[Brandon F]

I should really play this in English someday. Imported it back in late 1999 I think? Played it through entirely(fumbled through mostly). Adored it, but barely understood anything plot related.

Is this out on PSN by chance? I'd toss it onto my Go if so.

[LakeEarth]

It's on PSN. I bought it a few months ago, gave it 12 hours... I dunno, I'm trying to like it, but I'm just not having fun with it. But to be honest, I haven't found an entire turn-based RPG that I liked in a long while.

[Onion_Relish]

It's funny, I bought this some months ago, thinking that the BIG TWIST was the end of the game, but in reality it isn't even close. The game really is a masterstroke for the genre and I would highly recommend it.

I played it back when I was about 14/15 and even the game is a relative fossil I actually think it has aged really well. Part of this is due to the prerendered stuff, but part of it is actually due to the fact that a lot of us grew up with horribly blocky graphics so we don't care as much. I will echo what other people have said which is that I found the soundtrack to be the weakest part if the game. That doesn't mean it is bad, it just means it isn't as good as the stalwarts of the genre both past and present, nor does it compare to its predecessor.

But yeah blah blah blah buy the game.

[jb1234]

I haven't touched the game since it first came out and while I thought it was okay, it mostly suffered from misplaced expectations. I wanted something more like Chrono Trigger and mostly didn't get it (and I also remember hating how they dealt with the CT elements in the plot). I've been thinking about replaying it for a while now, just to see if time and more reasonable expectations will change my mind.

[CorvoSol]

Sure, contact with Lavos changed the way humans evolved but that doesn't necessarily make them bad guys. Screw those racists dwarves. Who are they to decide who was evil in that game and who wasn't.

It always bugged me. Like, seriously I don't remember seeing dwarves, fairies, demihumans, or reptites helping Crono save the world. Aside from Robo, everyone in the party was human at some point or another.

[_Keiichi_]

^CT was one of the most eco-friendly jrpg ever, even in the future it was all green and fluff (before it got teh Lavos treatment, i mean). And let's not forget the beautiful sub-quest with Robo and Fiona.

CC is simply badly written, in the attempt to write a "sad" game it contradicts half of the stuffs show in Trigger (Porre is suddenly super-important, TT is SERIOUS BUSINESS, and humans are dicks)

[R_thanatos]

Chrono Cross is a technical showcase ..

The background are detailed , the 3d models were good ( at his time ) ..
the music is good if not great/awesome ..

It's hard to forget that it's a sequel of chrono trigger when the game use SO MANY theme/ideas/characters/locations from chrono trigger it cannot exist without trigger.
Heck most of the plots/revelation in disc 2 are based on chrono trigger characters/actions/fates

And thus you have to compare ...
The battle system is inferior to Trigger ( by a wide margin ). While it's good, the fact that they didn't expand on double and triple techs is a total shame ( so few in cross )... The color system is also widely unexploited except in spécific ( plot ) battles

The game had a good tutorial but missed the "EPIC".. All the normal characters are crap and the weirder the character design is the stronger it is and you can be use it will have impressive stats/skills ....

The dongeons design need rework , it's either bland or unnecessary complex .. Sure it was beautifull but i was bored ...

The multiple paths were also a good idea , but you had no ideas ( most of the time ) of how your choices matterred ( if it all ) given how complex recruting can become..

A good game , a excellent technical showcase , and unworthy sucessor of a gaming legend..

[Psxphile]

Maybe Cross could be remade ala Ys III into almost a different game entirely to rectify some of the missteps taken?

I wonder how people feel about Radical Dreamers?

[B.K.]

I wonder how people feel about Radical Dreamers?

There isn't much to feel about Radical Dreamers. It's barely even a game.

[Vamphuntr]

I love Chrono Cross. The story gets really convoluted near the end but it's an interesting ride. The game has an amazing soundtrack too. It's also pretty great how you don't need to grind at all with the Star system.

It's too bad people hate the game simply because they aren't happy with what happened to the Chrono Trigger characters in the game.

[Psxphile]

There isn't much to feel about Radical Dreamers. It's barely even a game.

Don't care for visual novels, I take it?

