Chrono Cross | An Atmospheric Masterpiece or Disappointing Sequel? (Retrospective)
Vložit
- čas přidán 19. 04. 2022
- Chrono Cross is one of the most polarizing RPGs from the PS1 era due to some gameplay mechanics and its relation to Chrono Trigger, or lack of relation you could say. Some people absolutely love it and consider it one of the best RPGs of all time; other people hate it and want nothing to do with it. This retrospective analyzes both sides of the argument and sees just how well this Squaresoft classic holds up more than 20 years after it initial release.
*Meant to say previous respective entries and not respective entries around the 1:08 mark
Thanks for watching everyone! If you enjoyed the video and want to further support the channel, please consider donating to our Patreon and/or following us at the social media links below.
Patreon: / gamingbroductions
Instagram: / gamingbroductions
Twitter: / gbroductions
Edited by: Evan Pierson
Written/Narrated by: Corbin Pierson
#ChronoCross #ChronoCrossRetrospective #ChronoCrossReview - Hry
Regardless of what side of the fence you fall on with the game itself, we can all agree Yasunori Mistuda’s soundtrack is a masterpiece.
Oh absolutely, 100%. At the end of the day everyone is entitled to their own opinion but if someone tried to argue the OST was trash I would have a real hard time taking any of their music opinions after that seriously
@@GamingBroductions it might just be my childhood talking but Yasunori Mitsuda and David Wise are my two favorite composers from their fantastic work on the DKC and Chrono series among others.
@@buckchuckgaming597 David Wise is another amazing composer. I was watching a Diddy Kong Racing speedrun the other day and was like damn, I forgot how incredibly catchy and awesome the music is
I used to shower to OSTs in grad school just to psych me up for the day, and Chrono Cross was one of my favorites.
Its one of the reasons i get hooked in the game. Its music is a timeless masterpiece.
You guys deserve way more viewers. I feel like this channel is my hidden treasure
Ya love to hear it. Thanks PoopBro
Your name is your hidden treasure
@@GamingBroductions it's pronounced (master- mu-ne) sound it out
CC has actually aged very well surprisingly. It’s easier for trigger, Zelda link to the past etc to age well bc their pixels are part of their charm. Usually more 3D graphics don’t age well but bc of the stylized art and beautiful cutscenes it still looks great. Even basic spells like gravity blow and photon beam are still cool looking. Like elemental kamehamehas. And the music is one of the best soundtracks of all time even better than some legendary Zelda and final fantasy soundtracks.
I think music makes a game more than anything else, in my opinion. Its true twice over for RPGs. I thought about this when I was young and playing FF6 (3 in snes) for the first time.
For sure, I agree that music plays a bigger role in RPGs than other genres. Often times the first thing you remember about games you played as a kid is some of the music and how it made you feel. Atmosphere in general is a huge reason why I love RPGs
@@GamingBroductions Absolutely.
Similar story but it was chrono trigger when I was a kid. Before that I never really noticed music in games. I liked mega man music but that was it
FF6 stands out for having strong themes throughout whereas CT or CC have a few that are outstanding but some that are just OK. There isn’t any average track In FF6 in my opinion.
The pixel remasters have mostly done a good job with the music, too.
@@makasete30 Truthful. And they were able to fit 60+ songs (2 of which are 10+ minutes long) on that cartridge along with dozens of bosses and sprites and 2 overworlds. This is why it has been my favorite rpg for nearly three decades.
I love that it didn't just try to be Trigger. I like the unique combat and elements. I like that it used Dimension hopping instead of time travel. It was really just lacking on characters development. I fell like they could have cut it to 30 and been able to do full stories.
Or less. Many characters are required to advance the plot from Point A to Point B (Starky is a prime example) but offer nothing to the overall narrative and, therefore, could have been cut from recruitment. Some of them are COMPLETE filler (here's looking at you, Janice/Mojo/Turnip/Funguy). I love this game. I truly do. But there is no advantage to handicapping yourself by using low-impact characters that simply aren't as good as characters who also add to the story. Glenn, Leena, and a few others are totally optional but add SO MUCH to the narrative. I will always find myself using them. Same goes for characters like Norris and Fargo. They have motivations beyond the plot, side stories to explore, and are at least two-dimensional.
@@RobertSStein if not 30 it would have to be 24. You figure that there are 6 elements in the game so you want it to be fairly even among characters. But I would want at least 12 because a slightly larger cast was something I was missing when it came to possible group combos. Even more since 2 of the playable in CT were unable to use magic. Oh and the tech combos would have been better with a smaller cast.
@@RobertSStein Hey, i rather characters to be kept.
I mean, i don't see people complaining about Pokemon having filler party members... I love pokemon-esque RPGs... especially when you have actual characters.
@@KeyleeTamirian Pokémon isn’t known for having a story or character development. The entire point of Pokémon is to “catch them all.” Chrono Cross is a story driven RPG that has tons of recruitable characters for no apparent reason. It’s not an appropriate comparison.
@@RobertSStein I still don't see what is wrong in having a story-driven RPG that has tons of recruitable characters.
Look at World of Final Fantasy. it's a fun adventure with only two main characters and a cute Tama fox. And it has tons of mons to collect. I don't see anything wrong in having lots of characters in a story-driven RPG.
I mean, heck, a classic JRPG Dragon Quest V is very story-driven, and characters rarely even talk, but story is still immersive.
