Live A Live

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Live A Live
Original logo
Developer(s) Square Co.
Publisher(s) Square Co.
Designer(s) Takashi Tokita (director, scenario)
Yoko Shimomura (composer)
Nobuyuki Inoue (battle design)
Platform(s) Super Famicom
Release date JP September 2, 1994
Genre(s) Role-playing game
Mode(s) Single player
Media 16 megabit cartridge

Live A Live (ライブ・ア・ライブ Raibu A Raibu?) is a Squaresoft role-playing video game for the Super Famicom released in Japan on September 2, 1994. It was never released outside Japan, but it has been unofficially translated into English.

Live A Live uses tile-based sprites, and the graphics are comparable to Final Fantasy V. The battle engine, on the other hand, uses large, oversized sprites that allow for detailed, animated characters.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

The gameplay resembles that of a turn-based tactical RPG, in which the player guides characters around a 7x7 square grid battlefield, maneuvering to attack foes while attempting to stay out of their range. Hit points are healed after every battle, and skill use is dependent on charge times rather than magic points. Instead of standard Fight, Magic, and Special Attack commands, each character has a variety of special skills (often more than a dozen) which have different effects, range, and charge times.

[edit] Plot Summary

 The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article.
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The game takes place in several different time periods, each having its own chapter.

In the first chapter, a caveman named Pogo and his ape friend Gori set out to save a cavewoman named Bel, who a hostile tribe intends to sacrifice to a dinosaur called O-D-O. Pogo manages to slay the dinosaur and rescue Bel. The two tribes then become friends.

The next chapter takes place in ancient China, and centers on an old kung-fu master and his three students. While the master is away one day, the dojo is attacked by a group of ninja seeking revenge for an insult. Two of the students are killed, prompting the master and his remaining student to avenge their deaths. The group of ninjas, led by Odi Wang Lee, is defeated, but the master dies afterward, having used the last of his strength in the fight. The student then is charged with training the next generation.

The next chapter takes place in feudal Japan. A mysterious figure named Ode Iou is trying to throw Japan into chaos. The ninja clan Enma has sent one of their ninja to rescue a prisoner who can stabilize Japan, then kill Ode Iou. After rescuing the prisoner, he joins the ninja in the battle with Ode Iou, who turns out to be a monster. He is then given the choice of returning to the Enma or joining him in his plans to rebuild Japan.

The next chapter takes place in the American Old West. An outlaw referred to only as the Sundown Kid has once again escaped from a bounty hunter called Mad Dog. He arrives in Success Town, where Mad Dog catches up to him again. They begin an Old West gun duel, but it is interrupted by two thugs who are part of a gang called the Crazy Bunch. In self defense, they shoot the two thugs and kill them. Knowing that the Crazy Bunch will want revenge, the Sundown Kid and Mad Dog decide to join forces until they are safe from the gang. They shoot down most of the members of the gang, until the leader, O. Dio, comes at them with a Gatling gun. After O. Dio is defeated, the townsfolk offer to give Sundown a reward. He refuses, saying that he has learned to defend people.

The next chapter takes place in the present day. Masaru Takahara seeks to become the strongest fighter in the world by learning from the masters of different fighting disciplines. After defeating several masters, he is challenged by another fighter hoping to be the strongest in the world, Odie Olbright. After defeating Olbright, Takahara is declared the strongest in the world.

The next chapter takes place in the near future. A boy named Akira Tadokoro, who was orphaned by gang members when he was younger, uncovers a plot by the government to raise a giant idol named Odeo to life by liquefying people. Akira uses his psychic abilities to gain control of a giant robot named Buriki-Daioh, and uses it to stop Odeo.

The next chapter takes place in the far future on a cargo ship in space. As the crew members are slowly killed off, one by one, the other crew members begin to suspect each other. In the end, only three are left alive, Kato the mechanic, his robot Cube, and Corporal Darth, when they discover that it was the ship’s computer, 0D-10, that was killing them, because it perceives them as a threat to the stability of their mission. Kato is wounded, leaving Cube and Darth to find a way to defeat the computer by hacking through a video game console.

The next chapter takes place in a medieval setting. It centers around a knight named Oersted who travels with a wizard named Straybow to save Alicia, princess of Lucretia and love of Oersted’s life, from the Demon King. Along the way, they are joined by the knight Hash and the wizard Uranus, who struck down the Demon King several years ago. They travel to the Demon King’s lair, where they battle what they believe is the Demon King. After it is slain, it becomes obvious that it only a minion. Hash soon dies, as he used the last of his strength in the battle. An earthquake causes the roof of the lair to collapse; Oersted and Uranus escape, but Straybow is crushed. They return to Lucretia to plan their next move.

