Chrono Cross - An Existentialist Masterpiece

What makes the themes you discussed even more incredible within the context of the game is how much choice you are given in gameplay. You CHOOSE how to set up your abilities. You CHOOSE what party members to recruit. You CHOOSE whether to use the chrono cross or not. Choice is embedded into every system. On the party members point imo this game gets wrongly criticized for that. It’s criticized for not having a developed cast but the point of the cast isn’t to be well knit. Unlike other classic jrpgs, the party members have their own lives they partake in outside the party. They don’t sit at a camp with you, they return to their lives when they aren’t needed and join when you need them. You CHOOSE to become invested with their side quests and stories (at least for the ones that have them). Masato Kato did brilliant work in making this one of the most thematically coherent games of its generation.

The fact that one of the strongest characters is hidden behind a decision most people won't make -- either because it feels morally wrong or just because it's not expected in the common narratives of the genre to make the choice of abandoning a character to die -- marks this as an amazingly planned game.

This is probably the most important game in my life. It was my first ever RPG, and it definitely shaped my future taste in games and stories in general. In all my years playing this game, I'd never thought about it as an existential piece before. Thanks to this video, and thinking in retrospect, it makes sense now why I've always loved this story. I remember being young and thinking that the dialogue was so profound and beyond my comprehension (ignoring the fact I didn't speak any English at the time). By the way, this game is also important because it was thorough it that I confirmed that I could finally understand the English language. I played it constantly during my childhood and my teenage years, but because English is not my first language, I spent years of my life with huge gaps of information about the story. And not just the story, gameplay as well. There were many occasions in which I couldn't make any progress because I literally had no idea what to do or where to go next. It was an incredible journey every time I would play the game because I would find and piece together new information about the story. When I finally finished it, I realized I understood the English language. Like I said, this is the most important game in my life. Finally, the concept of the Dead Sea still sends shivers down my spine. Even now watching your video. It's the coolest, most scary idea I've ever heard of when it comes to time travel, realities, alternate dimensions, etc. I cannot wait to replay the remaster. I bought it as soon as it came out, but other Than testing it out, I haven't had the chance/time to play it.

I remember trying to explain some of this game to people in highschool and everyone thinking I was crazy or even stupid. Now I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes remembering how amazing this story is and how much it affected me. I wish everyone could have found what you found in it. Thank you for the amazing video

Knowing as much as i do about space, time and the history of earth and recent human history.... this shit is heady. Squaresoft in the 90s was on some God tier level.

Chrono Cross is the best PS1 game. No one can convince me otherwise, It helped me get through so much real world problems and I carry the effects of it with me even today. Thanks for this video, really great work.

This actually moved me to tears… I’ve always loved the Chrono series since coming across it as a kid but I didn’t realize just how wonderful it is

Chrono Trigger and Cross are some of my favorite pieces of media of all time. Thank you for remembering and talking about them, it's nice to know that these stories that touched me also had an effect that continues to resonate with others out there.

Some stories hit so hard that never leave you, that's the case here.

I am 46 years old. In the year of 199X Chrono Cross came out, and back then I was a huge junky for all things Squaresoft. Having played and loved the OG Chrono Trigger, this absolutely was a must have. I’ve always harbored an incredible love and admiration for this game, and it sits right up there in the pantheon of critical games. Final Fantasy 6 and 7, Silent Hill 1, 2, and 3, Fallout New Vegas; the Legend of Zelda. If you’ve never played this game, please allow me to give it my highest recommendation. If you love a deep story, fantastic characters, and an amazing soundtrack, you will absolutely fall in love with this game.

Chrono cross is really a great game. Very good graphics when released, deep and complex story, huge amount of unique characters and the best soundtrack of all games.

I absolutely adore Cross. I played all 3 Chrono games this year. Even radical dreamers was awesome. Cross deserves so much more respect. Good video

I've been hoping you would cover this game for years, and I'm so glad you did. I cherish this game and always feel melancholy when playing it or reading its story elements. Thank you for all the time and attention you put into this video.

Fantastic video, I agree with the theme of existentialism. The archipelago built on the oppression of dragons and filled with intergenerational trauma for the hopes of a "better" world backs up those claims. I think the fact that the final battle must be won without violence for the good endings blends the story and game mechanics together which is akin to the ingenuity of the psycho mantis battle in MGS. The exclusion of violence here fulfills the moral beautifully while also bridging the gap in cognitive dissonance, a promise that many RPGs fail to deliver.

I am so happy to see you cover my all time favorite game. I had played this game countless times for so many of the same reasons this vid talks about. I played this at a point of my life that really shaped my views on life. The story is not perfect, the battle system can be tough to understand, but the game brings so much I have not found in other games. I played the Chrono series backwards, so I could see where a lot of people wanted Cross to be like Trigger. But I feel like the creator made it a point to make it anything but. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this!

I always thought of the dead sea in this game as being stuck in trauma

I find it so interesting that it was the fact the humans came into contact with Lavos that they became capable of evolving into civilized beings, just like it was the fact that Adam and Eve came into contact with the serpent that led them to get out of Eden and eventually develop agriculture and civilization at the cost of suffering. Another parallel between Lavos and the Devil, in both stories it was the interaction with Evil that allowed humans to gain Knowledge.

"Devour to survive. So it is, so it's always been"

Max, I've been following you for the last 1½ or 2 years, and as always I'm deeply moved by your work, seriously... I even burst into tears in the last couple of minutes by reasons unknown to me. I LOVE YOUR WORK, there are no other words to describe my feelings towards it, you and Jordan Peterson are the most meaningful living strangers in my life, I don't have anything else to say, except: Keep the good work and STAY YELLOW!

I think the worst possibility is that there is no fate. That all the suffering we can possibly cause serves no purpose and no greater good, and that is the product of nothing but free will. We simply allow suffering for absolutely no reason at all, and we are the sole responsible.