Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've got on their minds. Today, Alana wants to tell you why Chrono Cross deserves a bit of love and attention before an inevitable (well, fingers crossed!) port of the awesome Chrono Trigger...
We're just a few weeks away from Chrono Cross: The Radial Dreamers Edition coming out. After being rumoured for months, the most recent Nintendo Direct stunned us into silence when it unveiled that the once-PlayStation exclusive Chrono Cross was coming to Switch and other platforms.
We in Europe will be getting it officially for the first time. However, not only are we getting Cross, but we're also getting the Satellaview-exclusive never-before-localised side story Radical Dreamers. Yet when the remaster was announced, there was one lingering question in the air for many — Where is the Chrono Trigger Switch port?
It's a pretty valid question, and one I'm equally baffled by. Then again you could equally ask where the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters are, or dozens of other questions regarding the whereabouts of classics on certain platforms (looking at you, Persona 5). But — and bear with me on this — I think it's a good thing that we're getting Chrono Cross before Chrono Trigger.
Sure, Chrono Trigger is widely regarded to be one of the best RPGs, and video games, ever. It's one of my favourite games of all time, and the fact that it's not on Switch is weird. But it's not like you can't play it today on modern hardware — it's on Steam and mobiles, and it even got an update just a few weeks ago. It's got to be coming to Switch at some point. It has to.
But, just for a second, imagine being the sequel to one of the most critically-acclaimed video games ever. That's the predicament Chrono Cross was, and is, in.
imagine being the sequel to one of the most critically-acclaimed video games ever. That's the predicament Chrono Cross was, and is, in
Chrono Trigger was practically set up for success: created by Square Enix's "Dream Team" (Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yuji Hori, Akira Toriyama, Kazuhiko Aoki, and Nobuo Uematsu), this hive mind of JRPG geniuses came together with a team to create something truly special. Cross, however, was not the sequel Trigger fans wanted, and despite hitting a similar level of critical acclaim, it was a hugely divisive game among fans.
Where Trigger had a tightly-knit cast of seven characters, Cross threw a crowd of 45 playable party members at you. Trigger's world map changed in every time period, but you could still match up locations, while Cross' alternate reality only shifted things in subtle ways. And Trigger's time travel-focused plot was simple and heartwarming, but Cross was much more ambitious, with big plot-dumps at the end. Cross' combat and Element systems were also completely unique, and too much longer to understand, compared to Trigger's more-traditional approach to turn-based battles.
I can see why people didn't like Cross when it first came out, and why they might be upset that Cross is getting that lovely Switch port before Trigger. I honestly don't adore everything about Chrono Cross, either. I don't really like the combat, and I find the Element system obtuse. And I wish many of the ties to Chrono Trigger weren't thrown at you all at once — either go all in or not at all, à la Final Fantasy.
But the biggest problem is that, at the time of release, Chrono Trigger's shadow loomed over Cross' more-solemn seas. This remaster, and the Switch version, is Cross' time to step out of the shadow of its older sibling and bask in the Marbule sun.
Chrono Cross' biggest strength is only a weakness when you compare it to Chrono Trigger; it's entirely unique in just about every single way. The game's writer and director, Masato Kato (who also helped write Chrono Trigger), was pretty adamant about distancing the game as a sequel to Trigger back when the game first came out.
In an interview with GamePro, archived by Chrono Compendium, Kato was asked about how difficult it was to innovate in the RPG genre, to which he replied:
"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, many parts 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."
While the team on Cross was forced to innovate due to the technology, that was also part of the creative process. Producer Hiromichi Tanaka backs this up in the same interview, saying that "Our main objective for Chrono Cross was to share a little bit of the Chrono Trigger worldview while creating a completely different game as a means of providing new entertainment to the player." Cross was never designed to be a "sequel" to Trigger, but it was still linked through themes, characters, and ideas.
