Footage from an early build of Chrono Trigger. Found on a tape with various footage from the V-jump Festival in 94.

Announcer: Square’s newest creation, Chrono Trigger! With an introduction by Mr. Kazuhiko Aoki and Mr. Hironobu Sakaguchi!

Kazuhiko Aoki: Mr. Toriyama designed the characters, monsters, and the look of each era. Mr. Horii did the scenarios, and Mr. Sakaguchi was in charge of the entire system. Our desire to make a completely new RPG resulted in the creation of Chrono Trigger.

Announcer: The meaning of Chrono Trigger is “time trigger.” This epic game was born from the collective dream of Akira Toriyama, Yuuji Horii, and Hironobu Sakaguchi. Passing through a variety of eras from the past, present, and future, it is a story of a fight against monumental evil. With its recurring themes of light and shadow, the game is partly characterized by the never-before-seen depth of its beautiful visuals.

Players can soar on the wings of time in the time machine designed by Mr. Toriyama. Player and monster characters can attack while moving around during battle. The magic effects are more impressive than in Final Fantasy VI. The enemies are many and varied, ranging from small monsters to powerful giants!

Now to introduce the characters. With a Japanese blade and a hint of the Orient, our protagonist, Chrono! The bowgun-wielding Marle! The spin-kicking, club-carrying, fist-fighting Ayla! The skilled swordsman, Frog! Our hero’s advisor, the talented inventor, Lucca! The strong and dependable battler, Robo!

And now, Mr. Sakaguchi, Mr. Horii, and Mr. Aoki take the stage! Let’s listen as these three spill the secrets behind the creation of Chrono Trigger!

Hironobu Sakaguchi: Around two years ago we travelled to America to do some research, checking out the latest in computer graphics. I ended up travelling together with Mr. Horii and Mr. Toriyama. During the trip we decided that we wanted to create something together, something that no one had done before. We were really naive…

Yuuji Horii: We got all fired up about it. Normally you’d think things would have ended there, that we wouldn’t have been so excited…

*laughing*

Hironobu Sakaguchi: That’s right, we were really enthusiastic about it. Just talking about it was really exciting. However, once we decided we were going to do it for sure, we spent a year or a year and a half thinking about all the difficulties we’d encounter. We had almost given up when we received word from the producer, Mr. Aoki. He said “No, if you’re going to talk like that, please ask me. I definitely want to help make it happen.” Was it difficult, Mr. Aoki?

Kazuhiro Aoki: My life was made considerably more difficult thanks to this project.

Hironobu Sakaguchi: We were staying together too.

Kazuhiro Aoki: That’s right, one year ago, wasn’t it? Packed like sardines… It was hard. We started thinking about what kind of game we should make… This type, that type… Four whole days we spent…