I just finished the game, so I'll stick my mini-review here instead of creating a new thread.
I'll start out with what doesn't work:
Like Skyblade said, Trigger is the game's biggest weakness. Not really because it hampers the game's story itself (although it kind of does in parts), but because of the expectations that come with being a sequel. Like I said before, Trigger and Cross don't compare. Anyone who is keeping Trigger in the back of his mind while playing Cross is really just selling Cross short.
One more weakness: too many characters. From a gameplay standpoint, it does allow a ton of options for battle parties at any given time. I actually see what the dev team was going for here, in making everyone valuable (the game often talks about how everyone is special, how everyone makes up a single part of a whole, so it fits thematically in that way with even the local fisherman getting in on the action).
However, the huge number of potential party members usually ends up making the world feel both more alive and lifeless. Alive because there are just so many personalities and side-stories that make up the world of El Nido. Lifeless because it leads to some really disappointing logic failures. Example: Having Home Zappa and Another Karsh in the same party. Zappa obviously is looking for his son, not knowing he is dead, but is running alongside that son's alternate in your battle party. To get a scene between them, you actually have to bring Karsh to the smith's shop. I think it would have been neat to implement a kind of camp mechanic, where you can camp with your battle party anywhere on the overworld map (including in the boat, because I smurfing love being on boats myself) and get some unique dialogue. This would take a nut-shriveling amount of writing and foresight though, so I can see why it didn't turn out this way. Shame, because then I could call this game a masterpiece.
What's good? Just about everything else. Seriously. The game is beautiful, and the world itself just as so much to do, so much to discover, and so many really great moments. At first, it's kind of overwhelming. By the end, you've seen so many stories, both happy and sad, that it's hard to not just smile. In most RPGs, events often feel too tied to the main characters, as if they are the only important people in the entire game world (minus the ancient awakening evil). El Nido is more like a living breathing world than almost any other, involving Serge in events, but usually as a by-stander. It also helps that lots of El Nido's side-stories are well-written. Silly, yes, but there is nearly an equal amount of absurdity and seriousness, just like... well, actual problems.
Because of this, the game rewards travel, exploration, and experimentation. Bringing certain characters to meet their doubles, or bringing significant others to meet someone they may have lost. Every time one of these mini dilemmas is figured out, you're treated to some more side-story that just fleshes out the game world. A lot of times you'll win someone's ultimate tech or something, but it's always a secondary reward to the resolution of some NPC or minor character's story. In CC, the player is always bringing people together, and it really is heartwarming. Some of my favourite optional moments: Orlha's twin, Van's poverty/wealth, Greco (short but neat), Skelly's homecoming, and the Dario sub-quest. All of these can be easily missed, but they nevertheless all reward you with unique dialogue, hidden scenes, or even whole new scenarios. This doesn't make me forgive the logic failures I've already mentioned, but this enormous amount of content just makes for satisfying and downright fun gameplay.
As for combat... I really like it. I like how the limited leveling maintains challenge and encourages strategy. Many boss fights are actually more intense than I remember. The turn-based stamina system is probably one of Square's finest, I think. What's even better, is the method of encounters. Not only are all enemies shown on screen (still a novelty in its day), but I think it even one-ups Chrono Trigger in that it makes nearly all of these encounters run-aroundable. Enemies showed up on screen in CT, but lots of times stepping on a certain pixel resulted in a staged battle, or areas weren't wide enough to detour a fight entirely. In CC, enemies rarely jump out and surprise you. When they do, it's frustrating but only because it's an unfair rarity. If one so chooses, one could probably fight fewer standard encounters than bosses over the course of the game (and this might even be including those admittedly annoying bits where one needs to clear all the enemies out of an area for whatever plot reason).
Final thoughts (I swear): There are some issues with CC, but I feel they are overshadowed by so much excellence that they can be easily endured. The game is worse for having them, but my playing experience with the game isn't very much lessened either. Bottomline is that CC is a lovingly-made game. It's more unique and ambitious than most other games I've played, which is probably why it absolutely sails over most people's heads. I'm not saying anyone has to enjoy a game like CC, but I at least think people should recognize and appreciate what it does well (a lot). Most gamers and reviewers, I think, are far too reductive in their judgments, and this is why CC has an unnecessarily bad rap among them. Me, I've probably unknowingly put more time into CC in my life than any other Square game, and even those Bethesda games that I have a guilty pleasure for (Morrowind, Oblivion, and Fallout 3). It's not my favourite game ever, but when I think about it... it might be.
Well, now I've just begun FF9 - the third of Square's year 2000 trilogy of smurfing own (with the first being Vagrant Story). I'll be back in a month with my thoughts on that.
(Sorry all for the long post. I think I'm entitled to one every once in a while though. I mean, look at Wolf for god's sake.)
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