Some games I like to consider sacred property ... and only a select few fall into this category. Games like System Shock and Monkey Island-games with locations that I visited so much I (perhaps sadly) recall them as actual real life places I've visited. Square's Chrono Trigger definitely falls into this category as well and as far as console games, Chrono Trigger sits on a pretty little pedestal in the back of my mind because it was by far one of the best experiences I had on the Super Nintendo.
Naturally, when I found out Square was developing a follow-up, I got excited. The unfortunate side of this was that my expectations were no doubt, ridiculously high. Nevertheless, I ran out and got Chrono Cross as soon as I could, and the second I put the disc in the drive and started the game (after a mighty impressive CGI intro, but those seem to be a given with Square) I was disappointed. It seemed as though Chrono Cross was just another Square RPG, pumped out onto the Playstation. These feelings of disappointment, however, soon melted away into sheer awe ...
One must admit that it is hard not to be amazed by Square's work. But time and time, there seems to be an element of their recent games that seems to be asking for criticism (what exactly was Final Fantasy 7 about anyway? And why was Squall such an idiot in FF8?). With Chrono Cross, however, everything seems to work together to make the most enjoyable console RPG experience I have had since ... well, Chrono Trigger on the SNES (and maybe, just maybe Lunar).
The story is top notch, and its tie-ins to Chrono Trigger are subtle and very rewarding. The story begins with Serge fetching some dragon scales for his girl, but then through a series of circumstances he finds himself in an alternate universe where he died when he was only seven. After that you have the choice to team up with a puzzling girl named Kid (if you don't, you get your girlfriend to join your quest). And from that point on, it would be a disservice to everyone to discuss the plot, suffice to say it is very enjoyable.
The battle system has been changed to a system of stamina points in favor of the little charge bar showing when your character can swing his/her weapon. Every character can attack at any time, as long as they have stamina points left over. Of course, to some degree, it is still turn based because you the system does not allow you to have all three characters attacking at once, but it does make things a lot more interesting. For example, enemies can interrupt your attack with an attack. It makes the whole system seem much more like it's "real-time" whereas with the previous battle system you found yourself waiting for your little bar to charge up before you could attack.
The magic/elemental system also works nicely-first and foremost, the magic animations are awesome AND they're short. Each magic spell/element takes up all your stamina points to cast it, and thus leaves your character without any to attack. Each magic type is assigned a color (black, white, red, blue, green and yellow) and they work in relationship with each other. There is also a "field effect" measure that fills up with the corresponding color to the last spell that has been cast. When the measure is all one color, a character that utilizes that color magic will get a status boost.
Another great feature of Chrono Cross (much like Chrono Trigger) is that you can see the enemies on the game screen. They are not random encounters like in Final Fantasy. You can avoid them if you wish; and can ALWAYS run away from an enemy encounter once you have engaged them. It keeps the battle component of the game accessible to newcomers and a breeze for elitists.
If you have not gone out and gotten your copy of Chrono Cross yet, do yourself a favor and do it now. You will not regret it. This is the best RPG experience available on the PSX, hands down.
-Jake
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