Im pretty split on the character amount. On one hand I love finding the characters, and the amount let's us have pip and poshul. On the other hand I think that Smaller groups in jrpgs are much better story wise. I do wish you could have 3 other party members instead of 2, seemed like a weird choice given the amount of characters available
I feel you there, with so many cool characters having only 2 others to choose from does feel very limiting. Suikoden had the right idea of giving you a 6 person party since there are so many characters, so even just having 4 for Chrono Cross could have gone a long way and given more viability to characters that aren’t often used
@@GamingBroductions 4 total members is my preferred amount gameplay wise, but with how many characters there are something like 6 would probably have been the best number. I wonder what changes we would have seen to gameplay had they gone that route?
@@lincolnshaughnessy5568 I think the game's battle system is tailored nicely to a three person party. If I went back in time, I'd tell them to cut some characters and keep the system.
@@RobertSStein Yeah I can see that, the three players combat wise is awesome. No complaints there, just on having the characters around for story and dialog reasons mainly
I like games with a lot of playable characters, the Suikoden series, and Radiata Stories especially. The problem I have with CC is how easy it is to completely miss some of the characters.
Just stumbled across your channel and wanted to say keep up the good work. There's not nearly enough JRPG love and dedication on CZcams. Spread the love!
Thank you! JRPG content does seem to be lacking in quantity compared to other genres on CZcams so we’ll do what we can to keep fighting the good fight and help give the genre the recognition it deserves
Love your videos bro. Ur subtle humor is nice and the way it just seems like you’re being real is what sets you apart
Really appreciate that and glad to hear the tone comes across well, thanks man
Man, your commentary in this video absolutely moved me. I'm in my 30s as well, and the whole part about wondering if the path you took is correct, what could have been, etc, just hit home so hard for me. That, and the last part about the different types of relationships you have in your life with different people and yourself.... just, damn man, made me feel things. Anyways, I'm gonna buy the remaster and experience this game now that I'm a bit older. Please keep the videos coming, best jrpg channel on youtube by far!
Clarifying the story here for the record, so read on if you don't mind spoilers:
In Chrono Trigger, each timeline change you make as the player and character directly impacts the outcome of the original group's meddling in history.
To better explain this it's important to know that the Chrono series as a whole leans heavily on the concept of causal loops, causality, fate, multiverses, butterfly effects, and paradoxes. But mostly paradoxes.
Example of a paradox rule:
Doing one good thing on Monday at 5:46 pm helping an old lady across the road, inevitably makes you unable to do anything for someone else at 5:46 pm on that exact same Monday, which is happening elsewhere in that moment. This is because you cannot be in two places at once. If you go back in time, and choose to help the other person instead of the old lady, time may not resolve properly. Because you wouldn't have had guilt or desire to help that other person otherwise, because you couldn't have been there, and didn't know what was happening, at the time.
Cross is perfectly fine and showcases the ripple effect of meddling with time quite well, and actually shows why BEING multiple places and times at once is unstable, and even actively shows the results of Chrono and Co. undermining their own reason to travel in the first place. Think about it. If you go back in time and mess with things, then you should fully expect one of two outcomes of a paradox to happen.
In this sense, Chrono Cross shows what happens when these events "cross" into one another creating a chronological crossing of timelines; or a "Chrono Cross", for short. Just like Chrono Trigger was showing the effects of a Chronological Triggering of sequential events by a fixed point in time; better worded as a "Chrono Trigger", for short.
This leads to a temporal paradox, time paradox, or time travel paradox which is an apparent contradiction, or logical contradiction associated with the idea of time and time travel when things don't play out as they should.
In theory, temporal paradoxes fall into two broad groups: consistency paradoxes exemplified by the grandfather paradox; and causal loops.
So, in simple terms these paradoxes cause time to "glitch", either creating two parallel separate sequences of events, thus "splitting" the timeline; or directly impacting the core timeline in a stand-alone confined and self contained manner; or both at the same time.
It turns out, the group meddled so much in too many places simultaneously that option 3 mentioned above, was the result.
Examples:
Robo replanting the forest in a time before he was ever created, while also in your party watching him replant the forest, when he's supposed to be decommissioned in the future for you to find? That's 3 places at once! That means at least 3 different historical paths.
Nadia being mistaken for her ancestor and revealing things that haven't yet happened such as the technology of the future to make ice cream, while she's supposed to be unborn in that time she's trapped in; and then removed from history because her ancestor was never found as the search was called off. Classic grandfather paradox. How could she be there if her ancestor was left for dead? She couldn't, as she would have never been born. But for her to go missing, she'd need to go back, be found, and then for the search be called off.
Another paradox example is regarding the time and place the party defeats Lavos. To prevent the day of Lavos, he would need to be defeated before he buried deep underground and grew stronger. That means way back in prehistoric.
The party defeating Lavos and changing the future will ultimately end up removing their reason to change history, resulting in a timeline where there was no danger or temporal wormholes due to Lavos; thus making it so that the machine never malfunctioned at the faire right? Absolutely means this is another paradox.
All of these events happening even though they shouldn't be able to, yet still repeating over and over? That's a causal loop. The list of complex time travel theories goes on, and this is just in Chrono Trigger!
To resolve all of these issues and inconsistencies in space and time, "the entity" mentioned in Chrono Trigger resorted to sundering the timeline into three or more pieces with multiple outcomes.
