Editing Chrono Cross

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Short description|1999 video game}}

{{Infobox video game
| title = Chrono Cross
| image = chronocrossbox.jpg
| caption = North American box art
| developer = [[Square (video game company)|Square]]{{efn|Developed by [[Square Enix#Product development divisions|Product Development Division 3]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ffcompendium.com/h/interview2.shtml |title=Interviews |access-date=March 16, 2010 |quote='''Richard Honeywood:''' From day one. The Product Development Division-3 team and I were just finishing off the North American version of Chrono Cross when talk of making an online version of Final Fantasy first came up. As I had also worked with Division-3 on Xenogears before that as well, it seemed only natural I help them out on their next project... |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213214807/http://ffcompendium.com/h/interview2.shtml |archive-date=February 13, 2009 }}</ref> ''The Radical Dreamers Edition'' co-developed by [[Square Enix]] and D4 Enterprise.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://automaton-media.com/en/news/20220412-11445/|title=Chrono Cross remaster performance issues has the original game's art director perplexed|website=Automation Media|author1=Seiji Narita|author2=Nick Mosier|date=April 12, 2022|access-date=July 12, 2022|archive-date=May 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506171124/https://automaton-media.com/en/news/20220412-11445/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| publisher = '''PlayStation'''{{vgrelease|JP|[[Square (video game company)|Square]]|NA|[[Square (video game company)#Square Electronic Arts|Square Electronic Arts]]}}'''''The Radical Dreamers Edition'''''{{vgrelease|WW|[[Square Enix]]}}
| director = [[Masato Kato]]
| producer = [[Hiromichi Tanaka]]
| designer = Hiromichi Tanaka
| programmer = Kiyoshi Yoshii
| artist = {{ubl|[[Yasuyuki Honne]]|[[Nobuteru Yūki]]}}
| writer = Masato Kato
| composer = [[Yasunori Mitsuda]]
| series = ''[[Chrono (series)|Chrono]]''
| platforms = {{ubl|[[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]]|[[Nintendo Switch]]|[[PlayStation 4]]|[[Windows]]|[[Xbox One]]}}
| released = '''PlayStation'''{{vgrelease|JP|November 18, 1999|NA|August 15, 2000}}'''Nintendo Switch''', '''PlayStation 4''', '''Windows''', '''Xbox One'''{{vgrelease|WW|April 7, 2022}}
| genre = [[Role-playing video game|Role-playing]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
}}

{{nihongo foot|'''''Chrono Cross'''''|クロノ・クロス|Kurono Kurosu|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is a 1999 [[role-playing video game]] developed and published by [[Square (video game company)|Square]] for the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] [[video game console]]. It is set in the same world as ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', which was released in 1995 for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]. ''Chrono Cross'' was designed primarily by scenarist and director [[Masato Kato]], who had help from other designers who also worked on ''Chrono Trigger'', including art director [[Yasuyuki Honne]] and composer [[Yasunori Mitsuda]]. [[Nobuteru Yūki]] designed the [[Characters of Chrono Cross|characters of the game]].

The story of ''Chrono Cross'' focuses on a teenage boy named [[Serge (Chrono Cross)|Serge]] and a theme of [[parallel universe (fiction)|parallel worlds]]. Faced with an alternate reality in which he died as a child, Serge endeavors to discover the truth of the two worlds' divergence. The flashy thief [[Kid (Chrono Cross)|Kid]] and many other characters assist him in his travels around the tropical archipelago El Nido. Struggling to uncover his past and find the mysterious Frozen Flame, Serge is chiefly challenged by [[Lynx (Chrono Cross)|Lynx]], a shadowy antagonist working to apprehend him.

Upon its release in Japan in 1999 and North America in 2000, ''Chrono Cross'' received widespread acclaim, earning a perfect 10.0 score from ''[[GameSpot]]''.<ref name="gamerankings">{{cite web|title=Chrono Cross |url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/196917.asp |publisher=[[GameRankings]] |access-date=July 27, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020052718/http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/196917.asp |archive-date=October 20, 2007 }}</ref><ref name="perfect-10" /> The game shipped {{Nowrap|1.5 million}} copies worldwide by 2003, leading to a Greatest Hits re-release and continued life in Japan as part of the Ultimate Hits series.<ref name="square-sales">{{cite web|date=August 4, 2003 |title=Square Enix IR Roadshow Document |url=http://www.square-enix.com/jp/ir/e/explanatory/download/0404-200308040000-01.pdf |publisher=[[Square Enix]] |access-date=November 24, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060723104903/http://www.square-enix.com/jp/ir/e/explanatory/download/0404-200308040000-01.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2006 }}</ref><ref name="ultimatehits">{{cite web|date=April 28, 2006 |first=Chris |last=Winkler |title=Square Enix Adds 16 to Ultimate Hits Series |url=http://www.rpgfan.com/news/2006/1219.html |publisher=RPGFan |access-date=July 1, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017183611/http://www.rpgfan.com/news/2006/1219.html |archive-date=October 17, 2015 }}</ref> ''Chrono Cross'' was later re-released for the [[PlayStation Network]] in Japan in July 2011, and in North America four months later.<ref name="psnnetwork" /> A remaster of the game, titled {{nihongo foot|'''''Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition'''''|クロノ・クロス ： ラジカル・ドリーマーズ エディション|Kurono Kurosu： Rajikaru Dorīmāzu Edishon|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} was released on April 7, 2022, for [[Nintendo Switch]], [[PlayStation 4]], [[Windows]], and [[Xbox One]].

==Gameplay==
''Chrono Cross'' features standard [[role-playing video game]] gameplay with some differences. Players advance the game by controlling the protagonist Serge through the game's world, primarily by foot and boat. Navigation between areas is conducted via an [[overworld]] map, much like ''Chrono Trigger's'', depicting the landscape from a scaled-down overhead view. Around the island world are villages, outdoor areas, and dungeons, through which the player moves in three dimensions. Locations such as cities and forests are represented by more realistically scaled field maps, in which players can converse with locals to procure items and services, solve puzzles and challenges, or encounter enemies. Like ''Chrono Trigger'', the game features no [[random encounter]]s; enemies are openly visible on field maps or lie in wait to ambush the party.<ref name="perfect-10">{{cite web|date=January 6, 2000 |first=Andrew |last=Vestal |title=GameSpot: Chrono Cross Review |url=http://www.gamespot.com/chrono-cross/ |website=[[GameSpot]] |access-date=January 19, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107112812/http://www.gamespot.com/chrono-cross/ |archive-date=January 7, 2014 }}</ref> Touching the monster switches perspectives to a battle screen, in which players can physically attack, use "Elements", defend, or run away from the enemy. Battles are turn-based, allowing the player unlimited time to select an action from the available menu. For both the playable characters and the computer-controlled enemies, each attack reduces their number of [[hit point]]s (a numerically based [[life bar]]), which can be restored through some Elements. When a playable character loses all hit points, he or she faints. If all the player's characters fall in battle, the game ends and must be restored from a previously saved chapter—except for specific storyline-related battles that allow the player to lose. ''Chrono Cross''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s developers aimed to break new ground in the genre, and the game features several innovations.<ref name="gameprointerview2">{{cite magazine|date=October 17, 2000|title=Interview with Chrono Cross Developers|url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/6764/chrono-cross-development-team-interview-and-contest/|magazine=[[GamePro]]|access-date=July 2, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202153219/http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/6764/chrono-cross-development-team-interview-and-contest/|archive-date=December 2, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="gameprointerview"/> For example, players can run away from all conflicts, including [[boss (video games)|boss]] fights and the final battle.<ref name="perfect-10" />

===Battle and Elements===
[[File:Chronocrossbattlescreenshot.png|left|thumb|In battle, players can attack, use Elements, defend, or run away.|alt=Two characters in foreground in battle poise, menu with "Attack", "Element", "Defend", "Run Away", boxes with health statistics for characters "Serge", "Kid", and "Mel", stone floor, gold robotic enemy facing the characters]]
The Element system of ''Chrono Cross'' handles all magic, consumable items, and character-specific abilities. Elements unleash magic effects upon the enemy or party and must be equipped for use, much like the materia of 1997's ''[[Final Fantasy&nbsp;VII]]''. Elements can be purchased from shops or found in treasure chests littered throughout areas. Once acquired, they are allocated to a grid whose size and shape are unique to each character. They are ranked according to eight tiers; certain high level Elements can only be assigned on equivalent tiers in a character's grid. As the game progresses, the grid expands, allowing more Elements to be equipped and higher tiers to be accessed. Elements are divided into six paired oppositional types, or "colors," each with a natural effect. Red (fire/magma) opposes Blue (water/ice), Green (wind/flora) opposes Yellow (earth/lightning), and White (light/cosmos) opposes Black (darkness/gravity).<ref name="perfect-10" /> Each character and enemy has an innate color, enhancing the power of using same-color Elements while also making them weak against elements of the opposite color. ''Chrono Cross'' also features a "field effect", which keeps track of Element color used in the upper corner of the battle screen. If the field is purely one color, characters are able to unleash a powerful summon element at the cost of one of the player's stars. The field will also enhance the power of Elements of the colors present, while weakening Elements of the opposite colors. Characters also innately learn some special techniques ("Techs") that are unique to each character but otherwise act like Elements. Like ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', characters can combine certain Techs to make more powerful Double or Triple Techs.<ref name="perfect-10" /> Consumable Elements may be used to restore [[hit point]]s or heal [[status ailment]]s during or after battle.<ref name="perfect-10" />

Another innovative aspect of ''Chrono Cross'' is its stamina bar.<ref name="perfect-10" /> At the beginning of a battle, each character has seven points of stamina. When a character attacks or uses an Element, stamina is decreased proportionally to the potency of the attack. Stamina slowly recovers when the character defends or when other characters perform actions in battle. Characters with stamina below one point must wait to take action. Use of an Element reduces the user's stamina bar by seven stamina points; this often means that the user's stamina gauge falls into the negative and the character must wait longer than usual to recover. With each battle, players can enhance [[Attribute (role-playing games)|statistic]]s such as strength and defense. However, no system of [[experience point]]s exists; after four or five upgrades, statistics remain static until players defeat a [[boss (video game)|boss]]. This adds a star to a running count shown on the status screen, which allows for another few rounds of statistical increases.<ref name="perfect-10" /> Players can equip characters with weapons, armor, helmets, and accessories for use in battle; for example, the "Power Seal" upgrades attack power. Items and equipment may be purchased or found on field maps, often in [[Power-up|treasure chests]]. Unlike Elements, weapons and armor cannot merely be purchased with money; instead, the player must obtain base materials—such as copper, bronze, or bone—for a blacksmith to forge for a fee. The items can later be disassembled into their original components at no cost.

===Parallel dimensions===
[[File:Navigatingelnido.png|right|thumb|Players navigate the game's tropical setting by boat.|alt="Home World", an archipelago featuring fishing settlements, a city, and a volcanic mountain range surrounding a stone fort]]
The existence of two major [[parallel universe (fiction)|parallel dimensions]], like time periods in ''Chrono Trigger'', plays a significant role in the game. Players must go back and forth between the worlds to recruit party members, obtain items, and advance the plot. Much of the population of either world have counterparts in the other; some party members can even visit their other versions. The player must often search for items or places found exclusively in one world. Events in one dimension sometimes have an impact in the other—for instance, cooling scorched ground on an island in one world allows vegetation to grow in the other world. This system assists the presentation of certain themes, including the questioning of the importance of one's past decisions and humanity's role in destroying the environment.<ref name="ignreview">{{cite web|date=August 15, 2000 |first=David |last=Zdyrko |title=Chrono Cross Review |url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/162/162503p1.html |website=IGN |access-date=July 24, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060810021705/http://psx.ign.com/articles/162/162503p1.html |archive-date=August 10, 2006 }}</ref> Rounding out the notable facets of ''Chrono Cross''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s gameplay are the [[New Game Plus|New Game+]] option and multiple endings. As in ''Chrono Trigger'', players who have completed the game may choose to start the game over using data from the previous session. Character levels, learned techniques, equipment, and items gathered copy over, while acquired money and some story-related items are discarded. On a New Game+, players can access twelve endings.<ref name="endingcount">{{cite web|year=2005 |title=Chrono Cross Endings |url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Endings_(Chrono_Cross).html |work=Chrono Compendium |access-date=July 24, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615191711/http://chronocompendium.com/Term/Endings_%28Chrono_Cross%29.html |archive-date=June 15, 2006 }}</ref> Scenes viewed depend on players' progress in the game before the final battle, which can be fought at any time in a New Game+ file.

==Plot==

===Characters===
{{main article|Characters of Chrono Cross}}
''Chrono Cross'' features a diverse cast of 45 party members. Each character is outfitted with an innate Element affinity and three unique special abilities that are learned over time. If taken to the world opposite their own, characters react to their counterparts (if available). Many characters tie in to crucial plot events. Since it is impossible to obtain all 45 characters in one playthrough, players must replay the game to witness everything. Through use of the [[New Game Plus|New Game+]] feature, players can ultimately obtain all characters on one save file.

[[Serge (Chrono Cross)|Serge]], the game's protagonist, is a 17-year-old boy who lives in the fishing village of Arni. One day, he slips into an alternate world in which he drowned ten years before. Determined to find the truth behind the incident, he follows a predestined course that leads him to save the world. He is assisted by [[Kid (Chrono Cross)|Kid]], a feisty, skilled thief who seeks the mythical Frozen Flame. Portrayed as willful and [[tomboy]]ish due to her rough, thieving past, she helps Serge sneak into Viper Manor in order to obtain the Frozen Flame. Kid vows to find and defeat [[Lynx (Chrono Cross)|Lynx]], an anthropomorphic panther who burned down her adopted mother's orphanage.

Lynx, a cruel agent of the supercomputer FATE, is bent on finding Serge and using his body as part of a greater plan involving the Frozen Flame. Lynx travels with [[Harle (Chrono Cross)|Harle]], a mysterious, playful girl dressed like a [[harlequin]]. Harle was sent by the Dragon God to shadow Lynx and one day steal the Frozen Flame from Chronopolis, a task she painfully fulfills despite being smitten with Serge.

To accomplish this goal, Harle helps Lynx manipulate the Acacia Dragoons, the powerful militia governing the islands of El Nido. As the Dragoons maintain order, they contend with Fargo, a former Dragoon turned pirate captain who holds a grudge against their leader, General Viper. Though tussling with Serge initially, the Acacia Dragoons—whose ranks include the fierce warriors Karsh, Zoah, Marcy, and Glenn—later assist him when the militaristic nation of Porre invades the archipelago. The invasion brings Norris and Grobyc to the islands, a heartful commander of an elite force and a prototype cyborg soldier, respectively, as they too seek the Frozen Flame.

===Story===
The game begins with Serge located in El Nido, a tropical archipelago inhabited by ancient natives, mainland colonists, and beings called Demi-humans. Serge slips into an [[Parallel universe (fiction)|alternate dimension]] in which he drowned on the beach ten years prior, and meets the thief, "Kid". As his adventure proceeds from here, Serge is able to recruit a multitude of allies to his cause. While assisting Kid in a heist at Viper Manor to steal the Frozen Flame, he learns that ten years before the present, the universe split into two dimensions—one in which Serge lived, and one in which he perished.<ref name="split-dimensions">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|level=Viper Manor|quote= '''Prophet''': In your home world, you survived to live a happy and prosperous life. That is how you made it to the present point in time. However, here in this '"alternate"' world, you are, in fact, very dead and buried. You died 10 years ago, but this world's time line has flowed on regardless.}}</ref> Through Kid's Astral Amulet charm, Serge travels between the dimensions. At Fort Dragonia, with the use of a Dragonian artifact called the Dragon Tear, Lynx switches bodies with Serge. Unaware of the switch, Kid confides in Lynx, who stabs her as the real Serge helplessly watches. Lynx boasts of his victory and banishes Serge to a strange realm called the Temporal Vortex. He takes Kid under his wing, brainwashing her to believe the real Serge (in Lynx's body) is her enemy. Serge escapes with help from [[Harle (Chrono Cross)|Harle]], although his new body turns him into a stranger in his own world, with all the allies he had gained up to that point abandoning him due to his new appearance. Discovering that his new body prevents him from traveling across the dimensions, he sets out to regain his former body and learn more of the universal split that occurred ten years earlier, gaining a new band of allies along the way. He travels to a forbidden lagoon known as the Dead Sea—a wasteland frozen in time, dotted with futuristic ruins.<ref name="dead-sea">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform= PlayStation|level=Dead Sea|quote='''Member''': The waves are at a standstill&nbsp;... And&nbsp;... What is that dark shadow in the distance&nbsp;...?}}</ref> At the center, he locates a man named Miguel and presumably ''Home'' world's Frozen Flame. Charged with guarding the Dead Sea by an entity named FATE, Miguel and three visions of [[Crono (Chrono Trigger)|Crono]], [[Marle (Chrono Trigger)|Marle]], and [[Lucca Ashtear|Lucca]] from ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' explain that Serge's existence dooms ''Home'' world's future to destruction at the hands of Lavos. To prevent Serge from obtaining the Frozen Flame, FATE destroys the Dead Sea.

Able to return to ''Another'' world, Serge allies with the Acacia Dragoons against Porre and locates that dimension's Dragon Tear, allowing him to return to his human form. He then enters the Sea of Eden, ''Another'' world's physical equivalent of the Dead Sea, finding a temporal research facility from the distant future called Chronopolis. Lynx and Kid are inside; Serge defeats Lynx and the supercomputer FATE, allowing the six Dragons of El Nido to steal the Frozen Flame and retire to Terra Tower, a massive structure raised from the sea floor. Kid falls into a coma, and Harle bids the party goodbye to fly with the Dragons. Serge regroups his party and tends to Kid, who remains comatose. Continuing his adventure, he obtains and cleanses the corrupted Masamune sword from ''Chrono Trigger''. He then uses the Dragon relics and shards of the Dragon Tears to create the mythic Element Chrono Cross. The spiritual power of the Masamune later allows him to lift Kid from her coma. At Terra Tower, the prophet of time, revealed to be Belthasar from ''Chrono Trigger'', visits him with visions of Crono, Marle, and Lucca. Serge learns that the time research facility Chronopolis created El Nido thousands of years ago after a catastrophic experimental failure drew it to the past.<ref name="remodeling">{{cite video game |title=Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|level=Chronopolis|quote='''Ghost''': Originally, El Nido was nothing but ocean. The El Nido Archipelago is purely artificial, created by FATE. It was a remodeling plan that took place 10,000 years ago.}}</ref> The introduction of a temporally foreign object in history caused the planet to pull in a counterbalance from a different dimension.<ref name="dinopolis">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher= Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|quote='''Kid''': Perhaps our planet beckoned Dinopolis into the past&nbsp;... maybe as a measure against Chronopolis and humanity.|level=Chronopolis}}</ref> This was Dinopolis, a city of Dragonians—parallel universe descendants of ''Chrono Trigger''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Reptites. The institutions warred and Chronopolis subjugated the Dragonians. Humans captured their chief creation—the Dragon God, an entity capable of controlling nature.

Chronopolis divided this entity into six pieces and created an Elements system. FATE then [[terraforming|terraformed]] an archipelago, erased the memories of most of Chronopolis's staff, and sent them to inhabit and populate its new paradise.<ref name="population">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation| level=Chronopolis|quote='''Ghost''': The research center staff, who had their memories of the future erased, left the center, and began a life outside amidst nature. This is how FATE's paradise came into existence.}}</ref> Thousands of years later, a panther demon attacked a three-year-old Serge. His father took him to find assistance at Marbule, but Serge's boat blew off course due to a raging magnetic storm caused by [[Schala]]. Schala, the princess of the Kingdom of Zeal, had long ago accidentally fallen to a place known as the Darkness Beyond Time and began merging with Lavos, the chief antagonist of ''Chrono Trigger''.<ref name="schala-banishment">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher= Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|level=Opassa Beach|quote='''Lucca''': Princess Schala was sucked into a dimensional vortex with the Lavos Mammon Machine. Schala and Lavos became unified into one even more powerful entity that would evolve into the Devourer of Time.}}</ref> Schala's storm nullified Chronopolis's defenses and allowed Serge to contact the Frozen Flame; approaching it healed Serge but corrupted his father, turning him into Lynx.<ref name="magnetic-storm-healing">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Cross| developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|level=Opassa Beach|quote='''Lucca''': Led by the pitiful crying the young Serge made as the panther demon's poison took hold of him&nbsp;... Princess Schala traveled ten thousand years in time to make contact with this dimension! This caused a raging magnetic storm that resulted in FATE's system malfunction, which led Serge to the Frozen Flame.}}</ref> A circuit in Chronopolis then designated Serge "Arbiter", simultaneously preventing FATE from using the Frozen Flame by extension. The Dragons were aware of this situation, creating a seventh Dragon under the storm's cover named Harle, who manipulated Lynx to  steal the Frozen Flame for the Dragons.<ref name="harle-birth">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|level=Opassa Beach|quote= '''Crono''': In the meantime, the six Dragons had sent Harle forth to gain possession of the Flame. Harle made contact with FATE's biological incarnation, Lynx, and tricked him into temporarily joining forces.}}</ref>

After Serge returned home, FATE sent Lynx to kill Serge, hoping that it would release the Arbiter lock. Ten years after Serge drowned, the thief Kid—presumably on Belthasar's orders—went back in time to save Serge and split the dimensions. FATE, locked out of the Frozen Flame again, knew that Serge would one day cross to ''Another'' world and prepared to apprehend him.<ref name="cross-prediction">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|level= Opassa Beach|quote='''Crono''': You see, FATE calculated that you would one day cross the dimensions and try to make contact with the Flame.}}</ref> Lynx switched bodies with Serge to dupe the biological check of Chronopolis on the Frozen Flame. Belthasar then reveals that these events were part of a plan he had orchestrated named Project Kid. Serge continues to the top of Terra Tower and defeats the Dragon God. Continuing to the beach where the split in dimensions had occurred, Serge finds apparitions of Crono, Marle, and Lucca once more. They reveal that Belthasar's plan was to empower Serge to free Schala from melding with Lavos, lest they evolve into the "Time Devourer", a creature capable of destroying [[spacetime]].<ref name="quest-purpose">{{cite video game| title=Chrono Cross|developer =Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|quote='''Lucca''': And now, about '"Project Kid"'... the time control project Belthasar planned out. The whole project existed to lead you to this one, special point in time! The founding of Chronopolis, the Time Crash, and the battle between FATE and the Dragon Gods&nbsp;... It was all coordinated so that you would get your hands on the Chrono Cross and come to this place!|level=Opassa Beach}}</ref> [[Lucca Ashtear|Lucca]] explains that Kid is Schala's clone, sent to the modern age to take part in Project Kid.<ref name="daughter-clone">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|quote= '''Lucca''': Before the destructive mind-set could become dominant, she cloned herself and sent her copy into this dimension&nbsp;... That's right&nbsp;... Kid is Schala's daughter-clone!|level=Opassa Beach}}</ref><ref name="chrono-cross-use">{{cite video game|title =Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|level=Opassa Beach|quote='''Crono''': The Chrono Cross&nbsp;... It alone can combine the sounds of the planet that the six types of Elements produce! The melody and harmony that brim within all life-forms&nbsp;... Use the '"song of life"' to heal her enmity and suffering&nbsp;... We entreat you, Serge! Please save Schala&nbsp;...}}</ref> Serge uses a Time Egg—given to him by Belthasar—to enter the Darkness Beyond Time and vanquish the Time Devourer, separating Schala from Lavos and restoring the dimensions to one. Thankful, Schala muses on evolution and the struggle of life and returns Serge to his home, noting that he will forget the entire adventure. She then seemingly records the experience in her diary, noting she will always be searching for Serge in this life and beyond, signing the entry as Schala "Kid" Zeal, implying that she and Kid have merged and became whole again. A wedding photo of Kid and an obscured male sits on the diary's desk. Scenes then depict a real-life Kid searching for someone in a modern city, intending to make players entertain the possibility that their own Kid is searching for them. The ambiguous ending leaves the events of the characters' lives following the game up to interpretation.<ref name="cross-resolutions">{{cite web|year=2006 |title=Chrono Cross Resolutions |url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Chrono_Cross_Resolutions |work=Chrono Compendium |access-date=July 24, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928004143/http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Chrono_Cross_Resolutions |archive-date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref>

===Relation to ''Radical Dreamers''===
''Chrono Cross'' employs story arcs, characters, and themes from ''[[Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki|Radical Dreamers]]'', a [[Satellaview]] side story to ''Chrono Trigger'' released in Japan. ''Radical Dreamers'' is an illustrated [[Interactive fiction|text adventure]] which was created to wrap up an unresolved plot line of ''Chrono Trigger''.<ref name="weeklyfamitsu">{{cite web|year=1999 |title=Weekly Famitsu: Interview with Chrono Cross Developers |url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Weekly_Famitsu.html |publisher=[[Enterbrain, Inc.]] and [[Tokuma Shoten]] |access-date=July 1, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721173402/http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Weekly_Famitsu.html |archive-date=July 21, 2006 }}</ref> Though it borrows from ''Radical Dreamers'' in its exposition, ''Chrono Cross'' is not a [[Video game remake|remake]] of ''Radical Dreamers'', but a larger effort to fulfill that game's purpose; the plots of the games are irreconcilable.<ref name="weeklyfamitsu" /> To resolve continuity issues and acknowledge ''Radical Dreamers'', the developers of ''Chrono Cross'' suggested the game happened in a parallel [[dimension]].<ref name="radical-continuity">{{cite video game|title= Chrono Cross|developer=Square|publisher=Square|date=August 15, 2000|platform=PlayStation|level=Chronopolis|quote='''Kid''': Kid: Radical Dreamers&nbsp;...!? And me name's on here, too! What the bloody hell is goin' on?<br />'''Kid''':&nbsp;... This seems to be an archive from a different time than our own. / '''Kid''': Aside from the two worlds we already know about&nbsp;... there may be other worlds and times which exist&nbsp;...}}</ref> A notable difference between the two games is that [[Magil|Magus]]—present in ''Radical Dreamers'' as Gil—is absent from ''Chrono Cross''. Director Masato Kato originally planned for Magus to appear in disguise as Guile, but scrapped the idea due to plot difficulties.<ref name="weeklyfamitsu" /> Kato specifically felt that the game's large number of characters, as well as the difficult production schedule, did not allow him to develop the relationship between Magus and Kid.<ref name="mastiempo">{{cite book|title=Más Allá del Tiempo|publisher=Héroes de Papel|isbn=978-8494288166|language=es|date=December 1, 2015|pages=253}} [https://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/2015_-_Masato_Kato,_by_Mariela_Gonzalez.html Translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803113132/https://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/2015_-_Masato_Kato,_by_Mariela_Gonzalez.html |date=August 3, 2021 }}</ref> In the DS version of ''Chrono Trigger'', Kato teases the possibility of an amnesiac Magus.<ref name="magusdsending">{{cite video game|title=Chrono Trigger|developer=Square Enix|publisher=Square Enix|date=November 25, 2008|platform=Nintendo DS|level=Twilight Grotto|quote='''Magus''': Hmph. If this is to be the way of things, then let me abandon all that was and fade away as well. Should a part of me somehow even then remain, then perhaps that will be the birth of something new—something with greater meaning than all this. / '''Magus''': Who&nbsp;... who am I? What's happened? I&nbsp;... I don't remember anything. There was something&nbsp;... something I needed to do. Something I needed to&nbsp;... to find. / '''Magus''': I must find a way to remember. I will. }}</ref>

