If you're a fan of SNES RPGs, Live A Live is a surprising little gem that seems to have flown under most people's radar. This game is basically 7 RPGs in one, with an 8th to tie them all together. Each separate game takes place in different times and settings across history. This, in general, is a huge plus; it's unique and lets the game get a lot of mileage out of its battle mechanics, because it explores them across different settings and characters. Unfortunately, that does lead the game to being a bit inconsistent. Live A Live is a game of high highs and low lows. To me, the game is at its best in the Western part, the Sci-Fi part, and the Medieval part, with the Present-day, Ancient China, and Pre-history falling in the middle, with the Near-Future, Ninja, and Final Chapter being significantly less fun.
In some levels, the battle mechanics really shine, while in others, they're either tedious, boring, or unbalanced, and I think that's really what drags down my less-preferred chapters. One thing I will give this battle system: after each fight is over, you go back to full health. I think this was a brilliant design system. The worst part about grinding in other games is not just the battle itself, but having to go back to the town to heal, only to come back to grinding. By putting you back to full health every time, the developers can make each battle hard, and you can end up dying to some random enemy. You can't just win by button-mashing in most cases, so that does keep the combat relatively fresh.
However, when the combat works, it works. Especially the parts where you're over-leveled, it just feels good to lay a smack-down on enemies, and a wide variety of moves for each character and skillful animations keeps momentum going. Besides this, the game keeps up a good pace by splitting the game in nine sections, meaning even if you don't particularly enjoy one section, a new one is right around the corner to tickle your fancy.
This game absolutely knocked it out of the park when it comes to genre. One of the reasons I liked the Western chapter so much is because it feels substantially like you're not just watching a Western; you're Clint Eastwood in a Western. Each story borrows heavily from its genre and conventions. The Sci-Fi chapter is very similar to Alien. The near-future chapter borrowed from contemporary shonen anime. Each setting is brought to life by distinct and savvy music. The music from the China section specifically evokes imperial China, The Ninja chapter traditional Japanese music, and the main theme from the Western is so evocative of the "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" main musical themes. These 16-bit soundtracks sound good even today. One thing I would say about the music is I wish there were more! There are some odd patches of silence during the game, times when it felt like music should be playing. Though, consider this: my only complaint with the music is there wasn't enough of it.
Besides the music, the writing for each scenario is tight and well-constructed, unlike so many SNES-era RPGs that had convoluted plots. The characters have motivation that makes sense, there's drama, suspense, and it's funny in a good handful of places. I have to tip my hat to Aeon Genesis, they did a great translation.
Oh, and one last really, really frivolous complaint: I don't like a handful of the default names. Most games I play have pretty good default names, but I found myself customizing names in several of the games. Trivial, I know.
If you're a fan of RPGs, especially for the SNES, maybe this one slipped under your radar. Give it a try, it's really good.
In some levels, the battle mechanics really shine, while in others, they're either tedious, boring, or unbalanced, and I think that's really what drags down my less-preferred chapters. One thing I will give this battle system: after each fight is over, you go back to full health. I think this was a brilliant design system. The worst part about grinding in other games is not just the battle itself, but having to go back to the town to heal, only to come back to grinding. By putting you back to full health every time, the developers can make each battle hard, and you can end up dying to some random enemy. You can't just win by button-mashing in most cases, so that does keep the combat relatively fresh.
However, when the combat works, it works. Especially the parts where you're over-leveled, it just feels good to lay a smack-down on enemies, and a wide variety of moves for each character and skillful animations keeps momentum going. Besides this, the game keeps up a good pace by splitting the game in nine sections, meaning even if you don't particularly enjoy one section, a new one is right around the corner to tickle your fancy.
This game absolutely knocked it out of the park when it comes to genre. One of the reasons I liked the Western chapter so much is because it feels substantially like you're not just watching a Western; you're Clint Eastwood in a Western. Each story borrows heavily from its genre and conventions. The Sci-Fi chapter is very similar to Alien. The near-future chapter borrowed from contemporary shonen anime. Each setting is brought to life by distinct and savvy music. The music from the China section specifically evokes imperial China, The Ninja chapter traditional Japanese music, and the main theme from the Western is so evocative of the "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" main musical themes. These 16-bit soundtracks sound good even today. One thing I would say about the music is I wish there were more! There are some odd patches of silence during the game, times when it felt like music should be playing. Though, consider this: my only complaint with the music is there wasn't enough of it.
Besides the music, the writing for each scenario is tight and well-constructed, unlike so many SNES-era RPGs that had convoluted plots. The characters have motivation that makes sense, there's drama, suspense, and it's funny in a good handful of places. I have to tip my hat to Aeon Genesis, they did a great translation.
Oh, and one last really, really frivolous complaint: I don't like a handful of the default names. Most games I play have pretty good default names, but I found myself customizing names in several of the games. Trivial, I know.
If you're a fan of RPGs, especially for the SNES, maybe this one slipped under your radar. Give it a try, it's really good.