Live A Live

"Quirky but Awesome!"

Live a Live is an incredibly unique game. From its path system to its very simple battle system, it's not exactly normal. The really fun part about it is that you play seven quests that seem completely unconnected and irrelevant to each other, but by the time you end the secret eighth quest, the reason behind playing all of them is revealed.

Story 10/10

This, in my opinion, is the game's selling point. There are seven quests with all kinds of different quests and things you have to do in them. Some of the quests may even seem more like classic adventure gaming than a traditional RPG. Some of the stories are more battle-oriented like the wrestler's quest, which is all battles, while the robot's quest only has a final boss while setting you into an incredibly creepy atmosphere, reminiscent of space thrillers such as 2001. Most of the quests have pretty unique ideas for their stories. My personally favorite is the prehistoric quest, since I find it highly amusing how well they managed to communicate the goal of the quest without actually speaking.

This game is very humor-toned even in its more serious quests. The prehistoric chapter in particular is incredibly amusing. From the ridiculously dressed "villain" to the hordes of dancing female apes, a lot of the stuff thrown in there was pretty weird but funny. The eighth quest and the final chapter take a departure from the humor, and at first I was extremely unhappy with the eighth quest, since it seemed so boring and cliche compared to the rest. I assure you that by the end of it, you will be glad you went through the trouble of getting it. It is… stunning.

The story has a lot of various random references to various parts of both American and Japanese culture. You'll notice the spaghetti western feel to the cowboy's quest, and most of the chapters have some type of reference in them. One of the quests even has a Hulk Hogan clone in it!

The game has some very appealing characters depending on your taste. The robot is a lovable mascot-type character while Oboro is a classic ninja type, efficient and mysterious. The cowboy is the eye-catching bad-boy while Akira is young, energetic kid whose optimism shines through. My personal favorite character is Orsted, simply because his story and life is so compelling and has the incredible bittersweet feel that I enjoy.

No matter what style of story you enjoy, you'll probably find it in some form in this game. The quests might seem almost too short, but I think it's a nice break from the epic RPG's you find these days. Some of the quests last merely thirty minutes, while some of the others last three or so hours. The last chapter is notably longer if you do all the extras, though.

Gameplay 8/10

The gameplay is a mix between strategy and classic turn-based. It is set on a grid and requires positioning to a degree, but the grid is small enough that a lot of the combat is turn-based. It's nothing exceptional but certainly not cumbersome, since generally there isn't a lot of combat and what there is short. It's a challenging game, especially if you are new at it, but since you can save anywhere you want the challenge is not especially frustrating. The leveling system is familiar; you gain skills as you level up (except in the wrestler's quest where you gain them from enemies).

There are a few puzzles/tricky parts of Live a Live, including some of the mundane tasks you are given in the robot's quest, trap setting in the cowboy's quest, and figuring out how to get around all the traps in the ninja chapter. Also, the commands that each of your characters have makes each quest a little more unique. For example, one of your mains can read minds, and it can be used both to invoke humorous dialogue and to help keep the quest moving. You just need to know when to use your special abilities.

Graphics/Music: 8/10

The music in this game is nice since it sets the atmosphere and the music is very beautiful in its own right. All of the quests have different map music and battle music, so you never get tired of the tracks because you have to listen to them for too long. And besides, can anyone really resist a song with the title "A Painful Death At the Hands of a Psycho!!"? Graphics aren't really something I pay much attention to, so as far as I'm concerned since they don't interfere with the game in any way, they are good in my book.

Replay Value: 8/10

Most of the points granted in this section aren't for new secrets opened up, since the game doesn't have any extra reward for beating the game (other than the fantastic ending). However, since you don't have to expose many of the secrets in a normal playthrough, finding the things you missed the first time is a reason to replay. The main reason to replay the game is simply to catch all of the hints and the subtle story points you didn't get the first time, which is good enough for me.

The conclusion: Play it. It is awesome.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/06