Customer Reviews

Chrono Cross Original Soundtrack

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Disc One (60:40)

1) Chrono Cross ~ Scars of Time 2:29

2) Between Life and Death 2:38

3) Arni Village ~ Home 3:23

4) Fields of Time ~ Home World 3:26

5) Lizard Dance 2:41

6) Reminiscing ~ Uneraseable Memory 3:25

7) On the Beach of Dreams ~ Another World 2:22

8) Arni Village ~ Another 3:32

9) Ephemeral Memory 2:51

10) Lost Fragment 3:12

11) Drowned Valley 2:00

12) Termina ~ Another 2:43

13) Departed Souls 3:43

14) Forest of Illusion 3:25

15) Snakebone Mansion 2:54

16) Victory ~ A Gift of Spring 0:56

17) Lost in Time 3:24

18) Galdorb ~ Another 3:26

19) Hydra Swamp 3:10

20) Fragment of a Dream 1:35

21) Voyage ~ Another World 2:32

22) Ghost Ship 2:00

23) Deathfire Mountain 3:39

24) Fortress of Ancient Dragons 3:54

25) Grief 0:20

Disc Two (59:50)

1) Beginning of a Dream 0:42

2) A Narrow Space Between Dimensions 2:47

3) Termina ~ Home 3:38

4) The Dragoons 3:01

5) Voyage ~ Home World 3:22

6) Galdorb ~ Home 3:58

7) Marbule ~ Home 2:55

8) Zelbess 2:42

9) The Splendidly Grand Magic Troupe 1:31

10) Nap 0:13

11) Chronomantique 3:18

12) Dilemma 2:47

13) Optimism 2:19

14) Isle of the Dead 3:11

15) Dead Sea/Tower of Destruction 3:10

16) Prisoners of Fate 3:26

17) A Light Already Lost 0:32

18) Island of the Earth Dragon 3:16

19) Navel of the World 2:59

20) Gale 2:00

21) Victory ~ A Cry in Summer 0:53

22) Marbule ~ Another 3:00

23) Magic from the Fairies 0:13

24) Etude 1 0:12

25) Etude 2 0:14

26) Magical Dreamers 2:02

Disc Three (53:21)

1) Garden of God 2:45

2) Chronopolis 4:12

3) Fates ~ The God of Destiny 3:10

4) Jellyfish Sea 2:55

5) Burning Orphanage 2:44

6) The Girl Who Stole the Stars 3:48

7) The Dream that Time Dreams 4:01

8) Dragon's Prayer 5:57

9) Tower of Stars 2:26

10) Frozen Flame 2:54

11) Dragon God 3:21

12) Dark Realms of Time 0:42

13) Life ~ A Distant Promise 6:32

14) Reminiscing ~ Uneraseable Memory 1:39

15) Radical Dreamers ~ Unstealable Jewel 4:25

16) Fragment of a Dream 2:00

Yasunori Mitsuda must be one of the greatest musical virtuosos of our time, and Chrono Cross is his most impressive achievement to date. This Japanese composer - who also wrote the music for Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Xenosaga - is a master at using several styles of music to define his unique work: celtic, arabian, classical, neoclassical, and traditional japanese influences are all recognizable and expertly crafted into this work. Rather than limit himself to a narrow selection of instruments and styles, Mitsuda combines these traditional styles and adds his own exciting flavor to the mix. The mixture will capture your ear starting at the beginning.

Almost all the tracks will be familiar to those who have played Chrono Cross (an excellent game), and many are reminiscent of the Chrono Trigger soundtrack. These recognizable themes are like mom's apple pie to gamers: they should remind you of long, enjoyable hours and memorable moments from your gameplay experience. Divorced from the video game, the music may not have the nostalgic effects, but it stands alone as a powerhouse of composing talent and a monumental achievement in modern music.

The Chrono Cross OST is divided into 3 discs entitled Cause, Unveiling, and Change: each building on the theme of temporal change and disturbance. The best way to listen to this album is from start to finish without interruption; this is the only way you can truly appreciate how the music develops. All the tracks together last slightly longer than three hours, but it will be well worth your investment of time and money. Listening to Mitsuda's work stimulates the imagination and keeps the mind involved, whether it be through exciting, active tracks or ambient, meditative ones.

Most of the songs are calm and relaxing, as they are intended to double as background music, but many are sure to get your blood pumping. Some of the best tracks are Time's Grasslands, Dream on a Shore Bordering Another World, Chronomantic, Predicament, Radical Dreamers, and one vocal track, sung in Japanese, that is a beautiful complement to the instrumental work. Certainly do not listen exclusively to these tracks, though, because you would miss the musical experience. After you finish the soundtrack, you will want to start it over and listen again.

