Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition - Here's How Music Works

There has been some confusion about the music in Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition. Square Enix's messaging here has been vague, and even the company's correction in the announcement blog post doesn't fully clarify the situation. A few weeks ago, Square released a YouTube trailer (embedded below) with 7 arranged and 1 new track for the new remaster. Fans, understandably, wanted to know if you could use original music in the game instead. Always good to have options, right? 

In the blog post, Square Enix's correction states:

But being frank, this isn't quite right either, as the statement confusingly uses the 'original/remastered/refined' terminology - also at odds with how SE has described the soundtrack elsewhere.

In any case, RPG was able to get an early review code, and here's the deal with Chrono Cross' music:

The remastered game itself - Chrono Cross - uses a "refined" soundtrack. These tracks are not new arrangements, but instead, these are simply cleaned-up versions of the original music with small adjustments to noise compression, equalization, etc - as described by composer Yasunori Mitsuda. This is the only soundtrack found when actually playing the game, and you cannot toggle it.

The 7 rearranged tracks and 1 new track (shown in the YouTube video above) are not found during gameplay. Instead, they only play in the main menu of Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition - this is the menu where you choose to play Chrono Cross or the text-based Radical Dreamers. These tracks are also found on the new vinyl that can be purchased from Square Enix's store. But otherwise, you will not find these tracks during gameplay.

That's it. In brief, the game uses a "refined" soundtrack. The main menu will loop through the new arrangements. Hope that clears things up for those considering a purchase of this remaster.