Jeopardy could ask a question about one of the highest critically-acclaimed games that many consider a disappointing sequel and the answer would be Chrono Cross. Originally released to western audiences in 2000 for PlayStation, it received nearly universal praise from critics and eventually sold well enough to be added to Sony's greatest hits collection. Between the innovative take on traditional turn-based battle systems, complex story and fantastic soundtrack, it seems like it would be hard for JRPG fans not to love Chrono Cross. That is unless they want Chrono Trigger II. While set in the same world with many nods and references to its predecessor, Chrono Cross deviates from the original so much it's these references are the only things forming a tenuous link to it. But looking it at from that perspective is unfortunate because it can blind the player to the unique experience that is Chrono Cross and the masterpiece that it is.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition includes a remastered version of Chrono Cross and for the first time in the west a (legit) copy of Radical Dreamers. Chrono Cross has a variety of modern upgrades to help make the 22-year-old game feel modern. The 3D models and illustrations have been given an HD makeover which players can switch between the classic look and the new HD one, along with the use of a background filter. The music has been remixed to sound higher quality, though fans of the original may consider that claim to be subjective. There are some additions designed to make the game easier, such as the ability to turn off enemy encounters and to add battle enhancements to make combat easier. The player can chance the screen resolution and switch between an HD font or imitation pixel font. The screen resolution for Chrono Cross remains 4:3, so for the regular and zoomed option there are vertical letterbox bars. There's a full screen option, but everything looks horizontally stretched (aka fatter) to fill the screen.

There are some enhancements that alter the gameplay that aren't really explained in the game. The buttons assigned to each will be using PlayStation terms since that's the platform that was used for review, but it can be assumed other platforms would use the their equivalent buttons. Pressing L2 will have the game run in slow motion and R2 will speed things up, the sped up mode of which is nice for battle since the animations make each encounter long but less so for exploration. This feature was in the original Chrono Cross, but only in New Game Plus, whereas it's available from the start in this version. However, this feature and pausing were disabled on the SS Zelbess casino making it impossible to cheat at the roulette table. Pressing L3 will turn off optional enemy encounters. The enemies will still appear on screen and approach the player, but contact with them won't trigger a fight. R3 will enable the battle enhancements that make every enemy attack miss. This takes the fun out of battles, but supposedly could be used if someone is stuck at a boss and just doesn't care anymore and wants to experience Chrono Cross for the story with no difficulty at all. Pressing R3 and L3 together will trigger auto battle.

Radical Dreamers is a text adventure game that was originally released in 1996. It was exclusive to Satellaview, a peripheral for Super Famicon. Outside of a fan-translated ROM it has never been available in the west. Radical Dreamers is a sequel to Chrono Trigger which centers on Serge, Kid and Magil infiltrating Lynx's mansion in hopes of stealing the Frozen Flame. Radical Dreamers takes only a few hours to complete, but is ultimately a rewarding experience. Players choose their path through Lynx's domain, gradually gaining access to new areas by uncovering secret items. Combat is infrequent and done through character choice like jumping up to attack or doing a dodge roll to avoid the enemy. Serge's health is monitored through an invisible gauge that can be recovered by finding potions or food. The overall tone of the story is dark with humorous scenarios sprinkled in. It's not required playing to enjoy Chrono Cross, but due to how the games complement each other, it's recommended. The soundtrack is composed of new tracks that do have a heavy dose of Chrono Trigger flavoring.

Chrono Cross is a story about a boy named Serge. Unlike the other Chrono game that is about time travel, the main theme here is alternate dimensions. One of the key elements of the story in Chrono Cross is traveling between the two alternate dimensions. Presumably these are the same worlds with the same inhabitants, but because of things going differently in each dimension, things turn out differently. This builds on the theme that decisions of one's past shape their present and how some seemingly small differences can have a massive butterfly effect. Like its predecessor where the present can be changed by taking action in the past, some choices in one dimension can carry over to the other. It's an interesting idea that doesn't get explored too often and adds a welcome layer of complexity to the story.

