Chrono Trigger (SNES) — Price Guide & Live Deals

Chrono Trigger shipped on the Super Nintendo in 1995, the headline product of Square's "Dream Team" collaboration between the company's own RPG staff and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii alongside Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama. The US-NTSC cart was published by Square Soft and is one of the most consistently sought-after 16-bit RPGs on the secondary market. The feed below pulls current eBay listings that match the original US-NTSC SNES release, filtered to authentic-claim sellers with a meaningful feedback history. Pick a condition chip — All, Loose, CIB, or Sealed — to scope what's shown; the editorial below explains what each tier should actually include and what to verify before buying.

What the Chrono Trigger feed shows (and what it doesn't)

The deals on this page surface the original 1995 US-NTSC Super Nintendo release. They deliberately filter out:

• Japanese Super Famicom imports — the Japanese release shipped on the Super Famicom (Nintendo's domestic name for the SNES hardware) and carries the product code SHVC-ACTJ. The cart shape is different (Japanese Super Famicom carts are physically smaller than US SNES carts and won't fit a US SNES without an adapter), the ROM is in Japanese, and the asking-price tier is well below US copies. Sellers sometimes list these as "Chrono Trigger SNES" with no region word, which is why the feed excludes super famicom, famicom, shvc, japan, japanese, jpn, ntsc-j, and whole-word jp. If you specifically want a Japanese copy, search separately — different SKU, different market.
• The PlayStation 1 re-release (bundled into Final Fantasy Chronicles, 2001) — a different SKU on different hardware with different load behavior and an added animation suite. The feed excludes playstation, ps1, psx, and chronicles.
• The Nintendo DS port (2008) — same game, different cart, different price market. The feed excludes nintendo ds and whole-word ds.
• The Steam / mobile / Switch digital re-releases — not physical SKUs at all. The feed excludes steam, mobile, iphone, android, switch, and whole-word pc.
• Chrono Cross — the 1999 PlayStation sequel is its own page (eventually). The feed excludes chrono cross and cross as a token to avoid sequel pollution.
• Fan ROM hacks distributed on aftermarket flash carts — Crimson Echoes is the canonical Chrono Trigger fan-sequel and Flames of Eternity is a derivative continuation; both ship as homebrew flash carts that fit a real SNES and that sellers frequently list under "Chrono Trigger" with the hack name appended. They are not authentic Square Soft product. The feed excludes them by name.
• Strategy guides, posters-as-merch, manuals-only, boxes-only, map-only listings, wall art, pins, keychains, novelty signs. The feed is the cartridge market, not the surrounding collectibles. Note that the foldout world map that originally shipped inside the CIB box is a legitimate insert — listings titled "CIB with poster" or "complete in box w/ map poster" are not filtered out.

Asking prices in the live feed reflect what sellers are asking in this snapshot. Actual sold values can run lower (especially after offer negotiation on CIB tier) or higher (rarely; Chrono Trigger is a high-visibility title with tight price discovery).

Chrono Trigger: loose vs CIB vs sealed

Loose is a thinner bucket than you might expect for a 1995 cart, because Chrono Trigger had a relatively limited US print run for its time and demand has stayed strong across the years. A bare cartridge — no box, no manual, no inserts — is what's shown when you pick the Loose chip. The spread comes from cosmetic label condition (small fading on the label artwork, paper warp, sticker residue), authenticity claims, and save behavior on real hardware. Loose Chrono Trigger asks meaningfully above contemporaneous SNES RPGs that printed in larger volumes (Final Fantasy III/VI, Secret of Mana, Earthbound — the latter is the standout exception trading even higher).

CIB ("Complete In Box") for the original 1995 SNES release should mean: the outer cardboard box, the cardboard inner tray that cradles the cartridge, the instruction manual, and the foldout world map insert that shipped inside the box. Some listings also reference a registration card; Nintendo SNES titles of the era shipped with the standard Nintendo paperwork inserts (consumer-precautions card, Nintendo Power subscription / registration material), and contents varied across print runs. Chrono Trigger CIB asking prices sit a tier above most other SNES RPGs because of the demand-versus-supply imbalance plus the fact that the foldout world map insert is fragile and frequently missing from otherwise-complete listings. "Complete with map" / "with both posters" / "w/ maps & inserts" are the title phrases that indicate a full CIB; "no map" / "missing inserts" indicate a CIB-minus tier that asks below true complete.

