- Pronouns
- He/Him
Massive shout-out to @Sumio Mondo, whose contributions made this ST come alive.
QUICK FACTS
| Release date: | 2022/07/22 (WW) |
| Platform: | Nintendo Switch |
| Genre: | Turn-based RPG, Strategy |
| Developer: | Historia, Square Enix |
| Director: | Takashi Tokita |
| Publisher: | Square Enix (Japan), Nintendo (ROTW) |
| Rating: | PEGI 12, USK 12, ESRB T, CERO C |
| File size: | 4.6 GB |
| Physical release: | available |
| Demo: | available on Nintendo eShop |
| Voices: | Japanese, English |
| Text: | Japanese, English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Chinese (simplified, traditional) |
One of the promotional art-pieces for the game, created by Naoki Imushima. This one was created for the Prehistory Chapter.
THE GAME'S HISTORY
Living In The Past
Originally released back in September 1994 in Japan for the Super Famicom, Live A Live was originally directed by Takashi Tokita, who had previously been a lead designer for Final Fantasy IV. Tokita aimed to tell multiple different, shorter stories, each with a unique setting and cast of characters. The distinct styles for each of the seven chapters were designed by a different Manga artist each. Meanwhile, the sountrack was composed by Yoko Shimomura, who had only joined Squaresoft in 1993 after having previously worked for Capcom, most notably on Street Fighter II.
Even though the game was re-released in Japan through both the Virtual Console for WiiU (2015) and 3DS (2016), the game never recieved an official localisation, and subsequently was not released outside of Japan and only playable in English through fan translations.
The Remake
Stayin' Alive
Until today, that is! Square Enix decided not only to localise the game, but also to give it a full HD-2D remake with rebalanced gameplay, quality of life improvements, and redrawn character art by Naoki Ikushima. Shimomura returns to arrange and orchestrate the soundtrack, which now includes a vocal version of the Near Future chapter's "Go! Go! Buriki Daioh!" theme, performed by Hironobu Kageyama. You may or may not know him for his performance of Dragon Ball Z's opening theme.
Check out this comparison between the original game and the remake!
Some more detailed information on the industry legends who worked on Live A Live follows below:
Takashi Tokita
Producer, Game Director & Co-Writer of Live A Live
| One of Square's longest reigning staff members. This game was Tokita's directorial debut. Previous to this was lead designer of Final Fantasy IV in 1991. Later he worked on Chrono Trigger as one of the game's co-directors, and was the Director of the original Parasite Eve. Over the years he has worked on legendary games in various roles from event planner on Final Fantasy VII, to Director of The Bouncer, Director of Chocobo Racing, Director of Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. He has even worked on horror games such as Nanashi no Game & Ikenie no Yoru. The man is a legend. He cited various sources such as Devilman, Shane, Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and various manga as sources of inspiration. Tokita returns as the Producer for the Remake. |
Yoko Shimomura
Music Composer & Arranger of Live A Live
| The legendary Yoko Shimomura's breadth of work is so vast and cast so wide that you are probably not even aware that she worked on it. Thinking of her work on Capcom arcade classics like the legendary music of Street Fighter II, to Final Fight, Gargoyle’s Quest, The Punisher and various others before she became one of Square’s most prolific composers of them all. Live A Live was actually her first composed work at Square. Just think of that, before she worked on Front Mission, Super Mario RPG, Parasite Eve, Legend of Mana, Kingdom Hearts series and Final Fantasy XV, she poured her heart and soul into Live A Live's music. Just listen to the samples of her work on the SNES version here! Also, check out a Behind the Scenes on one of the main themes of the game — yes, they worked with Hironobu Kageyama, who not only performed in many a classic anime opening back in the day, but also in Mystical Ninja on N64, right here! |
Naoki Ikushima
Concept Artist/Character Artist
| Ikushima's amazing concept/character art returns for another RPG adventure from Square Enix. His work was based on those artists who worked on the original SNES game, who were working on manga for the publisher Shogakukan. You may recognise his work from Triangle Strategy, Bravely Default II, and Octopath Traveller. Check out some of his artwork spread throughout the thread, and here! |
GAMEPLAY
Living In A Box
Live A Live is a role playing game in which the player takes on the role of eight different protagonists.
While each narrative has the same basic mechanics, individual stories have unique gimmicks. These include the use of stealth, a lack of standard battles, or using telepathy to learn new facts to progress the narrative.
Play in any order
You can tackle any of the scenarios in any order you choose. You can leave one and progress with another, returning to it later.Battles
Battles can be started differently depending on which scenario you’re playing. Some feature random encounters, others — similar to games such as Chrono Trigger or Saga Frontier — are initiated by bumping into enemies to start a battle. Others are scripted in a linear fashion.The 7x7 grid battles might bring to mind Strategy RPGs. Each battle will require you to make use of your skills: some target specific grids, others will take a while to charge. Plan your moves accordingly.
Try the free demo! Saves carry over to the main game!
FEATURED CHAPTERS
One Of The Living
Each of these seven stories are available from the start, and can be chosen in any order. Each story features its own protagonist and supporting cast, different gameplay styles, and mechanics.
| PREHISTORYProtagonist: PogoFight to Survive in an Age without Words | |
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| THE WILD WESTProtagonist: The Sundown KidTake a Stand against Murderous Outlaws | |
| TWILIGHT OF EDO JAPANProtagonist: OboromaruBrave a Deadly Castle for the Greater Good | |
| PRESENT DAYProtagonist: Masaru TakaharaFace the World's Best and Become the Strongest | |
| THE NEAR FUTUREProtagonist: Akira TadokoroDefy Maniacal Madmen with Your Secret Powers | |
| THE DISTANT FUTUREProtagonist: CubeDiscover the Truth of a Tragedy in Space |
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Nintendo Store
Official Site
