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The ''Chrono'' series is a
role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
franchise by
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
(formerly
Square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
). It began in 1995 with ''
Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game by Square. It was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the first entry in the ''Chrono'' series. The game's development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dr ...
'', which spawned two continuations, ''
Radical Dreamers ''Radical Dreamers'' is a 1996 text-based visual novel adventure video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the Satellaview, a satellite peripheral for the Super Famicom. It forms part of the Chrono (series), ' ...
'' and ''
Chrono Cross is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation video game console. It is set in the same world as ''Chrono Trigger'', which was released in 1995 for t ...
''. The music of ''Chrono Cross'' was composed by
Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer and musician. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the '' Chrono'', '' Xeno'', '' Shadow Hearts'', and '' Inazuma Eleven'' franchises, among various others. Mitsuda began composing music for his own ...
, the main composer of ''Chrono Trigger'' and ''Radical Dreamers''. ''Chrono Cross'' has sparked a soundtrack album, released in 1999 by
DigiCube DigiCube Co., Ltd. (株式会社デジキューブ; ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dejikyūbu'') was a Japanese company established as a subsidiary of software developer Square on February 6, 1996 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The primary purpose of Di ...
and re-released in 2005 by Square Enix, and a greatest hits
mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...
, published in 2000 by Square along with the North American release of the game. ''Radical Dreamers'', the music of which heavily inspired the soundtrack of ''Chrono Cross'', has not sparked any albums, though some songs from its soundtrack were reused in ''Chrono Cross''. An album of arrangements of ''Chrono Cross'' songs was first announced by Mitsuda in 2005, and later intended to be released to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the game in 2009; its release date was pushed back several times since then. In 2015, Mitsuda released an album of arranged music from ''Chrono Trigger'' and ''Chrono Cross'' entitled ''To Far Away Times'' to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of ''Chrono Trigger''. The original soundtrack album has been hailed as an excellent video game music album, while the ''Chrono Cross Music Selection'' mini-album has garnered little attention. Songs from the soundtrack have been played at various orchestral concerts, such as the personal arrangements by Mitsuda for the ''
Play! A Video Game Symphony PLAY! A Video Game Symphony was a concert series that featured music from video games performed by a live orchestra. The concerts from 2006 to 2010 were conducted by Arnie Roth. From 2010, Andy Brick took the position of principal conductor and ...
'' concert series. ''Chrono Cross'' music has also been extensively
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
ed by fans, and such remixes have been included in both official and unofficial albums.


Creation and development

Mitsuda returned as the lead composer for 1999s ''Chrono Cross'' after composing its predecessor, ''Chrono Trigger''. After being contacted to compose the score by the game's director
Masato Kato is a Japanese people, Japanese video game Game art design, artist, scenario writer and Video game producer, director. In the early days of his career, he was credited under the pseudonyms of "Runmaru" and "Runmal". He then joined Square (video ga ...
, Mitsuda decided to center his work around
old world The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...
cultural influences, including
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
,
Fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...
,
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
, and percussive African music. To complement the theme of parallel worlds, he gave the songs for the two worlds of the game, ''Another'' and ''Home'', respectively dark and bright moods. Mitsuda was happy to accomplish even half of what he envisioned. Once production concluded, Mitsuda played ''Chrono Cross'' to record his impressions and observe how the tracks intermingled with scenes. ''Radical Dreamers'' was a 1996 text-based
Visual Novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...
set as a
gaiden A spinoff or spin-off is any narrative work derived from an already existing work that focuses on different aspects from the original work. History One of the earliest spin-offs of the modern media era, if not the first, happened in 1941 when t ...
, or
side story In fiction, a subplot or side story is a strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or for the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or thematic significance. Subplots often involve supportin ...
, to ''Chrono Trigger''. It was released to complement its predecessor's plot, and later served as inspiration for ''
Chrono Cross is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation video game console. It is set in the same world as ''Chrono Trigger'', which was released in 1995 for t ...
''. The music of ''Radical Dreamers'' was written by Yasunori Mitsuda. The soundtrack includes several ambient pieces, including the sound of water running in a fountain and wind accompanied by strings. Players can listen to the game's 15 songs by accessing a hidden menu in one of the game's scenarios. The soundtrack has never been released as a separate album. Several themes and musical patterns from ''Radical Dreamers'' were later adapted for ''Chrono Cross'' on the suggestion of Masato Kato; many appear unchanged except for new instrumentation. Appearing in ''Chrono Cross'' are "Gale", "Frozen Flame", "Viper Manor", "Far Promise ~ Dream Shore" (as part of "On the Beach of Dreams - Another World" and "The Dream that Time Dreams"), "The Girl who Stole the Stars", and "Epilogue ~ Dream Shore" (as part of "Jellyfish Sea"). Other entries in the soundtrack contain
leitmotif A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...
s from ''Chrono Trigger'' and ''Radical Dreamers''. The melody of "Far Promise ~ Dream Shore" features prominently in "The Dream That Time Dreams" and "Voyage - Another World".


