Live A Live (Nintendo Switch) – The test

Released 28 years ago and only in Japan, Live A Live does us the honor of arriving this year on Switch worldwide. Square Enix gives it a new youth by adorning it with its most beautiful colors with a silky HD-2D style. However, it is said that the habit does not make the monk so let’s see without further delay what this title has in store for us.

Father Beaver, tell us stories

Although the latest trailers have revealed too much for our taste, we will try not to go too far in the revelations so as not to spoil the pleasure of discovering this title. When you start your game, Live A Live lets you play seven protagonists, each belonging to a specific era and with their own storyline. You can then discover in the order of your choice the adventures linked to the characters of the following eras: Prehistory, Imperial China, the end of Edo Japan, the Far West, the Present, the Near Future, the Distant Future. Once the first seven scenarios have been completed, a new era will be offered to you as the eighth scenario: the Middle Ages. Each chapter paints a complete and original picture of the time in which the story takes place. Whether it’s the graphics, the music, the atmosphere or even the clichés of genre and period, nothing is left to chance and the final rendering hits the mark. The immersion in each story is successful and we quickly become attached to the characters. Besides that, while remaining in the register of J-RPG with levels, experience and fights, each story offers different gameplay mechanics, various ways of moving as well as ways to interact with this that surrounds us unique.

For example, in the Present scenario, your objective will be to face all the strongest fighters in their respective categories in order to be the strongest man in the world. The game then offers you an opponent selection interface like Street Fighter, which gives a crazy charm to this era, both in the graphics and in its soundtrack. In the Near Future scenario, your character will have the ability to read minds, which will add research phases and sometimes awkward situations to your adventure. Its intro credits will mark the minds of all Grendizer fans. For its part, Prehistory will put you on stage with characters communicating only very summarily, which brings another approach and a charm distinct from other eras. Each of the scenarios has its own soul and offers different gameplay phases, so much so that it almost feels like playing a different game each time.

Simple and effective gameplay

In each scenario, you will be brought more or less frequently to participate in fights. Your team and your opponents will be laid out on a 7 by 7 square grid. Each unit is placed on the grid and you will have to move your characters towards the enemy to attack and defeat them. Attacks work with skills that each have a different range. The effect cells are highlighted which allows you to see if you are going to hit an enemy or not. Some characters need to be in melee and others don’t, it all depends on the skills of each one. Attacks can cause bonuses or penalties as well as possess elements and affinities, which offer resistances and weaknesses to a particular type of attack. Nothing very complicated to learn, the game is very readable in its mechanics and offers you the luxury of offering tutorials as soon as a new element appears. You will even have the possibility to rewatch all the tutorials from the menu. In some cases, you will have groups of enemies to face, one of which will be the leader (indicated with a small pictogram). If you defeat the leader, the whole party will leave the fight, which can be life-saving in certain perilous situations. At the end of each fight, all your life points will be restored and the KO characters resurrected.

Apart from that, your exploration is supported by a mini-map that helps you find the places you have already visited, not yet visited and where you need to go. Although it is very very basic, it fits perfectly and fulfills its role without problem. Some chapters offer a slightly more detailed map that will complement the mini-map.

Although we announced at the beginning of the test that we will not go far in the revelations, it is very difficult to tell you about the potential of Live A Live without talking about the ultimate scenario, when you have completed all eight scenarios. We will keep its name silent so that you can discover it for yourself, but it upsets everything you have just experienced through the previous eight eras. It is also the longest scenario of all since it takes approximately a good twenty hours to complete the eight scenarios, compared to a little over five hours for this final scenario on its own (if you wish to obtain all endings and hidden secrets). Otherwise, one to two hours should be enough if you go in a straight line. Which takes us on average to a lifespan of about twenty-five hours. A bit short but every minute is well worth it.

A DA with onions

When we play Live A Live, the first striking thing is clearly the HD-2D which comes to sublimate the game. Just like Triangle Strategy and Octopath Traveler, the decorations are sublime, the effects of depth and combat techniques offer a nice spectacle and a nice contrast with the characters. If you liked these two titles, Live A Live may also please you. The icing on the cake, even the pause menu of each chapter is personalized with its little touch of color and its visual effects, which brings an additional charm. On the music side too, nothing to say, it’s a masterclass. The atmosphere of each chapter sticks to the clichés that we have of the time and the immersion is total. Absolutely all the music is really sublime and totally immerses you in the game and in the story of your protagonists. To top it off, the French translation of the game is of rare and exceptional quality. There has been a lot of adaptation work which is felt and which is really pleasing. There is also a lot of well-balanced humor, whether in the descriptions of the objects or in the lines of certain characters. To cite an example, in the scenario of Imperial China, the main character is offered many rewards including one from a brothel girl. The allusion to the loaves of bread couldn’t have been more on point than at this point.