Chrono Cross
PlayStation
Greetings one and all, Almightywisk here to bring that sweet video game lovin' to your brainholes and review one of my favorite games I recently played: Chrono Cross. This will be a special review as this game along with its predecessor are close to my heart. I played this game before I knew what Chrono Trigger was, which goes to show that you can truly enjoy this game without knowledge of the first game. But knowing the little easter eggs and what happened before this game helps.
The days before Square Enix, this game was released under the Squaresoft company. Squaresoft was the company I loved, most of my memories are from Square's titles, and Chrono Cross is no different.
I played this game with an old friend, he loved watching me play these 1 players games. I loved watching him play, so it worked out well. There was a point where I played this game for nearly 24 hours straight one weekend. My mom was out of town and I hooked up the PlayStation to the 45 inch TV and I was just in heaven.
The game wasn't marketed well in the U.S. like all diamonds in the rough. Barely a million units shipped on initial release, but eventually the game still earned that ugly but coveted greatest hits sticker. The game was beloved by reviewers, Gamespot itself gave it a perfect 10, and only a handful of games have reached that status. Well let's review then shall we?
This game is the perfect example of the snowball effect. The game begins with you playing as Serge, a silent protagonist (big surprise) in a small fishing town with your girlfriend and a pink talking dog with a serious lisp. The game knows you're new, so the first area eases you into a rich, detailed but easy to use battle system. The battle system is nice - you have 7 stamina and 3 attacks; Low, medium and high - each with a percentage to hit. When you land a hit it optimizes which one you should do next and raises the percentage for harder hits. Low hits are 1 stamina, medium hits are 2, and hard hits are 3. So you can low hit 7 times, medium hit 3 times and use a low etc. etc. I assume Dan will put in a good picture describing how this looks.
With every attack you land, a grid fills up which is an element grid, which is this game's version of magic, and each use of an element takes 7 of your stamina. Now before you say "i'll just keep using attacks and then use my 1 stamina to cast a spell", wrong. You can go negative in stamina which is the equivalent of recharging or cooldowns, but fret not, for each attack a party member uses you gain one stamina back. So after 2 rounds of your party members using all 7 of their stamina, your main character has his back. It's a very balanced and fair system.
The story involves Serge and his travels through time and dimensions. After collecting some komodo dragon scales for his girlfriend he ends up at a beach and passes out. The adventure begins from here. He returns back to the village to find that no one recognizes him. He goes on a journey to find out why he's not recognized and ends up on the most epic quest that only a Square game can deliver.
The game plays smoothly between storylines, the dialogue and plot is rich and detailed, and the very best part about the dialogue is that it knows when to start and stop. You will not be weighed down by this very detailed storyline during your adventures, it's usually reserved until after you beat said area, or in towns.
Remember early I mentioned a pink talking dog with a lisp? It's a party member. That's right, along with 44 other playable characters. This game has something for everyone, you want to play with 6 foot tall living voodoo doll? No problem. You want to fight with a Luchador priest? Got you covered. Pirates? Fairies? Dragons? Plants? Shamans? Scientists? Aliens? All taken care of. Every character has a quirk or an accent that makes them unique and fun. Most have there own side plots or reason for traveling. The amount of characters can be summed up in one sentence, if there's a portrait next to their name, odds are they will join at one point or another. Maybe even some unexpected characters.
The music, oh my gravy boat full of gravy and butter sauce, the music in this game is to be truly appreciated. It is all done by the same gentleman who did all of Chrono Trigger's music, Xenogears, Final Fantasy V, and Secret of Mana. The game delivers and it delivers on another level in the music department. Every area is amazing, charasmatic and it makes you want more. Later in the game you hear it at it's finest with an electric version of the Marbule home theme which I've instructed Dan the man with a plan to put a link in here somewhere. The link to the song explains how the music is delivered and I needn't say anymore, this epic little diddy speaks for itself.
Here's your link, you filthy animal
The enemies and bosses, there's a lot to be improved on here, yes they are unique and fun, but the areas are limited to the same 3 or 4 monsters due to the size of said areas. Most are more of a nuisance than a challenge. There's no random battles, they are on the screen chasing you or waiting. Areas do get mundane quickly for a game that has gorgeous graphics. The dungeons and mountains are depressing and the scenery is ruined with polygonal monsters jumping around. Bosses are fun, unique and provide a nescessary challenge in the easily defeatable normal fights. The challenge of the bosses may actually be switching from mashing X to actually turning your brain back on and developing a tactic to win.
Dungeons and areas, big complaint here, they are either too short or too long. They try to make more time by adding easily solveable puzzles, and most game areas are dreary and depressing compared to the bright and colorful overworld. Most areas here you enjoy the bleak area for all of 2 minutes due to new enemies and a new place to explore, then you just hope to get through it. But the one thing that makes up for that pain is the story, the reason why you are there.
Let's discuss replay value. Chrono Trigger invented the New Game + which lets you start a new game while keeping all of your old items equipment, gold, and levels. Chrono Cross is no exception with the addition of 'Continue +' which to sum up without getting too in depth, lets you collect every character of the game and max your stats via multiple save files. Chrono Cross, just like Trigger, has multiple endings, New Game plus, and bonus enemies and bosses in an area called "The Bend of Time". Chrono Cross will give you 35+ Hours of storyline gameplay, and if you loved it like I did, even longer to get all the characters along with the best weapons and armor.
This game is an RPG players dream, perfect for those wanting to break the monotony of 'classic' JRPGs. Filled with fun, adventure, unique characters, a deep and rich story line and a high replay value, the bleak dungeons are worth that yawn just so you can figure out why people call you "Ghost Boy".
The enemies and bosses, there's a lot to be improved on here, yes they are unique and fun, but the areas are limited to the same 3 or 4 monsters due to the size of said areas. Most are more of a nuisance than a challenge. There's no random battles, they are on the screen chasing you or waiting. Areas do get mundane quickly for a game that has gorgeous graphics. The dungeons and mountains are depressing and the scenery is ruined with polygonal monsters jumping around. Bosses are fun, unique and provide a nescessary challenge in the easily defeatable normal fights. The challenge of the bosses may actually be switching from mashing X to actually turning your brain back on and developing a tactic to win.
Dungeons and areas, big complaint here, they are either too short or too long. They try to make more time by adding easily solveable puzzles, and most game areas are dreary and depressing compared to the bright and colorful overworld. Most areas here you enjoy the bleak area for all of 2 minutes due to new enemies and a new place to explore, then you just hope to get through it. But the one thing that makes up for that pain is the story, the reason why you are there.
Let's discuss replay value. Chrono Trigger invented the New Game + which lets you start a new game while keeping all of your old items equipment, gold, and levels. Chrono Cross is no exception with the addition of 'Continue +' which to sum up without getting too in depth, lets you collect every character of the game and max your stats via multiple save files. Chrono Cross, just like Trigger, has multiple endings, New Game plus, and bonus enemies and bosses in an area called "The Bend of Time". Chrono Cross will give you 35+ Hours of storyline gameplay, and if you loved it like I did, even longer to get all the characters along with the best weapons and armor.
This game is an RPG players dream, perfect for those wanting to break the monotony of 'classic' JRPGs. Filled with fun, adventure, unique characters, a deep and rich story line and a high replay value, the bleak dungeons are worth that yawn just so you can figure out why people call you "Ghost Boy".
Overall:
A-
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