Battle and Elements left|thumb|In battle, players can attack, use Elements, defend, or run away.|alt=Two characters in foreground in battle poise, menu with "Attack", "Element", "Defend", "Run Away", boxes with health statistics for characters "Serge", "Kid", and "Mel", stone floor, gold robotic enemy facing the characters The Element system of Chrono Cross handles all magic, consumable items, and character-specific abilities. Elements unleash magic effects upon the enemy or party and must be equipped for use, much like the materia of 1997's Final Fantasy VII. Elements can be purchased from shops or found in treasure chests littered throughout areas. Once acquired, they are allocated to a grid whose size and shape are unique to each character. They are ranked according to eight tiers; certain high level Elements can only be assigned on equivalent tiers in a character's grid. As the game progresses, the grid expands, allowing more Elements to be equipped and higher tiers to be accessed. Elements are divided into six paired oppositional types, or "colors," each with a natural effect. Red (fire/magma) opposes Blue (water/ice), Green (wind/flora) opposes Yellow (earth/lightning), and White (light/cosmos) opposes Black (darkness/gravity). Each character and enemy has an innate color, enhancing the power of using same-color Elements while also making them weak against elements of the opposite color. Chrono Cross also features a "field effect", which keeps track of Element color used in the upper corner of the battle screen. If the field is purely one color, characters are able to unleash a powerful summon element at the cost of one of the player's stars. The field will also enhance the power of Elements of the colors present, while weakening Elements of the opposite colors. Characters also innately learn some special techniques ("Techs") that are unique to each character but otherwise act like Elements. Like Chrono Trigger, characters can combine certain Techs to make more powerful Double or Triple Techs. Consumable Elements may be used to restore hit points or heal status ailments during or after battle.
Battle and Elements left|thumb|In battle players can attack use Elements defend or run away|alt=Two characters in foreground in battle poise menu with "Attack" "Element" "Defend" "Run Away" boxes with health statistics for characters "Serge" "Kid" and "Mel" stone floor gold robotic enemy facing the characters The Element system of Chrono Cross handles all magic consumable items and character-specific abilities Elements unleash magic effects upon the enemy or party and must be equipped for use much like the materia of 1997's Final Fantasy VII Elements can be purchased from shops or found in treasure chests littered throughout areas Once acquired they are allocated to a grid whose size and shape are unique to each character They are ranked according to eight tiers; certain high level Elements can only be assigned on equivalent tiers in a character's grid As the game progresses the grid expands allowing more Elements to be equipped and higher tiers to be accessed Elements are divided into six paired oppositional types or "colors" each with a natural effect Red (fire/magma) opposes Blue (water/ice) Green (wind/flora) opposes Yellow (earth/lightning) and White (light/cosmos) opposes Black (darkness/gravity) Each character and enemy has an innate color enhancing the power of using same-color Elements while also making them weak against elements of the opposite color Chrono Cross also features a "field effect" which keeps track of Element color used in the upper corner of the battle screen If the field is purely one color characters are able to unleash a powerful summon element at the cost of one of the player's stars The field will also enhance the power of Elements of the colors present while weakening Elements of the opposite colors Characters also innately learn some special techniques ("Techs") that are unique to each character but otherwise act like Elements Like Chrono Trigger characters can combine certain Techs to make more powerful Double or Triple Techs Consumable Elements may be used to restore hit points or heal status ailments during or after battle