Two examples of this are as follows:
One where your heroes save the day, and has route a where Guardia is peaceful and prosperous; and route B of that same saving of the day where Dalton finds his way to Porre and inflamed them into a warmonger country (which we see in Cross) wherein Guardia is burned to the ground.
One where Chrono remains dead and never goes home. One where you prevent the second awakening of Lavos and manage to kill him in the prehistoric, thus sparing the reptities; and one where you kill him in the future where he's already wrecked the world (letting them rebuild Chronopolis).
A bonus one is the events of Radical Dreamers, which plays out in yet another alternate history as we see in Chronopolis during Chrono Cross.
Ultimately, all of these events happen, must happen, and cannot be prevented from happening now; and all of them are considered core parts of history. The paradox here that Chrono Cross attempts to address is that they cannot happen at the same time because they gang either didn't travel, because Lavos was already dead (peaceful timeline route); and one where they did travel to stop him , but ultimately failed ( as shown in the Dead Sea and Sea of Eden during Chrono Cross).
All of this is the result of nothing more than a case of Shrödingers Lavos, if you will. Is he alive or dead? History can't tell, so it chose both.
It makes perfect sense for both games to be linked in time and paradox theory when you see how things bump into one another in Trigger.
Additionally,,with the DS version of Chrono Trigger, you have the setup and explanation of what the final boss was all about in Chrono Cross, as well as why Magus is Guile and why he lost his memories and feels like he's "searching for something enigmatic" to him.
All of the evidence and detail is there in the media to properly explain the three games and their linked stories, and it's depicted clearly for those willing to step back and look at the bigger picture. The Chrono series is much like Xenogears and the Xeno series in general, at least in the sense that the plot is so much deeper than what is initially perceived on the surface.
This was a great analysis on why time travel, as a theory, just doesn't work and Trigger's erasure of consequences of such ended up being a major plot point in Cross was excellent storytelling.
Well you could argue that the concept of time is flawed anyway, as nothing ever actually moves forward. This is why time-travel is likely impossible to begin with. Pseudo-time travel to the future might be possible, but it would be a one way trip.
Anyway the idea of time in a linear fashion of past-present-future while popular, is essentially a fantasy concept and falls into the realm of science-fiction.
If anyone wants to play through Chrono Cross in a group type setting, check out the MinnMax’s Deepest Dive currently going on. It’s a really fun way to experience the game.
Probably one of my favorite RPGs of all time. The soundtrack absolutely nails it, the environments are stunning, and even the more throwaway characters look great! I got this when it first came out because it was connected to Chrono Trigger - but the interesting thing that happened was I actually forgot about the Chrono part of the title when I started playing and got wrapped up in the story of Serge and the El Nido Archipelago. It wasn't until many hours later when there were references to Trigger that I remembered that this was connected to that story! I was a busy college student at the time, so just played whatever was in my PS1 when I had the time, so maybe that helped in making me appreciate the game on its own merits, as opposed to trying to view it as an extension to Trigger. I still play my PS1 copy to this day.
I played CT on an emulator and played this a couple years later. Idk I wasn’t really aware of this game being a sequel back then, I just played it and enjoyed it for what it was. It didn’t disappoint me that there wasn’t as much of an association with trigger as many fans wanted. I will always love this game for it’s originality.
And also I'd like to give praise to the part at 38:08 where the 'Life' OST smoothly transitions to 'Radical dreamers' while narrating. Beautiful.
Ive yet to finish Chrono trigger but Chrono Cross has been tugging at my attention ever since i came across it. This video really hit me in the feels but by the time is was done, it all just got me even more excited to get to this game when the time comes. Thanks for the content you put out, this channel has become one of my favorites and the overall vibe you give is super genuine and feels from the heart❤️
Chronos Cross is my favorite RPG on the PSOne and possibly all consoles. Thank you for making such a great video it. It was very nostalgic. I had forgotten how deep the philosophical aspects were in this game. It was also very relaxing to play.
This game may have my favorite soundtrack of all time.
I think you absolutely nailed exactly what my feelings are for this game. The way I would summarize Chrono Cross is it's more than just a game - it's an experience. It's handled with so much care and respect for its subject matter. While I don't think it's a perfect game, I do think it's one of the most memorable. You just get the feeling that the team responsible for the game had SO much they wanted to say and wanted the player to experience and it all just works so beautifully. It was an extremely ambitious project, and I'm actually grateful that this is the direction they took the series in instead of a by-the-numbers sequel. This game just feels, for lack of a better word, special.
Great vid man, how did i not discover this a year ago. This is the only video in the entire history of youtube that an epilogue made me cry manly tears. Chrono cross is really a masterpiece in its own right.
I love both Cross and Trigger but I love Cross much more. I was in 3rd grade when my dad bought it and it was love at first sight for me if you put it on words. It was my dad's favorite game and so was mine when I was a kid. I played a fair number of RPGs the past few years (I'm 28) but Cross is still one of my RPG list toppers. As a kid, I loved it because of its visuals and unforgettable masterpiece of a music. Some of its music automatically plays in my head on certain occasions like the "Call of Summer' when I've accomplished something. As I grew older, I appreciated and grew to love it even more because of the story.
