Final Fantasy Chronicles is a compilation of Square's role-playing video games Final Fantasy IV (1991) and Chrono Trigger (1995), released for the North American Sony PlayStation on July 2, 2001. TOSE ported both titles from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System; each had been previously released as individual Japanese PlayStation ports in 1997 (Final Fantasy IV) and 1999 (Chrono Trigger). Several bonus features were added to each game, such as art galleries, bestiaries, and cutscenes—including computer-generated imagery full motion video used at the beginning of Final Fantasy IV and anime scenes used throughout Chrono Trigger. Conversely, reviewers sharply criticized "long and frequent loading" between areas and battles due to poor emulation.
Gameplay
In Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger, the player controls a set of characters, closely following the role-playing video game genre. The methods of viewing and controlling the characters are separated by three different "screens": the overworld, where the characters traverse to different locations; the field map, where the characters explore locations such as towns and dungeons; and the battle screen, where the characters fight with monsters or other enemies. Each character is balanced through certain strengths and weaknesses; for instance, a strong magic user may have low defense, while a physical fighter may have low agility.
Chrono Trigger
Chrono Triggers gameplay deviates from traditional role-playing games in that, rather than random encounters, most enemies are openly visible on field maps or lie in wait to ambush the party. Contact with enemies on a field map initiates a battle that occurs directly on the field map itself rather than on a separate battle screen. Chrono Trigger uses an updated form of the Active Time Battle introduced in Final Fantasy IV, with additions such as "Techs" that rely on enemy positioning and abilities of characters. Other features are the employment of time travel and a "New Game Plus" option.
Development
Final Fantasy Chronicles features two previously released ports by TOSE; Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger were released separately, and IV was re-released as a part of Final Fantasy Collection, all published in Japan. Chronicles was designed and directed by Kazuhiko Aoki, supervised by Fumiaki Fukaya, and produced by Akihiro Imai. These were removed in the Final Fantasy Chronicles version, and the game was re-localized, achieving a script closer Takashi Tokita's original scenario. Chrono Trigger, released in 1995, was already localized by Ted Woolsey, but the Final Fantasy Chronicles version has additional modifications. Final Fantasy Chronicles was announced by Square Electronic Arts in April 2001. President Jun Iwasaki mentioned an "overwhelming number" of requests to re-release Chrono Trigger, and believed the compilation of it and Final Fantasy IV would "appeal to fans of the original games and introduce a new generation of gamers to some of our classic titles".<!--
Stuff on E3 needed
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--> An event was held on July 10 in San Francisco, primarily to celebrate the film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and release of Final Fantasy Chronicles. It featured a cosplay contest, a memorabilia raffle, and booths to play Final Fantasy Chronicles and Final Fantasy X.
Music from Final Fantasy Chronicles is a set of two separately released compact discs published by TokyoPop. Final Fantasy IV Official Soundtrack and Chrono Trigger Original Soundtrack were both released on August 21, 2001. Final Fantasy IV Official Soundtrack is nearly the same release as Final Fantasy IV: Original Sound Version, the soundtrack album for the original game, except that the songs were rerecorded by TOSE, resulting in minor differences, some song titles were slightly changed, and a 45th track was added, "Theme of Love (Arranged)", which had previously only been released as a piano version on the second track of Piano Collections Final Fantasy IV. This release has the catalog number TPCD 0210–2, and its 45 tracks had a length of 62 minutes. Chrono Trigger Original Soundtrack was the corresponding album for Chrono Trigger. The album was heavily based on Chrono Trigger Original Soundtrack, the soundtrack album for the PlayStation release of Chrono Trigger; the first 21 tracks of the album out of 25 were identical to Chrono Trigger Original Soundtrack, while the next three tracks corresponded to tracks 22, 23, and 29 of the Original Soundtrack and the final track was the same as the first track of Brink of Time, an arranged album of Chrono Trigger music. The album is 1:13:03 long, and has a catalog number of TPCD 0209–2. In addition to the albums, a strategy guide for Final Fantasy Chronicles written by Dan Birlew and was published by BradyGames on July 2, 2001.