Trigger, for example, looks at relationships over time, how places change, and how people and dynasties change. How actions affect the future and the past, and how that shifts relationships. Cross' examination of relationships is both broader and smaller in scope: it looks at alternate realities, but it also examines the relationship a person has with themself. It's not something I want to dive into due to spoilers, but essentially, the two games look at similar concepts in multiple different ways and often converge.
Chrono Cross holds itself in a different manner to Trigger. While Chrono Trigger — despite spanning centuries and dealing with a world-ending apocalypse — is pretty jovial, with quirky humour threaded throughout it. Chrono Cross is funny too, but in the kind of way that makes you laugh nervously. And it's never afraid to get a little bit weird. I mean, have you seen some of your party members? Poshul is a big fluffy pink and purple dog who lives in a beach town (does it not get hot under all that fur?). Then there's Starky, a literal alien. And Funguy is almost exactly what you think he is. This is just a cross-section of the weird and wonderful people who join you, and each of them is treated relatively normally in the El Nido Archipelago. This is normal to them but uncanny to us.
This unsettling uncanniness is one aspect that makes Chrono Cross so memorable to me. Aesthetically — on the surface, at least — El Nido is beautiful, and anything but weird. It's an idyllic beach paradise, with palm trees, golden beaches, rocks splattered with colours, and sparkling in the sun's radiance. Arni is a quaint little collection of beach huts, where foamy waves tickle the sand and children are running around. Termina is a town laden with shops with all of the buildings built in white-stone.
The game's painting-like pre-rendered backdrops just enhance the eclectic beauty of the world, whether it be the beach, a dark forest, or a volcano. There are travelling musicians and shamans who tell stories of old. It's like an RPG version of a place you'd go on holiday. Even if the remaster does look a little blurry.
El Nido is like an RPG version of a place you'd go on holiday. Even if the remaster does look a little blurry.
But Cross is about alternate realities, and early on in the game, you're thrust into a place called Another World. Compared to your 'Home World', Another World looks almost identical. But there's one glaring thing that jumps out at you — the protagonist, Serge, died as a child there. In fact, that's how you find out you're in Another World, and things start to unravel from there.
I said earlier that the "changes" are much more subtle compared to Trigger's, and that's pretty much true. It's more through dialogue and through quests that you get to discover the intricacies and oddities of both Another World and Home World. People who are kind to you in one world are hostile to you in another. Locations that don't exist on one side do exist on the flip, and some of these different locations are discomforting. Again, no spoilers, because some of the best moments in Cross are when you get to these areas that make you do a double-take at the screen.
It can get pretty convoluted at times, and that's admittedly not going to change with the remaster. But juxtaposing Trigger's simplicity with Cross' much-wider philosophical scope is a mistake because they're trying to achieve different things. It was also something we just weren't used to in video games — introspection, melancholy, and coming to terms with whether you deserve to exist are foundational topics of many an indie darling these days, but hadn't been tackled too often in video games in 1999.
Nowadays it's much more common to pick up a game and have it psychoanalyse you and force you to bare your soul. I'm exaggerating a bit, but the closest example I can think of before Chrono Cross is another game Kato worked on — Xenogears, another PlayStation Square RPG that's stuck on that console. And, weirdly, that one hit a lot better at the time, despite missing huge chunks of its story. Geez, that's another game I'd love to see get a remaster on Switch.
juxtaposing Trigger's simplicity with Cross' much-wider philosophical scope is a mistake because they're trying to achieve different things
People just weren't sure about the direction that Cross went in compared to Trigger, which is a real shame. Even if I don't love everything Cross' plot tries to do — even if it leaves a lot unanswered — it's ambitious, and it tackles existentialism and melancholy in some pretty effective ways. It's meditative, and lets you pause and reflect more often than not. Even with the more upbeat locations and music, there's an undercurrent of loneliness, isolation, and solemnness that is completely different from Trigger's propulsive and determined tone.
