This man speaks the truth.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Is Chrono Cross worth playing if I just finished Trigger?
- Thread starter Superblatt
- Start date
Nymphae
Banned
Bland combat? Care to elaborate on that a bit? I find the combat fantastic myself, it's a truly unique RPG battle system, unlike CT which really felt to me a lot like a basic FF style battle system. The field effects were interesting to play with and there's an ending for utilizing the field effect properly in the last battle which was awesome.
Characters, meh, I'll give you that one (compared to CT anyway), though I actually really love the character accents and artwork for the most part. It's not that the characters are even bad, it's that outside of the main players, they aren't given enough to do for you to connect with them more.
Weak plot, no. It's a JRPG plot. Sometimes confusing, sometimes overly dramatic, but it's entertaining throughout. It was better than the typical hero that saves the world fare.
A tendency to dump on CT? What does this even mean?
Dr. Buni
Member
Quoting myself just to say this has to be one of the best boss themes to be ever composed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_z3yLcVfsU
My big problem with the game was the high amount of characters with little to no characterization. You just don't care. Contrast to Chrono Trigger, where all the characters are introduced with a major quest attached to get you to care right away.
And I've mentioned this many times before, but the plot had a problem "driving you forward". In Chrono Trigger, you get lost in time, and it is no coincidence that the game introduces you to the Lavos situation before giving you control over your time destinations. In Cross, you have a similar "lost in another dimension" plot, but you figure out how to return home before you introduce the player to the game's crisis. There's hours of random "go here now do that for no reason" missions that kill the game's momentum.
Although I plan to come back to it, I stopped around the 12 hour mark. Around the time my fairy character had a crisis going through a cave, and I'm like, I don't care.
And I've mentioned this many times before, but the plot had a problem "driving you forward". In Chrono Trigger, you get lost in time, and it is no coincidence that the game introduces you to the Lavos situation before giving you control over your time destinations. In Cross, you have a similar "lost in another dimension" plot, but you figure out how to return home before you introduce the player to the game's crisis. There's hours of random "go here now do that for no reason" missions that kill the game's momentum.
Although I plan to come back to it, I stopped around the 12 hour mark. Around the time my fairy character had a crisis going through a cave, and I'm like, I don't care.
SpoonyBard
Banned
CC is a great game and should be played by anyone who likes CT. Only don't think it as a sequell, it's more like a spin-off. The gameplay is a bit slower, and the story not as coherent, but the 2D backgrounds look great, and the music is better than anything else on a video game.
Sorta Maximus
Member
At this point in time I'll say no to playing Crono Cross as a follow up to Chrono Trigger. I tried it when it came out and found it lacking much of what I loved about Chrono Trigger. Chrono Cross is a good game, but they are not the most direct of sequels. Chrono Trigger had a different, more classic, better flowing, more timeless qualities to it. Other than a few story and gameplay nods, they feel like different games entirely.
Not true. The disappearance of Schala alone is a MAJOR event that goes unresolved. Chrono Cross deals with it.
My love for CC rivals CT, it's not to be overlooked. IMO it's more replayable, too. I feel like it has more to offer than CT, there's certainly a shitload more characters that's for sure.
Pay close attention when you feel like you're getting towards the end of the game. There are multiple endings, and if you are lazy, the lazy ending is pretty bad. The real ending is glorious and emotional.
Pay close attention when you feel like you're getting towards the end of the game. There are multiple endings, and if you are lazy, the lazy ending is pretty bad. The real ending is glorious and emotional.
I'm sorry if you don't have nostalgia on your side Chrono Cross isn't very good.
The battle system is OK but sorta slow (slower than CTs that's for sure). There are a lot of characters but they're all so non-important that it doesn't matter. The story is pretty bad. Graphics are nice and the music is incredible, and you practically need a game guide to figure out how to get the best ending.
Truth be told I liked CC when it came out. It was a very competent entry back when it did come out. However, it's aged terribly and unless you're very patient after a few hours you'll be like "Man, I could be playing something else."
The battle system is OK but sorta slow (slower than CTs that's for sure). There are a lot of characters but they're all so non-important that it doesn't matter. The story is pretty bad. Graphics are nice and the music is incredible, and you practically need a game guide to figure out how to get the best ending.
Truth be told I liked CC when it came out. It was a very competent entry back when it did come out. However, it's aged terribly and unless you're very patient after a few hours you'll be like "Man, I could be playing something else."
johntown
Banned
Chrono Cross is one of my favorite JRPGs of all time. Like others have said the music alone is worth it.
The amount of characters you can play with gives it replay ability. Special dialogue can happen when you have some characters in your party. They all have a few unique abilities in the battles system.
There is an over map, secret areas and bosses, time traveling and an interesting story.
I love the battle system too. It was well thought out and very well done. Has never been one like it since thought.
