Reviewed: June 23, 2001
Reviewed by: Aaron Daigle
Publisher
Square Electronic Arts
Developer
Squaresoft
Released: August 15, 2000
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen
10
9
9
10
9.6
Supported Features:
Chrono Cross has got to be one of the most under appreciated games to be released in the last few years. While it is easily one of the most beautiful and engaging games ever created, it has failed to catch on in the mainstream, more than likely this is because it isn’t named Final Fantasy. Chrono Cross’ tale plays out across parallel dimensions as the game’s protagonist Serge tries to acquire the Frozen Flame and discover the circumstances surrounding his death.
The games predecessor, Chrono Trigger, which was released near the end of the Super Nintendo’s lifespan, is widely considered to be the best RPG of all time. While Chrono Cross does take some departures from the formula used in the first game, none detract from the immersive experience. The game’s sound and graphics are simply outstanding and while some people complain that the game is too different to be ‘Trigger’s sequel, Chrono Cross is clearly a labor of love.
Chrono Cross features game play that will hook both novice and hardcore games alike. RPG combat typically revolves around an "active battle timer" which determines how long each character has to wait until they can take another turn. In Chrono Cross however, each character has seven stamina points and can unleash Weak (1 point), Medium (2 points) or Strong (3 points) attacks. This system allows you attack at any time, as long as your character has at least one stamina point, also enemies can interrupt your attacks resulting in battles that feel more real time and frantic.
Magic in Chrono Cross is divided into six color categories and each character has a color assigned to them, which represents their innate abilities. When in battle, a gauge sits in the upper left corner of the screen that shows the "Field Effect" status when the gauge goes all one color, spells of that type hit with extra punch. While on the topic of battles, there are no random battles in this game, plus there are no enemies on the world map. After the battle is over you can choose to have the game use your inventory to heal all of your characters automatically.
Chrono Cross has a staggering number of playable characters, 45 to be exact, and not one is just a generic placeholder. Each has their own distinct personality and mannerisms, for example you have Kid, the tough talking Aussie thief, then there is Pierre, the French "Hero". Seeing as this is a text-based game, it is amazing how much work was put into giving each character their own speech patterns. The story unfolds differently depending on who or what, you take into your party. Weaponry is as diverse as the cast with an arsenal that includes rods, gloves, slings, guitar picks, boomerangs, swallows, daggers, axes, carrots (?) swords and guns among others.
When you’re not carving up beasties and enemy soldiers in battle you can stroll through the various cities and villages scattered across the map. The non-playable characters (NPC's) that often provide informative tidbits that help to fill in the background of the story. While there stop by the local forge and have some of the items you’ve collected in your travels formed into new armor and weapons. The only game play complaint I developed was that some of the side quests are very well blended into the fabric of the story. So much so, that I would spend half an hour seemingly progressing towards the next objective only to be rewarded with a non-critical, if useful item.
As Playstation games go, Chrono Cross’s graphics are second to none. The character models are beautifully detailed and animated, characters have different skin complexions, and their clothing looks great. Even the enemy characters, which in other games are all to often neglected, look great, with little if any "palate switching". The environments are excruciatingly detailed and organic looking in a way that is hard to describe. In this world, fishermen aren’t just guys with fishing poles standing by the water. They hang their catch out for all to see in the village square, or fillet them in their workroom complete with buzzing flies and buckets of fish guts.
The game world has a decidedly tropical feel with islands and floating cities. The FMV cut scenes are everything that we have come to expect from Square and do an excellent job of moving the plot forward.
Square out does itself with the music of Chrono Cross. From the lazy island tunes of Arni Village to the rousing battle theme the score serves as a perfect match for the game’s graphical tone, organic. At times I found my self not playing and just listening. Composer Yasunari Mitsuda has done an outstanding job of pulling the player fully into the experience.
The other standout aspect of the sound work of Chrono Cross is the ever-present ambient noise of sea birds, the wind, the waves or just a cook working in his kitchen. I found all manner of seemingly insignificant details that left me amazed that anyone even thought to include them.
Chrono Cross could keep you busy for 30+ hours on your first try, but at that point you will want to go back and try to recruit some of the characters you didn’t (or couldn’t) recruit on your first try. By my count you would have to play through at least three times before you could possibly have everyone in your party and explored all their plot threads. If you like finding all the secret stuff in your games, I would count on spending 70+ blissful hours with Chrono Cross.
Chrono Cross is, without a doubt, one of the finest RPGs ever developed, period. With its immersive atmosphere and terrific replay value, it’s a must have for any gamer, hardcore or not. If you are one of those people who have never played an RPG before this is definitely the game you should use to get your feet wet.