Sealed for Chrono Trigger SNES is almost exclusively graded by WATA / VGA / CGC / PSA at this point. The chip filter on this page caps the surfaced Sealed bucket at $2,500 — enough room for typical mid-grade graded copies (CGC 9.0, WATA 8.0–8.5 raw-cart-only or mid-grade CIB slabs), but the top-grade investment tier (WATA 9.4+ / CGC 9.6+ / 9.8 sealed first-print) trades well above and is outside this surface. The Sealed bucket can frequently be thin or empty depending on what's listed in the moment — the top-grade market is small and active listings are sparse.

Spotting Japanese imports re-listed as US copies

This is the single most common source of "Chrono Trigger SNES" confusion. The Japanese release was the original — Chrono Trigger shipped on the Super Famicom in March 1995, six months before the US Super Nintendo release in August 1995 — and Japanese loose copies routinely ask one-third to one-fifth of US loose asking. Sellers in Japan and elsewhere will list these copies in US-targeted searches with phrasings like "Chrono Trigger SNES" and let the buyer discover the region after purchase.

The reliable tells:

• Cartridge shape and label. US Super Nintendo carts have a tall rectangular shell with curved "ridges" along the top and a paper label in the standard SNES label format. Japanese Super Famicom carts are physically smaller, more square, and use a different label layout. A photo showing the bare cart silhouette resolves region in two seconds.
• Product code. Authentic US Super Nintendo carts carry the prefix SNS-ACT-USA printed on the back-of-cart label (Chrono Trigger's USA code). Japanese carts use SHVC-ACTJ (where J = Japan). A clear back-label photo is the definitive structured signal.
• Region in the listing title. Sellers honestly identifying region use NTSC-U/C (US / Canada), USA, US, or North America; Japanese sellers use NTSC-J, JPN, Japan, Japanese, SFC, Super Famicom, or the bare product-code prefix SHVC. The feed excludes the Japanese-marker keywords but a few slip through when sellers use only the structured product code with no region word — verify the cart photo before bidding.
• Asking price as a soft signal. A "Chrono Trigger SNES" listing at $30–$60 is almost certainly a Japanese cart re-listed; authentic US loose copies don't trade at that tier in the current market.

A Japanese cart isn't a fake or a bad product — it's a different SKU. If you specifically want the Japanese release (cheaper, but in Japanese), shop for it explicitly with a Super Famicom adapter or a region-modded SNES. The feed simply scopes to the US-NTSC market so prices and authenticity claims compare meaningfully.

Spotting reproductions, ROM hacks, and reshell jobs

Chrono Trigger has a thriving counterfeit and ROM-hack ecosystem because (a) loose cart asking sits in the $200+ range — high enough to make a bootleg economically attractive — and (b) the ROM is well-documented and easy to flash to aftermarket SNES-form-factor hardware. The honest part of the market is large; the dishonest part is meaningful.

• Reproduction carts with "authentic" titles. The most common attack: a flash cart in a generic SNES shell with a counterfeit Chrono Trigger label glued on, listed at slightly-below-market price. The feed excludes self-disclosed repro, reproduction, aftermarket, and whole-word repo listings, but a dishonest seller listing a bootleg as authentic inside the feedback floor reaches the feed. The verification work is on you. Watch for: label printing that's too crisp / too matte / too glossy compared to a 30-year-old factory label, a back-of-cart screw that isn't the standard Nintendo security screw (a Phillips head means the cart has been opened — could be a legitimate save-battery swap, could be a reshell, could be a bootleg), shell color that doesn't match standard SNES grey, and asking prices unusually below the loose median.
• Fan ROM-hack carts. Crimson Echoes is the canonical fan-sequel; Flames of Eternity is a derivative continuation. Both ship as aftermarket flash carts in SNES form factor with custom labels; sellers honestly identify the hack name in the title. The feed excludes them by name but you may occasionally see new hacks appear under variant spellings. If a listing title says any name other than "Chrono Trigger" alongside the cart, it's a hack or a multi-game item.
• Reshells / custom shells / aluminum housings. Some listings disclose that the original PCB has been transplanted into a non-Nintendo housing (the board may be authentic Square Soft, but the cart is no longer in collector-grade factory state). The feed excludes self-disclosed custom case, aluminum shell-style language where it appears. If a listing photo shows a cart that doesn't match a standard SNES grey shell, treat it as reshelled regardless of what the title claims.
• Photo evidence to ask for. A trustworthy seller at the loose-cart asking tier can show: front of cart label, back of cart label (with product code visible), back of cart with the security screw visible, and a photo of the cart booting to the Chrono Trigger title screen on real SNES hardware. Three minutes of seller-photo work resolves most authenticity concerns short of opening the cart.

