December 25th, 2010
Posted in 
“Good Morning Chrono!”
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||
| Square |  |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Square | |||
| Square | Cartridge | Disc | SquareEA | |||||||||
| RPG | Stereo | Stereo | RPG | |||||||||
| Release: 03/11/95 | 1 Sec | 6 Sec | Release: 06/29/01 | |||||||||
| ESRB: K to A | Yes | No | ESRB: Teen | |||||||||
 |
 |
|
Retro Head2Head: Chrono Trigger
Note: Load times were left in some spots to show the differences between the two versions. |
|
 |
||||
“Good Morning Chrono!” Welcome back for a very special retro Head2Head! This one features arguably the greatest RPG of all time, and that our friends, is Chrono Trigger! Just mention its name to anyone who grew up in the SNES era and you’re likely to receive a gigantic smile in return–not to mention a few good stories about how much fun they had playing it. Today we’re going to show you the differences between the original SNES version, and its port over to Sony’s Playstation console. So don’t waste another second, come on in and see which version walks away the winner of this timeless battle!
How we captured: Both of these games were captured in their absolute original state using S-Video cables. The Gamecube and Playstation 2 S-Video cables work perfect on these two earlier systems. As always in our retro Head2Heads, both original systems were used.
Graphics/Sound: There isn’t much difference in either the graphics or sound categories. Chrono Trigger was originally released in 1995 on the SNES, and it’s safe to say that the more powerful Sony Playstation handled emulating the graphics perfectly. If anything, our rollover pics show the PS1 looking a tad sharper. Once again these two were captured at default capture settings; meaning that tweaking the sharpness on your T.V. set just a little, should render the graphics in both versions identical.
As for the sound, you would think the PS1 Disc would have blown the SNES cart out of the water, but the truth is each version sounds identical. This is most likely due to the fact that the PS1 is just emulating the SNES Cart so no upgrades were made. Remember, sometimes big things come in small packages and this holds true for the tiny SNES Cart which sports 24 megs of memory. It is important to note that the Playstation version featured a few animated cut scenes spread throughout the game. These scenes were not in the original SNES release and were actually impossible on the system.
Performance/Controls: Again, not much to report here. Both the SNES and PS1 Versions have identical controls. Chrono Trigger is a true masterpiece. However, there’s not much going on in-game that would cause slowdown or any other performance issues. This gives us our second tie in a category in our Head2Head.
Loading: The loading category was the deciding factor with these two versions of Chrono Trigger. It’s unfortunate that the system with the cool new added cut scenes preformed so poorly with the load times. The Playstation on average took around 6 seconds to load a battle, a new area, and even bringing up your menu. These long load times are unacceptable and really take the awesome experience of Chrono Trigger down a notch. You know load times are bad when while playing, you fear accidentally pressing the Triangle button because of them. Here are a few samples of the load time we saw during our capture:
Load Times:
| Sample Load Times | SNES Load Times | PS1 Load Times |
Entering the first characters name: Entering a town from the world map: Entering a new area from within a town: Entering a battle to the time of command input: Entering the menu screen: |
Sample 1: 1 secs Sample 2: 1 secs Sample 3: 1 secs Sample 4: 2 secs Sample 5: 1 secs |
Sample 1: 9 secs Sample 2: 7 secs Sample 3: 3 secs Sample 4: 6 secs Sample 5: 5 secs |
| Sample Averages: |
Average: 1.2 seconds |
Average: 6.0 Seconds |
Rollover the image to see the differences.
Rollover the image to see the differences.
Rollover the image to see the differences.
Rollover the image to see the differences.
Rollover the image to see the differences.
Rollover the image to see the differences.
Conclusion, Technical Score, 2 Videos, and Staff Choice on Page 2.
