Welcome to “Gaming Memories,” a blog series where I reminisce about my favorite video games. I will slowly but surely get to every game on the list, and speak to why each holds a special place in my heart. That not only means I’ll talk about why I think each is a great game that speaks to my tastes, but also where and how it affected me in a larger context. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading.

SPOILER WARNING: This blog contains spoilers for Chrono Cross.

In one world, Fargo is a proud and feared pirate captain. In the other, he is a cheater at his own casino. In one world, Gogh is a painter following his dreams but living in poverty. In the other, he is a successful trader, but neglects his son in favor of his business. In one world, the hydra marshes were pillaged for resources and destroyed. In the other, they still cling to life. In one world, various characters may be alive or dead, be dealing with profound guilt or grief, or embark on daring quests. In the other, it could all be the complete opposite.

One of my favorite things about Chrono Cross is how its two parallel dimensions present two wholly different, yet equally viable timelines for the world and those who inhabit it. And by letting you explore both of them, you get to see firsthand the many points where they diverge. These differences can range from very personal ones, such as Gogh’s life choices mentioned above, to world-spanning consequences, such as the fate of the hydra marshes, and seeing it all side by side leads to many poignant, thoughtful moments. It’s a highly effective way to present one of Chrono Cross’ central themes: any choice made, at any point in time, nudges the flow of time towards one of seemingly infinite possible futures. We often talk about choices in video games, but that usually refers to the explicit choices made by the player. Chrono Cross has those choices, but is more interested in portraying the larger web of cause and effect that results from the collective choices of everyone. It's a sobering and real meditation on our place in the world, and proves to be a fascinating narrative structure that got me to reflect on my own position in life as much as any game has. It also justifies its comically large cast of characters (45 total playable ones) better than it should. Many of them end up in different places between the two worlds, and seeing two different sides of them can be mesmerizing. Through their personal stories, Chrono Cross regularly highlights just how far our choices can ripple.

Chrono Cross had some lofty narrative ambitions, and for me it worked; I enjoyed pondering its existential ramifications, and felt it all fit with the rest of the game. And while it received some flak for being too divergent from its esteemed predecessor, Chrono Trigger, I always felt Cross’ premise of parallel dimensions was the perfect way to follow up Trigger's time-hopping adventure. Where Trigger was about exploring the flow of time along a straight line as you moved forwards and backwards through it, Cross was about exploring time as it branched into multiple parallel lines. It evolved and supplemented Trigger's themes without repeating them, which, to me, gave Cross its own identity while still showing clear connective tissue. One thing Cross clearly retained, however, was the same high bar of audiovisual quality Trigger was known for. Lush environments, a bright color palette, and smooth animations brought the world and its characters to life, and its soundtrack is regularly cited among gaming's best. It's easily one of my personal favorites too, as its simple instrumentation and soothing tones were not only exceptionally beautiful, but they captured the game's somber and contemplative nature perfectly. From sweeping cinematic movements, to mellow overworld melodies, to cultural town themes, to heartfelt story codas, Chrono Cross' soundtrack grabbed me in a way that so few have. It's one I still listen to regularly today, and I hold it as dear as any video game soundtrack.

In addition to its strong narrative, large cast of characters, and stellar audiovisual presentation, Chrono Cross was simply a fun game to play for numerous reasons. It contained a lot of flavor and personality, such as the way many characters had quirky, endearing speech patterns. It handled its large cast smartly, such as how all characters, not just the ones you used, leveled up after every boss battle. It contained many of the quality of life features fans appreciated from Chrono Trigger, such as being able to see enemies on the overworld before engaging in combat, and then added many more of its own, such as the the ability to automatically use any available magic to heal after battles. Your choices throughout the game could branch the story in cool ways that lead to different items or characters, which, along with its new game plus feature and many different endings, afforded tons of replay value. Last but not least, I enjoyed Chrono Cross’ combat. While not all that complex, the stamina system was more nuanced than the combat of many JRPGs of the time, and also a clever way to balance the use of powerful magic. I also enjoyed the contrasting effectiveness of the six magic elements, and the way those elements tied into the game’s “true” ending was surprisingly touching. It’s those subtle touches that made all the difference in Chrono Cross, and it had a lot of them.

Upon its release in 2000, Chrono Cross had a lot to live up to. It came out at a time when JRPGs were at their peak, from a company that had been on a roll for years, and was a sequel to one of the most beloved games ever made. Yet Chrono Cross carved its own path to create a memorable experience unlike any that came before it. Its thoughtful narrative, fun characters, gorgeous art, legendary soundtrack, and countless smart touches made for a game I couldn't stop thinking about, one that became a part of me in a way few games have. It's the exact kind of artistic expression I love this medium for, and I'm happy I got to experience it in this timeline.

I played Cross before Trigger and prefer it. The combat system is so fun, and the amount of stuff to find (characters, side stories, endings) kept me playing for months. I remember family coming into the room and thinking I was watching a cartoon with the amazing art all over that game. And the story is complex and can be hard to follow, but I still remember it to this day.

Trigger's great, too, but I feel like too many folks gave the sequel a hard time because it was so different.

And the soundtrack is classic. One of the best of the era.

