Live A Live (1994)

Preliminary: I'm nervous about the tactical RPG combat I've read about, but I am enjoying it so far and the SNES colors/Look are always pleasant and I like the UI of this Item Creation/Synthesis area

I'm doing this tedious thing where you talk to the 20th caveman for a load of items to synthesize early in game, I hope once I get to the combat I don't dislike it enogh to arleady stop playing after all this >.<ff

Oh wow wait... I think... I like the tactical RPG esque gameplay of this?!

Early Game (I'm playing the characters in chronological order, starting with prehistory)

Cute and absurd names for moves a la the Mother series. Meanwhile the concept kinda reminds me of Chrono Trigger. And I like the combat so far even if grinding wont allow me to just mash a button with fast forward on :-p It's intuitive and fast-paced, so that's all I can ask for from a somwhat tactical/somewhat action RPG combat system. I like the tune, tho it's been the same this whole time... a long time so far haha. But I am absolutely in love with the UI of the menu and the Save anywhere aspect and all the QoL features. I hope items prove to be the same (I kept thinking how I think I'd enjoy Earthbound much more if it had the basic QoL expectations of 1994 JRPG inventories...)

It's quite surreal doing this whole campaign with no words, but that's the idea. I am excited to see how into the future it gets. Interesting that I'm reading these relatively short scenarios even have optional bosses and super rare accessories and whatnot. Nice.

I'm really really liking this so far except the random battle frequency is just obnoxious in certain areas and I'm not sure if it's somethjing I'm doing wrong. Tbh it could be what gets me to quit this game if it doesn't let up. If I run frm a battle uh, let me run. Don't keep putting me back in a battle...

TUrns out it seems to be a glitch with the fan translation... argh. And the modern remake doesn't come for a long time... I really wanted to play this through. I suppose I could just do a different scenario but it would feel weird not to finish it. Imma try one of my older saves and see if the issue happens again but...

Ok I don't remember leveling up being this much a chore the first time through ha. Darn Bel keeps dying.

Alright no clue what I did, but the issue isn't happening. I think it has something to do with going back to the original wilderness first instead of jumping the pit. Seemed to set it off... Not sure, but I saved now before heading back to try on the optional boss King Mammoth. If the issue starts again, I'll just live without the optional boss :-p It says a lot about the game that I want to try the optional boss AND that I was willing to replay from one of my earlier saves. I just hope the other scenarios' quirks don't impede my fun

As much as I am enjoying the Play and Feel, the scenario felt a bit empty. Already done with it. Maybe once more dialog is involved I will get more, well, involved. Indeed, the Feel/Look keeps delivering though

This game has a strange propensity for silence lol. Should have been more neat tunes. I love the way it remembers your selection in combat even when you didn't select it.

Yesss I love these enemies

Another scenario done. I wish they felt a bit fuller, but I assume they culminate together in the end. And I wish they had a new tune for their credits to make them more interesting instead of hearing the song we just heard on repeat for the entire scenario lol.

Here I am, hours gone by again a secnod night, this game trly makes time fly. It keeps being so fresh and different, I suppose is why. I am on the NInja scenario trying to get a 2nd party member cuz the optional boss wrecked me :-p It seems so open-ended, at least this scenario, I did end up turning to a guide but wow, even key items can be gotten different ways and the way you approach the scenario is entirely up to you.

The fact I keep preferring to do, or at least attempting (when it came to that glitch), the optional content says a lot about this game.

Oh no! I think I messed up my chances at getting O-Robo :( The optional party member that helps a bunch with the optional boss. Not a good sign! Heh. The openness of this scenario is... well overwhelming. (Next day report: don't worry, I got O-Robo!)

Omg! Getting out of that place was such a nightmare! I luckily found a map online. A surprising lack of maps, considering it being a well-known JRPG, but luckily there was a map of the ninja area because of its complexity. I am finally out and ready to take on the optional bosses! Which again, says a lot since I could have just wrapped up the scenario. I wont do all the optional things but this one seemed necessary since I went through the work of getting this additional party member.

