Chrono Cross

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.