Radical Dreamers

Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki[lower-alpha 1] is a 1996 text-based adventure video game developed and published by Square for the Satellaview, a satellite peripheral for the Super Famicom. It forms part of the Chrono series, acting as a side story to the 1995 game Chrono Trigger. The game centers around an infiltration carried out by the titular thief gang led by Kid; aided by Serge and Gil, she seeks an artifact called the Frozen Flame and revenge on its keeper Lord Lynx. Players navigate the mansion's environments and impact the story's progression through text choices.

Radical Dreamers
Title screen depicting the Frozen Flame
Developer(s)Square
Publisher(s)Square
Director(s)Masato Kato
Artist(s)Yasuhiko Kamata
Writer(s)Masato Kato
Makoto Shimamoto
Takashi Tanegashima
Daisuke Fukugawa
Miwa Shoda
Composer(s)Yasunori Mitsuda
SeriesChrono
Platform(s)Super Famicom
Release
  • JP: February 3, 1996
Genre(s)Visual novel
Mode(s)Single-player

Chrono Trigger writer Masato Kato both directed and wrote the main scenario. Due to his attitude at the time, the plot and tone were considerably darker than Chrono Trigger, though the additional scenarists wrote alternate scenarios with comedic tones. The music was scored by Yasunori Mitsuda, who had worked on Chrono Trigger. Production was completed in three months, and Kato was left unsatisfied with its quality.

As with most Satellaview titles, Radical Dreamers did not receive a lasting commercial release, and was exclusive to Japan. Attempts to bundle the game with the PlayStation port of Chrono Trigger were stopped by Kato due to quality concerns. The ROM for the game was released onto the web, allowing for the production of an English fan translation. While limited, its coverage in news and fan sites have praised its narrative and tone. Kato would later used plot elements from Radical Dreamers in his next game Chrono Cross.

Gameplay

Gameplay consists of word-based scenarios presented to the player through the narration of the main character, Serge. As the narrative progresses, the game presents a list of possible actions and the player chooses from them. Depending on the choices made, the player may enter a new area, be presented with a new situation or character, or have to choose again if the previous selection was incorrect.[1] In combat with enemies, the player must select from options such as "Fight", "Magic", "Run", and often more complex situational commands like "Run my knife into the goblin's chest!" or "Quickly slash at its hand!".[2] Some decisions must be made before an invisible timer runs out; in combat, hesitation results in injury or death. Serge's health is tracked by an invisible point count, restored by various events (such as finding a potion). The game also tracks Kid's affection for Serge, influenced by battles and scripted events.[3] Her feelings determine whether Serge survives the story's climactic fight.[4]

Radical Dreamers features minimal graphics and animation; most areas are rendered with dim, static backgrounds. The game also uses atmospheric music and sounds. Like other Chrono games, Radical Dreamers contains a variant of New Game + mode. Only one scenario is available on the first play-through; after finishing it and obtaining one of three possible endings, players can explore six others. These later stories often feature comical situations or allusions to Chrono Trigger.[4][5]

Characters and story

Radical Dreamers features three protagonists—Serge, Kid, and Magil—who seek out treasure as venturesome, reputable thieves. The young adult narrator, Serge, is a drifting musician who met Kid by chance three years ago in a remote town.[6] Serge enjoys adventure with a carefree attitude.[7] Kid, only sixteen years old, is a renowned professional thief with a reputation for boisterous behavior.[8] Possessing a turbulent history, Kid dubiously fancies herself as a kind of Robin Hood. Magil is an enigmatic, handsome masked man skilled in magic who rarely speaks and can fade into shadow at will.[9] Crowned by flowing, blue hair, Magil accompanied Kid well before Serge joined the group.[10] They seek the Frozen Flame, a mythic artifact capable of granting any wish.[11] It is hidden in Viper Manor—the home of a terrible and powerful aristocrat named Lynx, who gained control of the estate after usurping power from and killing the Acacia Dragoons, a familial unit of warriors.[12]

The party confronts Lynx near the Frozen Flame

Following Kid, the group infiltrates Viper Manor on the night of a full moon. While sneaking through the corridors, they battle goblins and other creatures of legend while unraveling the history of the manor and its occupants. Magil explains that the Frozen Flame is a fragment of the massive, extraterrestrial creature known as Lavos, splintered off when Lavos impacted the planet in prehistory and burrowed to its core.[13] The thieves locate Lynx and the Frozen Flame deep within an underground ruin of the Kingdom of Zeal—an ancient, airborne civilization destroyed after it awakened Lavos in search of immortality.[14] Serge discovers that Kid is an orphan, hoping to exact revenge upon Lynx for killing her caretaker, Lucca. Kid attempted to find Lynx in her childhood after Lucca's death, but was stopped and saved from certain defeat by Magil, who accompanied her thereafter.

