Live A Live

Live A Live is a role-playing game originally released by Square for Nintendo's Super Famicom in Japan on September 2, 1994. Directed by Takashi Tokita, it was designed as an anthology rather than a single linear quest. Players choose among seven opening chapters, each set in a distinct era and featuring a different protagonist, combat system, and storytelling style. The settings are Prehistory, Imperial China, Twilight of Edo Japan, the Wild West, Present Day, Near Future, and Distant Future. The Prehistory chapter follows Pogo, a caveman who cannot speak; Imperial China centers on the martial arts master Earthen Heart and his pupils. In Edo Japan, the shinobi Oboromaru infiltrates Odawara Castle, with routes and optional encounters that can radically affect the chapter's outcome. The Wild West puts the drifter Sundown Kid against the Crazy Bunch, while Present Day has Masaru Takahara challenge fighters whose techniques he can learn. Near Future stars Akira Tadokoro, a telepathic orphan who becomes entangled with a biker gang and a conspiracy; its robot Taroimo is controlled during certain battles. Distant Future takes place aboard the cargo ship Cogito Ergo Sum, where the support robot Cube is central to a science-fiction mystery. These chapters use a grid-based battle system in which characters move around an arena and attacks have specific ranges and areas of effect. After the seven stories, the game reveals connections among them and opens a final chapter involving Oersted, a knight from the medieval Middle Ages scenario. His story reframes the game's recurring antagonist, Odio, whose name and forms recur throughout the separate tales. The structure lets players select several heroes for the concluding conflict. Live A Live was never originally released outside Japan. Its official Western debut came with Square Enix's 2022 remake for Nintendo Switch, which launched worldwide on July 22. That version used the HD-2D visual style associated with Square Enix's Team Asano projects, combining pixel-art character sprites with three-dimensional environments, lighting, and depth effects. The remake retained the chapter format and introduced full voice acting in multiple languages. It was later released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows in 2023. Composer Yoko Shimomura wrote the original score, an early major credit in her career after joining Square. For the remake, she supervised rearrangements of her music, while the release also included newly recorded voices and updated presentation. These features define Live A Live's distinctive identity within Square's catalog.