Dcubed Posted April 8, 2022 Posted April 8, 2022 (edited) Oh, BTW, for anyone wondering. Its been confirmed through datamining that Chrono Cross is actually running in a PS1 emulator, it's not actually a remaster at all. Edited April 8, 2022 by Dcubed
darksnowman Posted April 9, 2022 Author Posted April 9, 2022 "Radical Nightmare." Not the best version of the game. Btw, new music is utilised for the attract screen before you start into the game. The footage of Cross looks totally fine to me (no, really) however they show it at one point side by side with the Playstation original and it doesn't compare favourably. It's a chugger. Though despite seeing it here with my own eyes, I still think the update looks fine as I don't remember 32-bit games looking anything other than wonky and barely holding together at the seams. Apparently, the preferred way to play could well be handheld on Switch. Fingers crossed that getting in and out of battle is snappy enough.
Dcubed Posted April 13, 2022 Posted April 13, 2022 (edited) So I’ve been playing Radical Dreamers… and it’s really rad! It’s almost like a survival horror text adventure game! It does actually have a combat system, with narrative based attacking/defending/dodging mechanics… as well as hidden HP and Relationship stats that determine how the story progresses and whether you live or die! You can’t actually see your HP in the game, but you can actually die in combat or other scripted sequences that present danger; and you can recover HP too by finding certain items or making certain choices! There’s locked doors & keys to find, story beats and lore to uncover as you explore the mansion, It’s very Resident Evil esc… but as a text adventure! I really like it! Has a proper creepy atmosphere throughout, with a somber tone and a very pensive score that is punctuated by music in certain sections that’ll be familiar to anyone who has played Chrono Cross (Speaking of which, it’s pretty neat hearing Chrono Cross music in its original SNES form!). Super happy to finally be able to play this game after so so long! It’s always looked like such an interesting game, and it definitely lives up to its novel reputation. Thoroughly enjoying this one, though ironically, its subtitle “Le Trésor Interdit“ is true no more! Edited April 13, 2022 by Dcubed 1 1
Dcubed Posted April 17, 2022 Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) And that's Radical Dreamers finished! Thoughts below under the spoiler tag... Spoiler Radical Dreamers' ties to Chrono Trigger make a hell of a lot more sense than Chrono Cross' ever did! I really like how the reasoning behind the Frozen Flame heist is kept a secret right up until the very end, when it turns out that Kid & Magil Magus are looking to use it alongside the Time Egg/Chrono Trigger to bring Lucca back to life, after it's revealed that Lynx killed her. Though it never gets revealed exactly why Lucca was a target for Lynx in particular, it only becomes all the more tragic when the Time Egg fails to bring back Lucca; instead becoming an outlet for Kid's backstory. That's an interesting plot thread that actually sets itself up well for a potential follow-up... ironically, it would've made for a much better plotline to follow up Chrono Trigger than Chrono Cross ever was! God! The more I think about Chrono Cross' story, the angrier it makes me! It's outright character assassination and is absolutely offensive in how it takes a giant shit over the original Chrono Trigger! I mean... they literally pick the most utterly banal and stupid way to kill off the original cast as possible and undo basically everything the original CT stood for! And then they make it even worse by retconning the original CT with the PS1 & DS re-releases that violently and gracelessly force in direct ties to Chrono Cross that make virtually no sense at all! Fucking seriously?! This literal joke boss being the one who offed the entire OG cast is canon!! Having finally played through the main story of Radical Dreamers though? This is a MUCH better follow-up to the original CT than CC ever was! Even though it was only ever meant to be a side-story, it leaves some genuinely interesting story breadcrumbs that could've (and should've) been followed up in a proper sequel. The presence of Masamune's sister sword (The Einlanzer)? Riddel being trapped within Vipor Manor? The Lady Venus who is forever trapped within the shattered mirror (of which Kid takes the shard with her)? The quest to revive Lucca with the Frozen Flame and another Time Egg? All of these could've made for really interesting plot points that could've been followed up in a potential CT2. Instead we get the complete assassination of the original cast, and a "sequel" that actively shits on the original game and everything it stood for; with the most utterly threadbare ties being twisted into a completely confused and plothole riddled mess, so much of a mess in fact that Kato has continued to mangle the original CT in subsequent releases in order to force his terribly written story to connect with the original CT. In short, Radical Dreamers is a thoroughly enjoyable side-story with an interesting story that is told in a genuinely unique and compelling fashion. I never thought that a survival horror text adventure would've been an appropriate way to follow up the original CT; but it offers a far more compelling follow-on story from CT than Chrono Cross ever did! But yeah, absolutely well worth playing, I can't quite think of another game quite like it. It's kind of like what would happen if Zero Escape: 999 and Resident Evil had a baby, absolutely not what I was expecting, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it! Oh, and Chrono Cross' story and storytelling is absolute wank; the fact that a Japanese-only SNES Satellaview text-adventure made on a positively miniscule budget completely shows it up in that regard is absolute testament to how complete and utter wank it is! Edited April 17, 2022 by Dcubed 1 1
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