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[JCX]

Mostly because it's not Chrono Trigger 2. It's an excellent game.

 

[Aquova]

I absolutely love Chrono Cross, and while it got good reviews at the time, there are many people who don't like it, and I can understand why. It's got 3 main issues:

1. The plot is a bit ridiculous. While I personally like the plot, I can understand someone playing it and not having the slightest clue what's going on. The plot jumps from focus to focus, there's multiple versions of each character and each world, it's hard to keep track of. For example, the mystery that is established at the beginning of the game, what happened to Serge and why did it happen, is pretty much dropped until the midpoint of the game to instead follow Kid around on her quest.

2. There's too many characters. At some point, some JRPG maker had to eventually decide to see how many playable characters they could have. Chrono Cross is that game. Your first run through the game, you won't find care about 80% of the characters, and on repeat playthroughs you'll just ignore 80% and get only the ones you like, the game would be just as fine with 10 characters.

3. The game has nothing to do with the plot of Chrono Trigger. This is the biggest issue I think. Chrono Trigger has a very clean and easy to understand story with beloved characters. Apart for a few subtle references, Chrono Cross doesn't mention anything from the first game until the halfway point of the game, where it then does a 180 and decides 'Just kidding, this game is related to Trigger... kinda'. Many players were also angry about how Cross

Spoiler

disrespects the characters from Trigger. Crono, Marle and Lucca are implied to be dead, Robo is the only character who actually shows up and he's killed on screen in a lackluster way. Even Magus, who was going to be in the game ended up being cut giving Guile very little backstory.

 

[Poppy]

theres some issues with too big a cast and the narrative having big info dumps while being sort of confusing a lot of the time

it suffers from being a sequel to one of the greatest jrpgs ever made which had a much easier to follow story and much better or more likeable characters

that being said fuck that, chrono cross is one of the most amazing games i will probably ever play, and i love it to death

 

[sixteen-bit]

It difficult to follow the goat 🐐

 

[Slayven]

[QUOTE="D";249225526]Its almost criminal how slept on this system was[/QUOTE]

It really is, it adds a surprising amount of tactics to turn based battles. Especially at time when you could be reading a book and just pressing the X button whenever a battle happen in JRPG games. Cause they would never balance random encounters to not being annoyingly frequent

 

[KojiKnight]

Friend of mine summed it up well...

Chrono Cross is an amazing game... and a poor Chrono Trigger sequel.

That doesn't even mean it's inferior to Trigger, just that it's NOT a good sequel. It's almost more of a spin-off or a related game, like Drakengarde and Nier, or Final Fantasy XII and Revenant Wings.


For me, Chrono Cross is a masterpiece. Its visuals, story, and core cast of characters are all great, and that soundtrack is legendary.

The big cast has its ups and downs, but I liked most of them well enough, even if some had very minimal roles. Most had at least SOME side-story of their own as well. It was a very Pokemon "get them all" approached to getting the whole gang together.

I love the game and I always will. It's one of the best games I ever played.

This always tells me that people either didn't play CC through to completion, or didn't really understand what was going on. Everything about CC's plot is a continuation of CT's story.

The real 'problems' with CC are as follows...

1. The CC cast is large and a big part of them are forgetables (figuratively, and quite literally as well since many characters are missable). This is the largest real problem for me.

2. The combat system is pretty unbalanced. If you don't understand it, you get wrecked pretty hard in some bosses.

3. The CT cast are essentially punished for doing the right thing. This is a bitter pill for a lot of people to swallow. CT is about hope for and changing the future for the better. Overcoming fate and making a better world.

CC is about how actions can have unintended reactions. That there is a price to pay even for good intentions. How a single action can cause a million different reactions widespread and unseen.

If the CT cast hadn't interfered with the future, they'd have gone on to live long healthy lives. Not just them, but their children and their childrens children, etc etc. Their selfless actions to save a future they'd never naturally see ended up costing them their futures. It's a tonal shift and a harsh one that a lot of people still can't accept (check any of the other CC threads over the years here).

 

[AlteredForms]

the game sucks

 

[Bravestarr]

I loved it. Played it on my PSP years after its original US release. What I liked most about Chronological Cross was the tropical vibe. Just like FFX.

 

[120v]

It was a huge wet blanket at the time. 17 years removed you can argue it wasn't a direct sequel and a fine game it's own right but in 2000 you were under the impression this was the follow up to one of the greatest games of all time.

