There are many video games that make a strong impression on audiences, but the genre of RPGs allows titles to explore deeper levels of story, character, and conflict than what’s seen in the average video game. Chrono Cross is a celebrated PlayStation title that faced the lofty task of following up Square’s exceptional Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo.

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Chrono Cross is a controversial sequel, but it helps show just how grand Square’s scope for storytelling would become. Chrono Cross is a very ambitious release and it’s an important piece of gaming history, but there’s also a surprising amount from the sequel that didn’t make the final cut.

10 Magus Was Going To Be Included

Square Chrono Cross Guile Battle

The original Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo features some fantastic characters. One of the most beloved figures, the conflicted Magus, was originally planned to show up in the sequel. Chrono Cross’ director, Masato Kato, wanted to reveal that Magus is actually the character Guile, which is also a nod to Radical Dreamers’ Magus substitute, Gil. The already large roster led to the Magus idea getting cut. However, the Nintendo DS re-release of Chrono Trigger adds a new ending that implies that Guile is in fact a version of Magus from an alternate timeline or future who's suffering from amnesia.

9 The Real Reason For Zoah's Covered Face

Square Chrono Cross Zoah Battle

Chrono Cross is an RPG that has a gigantic roster of possible characters that can join Serge and Kid's party and help influence one of the game’s many possible endings. Zoah is one character who keeps his face covered and explains that it's because he's suffered heavy scarring from a war injury. It's a solid explanation, but the original plan was that Zoah is actually a prince from a different country who's spying on Serge. The Shadow Forest was going to offer more evidence to this, but this entire traitor storyline was removed to keep things simpler with Zoah.

8 There Was A Removed Enemy Or Boss Called FamilyTree

Square Chrono Cross FamilyTree Enemy

RPGs have to get pretty creative when it comes to their plentiful enemies and boss battles and Chrono Cross is no exception. The game is full of memorable encounters, but there’s a deleted enemy in the game known as FamilyTree, which is a Green Elemental monster.

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The data for FamilyTree that’s left in the game reveals that it has a very high HP, which likely means that it was meant to be an early boss in Shadow Forest B. FamilyTree uses the elemental move DownPour, a rain-based attack, which is also removed from the final version of the game.

7 There Was A Cut Character Named Kukuru

Square Chrono Cross Serge Party Meeting

Chrono Cross is an RPG that excels in the amount of options that it gives the player, like with how there are 45 possible characters to add to Serge's party. Those fighters cover a lot of ground, but it looks like there were also other individuals that were planned. Curiously, it's the demo of Chrono Cross that was released during the title's development that features the evidence that there was a cut character named Kukuru. The fact that the demo contains minimal info on this female fighter indicates that Kukuru probably didn't make it very far into the development process.

6 There Was A Weapon Called The Bronzerang

Square Chrono Cross Bronzerang Weapon

Chrono Cross features a wide array of weapons for its eclectic roster to make use of and it feels like there’s a diverse and powerful arsenal as far as RPG weapons are concerned. Chrono Cross’ game data contains a deleted weapon that’s a weak, earlier version of the boomerang that’s called the Bronzerang. Chrono Cross has several boomerang variations, with weapons like the Steelerang being on the weaker side of the spectrum. However, it’s likely that this cooper boomerang would have been the weakest of the lot and was ultimately deemed unnecessary.

5 There Was A Piece Of Armor Called Ghetz's Shirt

Square Chrono Cross Ghetz's Shirt Wraith

There are lots of effective pieces of armor in Chrono Cross, but there was initially another one designed that was a play on an ugly man's shirt. Ghetz's Shirt would only be worn by male characters and it increases evasion by 50%, but has poor defense and magic defense.

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The fact that it's nothing remarkable is probably why it was removed. The rumor that a certain Wraith would drop this item turned into quite the urban legend since a players' guide that was printed includes coverage of the Ghetz's Shirt even though it doesn't make the final cut.

4 There Was A Slot Machine-Based Blue Element

Square Chrono Cross Slot Machine Element Attack

RPGs can get really creative when it comes to certain battle styles and gameplay decisions. There was initially a Blue Element ability, most likely for Fargo, that takes its inspiration from a slot machine. The player has to match a trio of images to presumably deal damage or heal members of the party. There's a fun and cartoonish art style used for the handful of images that are featured on the rotating slots. Other RPGs have incorporated a slot machine mechanic for combat, but it didn't make it into Chrono Cross.

3 There Was An Alternate Character Portrait For The Body Swapped Lynx

Square Chrono Cross Lynx Worried

Chrono Cross digs in deep when it comes to the concept of alternate realities and multiple versions of characters. It's a game that isn't afraid to hold back and gets over the top when it comes to ideas like characters swapping bodies. Lynx and Serge undergo such a process and there was originally going to be a unique character portrait for Lynx that reflects this change. Chrono Cross does this with similar personality shifts, like with Dark Serge, but the game ultimately decides to just keep things simple and use the normal character portrait rather than this hybrid model.

2 There Was An Elemental Attack Called BoneNeedles

Square Chrono Cross BoneNeedles Elemental Attack

There are many RPGs that have great stories and characters, but they end up getting forgotten because they’re bogged down with cumbersome combat systems or battle styles. Chrono Cross finds entertaining approaches for its battle system and there are lots of satisfying elemental attacks. There’s a deleted Red Elemental attack called BoneNeedles that can still be found in the game’s data. BoneNeedles launches needles at the opponent and it was probably removed because of its strong resemblance to the existing attack, NeedleWork, that’s used by Scorpiod and Puffy.

1 There Was A Lower Tier Shot Weapon

Square Chrono Cross Battle Attack

A staple of how RPGs operate is that there are many different tiers of weapons, armor, and equipment that get upgraded over time. Chrono Cross has a sliding scale of elements like stone, iron, bronze, and silver that can be used to craft equipment or weapons. There was initially another class, Bone, which would have likely been the lowest tier. This extra stage wasn’t seen to be necessary, but one of its more prominent uses would have been with the weapon, Bone Shot, which is projectile pellets made from bone.

NEXT: 5 Ways Chrono Trigger Was Square's Best RPG (& 5 Ways It's Final Fantasy 7)