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{{quote|''What was the start of all this? When did the cogs of fate begin to turn? Perhaps it is impossible to grasp that answer now, from deep within the flow of time...''}}
''Chrono Cross'', a [[Role
The story revolves around Serge, a village boy who accidentally blunders into an [[Alternate Dimension]] while trying to get a gift for his sweetheart. This other world is mostly similar to his own, but has a number of very important differences. For starters, in the other world, [[It's a Wonderful Plot|he's dead]]. This scenario leads to Serge trying to learn why he's so important to both timelines, getting dragged along on an adventure by a certain pugnacious Aussie girl, mastering the art of dimension-hopping between his Home World and Another World, and, just maybe, saving all of space and time.
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* [[Aborted Arc]]: There is [http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Arbiter.html speculation] that the game was originally intended to contain a subplot going into greater depth about Serge's role as the Arbiter of the Frozen Flame. More generally, the game itself is widely suspected to have been rushed and incomplete in its later stages of development, which would why many major plot threads are resolved only in the form of a [[Info Dump]] right before the final battle that was added for the North American version of the game.
* [[Actually a Doombot]]: The first battle with Lynx.
* [[
* [[Alien Sky]]: Dual moons, one white and one red. Oddly, both ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' and ''[[Radical Dreamers]]'' only have one.
** Somewhat Justified {{spoiler|in that the Second Moon came into existence when Dinopolis was pulled into the world during the Time Crash.}}
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* [[All There in the Manual]]: If you haven't played ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', the plot will make even less sense. If you have played ''Chrono Trigger''... [[Mind Screw|well... um...]] you'll recognize some of the characters? The DS remake of ''Chrono Trigger'' has some added content that reinforces the link between the two games, however.
* [[Always Check Behind the Chair]]: All over the place.
* [[Always Save the Girl]]: The player has the option to choose Harle when she asks him to choose the world or her: if he picks her, she laughs and says she knows he's lying. Subverted in what looks like a [[But Thou Must!]] situation involving Kid early in the
* [[Angst Coma]]: {{spoiler|Kid}} enters one after dicking about with the Frozen Flame.
* [[Another Dimension]]: The beginning of the game revolves around the main character being pulled from his "Home World" to "Another World", an alternate timeline where he's been ''dead'' for ten years.
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* [[Attract Mode]]: Featuring ''[[Wasted Song|The Dream That Time Dreams]]''.
* [[Awesome but Impractical]]: Summon Elements require you to convert the entire field to their alignment color before use, making them an more trouble than they're worth if you're just trying to kill things. The various "field" spells (which turn the entire field the appropriate color instantly) make casting summons a lot easier, but neither black nor white have one. What they ''are'' useful for is turning enemies into "shiny" items needed to create the best equipment in the game... even if that's not anything like necessary to actually beat the game.
* [[Bad Moon Rising]]: The theme of Harle's techs. Belthazar later exposes her as the {{spoiler|Dark Moon Dragon}}.
* [[Badass Family]]: Fargo's family (consisting of the man himself, his children {{spoiler|Nikki and Marcy}}, and his sister-in-law {{spoiler|Irenes}}) make up one very badass family.
* [[Badass Normal]]: Miguel, and arguably anyone on your party who was just a peasant before joining you.
* [[Baleful Polymorph]]: Sneff turns Serge and co. into cats during a magic trick.
* [[BGM Override]]: Several times.
** The game's opening [[Dream Sequence]] has a slightly altered version of "Between Life and Death", the [[Battle Theme Music]] for [[Boss Battle
** The song "Prisoners of Fate" plays during Miguel's [[Exposition Break]] in the Dead Sea, and then continues during the [[Boss Battle]] with him.
** The Marbule sequence has the song "Magical Dreamers ~ The Wind, Stars, and Waves" overriding the normal music. Makes sense, as it's [[Source Music]] being played by Nikki and his band at the time.
