How do you follow-up a perfect game? It seems almost foolish to try to make a sequel or successor to Chrono Trigger, a game often heralded as one of the greatest RPGs ever made, possibly the best on the SNES, or even the greatest game of the 16-bit generation.

But depending on who you ask, Chrono Cross is more than worthy of carrying the Chrono series into the 3D generation. In fact, Chrono Cross is one of my favorite games on the PS1. Unfortunately Chrono Cross is a very polarizing game for many. Some believe that if it weren't a "Chrono" game with ties to Trigger, it would be a great game, with many complaining that Cross was too far of a departure from what made Trigger so good. Makes sense, but let me sell you on what makes this game so good in my eyes.

We didn't want to directly extend Chrono Trigger into a sequel, but create a new Chrono with links to the original. Yes, the platform changed; and yes, there were many parts that changed dramatically from the previous work. But in my view, the whole point in making Chrono Cross was to make a new Chrono with the best available skills and technologies of today. I never had any intentions of just taking the system from Trigger and moving it onto the PlayStation console. That's why I believe that Cross is Cross, and NOT Trigger 2.

— Masato Kato

Chrono Cross does not deserve the hate it gets. Sure, it isn't Chrono Trigger 2 like everyone wanted, but it stands its ground just fine on its own and does enough differently that it stands out amongst the overcrowded populace that is the PS1's JRPG library. If you do play this game, don't go in expecting a direct follow-up or sequel to Trigger; instead expect a new game in an existing series with light ties to previous games, a la Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest.

First Impressions

I had no clue this game existed as a kid, so I don't have any kind of nostalgia blurring my view of this game. I ended up digging into this game in mid-pandemic 2020. I bought a used copy off of eBay for a cheap $20, and was immediately blown away by how impressive the opening CGI video is. The track that plays during that whole video, Scars of Time, perfectly conveys the overall tone of the game, filling you with this sense of adventure and wonder, yet also feeling melancholic. Chrono Cross has one of the best soundtracks ever created, and it's thankfully available on almost every music streaming service.

The visuals in this game are definitely a standout among the other JRPGs on the system. Every environment is packed with color and feels alive. You'll see plenty of wildlife like fish, seagulls, and sometimes even bugs skittering around. The towns even have the "hustle and bustle" that you'd expect of a village in whatever time period the game is supposed to take place in, with a few citizens walking around town and kids running around playing. If there's one thing that I love about this game, it's that no two places feel alike—each one is so different from the next, in terms of environments, lore, and background music. And when I say lore, I mean exactly that. This game's world is constantly being puzzle-pieced together through dialogue with NPCs, and there's a lot of lore here.

Combat

Let's get into the combat system, because there's a lot to unpack with that. Combat is turn-based, but with an incredibly unique twist—each character in your party (which has a max of 3 characters) has a stamina bar, with your stamina starting at 7. When that character's stamina runs out or reaches a deficit, they'll need to wait until they've recovered their stamina to at least 1 point. The same goes for enemies, with different types of enemies starting with different levels of stamina. Once the enemy's stamina bar is full, they'll attack, possibly in the middle of your chain of attacks. Characters and enemies regain stamina as other characters and enemies perform actions, and they can also regain stamina by selecting Defend, but they'll have to wait until their next turn before they can take action. In short, use your stamina wisely or you'll be left wide open to enemy attacks.

There are 4 options when you're in combat, which I'll explain in detail later on.

• Attack: Normal attack.
• Element: Spells, skills, techniques, and special moves.
• Defend: Character will defend until their stamina reaches 7, reducing the amount of damage they take.
• Run Away: Flee from battle. ANY BATTLE, EVEN A BOSS.

When you select Attack, you'll be presented with 3 different types of attacks, as well as the option to select an Element (we'll get to those later). The different attacks are labelled 1, 2, and 3, with a percentage next to them. To break them down:

• 1 is a light attack that will do less damage, but has a higher chance to hit. This attack uses one 1 stamina and fills that character's Element gauge by 1 point.
• 2 is a medium attack that does more damage than 1, but with a slightly lower chance to hit. This uses 2 stamina and builds your element gauge by the same amount.
• 3 is a heavy attack that will do the most damage, but with an even lower chance to hit. This uses 3 stamina and builds your element gauge by the same amount.

The main strategy with your attacks is to not only damage the enemy, but to fill your element gauge. You can essentially chain attacks together to gain more element gauge in a shorter amount of time, but your attacks need to hit the enemy in order for your element gauge to fill. So you could just land a bunch of light attacks due to their higher chance to hit the enemy, but then the enemy has plenty of chances to attack you in-between strikes. To get the most bang out of your buck, you could chain 1+2+3, 2+3, or even 2+2+1. You'll need to use your best judgement and think ahead when it comes to attacking, otherwise you could get a game over.

