Live A Live is here to do one thing: to shower the player in personality and love. Through homages to various genres of fiction and the tropes that they follow, Live A Live seeks to explore why it is that we care about characters and their journeys. For the most part, I think it is a success because the charm of how these stories and the overarching theme are both presented to the player is irresistibly sweet. Even at times when I find myself let down by gameplay elements, that charm itself is all Live A Live needs to make me glad I sat down and played.
There are some chapters here that I'd like to highlight without delving into spoiler territory...
The Wild West — The Wanderer alongside Present Day — The Strongest are both incredibly short chapters focusing on character interactions and the game's combat respectively, and I think that they are both really effective bite-sized chapters. I'm not even a fan of the genres that either follow, but I found myself invested in the Sundown Kid's short-lived relationship with the townsfolk and his rivalry with Mad Dog. The same being said for Masaru Takahara's goal and morals and the opponents he ends up facing.
The Near Future — The Outsider is easily my favorite of the presented 7 chapters as I am a huge sucker for this classic mecha anime vibe and the consequential tropes that it follows. I'm a massive Akira Tadokoro fan here.
Lastly, Imperial China — The Successor completely surprised me as I had played it while really tired and wanting to just get it out of the way since I never really cared for any story focusing on martial arts masters and their disciples. Despite that, I really like this one! I thought that although not explored at length, the initial impressions of the relationship between the Shifu and each of his disciples were effective for getting me to care about the chapter's story. I also think that the way that training your students pays off later is great. This is one of the moments of the story that I'm really glad I got to experience blind.
Like I said, I don't want to delve into any spoiler territory, so I'll just say that I love how this game ends up tying itself together for its final section and conclusion. The entire last stretch of this game helped elevate my appreciation for Live A Live as an entire package—including some sections that I didn't enjoy as much as others, namely The Distant Future — The Mechanical Heart and Twilight of Edo Japan — The Infiltrator.
There are some chapters here that I'd like to highlight without delving into spoiler territory...
The Wild West — The Wanderer alongside Present Day — The Strongest are both incredibly short chapters focusing on character interactions and the game's combat respectively, and I think that they are both really effective bite-sized chapters. I'm not even a fan of the genres that either follow, but I found myself invested in the Sundown Kid's short-lived relationship with the townsfolk and his rivalry with Mad Dog. The same being said for Masaru Takahara's goal and morals and the opponents he ends up facing.
The Near Future — The Outsider is easily my favorite of the presented 7 chapters as I am a huge sucker for this classic mecha anime vibe and the consequential tropes that it follows. I'm a massive Akira Tadokoro fan here.
Lastly, Imperial China — The Successor completely surprised me as I had played it while really tired and wanting to just get it out of the way since I never really cared for any story focusing on martial arts masters and their disciples. Despite that, I really like this one! I thought that although not explored at length, the initial impressions of the relationship between the Shifu and each of his disciples were effective for getting me to care about the chapter's story. I also think that the way that training your students pays off later is great. This is one of the moments of the story that I'm really glad I got to experience blind.
Like I said, I don't want to delve into any spoiler territory, so I'll just say that I love how this game ends up tying itself together for its final section and conclusion. The entire last stretch of this game helped elevate my appreciation for Live A Live as an entire package—including some sections that I didn't enjoy as much as others, namely The Distant Future — The Mechanical Heart and Twilight of Edo Japan — The Infiltrator.