Chrono Cross

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Chrono Cross
Developer(s)	Square
Publisher(s)	JP Square NA Square Electronic Arts
Designer(s)	Hiromichi Tanaka Masato Kato
Writer(s)	Masato Kato
Artist(s)	Nobuteru Yūki Yasuyuki Honne
Composer(s)	Yasunori Mitsuda
Series	Chrono
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release date(s)	JP November 18, 1999 NA August 15, 2000
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	CERO: B ESRB: T (Teen)
Media	2 CD-ROMs

Chrono Cross (クロノ・クロス, Kurono Kurosu^?) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Sony PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Chrono Trigger, which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Unlike its predecessor's "Dream Team", Chrono Cross was developed primarily by scenarist and director Masato Kato and other programmers from Chrono Trigger, including art director Yasuyuki Honne and sound planner Minoru Akao. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda scored Chrono Cross and Nobuteru Yūki designed its characters.^[1]

The story of Chrono Cross focuses on a teenage boy named Serge and a theme of parallel worlds. Faced with an alternate reality in which he died as a child, Serge endeavors to discover the truth of the two worlds' divergence. The flashy thief Kid and many other characters assist him in his travels around the tropical archipelago El Nido. Struggling to uncover his past and find the mysterious Frozen Flame, Serge is chiefly challenged by Lynx, a shadowy antagonist working to apprehend him.

Upon its release in Japan in 1999 and in the United States in 2000,^[2] Chrono Cross received high ratings and critical acclaim, earning a rare perfect 10.0 score from GameSpot.^[3] However, many gamers regarded Chrono Cross as a somewhat disappointing sequel to Chrono Trigger, given the lack of plot continuity between the two games, the complete overhaul of the combat system and the addition of dozens of new playable characters. Nevertheless, the game's 1.5 million copies shipped worldwide led to a Greatest Hits re-release and continued life in Japan as part of the Ultimate Hits series.^[4][5] A "Millennium Edition" featuring a calendar, clock, and music sampler disc was also released.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Elements 1.2 Stamina 1.3 Battle experience 1.4 Equipment 1.5 Dimensional travel 1.6 New Game+ and Endings 2 Plot 2.1 Characters 2.2 Story 2.3 Relation to Radical Dreamers 3 Development 4 Music 5 Reception 6 Sequels 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Chrono Cross features standard RPG gameplay with some differences. Players advance the game by controlling Serge through the game's world, primarily by foot and boat. Navigation between areas is conducted via an overworld map, depicting the landscape from a scaled down overhead view. Around the island world are villages, outdoor areas, and dungeons, through which the player moves in three dimensions. Locations such as cities and forests are represented by more realistically scaled field maps, in which players can converse with locals to procure items and services, solve puzzles and challenges, or encounter enemies. Like Chrono Trigger, the game features no random encounters; enemies are openly visible on field maps or lie in wait to ambush the party.^[3] Touching the monster switches perspectives to a battle screen, in which players can physically attack, use "Elements", defend, or run away from the enemy. Battles are turn-based, allowing the player infinite time to select an action from the available menu. For both the playable characters and the CPU-controlled enemies, each attack reduces their number of hit points (a numerically based life bar), which can be restored through Elements. When a playable character loses all hit points, he or she faints. If all the player's characters fall in battle, the game ends and must be restored from a previously saved chapter—except for specific storyline-related battles that allow the player to lose.

Chrono Cross's developers aimed to break new ground in the genre, and the game features several innovations.^[6] For example, players can run away from all conflicts, including boss fights and the final battle.^[3]