The trio battle Lynx for the Frozen Flame, and Lynx gains the upper hand after trapping Magil with a powerful spell. He plans to acquire Kid's special gift from Lucca—a Time Egg, or Chrono Trigger.[15] With a Time Egg and the Frozen Flame, Lynx boasts that he shall achieve control over time. Kid lunges at him, but Lynx easily parries her attack and wounds her. She desperately removes the Chrono Trigger from her back pocket. The Trigger shatters and causes a localized temporal distortion, leading Serge to see various scenes in history. Kid learns of her heritage as princess Schala of Zeal, a meek girl who was coerced to help awaken Lavos with her magical power.[16] As Zeal collapsed, Schala was wracked with anguish and guilt for her role in the incident. Nearby in the Ocean Palace, the Frozen Flame felt her grief and changed her to a baby, sending her to the modern era where Lucca found her.[17] It is also circumstantially revealed that Magil is in fact Magus, Schala's wayward brother who searched for her after battling Lavos in Chrono Trigger.[18] Once the distortion subsides, an army from Porre—a large nation in search of the Frozen Flame—storms the mansion. Lynx withdraws as Kid, Serge, and Magil flee. Kid tells Serge that she is aware of her true origin, and knowing that is a treasure which cannot be stolen.[19] She bids him goodbye before disappearing into the darkness with Magil.

Other scenarios are available after players complete the first. These include both humorous and serious variations of the main plot.[5][20]

  • "Magil: Caught Between Love and Adventure" – Magil is actually a lifelong friend of Riddel who courts her. When the manor is alerted to his presence, Magil throws Riddel over his shoulder and dashes off into the morning sun as her proud father Lynx tearily bids goodbye.[21]
  • "Kid and the Sunflower" – Kid insults a lecherous sunflower who transforms her into a malicious monster. Serge must kiss her to change her back, or use a special dagger to take her soul at risk of his own soul's capture. Three endings are available.[22]
  • "SuperXtreme Alphacosmos Police Case EX Ultra" – Magil is a space cop searching for Lynx, secretly a green Martian creature with tentacles. Magil's rock guitar forces Lynx out of hiding, and Serge assaults him with a Martian Forest League Concealed Lesser Armament Bunny.[23]
  • "Homecoming: Shea's Light" – Kid learns that Lynx and her caretaker Shea are trapped in a magical seal as part of Lynx's effort to escape a spirit prison. Shea selflessly instructs Magil to destroy the Frozen Flame, killing Lynx forever.[24]
  • "The Enigmatic Gigaweapon: Paradise X" – Serge finds an odd crystal inhabited by an entity named Gange, who tests his strength with gladiatorial combat. Using Gange's Paradise X mecha, Serge and Gange challenge Mecha-Lynx for the Frozen Flame.[25]
  • "The Shadow Realm and the Goddess of Death" – Kid accidentally summons Lilith, the Goddess of Death. She tries to take Kid's soul, but Magil intervenes. The outcome is slightly affected by Kid's affection for Serge.[26]

Development and release

Radical Dreamers was developed by Square, the company which had previously developed Chrono Trigger.[27] Masato Kato wrote Radical Dreamers after Chrono Trigger's release, feeling that Trigger concluded with "unfinished business".[28] He composed the main story and drafted the concepts for the sub-scenarios, leaving them to be completed by his peers.[5] He allowed Makoto Shimamoto to write the entire "Kid and the Sunflower" segment, later joking that he "avoided having any part in that episode,"[5] while Miwa Shoda was in charge of the "Shadow Realm and the Goddess of Death" segment.[29] According to scenario writer Daisuke Fukugawa (responsible for the game's "The Enigmatic Gigaweapon: Paradise X" subplot), the game's graphical content pushed the Satellaview's technical limits, requiring developers to redraw prerendered models until functional gameplay could be ensured.[30] Compared to Chrono Trigger, the plot of Radical Dreamers had a bleak tone which Kato ascribed to his deep frustration and anger about coming to work every day following Chrono Trigger's hectic development. Specifically, Kid's "nihilistic" feelings were Kato's own expressions at the time.[5] Kato intended both Dreamers and its eventual successor Chrono Cross to prompt players to pursue their personal dreams in life.[31] Due to being a small side project, there was a general sense of freedom compared to other Square titles.[32]