[Zwei]

I suddenly have an itch to replay Chrono Cross now

[ubercheez]

I suddenly have an itch to replay Chrono Cross now

Ha, I'm feeling the same.

[jb1234]

I suddenly have an itch to replay Chrono Cross now

GAF already changed my mind with one game I had dismissed (DKCR) and I'm hoping CC will join the list (as well as Xenogears). I think I'll turn the PS3 on right now!

[CorvoSol]

^CT was one of the most eco-friendly jrpg ever, even in the future it was all green and fluff (before it got teh Lavos treatment, i mean). And let's not forget the beautiful sub-quest with Robo and Fiona. CC is simply badly written, in the attempt to write a "sad" game it contradicts half of the stuffs show in Trigger (Porre is suddenly super-important, TT is SERIOUS BUSINESS, and humans are dicks)

In their defense, the Time Travel stuff in Chrono Trigger already DOES have it's serious implications laying around. Lucca brings it up just before Robo goes home to a time that no longer exists. And I never had a problem with Chrono Cross' overall plot The part where everything is one big gambit orchestrated by Belthasar to save Schala from Lavos. But it's no secret that the game's narrative falls to bits by the ending.

My only real problem with the plot is it's Anvilicious Green Aesop, and the fact that everyone from genocidal maniacs to well, omnicidal maniacs feels like they have the right to lecture Serge on how much he doesn't care about the planet, despite the fact that Serge, like Crono, is busting his ass to save the world while everybody else is just all "I'M JUDGING YOU BECAUSE YOU KILL THINGS TO SURVIVE!!! WAAAAA!!!"

Where the hell does Schala get off whining about the kill-or-be-killed nature of the world after she fused herself to LAVOS? You'd think a woman who'd seen first hand someone lay down their life for others would be a bit more appreciative of humanity.

[The Int3rsect]

Finally going to restart my save and play it through ... no excuses.

[ghibli99]

Too many characters, but tremendous visuals and one of the most stunning soundtracks ever created elevate it to "best of the PS1 era" status.

[Omegasquash]

It was a good looking game, stellar music, and somewhat interesting combat. I feel like it would have been a neat storyline in it's own right, not needing to have been (what I feel like) shoehorned in with Chrono Trigger.

Most of, if not all the Chrono stuff could have been replaced with something else and resulted in a sturdier story. Just IMO, and at the very least don't be shy about ponying up to get it for reasons I stated in the first sentence.

[DJIzana]

I suddenly have an itch to replay Chrono Cross now

You should... the anniversary is coming up.

[Mitsurux]

I clearly remember all of the hype surrounding its releases... got the game and guide at launch, and began playing it..... but it never really "clicked" with me... and i moved on to something else....

There are times i think i should try again.. but the battle system and the annyoying text (trying to convey accents with odd spelling etc.), always get the better of me....

[ubercheez]

There are times i think i should try again.. but the battle system and the annyoying text (trying to convey accents with odd spelling etc.), always get the better of me....

ZOAH IS DISPLEASED.

[Terra Firma]

Better than CT in all aspects.

[Dead]

Better than CT in all aspects.

I like you

[Aexact]

The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get. If you take it in a vacuum, it was a gorgeous game sending you to creative locations with a variety of tasks to do. The opening movie got you thinking you were going to go on this incredible world spanning journey and it delivers.

But since I like Chrono Trigger a lot, trying to take CC as "not the sequel, alternate universe, all that bad stuff doesn't affect the enjoyment of Chrono Trigger" gets... difficult. For one thing, in the Playstation remake, they replaced the happy ending at the end of Chrono Trigger with a cutscene with Guardia in flames, a faceless guy stealing the Masamune, and that unexplained (within the context of Chrono Trigger) scene where Lucca finds a baby with something that looks like Marle's pendant and carries her off. It just felt like it tainted my memory of the closure and the happily ever after ending from Chrono Trigger.

And then the DS version, they confirm that Dalton was the one that turned Porre into the technological beast that set Guardia on fire and they add another ending where Schala laments the evilness of man that ends with Magus having amnesia ... somehow. Come on guys! This wasn't what I wanted from Chrono Trigger! =(

So I try not to think about it.