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* [[Color-Coded Elements]]: Inverted; the colors ''are'' the elements. Red incorporates [[Playing with Fire|fire]] and [[Magma Man|magma]], blue is [[Making a Splash|water]] and [[An Ice Person|ice]], yellow is [[Dishing Out Dirt|earth]] and [[Shock and Awe|lightning]], green is [[Blow You Away|wind]] and [[Green Thumb|plants]], black is [[Casting a Shadow|darkness]] and [[Gravity Master|gravity]], and white is [[Light'Em Up|light]] and [[Death From Above|meteors]].
* [[Combination Attack]]: There are many, although they are actually [[Guide Dang It|much rarer in practice]] than in ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', mainly due to the game's [[Loads and Loads of Characters]].
* [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard]]: The rules imposed on the player for combat [[My Rules Are Not Your Rules|don't apply to the enemy]]
* [[Contemplate Our Navels]]: Given that much of the game revolves around the nature of time, reality, and existence, it was sort of inevitable.
* [[Cosmetic Award]]: One of the things you can find is a collection of new skins for dialog boxes.
* [[Creepy Child]]: The Ghost Children.
* [[Cruelty Is the Only Option]]: The requirements for Razzly's Lv. 7 Tech is to pick all of the ''bad'' outcomes in the Hydra
* [[Dark Reprise]]: Both versions of Arni Village use the same melody. However, Another Arni's melancholy theme reflects the sadness of Serge's absence.
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Compared to the endlessly upbeat optimism of ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', ''Chrono Cross'''s story, in which the characters are often suffer through confusion, anger, and despair, comes off as such, despite its colorful, hand-painted visuals and character designs. Fans [[Broken Base|are split]] on whether or not this worked in the game's favor.
* [[Defeat Means Friendship]]: How Grobyc joins your party.
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* [[Dual-Wielding]]: Glenn uses the legendary sword [[Gratuitous German|Einlanzer]] for his ultimate weapon... and can also retrieve its alternate-timeline counterpart and use them ''both at once''.
* [[Dual World Gameplay]]: One goes between parallel worlds although there was only one point at which you could travel between them, and you didn't receive the ability to do so until late in the game. Despite being parallel worlds, one side could affect the other e.g. cooling scorched ground on an island in one world allows plant life to grow in the other world.
* [[Dub
* [[Easing Into the Adventure]]: Serge's bossy girlfriend wants him to make her a scale necklace.
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: The Time Devourer.
* [[Eldritch Location]]: The Darkness Beyond Time, and probably the [[Time Crash|Dead Sea]] as well.
* [[Elemental Crafting]]: The weapon forging system ranks.
* [[Everyone Is a Tomato]]: The people of El Nido are {{spoiler|the descendants of scientists from Chronopolis}}. On an even grander scale, {{spoiler|Home World}} is a splintered reality, and thus the false one.
* [[Evil Versus Evil]]: Chronopolis vs. the Terra Tower, in the game's distant past.
* [[Evil Is Not a Toy]]: The Frozen Flame.
* [[Expy]]: More than a few, as may be expected of a game with [[Loads and Loads of Characters]].
** Glenn, a young greenish-grey-haired knight named for and modeled after the human form of Frog from ''[[Chrono Trigger]]''. Like his namesake, he emerges from obscurity, claims a legendary sword, and generally kicks ass and takes names. He can even initiate Frog's ''X-Strike'' [[Combination Attack|Dual Tech]] with Serge.
** Guile is a complicated case. Based on Magil from ''Radical Dreamers'', who turns out to be {{spoiler|Magus from ''Chrono Trigger'' keeping an eye on his sister}}, that part of Guile's backstory was dropped during development but the Expy-ness remained. Then the DS remake of ''Chrono Trigger'' implies that Guile is {{spoiler|an amnesiatic, alternate dimension Magus}}. [[Word of God]] states that Guile is {{spoiler|neither Magil nor Magus}}, bringing us full circle.
** Leah is also an Expy of Ayla. Beating the game with Leah in your party implies {{spoiler|that she is actually Ayla's ''mother''}}. Yay for time travel?
