Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a great game for anyone who loves JRPGs or wants to check out Chrono Cross for the first time, or again. The updated graphics and battle mechanics make this worth the lower price tag!

Some will be disappointed that Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is simply a remaster of one of the best JRPGs of all time rather than a remake, and it’s not the most exhaustive one at that. But still, there’s a great game here, and it’s never looked, sounded or played better. So, while the framerate issues may be irksome, and some aspects of the game aren’t so intuitive by today’s standards, anyone keen on playing – or replaying – a piece of JRPG history would be wise to check Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition out.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition brings a beloved classic to the PlayStation 4, complete with its old pros and cons. Some of the limitations of the first game get washed away with the enhancements and features that come with this release, but they also create a couple of their own. Like a true classic, this edition is not without its issues, but classics have a way of outlasting their criticisms through the eyes of those who experience them.

I’m not sure how to recommend Chrono Cross to a new player. This is a haunting, ethereal, beautiful game. The soundtrack is incredible, the story is engrossing, and the visuals are delightful. On the other hand, this was a dense, weird game when it first came out. The decades since have not made things any easier to parse, that’s for sure. While Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is full of new features and modern touches, there’s still some weirdness to navigate.

Modern platforms are getting one of Square Enix's most loved PS1 classics with the Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition. Our review.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers brings a daring and unusual JRPG back into the spotlight, but doesn’t smooth over many of its rough patches.

It hasn’t aged particularly well, and there are serious technical issues with the remaster, but the sequel to Chrono Trigger is still one of the original PlayStation’s best Japanese role-players.

I'm not sure what I thought I was going to get with Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition. I thought I would be swept away in the story and taken on an adventure I wouldn't forget. What I got was a game that feels like it is trapped in 1995. Some of that is good, solid combat, old-school CG cutscenes, excellent music. If you are new to Chrono Cross this edition is the one you want. It is beyond welcoming to new players. But there was too much holding the game back for me to make it a great game. A cast list so massive I felt bothered by it, and a story that is a bit bonkers was too much f...

And really, that’s all you need to know: it’s a PlayStation-era Square RPG. Can you still stand to play Final Fantasy IX and Parasite Eve? Then Chrono Cross is worth your time, and here’s an okay way to play it. Is that era too antiquated for you? Then this remaster has no chance of changing your mind. Regardless of what you think of the game or genre, it’s not a very loving or respectful port, and Chrono Cross deserves better.

Enjoy the timeless adventure of Chrono Cross but with only a slight amount of upgrades to the game and with an AI upscaler that makes the game play like your PlayStation is on Death’s row. Great game but a sad remaster.

Chrono Cross is an incredible game that has been deserving a remaster for far too long. It's a shame that, after all these years, it had to arrive in such a sorry state. The Radical Dreamers Edition does some minor work in improving and upgrading the experience, but with such poor optimisation, it's a headache to enjoy the experience. Longtime fans might be able to forgive the issues and savour the incredible visual novel side-story Radical Dreamers, but a game as iconic as this deserves better.

A serviceable restoration of one of the best and strangest games in Squaresoft's back catalogue.