It had a lot of neat ideas and I have to commend them for coloring outside the lines but the execution was kind of a mess imo. I think its reputation is appropriate... not a "timeless classic" but a perfectly decent game in its own right. I don't think an overwhelming majority hates the game

 

[Yazzees]

Chrono Cross's biggest sin in my eyes is that the connections it had to the plot of Chrono Trigger just ended up cheapening both games for me

 

[Luminaire]

I loved the game, but most people that I know who dislike it hate that it's not Chrono Trigger 2.

 

[Vital Tundra]

Its a really good game, but personally far from an actual sequel as it gets and the amount of characters available is absurd. Many have paper thin plots and conclusions. If they slashed many of the characters they game could have been even more enjoyable.

 

[Lulubop]

It's a weird ass game but I like it. Biggest gripe is that you have to play thru it like 5 times to see everything.

Still go the GOAT soundtrack of course.

 

[Malyse]

Questionable taste in JRPG.

What I don't get is how people bitch about Chrono Cross in one breath and bitch about Chrono Break not happening in the next. Like, what?

 

[jennetics]

There were like 40 playable characters right? I can't get attached to that many people, even if they were well-made characters. And the majority of CC's characters weren't well-made.

Also, the battle theme made me feel like I was at the circus or something.

Also, the battle system with its elements and stuff was annoying.

But dang it if it wasn't a gorgeous game.

 

[Eylos]

The biggest reason I've seen is there are far too many characters with plot lines that either go nowhere or are inconsequential to the overarching plot. This is my biggest beef with the game, even though I like it.

This.

Also its a Very complex game i played with 11 years, so It was safe to say i was confused.

 

[family_guy]

I fell off the game after restarting it twice. It felt like the combat removed most of the individuality of the characters and everyone could cast the same magic. Although I didn't get past the 5-6 hour mark so maybe it improved. I also didn't find anything compelling about the story.

 

[n0razi]

Chop out like 80% of the worthless characters and turn Glenn into young Frog, BAM we have a winner!

 

[bloomorte]

The game is awesome in some aspects, but I don't like the combat and there was no need of so many characters. Fewer characters with a better background would be better.

I like how some things on the plot tie with Chrono Trigger, but there's a giant whole between both games. The war between Porre and Guardia is only on our imagination. They tried to explain it on the DS version but I didn't like it...it doesn't tie both games too well.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

[QUOTE="D";249225078]I played and beat it at launch and thought it was pretty good, even after having played Chrono Trigger. I just recently started a playthrough of it and I guess with me being older than I was when it released, I really appreciate the game that much more.

So why the hate or dislike? Is it because people were expecting it to be a straight up Trigger sequel? I mean, I enjoyed many aspects of the game...the Element System was dope because none of your Elements were technically useless because you could just allocate them to a higher slot to get more out of them...the stamina/strength of attack based combat was nice and made you apply some strategy as far as to either go all out and attack or build Element level and unleash some high level magic. The environments were absolutely beautiful and colorful, with a nice mood-fitting OST to top it off. The story was pretty good too, but its even better if you completed Trigger and have knowledge of the Radical Dreamers. And hell, you could recruit like over 30 party members! My only complaint about the game WAS the character design, as I felt like it wasn't that many of them that looked good and also the lack of character development for everyone that isn't tied to the main story. Other than that, I personally feel like its a strong title and a classic. I kinda feel like its wack that the series got shelved, I think mainly due to the lukewarm reception of Cross, and after playing through it both times I really do feel like it got slept on by the public and is really under-appreciated.[/QUOTE]

I was 15 when it came out and Chrono Trigger was probably my favorite RPG or even game of all time. I finished Cross and now remember little of it except for the feeling of extreme disappointment of just how different it was.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

I never cared for it's combat and the bloated cast.

 

[Havok1313]

Chrono Trigger has one of my favorite battle systems in any JRPG. Chrono Cross battles are just awful in comparison. I didn't have a PS1 so I didn't get to try to game until later on. I was so excited to play the sequel to the amazing Chrono Trigger. Cross felt so slow and clunky; it was a supreme disappointment. I stopped less than 10 hours in and have never wanted to go back to it. Assassin's Creed 3 levels of disappointment for me.

Amazing music as expected though. Only saving grace of the game.

 

[jrush64]

Chrono Cross is one of the best RPG's ever made and it's better than Chrono Trigger (Come at me).

The only place I ever heard any hate for it was on this board.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

My personal beef with it is that the plot was heavily convoluted and it resigned the original protagonists to an early death. That's not even a spoiler that's prologue shit.

Mechanically the game plays fine and the music is excellent.

