LIVE A LIVE

 

Review by · May 25, 2023

To this day, the SNES era is considered the golden era of RPGs. Beloved fan favorites such as Secret of Mana and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars stand side-by-side with ā€œBest RPGā€ chart-toppers such as Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI. That said, some of the systemā€™s most beloved RPGs have still yet to come west, with many of these falling under Square Enixā€™s umbrella (or Squaresoft at the time). Thus, many fans of RPGsā€”myself includedā€”had to resort to shoddy fan translations on unruly emulators. Thankfully, Square Enix has been rectifying their past mistakes by remaking and remastering beloved classics andĀ finallyĀ bringing them to the West. One of these beloved classics is 1994ā€™s highly experimental RPG LIVE A LIVE. Does this quirky and unique RPG remake live up to the nearly thirty-year wait?

LIVE A LIVE is a collection of vignettes that seemingly have little to do with one another at first. It is a tale told through time, viewed through the lenses of seven (eventually eight) people ranging from prehistoric times to the far, far future. Upon starting the game, players are shown seven of these characters and given the choice of what order they complete the stories in. Each era has a unique spin on the game’s mechanics: some introduce learning moves from getting attacked, some let players read characters’ thoughts, and some give complete freedom over handling the task at hand. Each era leans hard into LIVE A LIVEā€™s experimental nature, which is the gameā€™s greatest strength.

LIVE A LIVE prehistory era protagonist Pogo getting into an argument with the era's antagonist.
The Prehistory era tells its story without a single bit of dialogue, and that alone is amazing.

The gameā€™s narrative breaks down into bite-sized chunks focusing on a particular setting. Rescuing a kidnapped love interest from fur-clad cave dwellers, saving a frontier town from rampaging bandits, and skulking about a spaceship under threat are just a few of the gameā€™s tales. Yet even within these simple plots lies a lot of depth, and the strength of these stories rests with the characters themselves. While some of the plots may be quite predictable, the way the characters handle situations is quite refreshing. My favorite (by far) is the Imperial China era, where an elderly shifu decides to pass on his Earthen Heart style. Players can choose their next disciple, though I believe Lei Kugoā€”the gameā€™s only playable heroineā€”to be the canon choice, for she fits the themes of both her era and the gameā€™s meta-narrative the best.

While I wonā€™t spoil anything about the overall narrative aside from the fact that there are eight to go through (despite seven displayed: the eighth is on the cover), I will say that it all came together in a way that excited me. Those with a keen eye may notice some consistencies across eras. Iā€™m ashamed to say that I completely missed something that, in retrospect, was blatantly obvious. The storytelling in LIVE A LIVE is deceptively simple, and I applaud how the story feels fresh even when touching upon ever-familiar tropes. The game surprised me more often than not with its narrative, which I find quite impressive.

LIVE A LIVE Edo Japan era protagonist Oboromaru skulking across rooftops.
The Edo Japan era is one of the most striking in terms of visuals and the freedom granted to explore.

The exploration and battle system in LIVE A LIVE is primarily the same from era to era, barring a few notable exceptions. Players control an HD-2D pixel character, roam across a highly detailed 3D world, and encounter enemies randomly or via symbol encounter, depending on the era. Combat takes place on a 7×7 grid and uses a turn system similar to Final Fantasyā€™s ATB systemā€”the Wait version, specifically. While characters only occupy one space on the grid, enemies often take up two or more. This difference is notable, as each character has a set of moves with an attack range like a tactical RPG. With enemy sprites generally far taller or wider than your own, it makes targeting foes much easier, thanks to their enlarged hitbox.Ā 

While there are the usual elements such as fire, water, wind, and earth, there are also damage types in the form of fists, feet, jumping, binding, and so on. Enemies have strengths and weaknesses as expected, yet many moves have additional debuffs or status effects they can apply. This keeps combat more tactical, as using a move an enemy is resistant to would otherwise be ignored. However, if that move has a chance to blind an enemy and drop their defense, it might just be worth the damage reduction. Battles do vary from era to era, with some more focused on melee and martial arts while others focus on ranged battles or elemental warfare. I appreciate any system that lets me stack status effects on foes.

