Chrono [3] expectations

[evirus]

Chrono Cross is okay, but...I'd like a more flexible, less rigid battle system; I'd like it to lean back towards Chrono Trigger in this aspect.

Don't know if we're going to be time traveling or dimension crossing or both this time around, but I'd like to see more, different time periods and exotic dimensions. I'd especially like to roam about more futuristic landscapes, and (a) vast worldmap(s).

Lastly, I'd like to see Magus and Schala reunited. I'd be interested to see what exactly his reaction would be to see that his big sister is alive and well, and what her reaction would be to the fact that he's now grown up.

i liked how in chrono trigger some of the moves would damage multiple enemys if they where in a direct line, or near the attack, chrono cross realy degraded in these types of spells because it was either all or one enemy attacks

[V_Translanka]

Just because Radical Dreamers doesn't have the Chrono prefix, that doesn't make it any more or less a part of the Chrono series. It's a Chrono game as much as Chrono Cross is, really. I mean, if you discount RD, I think you should discount CC.

In the fourth Chrono game, though, I'd like to see Magus more. Changes to the battle system are almost givens.

[evirus]

Just because Radical Dreamers doesn't have the Chrono prefix, that doesn't make it any more or less a part of the Chrono series. It's a Chrono game as much as Chrono Cross is, really. I mean, if you discount RD, I think you should discount CC.

In the fourth Chrono game, though, I'd like to see Magus more. Changes to the battle system are almost givens.

this is getting annoying.....

i tried to give a good explination for the title and you think im dissing RD, does RD start with Chrono, no, the reason why i put the title as it is, is because it is because im refering to the third Chrono______ game, not because i seek to diss RD, RD dosnt have Chrono in the name so i thought the title would be specific to what ever the title of the next game would be......................................................................................................

 can we just drop it and stay on topic please??

[Burning Zeppelin]

No. Kato stated CC was just RD made into a real game.

[Chrono'99]

Just because Radical Dreamers doesn't have the Chrono prefix, that doesn't make it any more or less a part of the Chrono series. It's a Chrono game as much as Chrono Cross is, really. I mean, if you discount RD, I think you should discount CC.

In the fourth Chrono game, though, I'd like to see Magus more. Changes to the battle system are almost givens.

Evirus and I aren't discounting anything. RD is obviously part of the Chrono series, but the fourth game would still be "Chrono 3". I already gave the example of Legend of Mana which is the fourth Seiken Densetsu but not Seiken Densetsu 4. There's also FFTactics which isn't "FF8", and all the FF7 sequels/prequels which aren't given a number.

Well, anyway there's no number in the Chrono titles to begin with, so it's not important.

[V_Translanka]

I don't see why the third game in the Chrono series would have to be called Chrono 3 or Chrono w/e...I mean, it probably will, but I don't see that it has to be any more than Radical Dreamers did.

Where'd Kato say that exactly BZ?

I'm not saying anyone's dissing anything...I was just pointing it out because I don't think that it should be discounted any more than CC regardless of the name.

[evirus]

for the last time, we are not discounting RD, if your so concerned about it, just disregard the title of the topic entirely, in anycase LETS STAY ON TOPIC

[Eriol]

Everybody knows what was INTENDED so just get back to the topic those that ACTUALLY were trying.

As for me, I'd like to move back towards CT in a number of aspects:

[*]Re-expand the double- and triple-tech systems to CT-levels, and beyond.  Make double-techs for nearly everybody (and multiple choices), and triple-techs in chrono-style, in that there's a focus character for all combinations, with additionals gained via items.  But a change I'd make is that the items just "give" the triple-tech to the characters, so that they do NOT need to be holding it.  Basically multi-techs was something that was different in CT, and was central to many strategies throughout the game (and also made it have more replay with different characters), and they all-but-scrapped it in CC.
[*]FAR fewer playable characters: IMO this was a BAD thing about CC.  Very few characters had really deep backstories.  Sure all of them had a little bit, but nothing like if the cast was much smaller.  Personally I thought the size of the cast in CT was just about perfect.  It was a little light on Chrono himself's background, but besides that each character had a MEANINGFUL backstory.  Some more than others of course, but NONE of them felt like "just another character" IMO.
[*]Back to Time Travel: If we need a short dimension-hop for some reason, then OK, but I'd say put the FOCUS on travelling time again.  It just gives more options for more different worlds, and more "cause-effect" relationships of what the heroes actually do, rather than just "wow, this is different over here" like CC gave.
[*]Location-based combat: Again, this was near-revolutionary in CT that where your characters were placed physically on the screen affected what types of attacks you could do (or be affected by), etc.  Personally I'd like to expand it a little further so that there is a limited amount of movement DURING combat as well so that you can re-adjust to enhance your attacks, or to better disperse detrimental effects of enemy attacks.  Not to Secret of Mana levels (where you really do have free movement), but something more than just "it pre-places your guys in spots".  Perhaps when your character does a "charge" attack, then when it's over s/he doesn't just jump back to the original position, but rather ends up on the other side.  And other such things.
[*]Ditch Elements: OK it was different.  OK there's benefits.  But basically I found it more of a pain than anything else, and NOT just because there was a lot of them.  Call me old-fashioned, but I LIKE a more "standard" mana system with MPs, spell costs, etc.  If you really wanted to go old-school, I could be convinced of a "spell level" system like FF1 had, but I was NOT fond of the element system in CC.
[*]Keep Field Effect: Personally I thought this ADDED a lot to combat, and would be the only aspect of the CC element system that I'd keep.  It changed strategy from "use the strongest you have, against enemy weakness" (which made most battles very similar) to "you must manipulate the field, then unload"
[*]Return to pre-set lists of spells/techs: I was NEVER a fan of "all characters have the same abilities" ways of doing things.  Hence why FFIV is JUST about as high in my mind as FFVI, and FFVII is below, as while 6 still had "everybody could learn all magic", at least each character was still unique via armour and their UNIQUE abilities.  FFVII lost this in almost-all-but-name of armour/weapons, and limit breaks.  And CC lost this in all but techs, which was a VERY small sub-set of abilities, and while there, was NOT make-or-break on who you included in your party very often.  Now perhaps there is a happy medium between pre-set techs and some more flexibility, but I was never a big fan of infinite flexibility WITHIN a character.  I'm more for swapping out people when you want that, and not just changing abilities.  It is this "too much flexibility" which also contributed to the low number of double- and triple-techs, due to the low number of abilities you KNEW were there.  A shame really.[/list:u]
Hopefully that list will get the conversation going, and AWAY from the RD debate (which never belonged here in the first place).

[Kazuki]

Adding on to the combat...I think it would be great if it had a CT like battle system, but also with limited terrain effects...limited as it would be too much like a strategy RPG a la Tactics Ogre or Final Fantays Tactics, and that would give it a strange feel. I guess a revamped field effect would probably suit my wish the best.

[evirus]

Everybody knows what was INTENDED so just get back to the topic those that ACTUALLY were trying.

As for me, I'd like to move back towards CT in a number of aspects:

