General Gaming Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition [April 07, 2022]

[Keyser_Soze]

 

"CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION" is a remaster of "CHRONO CROSS", including new features such as 3D models converted to HD, higher-quality background music, and battle enhancement features. Also includes the game that formed the bedrock of the story, "RADICAL DREAMERS - Le Trésor Interdit -"

 

With over 40 party members to meet, people and dimensions will intertwine in this epic drama about the planet itself.

 

CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION is available April 7th on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation® 4, Xbox One and Steam®!

[jaethos]

I remember liking this when it came out. The story has some cool events and twists, while also having some weird nonsense at the core of it. I'm not sure what I think of this. I'll have to wait and see what impressions are like for it.

[XxEvil AshxX]

One of these days Squeenix isn't gonna toss all their source files so they'll actually be able to re-render their backgrounds.

[chakoo]

I hope this gets a physical release like past SE titles. Would love to get this, front mission & liveAlive on a physical cart.

[Xbob42]

A more disappointing "remaster" I could not possibly imagine. When they presented that hyper-compressed 140p FMV like I was supposed to get excited I just sighed. Fucking lazy bullshit.

Why the fuck is Live A Live getting a real, fully remake while Chrono Cross gets the "yo we got an emulator working" treatment?

And my point isn't that Live A Live is bad, it's that it was an SNES game, and SNES games age far, FAR better than PS1 games. Live A Live's original version looks fine. Chrono Cross looks like dog shit. It needed a real remaster. 

[GameDadGrant]

7 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Chrono Cross looks like dog shit. It needed a real remaster. 

 

Or a remake. One with battles that happen quickly and right on the field like its predecessor, at least.

[stepee]

I don’t get why they couldn’t AI upscale all the backgrounds, seems like not something incredibly difficult that is kind of perfect for these ps1 games?

[XxEvil AshxX]

1 hour ago, stepee said:

I don’t get why they couldn’t AI upscale all the backgrounds, seems like not something incredibly difficult that is kind of perfect for these ps1 games?

 

They had parts that were animated. Not sure if it was a fmv or an image sequence but i do remember there being some movement. Kinda like REmake.

[Xbob42]

57 minutes ago, stepee said:

I don’t get why they couldn’t AI upscale all the backgrounds, seems like not something incredibly difficult that is kind of perfect for these ps1 games?

Multibillion dollar company doesn't have the resources to compete with some dudes in their free time 2+ years ago:

 

 

Was really hoping for a full-on remake to be honest. I know it wouldn't be as (over)produced as FF7R, but even the level of Trials of Mana (though perhaps with better art...) would've been awesome. Or maybe some sidemake (Is that a thing?) where they gave it the Octopath/Live A Live treatment. Anything more than just... giving me a PSX emulator with a resolution bump.

 

It's only $20 so they'll still make a sucker out of me with the Steam version, but they could've made a much bigger sucker out of me (and sold the game to a lot more people, I wager) if they did a proper job and charged $50-60.

 

I really, really hope FF9 gets a far bigger and better treatment than this. 3D Square JRPGs from the PS1 era aged like ass in almost every way except music. Controls, map layouts, combat systems, load screens, character models, lack of production (would honestly love to see Chrono Cross with voice acting, and an option to disable it of course, in case it turns out bad) and generally just being really hard to go back to unless you have a lot of nostalgia, and even with nostalgia it can be rough.

 

These games deserve better.

The most bizarre part is still Live A Live.

 

Live A Live looked like this:

 

 

A little strange but perfectly readable. A straight port would be fine.

 

Chrono Cross, on the other hand...

 

 

Game's nothing but weirdly blurry backgrounds and insanely low poly wobbly character models. WHY SQUARE WHY.

(I am still hyped for Live A Live, this wasn't to say it shouldn't have gotten its remake!)

 

[Xbob42]

1 minute ago, XxEvil AshxX said:

 

They had parts that were animated. Not sure if it was a fmv or an image sequence but i do remember there being some movement. Kinda like REmake.