Cross is also a game that doesn't let you rest on your laurels. While Trigger always has the solution to a problem, Cross often poses a dilemma where there's no real right answer. At one point, one of your party — the Aussie-accented thief Kid, a crucial character — is poisoned, and the only way you can save her is by getting a type of medicine that only comes from Hydra. Hydra are extinct in the world you're in, so you can travel back to Home to get the medicine, but you have to fight the dwarves who protect her, and after you get the medicine (which involves killing the hydra), you find out she was pregnant. In El Nido, even saving the world and finding out the truth means tipping the balance of morality, and questioning your own actions and existence.
Cross' score does a lot to emphasise the tone and mood of many of the game's themes and locations. Composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, who also worked on Chrono Trigger's soundtrack, it's all parts tropical, ethereal, haunting, nostalgic, eclectic, and emotional. But it also tells a story of both Home and Another, two worlds intertwined with each other.
Listen to the strings of Arni (Home World) — lighthearted, airy, and it evokes the image of a busker strumming their guitar strings while sitting on the beach. Arni (Another World) is a lot slower, and that same guitarist is plucking, looking out at the ocean, reflecting. There's a quiet melancholy to his strings. The same can be said about the world map themes; Plains of Time (Home World) utilises that same chipper acoustic guitar with rainsticks to help up the pace, while Shore of Dreams (Another World) uses synthesisers and violins for a more sorrowful, slow approach.
We're going to get rearrangements and enhanced versions of all of this music in the remaster, and someone might need to come and hold me.
singling out the weirder, younger sibling of the two Chrono games and porting it to consoles before Trigger is pretty in character with Square's strategy at the moment
This idea of reusing and adapting themes within the same game isn't unique to Cross — heck, it's in Trigger, and Uematsu does it frequently throughout the Final Fantasy series — but the way these songs are used in Chrono Cross just enhances the unsettling nature of both Home and Another World. No other game sounds like it, even though Mitsuda's signature style and love of Celtic instruments shines through.
Honestly, singling out the weirder, younger sibling of the two Chrono games and porting it to consoles before Trigger is pretty in character with Square's strategy with its back catalogue at the moment. Last year, we got Legend of Mana and SaGa Frontier — two more former PlayStation exclusive games that were also divisive when they first came out, but their quirks are now admired and celebrated, and their ambition appreciated more. Not most people's immediate picks for a remaster.
The idea that someone at Square Enix is giving these oft-underloved games a second chance is heartwarming. During the '90s and early 2000s, Square was in an untouchable period and could do literally whatever it wanted. These weird games still often got swept away by the Final Fantasy train. In Cross' case, it was already drowning under Trigger's reputation; in Japan, even, Trigger got a PlayStation port two weeks before Cross' release (the NA port came much later).
Now, with Chrono Cross: The Radial Dreamers Edition, we don't have that problem so much anymore. At least, at the time of writing. Chrono Trigger absolutely deserves to be ported to Switch — I want very little else — but I also want people to take a step back and appreciate Cross for what it is. It's a messy, convoluted follow-up to an almost-perfect game, but it's beautiful in different ways, and willing to explore messages and push boundaries in ways Chrono Trigger didn't. Sound familiar?
Of course, if you've played the DS version of Chrono Trigger, you know that the new ending does link more directly to Chrono Cross, but don't think about that for a second. I think it's much more interesting to see Cross as an "alternate sequel", which is just a really pretentious way of saying follow-up. Cross is just one of many games that took themes from its predecessor and did something different with them, approached them differently, and put them in front of a mirror.
Chrono Cross is far from perfect, and I know I still won't enjoy the combat, but as an ambitious experiment, it's a successful one that deserves to be lauded on its own merits. And even though it will never shed "Chrono" from its name, I hope time and distance will be kinder to Chrono Cross, and that players give it a chance and some space to breathe and work its magic. I certainly will be when I revisit the El Nido Archipelago.
