The possibility of a Chrono Cross remake.

[placidchap]

Silent protagonists are pretty weak, imo.  A game is about a story and whether it is a game like Chrono Trigger or one like Fallout, speaking/discussion is paramount.  Stating that it is supposed to be our thoughts and what we would say is just crap.  The outcome is the same anyway, regardless of what "we" think Chrono should say; the other characters don't change what they say based on what we think.  Using that reason for arguing in favour of using silent protagonist is weak.  A better way to go is more dialog, more choices and more consequences, if you want an experience that relates to what you think.

It also saves the creators a buck or two, not having to write dialog for the main character.

[Xenterex]

Obviously our opinions are quite different, so discussion is pointless.

A discussion is an exchange of opinions and ideas. If they aren't different at all, what else is there to discuss other than reinforcement?

[Dark Serge]

Obviously our opinions are quite different, so discussion is pointless.

A discussion is an exchange of opinions and ideas. If they aren't different at all, what else is there to discuss other than reinforcement?

I've already said anything I wanted to say,  continueing from this point would just be a "yes no yes no" post flood

[Mr Bekkler]

Chrono Cross is the sequel to Chrono Trigger. Please don't forget this. You fight the same enemy that appeared in Chrono Trigger. You meet some of the same people you met in Chrono Trigger. You even see the protagonists from Chrono Trigger. Just because it has a different setting and protagonist doesn't mean it's not the sequel to Chrono Trigger.

Like Jurassic Park 1 and 2.

But they do in Final Fantasy. And Kingdom Hearts. Silent protagonists are just stupid, unless the developer intents him to be you. While I can understand this point of view, it's just not suited for the Chrono series.

Wasn't Crono intended to be you? I mean you can make a lot of choices, the game is kinda restricted but still there are choices. I think if they added more choices like in Fable(but not that many) it could be better, but overall I enjoy it.

And that right there is the bullshit part of it all. Chrono shouldn't be "us", and we shouldn't be Chrono. Chrono is Chrono and he should have his own personality and dialogue.

They are role-playing games, after all. You play the role of Crono and then you play the role of Serge. Would Zelda be better if Link talked? I don't know but I really can't imagine it. Crono definitely had a spunky personality, but I personally didn't see much development, (example: Marle gets sucked into the Gate made by the Telepod. Crono follows, maybe to his own demise. Later, in the Ocean Palace, Lavos is about to absorb and kill everyone. What does Crono do? The same damn thing. He volunteers to help, and gets himself killed in the process.) Serge's development is more debatable, but I'd say they're about equal.


You know what I would like to see? The option to turn on Crono/Serge speech at the beginning, akin to the ACTIVE/WAIT selection. I don't remember if it was the Chrono Crisis demo or the Crimson Echoes demo, but it worked pretty well. Would that make everybody happy?

[Samopoznanie]

I much prefer silent protagonists, myself. It's more immersive, and gets you to draw from your own imagination in order to round out their personalities. To me, even an RPG where you can't re-name the characters loses a bit, in that you can't personalize the experience. Albert Odyssey was great fun, one of my favourites at the time I played it, but not being able to re-name the characters in it gave it a totally different - in my opinion not as memorable - feel. You'd have to have a really solid group of writers / translators on the project, so that the dialogue would be captivating and effective enough to create a good dynamic between characters, in a game without a silent protagonist. 'Cause if they throw in an interpretation or comment that you don't feel is suited to the relationships between them, then it's going to detract from the game. Whereas with a silent character, this isn't a worry as it's left to your imagination.

Radical Dreamers, in this sense, I think was a well-done compromise between the two. Your character had dialogue, sure, but you got to choose from 3-4 options and have a hand in shaping his personality.

[V_Translanka]

Like most everything in Trigger, the silent protagonist is a cliché/throwback to RPGs of old. I mean, go back as far as pen&paper stuff and you won't have characters with incredible depth...Crono is all actions, less words. Sometimes the most simplistic personalities work best. Plus, at least he had a surprised sprite!

CC Serge was still an emotionless d-bag as far as I'm concerned, but I'm sure I already went over that at some point in this thread...

[alfadorredux]

I've never liked the silent protagonist shtick very much, partly because when it's mis-handled, the game comes out looking extremely silly, and partly because I'm not interested in projecting myself into the character--I play a game to experience someone else's story.  Chrono Cross isn't even nearly the worst I've encountered in the "silly" category, but Serge's lack of dialog makes him, as others have said, come across as an emotionless stick.  (It would help if the models used for the game were complex enough to include facial expressions in ordinary scenes and not just FMVs, but they're not.)

(The whole thing annoys me enough that I've been producing a potential hack script for Cross that, among other things, gives Serge some dialog, but that's a matter for another thread...)

[Jeff Zero]

I'm with alfador. I have zero interest in imagining myself as a character; I'd much rather experience their stories from an outside perspective, as I feel all stories should stick with. To me, if a video game story happens to be good enough, it's the rough equivalent to pretending you're the lead in a book; it's just kind of silly in all aspects. I realize it's a throwback and all, but I'd vastly prefer a version in which Crono and Serge actually spoke.

[IAmSerge]

I kinda enjoy the silent protagonist...

[utunnels]

Actually I never thought about that...
If the game makes you think "oh, he's mute", then it might be a failure.