Komatsu
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General Information
Developers: Square Enix, D4 Enterprise
Publishers: Square Enix
Release Date: April 7th, 2022
Price: $19.99
Platforms: PC, Switch, XB1, PS4
Genre: RPG
Before getting down to business, let us first acknowledge that this game features greatest opening song of all time:
Developers: Square Enix, D4 Enterprise
Publishers: Square Enix
Release Date: April 7th, 2022
Price: $19.99
Platforms: PC, Switch, XB1, PS4
Genre: RPG
Before getting down to business, let us first acknowledge that this game features greatest opening song of all time:
The Director
Chrono Cross was written and directed by Masato Kato, who was one of the co-writers for Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII and, earlier in his career, the main artist for TECMO's Ninja Gaiden series. Cross was the only game Kato directed while at Square. A sequel that expands upon and subverts many of the story beats of the original game, Cross was met with both critical acclaim and derision. It got a 36/40 score at Famitsu, a 98% by EGM and a whopping 10 out of 10 by Gamespot (at the time only the third game ever to net a perfect score) but was derided by sectors of the fan base for being too far a departure from the original game.
The Music
Yasunori Mitsuda, Trigger's main composer and a personal friend of Kato, returned and wrote what is recognized even by the game's bitterest detractors as one of the greatest game soundtracks of all time. It has been performed by world-class orchestras in Europe and Japan, and been extensively covered by indie ensembles in over fifty countries. Accounting for what was one of the most stressful periods in Mitsuda's life, many of the tracks were composed while he locked himself away - he alleges that more than one of the signature songs came to him in his sleep.
The Artist
Abandoning the Dragon Ball-esque art of Toriyama, Kato chose Nobuteru Yuuki, the artist behind anime classics such as Record of Lodoss War as the lead character designer and artist for Cross. Adopting a more mature style so as to jive better with the game's darker tone. After concluding his work for Cross, Yuuki went on to design/animate many other classics in the industry, such as the remake of Space Battleship Yamato.
The Plot
The game begins with Serge located in El Nido, a tropical archipelago inhabited by ancient natives, mainland colonists, and beings called Demi-humans. Serge slips into an alternate dimension in which he drowned on the beach ten years prior, and meets the thief, "Kid". As his adventure proceeds from here, Serge is able to recruit a multitude of allies to his cause. While assisting Kid in a heist at Viper Manor to steal the Frozen Flame, he learns that ten years before the present, the universe split into two dimensions—one in which Serge lived, and one in which he perished. Through Kid's Astral Amulet charm, Serge travels between the dimensions. At Fort Dragonia, with the use of a Dragonian artifact called the Dragon Tear, Lynx switches bodies with Serge. Unaware of the switch, Kid confides in Lynx, who stabs her as the real Serge helplessly watches. Lynx boasts of his victory and banishes Serge to a strange realm called the Temporal Vortex. He takes Kid under his wing, brainwashing her to believe the real Serge (in Lynx's body) is her enemy. Serge escapes with help from Harle, although his new body turns him into a stranger in his own world, with all the allies he had gained up to that point abandoning him due to his new appearance. Discovering that his new body prevents him from traveling across the dimensions, he sets out to regain his former body and learn more of the universal split that occurred ten years earlier, gaining a new band of allies along the way. [FROM WIKIPEDIA]
The Battle System
The Element system of Chrono Cross handles all magic, consumable items, and character-specific abilities. Elements unleash magic effects upon the enemy or party and must be equipped for use, much like the materia of 1997's Final Fantasy VII. Elements can be purchased from shops or found in treasure chests littered throughout areas. Once acquired, they are allocated to a grid whose size and shape are unique to each character. They are ranked according to eight tiers; certain high level Elements can only be assigned on equivalent tiers in a character's grid. As the game progresses, the grid expands, allowing more Elements to be equipped and higher tiers to be accessed. Elements are divided into six paired oppositional types, or "colors," each with a natural effect. Red (fire/magma) opposes Blue (water/ice), Green (wind/flora) opposes Yellow (earth/lightning), and White (light/cosmos) opposes Black (darkness/gravity).Each character and enemy has an innate color, enhancing the power of using same-color Elements while also making them weak against elements of the opposite color. Chrono Cross also features a "field effect", which keeps track of Element color used in the upper corner of the battle screen. If the field is purely one color, characters are able to unleash a powerful summon element at the cost of one of the player's stars. The field will also enhance the power of Elements of the colors present, while weakening Elements of the opposite colors. Characters also innately learn some special techniques ("Techs") that are unique to each character but otherwise act like Elements. Like Chrono Trigger, characters can combine certain Techs to make more powerful Double or Triple Techs. Consumable Elements may be used to restore hit points or heal status ailments during or after battle.
Another innovative aspect of Chrono Cross is its stamina bar. At the beginning of a battle, each character has seven points of stamina. When a character attacks or uses an Element, stamina is decreased proportionally to the potency of the attack. Stamina slowly recovers when the character defends or when other characters perform actions in battle. Characters with stamina below one point must wait to take action. Use of an Element reduces the user's stamina bar by seven stamina points; this often means that the user's stamina gauge falls into the negative and the character must wait longer than usual to recover. With each battle, players can enhance statistics such as strength and defense. However, no system of experience points exists; after four or five upgrades, statistics remain static until players defeat a boss. This adds a star to a running count shown on the status screen, which allows for another few rounds of statistical increases. Players can equip characters with weapons, armor, helmets, and accessories for use in battle; for example, the "Power Seal" upgrades attack power. Items and equipment may be purchased or found on field maps, often in treasure chests. Unlike Elements, weapons and armor cannot merely be purchased with money; instead, the player must obtain base materials—such as copper, bronze, or bone—for a blacksmith to forge for a fee. The items can later be disassembled into their original components at no cost.
What is New
◆ 3D models converted to HD
◆ Refined character illustrations
◆ Higher-quality background music
◆ Switch enemy encounters on or off
◆ Background filter feature
◆ Battle enhancement features to make combat easier
◆ Auto-battle function
◆ Switch between imitation pixel font and HD font
◆ Change screen resolution
Media
◆ 3D models converted to HD
◆ Refined character illustrations
◆ Higher-quality background music
◆ Switch enemy encounters on or off
◆ Background filter feature
◆ Battle enhancement features to make combat easier
◆ Auto-battle function
◆ Switch between imitation pixel font and HD font
◆ Change screen resolution
Media
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