Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition (PC) review "Not nearly as radical as we'd hoped."

Obvious jokes aside, this was an unexpected move for Square/Enix. Chrono Cross enjoyed moderate success and some fan backlash on the Playstation, mostly because it wasn’t the direct sequel to Chrono Trigger that fans have been slavering for since we collectively fell in love with the quirky, time-splitting tale.

Chrono Cross follows in the tradition of its forebearer and takes things a few steps further. You are a silent protagonist once again, transported from your home dimension (at it is titled), and are stranded in a reality in which you do not exist. As you learn the reason for this, you’ll travel with and obtain myriad allies (and foes) on a journey that will take you to the nexus point where timestreams collide.

Somehow this aspirational adventure has more missteps than most have tolerance. This game, in fact, is a thread born of a once Japanese only release for the Super Nintendo called Radical Dreamers. It was a post-Trigger experiment that highlighted Yasunori Mitsuda’s breathtaking soundtrack. The full-motion video opening is sure to leave you with chills, images of dragons, dreamers and mysterious crystals complementing a story that moves nowhere near as quickly.

Radical Dreamers, meanwhile, has a completely different playstyle, being a genre apart from its cousins. Surely you weren’t expecting a graphically sparse visual novel. Good, because I wasn’t, but those with an appetite for the lore will certainly be curious. Temper your expectations, as the game is little more than a teaser and tech demo. Just a handful of hours to explore a few puzzles, fantastic music and what I might call Eastern Gothic art design.

Having read this far, you’ll want to know that this is not a remaster, though higher resolution assets are used than on the Playstation. Otherwise there are no upgrades, no creature comforts. As a straight port, it is ~almost~ exactly as you remember, except for the lack of interlacing. The high resolution mode of the Playstation was used on certain screens, wholly unnecessary for modern PCs and consoles. Nor is that silly analog toggle for movement, but hey, if your controller doesn’t have analog movement options, then you’re in good hands.

What makes the package compelling is the inclusion of Radical Dreamers and the price. Quite reasonable for what is a rather long and involved RPG that boasts no less than 40 characters. Radical Dreamers is unassailable, cozy in its console era late in the lifespan of the 16-bit console. Chrono Cross, unfortunately, suffered more criticism a relatively early release on the Playstation and can’t seem to catch a break now, either.

Mind you, it pushed the console to its limit and had to use clever blurring tricks to cover for a less than stellar framerate. Squaresoft had not figured out how to balance fidelity and framerate, and wouldn’t for a few more years. In the interim, you get a novel ability system to muck around with along with its attendant elemental system, to which you must always pay attention. Knowing what element-colour to deploy at the right time will make the difference between a swift defeat for you or your foe(s).

That means that subsequent playthroughs aren’t for challenge, but rather to explore the paths untread. Following in the tradition of Chrono Trigger, New Game+ makes its return wherein you keep everything, except key items, so you can see what would have happened if you’d said “yes” instead. As mentioned, there’s no much more satisfaction than learning who you could have spent time with, much like Pokemon. Gotta ogle ‘em all!

I did just say that. Chrono Cross knows the appeal of its characters, but plays it straight (mostly), so there aren’t any impish antics to tease players interested in the sauce, as it were. Combined with the paper-thin narrative for most of these characters, you’ll probably fall into a pattern of choosing your pretty company and only switching them out when you absolutely have to.

Pip, meanwhile, will want it your way, but those in the know have already got that one sorted. On that note, it would have been nice to have more aesthetic improvements, but I am resigned to gratitude that we got this package at all. The series isn’t without its fans, but they’re not so numerous as to imagine that a full blown remaster is on the agenda.

There’s a darn good chance that you’re going to get your full after a few playthroughs and never want to touch these again, so the price is a good one. However, it stands in contrast to Chrono Trigger, which I’ve played through dozens of times because its so accessible: Short, engaging, fun—the exact opposite of your average mainstream role-playing game. There’s so much to bother with in Crono Cross that the time investment just isn’t worthwhile to me.

Perhaps if they’d let me save those fairies, I’d consider it. Bitter? What are you talking about? Meanwhile, if you’re at all interested in the Chrono series, this is a rock solid title with only a few gripes. The game mechanics are just a different implementation of the six element system we already know so well, and once you get it, you’re locked in and good to win.

Besides, it will run on just about anything with moderate graphics acceleration, so that’s no excuse. For the price you’re getting two classics with moderate-positive fan regard. Movies charge a lot more for a lot less...and I’m done justifying it. Dive in if you would, you already know if this is your cup of tea.

What will you choose?

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Community review by hastypixels (September 10, 2026) Retro, and moreso all the time.