> It does imply that you’re blind to all the other aspects of games that bring people enjoyment.

Like what?

I’m not making a sweeping generalisation here about how people play games. We’re talking about chrono cross.

For a story driven JRPG like CT / CC specifically, if you don’t care about the characters or story, there is no reason to achieve any goal in the game.

I’m not so proud I can’t admit to being wrong; but in a JRPG there is no game without the character driven story. If you imagine replacing Kid and Serge with cardboard cutouts labeled A-san and B-san, what are you enjoying about the game?