Chrono Cross thread

[Ivo]

Saw some comments about the game in another thread and the only thread dedicated to it that I could find was a review.

I finished this game recently and would like to discuss it. Personally I loved the game, although I would prefer they would focus less on the quantity of playable characters and improve the quality. Frankly most of them are interchangeable, they could have a big roster (instead of huge) and make each of them more memorable.

I like how they figured out a (mostly?) consistent way to integrate the story with Chrono Trigger, given the time travel stuff of CT that was not trivial. To me it really did feel like a sequel, despite the many changes.

I probably still prefer Trigger over it, but Cross is certainly one of the top RPGs of this type I've played.

I understand that some people are quite critical over it, maybe we can get some of those opinions in the thread.

Ivo.

[CFFJR]

I honestly can't say much about it, as I didn't get far when I tried to play it.

For me, it was one of those games that rubbed me in such a wrong way that I played it very little before growing tired of it and shutting it off. It certainly didn't help that I found what I played of the combat system to be plainly frustrating.

I know some people have said the combat simply takes time to learn before opening up, but I didn't get that far.

I'm not saying the game is bad or anything, only that its very likely to be one of those games that's just not for me. I've always intended to try and play it again, but other things have distracted me and I'm honestly not that motivated.

I know that's probably not the sort of response you were hoping for (sorry ) but its true that its a polarizing game, and I've found that a lot of people have said similar things.

[Ivo]

For me, it was one of those games that rubbed me in such a wrong way that I played it very little before growing tired of it and shutting it off. It certainly didn't help that I found what I played of the combat system to be plainly frustrating.

I know some people have said the combat simply takes time to learn before opening up, but I didn't get that far.

To be honest I have some criticism on the combat system - although I liked it and it is still vastly superior to most systems that frankly don't even try to make things different / interesting. Did you like the combat in Xenogears?

1. I don't like how you can not use items or spells/abilities (all rolled into "Elements") without hitting the enemy. One of the things that annoys me in that is that it is a bit unfair to dedicated magic users*.

2. I don't like how the time management system (stamina) works in detail. One of the things where you notice this a lot is that a third member could very well stay on the sidelines during a whole battle. I don't remember noticing this issue in Trigger or Xenogears but maybe I wasn't paying enough attention?

* But then again most RPGs have that as a main issue in balance, not limited to jRPGs even. There is mostly two main cathegories: the games one where "You have to swing that weapon" like in Morrowind that my caster ended up using melee to fight most of the time; and games where fighters are good at the start but are then overtaken by casters by the mid to end-game.

Ivo.

[fastbilly1]

It is one of the few PSX games I will keep. CC was the reason I bought a PSX in the first place. The soundtrack is one of my favorites, especially Dragon Dance and the opening theme. The game, is just one that draws me to it.

This:

Is all that needs to be said. I wish they would rerelease it looking like that.

[bmoc]

Chrono Cross is the only game that ever caused my PS1 to overheat. Actually I suppose it would be more accurate to say that Chrono Cross caused me to overheat my PS1 by playing it 8 hours at a time.

[dunpeal2064]

I liked certain aspects of this game, but thougt that is was lacking in some areas that Square was good at back then.

I really didn't care about a single character in that game. With 53 characters, but only 3 allowed on screen (including the main character), I felt like I was not going to see what these characters had to offer. They did develope them a bit, but not enough for me to actually like the character. It was like "Ok, heres a bit of storey for this guy... and now thats completely over"

^ But, that wasn't a huge deal, since each character had exactly 3 unique moves to them, while everything else was shared. I was not a fan of this, as I felt very few of these characters were unique. It reminded me of something like FFVII or FFVIII, where the only unique moves were Limit Breaks. I much prefer things to be like FFIV or FFVI (yeah, too many FF refferences in a jrpg thread), where each character has something unique that they can offer, while still being customizable.

The ability to run from every single fight in the game was also kind of a turn of. I never once felt worried that I may Game Over.

I did really like the way they tied in CT's story. Once shit hit the fan (after that gruelingly long time being forced into... well, you know what I'm talking about if you've played it), it was really interesting.

The music in this game was good. It was a bit hyped for me, as I had heard several times that it had one of the greatest soundtracks of any rpg. I find that far from true (FFIX), but that aside, the music fits the game perfectly.

My last gripe... this game feels like it was meant to be played through with a guide, or played through like 5 times. This is cool to a 14 year old that doesn't have many games, or much else to do. For me, I wanted to just play this game, not follow a guide, and not follow it up with 4 more playthroughs.

Because of this, I missed a bit under 10 characters (No big deal). However, I also got the worst ending I have ever seen in my life. The final boss was over, and I got a black screen, a "wanna save?", and the title screen.

Overall, I am glad I gave this game a chance, and I did enjoy myself, but I don't think this game would make a top 10 psx rpgs for me. Of course, this is just my opinion, and I can see why so many people fell in love with it. If I had had the game at a younger age, I'm sure I'd like it as much as I like FFVII (which has as many flaws as any other jrpg, but nostalgia wins)

[Zing]

I actually forgot this game existed. I have yet to play it since I hadn't played Chrono Trigger until last year. I'll put it on deck after finishing up some of these Super NES games I am currently playing.

[Flake]

Chrono Cross only made two mistakes:

- Too many characters. Although what they did was ambitious, having a smaller cast works better and gives the player a chance to develop a connection with them. If I am going to play a 40+ hour game, I need to be able to care about the heroes.

- Clumsy battle system. I attribute this to building a system to accommodate over 40 characters, though.

Things Chrono Cross did right:

-Everything else. I hate most RPG's but I love me some Chrono Cross. One of the best stories a game has ever told.

[Dakinggamer87]

Chrono Cross is one of my favorite RPG's with great characters, battle system, and music especially the opening theme.

[GameMasterGuy]

Not as good as Chrono Trigger, but it's not half bad.