 

[guyssorry]

It's not a bad game but if you've just played Chrono Trigger, it can be a bit off-putting since it is sooo different. Still, it's a great game, and I would do terrible things if it meant we could have JRPGs of its quality nowadays. Arriving at the alternate version of the world and hearing the new map theme for the 1st time is one of the best moments in all of gaming, IMO.

 

[TheSun]

Dunno, maybe compared to Chrono Trigger it was too po-faced.
Also it's cast wasn't very interesting, especially since you had so many one note party members.

 

[Švejk]

Chrono Cross is one of those rare games where the OST is so damn good, you'd be willing to trudge through whatever game it is just to listen to it...

 

[rodrigolfp]

not really a CT2, boring story, boring characters and boring + slow combat

 

[tapedeck]

The biggest reason I've seen is there are far too many characters with plot lines that either go nowhere or are inconsequential to the overarching plot. This is my biggest beef with the game, even though I like it.

First post is right on.

But overall I really enjoyed playing through it.

 

[HeatBoost]

Chrono Cross was the game that put me off JRPGs until Persona 3. It took all the things that stuck in my craw about FF7 (mostly related to the pace slowing down due to a nightmare conflagration of delays for loading, delays for character animation during dialog scenes, more dialog, CG cutscenes...) and added other stuff that I didn't like, along with not retaining a lot of the stuff I liked about Chrono Trigger.

Trigger, because of it's Dragon Quest DNA, is a masterpiece because of it's relative simplicity. Cross... isn't.

 

[Holy Order Sol]

Always considered it a god-tier RPG.

 

[Bladelaw]

This always tells me that people either didn't play CC through to completion, or didn't really understand what was going on. Everything about CC's plot is a continuation of CT's story.

The real 'problems' with CC are as follows...

1. The CC cast is large and a big part of them are forgetables (figuratively, and quite literally as well since many characters are missable). This is the largest real problem for me.

2. The combat system is pretty unbalanced. If you don't understand it, you get wrecked pretty hard in some bosses.

3. The CT cast are essentially punished for doing the right thing. This is a bitter pill for a lot of people to swallow. CT is about hope for and changing the future for the better. Overcoming fate and making a better world.

CC is about how actions can have unintended reactions. That there is a price to pay even for good intentions. How a single action can cause a million different reactions widespread and unseen.

If the CT cast hadn't interfered with the future, they'd have gone on to live long healthy lives. Not just them, but their children and their childrens children, etc etc. Their selfless actions to save a future they'd never naturally see ended up costing them their futures. It's a tonal shift and a harsh one that a lot of people still can't accept (check any of the other CC threads over the years here).

I was looking for your response. I'll add another which is a potential spoiler but pissed me off

Spoiler

the main character bait and switch with Lynx while critical to the plot fed into the harsh tonal shift I've never been able to get over

. I used to be very harsh on CC for most of the above reasons but as time passed I've come to appreciate it as it's own thing instead of being the sequel I didn't want.

The soundtrack is incredible, I didn't care for the battle system, but it's well designed if a bit unintuitive (wife tried to play through it recently and even with the manual, the internet, and me, she was lost).

The easter eggs were fun to find such as

Spoiler

dial wielding einlanzers!

and

Spoiler

Ozzy, Flea, and Slash transformations

.

I think Chrono Trigger is the better game but Cross is still one of the greats.

 

[SliceSabre]

Real reason most hate it: It wasn't Chrono Trigger 2


Personally I love the game. Easily my favorite video game of all time and what got me into JRPGs. I adored the story, combat, characters(Pip's design and evolutions being a personal favorite) and the general art design of the game. The OST stands of one of the greatest in video game history. After I played it I tried Chrono Trigger and despised that game and don't get what the hype over it is about.

 

[ghibli99]

Too many characters and it was the height of 'cinematic combat', so things seemed to take forever to play out, even back then. Folks were split on Nobuteru Yuki's character designs, but I loved them. The Yasunori Mitsuda soundtrack is just fantastic. Funny that what I remember most from it was the scene that was a direct reference to Chrono Trigger. Very little else from the story even registers in my memory.

 

["D"]

I remember coming here for the first time and was like...what the FUCK happened here?!?

Nervous as shit

 

[Cleve]

I hated the character designs and art, even for serge, kid, etc.

The game was also jam-packed with a roster of forgettable nobodies. Following up chrono trigger was going to be hard, but trying for a suikoden style cast then shitting the bed with it led to me just being completely let down. Given the other number of great JRPGs around at the time, it was hard to care about.