Albums


''Chrono Cross Original Soundtrack''

The ''Chrono Cross Original Soundtrack'' is a soundtrack of the music from ''
Chrono Cross is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation video game console. It is set in the same world as ''Chrono Trigger'', which was released in 1995 for t ...
'', composed by
Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer and musician. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the '' Chrono'', '' Xeno'', '' Shadow Hearts'', and '' Inazuma Eleven'' franchises, among various others. Mitsuda began composing music for his own ...
. The soundtrack spans three discs and 67 tracks, covering a duration of 3 hours. It was published by
DigiCube DigiCube Co., Ltd. (株式会社デジキューブ; ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dejikyūbu'') was a Japanese company established as a subsidiary of software developer Square on February 6, 1996 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The primary purpose of Di ...
on December 18, 1999, and reprinted by Square Enix on June 29, 2005. ''
Xenogears ''Xenogears'' is a 1998 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation video game console. It is the debut entry in the larger ''Xeno (series), Xeno'' franchise. ...
'' contributor
Tomohiko Kira (December 6, 1959 – July 3, 2016) was a Japanese guitarist who led the band ZABADAK. He also composed the original music for the 1988 cult horror film '' Evil Dead Trap'', and performed guitar on soundtracks of the role-playing video games ''X ...
played guitar on the beginning and ending themes.
Noriko Mitose is a Japanese singer. She is the vocalist of the band Kirche, and as a solo singer, has performed many songs for Video game, games. Biography Noriko Mitose sang for church choir when she was young but did not get involved in the music scene unt ...
, selected for the role by Masato Kato, sang the ending song "Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel ~".
Ryo Yamazaki ''Front Mission'' is a series of tactical role-playing games produced by Square Enix (originally Square). The music of the series includes the soundtracks to the main series, composed of ''Front Mission'' through '' Front Mission 5: Scars of the W ...
, a
synthesizer programmer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
for Square Enix, helped Mitsuda transfer his ideas to the PlayStation's sound capabilities. The soundtrack has been described as having "some of the most haunting melodies known to man". The "Home World" tracks from the soundtrack have been termed "emotional", "driving" and "striking", while the "Another World" tracks are described as "slower", "dreamier", and more "serene" than their counterparts. The soundtrack won the Gold Prize for
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
s PlayStation Awards of 2000. It reached #72 on the Japan
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
charts on its first print and #174 when reprinted. It was praised by reviewers such as Patrick Gann of RPGFan, who called it his favorite video game music soundtrack of all time and especially praised the vocals in "Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel ~". This high opinion was echoed by Don Kotowski of Square Enix Music Online, who called it "one of Mitsuda's best, both in and out of hecontext" of the game and said that it "surpasses his Chrono Trigger soundtrack". He singled out "Scars of Time" and "Radical Dreamers" as especially worthy of praise.
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
, in their review of the game, termed the soundtrack "a brilliant score" that "does wonders in stirring the emotional strings of the players as they're playing through the game". IGN praised the technical sound quality of the soundtrack as well, though they did comment that for them no specific tracks stood out as especially memorable. In a separate piece about Japanese RPG composers, however, IGN called "Scars of Time" and "Arni Village - Home World" as two of Mitsuda's most memorable tracks in naming him the second best out of ten behind
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Joh ...
. Track listing