==Development==
Square began planning ''Chrono Cross'' immediately after the release of ''[[Xenogears]]'' in 1998 (which itself was originally conceived as a sequel to the SNES game).<ref name="xenogearslink">{{cite web| date=June 28, 2003 |author=Tetsuya Takahashi|title=Xenosaga Creators Talk|url=http://www.playstation.jp/psstyle/talk/02/02.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030814044553/http://www.playstation.jp/psstyle/talk/02/02.html|archive-date=August 14, 2003|website=Playstation.jp| access-date=November 19, 2022}}</ref> ''Chrono Trigger''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s scenario director [[Masato Kato]] had brainstormed ideas for a sequel as early as 1996, following the release of ''[[Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki|Radical Dreamers]]''.<ref name="kato-acknowledgment" /> Square's managers selected a team, appointed [[Hiromichi Tanaka]] producer, and asked Kato to direct and develop a new ''[[Chrono (series)|Chrono]]'' game in the spirit of ''[[Radical Dreamers]]''.<ref name="ultimania">{{cite book|year=1999 |title=Chrono Cross Ultimania |url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Supporting_Material_Translation.html#Developer_Interviews |pages=478–481 |language=ja |publisher=Square Enix |isbn=4-925075-73-X |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119231921/http://chronocompendium.com/Term/Supporting_Material_Translation.html |archive-date=November 19, 2010 }}</ref> Kato thought ''Dreamers'' was released in a "half-finished state", and wanted to continue the story of the character Kid.<ref name="crossost" /> Kato and Tanaka decided to produce an indirect sequel. They acknowledged that Square would soon re-release ''Chrono Trigger'' as part of ''[[Final Fantasy Chronicles]]'', which would give players a chance to catch up on the story of ''Trigger'' before playing ''Cross''. Kato thought that using a different setting and cast for ''Chrono Cross'' would allow players unfamiliar with ''Chrono Trigger'' to play ''Cross'' without becoming confused.<ref name="ultimania" /> The ''Chrono Cross'' team decided against integrating heavy use of [[time travel]] into the game, as they thought it would be "rehashing and cranking up the volume of the last game".<ref name="ultimania" /> Masato Kato cited the belief, "there's no use in making something similar to before {{sic}}",<ref name="kato-acknowledgment" /> and noted, "we're not so weak nor cheap as to try to make something exactly the same as ''Trigger''&nbsp;... Accordingly, ''Chrono Cross'' is not ''Chrono Trigger 2''. It doesn't simply follow on from ''Trigger'', but is another, different ''Chrono'' that interlaces with ''Trigger''."<ref name="crossost" /> Kato and Tanaka further explained their intentions after the game's release:

[[File:Tanaka.jpg|right|thumb|Hiromichi Tanaka, producer|alt=A Japanese man with left-parted hair, a brown leather jacket, and a blue shirt]]
{{blockquote|We didn't want to directly extend ''Chrono Trigger'' into a sequel, but create a new ''Chrono'' with links to the original.<ref name="weeklyfamitsu" /> Yes, the platform changed; and yes, there were many parts that changed dramatically from the previous work. But in my view, the whole point in making ''Chrono Cross'' was to make a new ''Chrono'' with the best available skills and technologies of today. I never had any intentions of just taking the system from ''Trigger'' and moving it onto the PlayStation console. That's why I believe that ''Cross'' is ''Cross'', and NOT ''Trigger 2''.<ref name="kato-acknowledgment" />|Masato Kato}}

{{blockquote|When creating a series, one method is to carry over a basic system, improving upon it as the series progresses, but our stance has been to create a completely new and different world from the ground up, and to restructure the former style. Therefore, ''Chrono Cross'' is not a sequel to ''Chrono Trigger''. Had it been, it would have been called ''Chrono Trigger 2''. Our main objective for ''Chrono Cross'' was to share a little bit of the ''Chrono Trigger'' worldview, while creating a completely different game as a means of providing new entertainment to the player. This is mainly due to the transition in platform generation from the SNES to the PS. The method I mentioned above, about improving upon a basic system, has inefficiencies, in that it's impossible to maximize the console's performance as the console continues to make improvements in leaps and bounds. Although essentially an RPG, at its core, it is a computer game, and I believe that games should be expressed with a close connection to the console's performance. Therefore, in regards to game development, our goal has always been to "express the game utilizing the maximum performance of the console at that time." I strongly believe that anything created in this way will continue to be innovative.<ref name="gameprointerview2" />|Hiromichi Tanaka}}

Full production began on ''Chrono Cross'' in mid-1998.<ref name="gameprointerview"/> The ''Chrono Cross'' team reached 80 members at its peak, with additional personnel of 10–20 cut-scene artists and 100 quality assurance testers.<ref name="gameprointerview" /> The team felt pressure to live up to the work of ''Chrono Trigger''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "Dream Team" development group, which included famous Japanese [[Mangaka|manga artist]] [[Akira Toriyama]].<ref name="weeklyfamitsu" /> Kato and Tanaka hired [[Nobuteru Yūki]] for character design and [[Yasuyuki Honne]] for art direction and concept art.<ref>{{cite video game |title=Chrono Cross |developer=[[Square (video game company)|Square Co., Ltd.]] |publisher=Square Co., Ltd. |date=November 18, 1999 |language=ja}}</ref> The event team originally envisioned a short game, and planned a system by which players would befriend any person in a town for alliance in battle.<ref name="ultimania" /> Developers brainstormed traits and archetypes during the character-creation process, originally planning 64 characters with unique endings that could vary in three different ways per character.<ref name="gameprointerview" /><ref name="ultimania" /> Kato described the character creation process: "Take Pierre, for example: we started off by saying we wanted a wacko fake hero like Tata from ''Trigger''. We also said things like 'we need at least one powerful mom', 'no way we're gonna go without a twisted brat', and so on so forth."<ref name="gameprointerview" />

As production continued, the length of ''Cross'' increased, leading the event team to reduce the number of characters to 45 and scrap most of the alternate endings.<ref name="ultimania" /> Developers humorously named the character Pip "Tsumaru" in Japanese (which means "packed") as a pun on their attempts to pack as much content into the game as possible.<ref name="ultimania" /> To avoid the burden of writing unique, accented dialogue for several characters, team member Kiyoshi Yoshii coded a system that produces accents by modifying basic text for certain characters.<ref name="gameprofaninterview2">{{cite magazine|date=October 17, 2000|title=Chrono Cross – GamePro.com Interview, Fan Questions Part 2|url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/6883/chrono-cross-gamepro-com-interview-fan-questions-part-2/|magazine=[[GamePro]]|access-date=July 2, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202152414/http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/6883/chrono-cross-gamepro-com-interview-fan-questions-part-2/|archive-date=December 2, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Art director Nobuteru Yuuki initially wanted the characters to appear in a more ''[[Chibi (term)|chibi]]'' format with diminutive proportions.<ref name="missingpiece" /> The game world's fusion of high technology and ethnic, tribal atmospheres proved challenging at first.<ref name="missingpiece" /> He later recalled striving to harmonize the time period's level of technology, especially as reflected in characters' garb.<ref name="missingpiece">{{cite book|year=1999 |title=Chrono Cross Missing Piece |url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Supporting_Material_Translation.html#Missing_Piece |language=ja |publisher=Square Enix |isbn=4925075721 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119231921/http://chronocompendium.com/Term/Supporting_Material_Translation.html |archive-date=November 19, 2010 }}</ref> The demands of the art style led to Square merging the ''Final Fantasy VIII'' team into that of ''Chrono Cross'' two months before the Japanese release.<ref name="yoshiyukimiyagawa">{{cite web|title=Yoshiyuki Miyagawa – Reasons for supplementing graphics development |url=http://hotmiyacchi.hatenablog.com/entry/20111202/1322819155 |access-date=May 30, 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530004437/http://hotmiyacchi.hatenablog.com/entry/20111202/1322819155 |archive-date=May 30, 2020 }}</ref>

