Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition Review – Amazing Game but a Subpar Remaster

The February 2022 Nintendo direct hit us at the beginning of this year and I was very excited to see that Chrono Cross was getting a remaster. Chrono Cross is a game set after the events of Chrono Trigger. It had positive critic reviews but users were not too sure about it at the time. Most were hoping for more Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross is definitely not Chrono Trigger, but this new title likely isn’t what they thought it would be. While Chrono Trigger was a masterpiece and a very highly rated game of its time, Chrono Cross was an innovative title of a game focusing on world-hopping rather than time hopping. Does it still hold up to our standards of today?

Game Name: Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition
Platform(s): PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch(Reviewed), Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, PC
Publisher(s): Square Enix
Developer(s): Square Enix
Release Date: April 8th, 2022
Price: $19.99

This game is the definition of a mixed bag. Frame stutters everywhere, inconsistent use of the new features, and inconsistent objects are upscaled for better resolutions. It is almost better to play with the classic graphics for a solid 30 fps experience, at least I thought so. Some of the features get barred in certain areas. Speed up and slow down don’t always work on every map or encounters.

Luckily, you can skip cutscenes if you want to since you can’t really speed through them otherwise. When the upscaled graphics look good, they look gorgeous. Mostly character models are the main use that works well. Every character model in this game looks fantastic in comparison to the rest of what gets upscaled. The FMVs are very inconsistent. Some are still stuck at the original 420p resolution, while others have been upscaled to 1080p – it’s a mess.

The game itself is still fantastic. I loved going back and getting into the world with Serge and Kid and the other characters that I loved in Chrono Cross, like Harle, Orhla, Norris, Karsh, and of course, Glen. 

Alternating Realities 

This game has a lot of elements to it. Let’s talk about the most exciting part of it first, the combat. You choose three characters in your party from a decent-sized cast. They have innate elements that signify which elements their special attacks are as well as what field effect element benefits them the most. You have a Stamina bar that gets reduced with each attack you do, but each attack that lands increases your element level. When your element level reaches a certain point, you can use element magic or element technique. The level of the element magic used will decrease the element level you just amassed. For example, Serge attacks three times and lands all three hits; he now is at element level 3. You can use any element magic or technique you have equipped on him that is level 3 or below. Serge uses fireball at level 1. It makes his element level now at 2. When it becomes his turn again you can attack or use element magic or technique from level 2 or below. The element of the skill fireball now increases the field effect to a fire portion. 

Field effects help navigate the flow of battle. Serge’s innate element is White. If you use a white element it affects the field and places white around the field for the enemies and your allies. If you use enough white element magic or techniques, you can cover the whole field in white as its effect. If the field effect is fully white, it enhances Serge’s attacks and his white element abilities. All enemies that have the opposite innate element of Black now have reduced damage and take increased damage. It is important that you control the field effects because otherwise, the enemy can take advantage of their constant elements. It seems confusing at first, but once you get it down, it’s easier than it sounds.

One of the best features of Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is the system of your choices determines the party members you have access to. This means in order to get the full cast of characters at your disposal, you will have to do multiple playthroughs. My initial playthrough was around 24ish hours, and it requires about three playthroughs in order to get every single character in your party. Luckily you don’t really need to grind experience points; you grind Gil (In-game money) and elements in order to build your character the best you need to. To completely grind the party system requires about 70 hours or so of playtime if you really need that completionist box ticked. That is if you know what you are doing. I still remember a lot of what I did to beat the game when it first came out though it requires a lot of paying attention to dialogue in order to move forward in the game.

Home World

The story is pretty interesting to discuss. In Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, you assume the role of Serge. While doing his normal activities of trying to go around his hometown of Arni Village with Leena, he naps on a nearby beach. When he wakes up, he discovers he has entered a world where he died in a disaster ten years prior. Nobody believes he is Serge except for a mystery woman named Kid and an army who is given the task of killing a ghost, with Serge being that ghost. He now has to travel around this alternate world to make his way back to the world where he came from. You get a lot of choices in the beginning, determining how you get to the homeworld and even if you want to go back in the first place. 

With a huge cast, there are bound to be a few standouts. Luckily for me, I enjoyed a lot of the characters in this game and being able to utilize any character once you grab them and not needing to have characters forced into your party aside from the main character gives you a lot of time to appreciate the characters this game has to offer. It is true that of all the characters, Serge, Kid, Lynx, and Harle get the most attention. That didn’t make me not appreciate characters like Glen, Orhla, Norris, Nikki, and Riddel, who are still strong characters in their own right. There were some great changes in the quality of life improvement department. Such as being able to snag the teleporter to switch characters whenever you wanted to, the speed-up option that allows you to grind out battles quickly, and the smart battle option to speed through annoying encounters.

Radical Dreamers

Something we did not get here on the west side of the world was the game Radical Dreamers. This told the story of Serge and Kid before the events and times of Chrono Cross. This game was mainly a choose your own adventure text-based game. It is an interesting addition and, honestly, one of the best reasons to get this game. You get to see some of the characters in Chrono Cross and the concept of alternate realities that change based on your choices.

Worth it?

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a mixed bag since it shouldn’t take so many resources to get this port to run. It seems this is an emulated port rather than a native port to take advantage of the superior resources that these current consoles have available. There is absolutely no reason that a PS5 or Xbox Series x should struggle to maintain a 30fps stability on a game from 22 years ago.

I wish that this game was optimized better since it is a fantastic game with so much depth put into its combat, story, and the element systems. If you’re wondering which system this game would perform better on, I’d say stick with either the PC or Nintendo Switch versions. Since the Nintendo Switch version already is lower scaled, it actually maintains stability more often than the other consoles and is one of the reasons why I decided to go for the Switch version. Otherwise, get it on PC and wait for the community to give us some mods to help maintain the stability and enhance the game further. I love this game and it is one of my absolute favorite JRPGs of all time. Give yourself a chance to experience this game. 

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Review Disclosure Statement: Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition was purchased by The Outerhaven for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please go review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.

Affiliate Link Disclosure: One or more of the links above contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission should you click through and purchase the item.