Comments 77
Chrono Trigger might be the timeless classic, but Chrono Cross is the entry near and dear to my heart.
I'm glad it got the port treatment before its predecessor, because it deserves the spotlight more at this point in time.
I'm just glad Cross is available at all and I'm ecstatic to jump into the game for the first time. PS1 games are still annoying to emulate and there isn't an easy/modern way to play the original Chrono Cross as copies are so rare and expensive these days. Hope we get to see Xenogears next, there is so much trapped JRPG content on the PS1 that deserves a revisit to modern hardware
I've never played Chrono Cross so I'm looking forward to it, but I also really hope a port (or ideally remake) of chrono trigger comes to Switch.
As someone who's never played either Chrono game, do you have to play Chrono Trigger first to get the most out of Cross, or does it stand up entirely on its own?
I am happy for the fans, but it will still be a niche RPG. Chrono Trigger appeals more to the masses.
Nah, Trigger really is that good.
I wanted so badly to love Cross, but having like 50 playable characters (!) resulted in my not really caring about any of them. It was exhausting, and eventually I lost interest in the story altogether. Plus the music pales in comparison to Trigger.
I was saw the size of the cast as a detriment not a quality.
There are so many characters and you barely get to know any of them and gameplay wise a lot of them play exactly the same.
@Dogorilla
It stands up easily on its own. In fact, I found that you can better appreciate both games if you play Cross before Trigger.
Chrono Cross definitely deserves to be made available in a wider modern scope than the Vita, it's one of the more interesting products of the time. Actually playing it is a slog because the fights are mostly boring, there's almost zero challenge (the toughest boss fight happens halfway through), and despite the huge cast of playable characters most of them are completely immaterial after their introduction. The story is an increasingly nonsensical mess after that halfway point, and the final boss & ending are a complete rushed trainwreck. But still, the game is a fascinating creation in as much as Castlevania II is fascinating. And it has one of the best soundtracks of all time.
Chrono Trigger is so widely available on other platforms (including smartphones) that I feel there is more unmet demand w/ Cross. I’m excited to play this for the first time
To the extent that better games are more deserving of Switch ports, Chrono Cross does deserve to be on Switch ahead of Chrono Trigger.
The first time I played Chrono Trigger was on the DS. I had heard all the hype for years before I played, and went into it thinking oh boy, I can finally see what everyone is talking about - and I just didn't feel it.
There's a good chance it was just the headspace I was in at the time. But for whatever reason, I did not connect with with the game at all. When it had sat on the shelf for a while I sold it at Gamestop (yes, this was probably a dumb move).
Because of the experience, I'm not likely to buy Trigger again on the Switch. But I am interested in seeing the followup. Maybe this time I'll be in the right state of mind.
I have finished Trigger on the SNES, but never really able to get into Cross on the PS1. Guess I prefer more easily digestible stuff like in Trigger. Cross needs more effort to play.
Music for both is still superb though. 😉
The real question is not where's Chrono Trigger, the real question is why this game doesn't have a physical release? Grandia, Legend of Mana, and SaGa Frontier all had one, to skip a physical release on this one is disappointing.
I wish Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Illusion of Gaia and Secret of Evermore would get a remastered re-release. In Super Mario RPG’s case, a remake or a true sequel would be greatly welcomed as well.
It's amazing to me how much people have come to love Chrono Cross in recent years. When the game came out, I remember everyone being like "this is not as good as Chrono Trigger — big disappointment." etc etc.
But in recent years, people talk about CC all the time and CT is like fading into the background. shrug I was never really a fan of either game, but it's just interesting to me.
@Browny Thanks, I'll give it a go then once I've finished a few other Switch games I still need to play. It's really great to see Square Enix re-releasing so many games from their back catalogue these days.
@Gaviin the music is great in cross though! dream of a shore, time's scar, fields of time, just to name a few. I think trigger had many untouchable tracks, but cross's overall soundtrack is better.
