Chrono Trigger was released on Steam today, seemingly out of nowhere. Being one of my favorite games of all time, I was more than happy to give it another go. I own just about every iteration of Chrono Trigger: SNES, Super Famicom, PSone, and the DS version. The only ones I never bothered with were the mobile and e-shop releases, because other than Steam releases, I tend to avoid digital games. Unfortunately, this version of Chrono Trigger is a port of the mobile version that isn't optimized for PC. They kept the mobile UI (and font), which is completely unnecessary on a version with no touchscreen.
What's the point of having touchscreen buttons on the screen if they're useless? For a mobile version, I understand having those there for ease of use, but on a platform where you'll be using a physical controller and/or keyboard, it makes no sense to have this junk cluttering up the screen. This seems to be a recurring issue with Square Enix, as they also took the same lazy porting route with Romancing SaGa 2, and a half-hearted remake of their classic Secret of Mana, which was disappointing for reasons I elaborated upon in a previous post: https://steemit.com/gaming/@scratchpoint/s44s2vzd
Square Enix doesn't seem to put much care or effort into their old IPs that could easily print money for them if done correctly. For some players, this might be their first experience with the game, and a sub par release doesn't do it justice. As for players who already have experienced it and still own other versions, there's no reason to bother with another version if it is inferior to one that they've already paid for. If you're going to release the same game, make an effort to improve it, or at the very least make it competent so it is worth paying for.
Ironically enough, the only old property Square Enix still puts care into is Dragon Quest, which wasn't even theirs until the merger with Enix. It's unfortunate to see such poor treatment of some truly classic games from the very company that created them.
While the SNES version of Chrono Trigger is hard to come by, there are still some less pricey ways to experience it, such as the DS and PSone versions:
DS: http://amzn.to/2CNOKhr
PSone: http://amzn.to/2CM0SQk
If you enjoyed Chrono Trigger in the past, or are a new player looking to experience it for the first time, these are the options that I would recommend, though the DS version is the better choice overall between the two. From what I have read, it seems a lot of people are unhappy with the port, so perhaps there's a very slim chance SE will listen to feedback. Until then, get your fill of this time traveling adventure elsewhere.
Square Enix's response to the backlash for their lazy port:
