Live A Live

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Live A Live
Developer(s)	Square Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)	Square Co., Ltd.
Release date(s)	September 4, 1994 (Japan)
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	Super Famicom
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 4, 1994. It was never released outside Japan, but it was unofficially translated into English through emulation.

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.

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 1 Chapters 1.1 "Contact" (Prehistoric) 1.2 "Inheritance" (Kung Fu) 1.3 "Secret Orders" (Bakumatsu) 1.4 "Wandering" (Old West) 1.5 "The Strongest" (Present Day) 1.6 "Flow" (Near Future) 1.7 "Mechanical Heart" (Science Fiction) 1.8 "King of Demons" (Medieval) 1.9 Final Chapter (Live A Live) 2 Soundtrack 3 Trivia 4 External links

[edit] Chapters

Live A Live takes place over a number of themed chapters, with time periods ranging from prehistory to the near future, and settings including sci-fi, western, and historical Japanese. Each chapter has its own unique theme, artistic style, and gameplay structure. Although at first the different chapters have no apparent relationship to each other, the game's plot unifies in the eight and ninth chapters, which are subsequently unlocked after the first seven are completed in any order. The 9th chapter ties the rest of the game together, and allows recruitment of the characters from all the previous chapters. Each of the chapter also features a unique game mechanic that alters the gameplay to various extent. The chapters are as follows:

[edit] "Contact" (Prehistoric)

"The Stone Age. The day a free-spirited boy and his friend Gori come of age has arrived. A boy is coming of age in a time before spoken language, when man had a strong sense of smell. He could smell any beast or danger of any sort..."

The caveman Pogo (ポゴ, Pogo^?) and his ape friend Gori come across Beru, a cave-woman being pursued by thugs from a hostile tribe intent on sacrificing her. This chapter is notable because of its comedic aspects and lack of dialogue (due to taking place in the time before language was formed). Instead, all communication is through pictures and body language. A fairly large portion of this chapter takes place in the open field, where the player "hunts" enemies using a powerful sense of smell, which shows their approximate location.

At the climax of the chapter, Pogo and Gori discover Beru as she is about to be sacrificed to the giant dinosaur O-Din-O, and the three fight it off. Pogo's tribe and the hostile tribe become friends with one another, and Pogo speaks the very first word, after going off alone with Beru... "Sweet!"

In this chapter, Pogo may obtain raw material items, such as bones and hides, through battle. These items can then be combined into various usable items, weapons and equipments.

[edit] "Inheritance" (Kung Fu)

"The location is China. There is an old martial artist atop a mountain called Mount Taishi. Having grown old, he searches for a young person to pass on his technique to..."

In ancient China, the sole surviving master of a powerful martial arts technique, the "Shinsan-ken" (心山拳, Shinzan-ken^?), is growing very old. In fear of the technique dying with him, he selects three students to train: the weak, yet enthusiastic youth Yun, the fiery woman bandit Lei, and the gluttonous and slow-witted, yet surprisingly agile Samo. Training the three to increase their strength, endurance, and agility, the master singles out a student (chosen by the player) to be his successor and gives them extra training. Later, the Ihamondan group attacks and destroys the dojo while the master is away, seeking revenge for a prior insult. Two of the trainees are killed, leaving only the successor. After burying the slain, the master sets out to destroy the Ihamondan, joined along the way by his successor.

At the climax of the chapter, the two fight their way through a gauntlet of assassins, with their leader at the end. While the master fights the final two assassins on his own, it is up to the successor to fight the terrible Odiwan Lee and copying the master's final technique, the "Senga-zan-ken", to win the battle. Though victorious, the master dies, having exhausted the last of his strength. It is up to the successor to train a new generation...

[edit] "Secret Orders" (Bakumatsu)

"In the Bakumatsu era of feudal Japan, to a shinobi who lives in shadow even during this era of upheaval, a secret mission is given..."

Japan is in turmoil; the Tokugawa dynasty is violently nearing its end, and the sinister Ode Iou plots the collapse of the nation into chaos. A secret ninja clan, known only as the Shinobi, sends one of their agents, Oboromaru (おぼろ丸, Oboromaru^?), into Iou's castle with two goals--rescue a captured prisoner who has the influence necessary to bring order to Japan, and kill Iou. Armed with a variety of ninja techniques and a cloak allowing him to become invisible when standing still, Oboromaru has three options of infiltration: killing everyone in his path (100 people total, including unarmed men and women), killing those who get in his way, or not killing anyone. If no action is taken to free the prisoner, Ryuma, he will eventually free himself and join Oboromaru for the final battle.

At the climax of the chapter, Ode Iou is revealed to be a monster; working together, Oboromaru and the prisoner defeat him atop his castle. After the battle, the prisoner sees a ship in the distance, musing that his supporters have come to rescue him. He then reveals his identity and offers Oboromaru a choice: return to the Shinobi and quietly fade into history, or join him and become a part of the new era? With either choice, the chapter ends, though if Oboromaru killed nobody along the way, the prisoner is impressed and gives him his sword, the Yoshiyuki.

[edit] "Wandering" (Old West)

(This chapter is a homage to Spaghetti Westerns) "The Old West era of the American continent; a wandering man with a price on his head visits Success Town. He must search for materials to make traps, and ambush the outlaw gang known as the Crazy Bunch!!"

A silent outlaw, known only as the Sunset Kid (サンダウン・キッド, Sandaun Kiddo^?, "Sundown Kid" in original Japanese version), is being hunted by Maddog, a determined bounty hunter. Meeting once again, Maddog notes how often they've run across each other, but he vows to make this duel their final one. After Maddog is wounded, he angrily demands why Sunset never kills him. Sunset remounts his horse, shooting the reins of Maddog's and causing the animal to run away, leaving him stranded as Sunset rides off. Coming across Success Town, he enters the bar and is quickly antagonized by a thug who he runs off. Maddog storms in and reveals Sunset's reputation, demanding another duel. In the street, the two count paces, turn--and shoot two more thugs, who were hiding. Being told that all three thugs belonged to the Crazy Bunch and the group will come wanting revenge, Sunset and Maddog join together and rally the town-folk, gathering common tools to be used as traps to whittle down the Bunch's numbers. The next day, the traps are set and as many of the Crazy Bunch are taken out as possible, before the inevitable showdown...

At the climax of the chapter, Sunset and Maddog face off against the remainder of the Bunch and their leader, the monstrous O.Dio, and his powerful Gatling gun. After winning, O.Dio turns into a horse, and it is revealed that the Crazy Bunch were the remnants of the 7th Cavalry, with the anger and hatred of the group being focused into a horse. Maddog notes that he and Sunset never finished their duel--Sunset can choose to back down at this point, and Maddog vows to meet him again--if not, Maddog is killed. The townsfolk see Sunset off, but he refuses any reward, musing that he finally learned to help people. If Maddog lived, he runs into Sunset again, this time riding O.Dio. The same events play out as in the intro, and Sunset rides off yet again.

Sunset and Maddog's Characters were directly inspired by the two main characters from the Western Movie: For a Few Dollars More. Monco and Colonel Douglas Mortimer.

[edit] "The Strongest" (Present Day)

(This chapter heavily takes its theme from the Street Fighter games). "A fierce young man aspires to acquire all the special fighting techniques found throughout the world, and claim the title of the world's strongest!"

Masaru Takahara (高原 日勝, Takahara Masaru^?), is a man who wants to be known as the strongest in the world. To do this, he sets out to challenge six masters of different fighting styles: Thai kickboxing, Lucha-style wrestling, Special Forces grappling, Kotsu-jutsu, traditional wrestling, and Sumo wrestling. When Masaru is attacked with each of the master's special techniques, he is able to quickly learn and use them himself. After defeating each of the masters, Masaru is finally ready to fight his equal, Odie Olbright.

At the climax of the chapter, Odie reveals the he not only fought the six masters like Masaru did, but he killed them as well. Enraged, Masaru fights and strikes him down, thus becoming the strongest in the world. He is immediately challenged by a new face, and here the chapter ends.

Max Morgan, one of the characters that you fight, was obviously based on Hulk Hogan.

[edit] "Flow" (Near Future)

(This chapter is heavily inspired by Japanese anime, especially the main character). "In the not-so-distant future, there is a boy with supernatural powers; a boy with mind-reading abilities. Will the ancient devil robot Buriki-Daioh truly revive?!"

Akira Tadokoro (田所 晃, Tadokoro Akira^?), also known as simply Akira (アキラ, Akira^?), is a boy with supernatural powers who was orphaned when his father, a policeman, was shot dead by a member of the Crusaders gang. Now in an orphanage, Akira's ability to read people's thoughts leads him to distance himself from everyone around him, except for his younger sister Kaori, and the mysterious Matsui Kenichi, who he treats as an older brother. Fighting Crusaders and, later, government agents, Akira uncovers a plot by the government to kidnap people and liquefy them, a process which greatly increases their mental output; this will allow the giant idol Odeo to come to life when 2000 humans are liquefied. The only hope is the giant robot Buriki-Daioh, sleeping under the city, yet Akira lacks the strength to operate it.