Pages: 1 2
Tags: 
Looks like santa conveniently forgot to leave you the truly best version of Chrono Trigger for Nintendo DS…
why would you ever want to play a gem like this on a 3 inch screen? Your one of the people that never owned a SNES? Oh yea, I might be wrong about this but I don’t remember the Nintendo DS out around the same time frame of the SNES and PS. Just saying.
Exactley Rudesole. Who in their right mind would rather play this gem on a 3 inch screen over either the PS or the SNES versions?
Not me. Games on the DS should never come into play in one of these retros. Squinting sucks, you always need batteries and the game was released in 2008. I’ll take the SNES version any day over either the ps or ds versions thanks.
It was built for the SNES, so if you want the authentic retro version go with the SNES. Waaaayyy faster load times too. The PS1 looks like its graphics were slightly brighter, but not significant enough to make it the better looking game. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what console you play it on, just check it out! lol
DS? Okay then. Anyway I agree with giving this win to the SNES. I remember the load times on the PS1 sucking terribly. Only thing is its tough to find the SNES version. I hope this comes out on the Wii VC at some point but I doubt it will.
I love this retro H2H’s, give me more
One of my fav games right here. Great H2H!
Gotta agree with the verdict. I own both versions and the load times on the PS1 are brutal. It is just fine for those who don’t have one of the rare SNES copies, but the origional is the way to go if you have the option.
Merry Christmas indeed!
I voted SNES. Frankly because back then, on a standard TV, we wouldn’t have been able to see the slightly more crisp “textures” on the ps1. And load times are also what sealed the deal.
This game is a truly masterpiece and mileage in videogame history and I think it’s perfect!
Yes, it have no flaws! I can’t say any. It is just perfect. No other game is that polished and that perfect.
A masterpiece on every level.
I compared the SNES and NDS Versions and decided to play it on the NDS because the text was much better. So it would be nice to the a 3 some comparisons with the superior NDS Version.
SNES for the win!
What is the point of doing H2H between a cartridge and a disc based game? Obviously the SNES would win this comparison. Load times will almost always be faster on a cartridge.
This is a completely biased H2H. The fact that the developers intentionally ported this with the intentions of keeping the same graphics/performance (rather then trying to exceed them which the PS1 could have easily done)… obviously would lead to a tie in those categories. It’s as if you specifically chose this game to encourage the outcome. Why not do a retro H2H on Street Fighter Alpha 2 to see the difference between a PS1/SNES game. I’m sure the outcome would be different.
Between the 2010 exclusive article and this H2H… such obvious bias just hurts LoT’s credibility IMO.
really? my mind just took a shit reading this
oh and the H2H on alpha 2 would be between saturn and snes. not ps1, because even the H2H between sat/ps1 saturn would win. FMV intro? really? these are opinions not biases.. but they seem to be biased if they dont agree with you.
FMV intro? Where did I mention that? What comment are you reading?
The point of my comment, in case you were not able to grasp it, was that LoT took a game that would clearly win on the SNES and compared it to a PS1 port. For what purpose? It’s unfair to compare the two versions because the cartridge would always win with loading, rendering that category useless. The game was meant to be equal in graphics and performance, which would lead to a tie. And obviously the cartridge would win loading. The winner was clear even before the H2H, so why even do a H2H.
Me mentioning the Street Fighter Alpha 2 H2H was a stab at the unfairness of this H2H. Even the so called “inferior” PS1 version (by your standards) would clearly beat the SNES version… so what would be the point of the comparison between the two.
Robbie, you have proven once again that you are definitely an insecure fanboy. Is there really a need to defend the PS1 version of Chrono Trigger, an 11 year old game, so ferociously other then the fact that you worship an electronics company to the point of retardation?
“The winner was clear” you say. The PS1 Chrono has FMV. Did the system do any upgrading to the games graphics? How bad is the loading? Has anything changed at all? Does anything justify a PS1 purchase of the game? Not everyone knows these things about the two games, yet you are saying this H2H is pointless and are defending the PS1 saying LOT is clearly making the system look bad. Why in the f*ck would LOT want to make the PS1 look bad? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?
