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Live Alive is a relatively unknown Squaresoft game that had a debut on the Super Famicom and was never heard of again. Unlike many other Square franchises such as Front Mission and Romancing Saga had sequels that were eventually released in the US. However, Live Alive remained very much dead, but why? With a creative combat system and unique characters one would expect Square to make a game similar to this or possibly a sequel.
Possibly one of the problems that made Live Alive fail was it takes time to understand what is going on. When you start the game you have the choice of picking a character. These characters are from different time periods, have different attacks and are entirely unique. Each character even has their own specific storyline. For instance in the Kung Fu Chapter the main character is Roshi, a martial arts master who is trying to pass down his talents to a student. The present day chapter has Masaru, a wrestler looking to become the strongest human alive. In the Wild West chapter there is a wandering cowboy named Sunset who is on everyone’s hit list. Picking a character is more like picking a different scenario. While the scenarios already sounded cliché when the game was released in 1994, they sound even more shallow by today’s standards. However, while the scenarios might seem reused you will eventually play through all of the characters and see how their stories intertwine.
Besides the scenario system, which is similar to Saga Frontier. The game has a unique battle system, which is a mix of a tactics like battle system and active time battle. When in battle you’ll see a checkerboard grid. When it’s your turn, you can move your character around the grid. Moving closer to your enemy will allow you to hit it with melee attacks and moving further away will allow you to evade attacks. The amount of movement you have is limited so you won’t be able to traverse the entire arena, only a small portion. After moving around you can choose to attack with a skill or a basic attack. Live Alive has assigned each move a certain attack range. The attack range system is a good idea and allows for some tactical thinking. For instance if you have two enemies next to each other some moves can hit both of them. Or if you’re low on HP you can retreat and attack with a long range weapon. With so many different characters Live Alive manages to create a vast arsenal of moves for each of the playable characters. There are also a decent variety of enemy sprites so you wont see any giant robots in the prehistoric period.
Since Live Alive was released in 1994 you’re obviously not going to expect the same level of detail in a Gamecube game. However, Live Alive graphics are a little weak. For instance the character sprites are the tiny sprites, similar to those seen in Final Fantasy IV and V. Although, Final Fantasy VI had been released about five months before Live Alive. So Square could have made larger sprites. The same thing goes for in battle graphic effects. When you cast a spell or do an attack you’re not treated to the same level of animation seen in other classics. The animations are very simple and resemble a first generation Super Nintendo game. While this is a little disappointing there are some nicely designed backgrounds, but compared to other games at the time this game pales in comparison.
Another lacking feature is the sound and quality of music. Once again the game feels dated. Even when playing over other Super Nintendo games like Super Mario World or Chrono Trigger the music still feels engaging. Live Alive has one or two memorable tunes, but the majority of them are lacking. The sound effects suffer from the same problem. At times they sound cartoonish and out of place.
Presentation issues aside, Live Alive is engaging. With eight different scenarios to play through and a final area, which combines all of the characters you’re getting a lot of gameplay. While Live Alive may not have the timeless classic appeal of say Final Fantasy VI or Bahamut Lagoon, it’s still a blast to play. You can see the start of a tactics based system and elements used in the Saga Frontier series all in this game.
Hard to find?
Originally Live Alive was planned for a North American release back in 1994 and was quietly canceled. With recent prototypes of many games being sold on eBay there may be a Live Alive prototype one day, but that is still unlikely. Your best bet of getting it is hitting bargain game stores in Japan, but as of now most of the Super NES games have been phased out making this a tough find.
+ Pros: Lots of characters and variation, innovative battle system
- Cons: Graphics and sound are a little weak, discontinuous story
Overall: If you like RPGs you’ll enjoy Live Alive. While it isn’t exactly a traditional RPG Live Alive offers a unique battle system and other unique features making this a solid play through.
< Screenshots >
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