One step closer to Chrono Trigger: the boxart

Posted Aug 23rd 2008 3:02PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News

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

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

8-23-2008 @ 3:25PM

CJC said...

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.

8-23-2008 @ 3:27PM

Kimiko said...

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.

8-24-2008 @ 12:49AM

Ashkental said...

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...

8-24-2008 @ 1:27AM

BPMOmega [gamertag] said...

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]

8-24-2008 @ 3:17PM

WiiFTW said...

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.

8-23-2008 @ 3:27PM

Haohmaru said...

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.

8-23-2008 @ 3:29PM

Haohmaru said...

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

8-23-2008 @ 3:35PM

Kimiko said...

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.

8-23-2008 @ 3:44PM

xeleion said...

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

8-23-2008 @ 3:53PM

RupeeClock said...

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

8-23-2008 @ 7:01PM

Alisha Karabinus said...

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

Me, I think it's a little lazy.

8-23-2008 @ 3:56PM

chibi_wings said...

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.

8-23-2008 @ 4:30PM

Matt G. said...

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.

8-23-2008 @ 4:41PM

Katotetu said...

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.

8-23-2008 @ 5:10PM

mauroh said...

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?

8-23-2008 @ 7:56PM

aj said...

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? )

8-24-2008 @ 12:28AM

Haohmaru said...

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.

8-23-2008 @ 5:13PM

Puddles said...

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.)

8-23-2008 @ 5:22PM

Monodi said...

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!

8-23-2008 @ 5:27PM

Nick said...

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.

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