Live A Live

Voices of: N/A
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square
Designer: Nobuyuki Inoue
Rating: T
Genre: Role-playing
System: Super Famicon
1994

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary: Seven characters live through seven different time periods, facing challenges in their lives.

Review:
Tim: I've played so many RPGs over the years, and with all that experience, Live A Live feels unique and special to me. It does follow many genre standards, but the original aspects of the game are what truly differentiate it. It feels massive in scope, even if the total hours you invest isn't anything out of the ordinary. This is a game that subverts expectations while still following others. It's a singular playing experience and a game I loved.

The first unique aspect of this game is that there's seven main characters (SPOILER, there's eight) that you take turns playing. Each character is from a different time period, so you get to explore their world as you embark on their quest. This felt wildly fun to me. I decided to play in chronological order, so I started with Prehistory. I was introduced to the caveman Pogo, and the unique aspect of his game is that there's no spoken words. I'd never played an RPG where characters communicated purely through gestures or picture word bubbles. That felt like such a departure from what we're used to. I died a number of times, because it was through Pogo that I learned the battle system. It follows a grid, but it really takes a few minutes to master the different techniques and learning how to attack the weak points of your enemies. The battle system is quite easy once you get the hang of it. Pogo's story was fun, although a bit childish.

I moved to Imperial China next and was thrown into the story of the aging Shifu, who wants to find three studios to teach his martial arts. This was a major switch from the caveman days. I didn't quite understand how to orchestrate the decisions- you ultimately become one of the three students. I ultimately ended up as Yun Jou, although I'm not quite sure how. I really liked this story and it was so much fun to watch Yun Jou begin as the weakest of the three students, and eventually grow incredibly strong. I went to Edo Japan for the next character- Oboromaru. Again, the game feels totally different at this point. The twist here is that his story tracks how many humans you've killed. Due to this, I tried to limit the damage I dealt. I had no intention of going the full pacifist route, but it was totally different to avoid encounters. I really enjoyed that difference, and the struggles I felt when I found myself having to kill. Obormaru is such a cool character and I loved the difference of his storyline.

I jumped to the American Wild West next and was introduced to Sundown (I don't refer to him as "The Kid"). Man, I loved this- the story is him helping to defend a town from a posse of outlaws. It's much less your typical RPG- you send the townspeople throughout town to get supplies, then you station them around the town in a trap, ready to attack. This chapter was short, but it was incredibly fun- the battle between the townspeople and the bandits was so surprising and so incredibly cool. I thought Sundown was one of the most interesting characters I'd played. Moving onto Present Day, we play as Masaru Takahara, who wants to be the greatest fighter in the world. He engages in Street Fighter-like contests, but the twist here is that he can learn his opponent's attacks. So, you're trying to keep them alive long enough for them to use their big attacks, so you can learn them. It was a lot of fun seeing Masaru grow stronger as he took down his opponents.

We move ahead to the Near Future and Akira Tadokoro's story- filled with psychic energy, a small orphanage, and Kaiju-like monsters and giant robots. At this point, the scope of the game and the narrative was truly impressive. The last story is unique- the Distant Future. We meet Cube, an artificial intelligence bot on a spaceship. His story is mostly narrative, which was an unexpected twist. I had a lot of fun playing as Cube and seeing how his story unfolded.

SPOILERS AGAIN- After completing all 7 chapters (and each was only about 1-3 hours long), you get an 8th story, this time going to the Middle Ages and playing as Oersted. This story feels so different, as Oersted seeks to save his betrothed by battling the Lord of Dark. The ominous undertones grow in a shocking story that packs a powerful punch. After completing that story, you move to the Dominion of Hate- where the original 7 characters all find themselves mysteriously stranded. This is where some big decisions come- you have to choose which one to make your main character, and then eventually who your final party of four will be. In a testament to this game, it felt impossibly difficult to choose. I cared about each of these characters in different ways, I had no clear front runner. It was a serious struggle, but I ultimately chose Yun Jou. I loved his growth as a character and his training from the Shifu felt appropriate for him to be the party lead. At this point, you have to recruit the other 6 characters. Each one has their own dungeon, to collect their ultimate weapon. Full transparency- this is when I used a guide. Up to this point, I just played and figured things out on my own. I did use a guide to get through the maze-like dungeons for each. I recruited all characters and then had to make my final team choice.

