Squaresoft
Chrono Cross

It was 1995 when a somewhat shy role-playing game made its debut on store shelves, leaving an indelible mark in the hearts of all enthusiasts... That Chrono Trigger which is still hailed by many as one of the best games ever made. 

Despite its enormous success among critics and the public, the announcement of a sequel was delayed, and fans were given only a digital novel that saw the light in 1996, titled Radical Dreamers, which was roughly unrelated to the plot of the original game. 

It was in 1999, at the peak of the PlayStation era, just before its decline, that the Japanese company finally decided to satiate all its fans' hunger, giving birth to Chrono Cross.

Starting from the plot of the previous Radical Dreamers, the developers, to construct the story of the new game, reintroduced characters and settings from the old digital novel but, incredibly, Chrono Cross presents itself to us as a completely independent adventure with no chronological/logical ties (In effect, in this type of operation, there is a logical sense.... Indeed, Radical Dreamers was introduced as a spin-off of the series and never as its continuation).

Our virtual alter-ego in Chrono Cross is Serge, a young boy who lives a peaceful, perfectly normal life in the cheerful village of Arni. Unfortunately, after venturing onto the beach, through a series of mysterious circumstances, he is catapulted into a parallel dimension where he no longer exists because he drowned at a young age. Lost in this place practically identical to his homeland, Serge meets Kid, a young girl who roams the world searching for a person called "Linx", with whom she has unfinished business... Kid offers to help our hero shed light on the mystery linking the two worlds and his death, while Serge accompanies her in the hunt for the mysterious Linx, who turns out to be deeply connected to him as well as to the girl...

If the plot of this sequel initially seems completely detached from the original, not reintroducing the protagonists of the acclaimed predecessor, and lacking familiar names or places, as you progress through the game, the ties and the direction the programmers have chosen for the events will form a much more defined picture, allowing you to perfectly understand how the story of Chrono Cross intertwines with that of Chrono Trigger, making it perfectly appealing to an audience completely unaware of past events.

Technically speaking, Chrono Cross can boast one of the best graphical presentations ever seen on PlayStation. The structure is identical to that of various Final Fantasy games, with polygonal characters on pre-rendered backgrounds, but the true strength of this production is the magnificent and vast color palette of the textures and environments that leaves one in awe, featuring brilliant and vibrant colors, with a preference for particularly warm and bright tones. The polygonal models of the protagonists and their animations are also meticulously crafted, and considering there are about forty of them, one can only applaud the immense work done by Square's programmers.

Regarding the light effects generated by magic, summons, and attacks, once again we reach excellent levels, although various Final Fantasy games have already accustomed us to lavish special effects, so they don't particularly stand out. The Full Motion Videos scattered throughout the game are a true work of art, but unfortunately, they are present in limited quantity, leaving one wishing for at least 5-6 more videos, which would have surely been beneficial... The Character Design, much praised in the predecessor, abandons the style of the much-loved Akira Toriyama (which I personally despise!!) in favor of the great Nobuteru Yuki (Escaflowne, X 1999 The Movie). This replacement is not something to regret, and the characters are beautifully and very well visually characterized, although due to the high number of recruitable members, many end up being not very detailed psychologically and behaviorally.

The audio department, on the other hand, is very, very good. The soundtrack curated by Yasunori Mitsuda performs excellently in almost all aspects, but apart from the accompanying music of the introductory sequence and a few other tracks, most of them, although excellently composed, do not stick in your head. 

In terms of gameplay, Square extracted some elements from some of its classics and converged them into this title. First of all, the game has no random encounters. You will always see the enemies, just bump into them to be transported into the arena where the battle will take place. The combat system is turn-based, and each character has a stamina bar. Each attack consumes a bit of it until, once depleted, it switches to the next character or enemy, similar to what occurred in Xenoears. Naturally, the stronger the attack, the more stamina is consumed. This combat system's greatest strength lies in the increased tactical element compared to that in Final Fantasy, as it allows for better management of situations with multiple enemies, for example by directing stronger hits at the leader and using the remaining little stamina to inflict small damage even on lower-ranking enemies that often accompany them.

Our characters will also count HP but cannot use MP, a deficiency compensated by using an "Element" system, to which each character is also linked. These must be equipped on our heroes through a specific grid divided into power levels, and each can be used only once in battle. For this reason, they can be possessed in considerable quantities, and you can increase our supplies by finding them in treasure chests or purchasing them in shops scattered around the world.

Particularly well-executed, adding depth to this system, is the influence of elements on the battlefield. Each of them, cast during the clash, if followed or preceded in battle by two others of the same color, will be able to change the battlefield's status, doubling the strength of deployed characters exploiting that color and allowing them to summon creatures at their side, while also halving the power of those belonging to the opposite color element. The problem is that each element, including that of opponents, affects this system, making it not too easy to dominate the elemental field of play.

The combat system is turn-based, and each character has a stamina bar. Each attack consumes a bit until, once depleted, it switches to the next character or enemy, similar to what occurred in Xenoears. Naturally, the stronger the attack, the more stamina is consumed. This system is more tactical than the one made in Final Fantasy, as it allows for better management of situations with multiple enemies, by directing stronger hits at the leader and using the remaining little stamina to inflict small damage on even smaller enemies.

The game's longevity is very high. Besides finding the 43 available characters, there will also be several sub-quests and 12 different possible endings, which come to life from the numerous choices the plot offers throughout the events. 

Ultimately, Chrono Cross is a must for every role-playing game enthusiast, and it is to be enlisted in that selection of titles that are absolutely essential, and as usual, such a masterpiece has not been marketed in Europe, denying many the opportunity to get to know it. The only advice I can give you is to recover it, perhaps in Italian on the web, but be careful..... It's addictive... 

Q