Chrono Cross

Hello, I’m the GAYmerOnABudget and before anything, lemme tell you that, for me, this game is unplayable at the moment. And lemme tell you why: This game is rigged with bugs. To the point where you don’t know if you’re stuck, or if the enemy you’re supposed to fight to proceed simply cannot be challenged because the game, somehow, got bored and does not want to work anymore. It simply transported me from a place of love and nostalgia to a place of betrayal, irritation and disappointment.

There is nothing wrong with the story per se, or the characters, or the soundtrack. No, they are great as they always were. The problem lies in the way Square allowed this game to be released. This was supposed to be a remaster, but the quality is of something unfinished. Sorry, but not even my profound love for this game can forgive this clumsiness. There is no excuse for that.

To be honest, this whole business model from Square (and many other companies, btw) is making it hard to trust in the industry. Don’t get me wrong, they delivered gems such as Dragon Quest XI, Triangle Strategy and Strangers in Paradise, but this remaster is brought with the same level of carelessness as the Avengers game.

Many people complained that the Avengers game felt unfinished and were perplexed at how they’d dropped the ball like that. Chrono Cross Remaster gives me this feeling. It is a bitter feeling. It is a nasty feeling. A feeling that no company should cause in their clients, buyers and fans. It is made clear that this “Remaster”, sorry, not remaster, this word cannot be applied here. I’ll reassess.

It is made clear that this version is made to capitalize over the long time fans of this classic. We all knew that. And I hate that this type of behavior is considered the new normal, cuz it clearly should not. It must not be considered the new normal. It pains me when players say “Who cares, later they will patch it.” So what? Am I supposed to keep playing a bug infested game hoping for a patch that “might” come, hopefully, soon? “I play games from Bethesda/EA/Ubisoft/Etc, so I am used to bugs, they don’t bother me.”; “Real gamers / Real fans will persevere”;Well, guess what, Real Gamers / Real Fans shouldn’t settle for mediocrity. First and foremost. If lack of quality doesn’t bother you, then asking for quality shouldn’t bother you either, right? Instead of defending a company that is selling you something incomplete, maybe you shouldn’t even bother with an opinion. If you’re used to being indifferent towards quality, then my rant will be a big “whatever”, cuz you will still pay for mediocrity. So, yeah, “whatever” then. Cute. Maybe this video will be a gigantic “Who cares?!” for you, and that’s fine too.

However, I would like to believe that this is a problem that should be addressed, and not ignored.

What about those who actually care? What about those who actually want a product of quality. Those who don’t think this business model should be the new normal. Those which, in fact, believe it to be something quite disgusting? I’ve seen many reviews, and they all come down to performance issues. Everyone unanimously agrees on the bugs issue, but also unanimously filled with love for this work of art.

Because, at the end of the day, this is what Chrono Cross was, is and will forever be: A proof that videogames are interactive forms of art, capable of moving you to the core, and making your mind go to places that it wouldn’t normally go, allowing you to grasp and glimpse at new experiences in roles that reality would never let you play, be a part of or travel to, but that Director and Writer Masato Kato invites you to explore, artists Yasuyuki Honne and Nobuteru Yuki invite you to see, and composer Yasunori Mitsuda invite you to listen melodies that will embrace and soothe you from the moment you listen to Time’s Scar’s instruments until the end credits of the many different endings.

I love this game unconditionally, but for now, with a broken heart, I will have to give it a 5,5.