I had no intention to dig out this topic, but I just came across a fairly short article that echoed my feelings expressed in this topic; so I thought I could avoid unnecessarily starting a new topic.
Here a few quotes from the article:
"People are upset with Chrono Cross because it is a departure, in every single conceivable way, from the beloved journey of Crono, Marle, and Lucca." (After listing some of the ways, he adds...) "Oh, right: And all the characters from Chrono Trigger are either confirmed dead, believed to be dead, or just plain missing from the story..."
"What does this scene, which takes place in Lucca’s house from Chrono Trigger, tell us about its sequel as a whole?
Everything burns."Everything burns. Remember that uplifting quest from the previous game? It only takes one fluke in time’s flow to undo all your efforts."
"There is no scene more telling of the nature of how Chrono Cross operates than the entire Dead Sea sequence... Even Johnny, the futuristic robot that never did any harm, could not be spared. Seriously, the plot of Cross is
ruthless when it comes to denying or taking away things, people, or places that the player once held dear."
"But there is honestly no greater sense of loss than when Lynx approaches a lone, fallen bell in the middle of the screen that reads
1000 AD, Nadia’s Bell, May our prayers for peace ring on for eternity."
"Beyond all the artistic integrity of Chrono Trigger, it offered
implicit messages of hope through the actions of Crono and his friends. But Chrono Cross is in stark contrast of this notion: Miguel’s point of view, when stripped down, is very
explicit, in your face philosophy that amounts to nihilism at best... Everything burns. And according to Miguel, we are all Prisoners of Fate."
"Chrono Cross is truly the darkness to counter Chrono Trigger’s light... Chrono Trigger ended on an ultimately happy note…but because of the way Chrono Cross ends, the player is more likely to take away its darkest moments than its resolution that offers a peek at light once again."
"Essentially, Chrono Cross embodies hopelessness."
The full article can be found here:
http://operationrainfall.com/analyzing-the-chrono-games/2/(I certainly don't agree with his theory on Miguel's identity, but I agreed with the rest.)
He admits, near the beginning, that Chrono Cross is a fine game in its own rights - a sentiment that I, too, can yield to. Rather, the clear point of the article is that Chrono Cross was pretty much the opposite of Chrono Trigger. So if Chrono Trigger is my all-time favorite game, and I especially love the positive spirit exuded by the group of friends, then wouldn't it only be logical that I would find Chrono Cross very unenjoyable, since its core theme is just the opposite of that?
I know I already expressed nearly the same thing. I just stumbled upon this while searching for Chrono Cross pics, and wanted to share it, since it was in line with what I'd already said.
Oh, and he ended by attaching a YouTube video - the Chrono track from the Symphonic Fantasies concert/CD. He said that from 9:13 - 12:30, they fittingly melded "Prisoners of Fate" with "To Far Away Times." What better contrast of hopelessness and hopefulness could there be, eh?