Mitsuda takes synthetic and game music to a new level. He is the most innovative composer currently working today, and this soundtrack is a collection of some of his most impressive and inspiring work. The Chrono Cross OST is a must have for music and game lovers alike.

For those of you who have played the game, you are all too familiar with the various themes throughout the soundtrack. From the moving and dramatic opening song, "Time's Scar," the upbeat and fun "Dancing the Tokage," and the eerie vocal track "Radical Dreamers," this soundtrack satiates those of us with diverse tastes in music.

However, for those of you who can't equate love of the soundtrack with love of the game (heaven forbid), then here is some information that you will probably value. Some of the tracks border on celtic themes, while others are of the more traditional classical style of music. There is one vocal song (as mentioned previously) that is absolutely beautiful, even if it is sung in Japanese. Although the music is synthesized, the sounds are so crisp that, for the most part (especially with the opening), you can't tell that the piece is not being performed by real instruments. The synthesized music goes so far as to include "accidentals," such as the sound of fingers travelling down the guitar strings, which adds to a more realistic sound.

I highly reccommend this soundtrack (3CDs) for anyone who enjoys listening to excellent, well written music. Mitsuda's talent is well displayed in this soundtrack (he also wrote the music to Chrono Trigger and Xenogears). If you are leery about jumping into a purchase before sampling some mp3's (don't worry, I'm the same way), then I suggest listening to the three songs I listed in the first paragraph. They are a good representation of the whole, although there are MANY other tracks that are excellent as well.

Basic info: Music composed arranged and produced by Yasunori Mitsuda. 3-disc set. Disc 1: 69:40 (29 tracks). Disc 2: 59:50 (26 tracks). Disc 3: 53:21 (16 tracks). Most packaging is in Japanese, but you can get the English track list by playing the CD in an internet-connected computer with a CDDB-compatible audio player, like Apple's "iTunes".

I'd heard this was a wonderful soundtrack and bought it at an anime convention before I'd even played the game. If only all my impulse purchases went so well. I knew Mitsuda's style from the "Xenogears" soundtrack, but "Chrono Cross" blew me away.

Whereas so many PlayStation game soundtracks are dominated by marches (Brave Fencer Musashiden), or synthesized brass and ominous church-bells (Final Fantasy), Chrono Cross' music offers string quartets, acoustic guitar, bouzouki and a decidedly Celtic feel, with the horns and drums only coming out for the occasional battle theme or Dramatic Moment. Not only does the music fit the exploratory and communicative tasks that it commonly underscores in the game, but it also holds up better for casual listening. This, potentially, is game music for people who don't know or don't like game music. Disc 1 in particular alternates betweens moods of gentleness and uneasy mystery.

Disc 3's "Radical Dreamers", sung by Noriko Mitose, upholds Squaresoft's recent tradition of an end-of-game pop song that is presaged by earlier tracks in the score, and fits in nicely as a closer to the soundtrack, though it probably doesn't stand out enough to show up on internet anime radio stations like Final Fantasy VIII's "Eyes On Me" does.

A 3-disc import doesn't come cheap, but if you are at all interested in Chrono Cross and its music, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this soundtrack.

"I've never played the game, but I've watched it." How many times have you heard that phrase? That was the case for me and Chrono Cross and as a result I had the pleasure of concentrating more on the story and, best of all, the music. Yasunori Mitsuda has a knack for setting the emotional tone of a scene with his music: even on older games such as Chrono Trigger, he demonstrated that video game music can be more than just a repetitive or monotonous theme; rather it can be an entire score. In this case, three CDs worth of a score.

Mitsuda and other Japanese composers do something incredibly ambitious with scores like these: writing enough music to fill games that gamers may spend 50 or more hours playing. Yes, even this music can get monotonous at times (RPG gamers will know what I mean by "battle music"), but thankfully, you don't have to listen to the music in that fashion with this soundtrack.

My favorite tracks are, of course, the couple that incorporate actual acoustic instruments. The synthesized tracks, however, are still some of the best that I've heard from a video game score. More specifically, the guitar tracks are impressive. The instrumentalists went to the trouble of adding subtle touches like the noise of fingers sliding over steel or nylon strings which is convincing enough at times to make you do an aural double-take.

