Chrono Cross

aka: Project Kid
Moby ID: 3810
PlayStation Specs
Buy on PlayStation
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Description official description

Serge is a young boy from a fishermen's village. One day, while strolling on the sea shore with his sweetheart, Serge suddenly disappears. He comes back to senses several moments later. Everything seems just the same as it was before, but when Serge visits his home village, nobody recognizes him. He hears from people that he has been dead for ten years. Serge begins to realize that he is now in a parallel world. His first and only wish is to find a way to return home, but, in order to do that, he must understand what has caused the existence of parallel words, allowing inter-dimensional travel. His quest will also reveal to him the truth about his own existence.

Chrono Cross is a Japanese-style role-playing game, and a sequel to Chrono Trigger. The game's story is not directly connected to that of its predecessor, though there are sub-plots and characters that refer to it. Combat in the game is turn-based; like Chrono Trigger, the game has no random battles, and enemies are always visible on screen. During battles, Serge and his party members can perform three kinds of attacks: weak, medium, and strong, which tend to miss more frequently but inflict more damage. Actions in battle deplete a certain amount of stamina, which recovers as other characters act. There are also no character levels in the game: instead, the characters get their parameters increased directly after each battle.

All magic spells, character-specific tech attacks, and consumable items are grouped into six elements, which are divided into three pairs with opposing properties. Each player-controlled character and enemy has an innate element, which enhances the power of spells categorized under it when used by said character, but also weakens his or her resistance to the opposing element. Battle fields may also be marked by a particular element, granting bonuses to attacks based on it, and reducing the damage caused by the opposing one. Player-controlled characters have differently shaped grids which allow the player to allocate purchased or found elements there. When the character participates in a battle, the allocated elements act as equipped spells, and can be cast until their amount is depleted.

Though most of the plot progression is linear, there are several sub-quests that are not required to complete in order to reach the game's ending. The game features many recruitable characters (up to 45, though not all of them can be recruited in one playthrough), several different endings, and the ability to play the game again with the statistics and items from the previous play.

Spellings

  • クロノ・クロス - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (PlayStation version)

80 People (74 developers, 6 thanks) · View all

Executive Producers
Producer
Director, Scenario Writer
Art Director
Player Character Design
Music
Battle System Design
Battle Programmer
Event Planning & Staging
Main Programmer, Event System Program, Map Program, Movie Program
Special Effects Programmer, Menu System Programmer
General Manager
Deputy General Manager
Localization Director, Localization Specialist, Localization Programmer, English Auto-Accent Generator
Movie Director
CG Supervisor
Production Manager
Sound FX Supervisor
Sound Program
Synthesizer Program
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 92% (based on 44 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 122 ratings with 5 reviews)

The Greatest RPG of our time...

The Good
The gameplay, put simply, is excellent. The battle system is one of the most innovative I have ever seen in an RPG, and in this game it is not only unique but well-done also. There are also 40+ characters, which can be good because it creates a lot of diversity in terms of in-battle strategy as well as personal preference. The graphics are some of the best you'll find on the Playstation, not because of hard, visual excellence, but because the style is unlike anything you're likely to see again. To keep the good stuff coming, the game has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a game, if not the best. The tracks have a very organic feel to them, thus creating an attachment to them like you won't get from a Final Fantasy game. Plot is very important to an RPG, and thankfully Chrono Cross delivers what is undoubtedly one of the most complex stories of all time. Once you understand what is going on, however, you will not find a better story told than in Chrono Cross. In this game, excellence all around.

The Bad
There's not too much I can find wrong with the game, and anything I say here is nothing but minor squibbles because I can't think of anything better to say. Anyway, in relation to the characters, having more than 40 can be a good thing , but it can also be a bad thing. Individual characterization is a bit lacking besides the around 10 main characters. In fact, you will never use about 2/3 of the characters that the game gives you. However, which third you do use is all personal preference, so you really can't say any character is totally useless. The only other qualm I have with Cross is the ending. Don't get me wrong, the actual ending itself is excellent. But there is a major plot twist unveiled right before the final battle that completely discards everything you've been taught in the game in favor of a major reference to the game's predecessor, Chrono Trigger. Again, like with the characters, whether you like the plot twist or not is entirely up to you. It certainly made things more complicated.