Elements play an important part in battle strategy in Chrono Cross. Each character is assigned an innate elemental preference represented by one of six colors. Each enemy also has their innate element, so building parties based on elemental abilities and allocating elements can make a big difference in boss fights. When going into battle against a boss who's innate color is blue, it would be advantageous to equip many red elements. The flipside is party members with red affiliation will suffer more damage against the blue elemental attacks. Aside from balancing elements against their opposition elements also have base levels. Using more powerful elemental attacks require more actions to make them available. Many elements can be equipped above or below their base level and doing so will respectively strengthen or weaken them. Each element can only be used once per battle.

Combat is the traditional turn-based affair common in JRPGs, but with innovative twists. Characters begin with seven action points that can be spent on multiple attacks with varying chances to hit and damage potential. Basic attacks will charge up element attacks that can be used like spells. Normal battles don't grant experience, so level grinding doesn't exist in a traditional sense. The party will gain a star level after defeating a boss and the few subsequent battles after that will grant minor stat bonuses to the active characters. Battles do grant gold and crafting materials, but the animations for everything make combat rather slow paced. This is where the option to turn off enemy encounters or speed up gameplay come in handy.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of Chrono Cross is the sheer number of party members. It's the biggest roster in RPG history, but with 45 playable characters it's well above the normal amount, which is a double-edged sword. One one hand many of these characters are unique, both in terms of character design as well as speech pattern and personality. They each have their own strengths, weaknesses and elements so the player has a great deal of freedom with their party composition. The downside is as interesting as these characters are there are so many that it's hard to get to know most of them that well in a single playthrough. Chrono Trigger only had seven playable characters but the player got to know each one very well and care about them. There's a sequence a few hours in where I got three characters in the span of about ten minutes. This can also make element and equipment management a time-consuming process if the player changes party configuration often.

There's a good and bad ending for Chrono Cross; at least this is what is possible during the first playthrough. There are actually a total of twelve different endings that become available during New Game Plus after the game is completed once. This feature allows players to start a fresh game with their levels and most of their equipment. There's a new freedom to beat the final boss and take on optional bosses for additional challenge, giving Chrono Cross a lot of a replay value after the initial playthrough.

Chrono Cross is one of the great RPGs of the 32-bit era which hasn't been easily accessible on modern hardware. Aside from the facelift and quality-of-life improvements, Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a faithful port of the classic title. The intro battle animations that were used to cover up long loading times in 2000 seem excessive today and routine battles seem to run at slow pace, but thankfully the R2 turbo feature helps with that. Chrono Cross is a 22-year-old game and some of the mechanics show their age such as not being able to control the camera with the right thumbstick, mainly because thumbsticks weren't added to PlayStation controllers until it was getting close to the launch of PlayStation 2. But those issues aside it's easy to see why Chrono Cross achieved the popularity it did several console generations ago. The story is complex and able to engage the player's interest, which can lead to surreal locations and existential questions. The battle system offers a unique twist on the standard turn-based formula which while it can get tedious in the routine, enemy encounters lead to enjoyable and rewarding boss battles.

The remaster treatment to Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition preserves the essence of the original PlayStation game. Changing the aspect ratio to a proper 16:9 would have been preferable, but considering the price point of twenty bucks that may have been too much reworking. The new HD character models and portraits are achieve the goal of looking like the original while looking nice on HD displays. There's an option to switch between HD and classic graphic modes though in this day and age my eyes are less forgiving of original PlayStation graphics. The remixed soundtrack doesn't sound different from the original at all, which is probably good news for fans wanting a nostalgia fix but disappointing after hearing what was done with the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster soundtracks. Contrary to some early reports, there isn't an option to switch between the original soundtrack and remixed version.

Closing Comments:

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition takes one of the great PlayStation RPGs and makes it available to new and returning fans on modern hardware. The overall presentation hasn't been changed drastically from the original. The new HD character models look true to the original character designs while the remixed soundtrack doesn't sound radically different, outside of a couple tracks that received full rearrangements. The quality-of-life improvements such as turbo speed and turning off enemy encounters can do a lot to speed up the progression for people who simply want to enjoy the story and not be bothered with routine battles. The story of Chrono Cross is just as magical today as it originally was over two decades ago. Overall Chrono Cross is presented in a way where there are minimal alterations to experience, where it's changed and updated just enough to be enjoyed on modern platforms without making changes to what made it so memorable originally. The Radical Dreamers is a nice inclusion, and despite being a relic of the '90s, still weaves a captivating story and is well worth a playthrough.