[_Keiichi_]

I clearly remember all of the hype surrounding its releases... got the game and guide at launch, and began playing it..... but it never really "clicked" with me... and i moved on to something else.... There are times i think i should try again.. but the battle system and the annyoying text (trying to convey accents with odd spelling etc.), always get the better of me....

Read the Let's Play.
It's fucking awesome shit.

http://lparchive.org/Chrono-Cross/

[DJIzana]

Better than CT in all aspects.

I like Cross more than Trigger too but the whole Chrono franchise is the best thing to grace Squaresoft... ever.

[Dunbar]

Started playing this recently and I'm about 8 hours in. I'm wondering, is this game really... easy? I'm usually not that great at games, but I only recently had my first fight (a boss) where I even had to heal a party member during the fight. The after-fight auto-heal took care of me up to that. If it's this easy throughout, fine, I just wasn't expecting it.

Fun game, too. Really like the colorful art and the soundtrack.

[Oxn]

One of the best games ever created, and it has god-like music.

Very few games have had me playing 16hours straight.

[Karsticles]

I've considered doing a replay of the game at some point. I still have my PS1 copy, I think.

I never played through it multiple times, so someone tell me: if you recruited character X in a previous run, is that character still there for recruiting in the next run? I know the character is in your party, but I'm wondering how characters who don't join your party until later as part of the plot are handled, and whether you can "put together" some of the guys again.

If I did do another playthrough, it would be off of a save file from GFAQs so I can do a speed run. I don't care about the challenge level, I know my opinion won't change on the combat system being terrible. It would be interesting to re-view the plot, though. I think recruiting characters is a part of the experience, though, so I wouldn't want to completely miss out on that.

Started playing this recently and I'm about 8 hours in. I'm wondering, is this game really... easy? I'm usually not that great at games, but I only recently had my first fight (a boss) where I even had to heal a party member during the fight. The after-fight auto-heal took care of me up to that. If it's this easy throughout, fine, I just wasn't expecting it. Fun game, too. Really like the colorful art and the soundtrack.

Most games take it pretty easy on you at first. I think the game becomes reasonably challenging at some points.

[ubercheez]

Started playing this recently and I'm about 8 hours in. I'm wondering, is this game really... easy? I'm usually not that great at games, but I only recently had my first fight (a boss) where I even had to heal a party member during the fight. The after-fight auto-heal took care of me up to that. If it's this easy throughout, fine, I just wasn't expecting it. Fun game, too. Really like the colorful art and the soundtrack.

You'll definitely hit some fights later on where you need to be more strategic with your healing and element color use. I wouldn't say any of it is really hard, though.

[XxSlasherMcGirkxX]

You can get your characters back Karst around half way through but not at the start. New game plus is extremely easy and you can change your characters on a whim with no repercussions.

I really wanna replay this bad but I am holding out for PS1 Vita support. For now the Resident Evil series replay will do.

[Shahed]

Love this game. Arguably my favourite game of all time. Probably has the best music as well, even if Xenoblade and Xenogears make it hard to decide.

If it makes a difference, I played Cross before Trigger. After loving Trigger, I went back and played Cross again and liked it even more.

[Karsticles]

You can get your characters back Karst around half way through but not at the start. New game plus is extremely easy and you can change your characters on a whim with no repercussions. I really wanna replay this bad but I am holding out for PS1 Vita support. For now the Resident Evil series replay will do.

What about characters that can be recruited early on? Do I just get them back naturally?

[Zeliard]

Highlight of the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4foetX8zbnk

[XxSlasherMcGirkxX]

What about characters that can be recruited early on? Do I just get them back naturally?

Yes you can as long as you picked them up on your current or previous play-through. The only character you can't play as later in the game no matter what is Harle

[Howard Ballou]

I remember buying this when it came out (EB Games employee called it "Chrono Crisis"). The differences from CT (which is one of my favorite games ever) were a bit jarring at first, but I came to love it. And, as others have mentioned, that soundtrack is beautiful.

I might start a new game this weekend (I was planning on hooking up the PS1 anyway).

[Karsticles]

Yes you can as long as you picked them up on your current or previous play-through. The only character you can't play as later in the game no matter what is Harle

That sucks. She was the only character I liked.