And please, never ask for a PS1 vs Sega Saturn Street Fighter anything h2h because the PS1 stands NO CHANCE at all. I am a fanboy of no system but the Saturn would completely demolish the PS1 in any 2D h2h you put it against, especially SF. But I’m sure you would find something LOT is doing to deliberately make Sony look bad. thats just pathetic.
ha, i was talking about alpha 2 on ps1 had a weird FMV intro while saturns was arcade style.
the point is the same game is on 2 different systems, and its just a fun an interesting thing to see. i would have loved these back when i was really into cross platform comparisons in the dcartridge days. i still do my own comparisons at home on my classics.
just because its been ported to a newer more powerful system does not make it better. example, EVERY neo geo title on ps2 sucks. (98 ultimate was sweet though) and thats comparing cartridges to dvd.
i even think mario 64 on ds was better than n64. and thats comparing cartridge to a postage stamp
@ Hal Jordan…
Fanboy huh… yet another term used loosely. If you cannot grasps the concept of a fanboy then you should not use the term. A fanboy is someone who blindly likes/dislikes something without reason or logic. Nowhere in my comment did I mention any like/dislike towards either PS1 or SNES… so exactly where did you come up with me being a fanboy other than your own idiocy? My point was/is that it is pointless to compare a cartridge based game to a disc based port… because it renders 1 of the 3 categories useless by default (carts have practically no loading).
Oh, and performance wise… the only difference between any of the 2D fighting games lies in the Saturn’s use of it’s RAM cart… which not everyone owned and not every game utilized. Without it, the versions were pretty much identical. In regards to Street Fighter Alpha 2, I do not think it made use of the RAM cart… and the only difference between the PS1/Saturn versions are the audio soundtrack and 3 extra characters in the Saturn version. Stating that the Saturn would DEMOLISH the PS1 in any 2D H2H makes you sound like a fanboy, especially when you factor in that the use of the RAM cart is optional/not always available. It’s clear you did not think before you made such an asinine statement.
@ SushiBallz…
I agree with you… porting games to a more powerful platform doesn’t automatically make it better… especially porting from one media type to another (i.e. cart to disc) because of their inherent differences. The differences are so spread out that it is unfair to either IMO.
saturn’s physical memory without expansion was built for 2d. playstation was built for 3d. both systems were not perfect, but playstation’s ports had fewer frames of animation, and sometimes stiff controls. loss of background animation, and compressed audio.
again, facts that have been proven for years, not my opinion.
BUT, they did have good ports. not great ones, but i DO own alpha 3 on psx, and sf collection 2.. and darkstalkers since it was only on that.
alpha 3 was great on ps1, with its slightly smaller sprites. but it doesnt make me love the dreamcast version any less.
ha, i said “dreamcast.” i meant “saturn..” but i do own 5 different versions of alpha 3
Just because ones a cartridge based game and one is a disc based game doesn’t mean the load times are going to be terrible. Square Enix is well known to have extremely sloppy ports of their games to other systems. Chrono Trigger, FF5, and FF6 on PSX are three examples with each game suffering from poor load times. Final Fantasy 4 Advance JPN and US versions suffer from tons of lag when any spell is cast and when there is more than three enemies on screen and any attack is done, plus all the other bugs like characters taking multiple turns in a row, etc.
However, Final Fantasy 4 on the PSX is a well done port. Avoiding the changes from hard type/us type/easy type and judging based on load times, FF4 on the PSX has almost the exact same load times as the SNES version, and if there are any differences then it’s minor, possibly a second at most.
If you’ve played games on the PSP like the Smackdown vs Raw games, the load times are easily 30 seconds to a minute. Ys Ark of Napishtim, ported by Konami to both PS2 and PSP, on a fat PSP is 10-15 seconds(which after that Falcom stated they’ll port all their own games.)
