Did You Like Radical Dreamers?

[Lord J Esq]

I am very curious as to whether people who have played this obscure game actually enjoyed it. If you've played it, please please please fill out the poll and then come in here and offer some explanation as to why you liked it or didn't like it.

I'm curious because it's such a different game than Trigger and Cross, and I want to know whether people consider it a worthy Chrono game. For instance, would you prefer that future Chrono games from Square Enix took more cues from Radical Dreamer's darker, quieter tone and its more mature attitude? Or is that definitely something you'd be against?

All opinions are welcome, and please feel free to disagree with each other. I'm more interested in taking the pulse of the community than in identifying the majority opinion.

(Note: Mainly my poll refers to the primary scenario of Radical Dreamers: "Le Tresor Interdit." Some of the other scenarios were wildly different in tone, but they're not as central to my question.)

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I chose "disliked it" because it was too short.  Plus, in all honesty, it didn't feel like it was a Chrono game (technically, it wasn't).  Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger, albeit very different, still shares some echoes of semblance between the two of them, something Radical Dreamers lacked altogether (in my personal opinion).

By no means did I actually dislike it, it was just too durn short.  I could finish it one sitting easily.  Amusing, yes.  Fun, yes.  Short, absolutely.

[Zephira]

I loved Radical Dreamers. The descriptions were excellent, the little tie ins to and mentions of Chrono Trigger were fun, the music was so captivating... I could go on and on. I think the part I liked most was the tone. Through the music, pictures and descriptions, I could really feel the tense atmosphere of the manor, and it had a great visual theme.
I was honestly disappointed when I later played Cross, and it was nothing like this. Cross' infiltration of Viper Manor was a real let down.
Also, Boo's right. It was way too short!

Although, I think it would be quite hard to pull off this same tone in anything but a visual novel. Yes, it's dark, mature, and very different from the other two games, but it still has some of the charm - magic? - that CT did. Perhaps for me it was the presence of Magil and Kid, both with much stronger connections to Magus and Schala than Cross' Guile and Kid.

[Samopoznanie]

Where's the option for 'Liked it better than Chrono Cross!' ?

I really enjoyed the game. I thought the three characters were much better developed than in CC, with its cast of dozens. Have to disagree with the suggestion that RD wasn't a Chrono game, as it worked with some of the same characters and concepts as CC, and did a better job of it IMO. The dynamic between Kid and Serge, with some of the humorous options available, was especially well done and struck a nice balance between fun and a dark atmosphere. I still chuckle at the option of 'Ask for Kid's measurements' when you find that mirror. After finishing RD, Cross actually made a lot more sense, with its connections to the Flame, Schala, Kid's relation to Lucca, etc.

I was impressed with the translation for the game, too. One of the best I've seen as far as the ROM scene goes. Did a great job capturing the feel of things.

[mav]

I chose "Disliked It: Other", and it shames me to admit it. I played it when I was pretty young, and my expectations were a little too high; the game paced itself quite differently than most other games I'd played. I had a hard time figuring out what was going on, since I rely so heavily on visuals to guide me, and I just couldn't sit down and play through it. I quit pretty quickly and have relied on plot summaries to guide me through what I missed. I'm sure the story was great, but the framework of the game and my expectations of the game conflicted too much for me to realize it.

[maggiekarp]

Where's the "LOVED IT" option?

Despite being "darker" than Chrono Cross, Radical Dreamers never gave that feeling of unavoidable tragic doom that Cross did, which really wasn't in the spirit of a Chrono game. Even though much of the same background happened in RD (Fall of Guardia, Lucca's death), it didn't feel so pointless.

It's also concise while still having stuff fans can ask questions about. You don't need an encyclopedia to get what Radical Dreamers was about/what happened in it, but you can still discuss the characters and what could have happened before and after the story.

They did the complete opposite of a silent protagonist, but Serge still feels like an extension of the player, almost as much as Crono did. He showed lots of emotion, sometimes to a wacky extent, and that's something Cross's Serge didn't really do.

Kid is just awesome. She's sexy without being a skanky little twig with beachballs stapled to her chest, her smiles felt like something to work for, and overall she was adorable. Cross's Kid was a bizarre Australian trollop that budded off a depressed waif turned she-bitch, RD's Kid was more like... Schala if she had gone through "the darkness".

