Genre: RPG
Year: 1999
Developed by: Square
Published by: Square
Platforms: PSX, Switch
#46
Feeling Like: Crossroads
Many of the games on The 500 inspire thoughtfulness, or nostalgia. I can look back on a few core pleasant memories flying solo, or with friends, or with family and understand why I smile when I reminisce. Others are a bit murkier, the elation either faded quickly or over time. The advantage of getting older is that I have a larger menu to pick from, the disadvantage being I can’t remember why they’re on the menu in the first place.
Then there are a select few that go beyond either of those categories. They’re unforgettable experiences, even if I can’t defend them through a modern lens. I know why they’re important to me, but it’s unwise for me to recommend them to somebody who has never played them before. They exist in a very precious bubble of time, which I suppose is appropriate given this series’ themes. It’s delicate; if I try to say I loved Chrono Cross because of its connection to my favorite game, then that means if it existed on its own, it wouldn’t hold up to snuff. If I try to justify its placement at #46 because of how wondrous it felt in 1999, it just means I’m looking through it with rose-tinted glasses. And if I tell you that Chrono Cross is a magical experience because it just is, that’s a failure on my part to explain why.
But I can’t, not fully. Chrono Cross is an entirely unique experience that has to be played to be believed. It won’t appeal to many outside the JRPG fandom and I will say going through the most recent remake (The Radical Dreamers Edition) dropped it few places on the Almighty Spreadsheet, but my admiration for it as a concept soared. It may not work 100% as a game, but it still brings so much to the table that I’m forced to acquiesce.
It’s important you know how obsessed I was with Chrono Trigger. As soon as I had access to the internet, I would look up everything on the game. Strategies, theories of cut content, MIDI files of the soundtrack, rumors of a sequel, NPC backstories, everything. I’d read GameFAQs to try and spot any treasures I’d missed, or even lines of dialogue I hadn’t memorized. I maxed out my character’s stats to Level ** and pumped everybody’s speed, magic and strength to ** as well. I beat it at least 50 times, saw every ending. It spoke to me like no video game had before, or probably ever will again.
So when the announcement for Chrono Cross came out, I must have watched the opening cinematic 100 times and I don’t even think that’s an exaggeration.
I could just post the accompanying song “Scars of Time” and leave it at that. That’s all the justification I need to put Chrono Cross this high on The 500. I’ve mentioned in some entries like Flower, Journey and Secret of Mana that they had superb soundtracks, but Chrono Cross is a king among kings. “Scars of Time“…just listen to those violins, flutes, bongos and cellos! It makes me want to dance, or fight, or both. How many games warrant an entire orchestra playing a medley of the best tracks? That transition from “Scars of Time” to “Frog’s Theme” chills me to the bone, even after listening to it a dozen times.
Gun to my head, if I had to say what game had the best soundtrack, the most creative sounds, the biggest variety, the use of different instruments, furthering emotion in the player, bangers to bonkers, it’s Chrono Cross’. To say it’s “good” would be an insult to the legendary composer, Yasunori Mitsuda. I can barely entertain the notion that another game has superior audio. It’s that “good”.
The “Home World” Theme makes me want to run through tall grass under a cloudless sky.
“Prisoners of Fate“is measured, somber and speaks to the core of Chrono Cross’ theme of loss, wistfulness and defiance.
“Jellyfish Sea” is the kind of track that gets lost in a pile of titans, but it’s so peaceful it makes me want to fall asleep on a beach.
“Dragon God” has just the right amount of strings and vocals to make you feel completely unsettled.
“Frozen Flame” – ethereal and mysterious.
I’m going to post the whole soundtrack, aren’t I? “The Dream That Time Dreams” may be a terrible title, but my goodness, what a song.
When you transport to a parallel world and leave the beach, “Dream of the Shore Near Another World” is the first thing you hear. Talk about first impressions.
The “End Credits Theme” is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard. The accompanying FMV footage of a real life actress is the icing on a very delicious cake.
It’s an embarrassment of riches. It’s worth listening to all of them (except for the Battle theme..). Lucky for us, ocremix.org has 60 remixes available to listen to. For free. Anytime.