[edit] Elements

The game's Element system handles all magic, consumable items and character-specific abilities. Elements unleash magic effects upon the enemy or party and must be equipped for use, much like the materia of 1997's Final Fantasy VII. Elements can be purchased from shops or found in treasure chests littered throughout areas. Once acquired, they are allocated to a grid that's size and shape are unique to each character. They are ranked according to eight tiers; certain high level Elements can only be assigned on equivalent tiers in a character's grid. As the game progresses, the grid expands, allowing more Elements to be equipped and higher tiers to be accessed. Elements are divided into six paired oppositional types, or "colors," each with a natural effect. Red (fire/magma) opposes Blue (water/ice), Green (wind/flora) opposes Yellow (earth/lightning), and White (light/cosmos) opposes Black (darkness/gravity).^[3] Each character and enemy has an innate color, enhancing the power of using same-color Elements while also making them weak against elements of the opposite color. Chrono Cross also features a "field effect", which keeps track of Element color used in the upper corner of the battle screen. If the field is purely one color, the power of Elements of that color will be enhanced, while Elements of the opposite color will be weakened. Characters also innately learn some special techniques ("Techs") that are unique to each character but otherwise act like Elements. Like Chrono Trigger, characters can combine certain Techs to make more powerful Double or Triple Techs.^[3] Consumable Elements may be used to restore hit points or heal status ailments after battle.^[3]

The presence of six elements is a departure from Chrono Trigger's limit at four, and Chrono Cross's plot does provide an explanation for the change—that Chrono Trigger's magic involved manipulating four basic universal properties, and that Chrono Cross's magic employs manufactured tools to affect changes in nature.^[7]

[edit] Stamina

Another innovative aspect of Chrono Cross is its stamina bar.^[3] At the beginning of a battle, each character has seven points of stamina. When a character attacks or uses an Element, stamina is decreased according to the potency of the attack. Stamina slowly recovers when the character defends or when other characters and enemies perform actions in battle. Characters with stamina below one point must wait to take action. Use of an Element reduces the user's stamina bar by seven stamina points; this often means that the user's stamina gauge falls into the negative and the character must wait longer than usual to recover.

[edit] Battle experience

With each battle, players can enhance statistics such as strength and defense. However, no system of experience points exists; after four or five upgrades, statistics remain static until players defeat a boss. This adds a star to a running count shown on the status screen, which allows for another few rounds of statistical increases.^[3]

[edit] Equipment

Players can equip characters with weapons, armor, helmets, and accessories. Certain accessories can be equipped to provide special effects in combat; for example, the "Power Seal" upgrades attack power. Items and equipment may be purchased or found on field maps, often in treasure chests. Unlike Elements, weapons and armor cannot merely be purchased with money; instead, the player must obtain base materials—such as copper, bronze, or bone—for a blacksmith to forge for a fee. The items can later be disassembled into their original components at no cost.

[edit] Dimensional travel

The existence of two major parallel dimensions, like time periods in Chrono Trigger, plays a significant role in the game. Players must go back and forth between the worlds to recruit party members, obtain items, and advance the plot. Much of the population of either world have counterparts in the other; some party members can even visit their other versions. The player must often search for items or places found exclusively in one world. Events in one dimension sometimes have an impact in another—for instance, cooling scorched ground on an island in one world allows vegetation to grow in the other world. This system assists the presentation of certain themes, including the questioning of the importance of one's past decisions and humanity's role in destroying the environment.^[8]

[edit] New Game+ and Endings

Rounding out the notable facets of Chrono Cross's gameplay are the New Game+ option and multiple endings. As in Chrono Trigger, players who have completed the game may choose to start the game over using data from the previous session. Character levels, learned techniques, equipment, and items gathered copy over, while acquired money and some story-related items are discarded. On a New Game+, players can access twelve endings.^[9] Scenes viewed depend on players' progress in the game before the final battle, which can be fought at any time in a New Game+ file.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Characters

Chrono Cross features a diverse cast of 45 party members. To create characters, developers brainstormed traits and archetypes,^[6] originally planning 64 characters.^[6] Each character is outfitted with an innate Element affinity and three unique special abilities that are learned over time. If taken to the world opposite their own, characters react to their counterparts (if available). Many characters tie in to crucial plot events.

Several characters speak with unique accents. Done manually in the Japanese release, implementing accents the same way in the English version would have been impossible due to size restraints. As a result, developers coded a system for the North American release that produces accents by modifying basic text. The system changes the text template based on the character's accent.^[6]

Since it is impossible to obtain all 45 characters in one playthrough, players must replay the game to witness everything. Through use of the New Game+ feature, players can ultimately obtain all characters on one save file.