Chrono Trigger is a near perfect execution of what it tries to do, but I don't think anything it does is nearly as interesting as the themes and mechanics that Cross explores. Even if it stumbles a little more often, I've always been far more enraptured by Cross. Even the most controversial parts, where they basically straight up kill off Triggers main characters, is ballsy as fuck, and I can't help but applaud the willingness to take that kind of risk with a story. I can't imagine any sequel to a beloved game doing that these days, especially from Square.

And the soundtrack is still one of the best of all time. "Dream of a Shore Bordering Another World" is something I still occasionally pull up on Youtube and get completely lost in.

@csl316: I always wondered how Cross would have been viewed had it not been in the same franchise/universe as Trigger, but rather its own standalone game. It was very different, and at the time people wanted to make the comparison, and judged it for being different. But I often liked it for its differences, not in spite of them. And I agree about the visuals, soundtrack, combat, story, etc.

@zeik: That's always been more or less my take. The execution of Cross may not always be "perfect." But it's still extremely good, and much more unique and willing to take risks than Trigger, which I found pretty straightforward by comparison. Cross is definitely ballsy, like you say, haha. Trigger is also a very good game, but I agree it's not nearly as interesting to me as Cross.

Chrono Cross is a nearly perfect game. I loved the visuals, music, combat, storytelling - everything. (although sadly I think I've forgotten most of what happens in the story.)

The music is what has stuck with me the most. It has to be one of the greatest video game soundtracks ever produced. This live orchestra version always gives me chills.

I ultimately prefer Chrono Trigger (by a lot, even) as a game but I have a much softer spot in my heart for Chrono Cross because I played it first. Chrono Trigger was something like $80 when I was a kid, and I mostly rented games in the 90s so I tried not to waste a rental on games I heard were too long to play most of in a single weekend (Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy VIII and Legend of Dragoon are the only RPGs I specifically remember renting) no matter how much praise they received. By the time Chrono Cross came along though I was old enough to have started negotiating games for grades whenever Toys R Us held a Buy 1 Get 1, and something about the language gimmick really caught my attention so I tied it to Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 for my birthday that year.

I probably played CC through four or five times during middle/high school, with the only rule being I had to recruit Glenn. If I didn't get Glenn through forgetfulness or laziness, I'd immediately dump the save.

@nodima: Thanks for sharing this story. Our experiences around the games we play I think can affect our memory of them as much as anything. That's worth remembering.

And, I mean, Glenn's pretty cool too :)

I still remember playing this day-in and day-out with my cousin throughout one summer break. It's so damn good.

I was fairly young at the time so I didn't really know what Chrono Trigger was. After I got a bit older I was shocked to see the opinions of this and Chrono Trigger. I just couldn't understand how people could dislike this game. It was my favorite JRPG of the 90s.

Guess I'm fortunate to have gone into the game naive and blind.

Nah that's for the best, you remember all of the things that are still great.

From the perspective of someone who only played a dozen-ish hours of it around 2013, Chrono Cross has always struck me as being an example of “peak” PS1 SquareSoft with all the good and bad that implies. It’s startlingly ambitious, looks amazing for the console it’s on, and has a fantastic soundtrack. It also throws Chrono Trigger under the bus in a really weird way, doesn’t necessarily flesh out its large cast outside of some very “90s localization” accents, and has combat mechanics that mostly seem to exist for their own sake. I liked what I played of it, but I also didn’t get to where the story starts to get weird.

That’s not exactly a controversial opinion, admittedly. Chrono Cross has something of a reputation these days, and I think folks who are more positive on it like you tend to be in the minority. Thanks for the write-up. I enjoyed reading it.

@arbitrarywater: I actually feel like the general opinion of Cross has improved quite a bit over the years. I remember back in the day you were practically a pariah for liking, much less favoring, Cross. But in recent years I've noticed a lot more people speaking highly of Cross.

I'm sure Trigger fans are still the majority, but enough years have passed I think both the fervor for Trigger and the resentment for Cross has died down. More people seem to be accepting Cross for what it is, rather than existing in a perpetual comparison to Trigger.

@zeik: That's fair. I've definitely noticed a lot more Chrono Cross positivity over the last few years than I did when I played it. It's a supremely weird game that has the misfortune of trying to follow up the single most lauded JRPG of the 16-bit era, and it doesn't really nail everything that it tries to accomplish.

Honestly, reading this blog has almost made me want to give it another shot, but then I remember that I already half like half a dozen various JRPGs from different eras floating vaguely in my backlog, so I should probably play at least one of: Trails in the Sky/Trails of Cold Steel/Vagrant Story/Suikoden 1 and 2/Tales of Vesperia before I go back to Chrono Cross (or, as what happened recently, spend a little too much time staring at eBay prices for the Shadow Hearts and Xenosaga series and almost clicking the "Buy it Now" button)

I really ought to revisit Cross and maybe finally finish it. I pre-ordered it on release and got maybe 10 hours in, but lost steam. It seemed a bit overwhelming with the divergent plot paths, multiple playthroughs, and tons of characters to recruit, but it really does seem like something unique and special, even if it doesn't always execute every part perfectly.