Given its greatness, Chrono Trigger has amassed a horde of fans, enthusiasts, and eternal optimists who want at least a remaster of the game. Among these, I met a Youtuber who is not only a fan of the game but probably one of the biggest fans of this classic: Saulo Haikal. Saulo Haikal is my countryman, an incredibly charismatic Brazilian who produces several videos on his YouTube channel, OiSaulo, talking about curiosities, tips, characters backstory, easter eggs, and countless other information about Chrono Trigger that an ordinary fan, like me, would not even imagine exists. He is also spearheading the community effort to ask Square Enix for a remaster. There are several good reasons why he can speak on the topic with such authority. Saulo has the Japanese Ultimania of Chrono Trigger, a limited V-Jump collector’s edition of the game, at least eight physical versions of the game, and endless love for it, so he has sources to base his facts. He also had a turtle named Frog because it’s unusual to have a pet frog in such a tropical country. Our highly specialized RPG editorial team with PhDs in Roleplay Journalism from Oxford contacted Saulo, and he kindly allowed us to translate and transcribe some of the fantastic information he shares on his channel. Without further ado, get ready to read six Curiosities About Chrono Trigger.
The Number 57342
Do you know what is the number 57342 in Chrono Trigger? I certainly didn’t. Saulo showed that you could move through walls if you had a Game Genie or activated some small cheats in an emulator. Some chests are positioned behind walls, especially inside buildings and behind counters, if you haven’t noticed. Most of those chests are just decorative, but there’s one specific in Truce Inn 1000 AD that’s openable, and when you do open it, it gives you 57342G. 57342 is an oddly specific number, and that specificity contributed to a lot of fan theories. The most widespread one is about a connection with Konami. There’s a Japanese wordplay called Goroawase where you change numbers for phonemes and letters. So conspiracy-theory-fans did that, they changed the number 57342 for letters, and what was the result? Konami Shini, which translated from Japanese, means “Konami dead.” While unclear if that was instilled by a former Konami employee, a frustrated intern, or just an almost worrisome prank, it’s one of Chrono Trigger’s unsolved mysteries.
All The Items Have An Official Illustration
Ever imagined what the appearance of a Tonic or a Tent is? If you have a singular V-Jump Chrono Trigger version that was raffled back in the day and auctioned throughout the years so diehard fans could get one, you don’t have to imagine it. Akira Toriyama drew the entire item roster, from weapons, armors, accessories to items in a walkthrough book that came with that game version. Each drawing is more wonderful than the other and shows, even more, all the dedication and care that this stellar team has put into the game.
How Judges Define You’re Guilty or Not Guilty
Remember the crucial moment when Crono is at trial, even though Marle does her best to prevent it? The judges can vote guilty or not guilty, and if you ever questioned how they come to a decision, look down. I will separate the number by the judges’ order of appearance. Keep in mind that this doesn’t change the game outcome since you will always be condemned to execution. But the more judges in your favor, the more Ethers will be in your cell so you can unleash all your skills on that sneaky bastard Chancellor.
The Mysterious Wolflobe Sword
During the game, you may steal or win after battle an item called Wolflobe Sword, with the words scrambled all over themselves, but when you search in your inventory, there’s nothing there. This is nothing more than a glitch that haunted some players for a while before they knew it was a glitch. Wolflobe Sword is the name of Crono’s four first swords overlapping each other. Wooden Sword, Iron Sword, Lode Sword, and Red Katana. Saulo demonstrated in his video that if you put each sword’s name over the other, it looks a lot like Wolflobe Sword, a glitch enduring since Prehistory. Imagine the perplexity on people’s faces when the item dropped for the first time, they found nothing, and there was no internet to support their pleadings. A mystery almost greater than Pokémon’s MissingNo.
Frog Theme Song Was Originally Robo’s
One of the best theme songs in gaming history, one that represents the chivalry and heroic demeanor of Frog, a.k.a Glenn, the wielder of Masamune, a.k.a Grandleon, shockingly enough wasn’t the original. In the prerelease version of Chrono Trigger, players could explore different game sections using three fixed saved games. One of these saves takes us to the future, where we can race against Johnny and see Lucca repairing Robo after his family ostracizes him. When she does that, and Robo is reactivated, a symbolic theme starts to play, and it’s not the futuristic version of Never Gonna Give You Up - which by the way, great song as well - but it’s Frog’s official theme song. While uncertain if it was intended to be his theme or just a placeholder song for epic scenes, it sure is odd hearing it without the best amphibious swordsman on the screen.
Crono, The Uncle of Cats
You may have heard of this one, that Crono’s house can be inhabited by many kittens if you own cat food. But do you know the variables, how to get or lose cats, and when does the game event refresh to account for these variables? Master Saulo does. Crono starts the game with one cat at his house. If you go to the Tent of Horrors in Leene Square and win the 80 Silver Points minigame, you acquire a new cat, and if you play the minigame again, you will earn cat food. The 10 Silver Points minigame gets you 2 oz of cat food, the 40 points minigame gets you 10 oz of food, and the 80 gives you 24 oz. You can check how much cat food you have in Crono’s room. The easiest way to get Silver Points is by punching the giant pink robot called Gato - his name coincidentally means cat in some languages. Now come the variables. Every time you enter Leene Square, the first screen where there’s a fountain, the cats eat the food. The amount they eat varies from 0-3 oz. However, when you get a new cat on the house, another variable joins the play. The newcomer cat can eat from 2 to 200 oz of food in one go! Damn, talk about a lion appetite. And if you enter Leene Square while there’s no food left, there’s a 4% to 35% chance a cat will abandon you. But if you have food, there’s a possibility of 0% to 77% a new cat will show up, with the chances decreasing with each new cat that pops. You can have up to 11 cats, 6 in the living room and 5 in Crono’s room. They vary in color, but the eleventh is purplish, just like Janus’ cat. And what do I achieve from becoming a cat uncle? Aside from the genuine love of many purrty felines, the one ending where the cats jump into the time portal and Crono’s mom behind them changes according to the number of cats you had at the moment. Curiously enough, they all have the same yellow fur in this instance, but it’s neat to know the game has so many tiny details and events that change most outcomes. Definitely, Chrono Trigger was a game ahead of its time and deserving of all its love. Maybe if I wrote this piece earlier, this could have changed its position in my RPG list.
