Chrono Cross steps out of that "Dream Project" Final Fantasy x Dragon Quest concept, and forms its own identity, and hoo boy, what a fuckin' identity that Masato Kato and his team have managed to pull off. This is without a doubt the coolest RPG on the PlayStation, at least among Square's output for the console. Not sure if I'd rank it above too many of their other PS1 titles, but it absolutely fucks thanks to that late 90s Square AAA budget mixed with those lofty and unreachable narrative and technical aspirations that only a PSX RPG can truly deliver on.

Right from the start I was a big fan of the combat system; the phrase "Pokémon if it was art" kept popping up in my head throughout my playthrough. Don't ask me what that means. Though I feel like it's simultaneously way too much and not really enough to carry a 30+ hour game's worth of combat scenarios; by the very end I was just ready to get it over with and play "normal" video games again. But Chrono Cross has this magic to it, so even when I was ready to seriously question the longevity of its systems, it manages to lend the elements system a thematic and narrative parity that most RPGs only wish they could have with their game systems -- so that's more than enough to make up for the transgression of making me a little bit bored at times for the last 10 hours or so.

The whole 40+ playable characters thing is sick as hell. It's also just not a very well-thought-out idea, probably just exacerbating a lot of the game's biggest issues, but I also don't feel the game would be the same unforgettable experience without it. I do wish there were more characters directly anchored to the thrust of the narrative or that Serge spoke or something cuz there are portions of the game that are left relatively flavorless since they're composed of cookie cutter dialogue that has to be applied to every single character. It's really clearly rushed overall, but the devs were clearly invested in getting their message conveyed even if they had to resort to less than intuitive methods of delivering said story. It's a game clearly made with love and raw ambition, and I can absolutely see why those who adore the game are so passionate about it.

As for the music, Mitsuda did an incredible job -- in fact I'd say incredible is almost an understatement -- Chrono Cross' soundtrack is transcendental. The only place it really falters is, seemingly like most soundtracks he's worked on solo, the battle music. Like, it's definitely good and I enjoy it in a vacuum, but man the main battle theme gets pretty grating after the first 15 hours or so of battles. It was a genuine relief during the sections where they'd forgo the battle theme for whatever ambient music is currently playing. But it's only a small blight, if you could even call it that, on what's easily one of the most beautiful and meaningful game OSTs of all time.

But even when you kinda aggregate the highs and the lows, I really did enjoy my time with the game. Not sure why it took me so long to get around to fully playing through it, but I'm really, really glad I impulsively just popped this on last weekend and really made myself stick to it. I feel like it's taught me new ways to engage with and even love media more effectively. I'm not sure it's the best game it could possibly be given the circumstances, but I feel what it actually is is a vastly more valuable, exceptional experience than hypothetically achieving mechanical and structural perfection.

CWs for Chrono Cross: child abuse, sexual harassment, burning alive, mind control.

Maybe the boldest and most tender RPG produced at Square pre- and post-merger, Chrono Cross is a pastoral re-phrasing of Chrono Trigger's thesis on the will of the individual. Where Trigger gives you buckets of endings to fulfil the endless possibility of time travel and the player's will as represented by our avatar Crono, Chrono Cross says you must live in society. Every day may feel like you're working with systems beyond your individual control which you don't yet understand, but the people you surround yourself with, how you order the tasks set before you, and who you share collective memory with create a bold and irreplaceable picture of life. Simply designing a vibrant world and filling it with life in animation and visionary approaches to pre-rendered backgrounds grants Chrono Cross a precious vitality I've always wished could poke through in Trigger.

The combat system is a little dinky and it's unbelievable that this game still runs like dog shit on its modern ports, but most video games to this day wish they could land their fantasy allegory for modern society like this game does so effortlessly. There's not really that much nuance because it just doesn't need it! Living in society has boundaries and structures that can hurt and help us and it's in our power to band together and do something about the ones that harm, send tweet.

