NTCP-5021~3: Chrono Trigger Original Sound Version (reprint)

[videodoodler]

Hi - I just purchased this CD (the NTCP release, not the PSCN one) from a seller in Japan on ebay. It seems legit of course, and has the NTT Pub. logo on it and 'made in japan' etc. but the images in the booklet and on the slip case look like they are prints of scans. It looks like the images from the original release have been scanned and then reprinted for this re-release.

So just wondering, if anyone else who has the NTCP version, can check if this is also the case with theirs. Have a look around the 'R' on 'TRIGGER' in the logo on the front of the slip case. There is evidence of previous background that has not been erased...

I'm assuming, perhaps, that the original artwork was lost and they just did this as it was the only way... I hope it is not just my copy that looks this way, as I paid a decent amount of money for it, as it is out of print now...

[Echo]

I have the NTCP-version and it certainly doesn't look like it's printed of scans. What do mean "There is evidence of previous background that has not been erased..."? I mean there obviously is the rocky background on the letters, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you mean...

[videodoodler]

Thanks so much for the response Echo - and sorry for being a bit vague. I have attached two scans to show what I mean.

This first one is of the slip-case and in reality, it just appears that the definition in the logo and the characters is not there (not as you would expect from a direct print). The edges of the characters and the logo are fuzzy and have some (very minor) artifacting. Also, it may just be me, but the colours seem a bit blue..

http://users.bigpond.net.au/rsd/ct_img1.jpg

This second image is a zoomed in scan of the 'R' as mentioned above. I have adjusted the levels so it is easy for anyone (regardless of their monitor setup) to see the 'left over background' I was referring to. It looks like an area that is meant to be white, but was not quite colour balanced correctly. Oh - and no - this is not only visible on the scan it is actually really clear with the naked eye.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/rsd/ct_img2.jpg

The CD however, looks identical to my other NTCP-XXXX CD's, so I really do think this set is genuine - its just very poorly done for some reason... Perhaps, as I said, they lost the original PSCN version artwork...

[videodoodler]

Oh, here's a couple more scans.

This one is the back of CD 1 - to show that it appears real:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/rsd/ct_img3.jpg

This one is of the booklet cover. I have highlighted a section where a black line (outlining the drawing) is all blurred like it was poorly scanned.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/rsd/ct_img4.jpg

[Secret Squirrel]

I wonder why the disc has the PSCN catalog number imprinted on the back.

Anyway, it's possible that someone had the album, but lost everything but the disc, and printed up replacement booklets etc. (though I don't know how an amateur would do a slipcase.)

However, there isn't anything on those scans that convinces me that they are fakes. They could all just be artifacts that naturally occur in printing. I think that the real test would be to find someone else with a copy, and do a head to head comparison, looking at not just the printing, but the feel and quality of the paper as well.

By the way, back when I used to play Magic the Gathering, I used to collect printing errors -- the kind that would usually get tossed if they hadn't slipped through inspection (e.g. ink bleeds, running out of ink in one (or more) a particular color, etc.) It's amazing how much variation a process like printing can produce.

[videodoodler]

Thanks Secret Squirrel. I really do believe the set is real myself too. It was plastic-wrapped when I got it (was supposed to be new) from an ebay seller in Japan, who has many hundreds of feedback with no one questioning the quality of their CDs...

Assuming it is real then, for a CD made in Japan, for some unknown reason it is not to the standard of quality I would have expected...

And regarding the PSCN catalogue number on the back of the CD, I believe most (if not all) NTCP catalogue number CDs that were reprints of PSCN ones, carried the original PSCN catalogue number on the back of the CD. I have a copy of the FF Vocal album 'Love Will Grow' that is labelled on the artwork as NTCP, but the rear of the CD carries the original PSCN catalogue number. And that CD came from CDJapan.

[L3000]

The release date of the reprint is earlier than the original's. Can anyone explain?

[Secret Squirrel]

I don't know what you mean. The original is Mar 25, 1995, and the reprint is Oct 01, 2004.

[L3000]

I must have gotten the releases or dates mixed up when I typed that, my apologies.

