriyama art... [shrugs]

WiiFTW @ Aug 24th 2008 3:17PM

That cover may have been OK compared to other SNES covers, but it could definitely be made to look more attractive. Way too much white on the cover. Provide some contrast at least. I'm not going to challenge the character designs however.

It's just not appealing IMO.

Haohmaru @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:27PM

Well, they could've started by making the fire stream Marle is shooting an ice trail instead, considering she was "Water" type and Lucca was the one who was "Fire." ;) But that's okay - that little inconsistency was one of the endearing things about the SNES art.

Haohmaru @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:29PM

Hire a different--um, that is the original SNES artwork and it's drawn by Akira Toriyama, the character designer for the game... Are you sure you wanted to say that? o.O

Kimiko @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:35PM

If he's the original designer, he did a much better job in-game than on the boxart. Okay, maybe they don't need to fire him, but do make him do the non-game art over again.

xeleion @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:44PM

It's better than a white/black title on black/white background like those FF remakes, no?

RupeeClock @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:53PM

They aught to have commissioned a new boxart, the old one doesn't do the game justice to be honest.

Alisha Karabinus @ Aug 23rd 2008 7:01PM

They didn't change anything else! Why change the boxart?

Me, I think it's a little lazy.

chibi_wings @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:56PM

HELL NO!
I would much rather have only the Chrono Trigger logo then that ugly SNES boxart. Simple is better, especially in the case of the FF remakes, their box art is far superior to this. I also find that simpler designs are better, I don't mean just a logo, but a single image, not a jumble of images and characters that most NA boxarts seem to feature. I will admit that busy covers DO sometimes work, but majority of the time simpler is better, at least in my eyes.

Matt G. @ Aug 23rd 2008 4:30PM

You know, I only realized the fire/ice error once the bunch of you brought it up. So thanks. :P

Personally, I think going with just the logo probably would have been perfect. Either that, or using something like the cover art for the OSV, that shows all the main characters. But you know what, in all honesty, I really don't care. Box art is what it is. It's meant to sell the product inside and if you already know you're going to buy the game, the box art shouldn't mean much to you.

Katotetu @ Aug 23rd 2008 4:41PM

Are we sure we want a different artist than Akira Toriyama? Yes. His art wasn't good 20 years ago, and it isn't now.
I agree with Kimiko on this one. The boxart could use a redraw entirely.

mauroh @ Aug 23rd 2008 5:10PM

Yeah! I agree!! And same with the Dragon Quest series!! I mean who cares that the slime is one of the most adorable and recognizable icons on the world of RPG!! They should just hire some guy to take chrono [which i admit is kinda just like EVERY character he's ever drawn] and make him look like some generic sephiroth, or wait... no I think it just wouldn't feel like chrono trigger anymore if they did that would it?

aj @ Aug 23rd 2008 7:56PM

There are more than two artists in the world.

(Though I really like Amano's stuff. Did you see the Sandman book he did with Neil Gaiman? )

Haohmaru @ Aug 24th 2008 12:28AM

If you don't like Toriyama's style, frankly this game is not for you - practically all of the game's visuals have his fingerprints all over them. Not only is he a fine cartoonist, but his rather vivid imagination also dreamed up most if not all of the various creatures in this title.

Puddles @ Aug 23rd 2008 5:13PM

I'm happy with the classic box art. I love Toriyama's designs, and I used to have the poster that came with the SNES game on my wall.

(Actually, I'm not sure that it's drawn by Toriyama, though it's in his style, and it's based on his character designs of course. It's common for other artists to emulate the style of the original character designer.)

Monodi @ Aug 23rd 2008 5:22PM

Oh what a shame, they did the same fire mistake.

Even though I like how it plays with the DS format. I really want this in my shelf!

Nick @ Aug 23rd 2008 5:27PM

Yeah the box art is cool, it's nice to see it's the exact same...but on one side you figure they would fix the marle fire thing, I never got why it was backwards in the art. I figured maybe that is how it was in japan, but i dont think so.

no one important @ Aug 23rd 2008 6:52PM

[url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Image:Fcbox1.jpg.html]Nope, the Japanese box art is different.[/url] And better.

no one important @ Aug 23rd 2008 6:57PM

Eww, I screwed that up. How do links work on this blog?

