So, Its the year 2000. I'm a happy, cheerful highschool kid, and played Chrono trigger so much as a child 5 years prior that I could probably do the Underwater Palace in my sleep. Then suddenly, a miracle occurs, and one day in my internet searchings, I come across the release date for a sequel to CT, and quickly rush out after its release and buy it. So began a love affair that oddly not many people seem to share.

Yes. I'm talking about Chrono Cross. From the moment the game began, the haunting, beautiful soundtrack, practically drew me in like a moth to the flame.

Now THIS is how you open a game with epic.

Say what you will about Uematsu, but in my opinion, the man's got nothing on Yasunori Mitsuda. Few of Uematsu's works quote compare to me to tracks such as Dragon God, On the Beach of Dreams ~ Another World, Victory ~ A Cry in Summer (Fuckyeah LUCCA)), or the hauntingly sad Girl Who Stole the Stars.

I admit, at first when I played it I was a bit disappointed to not see Lucca or Crono or the rest of the gang around except in the occasional hint or offhanded remark. But then I found the Dead Sea..and Nadia's bell. And the full scope of my actions in Chrono Trigger were quickly hammered home. Chrono Cross rarely pulled punches in pointing out that endings don't always stay happy, and that there's consequences to every action. And don't get me started on how much I cried when i found out Lucca's ultimate fate.

The battle system I know some people had problems with , but I found it interesting and fun, a welcome departure from most standard battle systems, and while even I admit the plotline could get a bit vague in its explanations at times, it did tie up a lot of dangling plot ends (especially for me, one of the idiots who believed all the silly rumors about recruiting Schala in Chrono Trigger. Sue me, I was in middle school).

And then there's the characters. So many unique and strange characters. From the Wisecracking badass that is Kid, to the mysterious and enigmatic Harle, to everything from psychic pro wrestler Greco, to cheerful faerie Razzly, and Pip, yay Pip! There's just so many interesting and weird characters interspersed throughout the game even in the non-recruitable side..such as one of the first appearance of the now common trope of dumb soldier henchmen that keep recurring and looking like idiots, to the crazy heel turns certain bosses pull halfway through the game, not to mention the backstory on Lynx and Harle was so fresh and exciting at the time for an rpg.

On the whole, what I really would love would be a full remake, maybe for both 360 and PS3, along with maybe a soundtrack CD. Course, that's probably unlikely, but even a PSN release like ff7 got would be perfectly okay by me. I'd buy a copy instantly, as I've long since misplaced my copy, and while some people are devoted to Chrono Trigger as the best game ever..I'm one of those rare few who still thinks the sequel blows it and pretty much anything else away.

In short. Hurry the fuck up SE. Release the best damn game ever on psn.