Live A Live is a competent remake of a unique JRPG

Live A Live is one of those cases, a unique game ahead of its time, but which has only now received a global version in the form of a remake that is beyond competent, even if safe in the sense of not trying to change even what it already looks like kinda lagging.

Seven Protagonists

Contrary to the trend of the time for games of the genre, Live A Live brought a series of characters sharing the role of the campaign. Not only that, they are also from different historical periods, ranging from prehistory to the far future. At first, they even seem like a series of separate tales, where the player can start wherever they want and return to the menu at any time to start another character’s journey or continue another story where they left off. There are seven unique campaigns, but they have a common rising evil. They need to be completed to release the final chapters that unite the whole adventure in an apotheotic way.

Perhaps this premise might not seem so innovative now that there are games like Octopath Traveler on the market today, but these are descendants of Live A Live, which was quite influential in the Japanese development scene and is often cited as an inspiration by members of teams that develop games. much bigger, like Final Fantasy.

Despite being a title from almost three decades ago, Live A Live holds up very well today. Each of its campaigns has unique and experimental mechanics, which try to escape the normal RPG progression, being fun and unexpected even after so long. In the near future, the character Akira can read NPCs’ minds; in the old west, Sundown Kid can help the village to make his life easier; in prehistory, practically no dialogues and yet it is one of the most interesting journeys. There is a campaign with little fighting, another focused only on action, and so on. The coolest thing is that because they are short, with a maximum of five hours each, these experiences don’t get boring, even when they don’t evolve as well as expected.

Another similarity that Live A Live has with Octopath Traveler is the use of HD-2D in this remake, art direction that is being increasingly used by Square Enix and offers a wonderful Pixel Art. The versatility of this graphics engine is incredible, as it performs well in all scenarios. It is even difficult to choose the most incredible, if the detailed landscaping of feudal Japan or the current and futuristic lights and environments.

Gameplay with ups and downs

While the mechanics of each chapter are interesting and have stood the test of time well, the combat is no longer worthy of praise. The operation is also experimental and tries to give a little activity to the classic shift system of its time. It is possible to move the character more tactically through a grid and each movement speeds up the enemies’ action time, which can attack even before the player performs their action, depending on the delay. The problem is that there isn’t much room to develop variations, not least because each campaign has its particularities, some with more combat and others with less. This leaves the fights a little unbalanced, and that requirement to repeat battles to increase levels occurs in several chapters.

The lack of some quality of life improvements is also bothersome. In some chapters the absence of a mini map makes exploring the scenario frustrating. In others there are confusing parts, like item creation in Akira’s chapter, which could have been tweaked for a more cohesive experience.

On the other hand, the soundtrack has been completely remastered and helps a lot to elevate the combat even when it lacks breath. The dialogues also received quality dubbing, which also contributes to elevating the whole.

Conclusion

The Live A Live remake is the opportunity for the West to also take advantage of this unique and influential classic of Japanese RPGs. The campaign with various mechanics and protagonists has survived the time very well and surprises even today. However, without changing practically anything in the gameplay, the combat remains simplistic, with some game elements and the lack of quality of life annoying at times.

pros

• Seven unique and experimental campaigns
• Mechanics from each campaign have stood the test of time
• beautiful graphics
• outstanding soundtrack

cons

• Simplistic, non-evolving combat
• Lack of further quality of life improvements

Grade: 8.0/10.0

A PS5 copy of the game was provided by Square Enix for the purposes of this review.