{"id":24283,"date":"2022-07-06T13:11:51","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T12:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/nintendo\/live-a-live-gives-a-unique-16-bit-rpg-a-gorgeous-new-lease-of-life\/"},"modified":"2022-07-06T13:11:51","modified_gmt":"2022-07-06T12:11:51","slug":"live-a-live-gives-a-unique-16-bit-rpg-a-gorgeous-new-lease-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283","title":{"rendered":"‘Live A Live’ Gives A Unique 16-Bit RPG A Gorgeous New Lease Of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

\n

Image: Nintendo \/ Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
If you have any interest in Super Nintendo RPGs, then you\u2019ve likely heard of Live A Live. Released in 1994 for the Super Famicom in Japan, it came out during what many claim is Square Enix’s \u2014 then known as Square, or Squaresoft in the West \u2014 ‘Golden Era’, launching just under a year after Secret of Mana, and barely six months after Final Fantasy VI, two of the developer\u2019s most well-known games on the system. Oh, and just months later, something called Chrono Trigger came out, too. Not a bad time for the RPG developer, then?<\/p>\n
Unlike the aforementioned trio, however, this game never saw an official release outside of Japan \u2013 until now. Live A Live has been revived for the modern age with a glorious HD-2D lick of paint, the same retro-modern visual style made famous by Octopath Traveler and used again in Triangle Strategy. We\u2019ve had a chance to go hands-on with four of the game\u2019s chapters \u2013 three of which are playable in the recently released demo \u2014 and we can confidently say that, even 28 years later, Live A Live still feels like one of the most unique RPG experiences we\u2019ve ever sat down with.<\/p>\n
The immediate comparisons to Octopath Traveler are pretty apparent \u2013 from the HD-2D visuals to the multiple playable characters \u2013 but Live A Live is its own beast. In the four chapters we\u2019ve seen, each story is an entirely separate scenario. None of the playable characters from one chapter show up in another character\u2019s story, and each chapter has its own themes.<\/p>\n
Every single one of Live A Live\u2019s chapters is set in a different time period, and you can play them in any order. This means every single story has its own visual and musical identity. This was true back on the Super Famicom, and it\u2019s still true today.<\/p>\n
\n
$\"Live$ <\/div>\n
$\"Live$ $\"Live$ <\/div>
Images: Nintendo \/ Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/aside>\n
Perhaps we shouldn\u2019t be too surprised given the pedigree of the developers. Takashi Tokita, director of the Super Famicom version and producer on the remake, went on to co-write and co-direct Chrono Trigger and Parasite Eve; battle director Nobuyuki Inoue directed GBA classic Mother 3; composer Yoko Shimomura (who supervises on this stunning rearranged soundtrack) has an endless list of RPG credits from Kingdom Hearts to the Mario & Luigi RPG series, and is also working on the upcoming Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.<\/p>\n
\n
Live A Live tears up the ’90s JRPG rulebook in terms of structure, and its combat also twists the known formula<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Let\u2019s start with an overview of the four chapters we\u2019ve spent time with: \u2018Twilight of Edo Japan\u2019 stars Oboromaru, a shinobi who is tasked with sneaking into an enemy castle; in \u2018Imperial China\u2019, you are a kung-fu master who is looking to pass on his legacy and secret technique to a proteg\u00e9; \u2018The Distant Future\u2019 follows an adorable little spherical robot (amusingly named Cube) as it and a crew of humans travel through space; and \u2018The Wild West\u2019 \u2013 the chapter not included in the demo \u2013 which features a wanted gunslinger riding into a town caught under the heel of a gang of outlaws.<\/p>\n
From what we\u2019ve seen of the stories of these four, they\u2019re relatively simple, amplified by the setting, the music, and \u2013 most importantly \u2013 each chapter\u2019s unique \u2018gimmick\u2019. In \u2018Edo Japan\u2019, for example, you can get around the castle either by using Oboromaru\u2019s exclusive skill, which allows him to blend into the environment and go unnoticed. Or you can fight every single enemy you come across. In \u2018The Distant Future\u2019, however, there\u2019s no combat at all up to where we\u2019ve played. Instead, you simply explore your ship and solve a mystery with the help of your crewmates.<\/p>\n
\n
$\"Live$ $\"Live$ <\/div>\n
$\"Live$ <\/div>
Images: Nintendo \/ Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/aside>\n
Of the four chapters we’ve played, \u2018Imperial China\u2019 feels the most like a traditional RPG, as you bring three potential successors back to train them up, taking them on in one-on-one fights. \u2018The Wild West\u2019 has some combat, but you spend most of your time exploring the town of Success and collecting and laying out traps to stop the outlaw gang from terrorising people. Even if we knew that these chapters would \u201cplay\u201d differently, we were still surprised by the variety in just this handful of narratives and the small degree of flexibility, particularly because this is an RPG from 1994, and we haven\u2019t seen anything like it since.<\/p>\n
One consistent throughline in the game is the combat, which \u2014 so far \u2014 is the same in every chapter where it’s present. Live A Live has already torn up the ’90s JRPG rulebook in terms of structure, and its combat also twists the known formula. Battles are turn-based, but instead of lining your characters up in a row, you fight on a 7×7 grid. Once a character\u2019s Charge Gauge (like the ATB Gauge that Square introduced in Final Fantasy IV) has filled up, you can move them around the grid and select what your next move will be.<\/p>\n
Using the Gauge and the grid to your advantage is key, even early on. Watching the enemy\u2019s Charge Gauge, and exploiting their weaknesses \u2013 which you can view in battle at will \u2013 is key to winning. When you select a skill, whether it\u2019s offensive or defensive, you will see the grid light up in certain spots around you, showing the skill\u2019s area of effect. This means some attacks you can use on enemies if you\u2019re a few squares away from them, or others only work if you\u2019re standing diagonally to them.<\/p>\n
\n
$\"Live$ <\/div>\n
$\"Live$ <\/div>
Images: Nintendo \/ Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/aside>\n
While we didn\u2019t have a problem with many of the game\u2019s fights early in these chapters, some \u2013 such as Oboromaru\u2019s \u2013 can pose a challenge if you\u2019re not used to the systems at play. This is perhaps the area that may take the most getting used to for some, and where the game shows many of its \u2018classic\u2019 RPG trappings.<\/p>\n
\n
with its beautiful look and sound coupled with a distinctive structure, Live A Live is a curio we\u2019re very glad to see making a comeback<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