I guess it had a great soundtrack.

 

[Tizoc]

Bit of an odd question but are there any major differences between the JP and English releases of the game?

 

[Wyndstryker]

It's a good game.

Just not a good Chrono game. Story should've just been standalone without any Chrono ties and would've been received better. It's story didn't really help the Chrono storyline. Probably if they said it's connected to Chrono in some way instead of being a direct sequel then people would've been more receptive to the plot.

 

[DJIzana]

I absolutely love Chrono Cross. My 2nd favorite game of all time. The music, the setting, the art style even a good chunk of the characters. (Except some like Neofeo or Turnip). I dunno... I enjoyed the quirkiness and that fact it wasn't a direct sequel. Hell, the memories alone when I got it and the hype reveal trailer to boot were just as epic!

 

[Horsemama1956]

I wanted something that looked and played like CT. Most people that like CT would probably take a direct sequel with the exact same graphics even now.

 

[sensui-tomo]

3. The CT cast are essentially punished for doing the right thing. This is a bitter pill for a lot of people to swallow. CT is about hope for and changing the future for the better. Overcoming fate and making a better world.

CC is about how actions can have unintended reactions. That there is a price to pay even for good intentions. How a single action can cause a million different reactions widespread and unseen.

If the CT cast hadn't interfered with the future, they'd have gone on to live long healthy lives. Not just them, but their children and their childrens children, etc etc. Their selfless actions to save a future they'd never naturally see ended up costing them their futures. It's a tonal shift and a harsh one that a lot of people still can't accept (check any of the other CC threads over the years here).

This is actually one of the reasons why I loved CC. Don't forget all the people CT basically made into non existence by time traveling all the time.(apparently they go to a dark void or something like what happened to harle at the beginning of ct but ct's team did that to an unknown huge number of people. The planet being a live thing is the only odd plot I didn't like, trying to get reptiles/dragons to be top dog like it was pre-lavos.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

Chrono Trigger stans are mad Chrono Cross is the better game.

 

[kromeo]

I think there would be a lot less hate for it if it hadn't shared the Chrono name. I think it's the better of the 2 games personally

 

[bionic77]

Chrono Cross was the game that put me off JRPGs until Persona 3. It took all the things that stuck in my craw about FF7 (mostly related to the pace slowing down due to a nightmare conflagration of delays for loading, delays for character animation during dialog scenes, more dialog, CG cutscenes...) and added other stuff that I didn't like, along with not retaining a lot of the stuff I liked about Chrono Trigger.

Trigger, because of it's Dragon Quest DNA, is a masterpiece because of it's relative simplicity. Cross... isn't.

Suikoden 1 and 2 (especially 2) were way better than CC.

 

[Muffdraul]

I played and replayed Chrono Cross so many times when it came out, going hogwild to get all of the endings and characters, to this day I'm still too burned out to play it again. Or at least I was the last time I attempted it on PS3. That was quite a while ago now, several years. Might be time to try it again. But I'd need to get one of my three broken down PS3s repaired.

 

[Dark_castle]

[QUOTE="D";249230092]

I remember coming here for the first time and was like...what the FUCK happened here?!?

Nervous as shit[/QUOTE]

A whole lot of deleted timeline.

 

[Rad-]

I just thought it was an average JRPG except for music and environment art style which were amazing.

 

[StarStabbedMoon]

People were upset that it had no connection to Chrono Trigger, even though it had a huge connection to Chrono Trigger, you just don't find out until 50+ hours in.

 

[limlark]

When I played Chrono Cross, I eventually got stuck at a boss I was badly equipped for, and the characters refused to leave the area so I could go get more of the right element spells. I don't know how many times I attempted it and died, but it was a lot. One day the stars finally aligned and it randomly went just a little bit easier on me, and I squeaked through... and that's when the game froze. I pushed every button on the controller, over in over, in vain as it sunk in. I looked at the screen and let the victory fanfare loop for a long, long time before I could bring myself to turn the console off.

Chrono Cross: Sometimes It Does The Thing Where It Goes "We Can't Turn Back Now!" And Strands You Forever In Hopeless Peril.

Spoiler

I should start the game over, I remember it being fairly fun before that. It was the Dwarf Tank, if anyone cares.

 

[Rue]

Liked it more than Chrono Trigger. The element system is still one of my favorite battle systems

This is pretty much my thoughts. I've replayed both CT and CC dozens of times, but Cross just feels like an overall better package despite some glaring flaws. Even with a bloated cast, I still prefer the characters of Cross as well.