Chrono Cross

Game Info

Publisher: Square Electronic Arts

Developer: Square Soft

Genre(s): Role-Playing Game

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: August 15, 2000

Summary

Featuring a story line developed by the creator of "Chrono Trigger" and "Xenogears," Chrono Cross has been christened the "Best RPG Creation" by its development team. [Squaresoft]

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Also On The Web: Official Game Site

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 82 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Eli F. gave it a10:
Story, music, visuals, gameplay - every aspect of this game is truly inspired and damn near perfect. The game also strikes a fantastic balance between a strong linear narrative and meaningful player choices, something that few RPGs, Eastern or Western, have matched before or since. Many dislike it for being so different from its beloved predecessor, but if you can accept this game for what it is, you will realize that it is a brilliant work and valuable asset for those who believe games have the capacity to be art.

Henryk L gave it a10:
Well, Kubrick would be proud. There is only one thing bad about this game. Replayability , after finishing game there is really nothing more to do. But apart from this , this book its a masterpiece. FF sink down.

Chris M gave it a10:
Just as The Wizard of Oz is a classic of film, The Great Gatsby is a classic of literature, and The Beatles are a classic of music, this is a classic of video games. Absolute perfection, and not just as a video game or an RPG. This is perfection of art, period.

Titanium Dragon gave it a4:
This game sucks. Why? 1) The gameplay just isn't that engaging. Its okay, but nothing to write home about. 2) The storyline sucks. Why? Lack of characterization. There are too many characters, and none of them end up with any real characterization in the game. 3) The levelling system sucks. It was a good idea, and then it was executed incredibly poorly, making the game even MORE tedious than most RPGs. Overall, thumbs down. This game is massively overrated. Don't buy it, its high ratings are due to people liking Chrono Trigger and not wanting to give its sequel, which sucked (and isn't even really a sequel) a bad score.

Paul B gave it a10:
Probably the most memorable turn based RPG I have ever played. Battles still stick in my mind 9 years after playing it.

David C gave it a10:
In the history of games, there has been an unspoken, rarely-recognized rule about how games end up good. The developers need to be passionate about their creation, as well as being masters of storytelling and design, and they need to be given all the freedom they need, so their vision really does come out, instead of being hinted at before the shareholders get antsy. Not every game does this. Okami did. It is one of the games that converts nearly every person who plays it, so much so that two years after its release, it was ported to the Wii and soon became a greatest hits title on the PS2, and was considered a second time for numerous awards. That's the power of love. Chrono Cross is a game where, if you let yourself be sensitive enough, you can feel the love in every detail, and find it all marvelous to take in. It is a game that manages to have no flaws, unless you consider relaxation to be a bad thing for a game to bring into your life. I won't beat around the Chrono Trigger bush: this game is the best one I've ever played, and I wish I could see more of this kind of art in games. Please, developers, show us how you love your fans like this second dream team did back in 2000. Forget about sales, and just do what you know is right for the game. It's something everyone needs right now.

Jack C gave it a10:
Chrono Cross is by far the greatest 32-bit era RPG I have ever played. Like how Final Fantasy VIII is overlooked by it's predecessor, Chrono Cross is known for being Chrono Trigger's sequel. While Chrono Trigger definitely isn't a bad game, I found it to be over too quick. It's rather unbalanced gameplay-wise and the story is kind of mindless. One common issue many people have is how completely different it is compared to CT. This is because of the different team working on it. My biggest issue with Chrono Trigger was how considerably unbalanced the game was by the end-game. Overleveling was very difficult to avoid, and made the experience a joke. The developers worked around this issue with CC by only allowing stat growth after a boss and shortly afterward. While you may think that it's a way of limiting players, keep in mind that they retained New Game Plus, enabling players to play through the game and experience different paths that they may have missed while retaining their previous stats. Criticism around Cross' many playable characters is also pointed out, while I believe that people who don't like having too many characters are missing the point. There are 45 characters to play as in CC, each one as unique as the last. Some are enemies to one another, some are completely optional. Many of them you can't even obtain on your first playthrough! So where others see an issue, I see a feature. The greatest difference between the previous installment and the sequel is the general difference of the plot. Chrono Cross' focus on traveling through different dimensions seems too out there for fans of Trigger. They can't understand that Crono and the characters of the first games time is up, and they need to let others take the spotlight. I don't have much else to say other than that it's an amazing game. Definitely 10/10.

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