* [[Extranormal Institute]]: Chronopolis fits the bill.
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* [[Field Power Effect]]: The colors in the field.
* [[Fighting Your Friend]]:
** Serge/{{spoiler|Lynx}} versus Kid at the top of Fort Dragonia.
** The boss battles against {{spoiler|Miguel}} and Dario.
* [[Flying Saucer]]: And it's plot-relevant, to boot.
* [[Forbidden Zone]]: The Dead Sea.
* [[Foreshadowing]]: When the Dead Sea is destroyed, ribbons of flame emerge from three triangular spots on the water. These spots correspond to {{spoiler|Chronopolis's isles}} in the mirror dimension.
* [[For Want of a Nail]]: Serge's presence (or lack thereof) is the driving force in the differences between Home and Another world.
* [[Funetik Aksent]]: Practically every character, due to disc space
* [[Fusion Dance]]: The Time Devourer is a fusion of {{spoiler|Schala and Lavos}}. And {{spoiler|the Dragon Gods fuse once FATE falls}}.
* [[Gaia's Vengeance]]: The {{spoiler|dragon gods}} are quite interested in dishing this
* [[Gainax Ending]]: No surprise here, as Masato Kato ''did'' work for Gainax previously. The game's final [[Cutscene]] shows {{spoiler|the Time Devourer is defeated, you merged the worlds together again, and... now there's a girl running around Tokyo}}? Yea, good luck figuring ''that'' out. One of the developers has since explained that this ending is intended to make players "think about the reality of their own world", and that part of the ending is to make the player think that there might be a Kid in their world. Presumably a reference to the game's themes of alternate dimensions and such.
* [[Gambit Pileup]]: There's at least half a dozen plans working at cross purposes throughout the game. In rough order of [[Unwitting Pawn]]-ness: the Arcadia Dragoons and Porre are trying to [[Out Gambit]] one another via Lynx, who is actually trying to {{spoiler|break the restrictions on FATE}}, while the dragon gods manipulate {{spoiler|Serge, so that he'll free them by killing FATE}}, ''all'' of which was part of a plan by {{spoiler|the Prophet of Time}} meant to result in the final defeat of the Time Devourer.
* [[Genre Deconstruction]]: Of time travel. Particularly the time travel in ''Chrono Trigger''. CC asks the question "[[Fridge Horror|what happens to the people of a changed timeline?]]", and rips right into it.
* [[Ghost Ship]]: Subverted then played straight. While sailing through dense fog, the party runs across a ship rumored to be a ghost ship, but turns out to be a pirate vessel using the legend to its advantage. The pirates are then attacked by an ''[[Crying Wolf|actual]]'' ghost ship.
* [[Giant Wall of Watery Doom]]: The Dead Sea was in the middle of getting pummeled by these when it froze.
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* [[Heel Face Turn]]: {{spoiler|The Dragoons}}. {{spoiler|Harle}}... [[Heel Face Revolving Door|kind of]]. And to a lesser extent {{spoiler|Lynx/You}}.
* [[He Knows About Timed Hits]]: Radius kindly instructs the player on Field Effect in the beginning of the game, while Solt and Peppor explain a new mechanic to you almost every time you fight them.
* [[Hijacked by Ganon]]: The whole game is, ultimately, an elaborate scheme to kill {{spoiler|Lavos}} in a way that doesn't result in a [[Time Paradox]].
** Other supporting baddies, the {{spoiler|Reptites}} and {{spoiler|Mother Brain}}, also turn up in new guises.
* [[Hello, Insert Name Here]]: You can't, however, name Serge "Crono".
* [[Humans Are
* [[Hustling the Mark]]: How the alternate world Fargo takes your boat. [[Hoist by His Own Petard|It backfires]].
* [[I Don't Like the Sound of That Place]]: ''Lots'' of fun places in El Nido, like Death's Door, the Dead Sea, and the Isle of the Damned.
* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: A few characters fight with "domestic" implements (like brooms, mixing spoons, and frying pans), several others use instruments (a guitar and a harp, for example), and one uses ''carrots''. Serge's swallow, a spear with curved blades on each end, is actually a boat
* [[Info Dump]]: The Chronopolis segment is particularly guilty of this. The {{spoiler|apparitions on Opassa Beach}} right before the final battle also lay it on thick.
* [[Interdimensional Travel Device]]
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* [[Joined Your Party]]: Those messages are personalized for each character's accent/verbal tic/gimmick. "Marcy, like, joined your party!" (has some [[Valley Girl]] speech patterns), "ZOAH JOINED YOUR PARTY." (speaks in [[No Indoor Voice|ALL CAPS, ALL THE TIME]]), and "Greco tagged into your party!" (is a [[Masked Luchador]]) come to mind.
* [[Justified Save Point]]: People pray to the Records of Fate for good luck. {{spoiler|It's a machine devised by FATE to experiment on her progeny}} and prevent them from interacting with {{spoiler|the outside world}}.
* [[Last-Disc Magic]]: The titular ''Chrono Cross'', which is only effective on the Final Boss (and required for the good ending).
* [[Lethal Joke Character]]: Poshul and Pierre, two rather pathetic characters, get significantly powered up when equipped with the proper key items. Poshul only needs one, but Pierre needs ''three''
* [[Let's Play]]: [[The Dark Id]]'s [http://lparchive.org/Chrono-Cross/ playthrough] is as hilarious as it is informative, managing to be both critical and celebratory at the same time. Serge becomes a slacker who quickly becomes the [[Only Sane Man]] when confronted with transdimensional weirdness, Kid and Leena get along like a house on fire, the villains' nebulous objectives are repeatedly mocked, the [[Anvilicious]] [[Green Aesop|green aesops]] and "[[Humans Are
* [[Living Memory]]: Used to represent destroyed timelines. Three of them take the forms of chibi versions of [[Chrono Trigger|Crono, Lucca, and Marle]], but this appears to be primarily a [[Red Herring]] (or a [[Player Punch]]) rather than having much relevance.
* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]: With extreme variations of relevance to the plot. Then again, if you ever wanted to form a party with an animate, talking voodoo fetish or a sentient turnip, have we got a game for you!
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* [[Mass Teleportation]]: {{spoiler|Chronopolis}} semi-accidentally did this to itself, creating both {{spoiler|the Sea of Eden and the Dead Sea}}.
* [[Mecha-Mooks]]: There are some in the Dead Sea, but Chronopolis crawls with them.
* [[MacGuffin Title]]: Notable in that it is entirely possible [[Guide Dang It|and quite likely, if you aren't playing with a guide]], to avoid getting the ''Chrono Cross''.
* [[Mind Screw]]: And ''how!''
* [[Musical Nod]]: The soundtrack contains numerous references to both ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' and ''[[Radical Dreamers]]'', some more subtle than others:
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* [[Mythology Gag]]: The game is ''packed full'' of them, not only referencing ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' but also ''[[Radical Dreamers]]''.
** Glenn's name is a reference to Frog, whose real name before his transformation was... Glenn.
** In Japanese, Guile's original name is "Alf", a reference to the name of Janus' cat Alfador.
** Serge's brief journey into Kid's past is a mirror of Lucca's trip to her mother's. They both involve a main character {{spoiler|going to Lucca's house in the past}} in order to prevent something terrible from happening to someone important to them.
** In Home Arni's tavern, some customers make a throwaway reference to the Radical Dreamers, Kid's gang in the titular game.
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* [[Perfect Poison]]: Lynx has poison-laced throwing daggers. One slice will knock you flat.
* [[Post Modernism]]: Throughout the game the distinction between Serge and the player is repeatedly blurred, until in the good ending it is demolished entirely.
* [[The Power of Rock]]: Nikki's main attack, and {{spoiler|the method of activating the ''Chrono Cross''.}} Also, the way to reach the Black Dragon involves saving Marbule by having his band perform nearby.