Having only played a bit of the original game many years ago on an emulator, itā€™s difficult to compare the two directly. However, LIVE A LIVEā€™s visuals perfectly display the HD-2D style. While the character art itself is expertly designed, the art direction and camera framing do wonders for capturing the feeling and aesthetic of a 90s-era RPG. The environment in each era is vivid, and each era is practically a character itself, ensuring each town and location quickly becomes memorable. Once the climactic boss battles begin, however, the art design truly shines in both the set-piece battles and the highly detailed and larger-than-life bosses.

LIVE A LIVE's Western era protagonist Sundown Kid in a boss battle.
LIVE A LIVE‘s bosses are massive, often taking up nearly half the grid. Naturally, they hit like a ton of bricks.

Though the visuals and art design are impressive, the soundtrack is one of the standout aspects of LIVE A LIVE . There is a wide variety of music expertly crafted to fit each era. Be it whimsical flutes and tropical drums in the prehistory era, lonesome acoustic guitar mixed with whistling for the Western era, or the straight-out-of-the-90s saxophone-laden jams in The Near Future, Live A Live manages to capture each eraā€™s unique feeling masterfully. Additionally, I like to acknowledge voice acting when itā€™s done well, and LIVE A LIVEā€™s cast easily clears the bar for a superb performance. Each actor nails the voices, bringing life to the 2D sprites. Some do ham it up a bit too much; I chalk that up to being part of the charm.

While the experience is quite positive overall, a few pain points that make the game more frustrating than it should be. The main issue in my playthrough was the overall pacing. As the game is an anthology, story lengths vary wildly (as expected). Some eras were just shy of two hours, while others crept into three or four. Yet itā€™s not just the length of the episode, but the pacing within it. The Near Future era was the biggest offender by having the player go to particular areas numerous times within a short time. Having to talk to a character in the bathroom five times, trying to leave the house four times, or chasing down enemies through winding alleys well over ten times is a frustrating affair. Some episodes have pointless filler that pads out the playtime, but thankfully it only feels noticeable in a handful of eras.

LIVE A LIVE protagonists preventing a character from falling out of an airlock in the Far Future era.
It may be hard to believe that this image is from the same game as the images above. Live A Live’s scope is quite grand.

The other primary complaint I have is regarding the battle system. While the developers do unique things with it, the battles quickly grow tiresome by the time youā€™ve hit your fourth or fifth era. By the end of each, I was essentially spamming one big area of effect move. Also related to combat is the abundance of enemy encounters in the last area of the game. Mercifully, some eras have minimal combat. Finally, of minor annoyance: I wish the last character showed up on the character selection screen, perhaps with a little lock to show other eras needed to be completed first. After completing my seventh era, I was ready for credits to roll and be done with the game, yet there were another five or so hours ahead of me. The issues are minor, all in all, and certainly not a dealbreaker by any means, yet theyā€™re certainly noticeable over time.

Live A Live is a wonderful little gem from almost three decades ago. The remake accurately captures what a classic SNES RPG should look and feel like, and the modern additions make the game far easier to digest for newcomers. Itā€™s highly experimental and oftentimes weird, yet it keeps that wondrous charm found in games like Terranigma, Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasy V. Itā€™s whimsical when it wants to be and serious when it needs to be. While the pacing is a little off at times, and combat does grow a bit stale by the 15-hour mark, there is a lot to love about Live A Live, and any fan of SNES RPGsā€”or RPGs in generalā€”should give the game a look. Itā€™s a glimpse into the past with a modern touch, which is fitting for a game about living lives throughout time.


Pros

Experimental and extremely creative, superb music, great voice acting, surprisingly clever writing, fantastic art.

Cons

Pacing within episodes and overall can feel off, some filler in episodes is noticeable, combat wears thin by the three-quarter mark.

Bottom Line

With fantastic art, beautiful music, and a wildly experimental concept, LIVE A LIVE is a wonderful remake that feels like taking a time machine back to the golden era of RPGs.

Graphics
85
Sound
85
Gameplay
80
Control
80
Story
85
Overall Score 85
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Des Miller

Des Miller

Des is a reviews editor, writer, and resident horror fan. He has a fondness for overlooked, emotionally impactful, and mechanically complex games - hence his love for tri-Ace and Gust. When he's not spending hours crafting in Atelier or preaching about Valkyrie Profile, he can usually be found playing scary games in the dark. With headphones. As they should be played.