The ''Chrono Cross'' team devised an original battle system using a stamina bar and Elements.<ref name="gameprointerview2" /> Kato planned the system around allowing players to avoid repetitive gameplay (also known as "[[grinding (gaming)|grinding]]") to gain combat experience.<ref name="weeklyfamitsu" /> Elements were developed while planning the final battle (during which a sequence of specific Elements must be triggered), and then applied in reverse to the rest of the game.<ref name="rdeditionqanda">{{cite web|date=May 3, 2022|title=Chrono Cross Q&A|url=https://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/May_2022_-_Chrono_Cross_Radical_Dreamers_Edition_Questions_and_Answers.html|website=Twitter|access-date=November 14, 2022|archive-date=November 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115025937/https://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/May_2022_-_Chrono_Cross_Radical_Dreamers_Edition_Questions_and_Answers.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Hiromichi Tanaka likened the Elements system to card games, hoping players would feel a sense of complete control in battle.<ref name="weeklyfamitsu" /> The team programmed each battle motion manually instead of performing motion capture.<ref name="ultimania" /> Developers strove to include [[tongue-in-cheek]] humor in the battle system's techniques and animations to distance the game from the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise.<ref name="ultimania" /> Masato Kato planned for the game's setting to feature a small archipelago, for fear that players would become confused traveling in large areas with respect to parallel worlds.<ref name="gameprointerview" /> He hoped El Nido would still impart a sense of grand scale, and the development team pushed hardware limitations in creating the game's world.<ref name="gameprointerview" /> To create field maps, the team modeled locations in 3D, then chose the best angle for 2D rendering.<ref name="ultimania" /> The programmers of ''Chrono Cross'' did not use any existing Square programs or routines to code the game, instead writing new, proprietary systems.<ref name="gameprofaninterview2" /> Other innovations included variable-[[frame rate]] code for fast-forward and slow-motion gameplay (awarded as a bonus for completing the game) and a "CD-read swap" system to allow quick data retrieval.<ref name="gameprointerview" />

Masato Kato directed and wrote the main story, leaving sub-plots and minor character events to other staff.<ref name="gameprointerview" /> The event team sometimes struggled to mesh their work on the plot due to the complexity of the parallel worlds concept.<ref name="ultimania" /> Masato Kato confirmed that ''Cross'' featured a central theme of parallel worlds, as well as the fate of Schala, which he was previously unable to expound upon in ''Chrono Trigger''. Concerning the ending sequences showing Kid searching for someone in a modern city, he hoped to make players realize that alternate futures and possibilities may exist in their own lives, and that this realization would "not&nbsp;... stop with the game".<ref name="ultimania" /> He later added, "Paraphrasing one novelist's favorite words, what's important is not the message or theme, but how it is portrayed as a game. Even in Cross, it was intentionally made so that the most important question was left unanswered."<ref name="gameprointerview" /> Kato described the finished story as "ole' boy-meets-girl type of story" with sometimes-shocking twists.<ref name="kato-acknowledgment" /> Kato rode his motorcycle to relieve the stress of the game's release schedule.<ref name="crossost" /> He continued refining event data during the final stages of development while the rest of the team undertook debugging and quality control work.<ref name="crossost" /> Square advertised the game by releasing a short demo of the first chapter with purchases of ''[[Legend of Mana]]''.<ref name="crossdemo">{{cite web|title=Chrono Cross Demo |url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Chrono_Cross_Demo.html |access-date=August 10, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201062354/http://chronocompendium.com/Term/Chrono_Cross_Demo.html |archive-date=February 1, 2009 }}</ref> The North American version of ''Cross'' required three months of translation and two months of debugging before release.<ref name="gameprointerview2" /> [[Richard Honeywood]] translated, working with Kato to rewrite certain dialogue for ease of comprehension in English.<ref name="edgemagazine">{{cite web| date=February 2006 |title=Edge Online: Q&A – Square Enix's Richard Honeywood|url=http://www.edge-online.co.uk/archives/2006/02/qa_square_enixs_1.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517012317/http://www.edge-online.co.uk/archives/2006/02/qa_square_enixs_1.php|archive-date=May 17, 2006|work=Edge Online| access-date=August 14, 2006}}</ref> He also added instances of wordplay and alliteration to compensate for difficult Japanese jokes.<ref name="edgemagazine" /> To streamline translation for all 45 playable characters, Honeywood created his own version of the accent generator which needed to be more robust than the simple verbal tics of the Japanese cast.<ref name="localization">{{cite web |work=1UP.com |date=April 28, 2011 |access-date=October 8, 2013 |author=Fenlon, Wesley |title=The Rise of Squaresoft Localization |url=http://www.1up.com/features/squaresoft-localization |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525140009/http://www.1up.com/features/squaresoft-localization |archive-date=May 25, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although the trademark ''Chrono Cross'' was registered in the European Union, the game was not released in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chrono Cross|url=https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/#basic/1+1+1+1/100+100+100+100/Chrono%20Cross|publisher=EUIPO}}</ref>

After the game was done, the team was merged with those behind ''[[Parasite Eve II]]'', ''[[Brave Fencer Musashi]]'' and ''[[Mana (series)|Mana]]'' to make ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://we-are-vanadiel.finalfantasyxi.com/post/?id=381&lang=en|title=Naoki Yoshida Part 2|department=WE DISCUSS VANA'DIEL #10|work=FINAL FANTASY XI – WE ARE VANA'DIEL 20th Anniversary Commemorative Website|publisher=Square Enix|date=May 30, 2022|access-date=June 27, 2022|archive-date=June 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627043514/https://we-are-vanadiel.finalfantasyxi.com/post/?id=381&lang=en|url-status=live}}</ref> The programming for the game endured as the basis for the engine of ''Final Fantasy XI''.<ref name="yoshiyukimiyagawa" />

===Music===
{{main article|Music of Chrono Cross}}
{{listen
|filename=dreamtimedreams.ogg
|title="Dreams of the Ages"
|description=A 30-second sample of "Dreams of the Ages", illustrating the use in the game's music of melodies established in [[Radical Dreamers]].
}}

''Chrono Cross'' was scored by freelance video game music composer [[Yasunori Mitsuda]], who previously worked on ''Chrono Trigger''. Director Masato Kato personally commissioned Mitsuda's involvement, citing a need for the "Chrono sound".<ref name="kato-acknowledgment" /><ref name="ultimania" /> Kato envisioned a "Southeast Asian feel, mixed with the foreign tastes and the tones of countries such as [[Greece]]"; Mitsuda centered his work around [[old world]] cultural influences, including [[Mediterranean]], [[Fado]], [[Celtic music|Celtic]], and percussive [[Music of Africa|African]] music.<ref name="kato-acknowledgment" /><ref name="crossost">{{Cite AV media notes |title=Chrono Cross Original Soundtrack |last=Mitsuda |first=Yasunori |url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Music_(Chrono_Cross) |date=December 18, 1999 |access-date=March 16, 2021 |publisher=DigiCube}}</ref> Mitsuda cited visual inspiration for songs: "All of my subjects are taken from scenery. I love artwork."<ref name="gameprointerview">{{cite magazine |date=October 17, 2000 |title=Chrono Cross Development Team Interview Part 2 |url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/6757/chrono-cross-development-team-interview-part-2/ |magazine=[[GamePro]] |access-date=July 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202151359/http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/6757/chrono-cross-development-team-interview-part-2/ |archive-date=December 2, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> To complement the theme of parallel worlds, he gave ''Another'' and ''Home'' respectively dark and bright moods, and hoped players would feel the emotions of "'burning soul,' 'lonely world,' and 'unforgettable memories'".<ref name="ultimania" /> Mitsuda and Kato planned music samples and sound effects with the philosophy of "a few sounds with a lot of content".<ref name="weeklyfamitsu" />

''[[Xenogears]]'' contributor [[Tomohiko Kira]] played guitar on the beginning and ending themes. [[Noriko Mitose]], as selected by Masato Kato, sang the ending song—"Radical Dreamers – The Unstolen Jewel".<ref name="ultimania" /> [[Ryo Yamazaki]], a [[synthesizer programmer]] for [[Square Enix]], helped Mitsuda transfer his ideas to the PlayStation's sound capabilities; Mitsuda was happy to accomplish even half of what he envisioned.<ref name="crossost" /> Certain songs were ported from the score of ''[[Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki|Radical Dreamers]]'', such as "Gale", "Frozen Flame", and "Viper Mansion". Other entries in the soundtrack contain [[leitmotif]]s from ''Chrono Trigger'' and ''Radical Dreamers''.<ref name="ultimania" /> The melody of "Far Promise ~ Dream Shore" features prominently in "Dreams of the Ages" and "Sailing (Another World)".<ref name="ultimania" /> Masato Kato faced internal opposition in hiring Noriko Mitose:

{{blockquote|Personally, for me, the biggest pressure was coming from the ending theme song. From the start of the project, I had already planned to make the ending into a Japanese song, but the problem was now "who was going to sing the song?" There was a lot of pressure from the people in the PR division to get someone big and famous to sing it, but I was totally against the idea. And as usual, I didn't heed to the surrounding complaints, but this time, there was a pretty tough struggle.<ref name="kato-acknowledgment" />}}

[[File:Yasunori Mitsuda (2019).jpg|thumb|left|200px|alt=A photograph of a thin, dark-haired Japanese man|[[Yasunori Mitsuda]]]]
Production required six months of work. After wrapping, Mitsuda and Kato played ''Chrono Cross'' to record their impressions and observe how the tracks intermingled with scenes; the ending theme brought Kato to tears.<ref name="gameprointerview" /><ref name="kato-acknowledgment" /><ref name="crossost" /> Players who preordered the game received a sampler disc of five songs, and Square released a three-[[CD]] official soundtrack in Japan after the game's debut. The soundtrack won the Gold Prize for the PlayStation Awards of 2000.<ref name="mitsuda2008">{{cite web|first=Yasunori|last=Mitsuda|date=January 28, 2008|title=Radical Dreamer: Yasunori Mitsuda Interview from 1UP.com|url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3162780|work=[[1UP.com]]|access-date=February 8, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205003225/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3162780|archive-date=December 5, 2012}}</ref> In 2005, Square Enix reissued the soundtrack due to popular demand. Earlier that year, Mitsuda announced a new arranged ''Chrono Cross'' album, scheduled for release in July 2005.<ref name="dengekionline">{{cite web|year= 2005|title=New Year's News|url=http://www.dengekionline.com/2005newyear/comment/2004comment02.html|publisher=Dengeki Online | access-date=July 1, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060107065754/http://www.dengekionline.com/2005newyear/comment/2004comment02.html|archive-date=January 7, 2006}}</ref> Mitsuda's contract with Square gave him ownership and full rights to the soundtrack of ''Chrono Cross''.<ref name="sekitopsx">{{cite web|date=November 24, 2008|title=Yasunori Mitsuda Talks Chrono Trigger| url=http://www.originalsoundversion.com/?p=915|publisher=Original Sound Version|access-date=March 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324012728/http://www.originalsoundversion.com/yasunori-mitsuda-talks-chrono-trigger-mysteries-solved-clarifications-made/|archive-date=March 24, 2011}}</ref> It was delayed, and at a [[Play! A Video Game Symphony]] concert in May 2006, he revealed it would feature acoustic music and would be "out within the year", later backtracking and alleging a 2007 release date.<ref name="nsiderinterview">{{cite web |date=May 30, 2006 |title=N-Sider: PLAY! Concert Interviews |url=http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=518&page=3 |work=N-Sider |access-date=July 1, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620224150/http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=518&page=3 |archive-date=June 20, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=5478|title=Yasunori Mitsuda Interview|access-date=May 22, 2007|last=Peter| first=James|date=October 13, 2006|website=PALGN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226230416/http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=5478 |archive-date=December 26, 2008}}</ref> Mitsuda posted a streaming sample of a finished track on his personal website in January 2009, and has stated the album will be released to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Japanese debut of ''Cross''.<ref name="RPGFARRANGE">{{cite web|url=http://rpgfan.com/news/2008/1555.html |title=Chrono Cross 10th Anniversary Arrange Album Update |access-date=December 27, 2008 |last=Gann |first=Patrick |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227004902/http://rpgfan.com/news/2008/1555.html |archive-date=December 27, 2008 }}</ref> Music from ''Chrono Cross'' has been featured in the September 2009 ''Symphonic Fantasies'' concerts, part of the [[Symphonic Game Music Concert]] series conducted by [[Arnie Roth]].<ref name="symphonicfantasies">{{Cite AV media notes |title=Symphonic Fantasies |last=WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln |date=September 12, 2009 |publisher=Decca}}</ref> That same year, the ''Chrono Cross'' theme "Scars of Time" was voted first place in Hardcore Gaming 101's "Best Video Game Music of All Time" poll.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kalata |first=Kurt |title=Best Video Game Music of All Time – 2011 |url=http://hg101.kontek.net/vgm/bestvgm2011.htm |publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101 |access-date=December 29, 2011 |date=October 25, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104202529/http://hg101.kontek.net/vgm/bestvgm2011.htm |archive-date=January 4, 2012 }}</ref> "Scars of Time" was also featured in 2012 by [[NPR]] in a program about classically arranged video game scores.<ref name="npr">{{cite web|title=A Classical Musician's Game Theory |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/12/10/166875717/a-classical-musicians-game-theory |publisher=NPR |access-date=April 20, 2013 |date=December 10, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602060548/http://www.npr.org/2012/12/10/166875717/a-classical-musicians-game-theory |archive-date=June 2, 2013 }}</ref>

==Release and reception==
{{Video game reviews
|MC = 94/100<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/chrono-cross/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation |title=Chrono Cross |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=December 20, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125195522/http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation/chrono-cross |archive-date=November 25, 2010 }}</ref>
|EGM = 98%<ref name=egm/>
|Fam = 36/40<ref name="weeklyfamitsu" /><ref>プレイステーション – クロノ・クロス. Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. p. 13. June 30, 2006</ref>
|GamePro = {{rating|4.5|5}}<ref name=GR>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231103950/http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/196917-chrono-cross/articles.html|url-status=dead|title=Video Game Reviews, Articles, Trailers and more|archive-date=December 31, 2010|website=Metacritic.com|access-date=February 27, 2022}}</ref>
|GameRev = A−<ref>[http://www.game-revolution.com/games/sony/rpg/chrono_cross.htm Chrono Cross Review<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821130835/http://www.game-revolution.com/games/sony/rpg/chrono_cross.htm |date=August 21, 2008 }}</ref>
|GSpot = 10/10<ref name="perfect-10" />
|IGN = 9.7/10<ref name="ignreview" />
|OPM = {{rating|5|5}}<ref name=GR/>
|NGen = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'', [https://archive.org/stream/NextGen68Aug2000/NextGen_68_Aug_2000#page/n93/mode/2up Issue 68 (August 2000), page 92]</ref>
}}

''Chrono Cross'' received critical acclaim, it shipped 850,000 units in Japan and 650,000 abroad by 2003.<ref name="square-sales" /> It was re-released once in the United States as a [[List of Sony Greatest Hits games|Sony Greatest Hits]] title and again as part of the Japanese Ultimate Hits series.<ref name="ultimatehits" /> ''Chrono Cross'' was also released on the [[PlayStation Network]] in [[Japan]] on July 6, 2011, and in [[North America]] on November 8, 2011, but a [[PAL]] region release has not been announced.<ref name="psnnetwork">{{cite web|title=Chrono Cross Crossing to PSN in Japan |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106154-Chrono-Cross-Crossing-to-PSN-in-Japan |date=December 15, 2010 |last=Funk |first=John |access-date=February 2, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228161103/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106154-Chrono-Cross-Crossing-to-PSN-in-Japan |archive-date=December 28, 2010 }}</ref> Critics praised the game's complex plot, innovative battle system, varied characters, moving score, vibrant graphics, and success in breaking convention with its predecessor.<ref name="perfect-10" /><ref name="ignreview" /><ref name="rpgfanreview">{{cite web|date=June 22, 2002 |title=RPGFan: Chrono Cross Review |url=http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/chronocross/Chrono_Cross-5.html |publisher=RPGFan |access-date=July 24, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527214326/http://rpgfan.com/reviews/chronocross/Chrono_Cross-5.html |archive-date=May 27, 2007 }}</ref> ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'' gave ''Chrono Cross'' a Gold Award, scoring it 10/10/9.5 in their three reviewer format with the first review declaring the game to be "a masterpiece, plain and simple".<ref name=egm>{{cite magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001119205300/http://www.zdnet.com/egm/stories/main/0%2C11589%2C2610315%2C00.html |url=http://www.zdnet.com/egm/stories/main/0,11589,2610315,00.html |archive-date=November 19, 2000 |title=Chrono Cross |date=August 8, 2000 |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |access-date=April 15, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[GameSpot]] awarded the game a perfect 10, one of only sixteen 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.<ref name="perfect-10" /> It also received the annual Best Role-Playing Game, Best Game Music and Best PlayStation Game awards, and nominations for Best Game Story and Best Graphics, Artistic.<ref name=bestworst2000>{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020213041653/http://gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/bestof_2000/ | url=http://gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/bestof_2000/ | title=Best and Worst of 2000 | author=''GameSpot'' Staff | date=January 5, 2001 | work=[[GameSpot]] | archive-date=February 13, 2002 | url-status=dead }}</ref> [[IGN]] gave the game a score of 9.7, and ''Cross'' appeared 89th in its 2008 Top 100 games list.<ref name="ignreview"/><ref name="greatest-games3">{{cite web |year=2008 |title=IGN Top 100 Games 2008 – 89 Chrono Cross |url=http://top100.ign.com/2008/ign_top_game_89.html |website=IGN |access-date=March 13, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224165621/http://top100.ign.com/2008/ign_top_game_89.html |archive-date=February 24, 2009 }}</ref> ''[[Famitsu]]'' rated the game 36 out of 40 from four reviewers.<ref name="weeklyfamitsu" />

