Chrono Cross is Weird
Mar. 22nd, 2026 10:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brandynNow that the medication is working and my depression and ADHD symptoms are lessening I'm trying to rekindle my love for the JRPG genre and for some reason decided to start with a game I've known for years was a bit controversial, Chrono Cross. A sequel to Chrono Trigger that, both in terms of tone and gameplay nuances completely disregards what made Chrono Trigger so beloved to be it's own unique thing.
Chrono Trigger was a game that thrived on it's simplicity both in terms of gameplay and story. Very easy for anyone new to the genre to understand and the story is basic and thrives mostly on charming characters. Chrono Cross, so far, is...neither of those things. The plot so far is much more contemplative and a bit confusing compared to Chrono Trigger's straightforward plot and the gameplay...oh lord. It's a turn based JRPG just like Chrono Trigger but that is where the similarities end. Chrono Cross is the kind of game where to get the most out of it you need to have like an excel spreadsheet of all of the different things to keep track of. Maybe not the best game for someone who's barely keeping the ADHD in check but.
It's interesting so far though, from everything I've heard it's a game that mostly lives on it's atmosphere and yeah, that's really working for me. The moment to moment writing might not fully land but the early game reveals so far are compelling. Chrono Trigger is a simple time travel plot, Chrono Cross is seemingly going to be a more complex plot focusing on different timelines. This is like 40 minutes into the game so I'm not really considering it a spoiler but the main impetus of the plot is the main character being sucked into another timeline where they died as a child and a mysterious organization wanting to capture him.
I'm playing it off of the new re-release that came with the original Radical Dreamers, which was the team's first attempt at making a Chrono Trigger sequel, which ended up being a hastily put together text based adventure. Which, I've started and need to finish (Or look up a playthrough) before I get too far into Chrono Cross proper. Radical Dreamers isn't canon, but it does very clearly inform the ideas going into Chrono Cross, with different versions of the same characters showing up in Chrono Cross. Though, due to it's nature as a text based adventure Radical Dreamers has a much more horror tone to it than Chrono Cross' typical JRPG sensibilities.
Just generally interested in this weird piece of gaming history.
Chrono Trigger was a game that thrived on it's simplicity both in terms of gameplay and story. Very easy for anyone new to the genre to understand and the story is basic and thrives mostly on charming characters. Chrono Cross, so far, is...neither of those things. The plot so far is much more contemplative and a bit confusing compared to Chrono Trigger's straightforward plot and the gameplay...oh lord. It's a turn based JRPG just like Chrono Trigger but that is where the similarities end. Chrono Cross is the kind of game where to get the most out of it you need to have like an excel spreadsheet of all of the different things to keep track of. Maybe not the best game for someone who's barely keeping the ADHD in check but.
It's interesting so far though, from everything I've heard it's a game that mostly lives on it's atmosphere and yeah, that's really working for me. The moment to moment writing might not fully land but the early game reveals so far are compelling. Chrono Trigger is a simple time travel plot, Chrono Cross is seemingly going to be a more complex plot focusing on different timelines. This is like 40 minutes into the game so I'm not really considering it a spoiler but the main impetus of the plot is the main character being sucked into another timeline where they died as a child and a mysterious organization wanting to capture him.
I'm playing it off of the new re-release that came with the original Radical Dreamers, which was the team's first attempt at making a Chrono Trigger sequel, which ended up being a hastily put together text based adventure. Which, I've started and need to finish (Or look up a playthrough) before I get too far into Chrono Cross proper. Radical Dreamers isn't canon, but it does very clearly inform the ideas going into Chrono Cross, with different versions of the same characters showing up in Chrono Cross. Though, due to it's nature as a text based adventure Radical Dreamers has a much more horror tone to it than Chrono Cross' typical JRPG sensibilities.
Just generally interested in this weird piece of gaming history.
