Let's examine the alternatives. Okay, so it's only $10 on eBay for the PS1 remake, sure, but how many people still have a PSOne laying around? How many of you own a PS2? Great, you have a PS2, but do you have a PSOne memory card? There's too much old tech needed here for that version of the game.
What about the original SNES version? Okay, do you still have the console? Chrono Trigger on the SNES still fetches between $20 and $50 on eBay, plus the cost of a SNES, which is around $30, all said and done. When you look at the Sony alternatives, the cost of a PSOne or PS2, plus the required memory card, and then the game, you're looking at around the same cost. When viewed this way, the DS really is the best alternative.
Fine, so Square Enix is kind of doing a lazy man's port, slapping few extras in and calling it a day. Whatever. That's no big deal at all because it's Chrono Trigger. Why fix what ain't broke? It's one of the greatest games of all time, pretty much the best RPG ever made and it's releasing on a portable system.
And, in some instances, these few extras could be a big benefit to the game. Alisha mentions the stylus navigation for the menus, which I think is a major improvement (should make navigation smoother and faster, allowing you to get to the game, which is why you're there in the first place). Also, an extra dungeon sounds good to me. It's not like Square Enix had to include that.
In the end, when you compare the prospect of enjoying the game on the systems it released in the past and the upcoming DS release, it seems like an easy call. Releasing the title on a portable system? Chrono Trigger DS anywhere, at anytime? Sign me up!
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