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penryn's Chrono Cross (PS)
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| [February 9, 2008 02:49:57 AM]
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GAMEPLAY
Getting a little more used to the battle system now... Aside from the weak vs. strong attacks, there's also a magic system in place that I don't quite fully understand because, well, Serge only has one! >.< From what I can tell, you get these Elements, which you can buy, and equip them to your characters. Then in battle, after you've hit somebody and gained these in-battle levels (that I *totally* don't understand yet), you can use an Element (which is reusable, like materia in FFVII) and it will subtract a certain amount from those in-battle levels.
In the second gameplay session I had to go and get these scales from the CUTEST komodo dragons ever! It was a mini-game and I have very mixed feelings about mini-games, especially when they rely on very specific timing and you're stuck for ten minutes trying to jump off of a stupid ledge to land on a stupid dragon so it doesn't run stupidly away from you. Mini-games = awesome when they follow the rules of the metagame, such as the game has to be pleasurable and not insanely difficult. In fact, I'd posit that the latter is even more important in mini-games because often times the poor player just wants to move on to the actual plot! It took me way to long to get those scales, and afterwards I felt kind of disillusioned and then realized I had to hurry the heck up and write my gamelog!
GAME DESIGN
One of the more unique aspects of the game is certainly the battle system, more with the weak-to-strong stuff than the Element stuff, in my opinion. With a turn-based fighting style, it can be hard to break out of the box, and I definitely feel that the rhythm and focus is different from any other game. Related to the battle system is how you enter battles. Random battles can be great for experience, but they can get really annoying when you're just trying to move through an area, so I appreciated that you could see the monsters and choose to battle them. Except, of course, when they were in my way and to get to the treasure chest or dragon I had to do battle. *le sigh*
I love that there is such a huge cast of characters from whom to make up your party. Of course, I didn't get very far at all, but I imagine that that feature adds a lot of replay value to the game, as well as emotional value for the player, becoming attached to specific characters. Every character, whether you could play them or not, had something aaalmost interesting to say. If I was playing the game in my own free time and not under a deadline, I think I would have been more attentive to their babble, but as it was I kind of skimmed most of it.
As I mentioned in my first gameplay log, the aesthetics and score of the game are really, really pleasing to me. The bright colors (of this first place, at least) just make me *happy* and the score, while very typical of RPGs, is of the highest, highest quality. In fact, I may just have to get my hands on it!
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| [February 9, 2008 02:20:07 AM]
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SUMMARY
Chrono Cross is a Playstation RPG and the sequel to the SNES RPG, Chrono Trigger. Like all RPGs, the characters, plot, and setting are the main draw of the game. Chrono Cross features an immense cast of 45 (according to the Wiki) and has a fairly original battle system.
GAMEPLAY
Alright, let me first just say that I hate that RPG plot device where you begin as a more powerful character and tra la la go along killing things. Then something dramatic happens, the screen blacks (or whites) out, and you wake up as a weakling boy (inevitably a boy, of course). You've got, like, 1/5 or 1/10 the hitpoints, little or no magic (or "Elements" in the case of this game), and oftentimes you're in your hometown where everything is about to go horribly wrong.
I understand the draw of this device, but it had become cliche and for a genre that is more about plot than any other, I wish they'd just give a little more effort into being original. After all, this game was released in 1999, two years after FF Tactics and two years after FFVII (which didn't do the "back in time" thing, but did do the "separated from the people you started the game with" thing, which is the umbrella thing that back-in-time lives under). FFX did it, too, though a year later in 2001, when Titus washes up on the shores of Besaid. I can't think of any others off the top of my head, but if I feel like it's a cliche, it must be one, right? :P
Alright, let me actually talk about the game for a moment. The art is very pretty, with really bright colors and graphics that are totally on par for PS1, the music is GORGEOUS, and the battle system a little overwhelming, though less so after the tutorial. Quick, probably slightly misunderstood version is that a. it's turn-based, b. you have three melee attacks weak (1), medium (2), and strong (3), c. in battle, each number will have a percentage next to it, with higher percentages for weaker attacks. So you have to balance having weak but guaranteed attacks with strong but high-miss-chance attacks. I definitely don't have the rhythm down yet, we'll see where I am in an hour. :)
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penryn's Chrono Cross (PS)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Saturday 9 February, 2008
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