Bahahaha omg.... so I think I backgtracked too far... Ugh! Maps from now on! Yesss at least it was all worth it lol this optional boss

Wow the fight for the Muramasa was way harder, but I made it! With one character left lol. Time to finish up this lengthy scenario! I'm really en joying this but lol it's quite unbalanced in that if you want to enjoy the optional content, you are OP for the scenario bosses. Yesss the colros for the scenario boss

In many ways, this feels like just battle after battle for the plotline and I don't connect much with any of the characters. but the gameplay is so fun and varied and fast-paced and RPG-addicting that it fits perfectly for it to be a fast-paced-feeling plot. All that's missing is a better, more sentimental soundtrack, namely during the endings. Literal silence is surpising for 1994. But still the best scenario ending yet thansk to the sunrise colors

Mid Game

Oooo I like the Sundown level dance-y tune. A positive to these short little vignette games is I have gotten so many nice ending parts, and the Sundown scenario had a unique ending tune!

Quite absurd that a good chunk into this JRPG, I have a fighting game select screen lol. With a definite Hulk Hogan lookalike in there. But I like the tunes and gameplay of this area too (and I like the Street Fighter esque scream you do when you learn a new technique)

Annnd another great ending screen

Nice. Some more good tunes in the Near Future scenario, and with the most 1994 SNES JRPG Look so far. And good tunes!

Overall I am absolutely loving this and this is for sure a 5 star, possibly a favorite. I do wish there was less of the JRPG/videogame sexual joke parts. It's always towing the line, nothing too grating, btu just unnecessary. And contributes to the individual plots feeling blah and not what's hooking me. Instead, I am just absolutely hooked to the gameplay.

If this item synthesis guy says "Oops I messed up" one more time to me... And this is a good scenario but it definitely has some tediously long conversations/scenes and the respawnings of the random battles in the "world map" got a bit tedious near the end of the scenario. But it knew its time was up and wrapped up aroudn the time I felt that way. Luckily, one of the scenario's tunes, the one that plays during the reminiscing scene near the climax, was very nice and sentimental and Kingdom Hearts-y (pretty sure this same tune plays during such scenes throughout the game, but sitll, re-noticed during this :-p )

Hard to exactly explain why but I feel this was influenced by Earthbound/Mother series, and that this influenced Pokemon.

End Game

Welp I'm on the final character's scenario, and though I assume there is a culminating scenario, I would consdier this end game I think. Time for the future one. (Wow, based on my peek of a guide, I guess this isn't really end game and the final chapter is super long, but whatevs)

I just read that the final chapter varies considerably based on which character/s you choose. Interesting. I might try out a coupel characters but most likely I will save that for future playthroughs.

Oh suddenly it's like I'm watching a super dark sci-fi film with the sound and everything. Alien-esque. Tho the premise wound up being a bit silly and the the arcade game basically just more of the same combat the game has had, it was all very unique and had some really interesting avant/noise/absurd-sound parts.

Oh wait, there's another character?! Medieval now? I am really enjoying this still but the hook is starting to get lost due to the length, as per usual with some of the great JRPGs of the time like FF4 and FF6.

Very neat and open-ended how you can choose Orsted, who has turned out to be the main villain for the final chapter and basically be the enemy against your characters. I know other games have done this and whatnot, but this does it in the most modern-feeling way so far. And even within that, there are apparently multiple ways to approach it. I think Imma play as him just since everyone says it's a short version of the final chapter, then play the final chapter with my personal dream team :-p

Oh now we are suddenly in a traditional JRPG vibe complete even with random battles :-p

Something I hadn't mentioned yet that I love about this game is that you heal after each battle. It eliminated the tedium of finding an inn or healing spot, rinse recycle. And while I do love that format, I also loved just knowing that as long as I manage to push through the battle, I'm ready for another one and to grind away as needed.

Classic SNES JRPG trope scene here :-p

The drama of this last character lol. but now I really am in end game

So again, it says a lot about the game that I'm willing to see 3 of the possible endings. It's always fun playing as the bosses, but I also did the Armageddon option which was epic imo. Actually doing teh full scenario of playing as all the bosses felt quite redundant tho and I didn't love that ending as much. But time to play the actual scenario and either onyl pick my main favorites, or possibly if really feeling motivated despite how many days I've spent on this day--doing all the characters' dungeons and getting all their best weapons.

I am so intensely hooked ot this final chapter. I think it's cuz they saved the more traditional JRPG vibes for the end, and it's a checklist vibe of getting each character, doing their dungeon, and then switching out party members. It is a rather limited space and some tedium for sure, but whatever it is, I'm hooked and it helped keep the Play fresh for the final stretch whic is a struggle for many early JRPGs.

