#zettel #gaming sourced from: [[Chrono Cross]] > sequel, noun > - a published, broadcast, or recorded work that continues the story or develops the theme of an earlier one. # As a Sequel to [[Chrono Trigger]], Chrono Cross is not uniform in its continued development of Trigger's Gameplay and Story If you go into Cross expect it to be a traditional sequel to Chrono Trigger, you're in for a rude awakening. Cross differentiates itself from trigger significantly in terms of gameplay, but its story is much more muddied ni its relations to Trigger. ## Gameplay It's hard not to talk about my thoughts about Chrono Cross without considering how it compares to [[Chrono Trigger]], though I think that goes for everyone. but I think that more enjoyment of this game is derived when you consider this game to be a continuation of the story of [[Chrono Trigger]], while completely acknowledging that it is an entirely new game. On its own, the game is fantastic, but as a sequel to Trigger, it's average. This doesn't make this game a bad game by any means, but compared to the incredible gameplay loop in Trigger, Cross's more "crafty" battle system of consumable attacks through the game requires a lot more thought in its execution. But of course, I think Cross excels as a game because it confidently leans into its own identity in terms of gameplay. One would have to commit to some serious mental gymnastics to think that Chrono Cross's gameplay was remotely similar to Chrono Trigger's gameplay, beyond the 3 party system and the occasional group tech. But if one were to play Chrono Cross expecting the same gameplay because the game is a sequel to Trigger, they would be in for a subversion of expectation. ## Story Cross is a messy game, in terms of its story. I really like the high concept: a normal boy lives a peaceful live until he is mysteriously teleported to a dimension where he has been dead for ten years, and he needs to find his way home. In practice I think this worked until the game starts to tie in the aspects of [[Chrono Trigger]], and it's all at its messiest right before the battle with FATE when Lynx does a massive plot dump. It's so massive, in fact, that I genuinely couldn't tell you the exact details of the plot other than when Serge came in contact with the Frozen flame, he split the timeline in two thus creating the two dimensions, and its FATE who has been monitoring these two timelines in the El Nido Triangle. And of course this is all done for some reason to eventually free Schala? If I hadn't played Trigger, why would I care about this "Schala" girl? And that's really too bad, because the opening third of Chrono Cross is extremely compelling on its own. It's only when Cross tries to attempts to integrate aspects of Trigger's story does the game gets very over-complicated. And that's tough, because despite what the devs claimed, it's hard NOT to see Cross as a sequel to trigger. Between the moments in the [[Revisiting Video Game Places in Different Games to Create New Meaning for the Player is an Effective Emotional Design Choice when Appropriate|Dead Sea, the references to Schala and the Kingdom of Zeal, and references to Lavos]], it's clear that understanding Trigger is near-essential to understanding the plot of Cross, and without it, the player is left with just a plot-dump near the endof the game without any appreciation for what led the player to the final moments of freeing Schala from the Time Devourer.