Please bear until the end...
In my resemblance, the above-mentioned «Chrono feel» is the cry of perfection – this particular attribute everyone will avoid, or deny, in their subjectional idea which I not-so-humbly encounter with denyal of my own – that this imense masterpiece, titled «Chrono Cross», is truly an incarnation of probable perfection, to approach the interest – made by hand of man.
At one time in my past, during the humorous but advancing discussions among friends, we somehow reached Chrono Cross. This «soliloqui» o' mine lead to comments such as «Ok his eyes are glowing», «Hey man, slowdown.», and similar. Later, one of them rethorically asked «You really like this thing, don't you?». It was then when I gave myself a moment for thought, and concluded that I do not just like Chrono Cross, that I do not just have likings for a fun-sighted game, rather, that I love this Chrono Cross, and that the existence of such philosophical art thrills me to shivers, moreforth, today, after playing it for 127th time, as much as first or second, or fifthy fifth time. You have this song, this particular composition that lifts you, a movie that sets you away, or a place in this world where your mind soothens. But it eventually becomes dull. When we calculated the time, one complete year of my life was devoted to Chrono Cross. In my terms, this kind of effect can only a perfection produce, even if it's on just one man. How can I say perfection?
This beautiful experience is a perfectly curved blend of all senses one human kind can utilize. These man, the script writer, the director, an artist, and scorer, performed a natural harmony, what the likes of Baudelaire might have described, as if they spent an eternity trying to sketch the master plan for eachself. Your vision is drowned in gentle pools of wonderous colors, and shapes that form Chrono Cross, they transform and bring you the order in power of imaginary space – if you look at each character, at Kid, into Lynx's eyes, you will say they belong to this Chrono Cross, that they posses the burden of humankind, they, from Serge and Kid, over Nikki and Orhla, to Lynx and Harle, are the social intersection of human society; if you spot the reflections under the brige in Arni, you will enhale to this beauty of warm details, and if you climb up the Tower of Geddon, you will enjoy the incredible mysticism of shattered, silverine-blue metalic creation, each twist, each bend of the particular metalic appearance being right there where it is supposed to be, each of those plasma screens in Chronopolis, each cracked stone in Terra Tower, and each standing wave of Dead Sea is right there where it is supposed to be, exactly in the colors it should be, exactly in shape it should be to comfort you. That is the promised perfection of Chrono Cross's vision, brought to you in shadows of Yasunori's blessed inspiration. I happen to compose, and live from music since early age, and I happen to believe that Scars of Time is most beautiful composition I experienced. Were you not standing still for several moments as the intro finished, and «Press start» occured? I know I did. And I also believe that any person which didn't either is not perceptive enough to confirm such mass of creation, or just doesn't deserve words to speak. I looked at the ocean on that screen, and in silence just monitored what in the heaven's name happened. This «game», which I usually avoid to title that way, had me right there, right there when the book opened, when flute played, violin crashed with Kid, Serge, Lynx, and Harle turning to look at you, I knew that it will change my thoughts, myself, and my approach to life. Yasunori Mitsuda being one of the carriers with never-heard-before sense for music, and harmony. For heaven's sake, he made over fifty compositions, neither boring, neither aggresive, neither pushed you away, but opposite, they were to stop the game, and listen. They brought the emotions up, they didn't provoke the environment. They weren't even similar. Know why? Because he did what had to be done, he used the tempo which human ear perceives as «correct», he trailed notes that bend from sustain to emotional epicy, his dominant instruments were piano/harp, flute, violion, guitar, and music box, all five instruments that any person will rank as most beautiful sounding; These instruments, their sounds, their progression, for some reason, touch us, humans, even a single hit of any note on these instruments contains mass associations in our mind, and he used scales that simply affect majority. Wether it be precalculations, or natural gift in its full spectrum, what Yasunori did for Chrono Cross is unique in our history, is, simply, perfect. The power of these notes, and these compositions empowered Chrono Cross's primary magic to it's final – without any of the two, the vision, and the sound, Chrono Cross's thought would not mean as much as it actually does.
There is something I always ask, even when it sometimes makes me look as if I think I am superior. Do you understand what Chrono Cross is? No, it's not just a game, it's beyond that because, if it was just a game, it would not make you wonder, especially not after 7 years. In these 20-30 hours of gaming, five or of of which is the story, this man, the scenario writter, set entire mankind, culture, symbolism, society, evolution, religion, and plain thought, into imaginary form where he further described, explained, and resolved this mankind through an epic, warm story. The love, hatred, fate, evolution, breed, god, time, mind, revenge, anger, rage, sadness, path, meaning, purpose, say any relevant noun, any noun that a philosophist from past dissasembled to explain, and you will find the thought on this matter inside Chrono Cross. Howcome anyone cannot see the genious mind that presented this, the details, an absolute purpose of each individual, tiniest element, like a word in character's discussion. Many felt that there is no real emotions among characters. How so? Serge, and Kid are literally bearers of an entire idea – that no matter what, regardless of what life, existence as such, will propose to you, will test you to, you will find your place next to your pair, even if it takes forever. Pair, exactly that – pair, assembly of two pieces, like Shyamalan said, ends of two spectrums that form one unity, which is how they made Chrono Cross medium for describing, better, explaining, how world functions – Love and hate, laughter and tear, paired elements (Water – Fire, Earth – Sky, Day – Night), Harle and Kid, Kid and Serge, Lynx and Wazuki, two dimensions, two swords, the Dragon Tear – Two faces of person...then how they blended the theory of evolution – that the appearance which wiped dinosaurs (comet, as supposed) is a primal flame (by many theorists, it all started from flame) «Lavos», is the twister of time, then how humans evolved, then the Darwin theory of evolution, the survival of the fittest, the cruelty of competition in life due to false resonances – then – the very idea of how fate (destiny) works (That's just plain genious) and the simbolicy of erasing FATE to show that we eventually choose our own paths defined by our own decisions, and all the time-traveling, time-bending plots...which, regardless of our knowledge, make so much sense, finally, leaving us with wonderful song «Jewel that Cannot be Stolen», and our Kid, us, searching for her destined, or...perhaps selected by her own will. Oh god, the shivers again.
To this «Chrono feel», there might be the clue in last chapter of this creation, the burden. As colorful as it is, Chrono Cross, in it's paradoxal pairness, is actually a classic, an incredibly sad, romantic vision which leaves hope. The content of this creation is as brutal, and cruel as any war. If those Dwarves, Fairies, and humans were three nations today, we would not think of it as «side-quest». Chrono Cross, his creators, like wise from the mountains, imply how hard life is. Kid is the mark of that, and probably most fatal character, if not in entire game genre, then in Chrono. But eventually, she brings you the hope – eventually – the only thing that really pushes you to move forth after the fall in your life, wether it be a bad grade in school, arson of your home, or devouring alcohol. Eventually, Chrono Cross blesses you to move on.
I think that's the Chrono feel.
