Chrono Cross is on paper a sequel to Chrono Trigger. With an entirely different cast of protagonists, set in a seemingly different world at first, and with a story only ambiguously connected to the original, one can understand the contempt some fans of Trigger have expressed throughout the years.
Divorcing Chrono Cross from Trigger and judging the game on its own merits is the best way to experience the title. Luckily it provides some truly unique, yet at times, overly ambitious features to the turn based format, with a story conceptually just as ambitious.
Like many Squaresoft entries at this period of time, the pre-rendered backgrounds are downright gorgeous. Nobuteru Yuuki's lush and vivid color pallette are striking in virtually every camera fixed screen. The game from a visual standpoint is uniquely recognizable and is a huge strength, standing out from many of its drab and dreary looking contemporaries, boasting just as lively a score as well. Another feature unique to Chrono Cross is its party recruitment system. While it's certainly neat to have roughly 40 playable characters to choose from within your party, (some available/un-available depending on your choices), this forces a vast amount of party members to be skin deep in their development, albeit there's a hearty chunk of backstory and progression for more prominent characters nestled within the sidequests.
The story to Chrono Cross is a convoluted, yet ultimately, existential triumph. Sadly its poorly delivered for the most part. A large amount of its overarching themes and plot is dumped on you near endgame and the dialougue for the most part is poor. I'm assuming this is specifically due to crude localization, a problem many JRPGs suffered from in this era.
Overall Chrono Cross doesn't share the same emotional impact its predecessor conjures. Having said that, dismissing its beautiful locales, wholly diverse set of characters, one of a kind battle mechanics, and grandiose storytelling would be a shame for any Turn- Based fantatic.
Divorcing Chrono Cross from Trigger and judging the game on its own merits is the best way to experience the title. Luckily it provides some truly unique, yet at times, overly ambitious features to the turn based format, with a story conceptually just as ambitious.
Like many Squaresoft entries at this period of time, the pre-rendered backgrounds are downright gorgeous. Nobuteru Yuuki's lush and vivid color pallette are striking in virtually every camera fixed screen. The game from a visual standpoint is uniquely recognizable and is a huge strength, standing out from many of its drab and dreary looking contemporaries, boasting just as lively a score as well. Another feature unique to Chrono Cross is its party recruitment system. While it's certainly neat to have roughly 40 playable characters to choose from within your party, (some available/un-available depending on your choices), this forces a vast amount of party members to be skin deep in their development, albeit there's a hearty chunk of backstory and progression for more prominent characters nestled within the sidequests.
The story to Chrono Cross is a convoluted, yet ultimately, existential triumph. Sadly its poorly delivered for the most part. A large amount of its overarching themes and plot is dumped on you near endgame and the dialougue for the most part is poor. I'm assuming this is specifically due to crude localization, a problem many JRPGs suffered from in this era.
Overall Chrono Cross doesn't share the same emotional impact its predecessor conjures. Having said that, dismissing its beautiful locales, wholly diverse set of characters, one of a kind battle mechanics, and grandiose storytelling would be a shame for any Turn- Based fantatic.