I've done all the character dungeons ecept Pogo's and Oboro's and have formed my final party to do those and then wrap up the game! My final party is Sunset, Cube, Pogo, and Oboro. The only decision I'm querstioning is Cube, since the Parts arent' as frequent as I had hoped, but its healing is great.

Alright... Oboro's dungeon is getting really tedious with these keys. And these Pistachios are so brutally tough, I would ignore them but I need some darn Parts for Cube otherwise I'm not feeling him. I feel ridiculously weak against some of these mobs. Lol! After the utter hell I went through to finish off the Pistachios and Tumble Bugs instead of just killing Mustard Dragon... I got no Parts... the whole purpose of that. Really thinking I switch out Cube.

Uhhh so now 3 of those awful, draining battles done and not a single Part. That is such a bad mechanic. And I don't want to let it drain my joy of this.... And now I can't seem to get a Rusted Key to drop . Ugh this dungeon sucks compared to the rest! In general, it seems the chance for items to drop is just way too low. Even these Helios Haunts... supposed to drop Power Parts... not a one. I really don't get people's preference for Cube tbh

Welp despite those frustrations, I still have just been thoroughly hooked and impressed with the QoL features taht there are. And in spite of an urgent care visit and generally bonkers night, I have reached the final boss

Great pleasant tunes for the ending. Loved the sentimental goodbyes, while keeping it short too. Beautiful music as it shows the different areas changing back to normal. I can't believe I even got the optional treasures I never used, and did basically everything there was to do in the game except the bugged King Mammoth situation at the beginning.

Wow okay. There really is something about games that click with me and knowing what kind of endings I love. After some of the late game frustrations I was starting to lean back toward just a 5 star not favorite, but uh. The ending was peak me lol. First, sentimental music and reminiscing in a very dramatic way. Then.. the most dramatic sunrise ending I've seen yet in the chronology project. To top it off with my characters (first the team I picked) running along as silhouettes. Wow. Peak ending right there. Oh and the music changed from the requisite sentimental to triumphant. Perfection. Chef's kiss etc. This review had way too many screenshots but uh, even since the Venetian Blinds game, sunset/sunrise/twilight has been essential to my love of gaming. Each of the character's dramatic Illustration presentations for the credits even had sunsets/sunrises lol. I missed most of them but included a couple below, and at this poitn I should've just posted a link to a vide of the ending but lol. Everything felt very personal, and I know each ending would have slightly different quirks depending on whom I chose as my lead character. What a wonderful game

Look: 9.5/10 Epitome of great SNES JRPG Look, with quite a large variety to boot. The UI and sheer excellence of each variety they presented boosted this .5

Sound: 9/10 Overall enjoyed all the tunes, some got a bit repetitive while grinding in an area and the use of silence was both a positive and a negative, but that ending really is what boosted this to a 9 isntead of 8.5

Play: 9/10 Some frustrations in the Dungeon of Keys, but overall, every variety of gameplay was excellent, the combat system was my favorite of the tactical-ish RPG so far, and I was absolutely hooked

Feel: 9.5/10 Yes

Attachment: 9/10 Yes. I'm very curious to play the remake.

Overall: 9.2/10

Story (4/5) | Characters (3.5/5) | World (4/5) | Gameplay (2.5/5) | Visuals (3.5/5) | Music (3.5/5) = 73% overall score

The story of Live a Live takes part across several very different separate characters across time. The story and characters of each really vary in quality, with some stories being enjoyable and interesting (Sci Fi and Kung Fu chapters) and others being boring or poorly translated (Martial Arts and Cyberpunk chapters). The variety of different locales and settings should be commended however. All of these characters become connected in the end by a unique twist that occurs after you've played them all, this alone makes the game worth playing through to the end.

I did not like the gameplay of Live a Live very much. The basics of it being a grid based with various "moves" that you could learn felt really clunky and none of the characters were that much fun to play. There was some strategy in trying to get rid of multiple enemies with attacks, but battles just got repetitive IMO and it didn't work well across all of the chapters. In the end, you can build up your party of all of the characters you want, but it's annoying to have to go through end game dungeon after end game dungeon for each one to get their best equipment.

The sprites are simply average, with the standout being the variety there are based off of all of the different settings there is. The music itself is good with some standout tracks with a lot of variety from the settings, but some songs are used too much.