The decision to make it a text-based adventure helped push the game into its darker direction. Kato intended for it to be a survival adventure title, but abandoned this specific approach after the release of Resident Evil. The more comedic additional scenarios helped balance out the sombre elements in the main narrative. Reflecting on his work, Kato felt his work on Radical Dreamers helped solidify his style.[5] Kato's team completed Radical Dreamers in only three months under a rushed production schedule, prompting him to label the game "unfinished" in an interview for the Ultimania Chrono Cross guide.[31][28] Kato regretted that the schedule hampered the quality of his work, and explained that the connections to Chrono Trigger were evoked towards the end of the project.[28]

Radical Dreamers was announced in early 1996 as part of a collection of four titles produced by Square for the Satellaview platform. It was first released for broadcast starting February 3 that year. Subsequent broadcast periods were held through until March 8.[30] Owing to the eventual shutdown of the service, Radical Dreamers became impossible to play except on cartridges that had the game installed. It also received no English release due to the Satellaview's Japanese exclusivity.[33][34] Square originally wanted to include the game as part of the PlayStation port of Chrono Trigger, but Kato stopped them due to his dissatisfaction with the final product.[28] While he had the option of incorporating it into the Nintendo DS remake of Chrono Trigger, he did not due to its very different tone and questionable market demand. While uncertain about its quality in the gaming market at the time, at the time Kato was open to the possibility of releasing a version of Radical Dreamers.[35]

Music
See also: Music of Chrono Cross

The music of Radical Dreamers was written by composer Yasunori Mitsuda, who scored Chrono Trigger and later Chrono Cross.[31] During this time, Mitsuda was listening to Russian folk music, and used this style in the music for Radical Dreamers. He wrote the score in a very relaxed style, which he felt produced his best work at that time.[32] Mitsuda wrote the music in around three months, and in retrospect thought it turned out well.[36] Several themes and musical patterns were later adapted for Chrono Cross at Kato's suggestion; many appear unchanged except for new instrumentation.[31] Mitsuda estimated that about half the music for Radical Dreamers was reused in Chrono Cross.[36]

Fan translation and commentary

In April 2003, the ROM hacking group Demiforce released a fan translation rendering Radical Dreamers in English.[1] The patch works by modifying the ROM image of Dreamers used for playing console-based video games on personal computers through emulation. The ability to save games was not enabled with the first patch, and some minor typos were left in, later remedied by successive releases.[37] On Christmas Day 2005, Demiforce and Radical R released the final version (1.4) of the translation, which fixed remaining minor bugs.[38] The French team Terminus Traduction made a French translation patch soon after.[39] Masato Kato did not perceive significant demand to include Radical Dreamers as a bonus with the release of Chrono Trigger DS, and omitted it to preserve continuity between Trigger and Cross.[40] He expressed concern in 2009 over re-releasing Radical Dreamers "as-is", citing a need to revise the work.[40]

Chris Kohler, in his 2004 book Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life, cited Radical Dreamers as a precursor to Mitsuda's explicitly Celtic musical style as heard in Xenogears.[41] Website Cubed3 gave the game a score of 8/10, praising its excellent use of atmosphere and music despite the difficulties for potential players to access it.[4] A reviewer for Home of the Underdogs lauded the game's excellent writing and the "superb" English translation patch, noting that the "interesting plot" would appeal to fantasy fans if they could stomach the limited interactivity.[1] Having never played a Chrono game prior, the reviewer stated, "I was still able to follow the story and be drawn into the world of colorful characters."[1] While praising the replay value afforded by the extra scenarios, the critic derided the random battles of Radical Dreamers, writing that "RPG-style random combat doesn't translate well to [a] text-only medium."[1] The website awarded Dreamers "Top Dog" status, and the game maintains a voter score of 8.95 out of 10.[1]

Legacy
Main article: Chrono Cross

Radical Dreamers preceded Chrono Cross, a full role-playing video game sequel to Chrono Trigger. Masato Kato cited the desire to "redo Radical Dreamers properly" as the genesis of Cross, attributing the latter's serious atmosphere to the former.[5][42] Kato's desire to finish the story of the characters Kid and Serge principally shaped the plot of Cross.[31] Several events in Chrono Cross, such as the infiltration of Viper Manor, were also a direct reference to events in Radical Dreamers. He also incorporated Radical Dreamers into the plot of Chrono Cross as an alternate timeline.[5][43] The character Gil, confirmed by Kato to be Magus, was going to be featured in Chrono Cross. This idea was scrapped due to difficulties in representing the story of Magus among the game's numerous other characters; the unrelated, enigmatic magician Guile was created instead.[18]

