I miss the energy of middle-era PS1 RPG cutscenes. Nobody had any clue what they were doing and just enough graphical power to start making some really interestingly weird decisions about cinematography. I think about the Chrono Cross opening once a month: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=923fVDDwaHo
@hystericempress Every time I watch that intro, I feel like I'm coming home.
I'm not sure there's ever been a game that touched me more deeply with its music and themes.
@Soreth Full context: I played Chrono Cross LONG before I ever played Chrono Trigger because copies of Chrono Trigger pre-emulation were exorbitantly expensive. I think that actually improved the experience; I came into it as blind about the larger implications and long-tail impact of the story as the characters did, and it still moved me to tears.
@hystericempress They're definitely paired together, but while Chrono Trigger is all about the energy of youth charging forward to solve all the problems.... Chrono Cross is about fucking up and trying to fix it, realizing that you need to redeem yourself for the things you did without knowing what the consequences were, maybe even having to start over.
That gives so much more emotional depth to it.
@Soreth Something about that period in gaming is absolutely magical to me. Chrono Cross is the most outlandish sequel to a beloved classic I can even IMAGINE, and being able to just stumble into something that vibrantly weird at random is an experience I've spent a long time chasing.
@hystericempress Oh definitely. I mean, it was super ambitious in some kind of dumb ways (40 different characters is both a stupid idea and also just the best reach-for-the-moon thing they could have done), and it got REALLY WEIRD but sort of in the best possible ways. I too want to recreate something as moving or as powerful in my own works as CC was to me. I think about it a lot.
possible spoilers
@Soreth I also appreciate how much THOUGHT had to go into the overall storyline. At first I thought it was kind of silly for Lynx to torch Lucca's orphanage, since he needed someone to undo the lock... until I realized Lynx's element isn't fire. But Lucca's is, which means she must have torched HERSELF to ensure her knowledge of Prometheus couldn't be exploited. Hell, she might have KNOWN THIS WAS NECESSARY in order to defeat the Time Devourer and finally fix the timeline...