Chrono Cross - Review @ TSA

[HiddenX]

TSA checked out Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition:

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition Review

Dreaming of a better remaster.

While I was growing up, Chrono Trigger wasn't an SNES game to me, it was a Nintendo DS game. Sure, I'd heard rumblings of the game before , but it wasn't until finding the DS version in the used games section as a teen that I was blown away by the Akira Toriyama art on the cover. Chrono Cross, the spiritual successor that released in 1999, wasn't given the same opportunity... until now.

There have been few ways to officially experience this time-travel RPG epic anywhere beside the original PS1 disc, and the backward compatibility release on PS3 and PS Vita. That's why excitement from longtime fans and general JRPG enthusiasts reached a boiling point when Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition was announced. It's incredible to see this ambitious game available on so many new platforms, but it hurts to realize how rough of a state this new version of the game is in.

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Summary
Chrono Cross is an incredible game that has been deserving a remaster for far too long. It's a shame that, after all these years, it had to arrive in such a sorry state. The Radical Dreamers Edition does some minor work in improving and upgrading the experience, but with such poor optimisation, it's a headache to enjoy the experience. Longtime fans might be able to forgive the issues and savour the incredible visual novel side-story Radical Dreamers, but a game as iconic as this deserves better.

Score: 6/10

More information.

 

[Carnifex]

Yeouch, you never really want to read the word "shame" on a review. Between both current threads about this game I'm going to sit back and see if any potential updates might be coming along to improve, well, lots of things.

 

[dpc76]

One bright bit of news is that the game's assets are presented in such a way that they will be easily accessible for modders. That may result in some modded improvements. It's just sad that Square Enix couldn't be bothered to make these fixes themselves.

 

[Carnifex]

That does speak to the potential being there, dpc76. I'll just have to hope that someone sees it as a challenge and dives in to improve what is already present. And I completely agree that, simply based on what I've read here and in other threads that Square really missed the landing here.

 

[JDR13]

There are numerous old Square titles that would have been more deserving of a remaster imo. Vagrant Story, Parasite Eve, Xenogears... just to name a few.

 

[Carnifex]

Indeed, I'd pony up some bucks for Vagrant Story and Xenogears for sure, among a few others if they ever came to gog/steam. If wishing it only made it so!