• Re-expand the double- and triple-tech systems to CT-levels, and beyond.  Make double-techs for nearly everybody (and multiple choices), and triple-techs in chrono-style, in that there's a focus character for all combinations, with additionals gained via items.  But a change I'd make is that the items just "give" the triple-tech to the characters, so that they do NOT need to be holding it.  Basically multi-techs was something that was different in CT, and was central to many strategies throughout the game (and also made it have more replay with different characters), and they all-but-scrapped it in CC.
• FAR fewer playable characters: IMO this was a BAD thing about CC.  Very few characters had really deep backstories.  Sure all of them had a little bit, but nothing like if the cast was much smaller.  Personally I thought the size of the cast in CT was just about perfect.  It was a little light on Chrono himself's background, but besides that each character had a MEANINGFUL backstory.  Some more than others of course, but NONE of them felt like "just another character" IMO.
• Back to Time Travel: If we need a short dimension-hop for some reason, then OK, but I'd say put the FOCUS on travelling time again.  It just gives more options for more different worlds, and more "cause-effect" relationships of what the heroes actually do, rather than just "wow, this is different over here" like CC gave.
• Location-based combat: Again, this was near-revolutionary in CT that where your characters were placed physically on the screen affected what types of attacks you could do (or be affected by), etc.  Personally I'd like to expand it a little further so that there is a limited amount of movement DURING combat as well so that you can re-adjust to enhance your attacks, or to better disperse detrimental effects of enemy attacks.  Not to Secret of Mana levels (where you really do have free movement), but something more than just "it pre-places your guys in spots".  Perhaps when your character does a "charge" attack, then when it's over s/he doesn't just jump back to the original position, but rather ends up on the other side.  And other such things.
• Ditch Elements: OK it was different.  OK there's benefits.  But basically I found it more of a pain than anything else, and NOT just because there was a lot of them.  Call me old-fashioned, but I LIKE a more "standard" mana system with MPs, spell costs, etc.  If you really wanted to go old-school, I could be convinced of a "spell level" system like FF1 had, but I was NOT fond of the element system in CC.
• Keep Field Effect: Personally I thought this ADDED a lot to combat, and would be the only aspect of the CC element system that I'd keep.  It changed strategy from "use the strongest you have, against enemy weakness" (which made most battles very similar) to "you must manipulate the field, then unload"
• Return to pre-set lists of spells/techs: I was NEVER a fan of "all characters have the same abilities" ways of doing things.  Hence why FFIV is JUST about as high in my mind as FFVI, and FFVII is below, as while 6 still had "everybody could learn all magic", at least each character was still unique via armour and their UNIQUE abilities.  FFVII lost this in almost-all-but-name of armour/weapons, and limit breaks.  And CC lost this in all but techs, which was a VERY small sub-set of abilities, and while there, was NOT make-or-break on who you included in your party very often.  Now perhaps there is a happy medium between pre-set techs and some more flexibility, but I was never a big fan of infinite flexibility WITHIN a character.  I'm more for swapping out people when you want that, and not just changing abilities.  It is this "too much flexibility" which also contributed to the low number of double- and triple-techs, due to the low number of abilities you KNEW were there.  A shame really.[/list:u]
  Hopefully that list will get the conversation going, and AWAY from the RD debate (which never belonged here in the first place).

i like the idea of being able to move around to a limited degree during combat, prehaps certain techs will allow you to get into a unique position that you couldnt when using what ever movement options would be used when its your character's turn to do something.

but i rather liked the fact that, in the element system, you didnt have MP to worry about, and in CT there was vary little options to recover MP other then buying the small version of MP recovery(ether)

as long as the characters put into the game have a good back story and dosnt seem like a filler, then i say go for it

[SilentMartyr]

I would like to see explinations of what happened to Crono, Marle, Lucca, Magus, Schala, Kid, and Serge.

Besides that, I trust the team to make a brand new interesting and fun battle system and overall storyline. Just enough history sprinkled in so that you know it is a Chrono series game, but nothing that feels like a direct sequel.

[teh Schala]

I would like for at least one character from CT (playable or not) to become a playable character in the new Chrono.  (Everyone knows who I'm thinking of...)

[Burning Zeppelin]

I would like no character in C3, because that will ruin said character, and will just be downright bad, seeing our most loved characters back doing wacky adventures. OF course it depends on the story. If the story is magus quest for schala, than we need magus!  if it is not, but its something like Lavos has returned and now they need to kill him AGAIN, then no, because, well, just think, i cant really explain the feeling from that happening

[SilentMartyr]

I really don't think they will incorporate Lavos into a third game. There is no way that they can think something up that allows Lavos to still live.

[Lord J Esq]

To build on Eriol's suggestion, more time-travel is definitely a must for the next Chrono game, but I don't agree that it should supplant dimension crossing or even that it should play as pervasive a role to the gameplay as it did in Chrono Trigger. I keep thinking to myself, if Radical Dreamers had been a full-length game, that the entire first scenario could have been simply a first chapter to a much longer story, with something like time-travel to "turn the pages," if you will.