677: Chrono Cross

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Chrono Cross for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[K1tsnats]

TWR: Starky Best Character

[Tbone254]

For years I searched the internet for news of a potential Chrono Cross remaster/hd upgrade. (I can’t be the only one that randomly looks up old game to see if there are remasters/HD re-releases on the horizon, right?) It was a favorite of mine growing up and the options for playing it on modern hardware were pretty limited. I also didn’t have access to original hardware. So a remaster or PC releases would have been a dream come true for me. After years of waiting and searching I finally broke down and emulated it, but it turns out Chrono Cross isn’t t the easiest game to get up and running on an emulator, in a decent looking state at least. It took me a few hours to get everything set up, looking nice, and streaming to my TV, ready for me to play this along side my wife. Of course, not a month after we finished playing through it, the Chrono Cross Radical Dreamers edition was announced. Story of my life right there.

I really liked Chrono Cross when it was released, and I still like it now. It definitely has some flaws but I never really understood a lot of the hate the game gets, at least from some vocal Chrono Trigger fans in some forums. I understand that a sequel to one of the most beloved RPGs is going to have astronomically high expectations, but I think they did a really good job with this game. I really enjoyed the direction they took the story, with the whole parallel universes and dealing with past consequences thing. I read an interview with one of the developers (can’t remember when or whom) that they didn’t want to use the time travel aspect of Chrono Trigger again because it would essentially be the same game and they wanted to make something different. I agree with their choice. I think the parallel worlds kind of encourages the massive cast and the almost vignette style storytelling of some of the minor characters. And while I enjoy epic tales of adventure with complex relationships and deep character growth, I also enjoy the simpler stories. Sometimes less is more and it helps to build the world so that the main story can really flourish.

You can’t talk about Chrono Cross without talking about the music. It’s easily one of the best video game soundtracks ever recorded. Or at least that’s what I think. It just hits all the right feels for me. It’s an achingly beautiful soundtrack that evokes the emotions of melancholic longing of times past, and the hopeful adventure of the unseen future. I don’t think I’ve ever heard music that could make me feel happy and sad at the same time, like this music does. I’m also a sucker for anything with violins and cellos and man does Yasunori Mitsuda put those strings to work here. I obviously love this soundtrack. I used to let the game sit on idle to just let the music play when I first played it 2 decades ago. Now I regularly listen to it while doing busy work around the house. It’s the one I fall back to when I just can’t figure out what station to put on. On my, not important to anyone else, list of greatest video game soundtracks, this sits at number 1.

Chrono Cross is a lovely little game. It has incredible diverse cast, a unique battle and leveling system, a weirdly complex storyline, and some of the most gorgeous backgrounds Squaresoft has ever created. They hold up incredibly well today, especially in the Radical Dreamers edition. I think Chrono Cross is great example of a developer at its most confident and creative. I have enjoyed watching and experiencing what video games have become over the years, and some of the greatest games I’ve played have been from the past couple of generations of consoles. But there is something incredibly charming about this time period of gaming. It was practically the wild west of 3D gaming and when a developer really began to hit its stride, it made for some uniquely wonderful games.

[derek332]

eah, I’m right there with you. It's funny how everyone seems to have this "I’ve been waiting for a remaster for years" story. I mean, Chrono Cross is one of those games that always felt like it had a cult classic vibe, especially when you compare it to Chrono Trigger. I get why some fans of the original might have had high expectations, but honestly, they took risks with Cross, and I think those risks paid off in spades.

And yo, the music? No question, it's on a whole other level. Yasunori Mitsuda’s score is legendary. I don’t know how he managed to make something so beautifully haunting yet oddly uplifting. It’s like listening to memories on repeat, and it always hits the sweet spot when you’re in the mood for something nostalgic but not quite in-your-face.

The gameplay and story are weirdly complex in a good way, though. The multiple characters and parallel universe thing make it feel like a world where anything could happen. A bit scattered, maybe, but that’s what gives it so much character.

If anything, the Radical Dreamers edition was a blessing for people who couldn’t track down the original hardware or emulate it without feeling like they’re doing some crazy tech wizardry. It's one of those gems that, despite being a little rough around the edges, stays with you.

[AndrewElmore]

I've never gotten more than something like six or eight hours into Chrono Cross because I've never figured out the battle system, as I am not a clever man. That being said, I have an abiding love for Chrono Cross that is almost entirely rooted in manners of aesthetic; the art direction and mise-en-scène of a painterly world springing with vibrant life and light that dance across the screen. I've seen very little of the game for myself, but I have a lot of fondness for it. Mitsuda-san's masterful score is unassailable as far as I'm concerned. His legendary work on Cross is, if you'll allow me a brief indulgence of hyperbolic phrasing delivered in stone-faced sincerity, straight up some of the best of the best that has ever been.

If I can also enter a state of self-parody for the moment, I want to shout-out the implementation of Dolby Surround in this release. When decoded properly, a lot of the music is actually mixed in four-channel analogue surround, Quadrophenia-style. I have no idea if that's the case for the recent re-release as I haven't played it, but there's a big ol' Dolby Surround logo on the back of the case of the original game. This is the case for most of Squaresoft's PlayStation games from late-'98 onward, such as Final Fantasy VIII et al. Anyway, Chrono Cross is a particularly strong example of multi-channel surround audio on the PlayStation, so I always like to shout that out when I can.

Anyway, I love Chrono Cross--I hope to play (the rest of) it someday!