Time to Complete: 20 hours

Favorite Chill Theme: The Birds Fly in the Sky, the Fish Swim in the River

Favorite Action Theme: Megalomania

Live a Live, for SNES

Rating: 8.0/10; Great

Highly recommended for RPG fans

Live a Live is a JRPG by Square that does a number of things to shake up the traditional JRPG. Rather than a single long adventure, the game is made up of several smaller campaigns each with their own protagonist, villain and supporting npcs; and one final campaign that mixes all the protagonists together. This is a very interesting concept, though it was already done in Dragon Quest 4. Still it is a wonder that more games do not use this approach, because it really helps build the player’s relationship with each character.

The battle system is common to the entire game and plays like a tactical RPG. Characters and enemies can move around a simple grid, and positioning is very important because different attacks can only hit certain spaces in relation to the user. For example, one melee attack might only hit the 4 adjacent cardinal spaces, while another might only hit the 4 adjacent diagonal spaces. Everyone on the same team uses the same action pool (both moving and actions use up the pool), so this means you can have characters skip turns so the more powerful ones get more attacks. It also means fighting large numbers of enemies is manageable. I don’t really like this system, but it has its own tactical nuances that make the battle system more unique. I also do not like the lack of description for abilities and especially the lack of description that an attack is a charged attack that will not take place immediately. You really have to practice with each character and their moveset in order to understand which abilities are good and when to use them.

Now to discuss each campaign separately:

Caveman

This campaign is unique and well done because of 2 main features of ancient humans in this game. The first is lack of language, which means all “dialogue” is done through actions and thought balloons with images. This is incredibly interesting, and is often hilarious. The second is an advanced sense of smell, which is used to solve minor puzzles, advance the plot and to locate enemies. Enemies are invisible but they are physically present in the world and you must touch them to start combat. Smell does not show exactly where they are though, so it is a bit more complicated. There is also a simple crafting system, for example: pointy stick + stone knife = spear. This system gets annoying soon though, because it does not record combinations you have discovered and some of the more advanced combinations are hard to figure out.

The biggest problem with this campaign comes near the end, with infinitely respawning human enemies (if you try to go the wrong way in the enemy base, infinite enemies will pour out until you leave the screen, and you can never go where they come from). There is also a point where you have to talk to your gorilla companion many times to progress, though there is no indication. After a few times with nothing happening, why would anyone keep doing it because that is the literal definition of insanity? There is also a secret that I will not mention, but it is so obscure that how would anyone find it without a guide?

Chinese Monk

This campaign is more limited than the caveman, with fewer areas and battles. The premise is to train multiple students in martial arts, and there are numerous ways that you can choose to accomplish this. Only a small number are correct, but you can still beat the game with sub optimal choices. This campaign has a very significant effect for the final battle and final campaign, depending on your choices.

Ninja

This campaign takes place entirely in an enemy castle. 3 interesting mechanics are at play. The first is the stealth aspect, as you can turn invisible to bypass guards, sneak around and eavesdrop. The second is a counter for how many people you kill, which includes guards, and civilians that will not fight you. The third is traps. There are 2 kinds of traps; timed trapdoors that must be crossed with correct timing, and actual battles against traps. In battle, you do not have to destroy all the traps, only the controller. This is a concept that recurs in other campaigns with respect to mechanical enemies.

Wild West

This campaign is the shortest with the fewest battles. There is also no leveling up. The signature feature is a time limit with which you have to search the area and build/setup traps. This character is interesting because he uses guns and is the longest range character.

Modern

This campaign features a wrestler and is set up like a fighting game (such as Street Fighter). There is no leveling up or equipment; just a series of one on one matches. The interesting feature is that the wrestler can learn any attack used against him by these enemies, though he will also learn them naturally while leveling in the final campaign

Near future

This campaign is the most like a traditional JRPG and has the most interesting characters, setting and plot (in my opinion). There are 2 signature features here. The first is mind reading, which is the same as talking to people but with different dialogue. The second is your robot companion who does not gain xp, and can only be improved by using consumable upgrade parts. There is a lot of walking around talking to people, visiting different places and figuring out what to do. In more than one case, it can be difficult to figure out what to do to progress.