I've been in a burnout these days, not feeling gratification in gaming and lacking a feeling of vitality I get whenever I play something that connects strongly. I've tried other games from my list only to drop them due to lack of interest, or something at the moment not clicking. On a whim I tried Chrono Cross again because of the score for whatever reason resonating deeply at this moment in my life. Looking back now after finishing, I can't believe I allowed myself to gloss over this game for so long. It hit every check-mark and once in-tune with the battle system, it felt like the most intuitive gameplay in an rpg I've ever played.

Its story is surprisingly somber and philosophically absurdist, taking the right approach by branching from Chrono Trigger thematically in taking a introspective method of reflection of impermanence, self-purpose and whether life has inherent value or meaning, reasserting our own purpose and domain than assigned purpose, and how time travel would change us as a species in diminishing value of life. This is all perfectly cohesive to the hand-drawn art direction for its backgrounds and post-impressionist influence the game designers ran with as the artists and movements, too, embraced imperfection and the natural world being subjective; living simultaneously amongst other realities along our own; the moments that pass and the rhythms that surround us daily, capturing the ephemeral. The score has been spoken ad nauseam at this point, but is a testament to music enhancing experience and thematically emphasizing tone and story.

One of its biggest complaints is its roster being mainly swappable characters lacking in personality other than some colloquially written dialogue bits with some obtuse story/game design when it comes to obtaining certain members. Personally I'm in the minority thinking it as integral to its overarching theme, albeit its delivery could be stronger. We have ripple effects in the every-day interactions with people, some we resonate with while others we may not, the best friend in another world living outside our experience. It emphasizes this chain reaction the player creates in its world, as though the player is working collectively with humanity as a whole - people I've touched in whatever way or another joining hands, and others as missed opportunities that require xyz interaction to lead into them being a part of my life; the real-life Schroedinger's Cat we experience daily, beautiful to pontificate yet a somber reality.

Over the past years, I've tried playing Chrono Cross for honestly don't know how many times, having dropped it and lost interest rather quickly - from its unconventional battle-system at first glance being overwhelming to hearing how it lacks the same quality to Chrono Trigger. Just 2 years ago I also got through Chrono Trigger and was surprised how much it lived up to its hype, never growing up or having sentimental value towards it. Now playing Chrono Cross and also having no attachment, it's been treated unfairly despite its imperfections in obvious regards. However, after finally playing both and appreciating them for different reasons, they're akin to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Both well crafted experiences, one more straight forward than the other one and doing it well, and the other an experimentation on fate, animism, absurdism, and psychology. It's a poignant piece of art that will mark a lasting impression longer than CT personally, and is now one of my favorite pieces of media. It will always live in memory, as the story itself begs us as a species to not forget ourselves nor the ones we love: in an absurd world, that is all we can place faith and value on.

One of my favorite JRPGs with a lot of uniqueness wrapped up in one package. As something related to Chrono Trigger, it does quite a bit to separate itself as it focuses on dimensional rifts rather than the passage of time which I found far more appealing. The writing and localization is pretty dry but doesn't stop it from having some great impactful (and hilariously dissonant) moments that feel like they matter in the long run.

Really the only reason I even ding this game a half star is its endgame is, as I hate to say it, very rushed and poorly thought out compared to much of what the game has to show before. It hastily tries to wrap up its plot and tie into Chrono Trigger in a very haphazard way which it honestly didn't need to. Had they kept more focus with its connection to the prototype of this game, Radical Dreamers, I feel this would've been a slam dunk. However, I digress as that's not the case.

Still if you want a trip on the more bizarre side of JRPGs with a colorful cast, gorgeous visuals, unique mechanics, and a soundtrack that'll knock your socks off, this is a game I would absolutely recommend.

