Taken from the Google Play reviews of Square Enix's Chrono Trigger:

John Heffernan, July 30, 2013: Not working on 4.3 A fantastic game which has unfortunately stopped working after updating to Android version 4.3. Please resolve the issues.

J Limbo, August 3, 2013: No support for android 4.3 Ran fine but after upgrade to operating system no longer opens even after uninstalling and reinstalling the app

Donald James, September 6, 2013: $15 is expensive for this level of support. Still hasn't been updated to support 4.3. Why and when will this be fixed ? $15 is expensive for an app on here and if paying we deserve better upkeep than this.

Lenon Lopez, September 23, 2013: BROKEN Very disappointed that the game is still unplayable (doesn't even launch). I will make sure never to purchase a game from this developer again.

John Sanders, October 9, 2013: It has been several months now !! Why have you allowed this to go on for so long either give us our money back or fix this app sincerely your most disappointed customer.

Conner Anshutz, November 3, 2013: Most expensive icon I am a huge square Enix fan but having paid the huge price tag for a game that doesn't even work really puts me off buying anymore of their products I have the note 3 which would make this a perfect platform for playing it......but since I can't play it I wish the company would ether give me a compensation for a game that doesn't work or a free game please get back to me - sincerely Conner the disappointed customer

John Dulong, December 17, 2013: I want a refund. Honestly, it's been months. There's been another upgrade to Android. Square seems to have made no effort to make the game compatible.

I bought Chrono Trigger on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 back in May, my first game purchase on my first smartphone. The game was put on the backburner as I was sucked into The Simpsons Tapped Out and I ignored it up until about a month ago, when, unemployed for the first time in three years, I found myself with an abundance of free time and decided to play through it.

Coincidentally, I'd just downloaded the Android 4.3 update. From what I can discover reading reviews of the game on Google Play,

Chrono Trigger

stopped working with the 4.3 update, as early as July. The game's page on the store warns consumers that it "may not perform as intended on the latest version of Android." The game hasn't worked for six months now, and yet the very next sentence is "We ask for your patience and understanding as we work to address this issue in the coming days." Gamers can be a patient bunch, but with no word from Square Enix about a possible re-launch date and with absolutely no offer to refund a user's purchase or even to offer credit for another Square Enix game on Android, gamers have naturally started to get angry.

I tried to go straight to the source and e-mailed Square Enix directly. An early response from Square Enix suggested that I jailbreak my phone to get some software on it that would allow me to play

Chrono Trigger

:

"... check with one of the online mod communities to see if they have discovered a way to have this title run on your OS. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for contacting the SQUARE ENIX Support Center."

Continued inquiries to the company accusing them of dodging my requests for information or a refund resulted in this response:

"Thank you for contacting SQUARE ENIX support,

We apologize for the delay in response regarding your issue. The issue is still under investigation and you will be contacted once we have further information regarding this matter. We apologize however we will be unable to provide any ETA regarding a possible resolution/fix for this issue nor can we guarantee the desired result you are looking for. We appreciate your patience while we attempt to resolve this issue for you.

Thank you for contacting the SQUARE ENIX Support Center."

My next accusation was that the company was only sending me generic responses and not actually concerned with my inquiries, and more importantly for the well-being of its customers:

"Thank you for contacting SQUARE ENIX support,

We apologize for the response as may seem generic. The issue must be forwarded to the development team for a resolution. Unfortunately, we cannot provide any additional information regarding this matter. We appreciate your patience and a response will given once a resolution from the development team has been provided.

Thank you for contacting the SQUARE ENIX Support Center."

Naturally, I've received that exact same e-mail three times now.

The conclusion that I've come to is that I've been screwed by Square Enix. Every single person who has bought Chrono Trigger on Android has been screwed by Square Enix. Google has done nothing to put a stop to this; they're just as much at fault for allowing a broken game to exist on their platform as Square Enix is, because six months of terrible reviews and reports of the game being broken have gone ignored by both companies.

I'm extremely sympathetic to Square Enix's dilemma. After all, Android is an ever-evolving software system that is stretched out over many platforms, as opposed to the iOs and home consoles that only have to worry about one (or, in Apple's case, one evolving) platform. But the moment I gave my $15.99 to Square Enix for this game, I assumed that they were committed to providing me with a working game on the same platform I bought it on for as long as I had it. I plan to have my Note 2 for many years to come, but this game didn't last me seven months.

It's extremely frustrating to me, considering that Square Enix has long been my favorite developer. Final Fantasy VIII was my first RPG, and the Kingdom Hearts games are, if not my favorite series of games, at least right up there. If the Square Enix logo is on a game, I'm interested in it. To be treated so poorly by a company that I've loved and been a devoted fan of for fifteen years now is heartbreaking.

My requests aren't outrageous. Fix Chrono Trigger. If that's not possible, I'd rather receive credit for the Google Play store more than a refund, and I'd just use it to purchase the latest Final Fantasy game on the system as opposed to buying anything else with it. I'm that devoted to this company; if they reached out and made amends to their fans, I wouldn't hold this incident against them for a moment. But that's apparently not going to happen, because Square Enix has made it clear that the fans are not their priority here, once they've taken our money.

But hey, on the bright side, the game has dropped in price since I bought it to only $9.99. Thanks, Square Enix.