While undercurrents swirled between Sony and Nintendo, Nakayama Takuya arrived at Square.
Emerging from Yu Suzuki's lab—thick with the scent of solder and scorched coffee—and stepping into Square's offices felt like crossing from a gritty industrial workshop into an artist's loft. The air carried a distinctive blend of paper, ink, and limitless imagination.
Today marked the official finalization of the concept and framework for Chrono Trigger between Square and Sega's Rieko Kodama team.
Hironobu Sakaguchi waited personally at the entrance. The instant he spotted Takuya, he fired a look that said, "About time," his face barely concealing an eager "I've got brilliant ideas to flaunt."
"I thought you'd bailed," Sakaguchi greeted in his typical style.
"Had to check on our baby," Takuya replied with a laugh, clapping his shoulder. "Can't let other geniuses outshine us, right, Sakaguchi-san?"
Sakaguchi snorted, lips twitching upward despite himself, and led Takuya to the conference room.
Square's modestly sized meeting room was already crammed.
Sakaguchi's elite developers sat opposite the core members of Kodama's team, distinctly divided yet bound together by towering stacks of materials in the center.
Among them: hand-drawn monster concepts, scribbled flowcharts labeled "Dual Tech," and thick piles of developed photos—"souvenirs" Kodama's team had collected worldwide.
At one end lay fresh faxed originals from Akira Toriyama, his iconic style instantly materializing the project's fantastical aura.
"—So when Crono and Marle first step through the time gate, they don't just see another era—they witness the pivotal moment that shapes the cause of their world! The player's choices produce their first ripple effect right there!"
Sakaguchi stood before the whiteboard, passionately expounding the core mechanics, practically spraying saliva in excitement.
Takuya took a corner seat and motioned for them to proceed.
The room sharpened into focused intensity.
"First—the battle system!" Sakaguchi leapt up again, less meeting participant than zealous evangelist. Pointing at stick figures on the board: "We shatter static turn-based combat! Visible enemies, seamless transitions—attack ranges and effects vary completely based on positioning!"
His excitement mounted as he sketched arcs and fans for attack zones.
"And this—Dual Techs!" He jabbed emphatically. "Two, even three characters—their bonds explode in spectacular combined moves! Like a knight's thrust plus a princess's ice magic: Frozen Sword!"
Watching Sakaguchi dance with enthusiasm and Square's team eyes ablaze, Takuya smiled inwardly.
The man was a master motivator.
Sakaguchi finally sat, still buzzing, and turned to Rieko Kodama opposite.
Kodama nodded calmly. She lacked Sakaguchi's showmanship, but when she spoke, every ear tuned to her.
"The story opens with a chance encounter at the Millennial Fair," she said steadily, as if reciting ancient myth. "A boy, a girl, a mad inventor—an accident hurls them into time's vortex."
She needed no whiteboard; her words conjured scenes.
She lifted a photo: the Colosseum ruins in Italy.
"The Middle Ages—knights and demon kings, honor and betrayal."
Next: an aerial of Iceland's Vatnajökull glacier.
"The Ice Age—humanity's desperate struggle against brutal nature."
Finally: Hiroshima's lone Atomic Bomb Dome in the Peace Memorial Park.
"And—the future… after the world's end."
Silence blanketed the room.
Sakaguchi, moments ago proud of his combat ideas, now pondered deeply, fingers drumming unconsciously.
Suddenly he slammed the table. "Got it! Kodama-san—that ruined future. We show the party witnessing apocalypse, powerless to stop it. That helplessness becomes their ultimate drive across eras!"
Kodama's eyes sparkled. "Precisely! And altering a medieval event—saving a doomed bloodline—changes the present town upon return. Temporal interference!"
"Yes! Countless side quests from temporal interference—brilliant!"
Their exchange escalated from presentation to fervent brainstorming. Both teams jumped in; the room transformed into a roaring idea engine.
Leaning back, Takuya watched Japan's finest gaming minds blaze from his single spark. A profound, inexpressible fulfillment rose within him.
Different entirely from crafting a solo blockbuster.
Presentations concluded; brief silence—then thunderous applause.
President Hisashi Miyamoto looked to Takuya, satisfaction plain. Takuya smiled, nodded, and said simply: "Execute this."
Decision sealed; tasks assigned.
"Now—the music, the heart of it all," Sakaguchi clapped, turning to his friend. "Naturally falls to our ace—Uematsu-kun!"
All eyes fixed on the mustached man.
Yet Nobuo Uematsu shook his head.
"This time, I won't lead composition."
The room froze; Sakaguchi's grin stiffened.
"Uematsu-san, you can't be serious—this is—"
Uematsu ignored the shock, gently pushing forward a young man behind him.
The newcomer, fresh-faced like a recent graduate, fidgeted nervously under the industry titans' stares.
"Mitsuda-kun's talent better suits a world spanning countless eras and styles," Uematsu declared firmly. "His versatility knows no bounds. I'll produce—watching his back."
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