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.<ref name="perfect-10" /><ref name="kato-acknowledgment">{{cite web|date=November 1999|title=Procyon Studio: Interview with Masato Kato|url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Procyon_Studio.html|access-date=July 24, 2006|archive-date=July 21, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721173347/http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Procyon_Studio.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and director Masato Kato were aware of the changes in development, specifically intending to provide an experience different from ''Chrono Trigger''.<ref name="gameprointerview" /><ref name="kato-acknowledgment" /> 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".<ref name="kato-acknowledgment" /> 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."<ref name="kato-acknowledgment" /> 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."<ref name="gameprointerview2" /> Kato later acknowledged that he could have "shown more empathy to the player" by making the story less complex, and acknowledged fans who felt the game was a departure from ''Chrono Trigger'', noting that one can still "equally enjoy the game."<ref name="mastiempo" /> He later reflected in 2015 that "the bashing was terrible" in reference to fans' push-back on featuring so many playable characters, acknowledging the complaint that recruiting all characters required several playthroughs.<ref name="2015brinkoftime">{{cite book |year=2015 |title=Yasunori Mitsuda: The Brink of Time |url=https://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Yasunori_Mitsuda_-_The_Brink_of_Time.html |pages=27 |language=ja |publisher=Square Enix |url-status=live |access-date=November 23, 2022 |archive-date=November 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123055318/https://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Yasunori_Mitsuda_-_The_Brink_of_Time.html }}</ref>

During the [[4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards]], the [[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]] nominated ''Chrono Cross'' for the "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Game of the Year|Game of the Year]]", "Console Game of the Year", and "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Role-Playing Game of the Year|Console Role-Playing]]" awards.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=2001&idGame=569 |title=D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Chrono Cross |publisher=[[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]] |access-date=July 24, 2023}}</ref>

==Legacy==
On December 9, 2021, a cross-over event between ''Chrono Cross'' and the free-to-play RPG ''[[Another Eden]]'' was released. A collaborative effort between ''Chrono'' writer Kato and composer Mitsuda, the game features elements similar to the ''Chrono'' series, such as talking frog protagonists and time-travel elements. Titled ''Complex Dream'', the event introduces several ''Chrono Cross'' characters, including Serge, Kid, and Harle, as well as gameplay elements from the series such as element magic and combo techs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inside the Surprise Chrono Cross-over Event That Has Fans Buzzing About a Remake |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/inside-surprise-chrono-cross-over-event-another-eden |website=Ign.com |date=December 4, 2021 |access-date=February 6, 2022 |archive-date=February 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209233705/https://www.ign.com/articles/inside-surprise-chrono-cross-over-event-another-eden |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Remaster ===
Publications began discussion of a possible remastered version of ''Chrono Cross'' in September 2021, when a security flaw allowed for a web developer to see an internal listing of current and upcoming video games in [[Nvidia]]'s [[GeForce Now]] database, which included a never-announced ''Chrono Cross Remastered''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/chrono-cross-remaster-reported|title=A Chrono Cross Remaster Is Reportedly On the Way|first=Rebekah|last=Valentine|date=November 23, 2021|website=Ign.com|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=February 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211131654/https://www.ign.com/articles/chrono-cross-remaster-reported|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/nvidia-leaked-games-list-pc/|title=Demon's Souls PC, Kingdom Hearts 4, and many more games from the Nvidia leak are looking more and more real|author=Wes Fenlon|date=November 5, 2021|access-date=February 27, 2022|website=Pcgamer.com|archive-date=September 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220916104233/https://www.pcgamer.com/nvidia-leaked-games-list-pc/|url-status=live}}</ref> Nvidia later confirmed that the list was real, but that the games listed were speculative, and may or may not end up getting a final release.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nvidia-confirms-leaked-geforce-now-list-is-real-but-claims-games-are-speculative/|title=Nvidia confirms leaked Geforce Now list is real, but claims games are 'speculative'|date=September 14, 2021|website=Videogameschronicle.com|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=March 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321120240/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nvidia-confirms-leaked-geforce-now-list-is-real-but-claims-games-are-speculative/|url-status=live}}</ref> A second Nvidia leak occurred the following November, which again listed ''Chrono Cross Remastered'', this time with a December 2021 release date.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rpgsite.net/news/11906-alleged-geforce-leak-data-features-pc-release-dates-for-final-fantasy-xvi-ix-remake-and-tactics-remaster|title=Alleged GeForce leak data features PC release dates for Final Fantasy XVI, IX Remake, and Tactics Remaster &#124; RPG Site|first=Andrea|last=Kasparian|website=Rpgsite.net|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=March 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312004343/https://www.rpgsite.net/news/11906-alleged-geforce-leak-data-features-pc-release-dates-for-final-fantasy-xvi-ix-remake-and-tactics-remaster|url-status=live}}</ref> Further comments on the game's existence also arose in November; [[Video Games Chronicle]] reported Nick Baker of the XboxEra podcast could confirm prior reports of its existence,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-upcoming-big-playstation-remake-is-reportedly-chrono-cross/|title=The upcoming 'big PlayStation remake' is reportedly Chrono Cross|date=November 23, 2021|website=Videogameschronicle.com|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=January 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121061345/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-upcoming-big-playstation-remake-is-reportedly-chrono-cross/|url-status=live}}</ref> and game website ''Gematsu'' separately confirmed the game's existence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gematsu.com/2021/11/another-eden-the-cat-beyond-time-and-space-teases-chrono-cross-collaboration-announcement-for-december-4|title=Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space teases Chrono Cross collaboration announcement for December 4|date=November 30, 2021|website=Gematsu.com|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=January 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123161129/https://www.gematsu.com/2021/11/another-eden-the-cat-beyond-time-and-space-teases-chrono-cross-collaboration-announcement-for-december-4|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/another-report-of-a-chrono-cross-remaster-emerges/|title=Another report of a Chrono Cross remaster emerges|author=Hirun Cryer|date=November 30, 2021|website=Gamesradar.com|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=March 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315004044/https://www.gamesradar.com/another-report-of-a-chrono-cross-remaster-emerges/|url-status=live}}</ref> On December 4, 2021, [[Square Enix]] announced a cross over event between ''Chrono Cross'' and mobile game ''[[Another Eden]]''; the announcement spurred more discussion on a remaster, considering Square was reviving the game for the first time in 20 years, and writer [[Masato Kato]] worked on both games.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/chrono-cross-remaster-real-look-like-this|title=If the Chrono Cross Remaster Is Real, Please Let it Look Like This|first=Rebekah|last=Valentine|date=December 4, 2021|website=Ign.com|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=February 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227221643/https://www.ign.com/articles/chrono-cross-remaster-real-look-like-this|url-status=live}}</ref>

