The PC version of Chrono Trigger, which was released on Steam back in 2018, has just received its first update in four years, and it’s a surprisingly substantial one, with the highlight being that the pixel-based, 1995 JRPG is now properly playable on ultra-wide displays.
Fittingly for this game, before we get to today’s news, we’re going to go back in time for a minute. When this particular version of Chrono Trigger first dropped back in February 2018, it was a mess. While mostly comprised of the recent DS edition of the game, it also had the awful “HD” graphics from the phone release, and all kinds of busted little touches like menu prompts leftover from touchscreen versions.
To Square Enix’s credit, they spent the next few months fixing most of these issues, and by the middle of 2018 what was left was a fine, if not perfect version of the SNES classic. You’d expect the game to then just sit there forever, ticking over sales, so seeing a major update drop out of nowhere four years later is a big surprise.
The main thing it adds is that 21:9 support, which you can see in this Japanese trailer for the update below:
I don’t know what it is about this that has me so excited. Ultra-widescreen support is fairly common in PC games these days (and mods of older games too), so it’s not the resolution itself. I guess it’s just the fact that not only is this really wide, it’s official (instead of requiring mods or emulation), which is a nice touch from a major publisher for a release like this.
In addition to the 21:9 support there are also “improved directional pad controls”, some UI improvements and an increase in the number of save slots.
You can see the full patch notes below:
Updated Features
Full-screen now available:
Up to 21:9 ratio full-screen display.
Screen Mode added.
Improved Controls
Improved directional pad controls.
Improved directional pad design to make it easier to see.
An exclamation point will now display for an interaction prompt such as Talk.
Changed the size of the target marking dungeon entrances, etc. to make them easier to see.
Improved the event areas to make it easier to clear when using touch controls.
Small additional control adjustments.
Improved Battles
Battle Speed for Auto Battles increased by x1.5.
Automatically continue with Auto Battle selected for the next battle.
Battle Speed adjustment possible from MENU.
Additional features:
Available save slots increased to 20 slots.
Small bugs have been fixed.
