Release Date: November 18, 1999
The next installment of the Japanese Chrono JRPG series, in which the creators used the motif of a journey between dimensions to tell an original story. The production is distinguished by a deep combat system, a huge number of characters to be connected and an excellent audiovisual setting.
Prepared by RPG specialists at Squaresoft, the title is a game from the Chrono series. Just like in Chrono Trigger released a few years earlier, the entire Chrono Cross was built around the theme of time and space travel.
The young boy Serge lives in the fishing village of Arni. One day he accidentally finds himself in an alternative reality - in which he died as a child many years ago. The protagonist decides to explain the mystery of his unexpected transfers to another dimension. He embarks on an extraordinary journey during which he meets many companions, discovers the truth about his family and past, and gains a chance to save both worlds.
Chrono Cross has several characteristics that distinguish it from other jRPGs. The players move not only on one map but on two different versions of the map, each from a different reality. As in Chrono Trigger, the battles here are not random - the skirmishes occur after the hero comes into with the enemy during exploration.
The battle system, although based on turn-based principles known from similar Squaresoft games, such as the Final Fantasy series, is very different from them. Individual heroes, enemies, spells, and objects are assigned to one of the six elements. Each of them is particularly effective against one of them, but works poorly when confronted with another. The players must pay attention to this by observing, among other things, the currently dominant element on the board. Team attacks add depth to the system, as well as a strength bar defining the character's capabilities in each turn - depending on its state the hero can perform a certain number of attacks. In turn, the number of landed blows affects the ability to use objects, spells and special techniques of each of the heroes - assigned to different levels, depending on their power.
In combat, the player leads a part of three, made up of previously recruited characters. There are forty-five of them in the game world, a few of which can only be recruited if certain decisions are made. In addition, the devs have prepared several endings, which can be unlocked at different stages of the game, depending on the choices made earlier.
Chrono Cross contains elements referring to another title from director Masato Kato - Radical Dreamers. The game, released in 1996 on Super Nintendo, explained some of the intricacies of Chrono Trigger's story and introduced new characters, such as CC's Serge and Kid. Squaresoft's title is one of the best-rated jRPGs in history. This is influenced by the excellent audiovisual setting, with Yasunori Mitsuda's soundtrack at the forefront, as well as an interesting plot and refined game mechanics.
Platforms:
PlayStation 1
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Age restrictions: 12+
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