Chrono Cross on Switch still leads the standard for RPGs, 20 years on

techradar.com:

Chrono Cross fans have been calling for a re-release of the classic JRPG almost since its launch back in 1999. Finally, after many long years of waiting, we're getting our wish.

Available to play on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and other models, it features remastered graphics, the ability to fast forward, auto-battle improvements, and more.

I've been playing this new remaster on Nintendo Switch, and it's only strengthened my belief that modern RPGs can benefit a lot from the Chrono series, particularly when it comes to narrative and audio.

Chrono Cross is a sidequel, rather than a sequel to Chrono Trigger, the famous RPG released for Nintendo's Super Nintendo console in 1995. Instead of time-travel, you travel across parallel worlds to face off against Lynx, a cruel agent of the supercomputer FATE that's trying to eliminate the main character, Serge, and his party while they also try to defeat a Time Devourer.

When Chrono Cross was released back in 1999, it was critically acclaimed, with praise heaped on its battle system and multiple endings. You could see dramatically different conclusions depending on who you recruited to your party and the conversation options you picked through the game.

While Chrono Trigger saw a remaster in 2008 on the Nintendo DS, followed by a PC release in 2018, I hoped for Chrono Cross to get a similar treatment. The spinoff may not have found the same fame as Chrono Trigger, but it still had a loyal fan base.

While I bounced off of Final Fantasy VIII on the original PlayStation back in 1999, and attempts to get into other entries in the series, Chrono Cross' story of Balamb Garden hooked me in, especially as it revolved around time travel. I've loved stories