''Chrono Cross Music Selection''

''Chrono Cross Music Selection'' is a
mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...
of ''Chrono Cross'' music that was released in North America exclusively as a bonus for pre-ordering ''Chrono Cross''. The five-track disc was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, has a length of 15:47 and was published by Square along with the game on August 15, 2000. Although the release of the album sparked rumors that it would be followed by a North American release of the full soundtrack album, Square Enix has not to date published ''Chrono Cross OST'' outside Japan. Patrick Gann enjoyed the album, calling it a "little American gem of VG music", but noted that there is no reason to purchase it now that the full soundtrack is just as easy to obtain, especially given its short length. The five tracks on this album were released on the "Original Soundtrack" with three of the tracks renamed.


''To Far Away Times: Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross Arrangement Album''

In 2005, Mitsuda announced a new arranged album of ''Chrono Cross'' music was scheduled for release in July of that year. It did not materialize, though at a ''
Play! A Video Game Symphony PLAY! A Video Game Symphony was a concert series that featured music from video games performed by a live orchestra. The concerts from 2006 to 2010 were conducted by Arnie Roth. From 2010, Andy Brick took the position of principal conductor and ...
'' concert in May 2006, he revealed it would be out "within the year" and would feature acoustic music. Later in 2006, Mitsuda alleged that the album would actually be released in 2007. In 2008, Yasunori Mitsuda posted a streaming sample of a track from the upcoming Chrono Cross arranged album. Though no official release date was announced, Mitsuda more than once stated that the album would be planned to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the game's original release in 2009. Mitsuda claimed that the album was "nearly done", but that it may not be possible to release it before the year was out. On a live performance at the Tokyo Dome in July 2015 commemorating the 20-year anniversary of ''Chrono Trigger'', Mitsuda announced that the long requested '' Chrono series'' arrangement album, entitled ''To Far Away Times: Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross Arrangement Album'' would be released. This was eventually released by Square Enix Music on October 14, 2015. The album was released on the Square Enix website. A number of the tracks had vocalists to go on top of the score. All tracks were composed by Yasunori Mitsuda.


Orchestral Arrangement

On September 4, 2019, Square Enix released the album ''Chrono Cross Orchestral Arrangement'', containing eight tracks arranged by Kosuke Yamashita, Mariam Abounnasr, Daisuke Shinoda, and Tomomichi Takeoka, and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. A box set containing the album, a similar album of orchestral arrangements for ''Chrono Trigger'', and a bonus disc of two piano duet arrangements for each game was also released. The album and box set were reviewed by Tien Hoang of VGMOnline, who found it to be a short album of uncreative arrangements that stuck closely to the original compositions. He found the piano arrangements in the box set to be better, but uneven.


Piano Collections

An album of piano arrangements was published by Wayô Records on February 4, 2021 as ''Across the Worlds – Chrono Cross Wayô Piano Collections''. Wayô licensed the music from Mitsuda's Procyon Studio and funded the production through a June 2020
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
campaign; the arrangements were done by former Square Enix composer
Masashi Hamauzu is a Japanese composer, pianist, and lyricist. Hamauzu, who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010, was best known during that time for his work on the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''SaGa'' video game series. Born into a musical family in German ...
, Akio Noguchi, and Mariam Abounnasr from Procyon Studios, and were performed by
Benyamin Nuss Benyamin Nuss (born 20 June 1989) is a German pianist and composer.Benyamin Nuss website (accessed 2010-03-13) Life Nuss was born in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.Benyamin Nuss website(accessed 2014-11-07) He began playing the piano at age 6 in 19 ...
. The album contains seventeen tracks across two discs, with a total length of 1:24:38. It was reviewed by Tien Hoang of VGMOnline, who found it a solid and well-performed album, but was disappointed that the arrangements were not more complex and creative. Patrick Gann of RPGFan, however, praised the "advanced, meandering, and nuanced arrangements" as highlighting the different arrangers' styles rather than straightforward conversions of the melodies to piano, though he found the medleys and track selection to be a missed opportunity.