The Bottom Line
Chrono Cross is unlike any game you will ever find. If you think the Final Fantasy series is the pinnacle of RPG's, then your way off. The only RPG that can compare in quality is Chrono Trigger, which speaking of you will find many references of in Cross. This is also a good first rpg for anyone interested in getting into the genre, not only because it displays the pinnacle of every aspect of video games, but because the tale is one that is timeless and should be enjoyed by anyone.

PlayStation · by Chrono Damian (1) · 2003

Doesn't just match Chrono Trigger's quality, it surpasses it

The Good
When Chrono Trigger first came out in 1995, the gaming community was amazed. No previous game had had such a quality storyline and such a unique battle system. Yet, after finishing it, the loyal fans of CT had a distant fear lingering in their minds-- the dreaded "curse of the sequel".

They had nothing to fear. Chrono Cross somehow manages to live up to its' predecessor in almost every aspect. Where Chrono Trigger played with the notions of time travel, Chrono Cross tackles inter-dimensional travel. 20 years after the events of Chrono Trigger, a young boy named Serge (yet another silent protagonist like Crono) goes to meet his girlfriend on a beach outside his village. Suddenly he feels distant, like voices are calling him... as his dimension shifts around him, he passes out and wakes up in a world where he, is in fact dead and gone.

Chrono Cross has, by far, the best graphics of any game on the PlayStation. Gone are the horribly blocky characters of FF7-- every character is modeled and textured beautifully, and the colours are incredibly vibrant and bright. Just one look at Arni Village shows the amazing vibrant skies and oceans this game has. It's almost awe-inspiring in a way, and is a welcome change from games like FF7 which spends the first 20% of the game inside a dark, dreary city.

Like the original Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross features no random battles. All enemies are visible on the screen-- when you run into one, a battle occurs (unfortunately, it switches over to a different battle screen unlike CT, where the battles occurred on the map itself). Tired of the FF series and their dull battles? Chrono Cross has THE perfect battle system. In FF (and other games), all you had to do was wait for your black mage's turn, where he/she would then cast Ultima3 or whatever and the enemies were wiped. In Chrono Cross, however, the more physical attacks you do, the higher level elements you can cast (elements are equivalent to magic). Specific elements can only be cast once per battle. This brings up an interesting balance-- your characters must strike a fine line between physical strength and magic strength, because what happens if you run out of elements? You'll be doomed. It requires more thinking then just the standard "fire and forget" systems in other games. That's why I like Chrono Cross' battle system so much.

The Bad
Thought the story in CT was complicated? Well, this one will knock you off your feet. Don't get me wrong, the story is fantastic (and fits together with CT very well) but it is extremely complicated with many aspects to consider when trying to figure out the grand picture.

The Bottom Line
If you have to buy only one PlayStation RPG, this is it. Too bad it wasn't released in Europe.

PlayStation · by xofdre (78) · 2004

I have lost all faith in squaresoft....

The Good
Chrono Cross has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Seriously. Nothing. Nada. And the really sad part I had high hopes for this game. Having enjoyed the original Chrono Trigger, I anticipated this long awaited sequel. Only to find that it was not even a sequel! Furthermore it is one of the worst games I have ever played!

The Bad
In this portion of the review I will debug the “qualities” of this game. Yes it’s true this is not a real sequel, it cannot be as it is supposed to take place about 20 years after the original yet the world looks completely different…huh? The fact that there are many characters available to join your party is often listed as positive attribute this is anything but. You see, when you can only use three characters at a time the “benefit” is lost. Furthermore, more than half of the party members you can acquire are useless. A common trait in Square’s dubious rpg’s.

You would think that the music would be good right? As the original had such an incredible score but alas, the music and sound for this poor excuse for a game is also lacking.

The graphics are better than those found in the Final Fantasies on the Playstation. But at the end of the day it’s still just a Playstation game. Besides graphics do not make the game.

The gameplay is often called “unique” or perhaps, “original”. This is a lie. The reason is simple the so called originality is that at certain points in the game the player has multiple choices when dealing with a certain situation. This is a lie for two reasons: first is that these events are rare, there are only about three. Second and more importantly, the choice you make does not significantly change the course of the game so choice, is therefore just an illusion.

