'Chrono Trigger' releases on Steam, disappoints gamers with font and UI

Square Enix has surprised gamers by dropping its timeless classic “Chrono Trigger” on Steam. For only US$14.99 (AU$19.24), those who still haven’t played the game (and those who want re-play it) would be able to experience what is perhaps one of the best JRPGs ever released. Or so they thought.

As of this writing, the game currently sits at a Mostly Negative rating on Steam. Most of the complaints focus on the game's appearance, said to be different from what made it so well-loved when it released on the SNES in 1995. Reviewers point out that the user interface and the font look out-of-place against the overall look. The tiles are said to be more noticeable this time around, too.

The reason for this drastic difference in visuals is that Square Enix apparently released a port of "Chrono Trigger" for mobile. “A very lazy port of the mobile version of the game,” a reviewer wrote on Steam. “The tap overlay is still there as if you should be clicking it with a mouse even when you play with a gamepad.”

Game developer Fred Wood has posted a series of tweets explaining the differences between an emulated version and the PC version.

This isn’t the first time Square Enix released a port of a game’s mobile version. In 2015, gamers were also disappointed when the PC version of “Final Fantasy VI” came with washed-out sprites and a completely new font.

The Steam version of “Chrono Trigger” contains two extra dungeons, which also appeared in the Nintendo DS and mobile versions of the game. It also comes with a new autosave feature and digital bonuses for those who purchase a copy until April 2 US time.