Chrono Cross
Production required six months of work. After wrapping, Mitsuda and Kato played "Chrono Cross" to record their impressions and observe how the tracks intermingled with scenes; the ending theme brought Kato to tears. Players who preordered the game received a sampler disc of five songs, and Square released a three-CD official soundtrack in Japan after the game's debut. The soundtrack won the Gold Prize for the PlayStation Awards of 2000. In 2005, Square Enix reissued the soundtrack due to popular demand. Earlier that year, Mitsuda announced a new arranged "Chrono Cross" album, scheduled for release in July 2005. Mitsuda's contract with Square gave him ownership and full rights to the soundtrack of "Chrono Cross". It was delayed, and at a Play! A Video Game Symphony concert in May 2006, he revealed it would feature acoustic music and would be "out within the year", later backtracking and alleging a 2007 release date. Mitsuda posted a streaming sample of a finished track on his personal website in January 2009, and has stated the album will be released to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Japanese debut of "Cross". Music from "Chrono Cross" has been featured in the September 2009 "Symphonic Fantasies" concerts, part of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series conducted by Arnie Roth. The track "Dimension Break" was remixed by Mitsuda for inclusion on the charity album "Play For Japan" in 2011. That same year, the "Chrono Cross" theme "Time's Scar" was voted first place in Hardcore Gaming 101's "Best Video Game Music of All Time" poll. "Time's Scar" was also featured in 2012 by NPR in a program about classically arranged video game scores.