Notes
  1. Japanese: ラジカル・ドリーマーズ -盗めない宝石-, "Radical Dreamers: The Unstealable Jewel"

References
  1. Home of the Underdogs staff. "Entry: Radical Dreamers". Home of the Underdogs. Archived from the original on January 15, 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
  2. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: Not a single moment after I leap back, the iron ball smashes into the stone floor! I can't rely on this little knife to parry those huge morning stars. There's no way I'll survive, fighting like that! / Run my knife into the goblin's chest! / Quickly slash at its hand!
  3. Chrono Compendium staff. "Radical Dreamers Love / Point System". Chrono Compendium. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
  4. Lavaux, Rudy (2013-08-24). "Radical Dreamers (Super Nintendo) Review". Cubed3. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  5. "Procyon Studio: Interview with Masato Kato". Procyon Studio (in Japanese). November 1999. Archived from the original on 2003-08-16. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  6. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: It's been something like three years since Kid and I met. Back then I was a drifter, wandering wherever my music led me. During my stay in the remote town of Regiorra, I ended up running into a girl who later joined me, leading to the beginning of all this.
  7. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: I take a good look at myself and wonder if I've got any of that adventurer's spirit still left in me. I sit and look at my trusty knife collecting dust on the mantle above my fireplace, and think to myself, my days of traveling can't be over just yet. That old, familiar feeling of wonderment ensnares me as I vow to pack my bags tomorrow and set out for some new, exotic land, letting fate once again guide me wherever it wishes.
  8. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: Not even seventeen years old, already she's widely renowned as a top professional. To make matters worse, she's cute, devilishly stylish, and has a sparkling personality. And boy, can she cook... if you ask her, that is. Well, to be completely honest, she has her share of problems as well. She likes to think of herself as a kind of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but that's just not the case.
  9. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: The top half of his face is covered with a mask at all times. I've never even seen what he really looks like. At times, it seems as though I'm hanging around someone from another world—traveling with this pack is definitely an interesting experience. Kid's quiet about her past too, but it's like I know her entire life story compared to how little I know about Magil.
  10. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: This is the first time I've ever seen his true face. Even for a guy like me, I'm taken aback by his looks. His hair sways in the moonlight, as his piercing blue eyes survey the environment below. His beauty is different than a woman's... there's some sort of a fierce, intrepid quality about him.
  11. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: Tonight, our goal is Lord Lynx's most prized possession, a scarlet jewel known as the Frozen Flame. Besides being priceless, some say this beautiful stone harbors some sort of mystical power. They say many people have sought after the Flame, but none have been victorious in stealing it. Viper Manor has claimed many lives...
  12. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Magil: The Acacia Dragoons. They were once an elite force serving General Viper, a powerful man who used to rule the western territory of Gerzbuehle. They were defeated more than ten years ago, by the very hands of Lord Lynx. By the looks of things, we have apparently found their resting place.
  13. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Magil: The Frozen Flame is more than just an object. It's not of this world. It descended from the heavens long ago, part of a huge meteorite. Once, there lived a people who sought to harness its power, hoping to tap into their yet unknown potential. And so, it became a treasure of great importance and dreams.
  14. Square Co (1995-08-22). Chrono Trigger (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft. Magus: Behold. Everything's at the bottom of the sea. Gone is the magical kingdom of Zeal, and all the dreams and ambitions of its people. I once lived there... But I was another person then. ... / Magus: Unimaginable is the power of Lavos. Anyone who dares to oppose...it...meets certain doom.
  15. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Lynx: Surely you remember, the one you received from your sister, all those years ago... the priceless keepsake you carry with you dearly, even now...The Chrono Trigger!
  16. Square Co (1995-08-22). Chrono Trigger (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Square Soft. QUEEN: Schala, raise the power of the Mammon Machine to its limit! / SCHALA: ...... / QUEEN: Schala! You dare to disobey me?! / SCHALA: All right, mother...