Save behavior and the cart battery

Chrono Trigger saves to battery-backed SRAM on the cartridge, the standard SNES save architecture for RPGs of the era. The internal coin-cell battery powers a save-data RAM chip; when that battery dies, your save file is lost on the next power cycle. The cart itself plays fine without a battery — the SRAM only matters for save persistence, not gameplay — but for an RPG with a 30+ hour main story, save reliability is decisive.

Practical buyer-decision implications:

• "New save battery" / "battery replaced" listings give you a real signal. A seller who explicitly swapped the battery is telling you the cart will hold saves for another 15-20 years. Listings that only say "tested" — without specifying that saves were tested across multiple power cycles — give you less.
• "Dry battery" / "battery dead — won't save" listings still play through the entire game. The cart works for active play; you just can't power-off and resume. These are legitimate listings priced below tested-saves examples; if you intend to swap the battery yourself, this can be the better deal.
• Battery-replacement premium discipline. "Battery replaced" with a date ("replaced 2025") is a different signal than "battery replaced" with no date. The replacement clock starts when the cell was swapped, not when the cart was made.
• DIY swap cell type. The exact coin-cell spec varies across SNES PCB revisions and isn't worth guessing remotely — if you plan the swap yourself, open the cart with the appropriate Nintendo security driver and verify the cell type against the visible markings before ordering replacements.

Chrono Trigger verification checklist by condition

Loose

• Confirm the cartridge shape matches a standard US Super Nintendo cart (tall rectangular shell with curved top ridges). Smaller / squarer shapes are Japanese Super Famicom carts.
• Look at the back-of-cart label for the product code. SNS-ACT-USA is what you want. SHVC-ACTJ is the Japanese cart.
• Confirm the back-of-cart screw is the original Nintendo security screw (not a Phillips head). Phillips means the cart has been opened — could be a battery swap or a reshell — verify against the seller's photos.
• Look for label condition: tears, water damage, residue from price stickers, off-color background, label paper that looks too new for a 30-year-old cart.
• Ask whether saves have been tested across multiple power cycles and what specifically the seller verified. "Tested working" can mean a 30-second power-on check; "tested saves, powered off, came back, save loaded" is the actionable signal.
• Treat a "Chrono Trigger SNES" loose asking sharply below the broader market median as the strongest single repro-or-misrepresentation signal short of the seller saying so.

CIB

• Confirm the box is the original cardboard outer box (not a "replacement box" — the aftermarket reproduction-box market exists for CIB-assemblers). The feed filters replacement box only listings out, but verify against the listing photos that the box is the original.
• Confirm the cardboard inner tray that holds the cart is present and matches an authentic Nintendo tray (white-finish printed cardboard, not a re-fabricated reseller tray).
• Confirm the instruction manual is present and not a photocopy or modern reprint.
• The foldout world map insert is the key completeness item that frequently distinguishes a CIB tier from a CIB-minus. Listings that say "no map" / "missing map" / "no inserts" are CIB-minus and should ask below true complete. Listings that say "with map" / "w/ maps & inserts" / "complete with posters" are the full-CIB tier — verify the map is in the listing photos rather than just claimed in the title.
• Box wear (corner crush, label fade, tape residue, sun-bleaching on the spine, indented original-retailer price stickers) drives the spread in CIB asking prices. Listings that show the box only from one angle in a flattering pose may be hiding damage on the other faces — ask for photos of all six sides if you're paying the upper end of the tier.