@Dogorilla
I would say play Trigger first. Technically Cross mostly stands on it own from a philosophical standpoint, but the overall story is tied heavily to the events of Trigger.
@moodycat Chrono Trigger really is that good, from the year it was made to the art style, the story and the music. Add the humour and gameplay with the colourfully characters, it’s something incredibly special and has pretty much universal acclaim.
If you personally don’t like it that’s totally fine, however it really is that good.
@Don Super Mario RPG is fantastic, would love a rerelease of it.
Would be nice if the graphics had been improved. It kinda looks like *****.
@tblalande
Me too, I would buy and play the re-release day 1.
"The idea that someone at Square Enix is giving these oft-underloved games a second chance is heartwarming"
I agree. I love Chrono Trigger but I do like seeing this back catalogue come out. I mean Cross is by no means obscure among JRPG fans but I do appreciate a remake of a different game as opposed to the same hits being released over and over.
@TheRedComet Ah, that's two replies giving opposite advice. I thought this might happen
Well, we'll see how long it take Chrono Trigger to come to Switch. My instinct is to play it first as it's the older game, but if it gets to the point where I really want to start playing the series and Trigger still isn't on Switch then I'll just start with Cross. Shame the DS version is so expensive (I don't really want to play it on PC or mobile).
@moodycat Nah, it really is that good. It’s still the best paced RPG ever made. I’m hoping the reason Square hasn’t pushed it to Switch yet is because they’re working on a 2DHD remake.
@Dogorilla It's been a while since I've played Cross and I only played it once so I could be misremembering, but I remember thinking there is almost no connection to Trigger until one particular moment probably about 3/4 through the game when there is suddenly a huge dump of connections at one point in the story. So that one section of the game will be more poignant if you've played Trigger before, but most of the game is perfectly fine to play this first.
Except Chrono Cross is straight trash. Not just as a sequel, but as a game in general. Sooooo bad. Chrono Trigger on the other hand is one of the greatest video games of all time on any platform. Top 5 easily, an argument can easily be made for Top 3.
There are objective, factual criteria that make a good game and Chrono Cross misses on all of them.
As a European who spent the early 2000's wishing they would localise this game (as I was obsessed with Final Fantasy 7-8-9), I cannot be happier with this release
"Chrono Trigger" really is that good - and my first playthrough was 15 years after it came out, so that's not just nostalgia talking. I also think it has aged a lot better than "Chrono Cross."
With that said... I don't disagree with the premise of this article. Though I like CT significantly more, I think both games are worth playing - and it's much harder to (legally) play CC nowadays if you don't have a PS1.
@Specter_of-the_OLED You mean this physical release? https://nintendosoup.com/chrono-cross-the-radical-dreamers-edition-nintendo-switch-physical-version-launches-april-26/
On a related note... I'm always happy to see more SNES and PS1 RPGs getting ports. Hopefully someday we'll get all the Quintet RPGs for the SNES - so I can finally play "Terranigma."
@Sondheimist Whenever someone brings up Terranigma I just cry. That is probably the best JRPG on the SNES (sorry FFVI, Chrono Trigger and Mario RPG) and the fact it is so unknown is heartbreaking.
As for Chrono Trigger... I think it holds up very well because it is snappily paced, has great characters, has fun combat and the visuals hold up very well! As for Chrono Cross and if it has aged I still play it and it holds up very well as well. But, I think its biggest problem is probably how the story is structured. It is about 10-15 hours longer than Trigger on an average playthrough and the plot dumps become increasingly prevalent in the last 15 hours after the Lynx moment, the Dragon Gods and Chronopolis... so I can understand why people might struggle with understanding the story and I think that is the game's biggest sin. The story needed to be better told throughout the adventure rather than the last 10-15 hours.
@moodycat How does it feel to be wrong?
@Wexter I own an English copy of Terranigma it's a wonderfull game.