A remaster of the game, titled '''''Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition''','' was announced on February 9, 2022, during a [[Nintendo Direct]] presentation, being slated for release on April 7, 2022, for [[Nintendo Switch]], [[PlayStation 4]], [[Windows]], and [[Xbox One]].<ref>{{Cite news|author1=Wes Fenlon|date=February 9, 2022|title=Chrono Cross is being remastered and my heart is full|language=en|work=PC Gamer|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/chrono-cross-is-being-remastered-and-my-heart-is-full/|access-date=February 9, 2022|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209231959/https://www.pcgamer.com/chrono-cross-is-being-remastered-and-my-heart-is-full/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Square|first=Push|date=February 9, 2022|title=Chrono Cross Remaster Is Real, Adventures to PS4 in April|url=https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/02/chrono-cross-remaster-is-real-adventures-to-ps4-in-april|access-date=February 9, 2022|website=Push Square|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209233956/https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/02/chrono-cross-remaster-is-real-adventures-to-ps4-in-april|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Xbox|first=Pure|date=February 9, 2022|title=Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition Arrives On Xbox This April|url=https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/02/chrono-cross-the-radical-dreamers-edition-arrives-on-xbox-this-april|access-date=February 9, 2022|website=Pure Xbox|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209231142/https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/02/chrono-cross-the-radical-dreamers-edition-arrives-on-xbox-this-april|url-status=live}}</ref> The remaster of the title includes quality-of-life updates such as the ability to disable encounters, in addition to an enhanced OST. The remaster is also  bundled with the text adventure game ''[[Radical Dreamers]]'', previously only available to Japanese players through the [[Satellaview]] peripheral for the [[Super Famicom]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Valentine|first1=Rebekah|last2=Sanchez|first2=Miranda|date=February 9, 2022|title=Chrono Cross Remaster Is Real and Is Out Soon|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/chrono-cross-remake-real-announced-release-date|access-date=February 9, 2022|website=IGN|language=en|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209223656/https://www.ign.com/articles/chrono-cross-remake-real-announced-release-date|url-status=live}}</ref> Masato Kato, Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuteru Yuuki, and Hiromichi Tanaka were brought in to lightly polish the game's dialogue, music, character art, and mechanics, respectively.<ref name="twitterrd">{{Cite web|date=April 9, 2022|title=We received congratulatory comments from Mr. Kato, Mr. Mitsuda, Mr. Yuki, and Mr. Tanaka for the release! |url=https://twitter.com/CHRONO_CROSS_RD/status/1511720448887001093?s=20&t=WNGCwcP8N71p8vnzKNZxMg|access-date=November 14, 2022|website=Twitter|language=ja}}</ref> Tanaka revealed that the game's assets, stored on magnetic tape after development ceased in 1999, were lost in the intervening years, causing him to rely on a personal backup he had maintained for certain aspects of his polishing work.<ref name="twitterrd" /> Producer Koichiro Sakamoto further explained that creating the remaster required teams to painstakingly upscale the game's original location art and remap each 3D field map, sometimes relying on AI to improve the resolution.<ref name="koichiro">{{Cite web|date=April 6, 2022|title=Producer Koichiro Sakamoto reveals the exciting challenges of remastering and enhancing the classic PlayStation RPG.|url=https://blog.playstation.com/2022/04/06/chrono-cross-the-radical-dreamers-edition-remastering-a-classic/|access-date=November 18, 2022|website=Playstation.com|language=en|archive-date=November 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120022232/https://blog.playstation.com/2022/04/06/chrono-cross-the-radical-dreamers-edition-remastering-a-classic/|url-status=live}}</ref> The work demanded close scrutiny to ensure no original details were missed.<ref name="koichiro" />

While ''Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition'' was received well by critics, it received a negative reaction from players in part due to how it performed as compared to its PlayStation 1 counterpart. Analysis showed that the remastered version had its frame rate dropping quite frequently, and was also unable to cross the threshold of 30 [[Frames per second|FPS]]. This issue has been noticed across all the platforms it was released on.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramsey |first=Robert |date=April 9, 2022 |title=Chrono Cross Remaster's Shocking Frame Rate Issues Lead to 'Worse Performance Than PS1' |url=https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/04/chrono-cross-remasters-shocking-frame-rate-issues-lead-to-worse-performance-than-ps1 |website=Push Square |access-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411052512/https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/04/chrono-cross-remasters-shocking-frame-rate-issues-lead-to-worse-performance-than-ps1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On February 22, 2023, Square-Enix released an update patch for the remaster on all systems it released for which has fixed some of the various gameplay issues with the remaster, as well as updating several performance aspects of the game including  increasing the game's framerate to 60fps.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.siliconera.com/chrono-cross-patch-framerate-changes-brings-it-up-to-60fps/ | title=Chrono Cross Patch Framerate Changes Brings It up to 60FPS | date=February 22, 2023 | access-date=March 1, 2023 | archive-date=March 1, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301212008/https://www.siliconera.com/chrono-cross-patch-framerate-changes-brings-it-up-to-60fps/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Sequel===
In 2001, [[Hironobu Sakaguchi]] revealed the company's staff wanted to develop a new game and were discussing script ideas. Although Kato was interested in a new title, the project had not been [[greenlight]]ed.<ref name="chrono3discussion">{{cite web|first=Shahed|last=Ahmed|date=July 3, 2001|title=New Chrono game in planning stages|url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/2782608.html|website=[[GameSpot]]|access-date=July 1, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122102056/http://www.gamespot.com/news/2782608.html |archive-date=January 22, 2012}}</ref> Square then registered a trademark for ''[[Chrono Break]]'' worldwide, causing speculation concerning a new sequel. Nothing materialized, and the trademark was dropped in the United States on November 13, 2003,<ref name="sadtrademark">{{cite web|date=November 13, 2003 |title=Latest Status Info |url=http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=76345716 |work=Trademark Applications and Registration Retrieval |access-date=July 1, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051123102906/http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=76345716 |archive-date=November 23, 2005 }}</ref> though it still stands in Japan and the European Union.<ref name="brake-trademark">{{cite web|date=July 26, 2002|title=Japanese Trademark and Patent Office|url=http://www.ipdl.inpit.go.jp/homepg_e.ipdl|access-date=July 24, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507065259/http://www.ipdl.inpit.go.jp/homepg_e.ipdl|archive-date=May 7, 2007}} To find the Chrono Break patent, search "Japanese Trademark Database" for "chronobrake". Click Index to find the result, and click the link.</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=December 2, 2002 |title=Chrono Break|url=https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/#basic/1+1+1+1/100+100+100+100/Chrono%20Break|access-date=May 12, 2010 |publisher=EUIPO}}</ref> Kato later returned to Square Enix as a freelancer to work on ''[[Children of Mana]]'' and ''[[Dawn of Mana]]''.<ref name="children-team">{{cite web |date=October 3, 2005 |first=Bryan |last=Boulette |title=Children of Mana Team Announced |url=http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q4-2005/100305a.html |publisher=RPGamer |access-date=July 24, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023951/http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q4-2005/100305a.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref> Mitsuda also expressed interest in scoring a new ''Chrono'' series game.<ref name="nsiderinterview" /> In 2005, Kato and Mitsuda teamed up to do a game called ''[[Deep Labyrinth]]'', and again in 2008 for ''[[Sands of Destruction]]'', both for the [[Nintendo DS]].<ref name="deep-labyrinth">{{cite video game |title=Deep Labyrinth |developer=Interactive Brains |publisher=Interactive Brains |date=March 23, 2006 |platform=Nintendo DS}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Brandon |last=Sheffield |title=Q&A: Sands of Destruction Team Talks Battle System, Story Creation |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26020/QA_Sands_of_Destruction_Team_Talks_Battle_System_Story_Creation.php |website=[[Gamasutra]] |access-date=August 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100512225026/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26020/QA_Sands_of_Destruction_Team_Talks_Battle_System_Story_Creation.php |archive-date=May 12, 2010 }}</ref> The February 2008 issue of ''[[Game Informer]]'' ranked the ''Chrono'' series eighth among the "Top Ten Sequels in Demand", naming the games "steadfast legacies in the Square Enix catalogue" and asking "what's the damn holdup?!"<ref name="gameinformer">{{Cite book|date=February 2008|title=Game Informer|pages=24–25|publisher=GameStop|title-link=Game Informer}}</ref> In ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s June 2008 "Retro Issue", writer Jeremy Parish cited ''Chrono'' as the franchise video game fans would be most thrilled to see a sequel to.<ref name="egmretro">{{Cite book|date=June 2008|first=Jeremy|last=Parish|title=Missing in Action|page=95|publisher=Ziff Davis Media}}</ref> In the May 1, 2009, issue of ''Famitsu'', ''Chrono Trigger'' placed 14th out of 50 in a vote of most-wanted sequels by the magazine's readers.<ref name="famitsu14">{{Cite magazine|date=May 2009|magazine=[[Famitsu]]|title=Famitsu Readers Vote Their Most Wanted Sequels|url=http://www.ps3hyper.com/news/famitsu-readers-voted-their-most-wanted-sequels/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804171042/http://www.ps3hyper.com/news/famitsu-readers-voted-their-most-wanted-sequels/|archive-date=August 4, 2009}}</ref> At [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3]] 2009, SE Senior Vice President [[Shinji Hashimoto]] remarked, "If people want a sequel, they should buy more!"<ref name="sevp">{{cite web|first=Alex|last=Donaldson|date=June 5, 2009|title=Square: Want more Chrono Trigger? Buy More!|url=http://www.rpgsite.net/news/342.html|access-date=June 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618052454/http://www.rpgsite.net//news//342.html |archive-date=June 18, 2009}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://square-enix-games.com/games/chrono-cross-radical-dreamers-edition Official website] for The Radical Dreamers Edition
*[https://www.jp.square-enix.com/cc_rd/ Official Japanese website] for The Radical Dreamers Edition
*[http://psxdatacenter.com/games/U/C/SLUS-01041.html Chrono Cross game entry] at [http://psxdatacenter.com The Playstation Datacenter]

{{Chrono series}}
{{Monolith Soft}}
{{Visual Works}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Chrono (series)]]
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