I did not like crafting aspect in this campaign, which is even more annoying than the caveman one. Certain items can be turned into 1 or more results (random and that is bad), and the entire process takes too damn long as you watch the dialogue and watch the guy go into the basement and hammer for a while. Once for show is fine, but after that I want instantaneous results. This campaign has the most epic final sequence and final boss, even more so than the final campaign. You can get a pair of women's panties as body armor, which has higher defense than garments which have a lot more material. I don't think I need to explain why this is dumb.

Future

This campaign takes place in a spaceship and you are a robot. It plays more like an adventure game because no combat takes place in the real world (there is some combat that takes place digitally, including the final boss). You must go around talking to people, using items and otherwise witnessing the story as an entity that is only partially taking part in the story, and the story is quite interesting.

Medieval

This campaign takes place after beating all of the prior ones and is even more like a traditional JRPG, with random battles (all prior campaigns show enemies on screen) and full fledged magic. The campaign is very interesting because you can loot items from the world. If there is a sword hanging on a wall or a suit of armor on a rack, you can loot it (too bad there is no shop for selling though). It is highly interesting that if you do not loot these items, you can get them in the final campaign.

Final

This campaign features all of the protagonists from the 7 campaigns and otherwise plays very similarly to the Medieval campaign. It is longer than the other campaigns, but is not that long when compared to something like the equivalent part in DQ 4. You choose one protagonist to be the lead, and then can freely swap the other 3 (though you must physically go to a location to recruit them, both first time and subsequent times).

Overall

This game is highly novel when compared to most RPGs and is quite a refreshing experience. There are only a few issues related to polish and user friendliness that bring it down.

Pro

• Save anywhere outside battle
• Good story and characters
• Tactical battle system, where positioning and reach are important
• Battle abilities include interesting things like putting long lasting damage tiles on the ground, knocking back and changing orientation
• Interesting mechanics unique to each campaign

Con

• There is a campaign where the villain wins, but saving this one does not allow you to go back and play the proper campaign. You must keep separate save files
• Not explained what some secondary stats are or do
• No currency, or shops to buy or sell items
• Lack of good descriptions for what items and skills do
• Lack of character development and interaction between the protagonists in the final chapter
• Fleeing battle is too easy and has no trade offs (other than the enemy will still be onscreen to potentially attack you again; except in the last 2 campaigns with random battles)
• Some flaws unique to each campaign (see each section above)

This was one of the most annoying games I have ever played. Not because of the game itself, but how often it froze my emulator and I had to do a hard reboot. I had to hard reboot 4 times during the ending sequence, and gave up to watch it elsewhere.

I got stuck 3 times and had to check a walkthrough. The first was near the end of the Caveman scenario where you have to talk to the gorilla repeatedly. Ok so I spoke to him several times and nothing happened. Why would I think to keep doing that because that is literally the definition of insanity. The second time was in the Near Future scenario where you have to sell food at a Takoyaki stand. The guy there only said "help me out", but did not specify what with or how, so why would you think to go behind the stand and take up a sever position? The third time was at the final boss, who uses petrification. There are armors that give immunity to that, but I only used the first 4 party members I met and none of them happened to unlock an area or hint to those armors. It is partly my fault for not diligently recruiting everyone and thoroughly exploring. By the time I did all of that, the team was so OP that the final boss was a joke that could have easily been done without petrification immunity.

My lead was the psychic because he was the most interesting character in design, setting and abilities (like a paladin or cleric). I also used the wrestler (amazing tank), Yun the monk (ranged dps glass cannon) and the ninja (ranged and melee dps). I later swapped the ninja for the caveman for his crazy damage.

The hardest part of the game was a random enemy in the final dungeon while on my way to beat the final boss for good. It was a giant robot (called Waldrek or something) that was like a Final Fantasy optional boss. It hit for high damage, was immune to almost every attack and could act once for every one of my character's actions. The only way I could figure to beat it was using damage over time firefield, which could bypass his defenses for minor damage. The wrestler could also manage to land a hit sometimes after powering up, though not for good damage. I had to have everyone skip their turn so the psychic could heal for every single action. I could only re apply firefield or let the wrestler attack if the enemy either did not bring someone to 0hp that round, or if I used a powerful healing item. I only fought the enemy just to see if I could beat it, and what would happen. All I got was a lot of xp. I even kept encountering more, so it is just a regular enemy that is harder than all the bosses. Needless to say, I fled.