Sure, Trigger was a masterpiece but what made me love Cross much more is the connections it had with Trigger. It was the reality of the heroes of Trigger, the consequences of their actions and this time there's no plot armor for them... that's their fate and their reality. The Chronopolis and Dead Sea just blew my mind but I felt devastated at the same time.
I played Cross first and a few years later when I played Trigger and finished it, I had to play Cross again and connect the dots it had with Trigger and the Dead Sea, Chronopolis and The orphanage just sold me this game.
I just love this game so much. It's a masterpiece.
Also good suggestion Gaming Broductions, to play it when your perception of life and meaning has quite matured. Because it's really confusing asf for me when I was younger.
I absolutely love Chrono cross! I discovered this game around 2001 when I was 31, I had no idea at the time that there was a previous game called Chrono Trigger. I fell in love with this game and spent hours playing it. I spent endless evenings and afternoons exploring the El Nido archipelago. Now I am 53 and have a backwards PS3 with a copy of both Chrono cross and Chrono Trigger since I have become someone of a game collector. It will always hold a very special place in my heart and the girl who stole the Stars music, it absolutely gets me every time. Thank you for being a fellow fan❤
Amazing retrospective! I am currently heading to Fort Dragonia with Glenn and Leena (obv) in the remaster and it brings back great memories. What I love about Chrono Cross is that despite the game world being relatively small, the game is packed with tons of secrets, poignant conversations, and wonderful variety. It's a game you can take your time with. It ponders some very heavy themes. Is it as "good" as Trigger? No. Should it be compared to it directly? Absolutely not. It stands on its own.
I think one thing every critics and fans can agree on is how God tier the music is. I think besides that and the setting is what resonates with fans, as the dream like songs feels like we're transported to another world (pun intended). Closing your eyes and listening to the Arni Village theme for example, really feels like you're hanging out at a sleepy beachside town without a care in the world. I love the Another World maps screen theme, Time's Scar, and the ending theme like everyone else, but the village theme slowly over time became my favorite. A lot of it might have to do with it playing it while I was on the beach in Phuket lol.
Thanks for the video though, you summarized all my thoughts on my favorite game of all time when I couldn't, even to the smallest opinions and critiques. It's so much on point with my own thoughts it's scary lol. If I ever by chance get to meet you guys drinks on me, but in the meantime consider me a new Patreon supporter.
Absolutely, the music and setting are really what makes this game so special. It’s got such a unique atmosphere that really transports you to a certain place like you mentioned. The Arni Village theme has grown on me a lot over the years too, it’s easily one of my all time favorite town themes. Just so relaxing and peaceful.
Really appreciate your thoughtful comment and of course for joining our Patreon as well, we’re glad to have you onboard! Thank you.
Thank you for mentioning that damn scene where the fairies cast you away in the water dragon Isle! I mean Most parts of the game like Serge saving the young Kid and disappears is damn sad but this particular scene in the water dragon isle hits very hard too that is paired by Prisoners of Fate OST. It only hit me hard when I became an adult and learned the OSTs title. They are all prisoners of fate apparently, all of them... the Fairies, Dwarves and Humans.
Because of that first 30 seconds, I now found one my favorite game trailers in existence so far. Right up there with the 'freedom update' for Furi and the 'Full Confession' trailer for Katana Zero.
All I can say is thanks!
thanks for taking me back to Christmas 2000, will never forget running around Arni Village, lizard rock, and the beach.
**ANYWAY** Evan be trollin' like 😂
Great video! You pretty much summed up my feelings of the game. Watching your retrospective with the the OG visuals on a non-CRT screen in a wave of videos about the remaster really does put into perspective how much of an update to the visuals they did.
nice, I’ve been waiting for this. Good job as always.
Thank you, glad to hear you enjoyed it 👌
Officially my favorite channel on CZcams. Chrono Trigger is my favorite game of all time, but I’ve always loved Chrono Cross as well. Just ordered a physical copy for the Switch.
Love to hear that, thank you. It’s great to see other huge Chrono Trigger fans who can still appreciate Chrono Cross for what it wanted to be and not what it wasn’t.
I also played it first as a 10 year old kid (I am also 30 now) and it has been one of my favorite RPGs ever since. I remember not understanding much of the story but I was so impressed by the world, art style and music that I didn't really care about story that much.
Awesome video! CC is one of my favorite games
Another fantastic video, inspires me to find my old memory card that has CC data on it and restart the journey. The music really does set it apart, wouldn't be able to say if this or nier has the better soundtrack.
Looking forward to more videos from my favorite JRPG content duo. Y'all keep it up with the quality that rivals your cat's cuteness.
Another awesome video. Keep it up!
Great video as usual man
let's go! Ready to dive into this retrospective!
Hell yeah! Hope you enjoyed it
I always like to pick Kid as a main party member in the first play through. She's a great character, pilfer is hugely helpful, and she's integral to the main story. That said, I think I chose not to save her and got Glenn at least one new game plus. Anyways, CC is one of my all time favorite JRPGs- one of the last great gems in the genre imo. Squaresoft was the best!
I always go the opposite route! Glenn first, then Kid in NG+
@@RobertSStein you're a monster. Lol
When I got my chipped PS1 PAL in 2016 including to connect the audio cable with my amp for my vinyl player and bought the OG Game years ago, I was 40 hrs into it and it was a kinda unique philosophic game, which I never expected. The Changes of the Battle System, the tropical setting including the soundtrack got a perfect harmony and yes battletheme is weird.
