# Chrono Cross

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Chrono Cross and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its excellent soundtrack and neat elemental combo battle system. Critics say the gameplay is mechanically messy and the story is hard to follow.

## Why people recommend it

- Excellent soundtrack (2 comments): "It had a neat elemental combo battle system, an excellent soundtrack" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49546934)) "Cross has an amazing soundtrack tho." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49771338))

## What people warn about

- Gameplay design is mechanically messy (2 comments): "there are things that bother me severely besides the story, mostly how the gameplay is designed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49771730)) "Cross is mechanically a mess." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49772118))
- Fails as a Chrono Trigger sequel (2 comments): "the story made absolutely no sense, and consequently the game fails as a sequel to Chrono Trigger IMO" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49543981)) "it's a terrible sequel that is remarkably spiteful to its senior" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49770944))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Baldur's Gate 3](https://hackerapproved.com/p/baldur-s-gate-3.md): 71 recommend
- [Clair Obscur: Expedition 33](https://hackerapproved.com/p/clair-obscur-expedition-33.md): 58 recommend
- [Ultima VII Revisited](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ultima-vii.md): 24 recommend
- [Disco Elysium](https://hackerapproved.com/p/disco-elysium.md): 23 recommend
- [Chrono Trigger](https://hackerapproved.com/p/chrono-trigger.md): 23 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Chrono Cross", https://hackerapproved.com/p/chrono-cross/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).