[Hamu-Sumo]

For the Square Enix concert Symphonic Fantasies Magus' battle theme was called "Battle with Magus" instead of "Decisive Battle with Magus" so I would change that as I guess it's official. Any complaints?

[Kaleb.G]

I uploaded a new scan of the box front and set it as the default, rather than the case or booklet front.

[Fearin]

Should the PS1 sound test be replaced with the DS Soundtest?

[Cryptic Writings]

I finally got the 2004 version last year... I once got the bootleg version and the print quality is really bad

[layzee]

Since I now own both prints of the Chrono Trigger albums, I thought I'd use this opportunity to compare them. Note that I bought them both pre-owned so I can't guarantee they haven't been tampered with.

Old/Original = PSCN-5021~3
New/Reprint = NTCP-5021~3

Old: "TM" symbol next to Chrono Trigger logo (front of the slipcase).
New: ® symbol.

Old: An ISBN number (ISBN4-87188-906-8) on top of the barcode (bottom of slipcase). As a collector of Japanese books (game guidebooks, artbooks, etc...), I have no idea which book the ISBN catalogue number is for. Obviously, the ISBN number is for the album but that makes no sense to me (ISBNs are for books, even if it's a several pages barely-a-book). Video game instruction manuals and game album booklets don't count as books, as far as ISBNs go.
New: No ISBN number.

Old: Squaresoft logo (back of slipcase).
New: No Squaresoft logo as well as some minor text changes at the bottom (e.g. Square Enix etc...).

Old: The front and back covers of the booklet looks quite yellow, to the extent that I suspected that it was made yellow from a cigarette-smoking home.
New: The booklet is still yellow, but to a lesser extent. Also from the scans provided, the yellowness can still be seen so it was probably yellow in the first place, as opposed to due to smoke.

Old: Squaresoft logo on booklet's back cover, bold text catalogue number on top-left.
New: No Squaresoft logo, non-bold text catalogue number, added text on the bottom.

Old: Squaresoft logo on CD case back.
New: No Squaresoft logo, plus added text on the bottom.

Old: Squaresoft logo on CDs.
New: No Squaresoft logo, minor text changes.

Old: Yellow CD inlays with "Compact Disc Digital Audio" square logos.
New: White CD inlays with no logos.

Old: Mostly noticeable in the booklets, the illustrations are bright and clear.
New: The illustrations are blurrier and very slightly less bright.

Old: Square-shaped white cardboard (not shown in scans) included to make the booklet and the CD case fit more snugly.
New: No square-shaped white cardboard. Having said that, I can't prove it wasn't included originally (maybe the previous owner lost it).

Verdict: Meh, same shit really. Go with whichever one is available to you, unless you got a fetish for original prints. I only noticed the blurriness of the illustrations in the reprint booklet due to comparing them directly side-by-side. If you care about illustrations that much, then just buy an Akira Toriyama artbook where you can get the exact same non-blurred Chrono Trigger art plus more. I still have no idea what the TC is referring to about the "evidence of previous background that has not been erased..." in the front of the slipcase. The original print logo is simply the usual more clear, more sharp, and less blurry.

Now to decide which print to keep and which one to sell, because I don't want to keep both...

[videodoodler]

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 :-)

[layzee]

I don't have much more to say (edit: actually, I do) except that this is one of the rare Internet cases in which the thread creator (i.e. videodoodler) actually returns to check the thread he/she made years ago.

It is interesting for two reasons:

1) Most threads on the Internet lack follow-up replies from the OP. Example:

OP: "I'm going to prove that it's possible to become fluent in a language in as little as three months! Wish me luck!"
Thread watchers: "Good luck! Keep us updated!"
*3 months later* "Where are you OP?"
*Date OP last signed-in: 3 months ago*

I like follow-ups. Reading a thread without follow-ups is like reading the end of the chapter of a book but not finding out what happens after the cliffhanger.

2) A reminder that time flies indeed.

As for my two Chrono Trigger soundtracks, I want to sell the newer reprint and keep the original but the problem is that the reprint discs are in better condition than the original print discs. So I can't sell either. What a dilemma.