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Chapter 1: System Overview Several features make Chrono Cross a unique role-playing experience. In addition to a completely original battle system, it features a new take on magic called "elements." Leveling up is replaced by "growth levels," and each character has multiple unique special skills, many of which must be discovered by gamers before they can be used. Elements Elements are similar to traditional magic spells. But unlike most magic systems, the element system allows total customization and skill-swapping, while avoiding the generic drone feeling characters often possess when using such intricate skill systems. Each character has what is called an element grid, a blank template of slots into which elements are placed as they are earned throughout the adventure. Some characters have numerous slots, while others have only a few. As you earn new growth levels in the game, your characters will acquire more slots in their element grids. Elements can be purchased, pilfered, found, or won like any other item in the game. Of course, powerful elements are much more difficult to come by than weaker elements, but even the low-end skills are useful throughout the game. The element grid is divided into eight columns, each of which provides increasingly more strength - a level 8 element is far more powerful than a level 1 element, for instance. Each element skill has its own natural power level, but most spells can be moved to a different column of the grid to add or subtract power from it. For example, the level 1 element Cure restores a small amount of hit points to a character when used in a level 1 grid slot. But when Cure is placed in a level 3 grid slot, it becomes Cure+2 and restores a greater amount of life to its target. The level 3 skill CurePlus, on the other hand, is naturally more powerful than Cure+2. But when it's moved to a level 1 slot, it becomes CurePlus-2 and is weaker than either CurePlus or Cure+2. Additionally, all elements come in one of six colors, which roughly correspond to traditional categories of magic (light, dark, fire, water, earth, and wind). Elemental colors exist in pairs (white and black, red and blue, yellow and green). These elemental pairings are extremely important in the game, as the color of attacks, skills, enemies, and characters will greatly influence the tide of combat. All characters possess an innate element color that gives them a higher affinity to skills of the same color and weakens them against attacks of the opposite color. Thus a blue-innate character will have better luck when using a blue curative spell like CurePlus, but will be more vulnerable to strong red attacks like Volcano. Creating a good mix of character affinities is important when outfitting a party for combat. To add another consideration to the mix, many high-level elements and summon skills can only be used by characters with a matching innate color. Learning how to equip and when to use elements to your advantage is a key to success in Chrono Cross.
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