The Near Future – Akira, a rebellious youth living in an orphanage, holds within him a secret beyond comprehension: the ability to read minds. Conquer challengers from across the globe in this combat-focused scenario drawing inspiration from the likes of Street Fighter. Though to become the world’s strongest, he must first defeat the world’s strongest. Present Day – Why do you fight? Is it for glory or purpose? For strength, or for your friends? Masaru Takahara, a young man with great ambitions, fights to be number one. How will you aid the town, or rather, how will the town of Success lead to your success in battle? Though upon wandering into a bar in the humble town of Success, the kid encounters an old foe and learns of one town’s plight to stand up against a ravenous group of bandits. Well that’d be none other than The Sundown Kid. The Wild West – a lone stranger, a gun-slinger on the lam, and the fastest trigger finger in the West. Explore a sprawling castle and ascend to the throne room in this tale of feudal warfare, deception, and the art of the Ninja. Though even the most proficient ninja must be wary of the tricky traps and powerful foes that lay in wait ahead. Twilight of Edo Japan – tasked with the infiltration of a colossal fortress and the safe retrieval of a hostage, a skilled Shinobi slips into the shadows even in plain sight. Will he choose the deft and wily feminine thief, the gluttonous and earth-shatteringly large lad, or a simple young man who’s passion for justice outweighs his physical prowess? And so, with heightened resolve, Shifu descends from his mountainous abode to train a rightful heir to pass on his martial skills. ![]() Though the Shifu knows his time left on this earth is short. Imperial China – high in the mountains, in solitude honing his art, lives the masterful Shifu, an elderly man skilled in legendary martial arts. ![]() Alongside his sentient gorilla friend, Goro, the pair venture forth on a journey of love, physical comedy, and plentiful slapstick humour. Prehistory – set before the discovery of speech, this amusing short story focuses on a race of cave-dwellers, and centres on a young boy who falls helplessly in love with a beautiful escaped captive. Spread across time, space, and culture, the story of Live A Live can be experienced in an order by choosing any of the following settings: Where the story of most traditional JRPGs is presented through a single lens, often the eyes of a lone heroic sword-wielding evil-slaying protagonist, Live A Live decides instead to take this role and split it into seven parts. With the retro revival of the 16-bit era thanks to Square Enix‘s very own HD-2D series, Live A Live lives another life on Nintendo Switch! So is this lively cult classic worthy of the wait? Read ahead and explore the seven stories that await you in… Story Thus Live A Live was born – a cult classic that would elude a Western audience for close to 3 decades. Rather than limiting themselves to a single story, the team instead sought to combine the plights of seven heroic protagonists from across time and space through a series of creative short stories. This would be the directorial debut of Takashi Tokita (director of Chrono Trigger, Parasite Eve), whose influence on the genre cannot be understated. This was sadly the case with Square’s Live A Live (ライブ・ア・ライブ), released only in Japan exclusively for the Super Famicom in 1994. ![]() Though with the J in JRPG standing for “Japanese”, it was inevitable that some superb software would never make its way to Western shores. And it’s easy to see why – influential titles like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV & VI, Phantasy Star, and EarthBound just to name a few, all set the standard for any games that would follow in their legacy.Ĭhrono Trigger (1995) is the quintessential 16-bit JRPG, still considered by many as the finest ever made. Beginning in 1987 and spanning into the mid-90’s, dominated by the Super Nintendo and SEGA’s Mega Drive/Genesis, many consider this decade to be the golden years for RPGs. If you grew up playing JRPGs (that’s Japanese Role-Playing Games for the uninitiated), chances are you have an immense fondness for the 16-bit era. Discover Square’s cult-classic SNES title in its Western debut in our LIVE A LIVE review.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |