Square Enix has been hard at work re-releasing its classic titles for a new generation to experience them.
Over the last few years, we have seen the likes of the Mana and Saga series being revived, finding a new lease of life
Square Enix doesn't look like they will be stopping anytime soon and are gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated release of Live A Live.
Live A Live follows seven protagonists from different time periods, who embark on adventures to defeat evils afflicting them.
Each protagonist embarks on a separate path from the others, with a certain event causing their fates to intertwine.
Live A Live’s plot is one of its strongest features as each story plays completely different from the others.
The game does set an exceptional standard in how to craft several different worlds and introduce different lore while keeping quality top tier at all times.
Each of the adventures features stellar storytelling, world-building and character development that just kept getting better as I progressed.
The different stories aren’t that long, but in their short duration, they managed to reach all kinds of highs and were just exhilarating from start to finish.
Live A Live is part of Square Enix’s HD-2D renaissance, which sees 2D sprites in a 3D world, which is essentially a high-definition SNES game.
This style has been used in past games such as Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy. It has become insanely popular with fans begging for more past titles to receive this treatment.
Live A Live looks leaps and bounds from its SNES counterpart. The updated character sprites don’t stray away from their original design but they are able to express themselves better making each of the scenes more compelling.
It’s really astonishing to see how much Square Enix has achieved by using this HD-2D technique without losing any of the game's original charm.
The 3D environments stunningly elevate the game's storytelling with locations like Ode Iou’s fortress being far more menacing or seeing the sheer scale of the desert in The Wild West: The Wanderer.
It all comes together rather well with Square Enix paying so much attention to the finer details such as lighting, depth of field and environmental elements such as shimmering waters, luscious greenery and gritty rocks.
Combat animations and sprites have also undergone major enhancement. Attacks dazzle the screen filled with brazen particle effects that look simply stunning.
Live A Live is a visual achievement for Square Enix and they have set a major precedent for how classic titles should be revived.
Live A Live features a newly recorded soundtrack based on the original composed by Yoko Shimomura.
The development team have re-recorded and rearranged many songs from the original to match the remastered visuals.
The most notable will be the theme song Go! Go! Buriki Daioh for The Near Future: The Outsider has received new vocals sung by Dragon Ball’s Hironobu Kageyama.
It is amazing to see that Square Enix is pulling out all the stops for Live A Live's first release in western territories.
From what I’ve heard from the original soundtrack, the new music retrains all the original quality with a modern twist.
This remake also includes voiceovers with the players being able to switch between Japanese and English. Both voices do a stellar job at conveying emotion and elevating the cutscenes.
Live A Live is a fascinating game where each vastly different scenario plays a massive role in that character's gameplay mechanics.
For instance, the Twilight of Edo Japan chapter is about stealth and choosing your battles wisely.
Whereas The Wild West Chapter focuses on working with the town folk to defeat the oppressors.
I particularly love the battling in Akira Tadokoro’s mech Buriki Daioh. Live A Live is essentially seven different games rolled into one with each chapter catering to different play styles which are strongly dictated by the narrative.
There really isn’t anything like it. But players will find that some of the chapters are filled with much more content than others with the duration of each not being fully equal.
For all the different styles of gameplay and story progression, the game utilises the same turn-based combat style throughout.
Players will move across a grid and attack once their Charge Gauge is filled. But players can’t just move carelessly as the enemies gauge will fill faster the more you move.
This makes combat heavily dependent on players knowing their character's attack radius enabling them to position themselves to cause the maximum damage.
Attacks also have various different ailments and status damage that will affect the location and characters. This just increases the different attack options available to the players at any given time.
Each of the characters comes equipped with their own unique attacks that have very different effect areas and special abilities.
So essentially playing each chapter will be like starting from scratch in terms of strategy. The chapters will also vary with party members, but the game allows up to four characters to battle at a time.
But how and if other characters team up is very dependent on the story itself.
An interesting feature is that downed allies will remain on the field and can be revived, however, if they are attacked any further while in this state, they will be dismissed from the battle and can’t be used until the next battle.
This adds to the risk and reward of how to strategise when using each of the extra characters.
Live A Live’s combat is very compelling, to say the least, with the enemies utilising very different attack patterns throughout the different chapters.
Verdict 4/5
Live A Live is a masterclass in how to remake a classic title that is being released in other territories for the first time.
Square Enix has really gone all out in updating the visual and audio to really enhance the player's experience.
My only issue is that some of the chapters don’t offer the same level of challenge as others and they really vary in length.
But JRPG fans should mark the calendars for this release as it's not one to be missed.
Live A Live is out for the Nintendo Switch 22 July and is available on the Nintendo eShop
