Chrono Trigger DS E3 Preview

[GameBanshee News]

The guys at Destructoid give us a better idea of what we can expect from the upcoming Nintendo DS version of Chrono Trigger.

But now the big question: Can you control your character with the touch screen? The answer is yes you most certainly can!

Imagine an invisible dot in the center of the touch screen. If you press your stylus above this mystery dot your character walks up. Press it to the right and your character moves right ... and so on and so on. You get the idea.

At first I was bummed that I could only walk, as I wasn't sure how these controls would allow me to run (in the original you just had to hold down a button), but as I fiddled with things I figured out how to do it. The farther your stylus gets away from the center of the touch screen, the faster your character moves. On a similar note, tapping the touch screen really quickly performs an on-screen action (such as talking to NPCs, etc.). I learned this while experimenting on the opening screen and trying to figure out how to close the curtains in Chrono's room.

There is nothing revolutionary about this touch screen implementation, but it all works fairly well. Admittedly, it took a while to get used to and may be too uncomfortable for some players, but the option to use the D-pad and buttons for everything is still there. In fact, there is even an option to eliminate the dual screen setup entirely -- you can play the game on one screen, completely like the original if you want. I like the new features, but appreciate that this option is there.