Serge, the game's protagonist, is a 17-year-old boy with blue hair who lives in the fishing village of Arni. One day, he slips into an alternate world in which he drowned ten years before. Determined to find the truth behind the incident, he follows a predestined course that leads him to save the world. He is assisted by Kid, a feisty, skilled thief who seeks the mythical Frozen Flame. Portrayed as willful and tomboyish due to her rough, thieving past, she helps Serge sneak into Viper Manor. Raised by Lucca as a child, she vows to find and defeat Lynx, an anthropomorphic panther who burned down Lucca's orphanage. A sadistic and cruel agent of FATE, he is bent on finding Serge, and succeeds in taking his body. He travels with Harle, a mysterious, playful girl dressed like a harlequin. Sent by the Dragon God to shadow Lynx and one day steal the Frozen Flame from Chronopolis, she painfully fulfills her duty though smitten with Serge. To this end, she helps Lynx manipulate the Acacia Dragoons, the powerful militia governing the islands of El Nido. As the Dragoons maintain order, they contend with Fargo, a former Dragoon turned pirate captain who holds a grudge against their leader, General Viper. Their home base, Viper Manor, is also infiltrated by Serge, Kid, and one of three characters—Nikki, a musician, Pierre, a hero-in-training, or Guile, a mysterious magician. Though tussling with Serge initially, the Acacia Dragoons—whose ranks include the fierce warriors Karsh, Zoah, Marcy, and Glenn—later assist him when the militaristic nation of Porre invades the archipelago. The invasion brings Norris and Grobyc to the islands, a heartful commander of an elite force and a prototype cyborg soldier, respectively. As they too seek the Frozen Flame, the plot unfolds amidst tons of other characters.

[edit] Story

Chrono Cross begins with Serge located in El Nido, a tropical archipelago inhabited by ancient natives, mainland colonists, and beings called Demi-humans. Serge slips into an alternate dimension in which he drowned on the beach ten years prior, and meets the thief, "Kid". It is eventually revealed that ten years before the present, the universe split into two dimensions—one in which Serge lived, and one in which he perished.^[10] The antagonist Lynx poisons Kid at this point, but she recuperates eventually.

Serge gains the ability to travel between the dimensions, and then leaves for Fort Dragonia by boat, but is interrupted by the pirate Fargo. Initially imprisoned, Serge is freed when the ship comes under attack from ghosts. After earning Fargo's respect, Serge enters the fort and ascends to its highest floor. Through the use of a Dragonian artifact called the Dragon Tear, Lynx switches bodies with Serge. Unknowing of the switch, Kid confides in Lynx; he stabs her as the real Serge helplessly watches. Lynx boasts of his victory and banishes Serge to a strange realm called the Temporal Vortex. He takes Kid under his wing, brainwashing her to believe the real Serge (in Lynx's body) is her enemy.

Serge escapes with help from Harle. Discovering that his new body prevents him from traveling across the dimensions, he is marooned in Home world. He sets out to regain his former body and learn more of the universal split that occurred ten years earlier. He speaks with his mother and recruits new members to his cause. Hearing that a Demi-human sage confined on a cruise ship may be able to help him, he journeys to the S.S. Zelbess. He gains the sage's favor, and is given an artifact that allows access to the Dead Sea, a mysterious body of water. While attempting to enter, he discovers the evil sword Masamune and must counter it with the holy sword Einlanzer. Once inside the Dead Sea, he finds a wasteland frozen in time, dotted with futuristic ruins.^[11] At the center, he locates a man named Miguel and presumably Home world's Frozen Flame. Charged with guarding the Dead Sea by an entity named FATE,^[12] Miguel unsuccessfully battles Serge. To prevent Serge from obtaining the Frozen Flame, FATE destroys the Dead Sea. Still in Lynx's body, Serge is rescued by a Dragon, one of six mythical entities that inhabit El Nido.