Legacy

Mitsuda has personally arranged versions of music from ''Chrono Cross'' for ''
Play! A Video Game Symphony PLAY! A Video Game Symphony was a concert series that featured music from video games performed by a live orchestra. The concerts from 2006 to 2010 were conducted by Arnie Roth. From 2010, Andy Brick took the position of principal conductor and ...
'' video game music concerts in 2006. Music from the game has also been performed in other video game concert tours such as the
Video Games Live Video Games Live (VGL) is a concert series created by Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall. The concerts consist of segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra with video footage and synchronized lighting and effects, as well as several ...
concert series and in concerts by the
Eminence Orchestra The Eminence Symphony Orchestra founded in Sydney, Australia is an independent symphony orchestra which delves into the classical music featured in video games and anime, as well as film scores. History Eminence was founded in 2003 by a smal ...
. Music from ''Chrono Trigger'' and ''Cross'' made up one fourth of the music in the ''Symphonic Fantasies'' concerts in Leipzig in September 2009 which were produced by the creators of the ''Symphonic Game Music Concert'' series and conducted by
Arnie Roth Arnold "Arnie" Roth (born April 28, 1953) is an American conductor, composer, and record producer, known for his expansive career in the music industry. Roth began his career as a professional violinist before founding AWR Music, where Roth b ...
. The concerts featured a suite of music from both games interspersed together with the songs from ''Cross'' comprising "Scars of Time", "Gale", "Brink of Death", and "Prisoners of Fate". A suite comprising music from ''Chrono Trigger'' and ''Cross'' was performed at the ''Press Start -Symphony of Games- 2008'' concerts in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
and
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
. "Scars of Time" was played at the ''Fantasy Comes Alive'' concert in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
on April 30, 2010. A set of three concerts titled ''Radical Dreamers'' were performed in Tokyo, Osaka, and Aichi on November 3, 16 and 17, 2019, to celebrate the game's 20th anniversary. Sheet music for ''Chrono Cross'' tracks arranged for both solo guitar and guitar duets has been released by Procyon Studio. ''Chrono Cross''s soundtrack has been heavily remixed by fans, sparking several albums. These include the officially licensed ''Time & Space - A Tribute to Yasunori Mitsuda'', released by OneUp Studios on October 7, 2001 and containing 18 remixes over a span of 1:00:58, with a second version of the album released on June 17, 2003. A related popular album release was ''Radical Dreamers: Thieves of Fate'', an unofficial download-only album release by the remix website
OverClocked ReMix OverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-commercial organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs, both with new technology and software and by vari ...
on January 5, 2008 containing 15 remixes of the soundtrack to ''Radical Dreamers'', including remixes of the tracks that later appeared in ''Chrono Cross''. Selections of remixes also appear on
dōjin In Japan, a is a group of people who share an interest, activity, or hobby. The word is sometimes translated into English as " clique", "fandom", "coterie", "society", or "circle" (as in " sewing circle"). Self-published creative works pro ...
remix albums, and on English remixing websites such as OverClocked Remix. "Time's Scar" was featured by
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
in a program about classically arranged video game scores in December 2012.


References


External links

*
Yasunori Mitsuda's official website

Yasunori Mitsuda's official website


- Listing of track information, official releases, fan albums, rearrangements and remixes {{DEFAULTSORT:Chrono Cross Music Of Chrono Cross Video game soundtracks Yasunori Mitsuda albums