[ag-my001]

That sucks. She was the only character I liked.

It's also untrue, just a bit complicated to do. To have that character late-game, they must be in your active party when beating the game on a NewGame+. You can then pull them through the normal way. It takes at least 3 play-throughs, but it is possible to have all 44 characters going into the end of the game.

[ubercheez]

Yes you can as long as you picked them up on your current or previous play-through. The only character you can't play as later in the game no matter what is Harle

It actually is possible to have her in your late-game party, but it requires some serious dedication (at least three playthroughs).

Edit: Beat'd.

[Zoibie]

I just recently played Chrono Trigger and loved every moment of it. I've been wanting to try Cross for a while too but I've been holding out to see whether it'll appear on PSN. We've been getting a slow trickle of Japanese import games, was hoping this would find its way over too.

[secretanchitman]

finally beat it, and because of the OP, i was inspired to go back and play though it again! such a great game. square enix sucks for not making a sequel to this game instead of half assed final fantasy games.

[Maxim726X]

The Chrono Cross hate is a tired meme at this point. Judging it on its own merits and not on its namesake, it is a beautiful JRPG with an incredible soundtrack and some of the best character/world designs from that era. The battle music sucks though, damn is it grating.

I agree with absolutely everything in this post.

Still one of the finest soundtracks ever crafted in a game, ever. Enjoyed the combat system, as well.

Oh- Another minor gripe: Wasn't a huge fan of all the characters they force into the game.

[ubercheez]

I just recently played Chrono Trigger and loved every moment of it. I've been wanting to try Cross for a while too but I've been holding out to see whether it'll appear on PSN. We've been getting a slow trickle of Japanese import games, was hoping this would find its way over too.

It is on PSN!

[To Far Away Times]

Play it. Love it. Cherish it.

This is the apex. RPGs are all downhill after this...

[XxSlasherMcGirkxX]

Maybe your guys are right it's been a while since I loaded up my 100% save. All best weapons and full customized grids for all characters. I could have sworn that after Harle dies / The first time devourer battle you could no longer play as her for story purposes But then I again it's been a while and I didn't play her to much.

[Earthpainting]

I played this pretty recently and thought it actually held up really well. The world felt very fleshed out, the music was phenomenal and even most of the slightly underdeveloped cast worked for me. The battle system felt fresh and never really got stale. One thing I liked was how it essentially got rid of experience points and instead tied stat-progression to story arcs and completing goals. Not necessarily a system I'd want to see in all RPGs, but I liked it. I'd also like to complement it for having pretty good 3D models and textures for a PS1 game.

If I had to find a fault, it would be that the story does kind of goes off the deep end in the last few hours, but it didn't ruin it for me. The speech gimmicks were a cute idea and I enjoyed it for quite a lot characters, but when you stumble on some you don't like, the dialogue becomes a real pain.

Overall a very enjoyable title that I might play again in the future, due to the many party members that I apparently missed.

[chazmonkey]

Playing through Chrono Trigger for the fourth time and planning on going through Chrono Cross for the first time soon after. I'm not expecting to like it as much as Trigger but here's hoping it proves otherwise...

[ag-my001]

Maybe your guys are right it's been a while since I loaded up my 100% save. All best weapons and full customized grids for all characters. I could have sworn that after Harle dies / The first time devourer battle you could no longer play as her for story purposes But then I again it's been a while and I didn't play her to much.

You are partially correct. Harle does not die, but she will leave your party after taking you to the entrance of the Sea of Eden. Later on, once you have the Chrono Cross, you go to Sprigg's house to use it. This will bring Harle back, assuming she was in your active group on a previous NG+ (i.e., beat the TD after becoming Lynx but before she leaves).

[jb1234]

I started playing it again about a week ago. Made it maybe three hours before giving up. Sure, it's pretty and has aged well. And yeah, the music is lovely. But it's so BORING. The story (such as it is) takes forever to get going, the characters are bland and the battle system crawls. It was fun to play way back in the day because there weren't that many options but I have like eight games on my backlog and will have more fun with them.

[JasonMCG]

I started playing this last week, but stopped when I discovered I couldn't get Glenn and instead wound up with Pierre and Korcha. :(