 

FF7's upscaling project also included upscaling all the FMVs. While not perfect, they're absolute masterpieces compared to the original extremely fuzzy and artifacted footage.

 

 

[XxEvil AshxX]

3 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

 

FF7's upscaling project also included upscaling all the FMVs. While not perfect, they're absolute masterpieces compared to the original extremely fuzzy and artifacted footage.

 

 

 

Ah. Well in that case maybe theyre just fuckin lazy.

[ThreePi]

I don't recall the recent Legend of Mana remaster's backgrounds looking all that hot either. Though I'm sure it'll look fine on a smaller screen like a Switch, or say a Steam Deck.

 

It will be interesting because I think a FFIX and maybe FFTactics remake/remaster was also rumored in nVidia leak that Chrono Cross was first mentioned in. So they got two more shots at PSX-era remasters.

[Keyser_Soze]

One of my biggest problems with this game is it had too many characters and the random encounter rate was super hight. Well sounds like the fixed the random battles. But still I got to a point in this game where I didn't know where to go next and stopped playing.

 

In any case I knew the "remaster" would be something along these lines, it was foolish to think anything of a higher caliber would come.

[Fizzzzle]

5 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

 

Why the fuck is Live A Live getting a real, fully remake while Chrono Cross gets the "yo we got an emulator working" treatment?

 

 

I was gonna say I'm pretty sure you could get Chrono Cross looking 5x better just by using ePSXe.

 

Squeenix needs to better prioritize which of their games get actual "remasters," or maybe stop remaking FFIV every 5 years.

[BloodyHell]

Im all in for this. Sure Id hoped for more, but its chrono cross, ill take it.

[Keyser_Soze]

36 minutes ago, Fizzzzle said:

I was gonna say I'm pretty sure you could get Chrono Cross looking 5x better just by using ePSXe.

 

This was a timely bump that addresses both the pre-rendered backgrounds and the FMV thing

 

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Coming Thursday

 

 

[TheLeon]

I’ll buy this, but I’m not super happy about it. 

[Keyser_Soze]

Game Information

Game Title: Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition

Platforms:

• Xbox Series X/S (Apr 7, 2022)
• PlayStation 5 (Apr 7, 2022)
• Xbox One (Apr 7, 2022)
• PlayStation 4 (Apr 7, 2022)
• Nintendo Switch (Apr 7, 2022)
• PC (Apr 7, 2022)
  

Trailer:

Publisher: Square Enix

    Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 77 average - 64% recommended

Critic Reviews

33bits - Jesús Díaz-Suelto Berrueco - Spanish - 80 / 100

CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION could have been much more than ensuring a competent performance at its launch. Today, this being quite annoying, it remains somewhat bittersweet for what is one of the great games of the JRPG genre and of the first PlayStation.

Atomix - Sebastian Quiroz - Spanish - 78 / 100

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition does its job of bringing to life an old public chapter in Square Enix history that many perhaps forgot. However, as a remaster, this collection leaves a lot to be desired.

CGMagazine - Philip Watson - 9 / 10

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a great game with fantastic elements that can entertain players for many hours. A must play for those looking for a new adventure, or just nostalgia upon revisiting a fond memory.

COGconnected - James Paley - 72 / 100

For all the flaws I’ve dragged out, I still love this game. The powerful music, the ethereal visuals, and the fascinating plot all deserve special attention. And yes, there’s a lot of weird, dense mechanics to wade through. But this just requires some patience and planning. To that end, Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition isn’t for everybody. But if you’re looking for a unique 32-bit RPG that will stick with you for years to come? You’ll want to check out Chrono Cross.

Chicas Gamers - Álvaro Bustío - Spanish - Unscored

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition may remind us of remasters that Square-Enix has offered us in the past, such as Final Fantasy VIII or Final Fantasy IX, with almost the same extra options (speed up combat or have certain advantages) and an improvement renders/graphics, and being for the first time arrived to Europe, making it a must have whether you are a fan of the saga or not (especially if you like JRPGs). Apart from enjoying it with such a good facelift and with the extras it brings, you will be able to enjoy "Radical Dreamers" for the first time and get to know that prequel that never left Japan, in addition to the fact that both have been fully translated into Spanish.

