“Green Dream is a New Chrono Trigger Fandub for the Timeless Masterpiece”

The year is 2024. If you’re reading this, you have undoubtedly already heard of Chrono Trigger. You don’t need me to tell you about it. By this point in time, its reputation speaks for itself. Chrono Trigger has been met with incredible critical and fan reception since its initial launch on Super Nintendo/Super Famicom back in 1995. It remains one of the most sought after JRPGs in the retro aftermarket. It frequently tops lists of best games of all time and best RPGs. It is often cited for its smooth gameplay, lack of grinding and random battles, and unique and creative storyline(s). Now, Chrono Trigger is receiving a brand new fandub called Green Dream.

Masterminded by @ChronoKatie with a dedicated crew and sprawling cast of voice talent, Green Dream promises creativity and authenticity, presenting the beloved game that you cannot forget in a whole new light. The trailer, which launched 4/22/24, offers up a sampling of the voices for memorable characters, yes, including Crono himself!

In the past, fan projects have been the targets of publishers protecting their IP so it’s important to stress that Green Dream is a non-profit project and there will be no distribution of mods, ROMs, or Chrono Trigger the game in any fashion. Green Dream is more like Chrono Trigger: the movie. It’s important for the creators of Green Dream to avoid infringing upon Square Enix’s rights, ownership, or sales of Chrono Trigger in any way, shape, or form. The lengthy cinematic will cover every major scene and sequence in the game, with optional content and decision making potentially opened up to the public. Should Crono eat the chicken?

It’s no secret that Chrono Trigger is my favorite game of all time, and one of the few games I’d go out on a limb to suggest is perfect just the way it is (as in nothing could be meaningfully added to or subtracted from it without doing significant damage). I wrote a thesis on video games and objectivity centered around Chrono Trigger, exploring the notion of qualitative perfection, and additionally, I regularly enjoy documenting players experiencing Chrono Trigger for the first time. In the wake of the passing of Akira Toriyama, the legendary artist who lent his imagination to the world of Chrono Trigger, it’s been incredible to see so many new faces playing the game in 2024.

All that said, you can imagine my excitement to be a part of the Green Dream project! I was cast as Ozzie, the head underling of Lord Magus and a Mystic, as well as the cosmic Lovecraftian horror itself, Lavos. My own wifey became Queen Zeal! I hope you look forward to hearing our takes on these characters alongside the excellent cast. This is a huge undertaking but in the short time that I’ve been a part of the project, I became confident that it’s in good hands, that everyone is truly doing and performing their best, and that we all want this collaboration to be as good as it can possibly be. After all, it’s frickin’ Chrono Trigger.

You don’t phone it in on this one, folks.

Chrono Trigger went on to influence the creation of Radical Dreamers (which I podcasted about with ChronoKatie!), a previously Japanese-only text-based adventure game, and Chrono Cross, a beautiful PS1 JRPG. However, it’s the original title that saw the unique collection of Dream Team members like Hironobu Sakaguchi (father of Final Fantasy), Yuji Horii (father of Dragon Quest), Akira Toriyama (father of Dragon Ball), Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu, Masato Kato, Takashi Tokita, and Yoshinori Kitase that continues to delight and inspire and shine the brightest today. Fan efforts like Green Dream will continue to keep the memory of Chrono Trigger alive and well for generations to come.

There’s no need to pretend. This is a masterclass in its genre (and the best Final Fantasy). I’ll say it again: its reputation speaks for itself.

Red formerly ran The Well-Red Mage and now serves The Pixels as founder, writer, editor, and podcaster. He has undertaken a seemingly endless crusade to talk about the games themselves in the midst of a culture obsessed with the latest controversy, scandal, and news cycle about harassment, toxicity, and negativity. Pick out his feathered cap on Twitter @thewellredmage or Mage Cast.