Chrono Cross... It has finally come. Four years ago, over two million people world wide (Magicbox statistics) were thrown into a world of time traveling, knights, and magic, packaged to perfection by the wonderful people at Enix and Square. Created by the "dream team", Chrono Trigger, the ancestor of what is now known as CC, was hailed by many as the greatest game ever made, and even today, it still has a very strong following. It's still a classic in many people's hearts, and extreme nostalgia keeps people from looking at new games with a clear, unbiased view. This was my situation also, until Chrono Cross came...

The Graphics: 96%

The graphics of CC are near perfection. The detail and colour of the worlds, towns, and magic spells are truly incredible, far surpassing that of even FF8. This is possible because of the great colour palate used for the game, which may not always underline the CC world in realism, but surely adds interest to what would usually be the boring trend in most games. The world, unlike most new games is drawn out in 2D with incredible detail. If you had to visualize it, think Shadow Madness, with tons and tons of detail like trees, mountains, and vibrant oceans all tinted with a razor-sharp tropic color pattern. Pretty funky if you ask me. The characters are equally unique, each with their own interesting design. Unlike most of Square RPGs these days, CC doesn't have stock character designs. From the 44 playable characters within the game, none of them resemble each other at all. You have Kidd, a spunky teenager with skimpy clothes, to Lazzual, who is a green fairy right out of the Wizard of Oz. This type of diversity helps emphasize the type of character each person represents and also adds a bit of the un-ordinary. The only downfall in the graphics department is the sometimes "busy" battle backgrounds which can camouflage your characters. Slowdown is also a problem within CC, but this may be the fault of my mod-chip, so I won't jump to conclusions.

Gameplay: 90%

How can you go wrong with a non-linear plot these days? It seems that more and more people are complaining about the solitary feel in recent RPGs such as FF8. I mean, if you lack control over your characters, how can you "role-play". Chrono Cross gives you the control which most people desire, but doesn't throw away the keys like SaGa Frontier either. You have the freedom to choose your path throughout the game and even which characters you pick up. An example of this takes place at the beginning of the game. Kidd, a main character, much like Rinoa in FF8, can be dropped completely for a different character, depending on if you refuse her or not. If you do refuse her, most of the story's underlining events change, leaving a completely different experience. Further on in the game, you have 3 choices of party members, each with their own intentions. Depending on your choice, you will have different events coming your way during your quest involving the chosen characters. This type of freedom plays out to the end of CC.

*note: you can actually see your enemies, and try to avoid them.

The battle system in Chrono Cross is very unique to say the least. It isn't turn based, or active battle, neither does it contain any MP. Before you start yelling at Square for their dumb ideas, "lend an ear to this". When a battle starts, an element grid is displayed at the top of the screen, showing you the elements that are presently active during the battle. When you cast a spell, the color of the spell is added to the end of the grid. In total, there are 3 slots, and when you first cast a spell, lets say of the color red, the red element goes at the end of the grid, which has the lowest value. When you cast a green spell, the green element is added to the end, and the red is pushed into the middle of the grid, displaying medium damage. How does this affect the game? Well, depending on how much red, blue, black, etc. you have on the grid, the more or less damage you will do when you use the specific element. However, you have to consider the enemies' weaknesses, and not only the grid. This type of system can add a little bit of frustration at first, hence the 90% mark, but when practiced the element grid battle system adds TONS of strategy and gets you to play, instead of using tons of high power GF's. To attack, you simply choose light, medium, or heavy attack. Each one takes up a certain amount of stamina points. (Stamina points are like MP, but also apply to how many times you can attack). This type of attacking system is similar to Xenogears and Legend of Legeia, in that you can string together many attacks. There is no MP, so how does magic work? Simple enough, you equip magic! However, don't go thinking that it is anything like FF7, because it isn't. You equip magic on a grid that is labeled horizontally by level. Confused? Have a look below:

Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1

Xxxxx

Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx

The x'ed boxes don't exist, so ignore them. The free box's can be equipped with magic spells like iceberg, water gun, etc. During battle, each time you hit someone, you waste a stamina point or 2 or 3. Each time you connect a hit on someone, you raise the level on your element grid, depending on the level of the attack (light, medium, heavy). Therefore you start at 0, and when you connect a heavy attack, you will be moved up to level 3 on the grid. From there, you can use Level 3 and lower spells that where previously equipped on the grid. The higher the level, the stronger the spell, but it is important to consider speed sometimes and put higher end spells at the bottom for less damage, but faster results. Again, strategy is key.

The major downfall in the gameplay department is the learning curve of the above system, and the sometimes-frustrating battles, which can take a long time to complete.

Music: 100%

I can't say I have ever heard anything as beautiful as the music in CC, its simple incredible. If you ever wanted to escape back into the 16-bit era, with all of those traditional tunes, here is your chance. The music in CC will remind you of the golden age of RPG gaming, back when music was pleasant and catchy. Although of the midi format, the sound engine used to perform this music must have been top-notch, because at times I am sure I head real instruments. What can I say, perfect composition, perfect sound, perfect quality. 100%

Control: 98%

The battle, and main menu's are easy to navigate, even in Japanese, lol! With this said, the only reason I don't give the control a prefect score is solely due to some of the slow down which occurs. However, this may be the result of my mod-chip, so I can't say for sure.

Story: N/A

I could rate the story, I have passed the game and all, but I don't think it would be fair. I have no knowledge of the Japanese language, and what I have pieced together isn't even close to the full story, so NA will have to do. However, from what I have gathered from FAQ's, FMV's, and raw gameplay events, the story is heavily related to Chrono Trigger (rejoice), and contains many interesting plot twists, and mind bogglers. Get ready for something to rival that of Xenogears!

Overall: 95%

No game is truly perfect, no matter how much you like it. Chrono Cross is near perfection, bogged down by things that are limited by the system. As it is, CC is a miracle on the Sony Playstation. The graphics, and Sound, and the sheer amount of gameplay crammed on 2 CDs is something to go home talking about. If it isn't the RPG of 2000, it will be because of DQ7 and FF9, and the crowd which follow each. To everyone else, enjoy the best!