Console Creatures - Bobby Pashalidis - Recommended

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition includes quality of life upgrades making this the definitive version, bringing a game that was firmly stuck in the past to a new generation.

Destructoid - Zoey Handley - 6 / 10

Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.

Digitally Downloaded - Matt Sainsbury - 5 / 5

Like the best in literature and the arts, by the time Chrono Cross’ credits roll you’re going to be left in a reflective mood. It’s not just that it’s a very good game – though it is – is also that it’s a probing work of art that asks meaningful questions of the players and respects them enough to allow them to come to their own conclusions about it. This is the first time that we’ve had the opportunity to play the game here in Australia, and it’s telling that this 23-year-old game comes across as one of the most forceful steps forward for games as an art form that we’re going to see this year.

Eurogamer - Edwin Evans-Thirlwell - Recommended

A serviceable restoration of one of the best and strangest games in Squaresoft's back catalogue.

GameGrin - Alana Dunitz - 9 / 10

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a great game for anyone who loves JRPGs or wants to check out Chrono Cross for the first time, or again. The updated graphics and battle mechanics make this worth the lower price tag!

GameSpew - Richard Seagrave - 8 / 10

Some will be disappointed that Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is simply a remaster of one of the best JRPGs of all time rather than a remake, and it’s not the most exhaustive one at that. But still, there’s a great game here, and it’s never looked, sounded or played better. So, while the framerate issues may be irksome, and some aspects of the game aren’t so intuitive by today’s standards, anyone keen on playing – or replaying – a piece of JRPG history would be wise to check Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition out.

GamesHub - Edmond Tran - 3 / 5

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition represents two examples of game preservation with varying results. The sharper, more accessible, but poorer-performing Chrono Cross is both a blessing and a curse. But the debut of an official English translation of Radical Dreamers is a moment to celebrate as a Chrono and video game history fan.

God is a Geek - Lyle Carr - 9.5 / 10

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition brings possibly the best PS1 JRPG to Europe for the first time, and it simply must be played.

Hardcore Gamer - Chris Shive - 4 / 5

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition takes one of the great PlayStation RPGs and makes it available to new and returning fans on modern hardware.

Metro GameCentral - GameCentral - 7 / 10

It hasn't aged particularly well, and there are serious technical issues with the remaster, but the sequel to Chrono Trigger is still one of the original PlayStation's best Japanese role-players.

Nintendo Life - Lowell Bell - 6 / 10

It's a shame that, with the release of Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, we likely won't see a comprehensive remaster or even a full remake of this underrated gem for a long while, leaving us with a somewhat underwhelming version on Switch that isn't much beyond a port. Regardless, the portability of the Nintendo's console and the inclusion of Radical Dreamers still makes this the best and most convenient way for fans and newcomers alike to play the 22-year-old classic and its pseudo-prequel. It's a good game and having easy access to it is a boon - just don't go in with more than modest expectations when it comes to the remaster effort.

NintendoWorldReport - Neal Ronaghan - 9.5 / 10

The speed-up and toggles for enemy encounters and battle boosts were welcome in this playthrough, mostly because I could toy with elements and characters more than I did in the past. While Radical Dreamers isn't much more than an alternate history curiosity, the fact it is actually localized and legitimately available outside of Nintendo's long inactive downloadable Satellaview network is incredible. Chrono Cross is a wonderful game - hands down my favorite PlayStation RPG - and the Radical Dreamers Edition is the best and friendliest way to play it.

