Remaster of Iconic jRPG Chrono Cross is Coming
Chrono Cross The Radical Dreamers Edition, a revamped version of the iconic jRPG, has been announced. The game will come with a full version of a visual novel adventure game set in the same universe, which never had an official release in the West.
Rumors from a few months ago have been confirmed. Square Enix has announced Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, a remaster of the iconic jRPG released in 1999 for the first generation PlayStation.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition - platforms and release date
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is coming to the following hardware platforms:
- PC
- Xbox One
- PlayStation 4
- Nintendo Switch
Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 owners will also play the title thanks to backward compatibility.
The game will be released on April 7 this year, simultaneously on all hardware platforms. The PC edition will be available on Steam.
New features and improvements offered by the remaster
As befits a remaster, Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition will offer numerous new features and improvements, including:
- Improved 3D models;
- Modified character designs by Nobuteru Yuuki, the artist behind the original versions;
- Improved music, re-composed by Yasunori Mitsuda;
- Option to disable random encounters with enemies;
- Background filtering can be enabled;
- Changes to improve battles, including the ability to enable automatic skirmishes;
- New high-resolution text fonts;
- All visual enhancements can be turned off and the game will feature the same graphics as in the original for the first PlayStation.
Unfortunately, the devs did not try to prepare new pre-rendered backgrounds, so we will have to settle for the mentioned filter. This is disappointing, as it can now be done relatively cheaply using AI algorithms.
Fans can help with backgrounds - a good example is Final Fantasy IX.
The PC version of Final Fantasy IX had the same problem with backgrounds. In this case, fans rolled up their sleeves and created an excellent modification called Moguri Mod. Its authors used AI algorithms ESRGAN, which analyzed all backgrounds and created new versions in high resolution. The project also introduces gameplay improvements and fixes bugs.
- Moguri Mod - download mod from our FTP (authors gave us permission to host a mirror)
It remains to be hoped that in the case of Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition there will be enthusiasts who will be able to create a similar modification.
The remaster will include the game Radical Dreamers
A nice surprise is the news that the remaster will come with the full version of Radical Dreamers. It is a visual novel adventure game set in the universe of the series, which has not been released in the West so far (at least officially, because fans have created their own English translation).).