Chrono Cross is a bizarre game, that's really the best way I have of describing it. If I knew nothing about this game and just sat down and played it, I wouldn't have known it was a sequel to Chrono Trigger until maybe 10 hours into the game. But yet, I really think that works in this game's favor. Chrono Trigger is one of the most influential JRPGs out there, so a making a sequel similar to it would be hard to get right. I think Chrono Cross going in an entirely different direction really works well, though I'd still say it's not as good as Chrono Trigger.
To get through with the story first, I don't really know what to say of it. I feel it's one of those games where the less you know about the story, the better. It's this maze of distortion and bewilderment, but I do think it works well in the end. I don't really want to go into anything specific because of that.
The combat is really interesting! It takes more of a turn-based approach than its predecessor, and I really like the systems it has. Nigh fully customizable movesets for each character, and so many ways to approach enemies in general. Rarely did the game ever challenge me, but those moments that they did were really memorable because of it. One integral aspect of the combat that I really loved at the end of the day was the leveling system, or in other words, the near lack of. Levels only really happen after each major boss fight, and you rarely gain stats from generic enemies. Sure, that means that there's no way of getting stronger through simply level-grinding, but at the end of the game, that really felt like a nonissue. The game felt properly balanced to where you don't need any grinding at all as long as you understand the combat mechanics enough.
Another major part of the game is just, how many playable characters there are. Though unable to obtain them all in a single playthrough, this game touts 45 playable character total, which is absurd. I remember getting I think 36 characters? So you can get a generous amount in a single playthrough, especially since you can only use 3 in battle at a time. And while I really liked trying to obtain every single character I could, I ended up really not using many of them, and sticking to a main set of three.
While I don't think it's as good as Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross still ended up being a fantastic JRPG. In fact, when I first planned to play this game, I thought it was PS2 game, so I was surprised to see that it was a PS1 game instead. Chrono Cross is definitely weird, and I'm unsure if many would like it as much as I would, but I'd at least recommend trying it out.

Chrono Cross simply has one of the most convoluted plots of all time.

I distinctly recall playing this game as a child and not understanding what was going on beyond the weird dimensional travel and body swapping.

After playing it again as an adult, I can tell why I don't remember any of the story details.

One of the most gorgeous Playstation 1 JRPG, with amazing atmosphere, direction and characters.

OST is one of the best ive heard in my gamer's life and the story still resonate with me after all those years.

A gem of the fifth generation of video game consoles

just realizing that i actually never thought to write a review of this game. honestly most of my memories of this game come from the fact that i watched my cousin play it for over a year. we live in different places within the same country, so they wouldn't boot it up until i would come to visit.

did we like the game? i'd say for about the first half of it or so. the second half takes a page from atlus and left us thinking, "huh. that was a weird turn of events". but even while frequently getting lost and facing difficult or drawn out boss battles, there were still times where we could appreciate the game. the atmosphere of another world's overworld map theme immediately comes to mind; it's quiet and pensive and does a wonderful job of capturing the feelings that come with living in a world post-tragedy.

is chrono cross worth playing? if you're new to rpgs, i would stay away because this is a BEAST of a game to tackle and can put you off rpgs if you're not familiar with the genre. if you're a diehard fan of chrono trigger or long rpgs that demand to be replayed multiple times for 100% completion, go for it! make sure that you've either played chrono trigger and radical dreamers or have knowledge of what happens within both games. how the second half appeals to you can hinge on how much you enjoyed the story of chrono trigger, and chrono cross as a game was meant to build on radical dreamers, which was originally a side story taking place in the chrono trigger universe. after having played through one of the endings (i believe it was the true ending), my cousin and i agreed that we don't have the time to go through this game 11 more times to see the rest of the endings. hopefully you do, though.

I may be lenient on this game for just being a cozy game I played at the right time, it was nice to go back to a ps1 jrpg again, despite maybe those games handling certain aspects better, while I haven't played Chrono Trigger, I know enough about it to understand why the fans of Trigger or other ps1 jrpgs, may be disappointed or not look as fondly on this game as they do others.