The style is varied, but you can liken it to a bit Celtic, a bit Renaissance, and a bit modern. What really matters is that it sounds good and it's fun to listen to.

It's difficult for me to give this or any other game soundtrack five stars when compared to other music selections. I'll just say my 5 star rating is within the context of video game scores - you'll be hard pressed to find a better one. In the context of all music, however, I'd give this a 4 or 4.5, not because of the composer but because of the limitations of the genre. This music needs to be looped and it needs to fit in a small amount of computer memory and as a result will suffer compared to a full orchestral score for an opera or movie. The music still stands on its own and I have no problems recommending this to music lovers in general.

Once again, the composer of Chrono Trigger and Xenogears has composed a soundtrack of consistently high quality. I can't wait to see what Yasunori Mitsuda's next project, Tsugunai for the PlayStation 2, will give us.

The Chrono Cross Soundtrack, while it has its share of warlike battle anthems to get your heart pounding, seems to focus on calming, Celtic-influenced songs, with lots of guitars and flutes. A nice bonus: since the game takes place in two parallel worlds, most themes have two or more versions, arranged using different tempo and instruments.

This 3-CD set includes all the music from Chrono Cross. Although it's all good, highlights include: on disc 1, Scars of Time, both versions of Arni Village, and Memory - Lingering Feelings; on disc 2, Dragon Knight; and on disc 3, Time of the Dreamwatch, Life - The Faraway Promise, and The Jewel Not Stolen (sung by Noriko Mitose).

The liner notes include interesting commentary about each and every single track by Mitsuda. However, remember that this is a Japanese soundtrack, and so the liner notes are in Japanese. However, there are translations of them as well as of the track list floating around if, like most Americans, you don't know Japanese.

Definitely a good purchase. Well worth the price!

This soundtrack is one of the best I have ever heard. It contains all of the songs heard in the game. They are mostly played in chronological order. This music is all orchestral and follows a caribbian theme, since the game is based around a group of islands. Most of the songs and the booklet it comes with are all in Japanese. The only things that are in English are a few of the really important song titles. This music is well worth getting even though the price may be a little high. But think about it you are getting 67 songs spread over 3 CD's. Anyway I would highly suggest this music to any Chrono Cross Game fanatic, or if you enjoy orchestral music.

Hope this review helps.

With everything having been said, there's nothing else for me to say except that the music of Chrono Cross has stood up well over these years and still gives me something new everytime I listen.

I love this soundtrack mainly for its most heartfelt pieces; the quiet, simmering compositions that tie everything together in between its most powerful and majestic moments.

"The Scars of Time" is still one of the best, most original theme pieces ever, and the only one on the soundtrack (if I remember right) which Mitsuda created with acoustic, not synthesized, music. Another piece which stands out is "The Bend of Time" (a.k.a. "Ravine - Cleft of Dimension"), which is played in the game at the island where you may return to battle any of the game's creatures over again. I, however, lacking the soundtrack CD at the time, merely went there to listen to the music and let it loop in the background while I went about my business.

Some time later I ordered the CD (unheard of on Amazon at the time), and six years on, "The Bend of Time" is still one of the best pieces to put on for a quiet, sunny late afternoon. When my daughter was born, "The Bend of Time," "Another Arni," "Another Guldove," and "Home Arni" made her lullaby playlist, and these are still some of her favorite pieces.

What Yasunori Mitsuda has achieved here is an amazing, all-embracing sweep of the entire spectrum of human emotion. It's upbeat, victorious, adventurous, tragic, dramatic, gentle, nostalgic, hostile -- this is music that, if you let it, will touch your life in ways beyond the TV and the PlayStation controller.

This is easily the best video game soundtrack of the past several years, mixing a wonderful blend of soothing melodies and heart-pounding battle songs. Many of the reviews I've read on the internet like to list a few tracks that 'stand out' on this 3-disc set, but personally I think you have to listen to it all. When listening to this OST by itself, you really can't skip over any one song, espically if you've played the game all the way through at least once.

Moving, spiritual music that really goes above and beyond the call of the genre. Any fan of real music should have this in their collection, it is beautiful beyond reproach. Yasunori Mitsuda is a truely brilliant composer.

The liner notes that come with the set are in japanese, but a translation can be found at GameFaqs.com in the Chrono Cross section. All in all, this album is WELL worth the import price, and can be enjoyed by people of any age and musical taste.

There's a reason this CD is so expensive, even the version that's not an import.

Some of the best music ever. I could listen to every track every minute of every day. That's about all i can say.