I still replay it to this day!
The amount of characters you can play with gives it replay ability. Special dialogue can happen when you have some characters in your party. They all have a few unique abilities in the battles system.
There is an over map, secret areas and bosses, time traveling and an interesting story.
I love the battle system too. It was well thought out and very well done. Has never been one like it since thought.
I still replay it to this day!
Lumpy Onion
Member
Such an amazing game that gets shat on because it isn't like it's predecessor. Loved it at the time and it still grows on me even to this day as I replay on my Vita.
-Absolutely stunning pre-rendered backgrounds. Some of the locales are awe-inspiring even today. Lovely towns and lots of people to talk to.
-Amazing soundtrack which is just one element of a great game.
-A great strategic combat system that has you paying attention to elemental properties and weaknesses, and also has you gambling in a way. Do you do a little bit of low power hits with 99% certainty to bring up your element meter, or do you hit hard with 40% accuracy? Always loved that gamble.
-Interesting and mind-bending storyline. Mileage might vary on this one tho, but I thought it sure went places.
-Lots of characters to play as. Many weirdos and some cool characters, but the fact that I have the option available to use whoever I chose from is a good thing. Reminded me of Suikoden series in this regard.
-Balanced levelling and challenge. Not giving the player the ability to grind out levels for massive power makes some of the scenarios feel rather balanced. The last areas of the game can be pretty difficult.
-Absolutely stunning pre-rendered backgrounds. Some of the locales are awe-inspiring even today. Lovely towns and lots of people to talk to.
-Amazing soundtrack which is just one element of a great game.
-A great strategic combat system that has you paying attention to elemental properties and weaknesses, and also has you gambling in a way. Do you do a little bit of low power hits with 99% certainty to bring up your element meter, or do you hit hard with 40% accuracy? Always loved that gamble.
-Interesting and mind-bending storyline. Mileage might vary on this one tho, but I thought it sure went places.
-Lots of characters to play as. Many weirdos and some cool characters, but the fact that I have the option available to use whoever I chose from is a good thing. Reminded me of Suikoden series in this regard.
-Balanced levelling and challenge. Not giving the player the ability to grind out levels for massive power makes some of the scenarios feel rather balanced. The last areas of the game can be pretty difficult.
Mikey Jr.
Member
1. The story is NOT a direct sequel to Trigger. If you are expecting Chrono Trigger 2, you will be dissapointed.
2. The battle system is not like Trigger at all. Its much more...typical.
3. Not as memorable in my opinion. Still a decent game if you separate it from the shadow of CT.
davepoobond
you can't put a price on sparks
Gameplay is the weakest point of the game for sure. But everything else is fantastic in my opinion
The story is a little wonky at times but I think it's fine for "another game in the world of" chrono trigger rather than a direct sequel. They were going for something a little more compounding and meaningful I guess. Since there are so many possible endings to CT you wouldn't really legitimately get a "true sequel" anyway. They would all just be possible things that happened because of the events of he first game
The story is a little wonky at times but I think it's fine for "another game in the world of" chrono trigger rather than a direct sequel. They were going for something a little more compounding and meaningful I guess. Since there are so many possible endings to CT you wouldn't really legitimately get a "true sequel" anyway. They would all just be possible things that happened because of the events of he first game
Wrong choice of wording there. The combat system is quite strategic, actually. Not really typical at all. The only reason it might be considered that is because it's turn based. The stamina and element system are FAR from typical.
I don't understand people saying "screw the game, get the OST." At least for me personally, I really only enjoy VG music of games that I played. It hits that nostalgia factor that makes the tracks very enjoyable to me. When I listen to music from games I haven't played, I just feel meh about it. I find myself trying to guess what the context used while the track was playing in-game more than anything else.
As for the game itself, it is fantastic. It is way more connected to CT than people in here are saying, IMO. It's just not in the front and center, though it becomes more and more clear as the game carries on.
A piece of advice without many spoilers, but I'll spoiler tag it anyway:
As for the game itself, it is fantastic. It is way more connected to CT than people in here are saying, IMO. It's just not in the front and center, though it becomes more and more clear as the game carries on.
A piece of advice without many spoilers, but I'll spoiler tag it anyway:
Fairly early in the game one of your party members will become very ill. You get the choice of helping them or not. I recommend you do NOT help them (keep saying no, like 3-4 times or so). Eventually they'll let you carry on with the story. The reason for this is that it will let you recruit a character named Glenn who is amazing and gets to do X-Strike with Serge.
Chrono Cross is great provided that you're willing to accept it as a completely different game than Chrono Trigger. Just about the only thing that will be familiar to you will be the OST (which is amazing, and arguably one of the best game OST's ever), and a couple plot elements that appear later in the game. It's worth checking out, even if you don't end up finishing it. For being a PS1 game, the pre-rendered backgrounds are gorgeous and have a really nice organic feel to them. Great localization too.