At least: Forest of Illusion is my favorite track and my favorite location in Chrono Cross :D
Great video!
When the game came out I played it 3 times in a row and got every character. I LOVED recruiting back then and it hit that need really well. I've listened to the OST since and have bought the official cds as well. The atmosphere is just unparalleled and combining that with Mitsuda's music is just 11/10 for me. Im a sucker as well for elemental dragons, probably from playing Lunar 1 right around this time. It does have flaws and I do think they really try to make you kill Kid, but those are easily overlooked for the whole package. I really enjoy that every playthrough I can choose a different cast, but I would almost always prefer a team of 4 or more. Thats where I will agree that Suikoden did that aspect better. Oh what a continuation of this battle system would look like, one can dream.
21:30
Kid does not need to be in your party for this scene to trigger. I went through this part with Glenn and Leena.
Apparently what stops this scene from triggering, for some reason, is having Razzly in your party.
Interesting, thanks for clarifying that. That’s weird about Razzly not triggering that scene, maybe because she’s a fairy I guess but still I don’t really know why that would matter. When that scene triggered with Glenn and Leena for you, does Kid just pop out of nowhere then when you get to the fairy village?
@@GamingBroductions correct. I found out on this current playthrough im on that you dont need Kid for any of the main events at all. Like even at Viper manor, I never had Kid because I refused her at termina, came there with Guile and Leena instead. Kid will show up on her own and the scene where you fall down the trap door will play out differently. So at water dragon isle, Kid will just show up at the very end once the events there are completed, same as other plot relevant events.
as far as I know that scene won't trigger when you decided to save Kid in Guldove (which also gets you Razzly instead of Glenn).
I remember the music more than the game I had the physical soundtrack at one point and I just remember wearing that sucker out. I think the game is phenomenal but but I barely remember it but I am playing through it for the 2nd time in the remaster at the moment. I'm just glad we live in a time period where we can play these old games and I think I read somewhere that Square Enix wants to make all their old games available on all modern platforms and I couldn't be happier. I was 24 when this game out and between PD on my N64, other games, my brand new DC, RE3 and Lunar 2, I was a very happy gamer. Great memories!!!
I loved that recent Enix video so much ad wasn't expecting more content so soon! You guys have been steeping up your production pace, and I'm impressed.
Chrono Cross was given an impossible task: following up Chrono Trigger. I think the producers did the RIGHT thing by not trying to make a "true" sequel by making more of a "spiritual successor."
CC didn't get the acclaim it deserved at the time, but I feel like it has been since vindicated. The fact that we have a remaster all the way in 2022 bears this out. I hope modern gamers will give it a shot.
Really enjoyed this video, thank you!
I actually just started playing this last night! Enjoying everything so far, except I have been unable to catch that Last Reddish Colored Monster for the Last Scale I need ??
Great Video
That part of the Dead Sea, with Miguel, with the Son Prisoners Of Fate fading in the back, and all of the moment. Its beautiful, right there with you bro, its a fight you dont wanna win. Its one of the things that made me fall in love with this game, the story, the music. The same with Riddel, its very sad.
Love this breakdown. This game doesn't get the appreciation it deserves. Especially with it being a PS game. So much detail and variety is amazing thing when it comes to a JRPG.
Kid Searching for serge in the dimensions in the end always gets me.
Good video as always ❤
Thank you!
No matter how many years has passed I can always here the soundtrack in the back of my head particularly the voyage another world I don't know why perhaps I mostly leave the game there when I have to stop playing a bit. this game is really special since my bestfriend that time gave this game to me or lend but didn't really take it back and how we help each other on how to get the characters and me an idiot thinking the spells are expendable per use so I never used em till he came over and told me it's not lol. and yeah it might be just bias of me but I never cared about the poor connection of it in chrono cross and as a kid it gave me an adventure I could never forget along with the music and visual. really was a great time.
Just beat it for the first time since it came out. Loved almost every minute of it, I think when you first become Lynx the game grinds to a hault for a while. My other much bigger issue is in two parts, getting to Gaea's Navel via the bug, and getting the anti gravity device from the alien. They don't tell you in game at all what you gotta do at them points and it's basically "check everything to advance".
9/10 review well done man. A few small points we disagree on, importance of things like trap elements and summon use to grind shiny material adds a huge end game grind that I feel like you missed. The theme of humans causing destruction, you say falls off after a while.. I disagree. It's basically the entire gripe dragons have with everything else. Overall well done man I enjoyed it very much and subscribed.
Great stuff bros.
Playing both games creates probably one of the best duologies in video gaming narratives since it's telling one long story about time travel and it's consequence without outright telling anybody that's was happening. It explains why the Chrono Cross characters continue to prosper, go on more adventures and live happily ever after, while Trigger's crew all suffered immensely.
This game has sat with me for over 20 years, from the time I watched my friend play it to now, and somehow I have never actually played it myself, but still this game is still awesome.
Wow, Great Video!
Thank you 🙏🏼
My top 3 game of all time
We had a pretty similar experience with Chrono Cross. I got it when I was in middle school and something about it just didn’t click for me. Tried it again in HS and got further but still fell off before the end, and finally played again in college completed and loved it.