PlayStation LifeStyle - Jason Faulkner - 7 / 10

Since there’s no way to get Chrono Cross legally on any platform introduced in the last decade other than The Radical Dreamers Edition, you’ve just got to deal with it. I played it on PS5, and I imagine it’s a similar experience on PS4 and PS4 Pro. However, as much as I love PlayStation, I would buy it for PC. We’ll likely see mods on that platform that will fix the issues with the backgrounds and FMVs. I really hope the poor quality of this remake isn’t indicative of what we can expect from Square Enix in the future.

PlayStation Universe - Timothy Nunes - 7.5 / 10

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition brings a beloved classic to the PlayStation 4, complete with its old pros and cons. Some of the limitations of the first game get washed away with the enhancements and features that come with this release, but they also create a couple of their own. Like a true classic, this edition is not without its issues, but classics have a way of outlasting their criticisms through the eyes of those who experience them.

Press Start - Kieron Verbrugge - 8 / 10

It's far from a best-case port, but Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition serves up a cult classic JRPG that deserves to be appreciated by everyone that hasn't had the legal means before now. The Radical Dreamers part is a very welcome bit of history given some genuine love from Square Enix, too. If you've already smashed out a Chrono Cross replay in the recent past though, you might be okay to skip this package for now.

Push Square - Robert Ramsey - 4 / 10

Parts of Chrono Cross really haven't aged well, but it's still a charming, characterful JRPG that evokes feelings of the genre's golden age on PS1. It's a game that deserves better than The Radical Dreamers Edition, which, at least at launch, is a dreadfully poor remaster. Crippled by frame rate issues, it beggars belief that a title from 1999 could run this badly on modern hardware. Unless you're desperate for the nostalgia, we strongly recommend waiting to see whether Square Enix releases a patch to improve the package on PS4 and PS5 before buying.

RPG Fan - Izzy Parsons - 95%

One of Squaresoft’s finest classics playable on modern hardware and, despite some setbacks, it holds up wonderfully.

RPG Site - Cullen Black - 7 / 10

The Radical Dreamers Edition brings back two classics for the first time since their debut, but the Switch version leaves a lot to be desired.

The Escapist - Marty Sliva - Unscored

Video Review - Quote not available

The Games Machine - Danilo Dellafrana - Italian - 8 / 10

The rating takes into account the absolute and undeniable value of Chrono Cross, an excellent role-playing game that everyone should experience. Unfortunately the operation of "rebirth" is not entirely successful due to some questionable choices, but the inclusion of the elusive Radical Dreamers contributes to a package that – especially at this price – must be a part of the cultural baggage of any fan of JRPG worthy of the name.

Twinfinite - Rebecca Stone - 4 / 5

Chrono Cross stands the test of time, and I implore anyone who enjoyed Chrono Trigger or other 90s JRPGs to give Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition a shot.

Video Chums - A.J. Maciejewski - 7.7 / 10

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition brought back a lot of lovely memories and thankfully, Chrono Cross is still a great RPG all of these years later. The fact that you get an officially translated Radical Dreamers is rather peachy, too.

Wccftech - Kai Powell - 4.5 / 10

Despite being a masterpiece of split universes and the often futile attempts to fight fate, we're living in the timeline where the original source code for Chrono Cross was lost to the scars of time and the remaster that exists in this age wasn't given the focus that one of the greatest JRPGs of all time deserves.

Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus - 8 / 10

Chrono Cross is a weird little JRPG that is arguably hindered by its connection to one of the genre greats. It has a distinctive feel and style, an interesting plot, and the craziest cast of characters you'll ever see in a JRPG. Weak characters and many nagging PS1-era flaws keep it from being a hearty recommendation. If you've passed on Cross because it's not Trigger 2, it's worth a shot, and Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is probably the best way to experience it.

 

[Brian]

[Keyser_Soze]

This one from Playstation Lifestyle sounds like the best advice

 

"Since there’s no way to get Chrono Cross legally on any platform introduced in the last decade other than The Radical Dreamers Edition, you’ve just got to deal with it. I played it on PS5, and I imagine it’s a similar experience on PS4 and PS4 Pro. However, as much as I love PlayStation, I would buy it for PC. We’ll likely see mods on that platform that will fix the issues with the backgrounds and FMVs. I really hope the poor quality of this remake isn’t indicative of what we can expect from Square Enix in the future."