Karsticles
Member
See, this is why you are not worth arguing with. I actually explained myself when I answered your post, and you are pretending I did not. This will be my last response to you.
The OST is good, and that is about it. Well, and the opening cinematic. But FFVIII has a comparably awesome opening, and it also comparably bad.
The field system forces a balanced party, which discourages you from having a defined and specialized team. No matter what party you pick, it will end up having samey moves.
CT had defined moves for each character. That is atypical of a FF game. More importantly, it had the tech system, which was a new and innovative. Single, double, or triple tech? Which tech combos did you want on your team? There was so much thought put into the system, which cannot be said for Cross.
The bar system works itself out mathematically. You usually want to do a small attack or two before a big attack, negating strategic thought for the most part. Unfortunately, the ATB system, which made fights so intense and interesting, is done away with in favor of turn-based combat.
Superfluous characters are a problem, but I also disliked how little was binding everyone together. CT took the time to establish connections. CC has some fat fishing lady join your team for no reason at all. She offers nothing to the team, too. That is a problem by itself. CT had a cast of entirely useful characters. People call Marle low tier, but she had Haste, which was amazing and made her a defined support character. The vast majority of the Cross cast isn't just superfluous by plot standards, they suck in combat too!
Suikoden has you collect characters, but they all have interesting purposes. They become a part of your castle and form a life for you to come home to. In Cross, they just...sit there.
I explained the dumping in a previous post, so I will just throw this out there: it is extremely dumb to take a group of heroes that could stomp a god and
have them die mysterious deaths behind the scenes. It completely marginalizes everything they did, especially since it is all now under the guidance of FATE.
JRPGs rarely have great plots, but Cross went out of its way to present what it had in a dull and convoluted manner. That the entire story is about one flub in CT made it all rather uninteresting, especially since Magus got fucked up the ass as a character. The game could have been amazing. Cut the excess characters, make Magus the central character on a quest to save his sister, and flesh out the tech system. The game actually reminds me a lot of FFXII, which almost had Basch as the main character before marketing got in the way and created Vaan. I know the same thing did not happen to Cross, but it feels like a similar fate befell it.
Mind spoiler tagging that stuff? The OP never played the game.
secretanchitman
Member
Definitely OP! The soundtrack is amazing and I had a lot of fun with the story and getting all of the characters. Worth it for the soundtrack alone at the very least.
TDLink
Member
Chrono Cross is one of my favourite RPGs. I would go as far to say it is in competition with Xenogears for being the best RPG on the PSX.
That being said, don't expect it to be anything like Chrono Trigger. Some Trigger characters do show up, but only as cameos really. The battle system is completely different. The world is completely different (islands). The characters are completely different. The main mechanic is completely different (crossing between two universes instead of different periods of time). The music...well you will recognize some Trigger tracks, and in general the OST is even stronger than Trigger. I think everyone agrees on that.
I would say 90%+ of people not liking this game is entirely down to it not being Chrono Trigger 2 and its "mistreatment" of some Chrono Trigger characters and elements. However, keep in mind that the game was critically received incredibly well.
Don't go in to Chrono Cross expecting Chrono Trigger 2. Chrono Cross is its own game. If you go into it with that mindset, you will love it. If you are looking at playing it just because you want a Chrono Trigger 2, you will be disappointed.
It is seriously an amazing game though.
I'd keep playing Chrono Trigger in new game + or look for a different game altogether. It's been over 10 years since I played Chrono Cross, but I remember not liking it very much as a game and being massively disappointed in it as a CT sequel.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
I remember being really underwhelmed with Chrono Cross when it first came out. I finished it, but I was extremely disappointed at how it felt nothing like Chrono Trigger. It's probably a decent game, but just make sure you manage your expectations.
witchedwiz
Member
Only qualm with cross for me is that the cast is too large so it often falls out of scope..
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
Yup. Even has
Lucca
It's always amused me that Suikoden does a better job at handling its massive amount of characters with an even bigger cast.
I still have this game. Tried playing a long time ago, but the color stuff at the beginning was kinda confusing, and I didn't feel like putting in the time to learn. I was gonna try again soon, but some of the comments here are making me think twice. I remember it got really good reviews back in the day.
Bran Ketra
Banned
Chrono Cross has a metacritic rating of 94 out of 100. I think that is an accurate score.
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation/chrono-cross
To answer your question, topic creator, I say yes. I played Chrono Cross before playing Chrono Trigger, so I did not understand the parts of the CC plot related to Chrono Trigger. However, I enjoyed it. It is good big game that is worth playing whether or not anyone played Chrono Trigger before it.
Karsticles
Member
The color system is only necessary for two fights in the game. When I started it, I was confused too, and it just did not matter. Only one fight is hard enough that you actually need to care. The other is for plot purposes.