  17. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Kid: Long ago, in a far off kingdom, lived a girl. Because of her power, the kingdom had come to an end, crumbling under its own weight. Many became engulfed in the temporal vortex that was created, never to be heard from again......But not the girl. She lived on, enduring a much sadder fate... Running from her past and fearing her future, she wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up in the surging waves of the vortex of time...Hating what she'd done, refusing what she'd said or heard, to simply continue living was her curse. But the stone, It had other plans for her...Turning back the hands of her clock, scattering her memories, she was granted another chance. Since the precious stone was in her possession, she carried with her all its will and power. And so, she was born into this era, returning to reality as a mere infant...
  18. "GamePro: Interview with Chrono Cross Developers". Gamepro. 2000-10-17. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
  19. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Kid: Lucca's Chrono Trigger was lost... we couldn't even get our hand on the Frozen Flame... but, it's okay... it's all okay, because tonight, in my heart, a shiny new treasure was born, Serge... the single most valuable unstealable treasure in the entire world." / "Knowing who I am... It's bigger than all this... bigger than Lynx, bigger than the Frozen Flame... and, nothing can take that away... not as long as I'm alive..."
  20. Chrono Compendium staff (2006). "Radical Dreamers Condensed Plot Summary". Chrono Compendium. Archived from the original on 15 June 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2006.
  21. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation).
  22. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Gil: Serge, listen to me. The Mandora Monster has fused with Kid. We must save her quickly, otherwise she'll be lost forever, consumed by her own hate.
  23. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: Magil turns to me, staring into my eyes with relentless honesty. He holds the bunny (The Martian Forest League Lesser Armament Bunny, mind you) out in front of him, saying "I entrust this to you. Please, if anything should ever happen to me, use it as I have..."
  24. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: "Kid," Shea continues, painfully overcoming Lynx, "thank you for remembering me... however, I cannot return with you. Please, hear me... the Frozen Flame must be destroyed. It is through this that Lynx is able to slowly resurrect himself... Please, destroy it, and save yourselves... I will restrain Lynx in the meantime."
  25. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: Lord Lynx hops into the Mecha-Lynx combat robot, Frozen Flame in hand!
  26. Square Co. Radical Dreamers (Satellaview). Demiforce (fan translation). Serge: "I am the Goddess of Death, a servant of the Shadow Realm," she answers. "My name is Lilith. Although in my current state, I realize looks can be deceiving. Having been summoned here, I took on the form of this young lady, Riddel, for my latest hunt."
  27. "Interview: Chrono Cross producer". CNN. September 19, 2000. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  28. クロノ・クロス アルティマニア [Chrono Cross Ultimania] (in Japanese). Square Enix Studio BentStuff. 2004-07-30. pp. 462–480. ISBN 978-4-7575-1249-8. Translation
  29. 自己紹介文. LevelScript (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  30. Square Presents: ラジカル・ドリーマーズ -盗めない宝石-. Satellaview Tsūshin (in Japanese). ASCII Corporation (9): 86–87. 1995. Translation
  31. Yasunori Mitsuda (2000-12-18). "Chrono Cross OST Liner Notes". Chrono Compendium. Archived from the original on 5 July 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2006.
  32. "Yasunori Mitsuda – 2000 Developer Interview". Shmuplations. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  33. Kemps, Heidi (9 September 2015). "Nintendo's Forgotten Console". Vice. Vice Media. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  34. Bivens, Danny (27 October 2011). "Satellaview - Nintendo's Expansion Ports". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  35. クロノ・クロス アルティマニア [Chrono Trigger Ultimania] (in Japanese). Square Enix. 2009-01-20. p. 583. ISBN 978-4-7575-2469-9. Translation
  36. "Yasunori Mitsuda – 2003 Composer Interview". Shmuplations. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  37. "Chrono Trigger 2: Radical Dreamers". Demiforce. 2003-04-15. Archived from the original on April 29, 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2006.
  38. Chrono Compendium staff (2006). "Patches (Radical Dreamers)". Chrono Compendium. Archived from the original on 15 June 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2006.
  39. Terminus Traduction (2004-09-06). "French Translation". Terminus Traduction. Archived from the original on 27 October 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2006.
  40. Studio BentStuff, ed. (2009). Chrono Trigger Ultimania (in Japanese). Square Enix. p. 581. ISBN 978-4-7575-2469-9. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19.
  41. Chris Kohler (2004). Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. DK Publishing. ISBN 0-7440-0424-1.
  42. "Weekly Famitsu". Chrono Compendium. 1999-07-24. Archived from the original on 21 July 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2006.
  43. Yukiyoshi Ike Sato (1999-07-20). "Radical Dreamers - The Real Chrono Trigger 2?". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2009-02-03. Retrieved 17 January 2008.

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