Able to return to Another world, Serge finds the Acacia Dragoons in dire straits from Porre's invasion and rescues General Viper's daughter. After collecting six relics from the Dragons, he locates that dimension's Dragon Tear and travels to Fort Dragonia to initiate a ceremony to recreate his body. He succeeds after staving off Lynx at the base of the fortress. With the Dragon relics in tow, he enters the Sea of Eden, Another world's physical equivalent of the Dead Sea. He finds a temporal research facility called Chronopolis; inside are Lynx, Kid, and the Frozen Flame. Confronted by Serge, Lynx bonds with the entity FATE, the main computer of the facility, to defeat the boy in battle. He is unsuccessful, and with FATE's capitulation, the defense systems of Chronopolis fall. After uniting in air, the six Dragons fly over the facility and scoop up the Frozen Flame. Kid falls into a coma, and Harle bids the party goodbye to fly with the Dragons. The new villains soar to Terra Tower, a massive structure raised from the sea floor.

Serge regroups his party and tends to Kid, who remains comatose. Continuing his adventure, he obtains and cleanses the Masamune. He then uses the Dragon relics and shards of the Dragon Tears to create the mythic Element Chrono Cross. The spiritual power of the Masamune later allows him to lift Kid from her coma and prepare to assault Terra Tower. He outfits his boat with an anti-gravity device and travels to battle the Dragons. At Terra Tower, the prophet of time, revealed to be Belthasar from Chrono Trigger, visits him and imparts the boy's history. This information is later expatiated by accompanied apparitions. Serge learns that the time research facility Chronopolis created El Nido thousands of years ago after a catastrophic experimental failure drew it to the past.^[13] The introduction of a temporally foreign object in history caused the planet to pull in a counterbalance from a different dimension.^[14] This was Dinopolis, a city of Dragonians—parallel universe descendants of Chrono Trigger's Reptites. The institutions warred and Chronopolis subjugated the Dragonians. Humans captured their chief creation—the Dragon God, an entity capable of controlling nature.

Chronopolis divided this entity into six pieces and created an Elements system, which individuals could use for combat or trade. FATE terraformed an archipelago, erased the memories of most Chronopolis's staff, and sent them to inhabit and populate its new paradise.^[15] Chronopolis remained obscured from view by clouds and surrounded by poisonous reef. Thousands of years later, a panther demon attacked a three-year old Serge. His father took him to find assistance at Marbule, but Serge's boat blew off course due to a raging magnetic storm caused by Schala. Schala, the princess of the Kingdom of Zeal, had long ago accidentally fallen to a place known as the Darkness Beyond Time and began merging with Lavos, the chief villain of Chrono Trigger.^[16][17] Schala's storm nullified Chronopolis's defenses and allowed Serge to contact the Frozen Flame. Approaching it healed Serge but corrupted his father.^[18] By touching the Flame, Serge was designated its Arbiter by a circuit in Chronopolis, simultaneously preventing FATE from using the artifact by extension. The Dragons were aware of this situation, creating a seventh Dragon under the storm's cover. This Dragon was Harle, who manipulated Lynx by serving as his accomplice.^[19]

After Serge returned home, FATE manipulated his father to try and kill the boy, which would release the lock on the Frozen Flame. His father drowned Serge and became Lynx. However, ten years after the event, the thief Kid—presumably on Belthasar's orders—went back in time to save Serge and split the dimensions. FATE, locked out of the Frozen Flame again, knew that Serge would one day cross to Another world and prepared to apprehend him.^[20] Lynx switched bodies with Serge to dupe the biological check of Chronopolis on the Frozen Flame. When Serge defeated FATE, the freed Dragons snatched the Frozen Flame and raised Terra Tower. Belthasar then reveals that these events were part of a plan he had orchestrated named Project Kid–and that its final purpose would soon be revealed. Serge continues to the top of Terra Tower and defeats the Dragon God.