At the climax of the chapter, the Crusaders firebomb Akira's orphanage which forces Kenichi to take a powerful drug, giving him the mental strength necessary to move the robot. After extinguishing the flames, Kenichi collapses from exhaustion. Dying, he reflects on how he was the one to kill Akira's father as a former Crusader, and how he felt compassion for the boy as a result. Furious after "reading" this, Akira pilots Buriki-Daioh to the Odeo Temple, easily destroying the tanks and planes the government sends at him, before engaging the idol and destroying it.

[edit] "Mechanical Heart" (Science Fiction)

"The for-hire transport ship Cogito Ergo Sum, in the middle of its journey to Earth. Strange events occur one after another on board this ship. The newly-created robot by the mechanic, Kato, will become involved..."

On a spaceship in the future, a newly built robot--ironically named Cube (キューブ, Kyūbu^?) despite being spherical in shape--interacts with the ship's crew of six, and ultimately helps protect the crew from a variety of strange disasters that befall the ship, including the release of a hostile alien life form the ship was transporting, at the hands of its computer, OD-10. This chapter has elements of both Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey. This chapter is also notable for the fact that it focuses entirely on interaction and exploration and features absolutely no combat, except for the chapter's final battle and an optional arcade challenge with no effect on the main story.

[edit] "King of Demons" (Medieval)

The requisite medieval/fantasy chapter; a youth named Orsted recruits a party and journeys to destroy the King of Demons and to save the princess Alicia. This chapter features typical RPG gameplay style, and becomes available only after all of the proceeding chapters have been completed.

In the distant kingdom of Lucretia, a fighting tournament is taking place; the king has decreed that the victor will marry his daughter Alicia, and a number of contestants have entered, including the warrior Orsted (オルステッド, Orusuteddo^?), and Straybow, the magician. Quickly defeating all others, the two face off in the final match; after a short fight Orsted is the victor, and the king declares a banquet held in honor of the victor and his new fiancee. Later that night, Orsted and Alicia are on the castle's terrace when a dragon suddenly swoops down from the sky and attacks the two; though he fends it off, Orsted is overpowered by a second one, and can only watch as Alicia is kidnapped and taken off to a castle in the Forbidden Land, to the east. Musing over these events, the king fears that the Demon King, previously defeated by the swordsman Hash and the priest Uranus 20 years prior, is reviving. Orsted vows to rescue Alicia and put the King to rest for good.

The next day, Orsted heads out; the kingdom's residents have all turned out to give their support and what provisions they have, and Straybow waits at the entrance of town to join him on his journey. The only way into the Forbidden Land is to use the sword Bryon, wielded by Hash. Journeying into the mountains to find the warrior, they find only his tombstone, and an old man who refuses to say anything and quickly retreats into his cabin; following after him, Orsted notes an ornate shield hanging on the wall. The two head back down the mountain and to the village of Familia, where in one of the houses, they notice an identical shield. The old man living there is surprised at Orsted's recognition, and reveals himself to be Uranus, who fought alongside Hash; though the two were praised as heroes after their victory, people soon forgot about them and they faded into obscurity.

Orsted tells him of the current situation, and Uranus agrees to come with them to talk some sense into Hash. Returning to the cabin, Uranus berates a stubborn Hash for becoming embittered and unwilling to help the kingdom he once served, calls him a coward. As the group prepares to leave, Hash rises and pledges to come along, if only to prove he is still as brave as in the past. After pulling Bryon from Hash's tombstone, the four head off to the Forbidden Land, fighting the monsters along the way, until the come to the lair of the Demon King. After a short battle, the monster falls; Hash realizes that what they fought was only a minion, and the true King is alive and in some other place. He suddenly collapses--the warrior's advanced age and overexertion from the battle have caught up to him; dying, he passes Orsted his sword and urges the youth to save Alicia, the one who believes in him.

