Chrono Cross 1999

Is it still worth playing?

Square's 1999 role playing game for the PlayStation, never released in Europe. Serge slips into an alternate world where he drowned ten years earlier, and the game has two parallel worlds, Home and Another. Battles are turn based with no random encounters, since enemies are visible on the map, and you can run from any battle. Elements are equipped on grids in six opposing colors, and a stamina bar governs how often characters act, with weak, strong and fierce attacks costing different stamina. There are no experience points, and stats rise through boss stars. There are 45 playable party members, not all obtainable in one playthrough, and New Game Plus has twelve endings. Its programming became the basis for the engine of Final Fantasy XI. Growth that comes from bosses instead of grinding, and a stamina bar for each action, still keep every battle worth thinking about today.