I totally agree that the older I’ve gotten the more it’s resonated with me. I just finished the remaster and, as a 34 year old married guy with 2 kids, the themes hit home even more than before. It’s certainly not Chrono Trigger 2 but if it’s judged on its own and not as a sequel to CT I don’t think it would be so divisive.
Same. I'm 36, divorced, and playing the remaster now. It's hitting different.
One of my favorite RPGs of all time, and the soundtrack is one of the best ever made. Shore of Dreams (Another World), Scars of Time, The Girl Who Stole the Stars. This whole soundtrack is beautiful.
Loved your channel, new subbie
Thanks for watching and for the support!
For once CZcams algorithms help me find another hidden gem. Am subscribed…
I remember playing this in 2001, and it struck me as one of the most average games I have ever played. I don't have any strong feelings about it. I have always been amused at how polarizing this game is, because I land on the side of indifference. The game is...fine. It doesn't do anything particularly well, and it doesn't do anything particularly terrible. I think it is forgettable. I only remember it well, because at the time I was playing this game, something else memorable in my life happened, so there is a memory link there. I'm always going to associate that life event with Chrono Cross.
A year later comment, but fascinated by your video.
I'm oddly in the middle of both sides, the one's who hates CC and the ones who love it, and that's because I see all the really good stuff that the developers made but also the bad ones weights heavely on me, specially because I played a lot of RPGs.
On the good side we have:
- The art direction, that's breath taking and really original. you rarely will find locations that are that unique in other games like The Dead Sea, Gaea's Navel or The Temporal Vortex.
- The game aged really well, something rare for an old 3D game.
- The unique way in which ties in with Chrono Trigger as you said in your video.
- The way the game ties YOU, the player, with the game itself. By touching upon the subjects on multiple realities, making Serge a silent protagonist and making that beautiful ending with Kid looking for the player in the real world, obliterating the 4th wall and implying that CC is just another reality of ours is just MASTERFUL. And again, that ending with Kid is one of the best endings of all times, period, not only in videogames.
But, on the bad side:
- Too many characters. This is not something bad per se, Suikoden made it a trade mark for example, by building your own army and giving most of them small stories for you to enjoy. Chrono Cross did this awfully, because most of them are just filler and the few recurring characters that could have a better development or had some interesting stories to tell were damaged by those characters because "we just need to have a lot of characters just because". (only Kid and Serge were saved)
- I talked about how it ties with Chrono Trigger and how the game breaks the 4th wall, but the storytelling is not good, waaaaayyyy to cryptic about the destiny of CT and it's end game. You know your storytelling is bad when the fan base is still making theories to fill the gaps on the story.
- Speaking of cryptic, the way to recruit those characters it's also part of that. Like you said in your video, the game deceives you really dirty in some of the options and in others you have to go to an exact location at an exact time that probably didn't even crossed your mind.
Finally the combat system has it's highs and lows, on one side you have a unique system of % on the attacks that's really good if you know how to manage and customization, on the other half you have useless concepts like the summons that you'll never have the chance to use even with your fastest characters and porcetage also has it's bad side when you're just trying to rush through a dungeon and save life only to innevitable enter to a moderated difficult battle and losing time and health because if you want to do it faster you have to use lvl3 attacks, but those fails a lot, and lvl1 n 2 are not enough to kill the enemies quick, dragging the battle unnecesarilly.
I think overall it's a good game, but because I love characters and story the most is that this game doesn't make it nearly into my fav list and the combat is not something thrilling to play again, I don't hate it, but I don't like it either...
Like you, I hold a lot of memories of this game. It's a phenomenal game by itself and despite the common reception of it being a bad sequel - and me agreeing, I feel it was intentional design as Chronopolis points out. That doesn't excuse the fact that the writers really pulled the rug from under even reasonable CT fans. What they did with the old cast is just borderline disappointing, not depressing.
As a writer myself, we can be unnecessarily deceptive even when the evidence is before the reader already. I found myself in the "Miguel is Crono" crowd theory when I noticed the slight details and "fateful" connection to Serge through his father. Leena, Miguel's daughter and as a character, even her animations and design, gave it away. I don't think she's a red herring since she doesn't get much development to her but has a pretty vague background through her grandmother. This is especially when you learn what happened after CT ended and what fate befell Crono and Marle, as well as the time period of events between games(20 years)and the characters' ages.
I played this game as a kid as well. I was probably maybe somewhere between 10 to 12 I don’t know. I remember I had it hooked into our 14 speaker surround sound system and it sounded amazing. Except for the battle theme that was just what the hell were they thinking. But I remember, even as a kid, the dialogue, the story and the interaction between the characters was very human to a very deep level, even for my child mind. Granted, I still think that the exposition dump at the end by the three little Chrono kids, and then the overall exposition dump after you rescue princess Shalla is absolutely horrendous. They really could’ve pulled that off better, and I never really cared for the connections to Chrono Trigger as I never was a big fan of Chrono Trigger, but outside of those, this game itself is literally a playable retrospective of a person‘s own in our thoughts. It’s amazing. Everyone who complains is just obsessing over Chrono Trigger, and not treating this game as its own individual identity. Standing on its own, this game is absolutely amazing. As a kid I had never played stupid Chrono Trigger. So I didn’t even notice the little threads that it had tied to Chrono Trigger. I only noticed them later on when I did a replay through of this game, after I had played Chrono Trigger and realized oh, there’s a connection. But it didn’t matter because the game stands out on its own which is what’s important. It’s a concept James Cameron brought up with terminator to judgment day. That a sequel should be able to stand on its own without ties to the original. Just as terminator to had little to zero ties with the first movie, except for a few small callbacks, and yet it was easy to understand an easy to follow, and this game was the same. And the very deep deep dialogue just made it more interesting. They could’ve just completely cut out the exposition crap at the end of the game about the old man going back thousand years and the city being thrown 10,000 years into time and all that other nonsense we didn’t need that bullshit. We already had a great game, and it will remain a great game . I just ignore all that 10,000 years jumping city from the future to the past stuff whenever I replay this game. I just skip right over it. For me the story is simple. It’s the story of a kid who is trying to save the world from his evil father who is really some kind of maniacal computer who trying to use the kids jeans to gain power or whatever. End of story fantastic game.