Nick @ Aug 23rd 2008 11:28PM

yeah i meant like, in the game maybe marle was fire based or something in japanese, but i'm not sure that was the case.

BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Aug 24th 2008 1:34AM

@no one important:
No BBcode.
No HTML.
Plain links only.

FINAL DESTINATION.

Gewurztraminer says: R.O.B. is the last Cylon! @ Aug 23rd 2008 7:35PM

My take on the whole fire/ice for Marle debacle is that this is probably some concept art that predates the in-game character sprites.

I mean, Crono never dons a cloak and Marle never changes out of her white, sleeveless outfit, even in winter climates, but, so what?

I always liked this piece because it actually conveys a lot of information to the player, even if it isn't 100% correct. Personally it would have been nice to see a different image, perhaps a different piece of concept art, but anything really *cool* that I could think of would potentially ruin timelines... er, plotlines... yeah, I meant plotlines.

Besides, it could always be worse;
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ea/MegamanBox.jpg

SephFinale @ Aug 23rd 2008 8:38PM

Hahaha, that boxart is cheesy though, so it's hilarious.

What's pissing me off in these comments is everyone saying how they dislike Toriyama's style of art and that the box art could use a redesign. Ask yourselves this: Can you even flippin' draw? God damn. :/

For the record, I can't draw. But I don't look at Toriyama's art and think "hideous". I look at crap MS Paint drawings that the artist believes is a masterpiece and think "kill it with fire".

aj @ Aug 23rd 2008 7:58PM

The box totally looks like an old '50s B-movie poster. Naturally, I enjoy it.

radioheaddickie @ Aug 23rd 2008 8:16PM

Since Marle and Chrono are executing a combo, maybe that's not a fireball. Could be some generic Akira Toriyama energy ray? I'm grasping at straws, I know.

Anyway -- 12,000 BC was always my favorite time. So it has my vote.

Ashe @ Aug 25th 2008 10:42AM

Sorry but SE was lazy on the box art. They really arent doing much to the game so the least they could have done was make nice box art. For instance something like this:
http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc15/Darkmessiah24/?action=view¤t=20001_chrono_trigger-orig.png

ardzeii @ Aug 23rd 2008 9:21PM

They could have put some more colors into it, you know...

elsng @ Aug 23rd 2008 9:41PM

I honestly would have liked completely new art specific to the DS version.

Red @ Aug 24th 2008 7:21PM

Agreed. I like the 'action shot' idea, but I'd have liked to have seen something that actually reflected the game: a time travel reference, the group beating up Magus, Lavos, anything. I'd settle for a background which had more vibrant colors than a snowfield filled with fifty shades of white.

I mean, they're obviously relying on nostalgia to move copies, but there's a difference (IMO) between something nostalgic and a no-effort port.

zerokku @ Aug 23rd 2008 10:29PM

I like having Akira Toriyama's art style on the box art. It's fitting. Better then them having nomura bastardize chrono into some effeminate cloud look a like.

TJF588 @ Aug 23rd 2008 11:08PM

They could have chosen a not-snow scene. Maybe that one with Crono, Lucca, and Robo against Magus?

Sorrow @ Aug 24th 2008 12:39AM

My problem with this is...there's no WiFi symbol on the box. The game has WiFi features built in, so is this really the final box art? Or are they gonna add that at the last minute?

BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Aug 24th 2008 1:35AM

I don't think it supports WFC, just local wireless.

Deadpool @ Aug 24th 2008 2:40AM

Wow SquareEnix I love Chrono Trigger! I knew you were listening to your fans when we said we wanted a remake. You really pushed yourself to remake this game to the highest level. I mean it looks better than Dragon Warrior 8....you totally out done yourself this time. If only all videogame developers worked as hard as you, we could have amazing looking games like this all the time. *end sarcasm*

Really SquareEnix? Did you even attempt to lift a finger to actually put effort in making an remake? With as much processing power in consoles these days you decided a proper remake would be suited for the DS? No offense everyone, I love the DS but I also expect remakes to be taken more seriously, especially a classic like Chrono Trigger. This is just a lazy way for them to make money. Now I understand this is good for people who have never played the game, but they can at least make a real console remake next to this game. Kinda like what they did for Bionic Commando.