Continuing to the beach where the split in dimensions had occurred, Serge finds three apparitions resembling the original team from Chrono Trigger. More of the game's history is revealed, such as the revelation that Belthasar planned the entire plot to empower Serge and free Schala from melding with Lavos.^[21] The resulting fused being—called the Time Devourer—would consume and destroy spacetime. Lucca explains that Kid is Schala's clone, sent to the modern age to take part in Project Kid.^[22] Crono entreats Serge to use the Chrono Cross to free Schala.^[23] Serge uses a Time Egg—given to him by Belthasar—to enter the Darkness Beyond Time and vanquish the Time Devourer. He separates Schala from Lavos and restores the dimensions to one. Thankful, Schala muses on evolution and the struggle of life and returns Serge to his home, noting that he will forget the entire adventure. She then seemingly records the experience in her diary, set upon a desk on which a wedding photo of Kid and Serge appears. The meaning of the scenes shown during the credits, depicting "Kid" seemingly searching for someone in modern times, is confirmed as a means to make the players think of their own reality, and the possibility that a version of "Kid" exists in it and would one day meet them. The ambiguous ending leaves the events of the characters' lives following the game up to interpretation.^[24]

[edit] Relation to Radical Dreamers

Chrono Cross employs story arcs, characters, and themes from Radical Dreamers, a Satellaview side story to Chrono Trigger released in Japan. An illustrated text adventure, it was created to wrap up an unresolved plot line of Chrono Trigger.^[25] Though it borrows from Radical Dreamers in its exposition, Chrono Cross is not a remake of Radical Dreamers, but a larger effort to fulfill that game's purpose.^[25] The plots of the games are irreconcilable. To resolve continuity issues and acknowledge Radical Dreamers, the developers of Chrono Cross suggested the game happened in a parallel dimension.^[26] A notable difference between the two games is that Magus—present in Radical Dreamers as Gil—is absent from Chrono Cross. Director Masato Kato originally planned for Magus to appear in disguise as Guile, but scrapped the idea due to plot difficulties.^[25] As Richard Honeywood translated the game for its US release, he worked with Kato to rewrite certain dialogue for ease of comprehension in English.^[27]

[edit] Development

Before 1999, Chrono Trigger's scenario director Masato Kato was asked to develop a new Chrono game in the style of Radical Dreamers.^[28] At the time, he had also been considering a direct sequel to Chrono Trigger intended to wrap up certain unfinished plot threads. Kato and the game's producer, Hiromichi Tanaka, decided to pursue a different course as Chrono Trigger would soon be ported to Final Fantasy Chronicles to create a sense of continuity. Kato remarked that setting the story of Chrono Cross differently with a new cast would allow those who had forgotten or never played Chrono Trigger to take up the game without feeling confused.^[28] Developers decided against integrating heavy use of time travel into the game, as they felt it would be "rehashing and cranking up the volume of the last game".^[28] Kato confirmed that aside from parallel worlds, the central theme of Chrono Cross was the fate of Schala, which he was previously unable to expound upon in Chrono Trigger. He intended to make the player realize that alternate futures and possibilities may exist with the ending sequence, desiring to have the realization "not...stop with the game".^[28]

[edit] Music

"The Dream that Time Dreams" A 30 second sample of The Dream that Time Dreams, illustrating the use in the game's music of melodies established in Radical Dreamers. "Scars of Time" A 30 second sample of Scars of Time, the iconic title piece featuring the guitar playing of Tomohiko Kira. "Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel" A 30 second sample of game's credits theme, demonstrating the voice of Noriko Mitose.

Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Chrono Cross was scored by freelance video game music composer Yasunori Mitsuda, who previously worked on Chrono Trigger. After being contacted to compose the score by Kato,^[28] Mitsuda decided to center his work around old world cultural influences, including Mediterranean, Fado, Celtic, and percussive African music.^[29] To complement the theme of parallel worlds, he gave Another and Home respectively dark and bright moods.^[28] Xenogears contributor Tomohiko Kira played guitar on the beginning and ending themes. Noriko Mitose, as selected by Masato Kato, sang the ending song—"Radical Dreamers - The Unstolen Jewel".^[28] Ryo Yamazaki, a synthesizer programmer for Square Enix, helped Mitsuda transfer his ideas to the PlayStation's sound capabilities.^[29] Mitsuda was happy to accomplish even half of what he envisioned.^[29] Certain songs were ported from the score of Radical Dreamers, such as Gale, Frozen Flame, and Viper Mansion. Other entries in the soundtrack contain leitmotifs from Chrono Trigger and Radical Dreamers. The melody of Far Promise ~ Dream Shore features prominently in The Dream That Time Dreams and Voyage ~ Another World.^[28]