Man, radical dreamers never fail to make me tear up, still my favorite video game soundtrack to this day.
I can’t believe people are still talking about this game! I fell in love with this game when it came out and I played it before CT. I loved CT but still couldn’t find the magic immersion that CC gave me!
Playing through Radical Dreamers recently and seeing the name Magil in the text constantly was kinda confusing to me, personally.
I'm not sure if someone else has said this already, but the composer for Chrono Trigger was Nobue Uematsu, the man behind the great Final Fantasy soundtracks.
After giving some thinking about the roster of Chrono Cross I came to the conclusion that, to me, the game is really about Serge and Kid. Only them. And they're all that matters in this story.
The third party member is meant to be a spot for a temporary asset that, once accomplished their role in the story, they should go.
Now THIS is a game you needed a strategy guide for!
Keep up the great "bro"duction. Love this channel and it's content.
Love to hear that, thanks for watching!
I played this game on the switch and this is when I was just barely getting into JRPGs, and I loved it despite it being an older game probably one of the best games I played on the switch and this is despite having a ton of great games in my switch collection.
Amazing as always..
Thank you!
Chrono cross is a masterpiece
I love the entire OST
I was really interested in the Chrono series beforehand but could never bring myself to finish Trigger (would definitely get it if there was a Switch port), so I grabbed Cross after hearing that you could play it as a standalone. I won’t lie, the story is actually really good and the (huge) amount of characters is probably why it’s a bit weak, but I think even without any story context from Trigger it stands up fine on its own, if not a bit rough at the end.
I will say that the final quarter of the game would be way more enjoyable if I had played Trigger, especially the final boss. It lacks so much emotional impact without having experienced the journey of all characters involved.
Chrono Cross is my favourite soundtrack in any RPG. Simply a masterpiece
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA"
"You should probably stop..."
Yeah... great atmosphere :)
Playing through the remaster now. There’s no doubt that this is a flawed gem. Too many characters would be the number 1 complaint. But the gameplay is solid and so is the soundtrack. I think the plot has a few pacing problems but most of that deals with the lack of character progression. All in all though I really enjoyed the game back in the day and am still enjoying it as an adult.
Fair assessment. It's a solid game. I've played through it twice, hopefully one day I'll revisit it
Mhm. This actually helped me to decide. I was curious, if i should give the new radical dreamers edition a chance, besides its often discused flaws.
Here in europe this game was never officialy released until now. So i wondered, “what is so special about it?“. I was allways open for some of the more deeper experiences in case of jrpgs. And sadly, there are not this many anymore nowadays :/
Thanks to your in depth analysis, i guess i might give this one a go one day :)
This makes me want to play it again now that I'm older, but I don't know if I can get past the stat system again. It wasn't one I was fond of personally. There have been a few games I really love something, especially the story in some cases like Xenogears, that I just don't have an interest in the game play ever again. I really wish Xenogears would some day get a faithful anime adaptation.
5:55 what track is that playing in the background?
Man, the music in this game was epic. Loved this game as a child. Xenogears is definitely my 2nd favorite (1st is ff7) I hope you do a video on xenosaga also if you ever played those.
P.S. The Dario fight was despressing but I was determined to beat him lol
The scene at the water dragon island after you defeat the dwarfs will trigger regardless if kid is in the party or not. If she's not she'll just simply appear next to your current cast
I’m replaying in psone now. It is real fun, those late psone long attacks though ugh.
Yeah some of the elements can be a little lengthy. Not as bad as some other PS1 RPGs in my opinion though, I remember games like the legend of dragoon and some of the FFs being a little worse in this regard
I have seen a playthrough that they did not have Kid in the active party, but the campfire cutscene triggered anyways. I'm not sure exactly what is the trigger, but I've heard having Razzly in your party and allowing her sister to die (which is necessary for her level 7 tech) will cause the campfire scene to skip.
Liked. Keep up the good work.
Cross is that weird game I love and hate. I loved it when I first played it, but now I don't know if I ever want to play it again.
I have to agree CC story is convoulted but its arts, atmosphere and especially musics are magically memorable. I am 40s now and sometimes still listen CC OST, they are filled with emotion and nostalgic moments...amazing
I've always felt the Chrono Trigger elements could be stripped out and Chrono Cross would stand up fine on its own.
Kinda, but not really. That would require the removal of Balthezar and a complete rework of the main plot to the point it'd be almost unrecognizable.
