Chrono Cross
Image: Square Enix

A new interview with the key creatives behind the PlayStation title Chrono Cross reveals that the recent remaster of the game came about due to a genuine fear that it would become "unplayable" for modern gamers.

The video interview – spotted by GamesRadar+ (thanks, Eurogamer)– includes original director Masato Kato, composer Yasunori Mitsuda and remaster producer Koichiro Sakamoto, the latter of whom explains the origins of the project:

Back when the project was launched, Chrono Cross was possibly going to become unplayable. There was a Game Archive service on PlayStation 3 that allowed you to play PlayStation 1 games. But PlayStation 4 was already on the market. We didn't know at the time if PlayStation 4 would also have a Game Archive service. It looked like Chrono Cross could become unplayable. So, a remaster project was set up. That's the backstory.

Released in 1999, Chrono Cross is part of the same series that includes Chrono Trigger and the Satellaview visual novel Radical Dreamers. In April last year, Kato claimed that people had been selling Radical Dreamers for high prices online, which was a contributing factor to the production of the remaster. While it never got a physical release, copies of the game downloaded during Satellaview's period of active service were, according to Kato, changing hands for large sums online.

Released in 2022, Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition was met with a somewhat lukewarm response. "It’s a shame that, with the release of Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, we likely won’t see a comprehensive remaster or even a full remake of this underrated gem for a long while, leaving us with a somewhat underwhelming version on Switch that isn’t much beyond a port," said our pals over at Nintendo Life, who awarded it 6/10.

The fine folks over at Push Square were even harder on it, giving it 4/10 and saying: "Unless you're desperate for the nostalgia, we strongly recommend waiting to see whether Square Enix releases a patch to improve the package on PS4 and PS5 before buying."

It took almost a year, but Square Enix has released a patch which aims to solve at least some of the issues reviewers have had with the game.

[source gamesradar.com, via eurogamer.net]