Do I think it is better than Chrono Trigger? It's hard to really say Both games are something special in their own right.
It's the best action RPG on the SNES for sure.
It deserves it's place among the greats of the 16 bit era.
@Dogorilla I don’t think order matters. They are almost two separate series. I love CT with all my heart. It’s fantastic. I have weird nostalgia for CC, especially the music, but will never replay it.
Trigger is my favorite game of all time after only FF9. I'm excited for Cross but didn't live it back in the day. JUST GIVE ME TRIGGER!
@ShadowofTwilight22 NO U!
Cross always hit me harder than Trigger (although Trigger has that amazing soundtrack.) it is good to see that others don’t mind expressing that Trigger was ok but not the holy grail.
I'm extremely excited for Chrono Cross
the music
omg the music.
I just feel like I forgot how to do everything. I beat it back in the day
@Magician Wow that was fast, someone at Square Enix must had heard my cry. Definitely getting it now.
Blech. Chrono Cross just is not a good game. It’s soulless, needlessly Byzantine, and hollow, but vague nostalgia and wanting it to be good is making people think it’s better than it was.
@moodycat
Now THAT is a hot take. I didn't worship the game, but it really was a fantastic game
I have to agree with the guy who announced Diablo for mobile "don't you guys have phones?".
Pretty sure if you're carrying a Switch around, I'm guessing you have a phone as well...so there's no real need for the FF pixel rema$ters or Trigger to be released on Switch because if you wanted to play them that badly, you could.
I will just play the OG one on my MiSTer FPGA, this "Remaster" looks like a half baked mess.
I don't disagree with the point of this article, plus it's made me interested enough in the OST to add to my work listening. I do want to try Chrono Cross at some point, but I'm not sure how much I'll be able to tolerate some of the limitations I've heard about....Not to mention there are 45 playable characters? How does that give the player time to invest in most of them?
I first played Chrono Trigger on the DS a few years ago and loved nearly every moment of it. The story, characters, gameplay loop, visuals, music....I still need to go back and get some of the other endings. I don't speak from the point of nostalgia at all since I've never played the original title.
Is this like a eat your greens before the appealing portion of your meal? I agree with the kids about eating dinner: just give me the dessert dammit
I’ve played both games multiple times. Played them both when they released. Love them both, but I do favor Chrono Cross. Even though I treat it as one of the alternative timelines to Trigger.
45 characters is a lot, but after several play throughs, part of the fun is having different characters in different scenes. New Game plus helps a lot with that.
Trigger really is amazing. Cross just hits me more emotionally…
Classic games both of them.
@Tyranexx Surprisingly well actually! The thing about Chrono Cross' characters is that you won't get all 45 characters on a single playthrough. That and to recruit some of them it's required for you to do personal side-quests. After recruiting some of them you unlock specific side-quests that can be rather complicated and story intensive. The Masamune is a notable sidequest that ties together multiple character arcs. That and the game is designed for multiple playthroughs so bringing some characters to specific story missions will give you small insights into their unique stories.
Some characters do get lost in the shuffle and only pad the number, but a lot of characters are surprisingly deep and interesting. Trust me I'm shocked by how good some of these characters are because you'd expect a game with 45 playable characters to be overambitious, but it works. I do think Chrono Triggers' approach of a smaller more intimate playable cast is better, but Chrono Cross does a surprisingly good job at having most of their cast be memorable and personable.
No it does not
Chrono Cross doesn't deserve anything. Getting rather tired of this attempt to rehab its reputation in recent years, it's still a bloated, underwritten mess of a sequel that seems to actively hate the game it's a follow-up to with how aggressively meanspirited it is toward it.
I played Chrono Cross first back in the day and played Chrono Trigger when it eventually came to the PS1. Cross still had more of an emotional impact on me with one of my favorite game soundtracks of all time (rivaled only by SotN), while Trigger is just an excellent game overall. I love them both. To those wondering which to play first, the way that the stories are connected doesn't really necessitate an order imo, but others may disagree. The two games have a different vibe. It's like the relationship between Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane, to give a very off the wall comparison.