Then look at games like Ys Oath in Felghana. The PSP version has no load times. When changing screens it’s instant. Ys7 has fast load times. The Uncharted games on the PS3 have no load times after the initial loading. Half Minute Hero also has no load times after the initial Hero/Princess/Warrior/Evil Lord mode is chosen.
It all depends on how well the game was developed/ported. Sometimes you have developers that are just trying to push their games out and make a buck, while a lot of developers really put a lot of work into their games.
Im mad at myself ive never buckled down and palyed this game. Seems like its pretty daunting, like most of these old RPGs. Ive never beaten a Final Fantasy too because i kept dying. But I feel lesss of a gamer for never playing and/or beating this game.
You should totally try this one out. Don’t feel to worried about dying all the time. This game really isn’t that hard to play. It is just a really fun and massive RPG experience for its time, with a great story to boot. Certainly not as hard as the old Final Fantasy titles, but for some reason I have played and beaten this game more times than I can count.
I think Chrono Trigger is good for both systems. While the PSX version does have long load times, it’s not unbearable. While the SNES version does win in all accounts, atleast the PSX version makes up for it with a very nice bonus section.
The bonus section on Chrono Trigger is like an in game strategy guide. It has literally everything there is in the game. It has every single map in the game aside from a couple that don’t have items inside, all the music which includes unreleased music, all enemy data, all equipment available, all techs who can use them and what the requirements are, etc. I was amazed when I picked up the PSX version and saw that, I sat there looking through everything.
Anyways. I think Lens of Truth should do a H2H for FF4 PSX/SNES. Doing a H2H of only Chrono Trigger is giving FF Chronicles a bad name. Atleast doing a H2H with FF4 it should probably come up with a tie, unless of course you count that terrible FMV movie as a performance issue. The load times on FF4 for PSX are almost exact the same as the SNES game, being one second off at most.
I agree with robbie on one thing. Saying that the saturn version of a 2d game would demolish the ps1 version is foolish, because lot does *out of the box* head to head comparisons. The 4meg cart DID NOT come with the games that needed it to play, and I dont even think they could be played without it, making the saturn version an instant LOSS vs the ps1 version.
Secondly, the games that *did not* need the 4 ram cart, were identical to their ps1 counter parts. Darkstalkers (ps1) and Nightwarriors (saturn) were the same. Puzzle fighter were the same. The street figher alpha games were the same.
Funny thing though, castlevania symphony of the night, looked like GARBAGE on the saturn, the system with supposedly better 2d graphics.
As an aside, I own xmen vs street fighter, marvel vs street fighter, and samurai spirits 3 and 4 on saturn, all games that use the 4meg cart, so I have some personal experience on the issue.
First, the only way X-Men vs. Street Fighter could be played on the Saturn was with the 4-meg RAM cart and that WAS included with the game in the box. You could get each the 4-meg cart & XMvsSF separately but X-Men will NOT work without it (you know, kind of like a PS3 game that REQUIRES a mandatory install, the 4meg cart is mandatory). At least Sega knew how pointless the game would be without being able to switch characters, and decided to give players a real arcade experience and not a half a$$ed one like the version on the PS1. I would love for LOT to do this h2h and you would see the Saturn version smash the sad sad ps1 version.
As far as the other 2D fighters that don’t need the RAM cart your wrong again PS3RON. It is well known that Capcom heavily favored the Saturn because it was so close in architecture to their CPS-2 arcade system. If a h2h was done, on say Alpha 1, I would bet the PS1 loses in loading, sound, and I’m even going to say that the characters were bigger and more arcade looking on the SS then the PS1. SS would win in any 2D fighter matched against the PS1, and win in a landslide.
