A Game with Charm, part 2

Battles:	5
Plot:	4
Music:	5
Visuals:	5
Tilt:	5

Overall: 5

Release Date: August 15th, 2000

In short: The combination of charm, character, and music make this one of the most memorable games ever made.

Chances are good that you, the reader, have already played this game by the time of this writing. If not, shame on you. Go buy it already. Square's Chrono Cross is the sequel to the legendary Chrono Trigger, which came out 5 years earlier. It combines the best things of many other Square games, and adds it's own unique flavor to the mix. The combination is a winner and everyone should play it. While I don't claim this game is "perfect", it's the closest we've got. Onward to the review.

A combination attack you'll never see

While a RPG's battle system is not the sole focus of the game, it still plays a pretty big part in the overall fun. I am happy to report that CC's battle system is one of the best ones out there. Gone are the archaic ATB meters, battles are considered "turn-based" and I use even that loosely. Each character has 7 stamina points and can use them to attack at three different levels, ala Xenogears. Each successful blow charges up an element meter, how fast depends on whether you landed a weak (1), strong (2), or fierce (3) blow. Another battle option is to use your element power (magic). Before battle you equip a spell on a grid and you get to use that spell ONCE (per battle) if you choose to so after attaining the appropriate element level. Doing so depletes 7 stamina points whether you have them or not, which leads to attacks that can put you in up to -6 points. After casting a spell, that spell's elemental color appears on the "field effect" diagram in the top-left of the screen. More of the same colors means a boost for any additional spells of that color, a penalty for the opposite colors. The (short!) summons can only be used once all of the field are the same element color. Example: Three red spells cast in a row means you can cast Salamander. This brings actual strategy into wiping out the enemy with uber-powerful summon creatures.

As for what else happens during the battle, the characters not participating in the attack regain stamina for every 1 point the active character uses. The enemies themselves attack at different points in the "stamina time-line". Meaning you can sit there and stare at the enemy all you want while thinking of a way to kill him. Or not. Enemies are NOT randomly encountered so you can dodge a potential battle. If you do happen to get in a losing battle with stronger enemy you can run away (100% success rate), and lose nothing but your pride. Even from bosses. Pansy.

For a "perfect" game like Chrono Cross, the interface just plain sucks. With over 44 characters you can recruit after playing the game a couple of times, you'd think that switching between them would be easier. It's not. Equipping elements are also a time consuming measure, really a pain because there isn't an option to give all character A's elements to character B. Besides that, there is the shortcoming that you CAN'T arrange your equipment. That might not sound like much but it gets annoying pretty quickly if you don't want to scroll through 2 pages of crap to find a certain item that should be at the top anyway.

Thankfully, the "perfect" game comes through with music. It has some the simply most amazing songs I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. Time's Scar (the intro music) is my personal musical obsession, I never get tired with it. Most of the music itself is performed with violins and cellos (my fav. instruments), drums and other things. They combine to form an organic sound, in stark contrast to something like FF7's synthesizers. The sound effects are equally impressive.

Originality is tough, it depends on how you look at it. Most everything in the game comes from some other games (Xenogears' battle system, FF8 graphics, ect.), but Chrono Cross combines them in new and better ways than before. Personally, I love it. I didn't say once during the game "I've seen this before in Game X". It's all good.

Plot is engaging and keeps you playing. In traditional Square style the plot in of itself isn't deep, but the side-quests and other stuff can be. A light-hearted game overall, something anyone could get into and enjoy. Just don't expect a Xenogears.

Stunning visuals, with a captial S.

Localization is just awesome. Each of the 44 characters has his/her own accents, ranging from Kid's blatant ploy of Australians, Harle's funny French, to Poshul's...various speech impediments. It would be near impossible to search for a grammar mistake, the characters all have accents.

In keeping with Trigger's roots, this game is chock full of replay value. Besides the side-quests you may have missed, you might want to check out finding all the 44 playable characters. It REQUIRES you to beat the game at least 3 times to get them all. Coupled with 9 different endings, you have a well-rounded package. Besides the holiness of keeping the New Game+ feature, you have another great one: the Time Shifter. This nifty item allows you to speed up or slow down time during the game. With a press of the R2 button, you can walk, talk, and fight at astounding speeds. This makes going through the game again that much easier and faster.

Graphics are the greatest the Playstation can ever hope to achieve. Similar to FF8 really. The only difference is that the backgrounds are much more animated and colorful. Despite the ocean-like background in EVERY single scene, they make it look new and fresh each time. Besides, the ocean is very beautiful anyway.

Besides some minor run-ins with a few bosses, this game is laughably easy. Most battles only take a quick minute or two using your over-powered weapons or spells. Then when you use New Game+ battles become nothing but an annoyance to you. But if I really wanted a tough game, I'd play Star Ocean 2. Chrono Cross is an easy game for any beginner to try his or her hand at.

Is Chrono Cross really a perfect 10? I would hope not. What I do consider is Chrono Cross to be a very big leap in the right direction. With a more or less light-hearted adventure, great music and battle system, and easy gameplay, CC is a great game for RPGamers of all levels to play. And the fact that it is a sequel to one of the most cherished SNES games of all time doesn't hurt either. Chrono Cross finally brings back one of the most elusive characteristics to have in a game: charm. So sit back, and enjoy the day with CC. Happy gaming.