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Chrono Cross: Chrono Trigger
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Chrono Cross is a Japanese role-playing game produced by Square Enix and released in Japan on November 18, 1999 for the Playstation and in North America on August 15, 2000. It is the long awaited second installment in the Chrono series, though on the surface its story has relatively little do with the legendary Chrono Trigger game. Chrono Cross makes references the original plot of Chrono Trigger, but it is only a small piece in the much broader scope of the second story.
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The story should seem familiar to those who played Chrono Cross as the story of Radical Dreamers was later reworked to form the basis of Chrono Cross's story. The game starts off with Serge, Kid, and Magil (who is obviously Magus to those who played Chrono Trigger) heading into Viper Manor to steal the Frozen Flame and pretty much the entire game takes place with-in the mansion. You'll later meet several other characters from Chrono Trigger and Cross and hear references to a few others.
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Like Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross defies convention when it comes to a battle system. There are no random battles (similar to its predecessor), and ... no experience points. During the battle you accumulate stamina points over time. You then can do a weak attack (1 SP), medium attack (2 SP), or a strong attack (3 SP). Thing is, the stronger the attack, the less likely it is to succeed. But when you do a successful attack, the likeliness of your next attack succeeding increases.
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Chrono Cross features a diverse cast of forty-five party members. To create characters, developers brainstormed traits and archetypes.[6] Originally, sixty-four were planned.[6] Each character is outfitted with an innate Element affinity and three unique special abilities. The presence of six elements is a departure from Chrono Trigger's limit at four, and Chrono Cross does provide an explanation for the change—that Chrono Trigger's magic involved manipulating four basic universal properties, and that Chrono Cross's magic employs manufactured tools to effect changes in nature.[29] If taken to the world opposite their own, characters react to their counterparts (if available). Many characters tie in to crucial plot events. Since it is impossible to obtain all forty-five in one playthrough, players must replay the game to witness everything. Through use of the New Game+ feature, players can ultimately obtain all characters on one save file.
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Chrono Cross' sound is strong overall, with some notable exceptions. The music, composed once again by Chrono Trigger veteran Yasunori Mitsuda, is generally effective, yet very different from Chrono Trigger's. Specifically, the overall range of styles and moods invoked seems much more limited. While Trigger's soundtrack incorporated everything from the primitive beats of Ayla's theme to Robo's futuristic musical signature, and just about everything else in-between, Cross' soundtrack just seems so much more conservative and, well, mellow by comparison. The background music is sometimes so subtle as so seem like little more than ambient noise. Instruments seem to be limited mostly to some acoustic guitar, a few flutes, and some light strings.
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Chrono Cross is a game that calls for patience and commitment. Thepresentation is not lacking; it's the execution that's complicated. Thebattle system is powerful, but takes time to get used to. The story alsopicks up as the game progresses. Both aspects were clearer and betterdone in Chrono Trigger, but there's no time travelling back to thosesimpler days.
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