I've made my views on Magil known all over the place, but I guess I can repeat myself. The idea of a Magus that turned into a Guile-like character of his own volition is way more intriguing to me than "wooop forgot that I was a dick in the past so I'm gonna act nice now! can't deal with that darkness bro!" It's just so much more satisfying.

RD was very different from Trigger, yes, but the reason people hate on Cross isn't because it's not a carbon copy of Trigger, it's because the plot is fudged up and there's too many goddamn characters. I'd support a remake of RD that has some of the aspects of Cross in it, but they should only be allowed up to 14-or-so playable characters and none of this Belthesar bs.

[Samopoznanie]

Kid is just awesome. She's sexy without being a skanky little twig with beachballs stapled to her chest, her smiles felt like something to work for, and overall she was adorable. Cross's Kid was a bizarre Australian trollop that budded off a depressed waif turned she-bitch, RD's Kid was more like... Schala if she had gone through "the darkness".

LOL!   

Hilarious. Better stated than I could ever have put it.

[V_Translanka]

I not only liked it, I liked it MORE THAN CHRONO CROSS! *gasp* The tight-nit cast of well-developed (mostly through the internal monologue of Serge) characters, the haunting ambient melodies by series staple Yasunori Mitsuda, and some of easily the BEST alternate scenario/endings IN THE ENTIRE SERIES all come together to make RD another great epic in the continually amazing Chrono series. Why hasn't anyone made an awesome hack of RD? I would play a fan game in RD's style (as long as it didn't get too long-winded)...I think RD is short because if it was much longer it would feel drawn-out. It's just a little short wedge of the Chrono 'verse and it's tasty that way (like cheesecake!)...

[kid123]

Is that really fair to compare both different thing?
RD = Interactive novel or some sort like that
CC = A commercial video games

Of course RD is better, but in aspect of theme,storyline and atmosphere. Come on man, it is a totally different genre.
RD is better in that aspect because it is more focused to be that way. It is a novel after all. I dunno how to elaborate this more, but at least I success in point out some fundamental disagreement.

Sorry, but I never played it before. If I have enough patience in reading text, I will download the translated game someday. I need more love of novel 

[anonymouse]

Liked it. It helped to get a main character whom I could connect with. Serge is silent throughout Cross, and as one half of a destined relationship or whatever, that made it a bit hard to swallow.

And, of course, MAGIL =D

[maggiekarp]

Is that really fair to compare both different thing?
RD = Interactive novel or some sort like that
CC = A commercial video games

Of course RD is better, but in aspect of theme,storyline and atmosphere. Come on man, it is a totally different genre.
RD is better in that aspect because it is more focused to be that way. It is a novel after all. I dunno how to elaborate this more, but at least I success in point out some fundamental disagreement.

Sorry, but I never played it before. If I have enough patience in reading text, I will download the translated game someday. I need more love of novel 

Despite being all text, the story in Radical Dreamers is easier to get into and understand than Cross's. There is a sudden "plot dump" near the end, but it hardly registers compared to some JRPGs.

No ENMITY ENMITY ENMITY  or YOUR DAD'S A CATPUTER or ANGELUS ARRAWREH or YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD.

[Lord J Esq]

I think I'm going to have to give you bonus points for "catputer"...

[Mirenately]

To be honest, I liked RD a lot. It was more like reading an interactive novel, making the heroes do what you think they should (Sometimes I imagine such things while reading normal books). The game was darker than trigger but it still had strong emotional connection with the original game.
Also Kid from RD is more likely to be associated with Schala-hime that we love. Not that stupid (Oh, she drives me crazy) CC Kid that can only cause irritation (Much like Wakka in FF10).
And Magil...*sigh*

[x_XTacTX_x]

Loved it so much I got my English teacher to play it after writing a paper on it about literary elements outside of literature. She loved it too.

[pandor]

I also require a "LOVED IT" option. >
I adore RD--I liked it more than Cross, and depending on the day, more than Trigger as well. ( !!!)
I may just be partial to the interactive novel format, but I do sincerely feel the characterizations were better in RD than in CC.