The rest of the game isn’t as superlative as the soundtrack, but how would that even be possible? It’s a conflicting feeling, going back and playing one of your old favorites. 38 year old Henry is a very different beast than 16 year old Henry. At the time, I was just happy to get my hands on the new Chrono game. Any references to its predecessor made me gasp in awe. I’d leave the screen on an image, or even a text box that mentioned a character I knew, or showed the remnants of a beloved location. I couldn’t believe it. There it was, Leene’s Bell from the fair. I’d run under that bell in 2D a thousand times and here it was in 3D, fallen from the arch. It didn’t seem real. It still doesn’t. That kind of connection can’t and doesn’t exist for any other game and because even if it’s loosely tied to Chrono Trigger, there’s still some relation. Call it digital nepotism, but Chrono Cross has a distinct advantage over 498 other games on The 500 for this very reason.
The plot collapses under the weight of its ambition. I give Square points for trying, but the basic travel adventure found in Chrono Trigger is amped up tenfold here to the point where I have to refresh myself on the happenings in Wikipedia about once a year. And I could still barely tell you what happened. Parallel universes are a tricky trope to tightrope walk, and I was often confused about which area dimension I was in. What doesn’t help is that, for the most part, locations can look identical. Square was wise to deviate slightly, for example one city is free and the other is occupied by an invading force, but aside from a few window dressings, it’s nearly identical. Without a guide, I would have been lost.
The story itself does a U-turn about halfway thorough and doesn’t get less complicated from there. It’s a cascade of love, fate, choice, personalities, corruption, dragons, technology, weather and death. It’s not uncommon for a JRPG to nosedive near the end into philosophical nonsense, but despite all my winging, it feels earned in Chrono Cross. Every character you speak to seems to have a longing sense of ennui. They’ll wax poetic about the meaning of life, or tell you how much they miss a loved one. Despite the gorgeous tropical background and dozens of bubbly personalities who are just happy to be alive, there’s a weird shadow lingering with each objective you complete. Something isn’t quite right.
I wanted to be in Arni village, and this is coming from a ginger who doesn’t feel comfortable on any beach. While the graphics haven’t aged well (what 1st generation 3D game has?), the art direction has endured. The game is brimming with color and interesting images. There’s always an ocean nearby, always a strange person wearing an outlandish costume. There are ghost ships, powerful empires, volcanos, and a futuristic city stuck in time. You can accuse Chrono Cross of being messy, but you cannot accuse Square of half-assing anything.
The number of characters does hurt the overall experience, especially when trying to collect them all (you can’t in a single playthrough). There are simply too many: 45 in total. This isn’t a Suikoden game, where you get an opportunity to use an army in various conflicts, you have a party size of three. And, for the most part, Serge is always the head honcho. For some story purposes, Kid has to be around too. So you’re looking at dozens of interesting looking characters that will have a permanent residence on the bench. Normally when you satisfy conditions to recruit a new character, it’s a big moment; here, it’s just an eye-roll.
I’ve heard Chrono Cross described as a great game, but a bad sequel. I buy into that theory; it’s hardly Chrono Trigger 2, but it also doesn’t shy away from it either. It tries to have its cake and eat it too. On a personal level, I’d have a psychological orgasm when they’d mention the events of Chrono Trigger. Through wiser eyes, I can see it probably would’ve been better for Square to focus on making an entirely new experience, or a direct sequel. Not both.
It is it’s own game, in a way. As you can see, I’m not at a loss for words when thinking about Chrono Cross. The combat is exciting, but without the HD update, lags like a donkey through mud. The magic system is fresh, but it mostly erases the individuality of your characters so they fight in the same style. The field effect is underused, but the stamina system is brilliant. The animations are sluggish, but are also dope as hell. The soundtrack is sublime, but the song you’ll hear the most is the ridiculous battle theme. It’s a beautiful mess, much like Final Fantasy 15, Metal Gear Solid 5, or Xenoblade Chronicles X. I’ll take those over other examples that play it safe, but not without suffering some headaches along the way.
The words “Chrono Cross” lift my heart. As I progress to completion of The 500, some games really jump out at me. I’m always excited to start and finish an entry, but games like these are the ones that provide something more. It’s the mystery of where Serge went, what happened to him in the alternate reality, saving Kidd, exploring this magnificent archipelago that can’t seem to make up its mind whether it’s fantasy, science-fiction, or both. It is a passion project, a game that isn’t as concerned with grinding in battles or making sense the entire time. I read that the reason Japanese dialogue differs from English fundamentally because they’re more concerned with how the dialogue expresses emotion, rather than conveying information or sounding realistic. That’s Chrono Cross in a nutshell.
The 500 