![]() ![]() Pick up Live A Live if you want to experience a lost part of the genre's history. (I personally liked the Shifu's chapter quite a bit your mileage may vary.) With seven distinct characters and chapter styles, you won't be bored - at least most of the time - and you'll probably find at least one that sticks with you. It's not necessarily one of the best JRPGs on Nintendo Switch, but it's worth a look from fans of the genre who are in the mood for something a little different. Live A Live deserves credit for not being just another JRPG in a market that's already full of them. Some characters during Cube's section really ham it up, however, which can be distracting. Similarly, the voice acting is mostly on the inoffensive side. On the other hand, I can't remember any of the melodies, and didn't sit up and take note of any while they were playing. The battle themes all sound spirited, and each one fits the chapter theme, from flutes in Edo Japan to strings in Imperial China. The music and voice acting are a little less consistent. The Wild West level in particular looks great, with dusty brown vistas, green cacti and clear blue skies as far as the eye can see. (Octopath Traveler is actually a spiritual successor to Live A Live, so fans of the former, take note.) That means detailed characters, fluid animations, gorgeous backgrounds and a vibrant color palette. However, the game has received a full remake on Nintendo Switch, utilizing the "2D-HD" style found in games such as Triangle Strategy and Octopath Traveler. Since Live A Live was initially an SNES game, it channels the early '90s era of colorful pixel art and lively sprites. Still, I find it hard to believe that most JRPG fans would walk away without finding at least one enjoyable chapter - and at least one that they could have done without. Which stories resonate and which ones don't are largely down to personal taste. There's a certain dignity to the Shifu's quest, and a lot of silly humor in Pogo's. The dark, paranoid tone of Cube's story is nothing like Masaru's upbeat tournament. Up until the end of the game, there's not much of an overarching plot, so the real draw here is simply getting to experience a whole lot of different narratives in a single game. Much like the characters, the quality of the story in Live A Live is highly variable. The combat isn't strong enough to carry Live A Live single-handedly, although it's usually a fun way to spend a few minutes at a time. The constant push and pull of positioning versus using abilities is somewhat interesting, but most enemies go down easily, and boss fights can feel either repetitive or unfair, depending on how difficult their patterns are to discern. Similarly, you'll want to position yourself where the enemy's most powerful attacks can't hit you. A simple punch, for example, might work in any square adjacent to your character a long-range gunshot might require you to line yourself up diagonally from many squares away. Each attack has a different range and pattern, which means you'll have to position yourself accordingly - and hope that the enemy doesn't move out of the way before you do. These range from offensive kicks and punches, to powerful elemental magic, to valuable healing techniques.Ĭombat gets most of its depth from positioning. You, and up to three allies, can move around the battlefield, one square at a time, and make use of your combat abilities. You appear on a separate battle screen, where you and the enemy occupy a grid. Every so often, you'll run into an enemy while exploring a town, dungeon or overworld area. But once you get past the novelty of controlling each new character, combat can feel both repetitive and arbitrary. There's nothing really wrong with the game's battle system, and it's a diverting enough way to break up the story cutscenes every so often. Like many other JRPGs, Live A Live has a turn-based battle system with some light positioning elements - and that's about it. The only thing that every chapter in Live A Live has in common is the combat system. When that happens, there's nothing to do but grin and bear it. At the same time, I imagine every player is going to dislike - if not despise - at least one section. It's easy to appreciate Live A Live for its incredible range of characters, settings and gameplay mechanics.
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