I saved the best for last, the plot of this tripe. It is funny to me that rpg’ers claim that plot is the most important aspect of an rpg. If that is so then this game cannot possibly be considered good by anyone who enjoys rpgs. The begins with Serge, no joke that’s the fools name, going to kill lizards so he can gather the scales and make a necklace, no joke. And it does not get any better. The rest of the plot unfolds like a Philip K. Dick novel sans being enjoyable to read. There are a few scant references to the original many of which make no sense. And lastly the game’s ending is impossibly retarded, once you finish it you can view many other endings all of which are a waste of time, but then again this game is a waste of time!

The Bottom Line
I would tell others to avoid this game like the plague. Copies of this game should be confiscated, and buried in the desert, and forgotten. Avoid this one at all costs, even if you enjoyed the original.

PlayStation · by MasterMegid (723) · 2007

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Greatest hits covers are ugly Alaka (105834) Sep 4, 2010
i need help BJ123443 Aug 19, 2007

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The PS1 version of Chrono Cross appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Development

The base ideas for Chrono Cross came from an SNES Satellaview game called Radical Dreamers. It was basically a text adventure game, using a story related to Chrono Trigger. Kid, Serge, and several other characters had their start in that game, though they weren't exactly the characters as found in Chrono Cross.

Endings

Chrono Cross has ten different endings. However, only two of them are available the first time you play the game. After you complete your first game, you can start a new game with all the inventory from the previous one, and eight more paths to various endings become available.

Japanese version

In the Japanese version, Lynx, one of the main characters of the game, is called Yamaneko. Yamaneko is literally "mountain cat", and means... well, a lynx. Another important character - Harle - is called "Tsukiyomi" in Japanese version. "Tsuki" is "moon" (quite logically, since all her special attacks based on moon energy, and also for another reason, which would be a big spoiler to tell).

Magus

Magus from Chrono Trigger was originally planned to be included in the game. However, with over 40 playable characters the designers didn't have the resources to include scenes that would fully explain his presence and develop the character. They based the character Guile on work already done on Magus, which is why the two look alike.

Music

The victory fanfare is actually a version of Lucca's theme in Chrono Trigger.

Mythology

Like many other Squaresoft games, "Chrono Cross" contains a lot of educational material, mainly in the sphere of mythology. For example: Klotho, Lachesis, and Athropos, the three aspects of Fate, who reign over the life of the humans, are an exact reproduction of the three Moiras from the Greek mythology, with accurate names and precise descriptions.

References

In the US/Canada version of the game, after completing the game once players may encounter a battle with three characters returning from Chrono Trigger-- Slash, Flea, and Ozzie. These characters are (obviously) named after rock legends-- Slash of Guns 'N Roses, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Ozzy Osbourne. They are also a mistranslation-- in the original Chrono Trigger, they were named after condiments (Mayonnaise, Vinegar, and Soy Sauce). However, thinking that the joke would not go over well, translator Ted Woolsey changed the names. This presented a problem in the translation of Chrono Cross, when translator Dana Kwon chose to maintain continuity between the games. Thus, the character of Slash (a musician in the style of J-Goth artist Gackt) from Chrono Cross became Nikki, a reference to Nikki Sixx.

Technology

Because the game's 40 playable characters all have different speech patterns, a sub-program was created specifically for the game to generate the different speech patterns around the line, rather than code in every line for every character.

Title

The old Greek word "chrono" means "time", thus the name of the game that has a lot to do with time (for example time traveling and such).

Awards

  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) – #55 in the Top 100 Games of All Time poll

Information also contributed by Joshua J. Slone, MegaMegaMan, Tiago Jacques, Timo Takalo and Unicorn Lynx

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  • MobyGames ID: 3810
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Adam Baratz.

PS Vita added by Fred VT. PSP, PlayStation 3 added by GTramp.

Additional contributors: MAT, PCGamer77, Unicorn Lynx, DreinIX, Caelestis, Patrick Bregger, Thomas Thompson, FatherJack.

Game added April 17, 2001. Last modified March 22, 2024.