Sealed (graded)

• Almost always graded — verify the grading slab is from a reputable house (WATA, VGA, CGC, PSA), the grade is readable in the listing photos, and the certification number is visible.
• Cross-check the cert number against the grading house's online lookup if you're paying meaningfully into the tier.
• Counterfeit-PCB carts have been reshelled and re-sealed into convincingly-presented boxes for the sealed-grading market. Sealed copies that haven't been through a reputable grading service deserve extra scrutiny — a raw sealed Chrono Trigger SNES at a market-rate asking price is highly unusual and should be approached with skepticism, not enthusiasm.
• The feed caps the Sealed bucket at $2,500. Top-grade investment-tier sealed copies (WATA 9.4+ / CGC 9.6+) trade well above and are outside this surface — for serious sealed buying at the high-grade tier, shop with auction houses that specialize in graded sealed games.

Chrono Trigger buying gotchas

• Japanese cart re-listed as "Chrono Trigger SNES" without a region word. The most common single confusion vector. Always check the cart photo for shape (US tall-rectangle vs Japanese smaller-square) and the back-of-cart product code (SNS-ACT-USA vs SHVC-ACTJ) before buying.
• The CIB foldout world map "is/isn't included" question. The map is the highest-impact CIB completeness item for this title and listings vary widely in how clearly they disclose its presence. "Complete in box" alone isn't enough — verify the map is in the photos or the title says "with map" / "w/ maps".
• Reproduction carts at "authentic" prices. Asking prices sharply below the market median are a strong repro signal; asking prices roughly at-market with no clear authenticity photos are a softer signal worth asking about. Don't pay loose-cart asking for a cart you can't authenticate from the listing photos alone.
• Crimson Echoes / Flames of Eternity / other ROM-hack carts. These are legitimate fan projects but they are NOT authentic Square Soft product. They ship on aftermarket flash carts. The feed excludes them by name; verify any unusual-titled Chrono Trigger listing isn't a hack-cart before buying.
• "Made in Mexico" notation on US carts. Nintendo manufactured many authentic US SNES cartridges at facilities in Mexico — the country-of-origin notation on the back of an authentic US Chrono Trigger cart commonly reads "Made in Mexico". This is not a variant or a fake signal; it's the standard manufacturing-location stamp on US-market carts.
• CGC / WATA / VGA / PSA grading-house abbreviations. Listings titled with grading-house initials and a numeric grade (e.g. CGC 9.0, WATA 8.5) are encapsulated graded copies, not raw sealed. Raw factory-sealed Chrono Trigger SNES copies essentially do not exist outside graded slabs at this point in the market.
• Multi-game Square / SNES RPG lots. Chrono Trigger frequently shows up bundled with Final Fantasy III/VI, Secret of Mana, EarthBound, Super Mario RPG, or Breath of Fire. Lot listings get filtered out so per-game asking prices stay accurate; the feed excludes lot, bundle, collection, set of, and the sibling tokens chrono cross and chronicles.
• Strategy guides priced like carts. The Nintendo Player's Guide for Chrono Trigger and the V-Jump Japanese guide trade at $50–$250 and are easy to mistake for cart listings on a quick scan. The feed excludes strategy guide, players guide, player's guide, nintendo power, prima, official guide, and guide book.
• Refurbished-suffix condition variants. Some sellers mark cleaned or board-worked carts as Very Good - Refurbished rather than the standard Very Good condition. The feed treats Refurbished as a distinct condition not included in this page's standard pool — refurbished work (replacement boards, reshells, save-chip swap, pin cleaning beyond contact cleaner) is a yellow flag for collectors and the asking-price tier on this page reflects authentic-original carts. If you specifically want a refurbished cart, search separately.
• Seller feedback floor. The deal feed requires the seller to have ≥50 feedback at ≥99% positive. Low-feedback sellers with cheap Chrono Trigger listings are a recurring fraud vector on a title with a strong counterfeit market — the feed quietly drops them, but the same heuristic protects you if you're shopping outside this surface.