RPGamers Network > Reviews > Game Reviews > Chrono Cross
The air of sequel, however, doesn't really begin to pop up until you're well into the game. At first it seems like a very normal, quite pretty, RPG. Then a few plot strands slip into your hands, and before you know it you feel like you've been playing a sequel the whole time. And the plot threads are numerous and thick. Don't expect to be following the normal "quest-and-ye-shall-receive" deal.
There are a wide variety of characters, from a skeleton to a military corporal (or one of those ranks) to a gnome to a girly boy (ha-ha) singer. The way the game proceeds, most of the characters that you'll be interested in are very well developed. A lot of them are hidden though and you will have the try quite hard to uncover them.
And then of course there is the music. This soundtrack (except for that blasted battle theme!!) is just amazing. Mitsuda uses his Celtic style to play right into the Chrono Cross plot. Beautiful melodies and pounding drums are scattered about the soundtrack, and his work never fails to entertain and surprise (for more information on this music, you can stay tuned for my upcoming track-by-track review of the soundtrack).
Now for the plot.
The general idea is that there is this object, called the Frozen Flame that you must grab before the evil anthropomorphic cat, Lynx, does. Yes. He's the villain. An anthropomorphic cat (we'll have pronunciation lessons of that later). I'm not going to give anything away, but let's just say the likelihood of your final goal being get the Frozen Flame as your little small town boy Serge is equivilant to your likelihood of beating Final Fantasy VII when President ShinRa dies. ^_^ Don't say I didn't warn you.
Last but not best is the battle system. While it is rather original it is also rather annoying! You have these elements (and by the end, woo god will you have elements) and you assign them to the current slots your characters have open. They gain more slots as they increase in level (which happens only when you beat a boss). But it also depends on the level of the slots; they go all the way up to 8. All spells and such are assigned to one of these levels; if you put a level 4 spell (say, Eagle Eye) in a level 5 slot, it'll become Eagle Eye +1, and increase it's effects accordingly. But should you put it in a level 2 slot, it becomes Eagle Eye -2, and it's effects decrease accordingly. Needless to say, you'll be spending a good deal of time removing and adding elements to a person slots, seeing as how in the middle of the game the members of your party rotate constantly.
All in all this game is quite entertaining and a blast to play. I highly recommend it, but you might first want to get the Chrono Trigger remake you have a clue as to what is going on. ^_^
| Game Stats | |
|---|---|
| Genre | RPG |
| Platform | PlayStation |
| Format | CD-ROM |
| # of Players | 1 |
| Released Jap | 11.18.1999 |
| Released US | 08.15.2000 |
| Released EU | N/A |
| Aprox. Length | 20-40 hrs. |
| Reviewer Rankings | |
| Battle System | 8.0 |
| Gameplay | 9.0 |
| Music | 11.0 |
| Originality | 9.0 |
| Plot | 9.0 |
| Replay Value | 9.0 |
| Sound | 8.0 |
| Visuals | 9.0 |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Overall | |
| 9.0 | |
Chrono Cross
By: Square EAReviewed By: S3KI
Chrono Cross is the much-anticipated sequel to one of the most popular RPGs for the Super Nintendo, Chrono Trigger (people, say it with me, krow-no). The game lives up to the hype; a highly intriguing story line with beautiful music from the acclaimed Yasunori Mitsuda.The air of sequel, however, doesn't really begin to pop up until you're well into the game. At first it seems like a very normal, quite pretty, RPG. Then a few plot strands slip into your hands, and before you know it you feel like you've been playing a sequel the whole time. And the plot threads are numerous and thick. Don't expect to be following the normal "quest-and-ye-shall-receive" deal.
There are a wide variety of characters, from a skeleton to a military corporal (or one of those ranks) to a gnome to a girly boy (ha-ha) singer. The way the game proceeds, most of the characters that you'll be interested in are very well developed. A lot of them are hidden though and you will have the try quite hard to uncover them.
And then of course there is the music. This soundtrack (except for that blasted battle theme!!) is just amazing. Mitsuda uses his Celtic style to play right into the Chrono Cross plot. Beautiful melodies and pounding drums are scattered about the soundtrack, and his work never fails to entertain and surprise (for more information on this music, you can stay tuned for my upcoming track-by-track review of the soundtrack).
Now for the plot.
The general idea is that there is this object, called the Frozen Flame that you must grab before the evil anthropomorphic cat, Lynx, does. Yes. He's the villain. An anthropomorphic cat (we'll have pronunciation lessons of that later). I'm not going to give anything away, but let's just say the likelihood of your final goal being get the Frozen Flame as your little small town boy Serge is equivilant to your likelihood of beating Final Fantasy VII when President ShinRa dies. ^_^ Don't say I didn't warn you.
Last but not best is the battle system. While it is rather original it is also rather annoying! You have these elements (and by the end, woo god will you have elements) and you assign them to the current slots your characters have open. They gain more slots as they increase in level (which happens only when you beat a boss). But it also depends on the level of the slots; they go all the way up to 8. All spells and such are assigned to one of these levels; if you put a level 4 spell (say, Eagle Eye) in a level 5 slot, it'll become Eagle Eye +1, and increase it's effects accordingly. But should you put it in a level 2 slot, it becomes Eagle Eye -2, and it's effects decrease accordingly. Needless to say, you'll be spending a good deal of time removing and adding elements to a person slots, seeing as how in the middle of the game the members of your party rotate constantly.
All in all this game is quite entertaining and a blast to play. I highly recommend it, but you might first want to get the Chrono Trigger remake you have a clue as to what is going on. ^_^
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