~Visuals by Dice~
Release Date: 7/22/2022 (remake), 9/2/1994 (original release)
Developer: Square (original), historia (remake)
Publisher: Square (original), SquareEnix (remake), Nintendo (Worldwide)
Director: Takashi Tokita
Music: Yoko Shimomura (Original & Remake)
Genre: JRPG
Platform(s): Switch, SNES
Price(s): $49.99
A Tribesman comes of age in a world without words
A Wonderer with a bounty on his head fights for his life
A Kung Fu Master searches for a worthy successor
A Shinobi undertakes an important secret mission
A martial artist strives to become the strongest there ever was.
A youth with psychic powers takes a stand against evil
A newly built robot is swept up in a tragedy in space
Live A Live is an anthology game that is made up of multiple short JRPG scenarios, each taking place at a different point in time, ranging from the prehistoric past to the distance spacefaring future. Each scenario features at least one core gimmick that leans into the setting, making for each scenario playing wildly different from each other.
If you want a TL;DR, it's basically Kirby Super Star but a JRPG.
-Tactical Combat: Though not giving you full on FF Tactics style battlefields, every encounter in LAL plays out on a tactical grid where characters can be moved around, as positioning matters with how attacks play out
-Mostly Forgiving Difficulty. Mostly: Characters heal after combat, and any character who dies in a battle is fine the next go around and only misses out on stat gains from any battle they didn't survive. You are also free to run from most battles. Don't run away too much towards the end though.
-A New Horizon of Settings: Instead of the usual JRPG settings, Live A Live plays with various historical (and ahistorical) settings to explore the genre in different settings that previously weren't as thoroughly explored, allowing narratives you can't have in typical fantasy and sci-fi settings.
-Scenario Based Storytelling: Instead of one running narrative, Live A Live presents its stories in a series of scenarios that you can freely jump around. Each scenario has its own gimmick and are of varying lengths
-A Breezy Narrative: Afraid that you don't have time for LAL? Got other JRPGs to play that are dropping this month on Switch? Have no fear, one of LAL's other strengths is that it is a shorter game overall, taking roughly 20-25 hours for a casual playthrough. You can stretch more time out of it by doing everything (and it is also just a highly replayable game) and you can also make it even shorter, so it'll easily fit into your busy schedule
One of the main gimmicks of this chapter is that it is a story told almost entirely by pantomime. This time period is one that exists before language, so all characters, human and not, are only able to communicate through emotions and actions, making for one of Square's most interesting storytelling experiences. Another core gimmick is that this scenario features no random battles but enemies are also not visible on the map until you make a point to sniff them out. This game stinks!
The core gimmick of this chapter is that your lead character is looking to pick a successor. You have your pick of a number of apprentices to train throughout your time as the master, but only one can be the successor at the end. Whoever is picked will become the actual lead of the chapter.
The main idea for this chapter is that it is a sneaking mission. All encounters are meticulously planned. Oboro is also given a stealth mechanic of being able to make himself invisible to enemies in a pinch.
This is a freeform chapter where you are given free reign to complete tasks around the town, setting up traps and defenses so you can change up how the final battle with the outlaw gang goes.
This is a very roleplaying lite chapter, with the main gimmick being that you choose your opponents like it was a fighting game, complete with Street Fighter style character select and a Yoko Shimomura battle theme that sounds straight out of Street Fighter 2.
This chapter allows you to read the minds of NPCs, giving you access to solve mysteries and just learn a lot of neat things.
This is a chapter that features almost no forced combat encounters, being one that is almost entirely based around puzzle solving and survival.
This chapter is a little more straightforward as a fantasy JRPG...until it isn't. Its gimmick is tragedy.
This scenario brings together the main cast, letting you pick your party of four heroes from the leads of each scenario as they seek to take down the final antagonist. Alternatively, you can play AS the villain and fight your way through the cast, dooming all of reality.
-Reading For the Masses: Most notably, the game has been localized into a number of different langauges, allowing it to be (officially) playable by non-Japanese speaking people for the first time
-2DHD Visuals: Love it or hate it, Team Asano's 2DHD style has been applied to this game to give it a massive visual uplift. The 1994 original wasn't exactly the best looking game, so this is perhaps a welcome change
-He Can Talk, He Can Talk, He Can Talk, I CAN SIIIIIIING: This game is now heavily voiced. Joseph Joestar himself, Tomokazu Sugita, was such a big fan that he made sure to voice numerous characters. Yoko Shimamura also headed up a fully voiced version of one of the game's catchiest themes.
-Remastered Music: Yoko Shimomura (most famously known for The 3rd Birthday) has returned to head up new versions of the game's soundtrack, including at least one now vocalized track previously noted. The original music was already incredible and what we've heard of the new stuff is that and more.
This is one of the big classic Square RPGs to not make it out of Japan in an official capacity. It's also something that hasn't wildly been available for the 28 years since its original release, with the only rereleases being Japan only Virtual Console releases on the WiiU and New3DS. That it is getting an extensive remake is already big enough on its own, but that it's also getting a global release is huge. This game is truly something special, covering a range of settings that generally weren't touched on in 1994 and honestly still haven't been all that explored in 2022. Quite frankly, there's really nothing else like it. Other games have tried to do the anthology route, but few have managed to knock it out of the park as well as Live A Live.
It's also worth noting that this was Takashi Tokita's first full on directing job before he went on to direct Chrono Trigger and Parasite Eve, two games that absolutely bear Live A Live's DNA.
Also a very small part of it was in some remote way an inspiration for Undertale. You kids like Undertale.
(more to be added)
Q: I'm tired of these multi-scenario games never coming together. Are these standalone or is there a point tying them all together.
A: Though the chapters are all wildly different in every aspect, they are tied together by a central theme of good vs a seemingly insurmountable evil
There is a final chapter that draws all the characters into a final conflict with a truly great evil
Q: This seems SaGa-ish...
A: There is some SaGa DNA here, but it's very much its own game.
Q: Is this really Switch only?
A: As far as the remake goes, the Switch is its only current platform. That can change, as was the case with other games from this team, but not every one. We'll see what the future holds.
Q: That cast seems pretty...men only. What's up with that.
A: All of the default party members are men (with Cube being treated as male), yeah. Your most ideal path through the Ancient China chapter has you end up with a woman as the lead for it
Look, you all came here for Megalomania, so here it is
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgFuC5G1s5c
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czn-fcoa94Y
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8vbwnqOZJI
(this is the SNES version of Masaru's battle them, to drive home the Street Fighter 2 connection)
Reviews and Resources
IGN- 9/10
Gamespot- 8/10
Eurogamer- Recommended
Some totally unknown random kid writing to RPGfan in 2002- 91/100
North American eShop link
UK eShop Link
Global eShop link (Swap out the AU for the country code of your choice)
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