An earthquake strikes the lair--a trap set by the King. Orsted and Uranus barely escape the collapsing cavern, but Straybow is unable to escape and is crushed. Returning to Lucretia with the news, the two spend the night at the castle while the next course of action is determined. That night, Orsted is awoken from a dream by Straybow, who retreats into the king's throne room. Following him, he sees the Demon King and quickly attacks, striking it down; however, it was merely an illusion--Orsted had just killed the king of Lucretia! As guards come in, they declare Orsted to be the Demon King and that he murdered Hash and Straybow, also. When Uranus tries to defend Orsted, he is arrested and Orsted flees into the mountains, pursued by guards. Coming across Hash's grave, he recalls the warrior's last words; as long as someone believes in him, he should keep fighting. For Hash's sake, he returns to the castle and is arrested and thrown into a cell next to Uranus; for partnering with Orsted, the old man had been severely tortured and lies dying, having finally realized what drove Hash to solitude and hatred of other people. Uranus also urges the youth to rescue Alicia, using the last of his strength to open the door of Orsted's cell, allowing the youth to escape amid accusations of his silencing Uranus, as well.

At the climax of the story, Orsted returns to the Forbidden Land, breaking through stronger forces to the lair where he had previously battled. He discovers a hidden passage and passes through, reaching a statue of the Demon King, as well as Straybow, who was thought dead. The magician blames Orsted for always being the favored one, leaving Straybow in his shadow; therefore, he had found the power of the Demon King and accepted it, to become stronger than Orsted and claim Alicia as his own; that was why he faked being killed in the earthquake. He also reveals that he had created the illusion of the Demon King, so that Orsted would be blamed for murdering Lucretia's king; he wanted Orsted to lose everything of value to him, as punishment for always eclipsing Straybow. After a furious battle, the magician is killed; however, Princess Alicia steps from behind the statue and berates Orsted for always overshadowing his friend, stating that she actually loves him and can't live without him, before stabbing herself in the heart and dying.

Alone on the mountain's peak, Orsted reflects on the horror; winning Alicia's hand, her being kidnapped, Straybow's supposed death, Hash's dying words urging him on to save the one who believed in him, the accusatory cries of the people after killing the king, Uranus's dying to free him, his forced killing of his friend, and the suicide of the woman who believed in him. Orsted has nothing left; not even the trust of a single person. He becomes Odio, the new Demon King, and vows to destroy everyone, past, present and future, and teach the world its foolishness.

[edit] Final Chapter (Live A Live)

The heroes of the other chapters are pulled out of their own time by Odio, who looks at their attempts to fight for others with contempt, and brought to a barren Lucretia. There, they must join together to find and defeat him, and return to their own time. However, if Orsted is chosen as the main character of this chapter, the player will be able to play as all the final bosses of the 7 chapters to defeat the protagonists of the story, and rewrite history. It is interesting to note that one of the 7 dungeons show the dead souls of all the people from the previous chapter, lamenting over Orsted's demise.

There are four potential endings to the game: if Orsted's path is chosen, all the other characters are defeated and Orsted's point is proven; however, if a boss is near defeat, Orsted, in desperation, destroys the world. If a main character is chosen, they can go directly to the Forbidden Land (after retrieving Bryon) and defeat Odio; however, the true ending has the main character finding everyone else and convincing them to join forces; after defeating Odio, Orsted uses the last of his strength to revive the seven bosses from across time, for one final battle. Dying, a frustrated Orsted demands to know what keeps the others fighting, and they all give their reasons; filled with remorse and having gained understanding, Orsted dies, and everyone returns to their own time.

[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 Kuu 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, then killing the rival ape ancestor for the food at the film's beginning.
• The Bakumatsu chapter is notable for the inclusion of a historical character, Ishikawa Goemon, as a potential NPC. Another historical character in the chapter is Miyamoto Musashi, who is a minor boss.
• 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, "Sunset Kid" on the fan translation, and "Sundown Kid" on the original Japanese version, 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, the original 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 contains numerous references to Akira, the classic Japanese sci-fi comic; these include names like Akira, Kaori and Masaru, 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", in Italian "odio", in Spanish "odio", and in English "odium" and "odious." 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 Samo is an obvious reference of Chinese movie martial artist Sammo Hung known for being agile and fast although a bit overweight. Samo is also close to the word "Sumo", a type of wrestling in Japan where the opponents are extremely heavy.
• Most of the main chapters have enemies that are visible before a fight. In fact, the final chapter (as played by someone other than Orsted) is the only one to have random battles.

[edit] External links

• Live A Live at FantasyAnime, has an interview with Gideon Zhi, the main ROM hacker and instigator of the Live A Live translation project
• Live A Live at RPG Classics, has a walkthrough
• GameFAQs, has several walkthroughs