Can you improve upon perfection? The original Chrono Cross is a wide, sprawling game with a unique battle system and a complex plot, leading to a vast array of opinions on it over the years, but if there’s one aspect that is universally beloved beyond all others, it’s the soundtrack. Yasunori Mitsuda’s compositions for the game are nothing short of legendary, full of sorrow, drama, and vigor the likes of which few game OSTs have ever lived up to. And it appears to have gotten a whole new facelift in Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, which has had a small sampling of tracks uploaded to Youtube:
The new and arranged tracks were overseen by Mitsuda himself, and while the energy is certainly different, they’re still downright beautiful. “Time’s Scar” has lost its tense fervor and become melancholic, the blare of “Termina” (Another World)’s bagpipes has been softened to a breezier and gentler tone, and “Bound By Fate” has somehow become even more lonely and filled with anguish. While the reception to the song seems to be in full “they changed something that was already perfect so it’s bad” mode, I personally appreciate the direction of the arrangement and am curious to see how they handled other tracks (“Dream of the Shore Near Another World” my beloved). Still, here’s hoping that the game offers the ability to switch between classic and arranged tracks like a number of other Square Enix remasters.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition releases April 7th. You can pre-order it from Amazon and GameStop today.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