Now we get to Elements, which are the second biggest half of combat, behind attacks. These are your spells, techs (special moves), and even consumable items. Each character has a different shape to their element grid, which you'll put together outside of combat. As you defeat bosses and gain stars, each of your characters will see their element grid grow and add more slots. Elements can be bought at shops, obtained after combat, or even found in chests.

Each element has a different base level, which determines its power. An element can be put into a slot with a higher or lower number than its base level, but its power will be increased or decreased respectively. Example: Fire Pillar's base level is 3-5, so it can be placed in slots in either level 3, 4, or 5 in the character's grid. If placed in level 1 or 2, it will do 25% less damage—conversely, if the element is slapped into slot 6 or higher, will do more damage.

Elements come in six different flavors: white, black, red, blue, yellow, and green. Each character and enemy also has an innate color, dictating which color of element they're the strongest with, resistant to, as well as what color they're weak against. White is light, black is shadow, red is fire, blue is water, yellow is earth, and green is nature. Each color is strong against that color's opposite, so white vs black, red vs blue, and yellow vs green. Using elements of one color against a character or enemy of the same color will do much less damage than if you were to use any other color.

Using an element costs 7 stamina no matter what, so you'll need to use your stamina wisely. You'll want to attack enough to build your element gauge to the level of the element that you want to use, and then either use that element to put yourself in the negatives in stamina or swap to another character or defend to regain stamina. Additionally, using an element will deplete the number built in your element gauge. So if you build your gauge to 6 and use a level 3 element, you'll be left with 3 in your element gauge, which can then be saved for another turn. Keep in mind that each character's element grid is totally different. You'll want to be strategic about where you slot certain elements on your party members.

The final layer to combat is the Field Effect. At the top of the screen is an oval that changes colors depending on what color elements have been used. When the oval is completely filled with a color, elements of that color will have increased power, and elements of the opposing color will have decreased power. There are also certain elements that can summon powerful beings, but only when the field effect gauge is full of that element's color.

Story and Characters

While the story of Chrono Cross does have ties to Chrono Trigger, you won't need to have played Trigger in order to understand what's happening in Cross. Having said that, your experience will be more enriched if you did play Trigger beforehand, as you'll come across quite a few familiar faces and names in your journey.

The game takes place in El Nido, a tropical archipelago. Just like a tropical island, the game is super colorful and vibrant. The main protagonist, Serge, gains the ability to travel to an alternate version of his world, and through a series of events that I won't mention in order to avoid spoilers, goes off on an adventure to reclaim an artifact known as The Frozen Flame, which has the power to alter time and space. The story does get pretty wild and might not make sense at first, but it's one of those video game stories that will have you reading multiple interpretations and summaries on Reddit until 5 A.M. It's quite the rabbithole.

One of the most standout parts of this game is the sheer volume of recruitable party members—45 in total. Each character is totally unique, with different speech patterns (no voice acting, only text), unique element grid layouts, techs (special attacks unique to each character), and many are crucial to the plot of the story. In fact, depending on which characters you've recruited, the story changes in some ways. But you aren't able to recruit them all in one playthrough. To get every character, you'll need to play through the game at least twice, using the awesome New Game+ feature, which helps you skip certain portions of the game and speed-up repeated playthroughs. It sounds a little broken, but it really fits with the parallel worlds theme that this game goes for. Each subsequent playthrough feels like you're adding another layer to each parallel world.

Let's circle back to the recruitable characters, because they're pretty wacky. Of course you have your human characters, your humanoid-animal types, and even a cyborg. But you also have:

• A sentient voodoo doll
• A skeletal clown
• A mushroom man
• An alien
• A flower girl creature
• A sentient turnip person

While it may sound pretty overwhelming and unnecessary, I think it adds a lot of charm and whimsy to the world of Chrono Cross. I've had a great time experimenting with the different party characters, seeing which ones work best with the ones that I love. It ends up being a lot like Pokemon, where you're looking for the best characters to fill those empty spaces and work on your type coverage. Your party is limited to 3 characters though, so you're going to have to make do without a few elements.

Overall Thoughts

Chrono Cross is a fantastic JRPG with lots to love, and it's an absolute shame that it doesn't get as much recognition as its predecessor. Just like how Secret of Mana was succeeded by Trials, Final Fantasy 6 being followed by 7, and even Earthbound to Mother 3, Chrono Cross is an entirely separate game from Trigger with some light ties to its predecessor. It's not Chrono Trigger 2, and that's totally fine. Just give it a chance.

If you do end up playing this game, I would highly recommend the remaster that's on modern consoles. It speeds up the frame rate quite a bit, helps you with the final boss (you'll know when you get to it), and adds a fast-forward function. The original version isn't bad at all, but the frame rate does chug in combat if you have lots of enemies or some bigger enemies. Please do not let the haters keep you from playing Chrono Cross—it's an awesome game that absolutely holds its own.

TODAY'S SWEET CHILL TUNE TO WRITE TO: