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Many Switch owners have been absolutely thrilled with Square Enix’s HD-2D engine. We’ve seen the engine used in games like Octopath Traveler, Triangle Strategy and LIVE-ALIVE, and next we’ll see it employed in Octopath Traveler II.

The HD-2D engine seems to be the perfect way to pay respect to the era of 16-bit games while also giving visuals a considerable makeover. Square Enix plans to push HD-2D even further with Octopath Traveler II, and it turns out they studied some of their own classic works to find the path ahead.

In an interview with Famitsu, Octopath Traveler II director Keisuke Miyauchi spoke about the goal of pushing HD-2D to even greater heights. Turns out the original Chrono Trigger was a source of inspiration in those efforts.

Last time, we had in mind an inclusive nostalgia that many people hold on to, but we thought that not much would change if we used the same method again. We needed to expand the scope this time.

By envisioning the beautiful pixel art scenery they drew back then – the trial scenes in Chrono Trigger, for example – we aimed to raise the bar of expressiveness with HD-2D by making art that would be picture-perfect no matter when you screenshotted it.

[Octopath Traveler II director Keisuke Miyauchi]

Countless Chrono Trigger fans have been keeping fingers and toes crossed that Square Enix would give the game an HD-2D makeover. While there doesn’t seem to be any inkling of that happening just yet, it’s nice to know that Square Enix not only looks back on Chrono Trigger fondly, but also continues to reference it for future projects.

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Comments (3)

conangiga

1+ y ago

You have to wonder if they are just trolling at this point.


ngamer01

1+ y ago

@conangiga

I just hope Square doesn't drive the HD-2D engine into the ground with overuse. Square should start being more selective of which games to HD-2D otherwise players will grow bored of the engine as all the games start blending together graphically.


conangiga

1+ y ago

@ngamer01

I guess it depends on how many of those games you actually play.
I own Octopath and Live A Live and I'm looking forward to the Dragon Quest 3 Remake and I still can't get enough. But if you buy each and every one inlcuding Triangle and Octopath 2...that might be another story.