However, this isn\u2019t an RPG dominated by combat and, from what we\u2019ve played, every chapter feels appropriately scaled, meaning we haven\u2019t had to grind early on. Aside from what we mentioned with Oboromaru, plus a boss in Sundown\u2019s \u2013 which will vary in challenge depending on how you tackle their stories \u2013 Live A Live feels more about experimenting with structure and flexibility than its contemporary Super Famicom RPGs.<\/p>\n
The demo gives you a nice flavour of just what to expect from Live A Live, and our time with the additional \u2018Wild West\u2019 chapter proves early on that this is an RPG that deserves to be remembered for its sheer uniqueness. This HD-2D remake is faithful to the Super Famicom release so far, so don\u2019t expect any major changes, but with its beautiful look and sound coupled with a distinctive structure, it\u2019s a curio we\u2019re very glad to see making a comeback \u2014 and a Western debut.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re off to carry on travelling through the different eras in preparation for our final verdict.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
<\/iframe><\/div><figcaption class=\"youtube-sub\">Subscribe to Nintendo Life on <span class=\"g-ytsubscribe\" data-channel=\"nintendolife\" data-layout=\"default\" data-count=\"default\">YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>Live A Live launches on 22nd July on Switch. You can download the demo, which covers a section of Imperial China, Twilight of Edo Japan, and The Distant Future, from the eShop right now.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Have you played the demo yet? What\u2019s your favourite chapter so far? Let us know in the comments.<\/em><strong><br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-products article-products-list\">\n<div class=\"items\">\n<div class=\"item\" data-product-id=\"19416\">\n<div class=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/products\/19416\/100x100.png?v=62190f2888c2ec955a63534553a76c6e\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" alt=\"\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"ca6459ee1c034f6612bcde5a-text\/javascript\">dgpConsent.can('targeting',function () { !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init', '2325732614399478'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); });<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/features\/hands-on-live-a-live-gives-a-unique-16-bit-rpg-a-gorgeous-new-lease-of-life\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image: Nintendo \/ Square Enix If you have any interest in Super Nintendo RPGs, then you\u2019ve likely heard of Live A Live. Released in 1994 for the Super Famicom in Japan, it came out during what many claim is Square Enix’s \u2014 then known as Square, or Squaresoft in the West \u2014 ‘Golden Era’, launching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6487edba77100\/1280x720.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[576],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nintendo"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>'Live A Live' Gives A Unique 16-Bit RPG A Gorgeous New Lease Of Life - Gaming News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Live A Live' Gives A Unique 16-Bit RPG A Gorgeous New Lease Of Life - Gaming News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Image: Nintendo \/ Square Enix If you have any interest in Super Nintendo RPGs, then you\u2019ve likely heard of Live A Live. Released in 1994 for the Super Famicom in Japan, it came out during what many claim is Square Enix’s \u2014 then known as Square, or Squaresoft in the West \u2014 ‘Golden Era’, launching […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gaming News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-06T12:11:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6487edba77100\/1280x720.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"pley2win\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6487edba77100\/1280x720.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"pley2win\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Live A Live' Gives A Unique 16-Bit RPG A Gorgeous New Lease Of Life - Gaming News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Live A Live' Gives A Unique 16-Bit RPG A Gorgeous New Lease Of Life - Gaming News","og_description":"Image: Nintendo \/ Square Enix If you have any interest in Super Nintendo RPGs, then you\u2019ve likely heard of Live A Live. Released in 1994 for the Super Famicom in Japan, it came out during what many claim is Square Enix’s \u2014 then known as Square, or Squaresoft in the West \u2014 ‘Golden Era’, launching […]","og_url":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283","og_site_name":"Gaming News","article_published_time":"2022-07-06T12:11:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6487edba77100\/1280x720.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"pley2win","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6487edba77100\/1280x720.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"pley2win","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283"},"author":{"name":"pley2win","@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abf11620d7b4805f5f298fb9c0a56d0d"},"headline":"‘Live A Live’ Gives A Unique 16-Bit RPG A Gorgeous New Lease Of Life","datePublished":"2022-07-06T12:11:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283"},"wordCount":1339,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abf11620d7b4805f5f298fb9c0a56d0d"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6487edba77100\/1280x720.jpg","articleSection":["Nintendo"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283","url":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283","name":"'Live A Live' Gives A Unique 16-Bit RPG A Gorgeous New Lease Of Life - Gaming News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6487edba77100\/1280x720.jpg","datePublished":"2022-07-06T12:11:51+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6487edba77100\/1280x720.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6487edba77100\/1280x720.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=24283#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"‘Live A Live’ Gives A Unique 16-Bit RPG A Gorgeous New Lease Of Life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/","name":"Gaming News","description":"Video Gaming News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abf11620d7b4805f5f298fb9c0a56d0d"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abf11620d7b4805f5f298fb9c0a56d0d","name":"pley2win","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Main-logo-.png","url":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Main-logo-.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Main-logo-.png","width":700,"height":250,"caption":"pley2win"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Main-logo-.png"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.pley2win.com"],"url":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?author=3"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}