* [[Punny Name]]: Some of the monsters suffer from this. Many of the names fall into [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] territory as well. (A red-elemental canine monster named HotDoggity, anyone?)
* [[Recurring Boss]]: Lynx, who is fought five times: twice as Lynx and once each as {{spoiler|Serge (in Fort Dragonia), Dark Serge, and finally in his true form as FATE}}.
* [[Ret-Gone]]: {{spoiler|The ultimate goal is to activate the ''Chrono Cross'' with the Song of Time to remove Lavos from existence, freeing Schala and stopping the Time Devourer permanently}}.
* [[Ripple Effect Indicator]]: The Dead Sea replaces Chronopolis in Home World. As {{spoiler|Crono didn't stop Lavos}} in that timeline, Chronopolis likewise was never built; the sea changed to reflect that status.
* [[Sad Battle Music]]: "Prisoners of Fate" plays during the climax of the game's [[Wham! Episode]] in the Dead Sea. It culminates in a showdown against someone who ''really'' does not want to fight you, but will kick your ass seven ways to Sunday regardless. The same theme plays while fighting [[Bonus Boss]] Dario.
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* [[Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome]]: Many fans believe that {{spoiler|Crono, Marle, and Lucca}} are dead, due to {{spoiler|Porre's invasion of Guardia and Lynx's attack on Lucca's orphanage}}. They also appear as "ghosts", but see the [[Living Memory]] entry above. {{spoiler|Robo}}, who became the {{spoiler|Prometheus Lock keeping the FATE supercomputer in check}}, is actually "killed" near the end of the game, unless it was {{spoiler|a copy of his programming rather than his actual "self"}}. Magus, however, is implied to be alive, though that's a whole 'nother [[Fan Wank]].
** Good lord, even the [[Mascot Mook|mascots]] aren't safe! Johnny's mangled corpse is strewn on an interstate in the Dead Sea, and the singing robot Gato is about to fatally short out when Serge travels back in time to Lucca's orphanage.
* [[Surprise Creepy]]: The game starts out as a typical JRPG, introducing its unassuming hero in a colorful setting. Oh hi, wormhole. This is even echoed in the enemies: The goofy looking Beach Bums in Opassa Beach are replaced by giant flying piranhas.
* [[A Taste of Power]]: The opening dungeon (which is a premonition of future events) has everyone armed with Mythril/Silver weapons and a few hundred HP. Of course, by the time you get to that point of the game, you can't get Silver weapons; the best you can do is Iron. Once the premonition is over, you're back to bone weapons and a few dozen HP, as well as much fewer element levels.
* [[Time Crash]]: [[Trope Namer]]. The Dead Sea is the site of a [[Time Crash]], where the bad future from ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' tried to reassert itself into time.
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* [[Unexplained Accent]]: Unavoidable with so many accents on display, but Kid's [[Land Down Under|Aussie]] twang is somewhat baffling.
* [[Unholy Holy Sword]]: The Masamune.
* [[Unholy Nuke]] / [[
* [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]: Leena. She is the childhood friend, the first girl, and they are most definitely dating, but then Serge meets Kid and Leena is forgotten about. The poor lass even has the game's fortune teller bluntly inform her (well, her alternate-dimension counterpart, at least) that she's not getting a boyfriend for some time. Ouch. Whether she actually ends up with Serge or not depends on which ending you get.
* [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight]]: You can recruit a pink dog that [[Speech-Impaired Animal|sounds like Elmer Fudd]], a glam rocker, a skeleton clown, a plant baby, a voodoo doll with a three-foot iron nail through its chest, and a psychic luchador priest, among other things. Few NPC's if any will bat an eye.
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* [[Video Game Settings]]:
** [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]]: The waterways beneath Viper Manor.
** [[Amazing Technicolor Battlefield]] / [[Final Boss, New Dimension]]: The Darkness at the End of Time.
** [[All the Worlds Are a Stage]]: The Dragon God, in a call back to ''Chrono Trigger'''s final boss.
** [[Big Fancy Castle]]: Viper Manor. Oddly, after the first visit, Serge can waltz in and out unsupervised.
** [[Bleak Level]]: The Dead Sea took this trope to new heights.
** [[Broken Bridge]]: Can you say Death's Door? {{spoiler|Dark Serge}} placed the Masamune there; the thing is so utterly [[Made of Evil]] that Lynx has to fetch the Einlanzer to counter its effect. That still leaves the door, which requires a [[Plot Coupon]] to unlock.
