Chrono Cross

1999 · RPG · PlayStation

Overview

Chrono Cross (1999) is Square's PlayStation RPG set in the world of Chrono Trigger, in which Serge moves between two parallel worlds — one where he drowned ten years before.

Deep Dive

Serge, a teenager in the El Nido archipelago, slips into a parallel dimension in which he drowned ten years earlier. With the thief Kid at his side and the shadowy Lynx against him, he looks for the cause of the split between the two worlds, a story centred on the Frozen Flame. There are no random encounters, and the player can flee from any fight. Battles use a stamina bar and an Element system of six opposing colours, 45 characters can be recruited, and New Game+ opens up twelve endings.

Developer Story

Masato Kato directed and wrote the game, with Hiromichi Tanaka producing and Yasunori Mitsuda composing. It was released in Japan on 18 November 1999 and North America in August 2000, and it had sold about 1.5 million copies by 2003. The Radical Dreamers Edition remaster followed in 2022.

Did You Know?

It is an indirect sequel to Chrono Trigger and draws on Radical Dreamers, a text adventure for the Satellaview.
Yasunori Mitsuda's "Scars of Time" topped Hardcore Gaming 101's 2009 poll of the best video game music.
It was never released in Europe.