For the scne in Water dragon Island With Kid, you need to chose not save her and take he to the Ice Dragon Breath Mission, so it's a rarer scene, because most player will chose to save her, and those who don't may don't know that you can teleport trough worlds, like me in my first playthrough.
Hey that’s just like real life!!
More often than not, when you choose to do the right thing and that is who you are in your heart, be ready for the punishment that will follow because no good deed goes unpunished-
I have learned this lesson over and over and over in my life but I still remain that person that would help you before I harm, compliment you before I criticize, and try to Lend a hand as doing good things for others or just good in general is part of who I am..
But there is a lot of people out there that would never suffer for you! They only do for themselves unless you do for them first then because they are a point keeping person, then they reciprocate and do for you because at that point they are about to be found out!
I live with the type of person, and unfortunately have been around the type so I actually think they’re putting that part in the game where you have to choose to save the other character or not is actually very relevant? Especially if it punishes you because that is just like real life when you try to do a good deed nine times out of 10..
This game was saved by its soundtrack, battle system and beautiful graphics (for the time). If you look at Cross as a sequel (it is no matter what they say), it is actually pretty garbage. Even if you look at it on it's own as a standalone game, the story falls apart in late game and is obviously duct taped together. It's almost like they ran out of time.
I’ve never played this, but I’m intimately familiar with the soundtrack as I’ve been listening to it for years. It’s an absolute masterpiece. I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest ever, but it’s definitely in the top 10 imho.
I can only image how much more powerful and impactful the songs must be when properly paired with the environments and scenes they were composed for.
Anyway, I think this game’s biggest sin was having Chrono in the name and being linked to Trigger. If they had just called it something else and removed any references to Trigger, I think this game would be more universally loved.
I didn't see Chrono Cross as a sequel when I first played it, I enjoyed it as a complete game by itself - I think its that good with a great storyline, memorable characters (ok not all of them), unique battle system, and engrossing soundtrack. After completing it only then I thought of Chrono Trigger as its prequel; then again, also as a game by itself.
And even when I played it in high school, I didn't really WANT Chrono Cross to be a true sequel to Chrono Trigger. When I beat Chrono Trigger at the tail end of junior high, even then I knew that most everything was resolved and anything that might have needed to be resolved needed to be executed completely differently.
The only reason why I abandoned it for so long was cuz Final Fantasy IX came out a couple months after. Took me close to a year to beat that. Then Dragon Quest VII came out and we ALL know how long that game is. Bought the game in early 2002 and didn't beat it until right before 2004. By then there was no way that I could get my hands on Chrono Cross despite really wanting to play it.
But I have it now, and try to play it ever year or so.
I guess that the devs wanted you to play the game multiple times to get all the content... but unlike chrono trigger, that was a kinda short game that made you want to play again, (or parasite eve to name another one), chrono cross was a long-ass game that takes way above 50 hours to beat for the first time if you're not using any playthrough... so it kinda doesn't leave one wanting to replay it anytime soon. much les multiple times.
Still beating myself up over not finishing the remaster, I should probably get back to that eventually. Despite Cross being a great game at the time, I'll admit Trigger holds up a bit better today. Too bad Chrono Break never happened though.
Lisa is important to another character you can recruit (not Leena) which is why she has a portrait.
Also the recruitment system is done the way it is because the game is meant to be played multiple times, it feeds into the time paradox/multiple dimension plot-line as well. This is why you have the ability to pull previously recruited characters into your current play-through even if you do things differently. It's also why they included a built in speed-up feature, which again allows you to play with the concept of time in subtle ways.
On the part where you was talking about late game text dumps and the end-game being rushed I kept thinking about Xenogears, just saying.
24:15 I was part of the "don't save Kid" crowd when I first played Chrono Cross. Just didn't care for her and wanted to see if there was someone like her around the corner.
The randomness and missable characters brilliantly contribute to the theme of alternate realities of what could have been, encouraging multiple playthroughs at the same time.
where did you even find that commercial for chrono cross?
I played the remaster recently and I have mixed feelings about the game. There are some things that I like and more that I don't like at all.
The graphics are beautiful and the soundtrack is great. I like the character design a lot and the story gets you invested from the beginning. The battle system takes some time to get used to but it's an interesting system.
What I don't like about the game is jumping from one world to another. At times it gets really confusing especially if you need to keep in my mind to which version of character you need to talk to and where to find it. I also didn't like that you pretty much need a guide to recruit all characters. I missed the fairy character in my playtrough because I fought the boss first and then got to her location in that hole. I missed other characters too because I didn't return to locations where I hadn't business anymore and I mean come on, who knows that you need to decline Kid's request three times to recruit Leena?
I praised the story in the beginning but the longer I played I wasn't invested at all anymore. The Lynx part is the greatest weakness of the game and when the game decided to drop all the infos at once at the end I didn't really care that much anymore. The true ending is also not that memorable, without a guide maybe I wouldn't have figured it out. I'm also not a big fan of the star level system. I get that it is a clever way to level up the whole cast of recruitable characters but I prefer to level up the normal way when a boss is a little tough. Miguel was pretty brutal.
I was thinking about doing more playthroughs to get all the characters but decided it's not worth it if I don't have that much fun with the game.
the part i don't like from chrono cross is battle system, for 14 years old me at that time is so confusing, same as final fantasy 8 with junction system. But despite the all cons, i agree that chrono cross is one of the best soundtrack ever. Yasunori Mistuda you're genius!