This was so challenging. I knew Yun Jou was in, so I had Imperial China represented. I wanted someone from the future, and Cube had great healing power, so I locked in my Distant Future friend. I really did love Sundown, and his American West felt like such a departure from Imperial China, so I brought him in. The last choice was so difficult- I really loved Obormaru, but it felt like his time period was so close to Yun Jou's. I decided to mix it up for narrative purposes (verses the "best" team) and I locked in Masaru from the Present Day. This wasn't the smartest choice from a strength-of-team perspective, but I was confident in my abilities. So, I had my final team and we prepared to take on the Lord of Dark.

As I said, I was reading a guide at this point, so I did see that there was an optional boss- I'd never have thought to flee from the final boss, but I did that and took out the Headhunter. This meant I defeated every optional boss in the game, except for the Death Prophet. To unlock this boss, you have to run from 100 battles! I mean, that's kind of cool to hide a boss like that and also incredibly stupid. I never ran from battles, so I'd need to play for how much time, just grinding battles and then immediately fleeing? I've said this numerous times in other reviews, but I'm more conscious of how precious time is. I had no desire to waste time on this.

I moved onto the Lord of Dark. I won't say much to avoid too many spoilers, but man, the final sequences were cool. There's 5 main different endings you can get. I was most intent on obtaining the True Ending, which I did- defeating the Lord of Dark, finishing the Boss Rush, and then the Final Battle. That was incredibly cool. To complete the game and see this ending was just amazing. After that, I did the "Cycle Continues" ending. Then, I did one of the Bad Endings, selecting a different character for the Dominion of Hate, and running through that "What If?" scenario. That was surprisingly cool, in who you get to play and how that story develops. So, I got 3 of the 5 endings- I didn't bother with the Armageddon ending or the other one. I felt like I'd seen enough.

I played the game for 26 hours. My final team's stats were as follows- Yun Jou- Level 20. HP 307. Attack- 20, Defense- 24. Physical Attack- 137, Ph Def- 101. Special Attack- 139, Sp. Def- 86. Speed- 130. Accuracy- 29. Evasion- 31. Sundown- Level 21. HP- 369. Attack- 29, Defense- 29. Physical Attack- 69, Ph Def- 65. Special Attack- 111, Sp. Def- 94. Speed- 141. Accuracy- 32. Evasion- 31. Cube- Level 7. HP- 300. Attack- 30, Defense- 38. Physical Attack- 26, Ph Def- 106. Special Attack- 150, Sp. Def- 113. Speed- 39. Accuracy- 28. Evasion- 28. Masaru- Level 19. HP- 849. Attack- 50, Defense- 25. Physical Attack- 149, Ph Def- 124. Special Attack- 48, Sp. Def- 86. Speed- 119. Accuracy- 29. Evasion- 29.

I know this is long, but wow, what a game. It's amazing that this game was released in 1994 and region locked for so many decades. I played the remake of this game on Nintendo Switch, and the 2D/3D graphics were stunningly beautiful. The voice acting was excellent, the care and attention given this game were top-notch. Still, I always think about these games at their origin point, so it's shocking to me to consider this wonderful game was released decades ago, and I'm so thankful to Square Enix for bringing it back for modern audiences to play. This game has ups-and-downs- there were stretches of repetition that were a bit much, but overall, this game provided such a unique playing experience that it really stands out among a sea of RPGs. I'm a huge fan of this one, Square Enix once again proves they are among the greatest developers of all time.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Final Fantasy