Once production concluded, Mitsuda played Chrono Cross to record his impressions and observe how the tracks intermingled with scenes.^[29] Players who preordered the game received a sampler disc of five songs. In 1999, a three-CD official soundtrack was released in Japan. The soundtrack won the Gold Prize for the PlayStation Awards of 2000.^[30] In 2005, Square Enix reissued the soundtrack due to popular demand. Earlier that year Mitsuda announced a new arranged album of music was scheduled for release in July 2005.^[31] It did not materialize, though at a Play! A Video Game Symphony concert in May 2006, he revealed it would be out "within the year" and would feature acoustic music.^[32] Later in 2006, Mitsuda alleged that the album would actually be released in 2007.^[33] Recently, Yasunori Mitsuda has posted a streaming sample of a track from the upcoming Chrono Cross arranged album.^[34] Though no official release date has been announced, Mitsuda has more than once stated that the album is now planned to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the game's original release in 2009.^[34]

Music from Chrono Cross will be an important part of the Symphonic Fantasies concerts in September 2009 which are being produced by the creators of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series, conducted by Arnie Roth.^[35]

[edit] Reception

Chrono Cross shipped 850,000 and 650,000 units in Japan and abroad respectively.^[4] It was re-released once in the United States as a Greatest Hits title and again as part of the Japanese Ultimate Hits PlayStation series.^[5] Critics praised the game's complex plot, innovative battle system, varied characters, moving score, vibrant graphics, and success in breaking convention with its predecessor.^{[3][8][36][37]} Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Chrono Cross a Gold Award, scoring it 10/10/9.5 in their three reviewer format.^[38] GameSpot awarded the game a perfect 10, one of only six games in the 40,000 games listed on Gamespot to have been given the score, and its Console Game of the Year Award for 2000.^[3] IGN gave the game a score of 9.7, and Cross appeared 89th in its 2008 Top 100 games list.^[8][39] Famitsu rated the game 36 out of 40 from four reviewers.^[25] As of July 2007, Rotten Tomatoes and Game Rankings rate Chrono Cross at 92 and 93 percent.^[2][40]

In terms of negative criticism, reviewers claimed that the game's flaws were its vague ending, confusing plot elements, and narrative pacing problems.^[8][37] Fan reaction was largely positive,^[3] though certain fans complained that the game was too far a departure from its predecessor (Chrono Cross broke convention in featuring a new cast—with more characters and fewer double and triple techs—and not allowing access to most old locations),^[41] and/or that it possessed a multitude of problems, including a lagging battle system and a lack of character development. It should be noted that Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and director Masato Kato were aware of the changes in development, specifically intending to provide an experience different from Chrono Trigger although this does not mean they are immune to certain types of criticisms just because they say "we meant to do it."^[41][6]

[edit] Sequels

Currently, there is no planned continuation of the Chrono series. In 2001, Hironobu Sakaguchi revealed that the company's staff wanted to develop a new game and were discussing script ideas. Though Kato was interested in a new title, the project had not been greenlighted.^[42] Square then registered a trademark for Chrono Break in Japan and the United States, causing speculation concerning a new sequel. Nothing materialized, and the trademark was dropped in the US on November 13, 2003, though it still stands in Japan.^[43][44] Hope continues for a new game, as Kato recently returned to work on Children of Mana and Dawn of Mana.^[45] Mitsuda also expressed interest in scoring a new Chrono series game.^[32]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• at mobygames
• Official US Site
• Chrono Compendium, a Chrono series fansite with a closed wiki, plot guides/discussion and a forum
• Chrono Cross at the Open Directory Project
• Chrono Cross Original Soundtrack (discs 2 & 3) at MusicBrainz
• Chrono Cross guide at StrategyWiki

v • d • e Chrono series Games Chrono Trigger (characters · music) · Radical Dreamers · Chrono Cross (characters · music) Related articles Final Fantasy Chronicles · Chrono Break · Chrono Resurrection