Well....if they won't do it, do it yourself. Oh right! They'll sue.

http://www.opcoder.com/projects/chrono/news/

http://www.imeem.com/zerosandman/video/fv48nNKl/chrono_trigger_resurrection_videogames_video/

SephFinale @ Aug 24th 2008 8:14AM

They might be testing the waters with Chrono Trigger again to see how many people would be hyped for a third Chrono game.

Socks @ Aug 24th 2008 4:07AM

Yeah, that doesn't look all that good. And the logo looks like it's just been thrown on there. Odd spacing, too. Distinctive, at least.

Shuyin @ Aug 24th 2008 2:19PM

@SephFinale: Are u 12 yo? Saying one cannot criticize another's work if they cannot do it better themselves is something a kid would think. It's like saying: 'you have no right to say Uwe Boll is a bad director if u can't make a good movie yourself' or 'you have no right to say this game is bad (even if it is) because u cannot make a game yourself'. Does that seem right to you?

@zerokku: u seem to dislike Nomura as an artist because u think he makes effeminate males? I can see your point, i mean Auron, Barret, Cid Highwind, Laguna Loire, Wakka and Mr. 33cm, they all look like girls :P
Just because some of his characters look like females doesn't mean u have to generalize.

Regarding the box art, it seems there's no online play (if that indeed is the final box art). So it seems the 2 player arena mode will be wireless only.

Haohmaru @ Aug 24th 2008 7:36PM

Some of Nomura's characters have a number of oddly placed, seemingly purposeless zippers and/or buckles on their clothing. Some of them are adrogynous effeminate males. Some are both.

I still buy his games.

zerokku @ Aug 24th 2008 8:37PM

Yet how many distinct characters are there? And how many of those are main characters either? When it comes down to it, Nomura is a horrible character designer that reuses old faces and styles to a fault. I mean hell when I first saw the back to the box of KHII, I thought it was Denzel from Advent children, and had no idea it was Roxas. They look almost exactly the same. Look at the huge similarities between Sora, Neku, Squall, Advent children Cloud, and many others of his characters.

/Rant

S3ph @ Aug 30th 2008 12:03PM

Why did they have to put the friggin' toad on the boxart?! o_0

Nipah @ Sep 4th 2008 10:37PM

Because Magus sucks?

No seriously... The artwork is fine. Toriyama is fine. The fire? Ok... thats weird. BUT it is a snow level... hitting him with ice magic makes no sense... so swap Marle out with Lucca.

Or go with the Japanese boxart, which is just the characters standing around on a white background... oh, so much better. /sarcasm

The Doctor @ Aug 24th 2008 6:12PM

How could this box art be improved?

Arguments about dragonball dudes and fire/ice aside, I notice a significant lack of ninjas and objection shouting attorneys. Either would drastically improve both this boxart and the game I'm sure (though I haven't played it- the DS version will be my first)

TX2 @ Aug 24th 2008 7:58PM

Wrong wrong wrong. Crono should have his hand stretched out to the foreground. It's a DS game.

Saphion @ Aug 25th 2008 9:24AM

I'm surprised this has generated so many comments! Does it really matter? Does anyone really look at the cover art for more than a few minutes?

As someone from the UK who never got to experience the magic the first time around; I really don't give a damn about the box art. Just give me the blummin' game! Nom nom nom.

Shuyin @ Aug 25th 2008 12:21PM

@zerokku: Talking about how Nomura's characters look the same while u admit to liking Akira Toriyama's art style, is a sign of hypocrisy. You are a hypocrite because what you said, "Nomura is a horrible character designer that reuses old faces and styles to a fault" describes perfectly Akira Toriyama as an artist.
So if you think Nomura is a horrible artist due to that particular reason, then Akira is even more horrible, by the same logic, since that reason applies to him as well. Look @DQ, CT, DB, BD and everything Toriyama has ever worked on. I swear he uses the same characters with a palette swap and a few added lines here and there.

U could've said u just like Toriyama's style, but no, u had to bash Nomura and bring to the table an argument that applies even better to Toriyama. Not only you are a hypocrite, you also prove you have only one neuron.

Unfortunately, blogs like this make it possible for ppl like u to state their biased opinions. Sometimes, i wish there was a filter to sort the crap ppl say.

Blake @ Aug 25th 2008 9:23PM

Kinda silly looking cover if you ask me, but it seems they are going for the retro look. If they are trying to catch the attention of gamers who played this on their SNES and prompt a re-purchase then I think their plan will work.