In the night, Oersted is tricked into killing the king by making the king appear to be the Demon King. The guards declare Oersted the Demon King and try to capture him. Oersted escapes, but Uranus is captured and tortured to death. Oersted returns to the Demon King’s lair, where he finds a statue of the Demon King and Straybow, who explains that he took the Demon King’s power and used it to ruin Oersted’s life, as punishment for always overshadowing him. After Oersted slays Straybow, Alicia appears and declares her undying love for Straybow before killing herself. After reflecting on all of his misfortunes, he becomes the new Demon King, Odio, and swears to use his power to destroy everyone.

In the final chapter, Odio draws the heroes of the previous chapters together in one place and time, and challenges them to a final battle. After Odio is defeated by the heroes, he gains an understanding of why they continue to fight, before he dies.

[edit] Soundtrack

Live A Live's soundtrack was composed by Yoko Shimomura.

[edit] Trivia

  • In the Prehistoric chapter, if you return to the plateau where you were first exiled from your tribe after finding the Ku tribal headquarters, you can open a cave. In the cave is a monolith, similar to the one from 2001: A Space Odyssey. You can give the monolith a bone, and Pogo will throw it up into the air the same way the apelike ancestor in the film throws the bone up in the air after touching a similar monolith. Unlike the movie, however, you only receive a special item.
  • The Bakumatsu chapter is notable for the inclusion of a historical character, the notorious thief Ishikawa Goemon, who re-fills opened treasure chests after being freed. Another historical character in the chapter is the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, who is a minor boss.
  • One of the opponents you can face in the Present day chapter, Max Morgan, bears a resemblence to the famous american wrestler Hulk Hogan.
  • The logo of Live A Live makes it clear that "LIVE" spelled backwards is "EVIL". This is apparently the philosophy of the game's final villain.
  • A recurring joke in the game is the appearance of the Watanabes, a man and his son. In the Watanabe scenes, the father dies in various ways, leaving his son to cry miserably. The Watanabes may be difficult to locate in certain chapters, but according to the Japanese Official Guide Book, they feature in all nine chapters of the game.
  • In the Old West chapter, the main character's default name "Sundown Kid", or "Sunset Kid" on the previous translation, bears a striking similarity to Harry Longabaugh's outlaw alias, the Sundance Kid. Also in the Old West chapter, "7th cavalry" and the "single horse survivor" are references to the Battle at Little Bighorn and more specifically Custer's part of the battle. However, the idea of the deceased soldiers' anger being concentrated in the being of the horse sounds much more similar to the Jewish custom at Yom Kippur of a scapegoat being made to be the bearer of the sins of the people of Israel before being driven out into the wilderness.
  • The Science Fiction chapter contains two characters named after sci-fi icons, Kirk (カーク Kāku?) and Corporal Darth (ダース伍長 Dāsu Gochō?). It should be noted that this is based on the fan translation of the game, and the original Japanese version doesn't have official spellings. In fact, according to a walkthrough posted by two Asian gentlemen on GameFAQs, their names are "Clark" and "Dass".
  • The name of the ship in the Science Fiction chapter, Cogito Ergosum, is based on a phrase of Descartes, and translates as "I think, therefore I am".
  • The "Flow" chapter bears numerous references to Akira, the classic Japanese sci-fi comic and anime movie; these include two characters named Akira and Kaori, (There are two major characters with the same names in the mentioned comic) as well as concepts like psychokinetic powers, motorcycle gangs and mentally stimulating super-drugs.
  • The name of the final villain in each chapter is a variation of "Odio", which means "hate" in Latin "odium". The same reference is done with the last boss "Maou Odio"
  • A lot of the storylines are written by well established manga authors. For example the Bakumatsu chapter was illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, who went on to create manga Case Closed . The art and character designs of each chapter are also handled by established manga artists.
  • The Kung Fu chapter character Sammo is an obvious reference of Chinese movie martial artist Sammo Hung known for being agile and fast although a bit overweight.
  • Most of the main chapters have enemies that are visible before a fight. In fact, the final two chapters ("Knight" and "Final") are the only ones to have random battles.
  • In the "Flow" chapter, when you examine the piano, there are several songs played like the Flea Waltz or a short version of the well-known Chocobo Theme from the Final Fantasy-Series.

[edit] External links