The game is ambitious and weird, but that is why I like it. But it also has a incredible soundtrack that beautifully sets the mood for the paint-like prerendered backgrounds the game features as well as unique designs for the party members that range from more 90s anime characters to more cartoonish creatures that I personally enjoy in rpgs. the novelty of 45 party members is that a novelty, with such a wide arrange of characters most of which are outclassed by others in the gameplay department I assume the intention was to see who you would get/find on your playthrough to harken back to a time where you would share game secrets with your friends in real life or on early message boards.

Because the more you have the less you really are going to end up using considering there are parts where doing the plot dumps you with 3-5 at a time, not that a lot of party members can' work look at any strategy game or games with larger parties, I'm told suikoden does it well,

But chrono cross has 2 party members you can pick and the protag who can't be swaped til new game plus.

as for how each character effects the plot it really is going to vary, again there a lack of general focus on a group of characters, aside from a few select characters that get a kind of arc at awkwardly paced moments in the game some of which are entirely optional, there's really only one character who I can say is safely consistently well written.

that being Kid who is such a fun character that has a strong relationship with the player over the course of the game that I genuinely cared about her, her dialouge was charming and her backstory and motivations were paced well, and maybe that was the intention to have her be the main focus, that's not to say she's the ONLY character that has any arc or development, characters like Radius, Fargo, Karsh, as well as one of the main antagonists are interesting and well written I would say like I said before they kind of come in at weird times, which I can forgive and it isn't like characters NEED an arc to be good I have a few favorites that really don't do much like skelly or ponshul or leena.

But people who like their rpg casts to be more focused where each maybe at least gets a small arc and enough screen time may not enjoy this game as much.

despite me preferring a more solid smaller focused party I wont lie when I say how much I enjoyed the pure adventure and spirit this game carries perhaps from that aesthetic and music it has, I do resonate with the themes despite the fact if you played an rpg from this era I doubt it will be anything that new that will blow your socks off ( at least if you played FF7 or xenogears), ive seen some people call the themes generic "humanity bad""war bad" themes but for the time it works and even if its a tad generic, I think this is the writing aspect of the game that it handles well what it lacks in character writing makes up for in what it does want to say, including how it handles discrimination which I wont spoil much but being able to experience it first hand later game when you did not experience it early game is a fun way to show it just simply through npc dialouge which is just a fun thing from this era of games.

as far as gameplay goes it has a system where you can basically equip almost anything on anyone and the aforementioned 45 party members makes it so you will probably have someone good for whatever your team needs, the elements system is quite interesting and I had fun just setting up my characters and preparing for a fight, you can run away from anything in this game including story bosses, which is nice for the preparing for battle or loading a previous save to swap your party, I think this aspect of the game was made to accommodate amount of party members, and personally that part works for me, the bosses feel often like puzzles but in a fun and challenging way regular fights are kind of whatever but the bosses are where the gameplay shines. a minor gripe maybe is that physical is way too good late game I feel magic just gets kind of outclassed for the most part would have preferred more balance in that area, early game is the opposite where magic is insanely strong but its more balanced since the stronger spells are at higher levels on your grid, which I enjoyed, I would critique how some party members are kind of useless but I went out of my way to get everyone which I am sure that was not intended for a first time player. A friend of mine also playing the game around the same time used different party members than I did because she decided to go in more blind on that aspect which I think does add replay value to the game as well as a few plot choices that really don't add much other than thematic value and if you want to be a dick to kid or not. Combat is simple but effective and exploration is really fun to see what secrets you can find which is something I do genuinely miss from this era.

no title relevancy intended but this game is very much a time capsule for this era in a very fun way, It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if you are in it for the adventure and aesthetic of this era id say the themes and excellent worldbuilding and simple but overall fun gameplay, and mushroommen will show you a nice adventure I almost didn't want to see end.