A big 'thank you' to everyone who took the time to reply to my original enquiry from 2008 (wow time flies)! Special thanks to layzee for the direct comparison of the two releases of the Chrono Trigger OSV.
I thought I might add this last post just to try and finalise the issue as 'case closed', given what I have learnt since then and given the info you have all shared.
As pointed out by layzee, the key difference between the original (PSCN-5021~3) and the re-issue (NTCP-5021~3) is the quality or sharpness of the images used in the slipcase and booklet. The re-issue is, depending on personal opinion, much more blurry and 'fuzzy' than the original. I would suggest that this is because the re-issue is quite literally a 'copy' of the original, meaning that parts of the artwork like the slipcase have been 'scanned' from an original release, edited accordingly, and then reprinted to make the packaging of the new release. Each time a process like this is done, there would be a corresponding decrease in image quality. Other NTCP re-issues of different CDs that I have do not exhibit this loss in quality and appear identical in that regards to their original PSCN releases - so they are presumably printed from original artwork files, not scans. This is the reason why I was surprised by the quality of the Chrono Trigger OSV re-issue in the first place. It is the only re-issue I have that exhibits this loss of quality.
The copy of the Chrono Trigger OSV NTCP re-issue that I have is unquestionably genuine though. I have since inspected second-hand copies of both the original and re-issue on several store shelves in Japan and all exhibit this difference in quality. All of the Chrono NTCP re-issue copies I have seen are more 'blurry' than the PSCN originals and they also exhibit the infamous artifact around the letter "R" in trigger, that I mentioned in my original post.
Here is a link showing an enhanced comparison of the text from the original PSCN release on the left and the NTCP re-issue on the right. Look at the sharpness of the text on the left compared to the blurred edges on the right. Also, notice the printed artifact sticking out from the letter "R" on the NTCP re-issue. This is circled in red. Layzee, this is what I originally meant by "evidence of previous background that has not been erased".
http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/8...omparison2.jpg
You know if you have some artwork on white paper and you scan that artwork, sometimes unless you adjust the scanned image, what was originally a white background on the piece of paper might not show up as 'white' on the scan. It might be slightly off-white in colour. So if you try and place that scanned image on a white background in a photoshop or gimp document, you will notice a difference. To my eye, this printed artifact sticking out from the letter "R" on the NTCP re-issue, looks like a piece of the original PSCN cover that was 'scanned' but not properly 'erased' when incorporating the scanned image into the new slipcase cover. There are other artifacts on the cover, but that is the only noticeable one. Also notice that the ® symbol on the NTCP cover is not blurry like the Chrono logo or the drawings. Again, I suggest that since the ® was not on the original PSCN cover, it would have been added 'fresh' for the new slipcase and is therefore not from a 'scan'. I have encountered bootleg CDs from the usual suspects over the years that sometimes exhibit the same quality problems such as these, as they are often created using 'scans' of the original Japanese cover and slipcase art. NOTE: If you look at the slipcase cover scans by Kaleb.G for the NTCP Chrono Trigger re-issue in the database here on vgmdb, you can just notice the same as above, if you have a good monitor.
Having said all that, my final word on the matter is as follows: This is not a big deal, really. It captured my attention at the time, as a collector, but like layzee I would recommend purchasing whichever copy you can get your hands on as both are genuine and you will be directly or indirectly supporting the artists and companies that you should be. However, if you do happen to have a choice like layzee, I would recommend keeping the original. And me? I now happily own a copy of both :-)