Chrono Cross loves imagining dragons! Look at this chonky boy (well, girl)…
The most helpful of the dragons, the Water Dragon, is all smiles and rainbows when you need to chill a volcano, but literally shows her teeth when it is time for a throwdown. And the way she “swims” through the air later? Awesome.
And speaking of volcanos, this little guy hulks out to join Master Roshi and Tung Fu Rue in the pantheon of dudes that can turn into muscle maniacs on command. This Fire Dragon is never gracious, but remains polite, when he challenges you to a battle.
Meanwhile, this monster rules the quasi-prehistoric “Savage Land” of Chrono Cross, and is not shy about making it clear you are about to be devoured. And why shouldn’t he? Dang thing is built to deal with tyrannosauruses on the reg.
Yet the dragon living deep in the Earth is almost… roly poly? This looks like a creature that has never seen the sun (kind of literally, as it is hard to see if she even has eyes), but has spent a good amount of time getting fat on sand monsters. Sister is the size of a building!
But there is nothing friend-shaped about the Black Dragon, which dreams nightmares that cross dimensions. Chrono Cross never really does commit to whether or not “black element” is supposed to be “evil” or somehow “gravity”, but the Black Dragon cuts enough of an imposing figure that he cannot be seen as anything other than dangerous.
And conversely, the white Sky Dragon is appropriately divine. In a genre that frequently presents dragons as the exact same creature seven times with slightly different colors or styles even today (looking at you, Elden Ring), Chrono Cross really went the extra mile by making every dragon significantly different.
Even if they did have to involve a murder clown.
Even Worse Streams presents Chrono Cross
Night 7
Original Stream Night: May 31, 2022
Recruited this week:
- Do Masa & Mune count?
- Leah
Stream Notes:
- Time to get the Mastermune! Which involves solving dumb puzzles at Viper Manor! A discussion of Final Fantasy 8 and Chrono Cross summons ensue.
- There is a brief intermission while fighting Solt and Peppor as I run off to do… something. I literally do not remember what happened…
- Caliscrub arrives as we try to find BEAT and defeat the possessed Dario.
- And then Ample Vigour shows up. Dario is still standing. I have not accomplished anything yet.
- In post-stream response to AV’s comments on the subject, my wife has confirmed that the Smurfs and Donald Duck were generally equally popular in Europe around her childhood. I am inclined to believe her.
BEAT arrives just as we finish an important conversation about the legend of the few people that can draw duck bills. We still haven’t finished Dario. And now for more about Disco Elysium.- When we finally start fighting the Water Dragon, our first Dragon, we talk about crappy Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat characters. Eat it, Dario.
- By the time we are fighting the Fire Dragon, the stream is now just about discussing arcade games from the late 90’s
- As we attempt to get the rock opera going, I defend Battle Arena Toshinden.
- “Is someone thither?”
- The concert to end racism leads to the dumbest part of the game: fighting the same lizard creatures over and over again. At least we get some summons going…
- By the time we are fighting the Earth Dragon, we are discussing the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film. Jim Carrey is a marvel of CGI technology.
- We wind up hunting the Green Dragon with Leah, who may or may not be Ayla’s mother? Or daughter? It sucks. Like Sneff.
- And this stream was a slog. I apologize if you watched it. Moving on!
Next time on Chrono Cross: Robot on Robo violence.
This is just mean
I love that Chrono Cross has three different variations of chonky dragon. The game really did go all out with making its different dragons look distinct.