** [[Capital City]]: Termina.
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** [[First Town]]: Arni Village.
** [[Gravity Screw]]: The Dimensional Vortex looks like an [[M. C. Escher]] design as painted by [[Vincent van Gogh]].
** [[Hailfire Peaks]]: Mt. Pyre, should you choose to [[Exploited Trope|exploit]] a key item and cause the magma to freeze over. In [[Path of Most Resistance|a fit of sadism]], the treasure chests also freeze, preventing you from ever opening them.
** [[It's All Upstairs From Here]]: Fort Dragonia.
** [[Meat Moss]]: The Isle of the Damned.
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** [[Monster Town]]: Marbule, once it's repopulated.
** [[Noob Cave]] / [[Palmtree Panic]]: Opassa beach.
** [[Nostalgia Level]]: [[Played for Drama]] in the Dead Sea.
** [[One-Time Dungeon]]: The Dead Sea.
** [[Ominous Floating Castle]] / [[The Very Definitely Final Dungeon]]: Terra Tower.
** [[Port Town]]: Guldove.
** [[Recurring Location]]: Viper Manor's round library. For some odd reason, Belthasar is a welcome guest in here, along with the {{spoiler|Neo-Epoch}} (which is squirreled away in a [[Bookcase Passage]]). An [[Eldritch Location|Eldritch]] version of the library appears in Terra Tower.
** [[Remixed Level]]: Quite a few, obviously. Most are just duplicates of the same map, even Home World's Hydra Marsh, which is still a toxic wasteland even with the Hydra alive. Viper Manor was demolished in Home World, leaving only the sewer and prison intact.
** [[Secret Level]]: The Bend in Time allows you to revisit old enemies. Useful for Sprigg's Morphs and leveling up Pip.
** [[Ship Level]]: The Ghost Ship, later followed by the S.S. Zelbess.
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** [[Under the Sea]]: El Nido Triangle.
** [[Where It All Began]]: Opassa Beach.
* [[Villain-Beating Artifact]]: One can kill the Time Devourer by force, but he'll return. The only way to get rid of him once and for all is to use the Chrono Cross.
* [[Villains Out Shopping]]: One of the endings is like this.
* [[Warmup Boss]]: Mama Komodo. Incidentally, you've just finished killing all of her babies, and she's pretty steamed. Her [[Death Cry Echo]] is rather piteous, too, making this (yet another) instance of [[You Bastard]].
* [[Wasted Song]]: The amazing song "The Dream that Time Dreams" (frequently [[Spell My Name with an "S"|translated as]] "Time of the Dreamwatch"), which consists of melodies from the original ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' soundtrack and the theme of ''[[Radical Dreamers]]'' done in ''
* [[Weapon Tombstone]]: Both Dario and his father Garai's graves (in their respective dimensions) are marked with the Einlanzer, a sword they both used. While Garai's Einlanzer is obtained through the course of the game no matter what, Glenn can retrieve Dario's after some [[Character Development]] and use them [[Dual-Wielding|simultaneously]].
* [[Weird Moon]]: Viper Manor's suspension bridge is overshadowed by two of these babies.
* [[Wham! Episode]]: Fort Dragonia; appropriate, as a [[Disc One Final Dungeon]]. Chronopolis is another example.
* [[Where It All Began]]: This works on multiple levels. The portal to the [[Final Boss]] is located at Opassa Beach.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Science Fiction Video Games]]
[[Category:
[[Category:The Nineties]]
[[Category:Eastern RPG]]
[[Category:Chrono Cross]]
[[Category:Video Game]]
[[Category:Video Games of the 1990s]]
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