Chross to me has the best game soundtrack ever. I have it physical and then a bluray edition released in Japan, which I bought when I went there on a trip pre-covid. And I will buy the remastered one as well. That tells you everything you need to know.
The game itself is pure nostalgia for me but I will probably not play it again, just watch my partner do it.
@moodycat shhhh, you're very wrong.
I can see why Chrono Cross has fans, but to me the comparison between Cross and Trigger isn't even there. All of Cross' companions feel interchangeable with just some slight "accent" dialog differences between them. Also didn't really care for the battle system. A pretty, but overrated game.
Listening to little kids have opinions on 20 year old games is cute.
This was one of the games i imported for playstation (and also on psn) and i definitely enjoyed it a lot, the backgrounds were gorgeous and the soundtrack fantastic.
i am hoping the switch version does fix the somewhat iffy framerate the psone version had, i was a bit concerned because the trailer seemed like it was still present (the arni village part in the trailer especially) it would be nice for this game since the aesthetics are a big part of its charm.
good ol fashioned nintendolife reminder that if you chalk off criticism as "the little kids are talking!" you're automatically wrong
CT is my favorite in the series, but Cross is great too. Can't wait to replay this.
Chrono Cross, Majora's Mask and Final Fantasy IX all coming out within a few months of each other at that time in my life did so much to shape my gaming tastes from then on. Even now when I play a some new games, particularly RPGs, I admit there's a part of me that still chases the way those 3 games made me feel when I was 12.
@JasmineDragon Dude, I feel you. All the hype that led into my playing Chrono Trigger made it LITERALLY impossible to live up to. It's a fine game, but it wouldn't make my top 20, let alone top 10.
Cross > Trigger
@RevolverLink as a child of the 1990s, the Summer of 2000 was one of the best summers of my childhood then getting Majora's Mask that October was like a cherry on top of an awesome time? Majora's Mask, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy IX... yeah that was an informative time and probably explains my taste in gaming today.
Not sure why people using nostalgia as an argument against Chrono Trigger when Cross is also a 20+ year old heavily nostalgic RPG. Can always just let people like what they like, doesn't take away from your own preferences.
a number of spoilers in here that don't really enhance the article at all.
I'm sure I'll get the usual, "Spoiler alert for an X years old game!" but before you say that, think about it: not everybody is you. Some people didn't have a PSX when this came out. Some people badly want to play this game but they weren't born yet when it came out. Some people have wanted to play it for years, but life got in the way, and with this new release are JUST about to FINALLY play it through for the first time (hi 😊.)
IMO, if you are divulging details that wouldn't occur to a player until after the first hour or so of gameplay, that's a spoiler, and there needs to be a warning at the top.
Thanks! Good article all said! looking forward to playing this beast finally!
@moodycat You have every right to express you're opinion, and I also have every right to say I think you're wrong.
I played Chrono Trigger for the first time more than a decade after it's initial release, and I instantly fell in love with it. A gripping story, simple yet deep and engaging battle mechanics, amazing graphics, likable characters, plenty of little secrets and Easter eggs to find, a top-level soundtrack, replayability off the charts thanks to the creation of NG+ and featuring numerous endings, impressive visuals and art design, AND a top-level soundtrack to boot.
@ShadowofTwilight22 I won't deny advancements have been made in the JRPG genre, and technical limitations meant that Chrono trigger simply could not do some things done later on in the genre. THAT SAID, when I first played Chrono Trigger what most impressed me was how well-put together the package was. The battle system was simplistic yet deep thanks to the dual/triple tech system and enemies moving around the battle in real time. The pacing of the game was spot-on, always moving forward and managing to tie almost every occurrence into the ultimate goal of beating Lavos. It didn't stop and drag you off on a 3-hour side quest that had nothing to do with the main plot. And the overall length of the game was just right; no pointless filler, no padding just be able to say the game is 30+ hours long. It's a pretty short game, but I take quality of quantity every time.
