Chrono Cross
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| Chrono Cross | |
| Missing image Chronocrossbox.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Square Co., Ltd. |
| Publisher(s) | Square Co., Ltd. |
| Release date(s) | November 18, 1999 (JP) August 15, 2000 (US) |
| Genre | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
Chrono Cross is a PlayStation RPG created by Square Co., Ltd. (now Square Enix) with a story that builds upon Chrono Trigger. However, Chrono Trigger team members Yuji Horii (Producer, Scenario Writer) and Akira Toriyama (Artwork, Character Design) were not a part of the Chrono Cross devteam. Chrono Trigger had a "sequel" released in Japan called Radical Dreamers for the Satellaview add-on for the Super Famicom, but it was text-based only. When Chrono Cross was being designed, part of the Radical Dreamers' plot and characters were used. But Chrono Cross cannot be viewed as a mere remake of Radical Dreamers as they have a lot of differences and incompatibilities. Chrono Cross was well received in the United States, but lacking Japanese sales led some to speculate that the Chrono series was halted.
Chrono Cross was released in United States in 2000 and features music composed by Yasunori Mitsuda. The game was hailed by professional reviewers, but some Chrono Trigger fans denounced it as an inferior sequel. In almost all cases, this is a result of these players wanting to control the old cast of Cross's predecessor and play a more direct sequel.
The game has 45 possible party members to acquire, all of whom come with several abilities of their own, with some combining into Double and Triple Techs.
The story of Chrono Cross revolves around the character Serge, who, as a small child, is supposed to drown, but is saved by a powerful force. The resulting shift in the world's history creates two distinct parallel dimensions. In one dimension, he survives and lives for 10 years before the game begins. In the alternate dimension, he drowns in a beach near his home.
The plot itself revolves around Serge's unknowing efforts to free Schala from the Time Devourer, a fusion of Lavos, the ultimate enemy with the capacity to destroy the planet from Chrono Trigger, and Schala, a princess of Zeal and sister of Magus who has immense magical power and disappeared to the Darkness Beyond Time accidentally due to Crono's influence in history. Years in the future, Belthasar, a former guru of Zeal, discovered that the Time Devourer had formed and planned to consume all spacetime; he thus set in motion an almost ludicrously complex chain of events meant to give rise to and guide Serge to venture to the Time Devourer and use an artifact known as the Chrono Cross to restore the dimensions to one and free Schala from Lavos's grasp. While the plot is sound, its delivery is criticized and many players resort to a guide to understand its intricacies [1] (http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Chrono_Cross_Condensed_Plot_Summary)
While Chrono Cross incorporates elements from Radical Dreamers, the stories of the two games are incompatible. To resolve the scenario continuity issue and to acknowledge the existence of Radical Dreamers, the designers suggested that the events of Radical Dreamers did happen, but took place in a parallel dimension. This can be found by reading one of the computer consoles in Chronopolis, a city which was pulled back in time due to a failed experiment. Chronopolis now monitors the El Nido Archipelago, in an attempt to prevent a paradox from occurring which would prevent its existence in the future.
Chrono-Cross-title-screen.jpg
Square trademarked the name Chrono Break in late 2001, resulting in speculation by fans of the possibility of a sequel. However, the trademark was dropped in the United States on November 13, 2003, confirmed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is possibly due to one of the writers, Masato Kato leaving Square Enix for Monolith Soft in 2003. The trademark still stands in Japan.
Chrono Cross was never released in Europe, with Square citing a combination of economic and technical expenses involved in converting the game for release in PAL territories.
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Characters
There are 44 characters normally (Lynx unlockable through an odd twist in the gameplay), with six Elements for each of them. While the presence of six elements is a departure from Chrono Trigger's limit at four, the game does provide ample explanation for the change -- that Chrono Trigger's magic was the manipulating of the basic four fundamental properties of the universe, and Chrono Cross's magic is moreso the use of manufactured tools to effect changes in nature.
White Characters
White is a more mystical element than others. One of the characters with a White element is a religious person. White characters are great healers, because of them being the only ones able to use HolyHealing. It loosely ties in with "Lightning" from Chrono Trigger.
- Serge (White) (Swallow) (Male)
- Doc (White) (Shot) (Male)
- Pip (White) (Glove) (Male)
- Starky (White) (Gun) (Male)
- Riddel (White) (Staff) (Female)
- Steena (White) (Sword) (Female)
Black Characters
Black is a darker element than others. Two of the characters with a Black element are undead or spirits. Great with offensive magic. This roughly corresponds to the "Shadow" element from Chrono Trigger.
- Mojo (Black) (Glove) (Male)
- Guile (Black) (Rod) (Male)
- Skelly (Black) (Glove) (Male)
- Luccia (Black) (Shot) (Female)
- Lynx (Black) (Swallow) (Male)
- Harle (Black) (Shot) (Female)
- Grobyc (Black) (Glove) (Male)
Red Characters
Red characters have a high focus on power. Many of the Red characters are some of the most powerful. Naturally, red is the element of fire and lava. In Chrono Trigger, it was simply called, "Fire".
- Kid (Red) (Dagger) (Female)
- Greco (Red) (Glove) (Male)
- Macha (Red) (Utensils) (Female)
- Zappa (Red) (Axe) (Male)
- Janice (Red) (Carrot) (Female)
- Draggy (Red) (Glove) (Male)
- Miki (Red) (Glove) (Female)
- Orcha (Red) (Utensils) (Male)
Blue Characters
Blue characters are good healers and offensive magic users. Leena is one of the best healers. Blue is the element of water and ice. This matches Chrono Trigger, where Marle used ice magic but as labeled as "Water" like Frog.
- Leena (Blue) (Utensils) (Female)
- Nikki (Blue) (Pick) (Male)
- Korcha (Blue) (Fishing Lure) (Male)
- Van (Blue) (Boomerang) (Male)
- Irenes (Blue) (Pick) (Female)
- Fargo (Blue) (Sword) (Male)
- Marcy (Blue) (Glove) (Female)
- Orlha (Blue) (Glove) (Female)
- Pierre (Blue) (sword) (male)
Green Characters
Green characters are good healers as well as good offensive magic users, like Razzly, and also good with physical attacks, like Glenn and Karsh. Green is the element of air and nature. It has no equivalent in Chrono Trigger.
- NeoFio (Green) (Glove) (Female)
- Glenn (Green) (Sword) (Male)
- Razzly (Green) (Rod) (Female)
- Sprigg (Green) (Staff) (Female)
- Radius (Green) (Staff) (Male)
- Karsh (Green) (Axe) (Male)
- Turnip (Green) (Sword) (Male)
Yellow Characters
Great offensive fighters. Some of the most powerful characters, especially Leah. Yellow is the element of lightning and earth, and does not correspond loosely with any element in Chrono Trigger.
- Poshul (Yellow) (Glove) (Male)
- Mel (Yellow) (Boomerang) (Female)
- Funguy (Yellow) (Axe) (Male)
- ZOAH (Yellow) (Glove) (Male)
- Sneff (Yellow) (Shot) (Male)
- Norris (Yellow) (Gun) (Male)
- General Viper (Yellow) (Sword) (Male)
- Leah (Yellow) (Axe) (Female)
See also
External links
- RPGClassics' Chrono Cross Shrine (http://www.rpgclassics.com/shrines/psx/cc/)
- French Translation by Terminus (http://terminus.romhack.net/index.php?page=jv&projet=cross)
- Timelines at the Chrono Compendium Encyclopedia (http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Chronology)ja:クロノ・クロス