Chrono Cross is an interesting game. It was the sequel to one of the most celebrated video games of all time. However, it failed in almost every way that Chrono Trigger succeeded. To clarify, it’s not a very good video game. I still love it. And if I had unlimited free time I’d probably give it another playthrough. But, that will probably never happen. I do have the Chrono Cross soundtrack as a permanent part of my playlists. Because even if the core game in Chrono Cross failed to live up to the standard set by its predecessor, it’s soundtrack is it’s saving grace.
Yasunori Mitsuda is considered by many to be one of the greatest composers in the history of video games. His name is found on lists alongside the likes of Nobuo Uematsu, David Wise, Michiru Yamane, and Koji Kondo. For example, you can just give “On the Beach of Dreams ~Another World~” a listen and you should understand why he gets so much praise.
Music publisher, Materia Collective has shown the Chrono series a lot of love over the years. Serving as the label for multiple projects that paid tribute to the music of the franchise. And we can add the subject of this post to that list. Parallelus is an album from arranger and orchestrator David Peacock. It celebrates the 20th anniversary of the release of Chrono Cross. It features a seven-piece tracklist. You can describe the sound as “lush orchestral arrangements”.
David Peacock is not an amateur, he already has a lot of albums under his belt. And with Parallelus he continues to create quality arrangements and orchestrations of some amazing soundtracks. His previous works include Hero of Time, Johto Legends, and the Undertale and Pokémon Red/Blue Piano Collections albums. That said, David Peacock isn’t the only talent at work here. The Hit Points, Videri String Quartet, Kristin Naigus, and many others also contribute.
The tracks on Parallelus include some of the best in Chrono Cross. For example, Prisoners of Fate which is one of my favorite compositions. And, I can say it has been done justice here. It’s a very melancholic piano arrangement. And it tugged on my heart. For those interested in getting a copy of the album you can follow this link. Like with all digital music there are ways to listen to it for free, but I encourage you to spend the money on it. You can get the digital version for under $10. And it’s vital to support creators like David Peacock and companies like Materia Collective. So we can get more content like this in the future. Lastly, it’s currently only available in a digital format, but Parallelus will be receiving limited edition CD and vinyl editions sometime in 2020. You can pre-order these now.