That to me is what a long of games now, particularly the ones aiming for a 50-100 hour playtime fail at. The pacing goes up and down, pointless padding is thrown in to keep the game going, and sometimes the gameplay is overly convoluted in the attempt to be complex. One of the things that makes Chrono Trigger so amazing is how straightforward and simple it is in many aspects. The more complicated and lengthy you make a game, the more likely there are going to be boring areas or design flaws, or character segments nobody cares about.
I’ve played through both Trigger and Cross and it took me a long time to decide what I preferred more. I think I know the answer now.
Trigger is the better game. Cross is the better experience.
@ShadowofTwilight22 Indeed we'll have to agree to disagree because both FF VI and Chrono Trigger are in my top 5 SNES games, so our tastes are widely different. Every likes different things.
I can say though that the nostalgia counter doesn't work on me because I did not play either of them until the late 2000's, well after they came out.
@Wexter That makes me feel a bit better about it all. I'm no stranger to JRPGs, though I'm still playing catch-up on some of the classics after fully getting into the genre in college. I think the most playable characters I've dealt with to date was in Final Fantasy VI (First FF, played it last year). Most of them were well characterized, but a small handful of them could've used more airtime IMO. Interesting that you can't obtain them all in one playthrough. It's hard to complain about replayability at any rate!
Many thanks for the cordial response!
@Tyranexx It's no problem! Though I recommend when you get to Cross to look up how to recruit Glenn. He is one of the best characters in the game but does require you to make a significant branch in the story to get (which I don't want to get into in case you don't want to be spoiled on how to recruit some of the characters...) I missed him on my first playthrough as a kid only to be frustrated by it as an adult on how easy he is to miss. But, outside of that, I hope you enjoy it!
Also, I recommend you check out FInal Fantasy IX if you've finished FFVI. IX is a marvellous game with probably the most well-rounded cast I've seen in a JRPG (excluding maybe Lost Odyssey)! Plus, the game is just great
I don’t know what’s happened to Nintendo Life, but every article I read now has text jumping up and down the screen. It’s a game in itself trying to keep track of where you are. Really frustrating.
It’s the adverts loading in and out by the way.
@ShadowofTwilight22 You're not even worth a response from what I've seen on this thread
@Wexter Gotcha. I'm normally not a fan of spoilers, but I'm also not against using a guide to help with character recruitment, finding certain items, or obtaining general tips lol. Just as long as it doesn't touch the main story or spoil a really excellent side quest or something to that effect.
Don't worry, FF IX is also on my list of Final Fantasy titles that I want to pick up and play on the Switch. However, I already own X/X-2, so I'll likely get to those next...or at least the main title. I've heard mixed opinions on X-2, but I do plan to at least try it.
@moodycat a lot of people are gonna come for your head, but I agree. CT for me is a middle of the road RPG at best. No character development other than MAYBE Frog/Glenn, the story poops itself as soon as time travel is introduced, game can be beaten in a third of the time it takes to beat a game like FFVI.
The techs during combat are kinda cool, but the game is easy enough to not really need them that much other than a couple bosses.
Cross is a far more interesting game in every way, although it has its own problems.
@Don - "I wish Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Illusion of Gaia and Secret of Evermore would get a remastered re-release. In Super Mario RPG’s case, a remake or a true sequel would be greatly welcomed as well."
Please continue to echo this sentiment. Super Mario RPG is in my Top 5 favourite games of all time and I also agree wholeheartedly with all those other games and suggestions!
... Wun can only hope.
@RevolverLink Hiya I'm AstralRedStar705, and I'm looking for 3DS/Switch friends, and I see you play Playstation so maybe that too if your interested, and also do you use Discord?
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