In terms of JRPGs, there is no denying that Chrono Trigger is a classic. This game has remained a favorite among fans of the 16-bit period. Hundreds of developers were influenced by this work, and Chrono and the company's exploits are fondly remembered. Almost 30 years after its publication, we still retain the same impression. Despite the tremendous reaction in Japan, where more than two million copies of this episode had been sold by 1995, there was no immediate urge to develop a sequel as one would expect.

In the end, Masato Kato, who worked as a writer on this masterpiece, assumed control of the series, leading to two unconventional sequels. Improvements and enhancements were made for the Nintendo DS version of Chrono Trigger in 2008, the most prominent of which was a new closing sequence that better connects the game to its successors. Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, a remastered combination of Radical Dreamers – Le Trésor Interdit and Chrono Cross, has just been released in 2022 to much fanfare.

Fans have eagerly anticipated the Radical Dreamers Edition remake of Chrono Cross. This one stands out from the rest of the remasters we've seen. As a starting point, it's perhaps one of the greatest JRPGs of all time, and then the attention to detail in its revamped art and soundtrack, with Nobuteru Yuki returning to work on the character designs. Bonus features enhance the lives of gamers in every way possible. We're also getting the Masato Kato-penned Radical Dreamers: Le Tresor Interdit in the United States and Canada for the first time. The outcome? In addition to being a delight to play on the Switch, Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is culturally and historically significant.

Chrono Cross narrates the tale of Serge, a young man who lives in a quiet fishing village in El Nido. He is abruptly dragged by a strange event while staring at the horizon with his childhood friend Leena on the beach. But when he wakes up in the same area, no one in his village recognizes him, and worse; Serge finds himself dead for ten years on the new planet where he arrived. Serge goes on an adventure and explores the realm, which remains similar to his, to figure out what happened to him.

Throughout the storyline, Serge interacts with many characters offering thoughts on the passage of time and the trail left behind. The Nintendo Switch advancements are immediately noticeable from the very beginning of the game. You can play the game in classic or modern graphical style, speeding up or slowing downtime and changing the screen resolution, among other options. As the title of the game implies, this version also includes The Radical Dreamers, a text-based adventure that Square Enix initially launched in 1996 for the Satellaview.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a game where I spent a lot of my first hour running around and trying to adjust myself to its somewhat hefty gameplay mechanism.  The fighting system does not have a built-in tutorial, and if you don't talk to everyone on your first visit to Arni Village, you may easily miss out on learning the basics. If you haven't already, I strongly advise you to speak with Arni and learn all you can about attacking and elements.

Once the fighting system is understood, everything else becomes much more exciting. Additionally, there is the potential to go to a parallel universe. The fact that there are two dimensions and many alternatives is often mentioned. After a certain point in the tale, you can travel between their homeworld and other dimensions to achieve primary and secondary objectives. This also applies to the Teleporter device, which enables you to summon members of your party at saved locations or on the global map.

Everything continues to function as it has in the past for Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition’s gameplay. As mentioned, several individuals will come across your path as you go on your quest. Many of them will even accompany you on your journey. This implies that talking to everyone and doing research is essential. Even if you don't have a pressing reason to travel someplace, stopping by the location may discover a hidden treasure.

Take, for example, your first few minutes in Arni, which are somewhat memorable. If you go around to everyone's house and look around, you will uncover two objects that will help you recruit characters. Introducing one of them to a character before you walk out to gather Komodo scales ensures that Serge will not be alone for long once you return. It is a rewarding method that aids in encouraging the player to meet everyone and glance in all directions. Consequently, I've always thought that Chrono Cross is more participatory than your usual JRPG game.

Additionally, the fighting system requires more planning than a turn-based RPG. Characters can be equipped with items that enable them to use the tech before going into battle. Stars that grant new abilities can be acquired as you beat bosses. It's necessary to string together strikes of varying power levels to take advantage of these special powers. There is a probability for each of them to hit. Generally speaking, the weakest assaults have a 90% likelihood of success, while the strongest ones have a 70% chance of success. All three kinds of assaults get more accurate as you combine them. The once-per-battle tech may be used if you have built up enough energy.

The combat mechanism is a unique combination of Final Fantasy VIII and early Pokémon games. Spells can be purchased or collected and assigned to anybody. They may be utilized once every fight and only when the player has connected enough melee attacks to employ that element level. Additionally, each character has three distinct techniques that they can unlock and execute, and each character, enemy, and monster have one of six color attributes assigned to them. It isn't straightforward and not particularly simple to understand, especially for newcomers.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition continues to forge its path by eschewing the leveling system in favor of its own. Rather than gaining experience via random encounters, players obtain stat boosts and level up only after defeating a significant boss. As a result, players can only reach roughly level 50 on their first playthrough; however, completionists will want to restart the game. Regrettably, even though the fighting system has a lot of promise, there is a lot of input delay when picking attacks. I was always scared that I might accidentally hit the incorrect button out of annoyance while pounding the A button repeatedly.

Due to its nature, the gameplay is confined to reading reams of conversation and making choices that affect the players' path through combat and exploration. However, unlike other games in the genre, which might seem like trial-and-error experiences, you must pick the proper answer to proceed. This may require you to visit several areas, solve riddles, and sometimes battle enemies. The progression is comparable to that of a classic Resident Evil, emphasizing revisiting specific locations to trigger a switch or discover a clue that will advance you.

The story is well-written, and in certain portions, it has the feel of a mystery novel with thriller elements, which is aided by Yasunori Mitsuda's new compositions. While the central narrative is well-constructed, it is not flawless. The narrative has several factors contributing to its being vague at various points. The structure of walking through an old mansion becomes exhausting quickly, especially when attempting to reach a specific point, and the puzzling architecture of the place makes it very easy to become disoriented.

One of the most significant enhancements is the return of the original character designer, Nobuteru Yuki, who has redrawn every character picture in his modern setting. Neither of the characters has been redesigned; they have just been redrawn. I believe I favored each of the updated portraits above the original version of each of the portraits. They're crisper, more expressive, and have richer color palettes than previous models.

Some people seem better due to the revisions, with Kid's new image being a significant improvement. I'm not sure what happened to her initial conversation image, but I'm relieved it has been corrected. In the past, one of Cross' most compelling selling points has been its aesthetic appeal, which can be appreciated today more than ever before. Naturally, this is somewhat subjective, but the revised look seems to work rather well for me.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition has some of the finest music ever heard in a Japanese role-playing game. The CC soundtrack, composed by the great Yasunori Mitsuda, is a unique fusion of musical styles, genres, and inspirations that is impossible to categorize. While not every component of Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition has aged as gracefully as a fine wine, the soundtrack is a work of art in its own right. This version of the game also includes The Radical Dreamers, a text adventure that takes place before the events of Chrono Cross for those who are diehard fans of the series. Even for fans who purchased the original game, this section of CC was nearly unplayable; as a result, it is a tremendous addition to the experience and provides additional dimensions to numerous crucial characters.

However, despite my general dissatisfaction with the button lag and overall performance of Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, I believe that this is an excellent opportunity for vintage JRPG enthusiasts to experience this treasure without hunting down a PS1 copy. Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition does an excellent job of presenting to a new audience a period in Square Enix history that many may have forgotten. It achieves this by including two fantastic games in one package. However, there is little doubt that it might have been better as a remaster.
 

Asura Kagawa (@AsuraKagawa)
Editor, NoobFeed