LOT, please do a ps1 vs SS h2h on a Capcom fighter because I would love to know the details on each system. I would also love to see the Saturn get the respect it deserves. I have to agree with you on Castlevania: SOTN though. The Saturn had some extra areas but I’m pretty sure the Graphics and loading were inferior to the PS1. Okay, I admit I am a bit of a Saturn fanboy (a system that has been dead for 13 years) but I still know when to admit when it would lose. With Capcom games and against the PS1, the SS would never lose.
you are 100% right but you will never convince a psx fanboy.. instead of making my points, i will just agree.
games without the 4mg ram cart is identical huh? play children of the atom and say that again with a straight face
the point is well documented all over the net too, its not just our opinion. every site, every review, its no secret. but so what… its just 2d fighters.. a market so small we had to import them games.. besides, you got the better tomb raider. lol
Oh and vampire savior, I have that on the saturn as well. Boad could use an edit feature so we can avoid double posting.
Hey guys. As far as retro Head2Heads go and just off the top of my head I would have to agree with Hal and Sushi that the Saturn was built with Capcom’s CPS-2 Arcade system in mind, and that the PS1 versions of most Capcom 2D Fighters are short a few animations. I will not say this is a fact but I do remember seeing that in a few different places. The only way to know for sure would be to do a retro Head2Head on one.
But which one? You guys tell us which one and we’ll gladly get on it. Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, or Street Fighter Alpha 3 (unless you guys want a different 2D Fighter?). Alpha 3 on the Saturn required the 4 Meg RAM Cart to play and was pretty close to Arcade Perfect if I’m not mistaken, so that one would be a little unfair (I think). Alpha 3 (SS vs. DC) would be a close one but I still think the Saturn would take it.
The original Alpha and Alpha 2 should be very close (PS1 vs. SS) and I’m interested in seeing which one would come out on top (if any). Also PS3RON, SushiBallz, Hal Jordan, anyone, let us know if there are any other retro Head2Heads you want to see and we’ll check if we have the games. Castlevania: Synmphony of the Night is one we could 100% get done. I do think I already know the winner to that one(PS1)but I’ve never seen them side-by-side. Oh and nice job mentioning Tomb Raider SushiBallz. That’s one we haven’t thought of but would cool to check out. I own the PS1 version but need to pick up the SS version which wouldn’t be a problem.
Let us know guys and thanks for the comments!
well since the 4meg ram cart came with the games that needed it, and just plugged in without altering the system i dont see why its a prohlwm, but it is unfair.
alpha 1 was a close match (jap saturn controller rocks)alpha 2 i remember psx having a bizarre intro animation, saturn having mote characters.. so these 2 in a retro h2h would be cool to see. its been a while since i actually cared about em.
symphonies would be cooler to see.
Yeah i mispoke when i stated the games didnt come with the 4meg cart, it’s just that i didn’t buy them ALL with the 4meg cart because i didnt need like, 5 or 6 4meg carts just sitting around doing nothing. the one that i have works for all the games.
I just think a comparison between the 4meg cart games and the ps1 counterparts would be unfair because it’s obvious which would win. It’d almost be like comparing sonic cd to sonic 1 genesis.
I had tomb raider on saturn first but now own the ps1 version. I remember hearing tomb raider was a saturn exclusive and it somehow got to be on playstation first and then saturn.
Ooh, do wipeout.
Ewww, now I know why my response isn’t showing, it’s under board moderation.
DOH!
I’ll be the first to admit I get a bit too passionate about these topics. The point of the post that isn’t showing up on the boards due to moderation, is that
A: The non 4meg cart 2d fighters for saturn are only slightly better then their ps1 counterparts, it’s not a “landslide” victory.
B: It’s retarded to accuse me of being a ps1 fanboy considering I spent 80 dollars plus on EACH of the imported SATURN games I own. I NEVER spent that much cash on a ps1 game.
I just think hal and sushi are blowing the saturn’s 2d superiority (for the NON 4meg cart games) out of the water, similar to how people act regarding ps3 vs xbox comparisons when one of the slightly beats out the other. Same shit different consoles.