Chrono Trigger Remake in Unreal Engine 5 May Never See the Light of Day

Chrono Trigger – a classic 1995 Super Nintendo game that’s still a beloved staple in the world of role-playing games. People still talk about its mind-blowing time-traveling story and it’s simply amazing pixel art. NOBL Games – a YouTuber with a real passion for the game – is giving this old legend a new lease on life by recreating it all as a modern, third person adventure using Unreal Engine 5.

NOBL Games, the driving force behind this project, is a one-man team with a deep affection for Chrono Trigger. To get things underway, he concentrated on the first chapter: the iconic Millennial Fair. This video showcases the project’s early progress and it’s a pretty impressive sight to say the least. The fair, which originally had a really cool top-down sprite style feel, has now been transformed into a bustling 3D plaza. The creator has painstakingly recreated all the the fair’s notable features, such as that instantly recognizable purple skull tent and the wooden poles, but hes also added new elements like a vineyard and a blacksmith’s stall.

Crono, the spiky-haired hero of the original game, features prominently in this remake. Using Unreal Engine’s Metahuman plugin, along with Blender, NOBL Games has crafted a 3D version that really captures the essence of the character, while dealing with the challenges of taking something originally designed as a 16-bit sprite and turning it into a fully realized 3D model. There was a lot of work involved in sculpting Crono’s face, tweaking his anime-style hair asset, and then dressing him up in a custom made tunic that matches his original green outfit. And of course, you can’t forget the yellow scarf, the katana and the headband. Unfortunately, the long sleeves on the tunic don’t quite match the original design perfectly – that’s a side effect of the mesh editing issues the creator encountered. Animations though, were a real problem at first – attempts using Unreal’s pre-made mannequin animations resulted in some pretty awkward, kind of janky movements. But NOBL Games refused to give up, and instead, found a free animation pack in the Fab Marketplace, which has really helped to spice things up. And it’s been enhanced with parkour mechanics that give Crono’s movements a real dynamic feel, hinting at a more interactive game world.


The original Millennial Fair was pretty flat and disjointed, with a few scattered homes and a distant castle in the background. But NOBL Games has taken a really different approach. Instead of just sticking the fair with some bland surroundings, they’ve reimagined Guardia as a real city, with the fair actually at its heart. The castle is right in the middle of everything, and the Guardia Forest is all around it. And that has really helped create a more believable environment without losing any of the charm of the original.


They’ve also taken the fair and transformed it into a multi-level area with stairs and parkour routes, which really encourages you to explore the area properly and find the hidden treasure boxes tucked away in the hard to reach places. Some of the original features – like the singing robot and the ancient dancers – have been cleverly integrated into the game world too – some are perched up on rooftops and others are in brand new areas like the winery, so you get a really nice balance of authenticity and creativity.


NOBL Games kicked off with an asset pack that was pretty much the opposite of Chrono Trigger’s medieval vibe – it was all about Islamic architecture. At first, that contrast between the two was kinda jarring. The artist had to work some magic to get the assets to fit in with the bright and cheerful atmosphere of the original game. They tweaked and polished things by removing those sandstorm effects, scrubbing the dirt off the textures, and swapping out those Arabic-inspired elements with lush greenery and bright colours. Some extra lighting changes, a custom circus tent to hang the whole atmosphere on, and you’re just about there. They even threw in some ambient marketplace chatter and a bit of that legendary Millennial Fair tune to get players fully immersed.


This little project is really more of a passion project than an actual game, which is probably a good thing since it’s not supposed to be for public consumption. NOBL Games makes it pretty clear that this is all about assembling a portfolio piece, and to be honest they’ve probably decided against releasing it just to avoid any potential headaches from rights holders – you know, the likes of Square Enix.
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