Woo, I got a shout out. I haven't played Chrono Cross, but the issues you mention in the fandom are the reason why, not so keen on seeing everything the past game worked for be screwed up. Plus I've heard some other critiques that make me less keen to play it, like claiming that the massive roster of party members leads to none of them having any nuance.
I'd much rather go through Radical Dreamers when it comes to Chrono Trigger sequels personally (though Radical Dreamers and Chrono Cross are paired together in the latest release, so when I finally get around to it I'll have access to both anyway).
Serge's circumstance is a classic 'needs of many versus the few' situation. Though I think letting it be bypassed entirely cheapens it. Without the easy solution on hand, I think the big difficulty comes from Lavos's return happening in the future rather than imminently. People aren't good at sacrificing to prevent vague futures.
Out of that massive, epic piece of work you thoughtfully put together for us, my favorite section was about the game music and leitmotifs! I love musical storytelling for games and movies-- the music provides cues to the player or audience member that help them navigate through the game and even make subconscious choices about which actions to take! Horizon Zero Dawn did a fabulous job of that with the noises they designed for the robot creatures. You know whether or not a creature (and which creature, for that matter!) is searching, attacking, backing off, etc. without even seeing it! So cool.
Woo, I got a shout out. I haven't played Chrono Cross, but the issues you mention in the fandom are the reason why, not so keen on seeing everything the past game worked for be screwed up. Plus I've heard some other critiques that make me less keen to play it, like claiming that the massive roster of party members leads to none of them having any nuance.
I'd much rather go through Radical Dreamers when it comes to Chrono Trigger sequels personally (though Radical Dreamers and Chrono Cross are paired together in the latest release, so when I finally get around to it I'll have access to both anyway).
Serge's circumstance is a classic 'needs of many versus the few' situation. Though I think letting it be bypassed entirely cheapens it. Without the easy solution on hand, I think the big difficulty comes from Lavos's return happening in the future rather than imminently. People aren't good at sacrificing to prevent vague futures.
Out of that massive, epic piece of work you thoughtfully put together for us, my favorite section was about the game music and leitmotifs! I love musical storytelling for games and movies-- the music provides cues to the player or audience member that help them navigate through the game and even make subconscious choices about which actions to take! Horizon Zero Dawn did a fabulous job of that with the noises they designed for the robot creatures. You know whether or not a creature (and which creature, for that matter!) is searching, attacking, backing off, etc. without even seeing it! So cool.