Listening to GAF isn't always the best thing. >.>
Bullshit. What do you actually think you explained? I provided a clear argument and you are unable to present proof for yours.
anotherVegan
Member
Go ahead and play both. But Cross is worlds different from Trigger
. But both are good games, totally worth the time and effort in playing. Also, DAT SOUNDTRACK
and only has a few references to Trigger (and they come later in the game)
Karsticles
Member
I tagged the one part that looks like a spoiler to me. The rest is pretty vague. Thanks for the reminder.
iLLmaticV3
Member
The OST alone warrants a playthrough.
Ah, good to know.
Yeah, but it seems that the story and characters are pretty weak. That's the most important aspect for me. It's still on my to-play-list tho. For a moment, I thought I quoted myself. :0
Story is definitely not weak. In fact it is one of the best stories in a JRPG. Secondary characters have weak plots, but the main ones have very interesting stories.
I highly suggest you play it. If you like it, you will love it. If you hate it then at least you can say you speak from experience instead of "I read it on the Internet". The only way YOU will know if you like it or not, is if YOU play it.
Parallax Scroll
Banned
Cross is a good game, but personally I wouldn't play them back to back.
ZombiePlatypus
Member
Chrono Cross is a fantastic game. But think of it more of a spin-off to Trigger. There's definitely some relation there, but it doesn't come in until towards the end of the game, and it's not really that huge. The game's basically its own separate story.
Also:
Also:
- Soundtrack for this game is GODLY (Except maybe for the battle theme. But that's probably the only blemish the game has musically.)
- The background art is absolutely gorgeous. So goddamn lush, vibrant and just beautiful. (I think it's done by the same person that did the backgrounds for the Baten Kaitos games.)
Have you played Xenogears?
If you're on the fence about CC, I would start reading this http://lparchive.org/Chrono-Cross/ and see if it's something you might enjoy. That's an unbiased take on it. It'll praise it when it does something good and make fun of it when it does something dumb.
LiveFromKyoto
Member
I tried getting into it but kept getting bored. The graphics looked awful though, so that didn't help. I did notice it looks a ton better on Vita, so maybe I'll give it a spin there.
It was always on my playlist, as I loved Chrono Trigger, but I'll play it next and judge for myself. Does CC have any known problems working on the PS2 or PS3? My PS1 isn't hooked up.
Yeah, I played Xenogears. Now that's a game with a good story. I never finished it though. My friend lost my memory card with all my saves and then I stopped gaming for a long time shortly after. I still have it tho. Thanks for the link. I'll check it out, but I am gonna play it soon and decide for myself.
No issues with Chrono Cross on any of the consoles as far as I know.
Yeah, give it a check and decide by yourself. If I listened to some opinions in this thread I would've missed one of my favorite games ever made (Only below Chrono Trigger).
Dirk Benedict
Member
I remember recruiting pretty much all of the allies for this game. I enjoyed the end boss and music, but it was a bit repetitive. The battle system in Chrono Trigger chews up CC's battle system into a very fine, gastric acid drenched paste, and digests it with ease, then destroys the waste excrement completely. Not a molecule left.
I think I expected too much from Chrono Cross. To me that was my fault, but in the end it just fell short and without Akira Toriyama's memorable character design, I didn't give two shits to remember most of the characters, except Lynx. Lynx was O.K.
I think I expected too much from Chrono Cross. To me that was my fault, but in the end it just fell short and without Akira Toriyama's memorable character design, I didn't give two shits to remember most of the characters, except Lynx. Lynx was O.K.
Just booted it up on my PS2. I played a little bit to test if everything is in working order, and the FMV and music at the beginning are fantastic. Hopefully it stays like that throughout. Having to press a button to run is kind of annoying, but I guess I'll get used to it. Now I'm excited to play through it. Funny, the game was just sitting there on my shelf, and I never really thought to play it right away until I saw this thread.
That can be changed in the options. Full analog, baby.
I actually didn't like Chrono Cross much. It's not a bad game by any means but it didn't stand out to me as a particularly great one either. I remembered being annoyed by the more prominent / 'developed' characters in the game i.e. Kidd, Serge. Plus, the game's also not much of a challenge. Never died once throughout my whole playthrough. It's definitely one of the easiest jrpgs I've ever played.
I did enjoy collecting the huge cast of party members and discovering the various combo moves. The array of multiple endings that you're able to unlock is also a fun aspect of the game that you're able to experiment with. I do remember there being a number of really fun hidden secrets/quests but I haven't played the game in years so I could be wrong.
I did enjoy collecting the huge cast of party members and discovering the various combo moves. The array of multiple endings that you're able to unlock is also a fun aspect of the game that you're able to experiment with. I do remember there being a number of really fun hidden secrets/quests but I haven't played the game in years so I could be wrong.