[Paperclyp]

I have a digital PS1 copy for the PS3. 
 

It’s too bad the PS5 isn’t powerful enough to handle PS1 emulation until you subscribe to the PS+ ultra plan. 

[Keyser_Soze]

Watching someone play the Switch version and boy can't believe how rough it runs with like no action on the screen.

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[crispy4000]

On 4/6/2022 at 10:14 AM, Keyser_Soze said:

“I really hope the poor quality of this remake isn’t indicative of what we can expect from Square Enix in the future."

I wonder if people saw the FF8 remaster and actually expected something different.

 

Mods will save the day on PC once again.  The fan upscaled backdrops are amazing.

[Keyser_Soze]

24 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

I wonder if people saw the FF8 remaster and actually expected something different.

 

I pretty much called it when this was first leaked / speculated. I guess some people were expecting better but I think other than FF7R Square has been putting in some low effort into a lot of their games for a while now. And even though FF7R turned out well, you might still consider it low effort to just churn out a game that is only like 1/3 of the game.

 

 

Sounds like even my hopes were too high.

[Paperclyp]

Hey I liked the FF8 remake. 

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, Paperclyp said:

Hey I liked the FF8 remake. 

 

The original remake that they screwed up or the second remake that wasn't as bad but still not very good?

[Paperclyp]

Just now, Keyser_Soze said:

 

The original remake that they screwed up or the second remake that wasn't as bad but still not very good?

Umm whatever one that came out semi-recently with improved character models, speed up, ability to go invincible. 
 

I realize it’s probably lackluster overall but loved having it on my switch and re-experiencing it.

[GameDadGrant]

I'm not too stressed about the visuals (I'm historically not a graphics whore) so mostly I'm just looking forward to playing this with headphones. The gameplay, graphics and storyline can all be debated about...but one thing about this game that is stone-cold classic? The soundtrack. It is absolutely freaking fantastic. If you disagree, I will physically fight you. 

[Keyser_Soze]

7 minutes ago, GameDadGrant said:

I'm not too stressed about the visuals (I'm historically not a graphics whore) so mostly I'm just looking forward to playing this with headphones. The gameplay, graphics and storyline can all be debated about...but one thing about this game that is stone-cold classic? The soundtrack. It is absolutely freaking fantastic. If you disagree, I will physically fight you. 

 

Luckily for you according to that DF video the game runs the best in handheld mode. Any other method and you'll be playing 15 fps game. Even if you're not a graphics whore I would think that would be rough.

[GameDadGrant]

1 minute ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Luckily for you according to that DF video the game runs the best in handheld mode. Any other method and you'll be playing 15 fps game. Even if you're not a graphics whore I would think that would be rough.

 

Bro I played through Street Fighter II on Game Boy. You think 15 fps is gonna phase me? In an RPG? LOL 

[Keyser_Soze]

58 minutes ago, GameDadGrant said:

 

Bro I played through Street Fighter II on Game Boy. You think 15 fps is gonna phase me? In an RPG? LOL 

 

Well I think there's a distinction between not being a graphics whore and having 0 standards.

[GameDadGrant]

2 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Well I think there's a distinction between not being a graphics whore and having 0 standards.

 

You are not wrong! Not applicable here, though! 

[TheLeon]

Once this was officially announced and I had given up my dream of a proper remake, my expectations were fairly low for what they would do with it. I've just played a little on Switch, and it basically looks and plays how I remember it. I scrubbed through that DF video, and at one point they're showing how it can drop to 10 FPS when using spells, and sure, that's bad. But here's my solution to that: let me cut that shit out! The little fast forward option is marginally better than nothing, but the zoom/dissolves in and out of combat, the elaborate spell animations - they are slow as hell, and they get real old real fast, especially now that we've had these fancy 3D graphics for a few decades. It's not impressive any more!