In Defense of Those Hesitant to buy Chrono Cross

by Trav

As for my alignment on the issue? Well, I am not sure... while I am convinced it will be a good game in its own right, I'm not entirely sold on the premise that it will be the sequel that I and countless other Chronotaku have been waiting for.

Now, before I get dozens of flame mail saying "YOU DON"T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED IT YET, LIGHTEN UP WILL YA?" I will state that this point is correct. I have not played it yet, and I have gone from what scant previews I have been able to see, and from a friend of mine who imported it. He is one of those who made fun of me for my apprehension, and chided me for being reluctant to accept it as a true sequel. I have seen people in this community do the same thing, and it kind of ticks me off, because many of these people being chided, I can relate to.

Don't get me wrong now. I love 3d as much as the next guy. I think 3d is wonderful, and I don't associate myself with anyone who uses "2d WOULD LOOK SO MUCH BETTER!!!" as a platform from which to bash Chrono Chross. I will say this, though: I would have preferred lush, 2d sprites with Akira Toriyama-style Character Designs. Why? Am I sprite-Nazi? No, I'm not. In fact, I will take in the beautiful visuals of Chrono Cross with pleasure. I mean, if they're not going to go for what I wished for, they'd darned well better be able to produce something else that looks great- something they have succeeded in doing in almost every aspect (if you must know, though, I am a Cola-Nazi.) But this is another factor that may make me consider it as a good game with a few references to Chrono Trigger, rather than a true sequel (for the sake of spoiling, I won't reveal some of the references made... let's just say you'll recognize a few of the bosses).

On the subject of character design, let me add that I was disappointed that they couldn't get Akira Toriyama to do the art this time around. I'm no Dragon Ball loyalist, but his art in Chrono Trigger really contributed to the feel of the game (in fact, I bought the strategy guide because a friend told me it had more drawings of the characters in it). I don't know about the rest of you, but it really reached out to me. It helped to combine a serious, solid RPG quest, a good dose of both Fantasy and Science Fiction, some very interesting twists (time travel, anyone?), and a heaping helping of the sort of humor and lightheartedness we've come to expect from this man. But once again, the art in Chrono Cross is very enjoyable, and pleasing to the eye. I may even buy the strategy guide if it has lots of drawings and computer-generated art. Once again though, it could cause the game to lose some of the feel of the original.

I have seen samples of the battles and field scenes, and I must say that they are both impressive and immersive, something Chrono Trigger accomplished with ease. This factor will make for a great game, and if it helps capture the feel of its predecessor, more power to Square.

The last items to consider are the storyline, and the overall presentation of the game. These things are hard to judge without actually playing a localized version of the game, and so I will leave it to these items to be the decisive factors in judging this game. Will it be a great game with a lot of Chrono Trigger references? Or will the storyline and presentation of this game carry it even further, allowing the game to be a worthy sequel, albeit with a freshly original graphical style, and new gameplay? If it manages to become the latter, rather than the former, then I will write an editorial taking back all my criticisms, and calling them minor complaints at best. If it is the former, I might write a follow up that simply says "I rest my case".