TOP Track #4 - "Time of the Dreamwatch"

• Track: "Time of the Dreamwatch"
• Composer: Mitsuda Yasunori
• Game: Chrono Cross
• System: Playstation
• Release: August, 2000

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This song is unbelievable. I really thought this song was going to make it all the way to #1. I suppose, originally I thought "To Far Away Times" would make it up into the TOP 5 because it means a lot to me, but when I started trying to look at songs as objectively as possible, "Time of the Dreamwatch" stood out immediately as going above and beyond everything Mitsuda did in "To Far Away Times." There is, of course, an undeniable nostalgia factor, but even our (somewhat) neutral third party (never played Chrono Trigger or Chrono Cross so no nostalgia) voted this up every single time. It's a fantastic song.

It's a bit of a shame that both "Time of the Dreamwatch" and "Time's Scar" are utilized before you even get a chance to play the game. Both are used in opening scenes and are not tied to any moment in the game itself, and they are both the most outstanding pieces of music on an already amazing soundtrack. I wish Mitsuda could have worked this into the game itself, or pushed a bit more to include more nods to Chrono Trigger music within this completely new, folk-y theme. If there's anything Chrono Cross needed across the board it was stronger ties to its predecessor, Chrono Trigger. When they happen, they are the best parts of the game, and they are far and few between - in fact, you could probably take them all out, call this game Serge Cross and call it a day. I'd love to see a remake/reboot of Chrono Cross that really tries to tie it all together quite a bit more - and utilizes this type of music blending, because it is by far some of Mitsuda's finest work.

-TOP
@TOPGamingBlog

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"Time of the Dreamwatch" would have garnered a 4 out of 5 rating from me if it were completely original. It received a perfect score, however, due to the Chrono Trigger throwback in the refrain. The first time I heard this song, I was cooking. Both my jaw and a pot full of ramen fell to the floor. Now, it's in my regular rotation of tracks I pop on at work when I'm feeling particularly homocidal. Something about it just brings me back down to Earth, and the Trigger refrain is like a lullaby for my soul. 

During the course of ranking these songs, we ran into some issues. We had to provide tie-breaking votes when tracks (of which there were many) got perfect scores from our panel of judges. It's difficult to come up with the metrics for declaring a true winner, due to the inability to cut nostalgia out of our calculations. Judging "Time of the Dreamwatch" was a conundrum. On the one hand, I feel it's a great song. On the other hand, my subconscious can't ignore the refrain, or the way it makes me feel as soon as I hear it. Mitsuda, you beautiful devil, you have me eating out of your hand yet again...

- Deez

@Deezer509

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Derivative Tracks

K-Waves Lab - http://youtu.be/d7mDenJRTJI

Piano Arrangement - http://youtu.be/0xVtMEhPbdE