Chrono Cross - Release and Reception

Release and Reception

Chrono Cross shipped 850,000 and 650,000 units in Japan and abroad respectively. It was re-released once in the United States as a Greatest Hits title and again as part of the Japanese Ultimate Hits series. Square announced in December 2010 that Chrono Cross would be available on the Japanese PlayStation Network, but it has not been announced for North American or PAL region release. Critics praised the game's complex plot, innovative battle system, varied characters, moving score, vibrant graphics, and success in breaking convention with its predecessor. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Chrono Cross a Gold Award, scoring it 10/10/9.5 in their three reviewer format; the first review declared the game to be "a masterpiece, plain and simple". GameSpot awarded the game a perfect 10, one of only seven games in the 40,000 games listed on Gamespot to have been given the score, and its Console Game of the Year Award for 2000. IGN gave the game a score of 9.7, and Cross appeared 89th in its 2008 Top 100 games list. Famitsu rated the game 36 out of 40 from four reviewers. As of December 2010, GameRankings rates Chrono Cross at 92.18 percent.

Reviewers felt the game's flaws were its vague ending, confusing plot elements, and narrative pacing problems. Fan reaction was largely positive, though certain fans complained that the game was a far departure from its predecessor, Chrono Trigger; Chrono Cross broke convention by featuring more characters, fewer double and triple techs, fewer instances of time travel, and few appearances of Trigger characters and locations. Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and director Masato Kato were aware of the changes in development, specifically intending to provide an experience different from Chrono Trigger. Kato anticipated and rebuffed this discontent before the game's release, wondering what the Chrono title meant to these fans and whether his messages ever "really got through to them". He continued, "Cross is undoubtedly the highest quality Chrono that we can create right now. (I won't say the 'best' Chrono, but) If you can't accept that, then I'm sorry to say this but I guess your Chrono and my Chrono have taken totally different paths. But I would like to say, thank you for falling in love with Trigger so much." Tanaka added, "Of course, the fans of the original are very important, but what innovation can come about when you're bound to the past? I believe that gameplay should evolve with the hardware."