5 best Elemental Spells in Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition changed its magic system from its predecessor, adding an Elemental Field system. Each character still has an Element they specialize in, but casting spells changes the amount of influence/power that spell has on the battle.

Instead of unlocking them naturally, players now have to buy, find, trap or steal spells.

When considering what spells to use later in Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, some certainly stand out above all of the others.

These Elemental spells are the best in Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition

Whether the player needs a powerful heal, debuffs, or elemental lockout attacks, there are options in Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition. There is even powerful summons, but they are hard to set up due to requiring a full field of just one elemental color.

Sometimes, these spells can be difficult and might pair better with specific characters.

Top 5 spells in Chrono Cross

Inferno
Deluge
Volcano
UltraNova
BlackHole

5) Inferno (Red Element)

This Level 5+3 Red spell targets all enemies and does more than dump big numbers onto the other side of the field. It also has a chance to apply the “Burn” debuff on opponents. This will lower the enemy’s defense, making further damage even more impressive.

The Inferno spell can be better for anyone, so players who run characters like Riddel or Harle can slap this onto their powerhouse mages. Not being exclusive to Red Element users is terrific because many of those characters have pretty unimpressive Magic stats.

4) Deluge (Blue Element)

Another 5+3 spell, this is pretty much the Blue Element spell in Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition. It, like Inferno, can also be equipped by any character, giving the players’ most powerful mages a tool unlike any other to use.

As far as getting it, it’s pretty easy. Players can bring traps to the Water Dragon Isle (Home World) and use them on the Water Dragon and the Sidesteppa enemies. Those enemies cast it when the field is full of Blue, so be careful. This also has a chance to inflict Flu, which reduces Stamina Recovery. Players will want to protect against that while farming this spell.

3) Volcano (Red Element)

A Red-innate only Red Element spell targets all foes and is 6+2 Level. It also has a chance to cause Burn and, again, like Inferno, does quite a bit of damage to all targets. The difference is that characters can only use it with a Red innate. So if players are looking to use Macha in their party, this could do some pretty serious damage.

Miki is another good pick since she has a high Magic stat, perhaps the highest of all Red innate characters. If they trap it out, this spell can be picked up from the Tragedienne, Pyrotor, Bunyip (first form) and the Time Devourer, among other fights.

2) UltraNova (White Element)

Remember Luminaire from Chrono Trigger? This will then feel very familiar. A 6+2 spell that hits all enemies, it can only be equipped by an innate White Elemental users. It’s one of the best spells in the game and can be trapped out of the Sky Dragon.

The best part about this spell is that there is no shortage of White Element users who have fantastic Magic stats. Serge, for example, is a great pick. There’s also Riddel, Steena, and Starky who can use it. It’s an amazing spell, but it’s not quite the best. It will serve the player well across repeated playthroughs.

1) BlackHole (Black Element)

The strongest spell in Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is hands down BlackHole. This Level 6+2 innate Balck Element spell hits all enemies and does satisfying damage. On top of that, it also instantly kills innate-White opponents immediately. This can happen when enemies cast it on the party as well.

The best character to use this spell is Guile easily since he’s the best Magic innate user. Technically, that’s Harle, but she’s at the party for such a short period. She doesn’t factor in as highly. If the player can predict when an opponent will cast BlackHole, they can prevent Serge from being instantly killed every single time an enemy uses it. It’s very restrictive, but it’s so powerful that it deserves this spot on the list.

While there are plenty of spells in Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, it’s hard to know the best. There are honorable mentions, like the Field Spells (change the field to a specific element), the LoRes spell, which lowers the enemies' defense, and many more. But the above spells will demolish foes with sheer power.