4.5/5 ★ – merklepox's review of LIVE A LIVE.

I've wanted to play this game for years, so when the remake was announced, I was absolutely ecstatic. Live A Live is the predecessor to the universally beloved Chrono Trigger, and while it is also held in high esteem, it was never released in the west and the years have not been kind to it. The Octopath engine serves as a fantastic vessel for SNES and SNES-style RPG's, and this game fully shows that off. Visuals are gorgeous, animations are fluid and eye-catching, and the whole package runs without a hitch. The fully remastered score by industry legend Yoko Shimura is also of fantastic quality, polishing one of the most legendary soundtracks in JRPG history to a fine sheen. As its own game, I am happy to say Live A Live meets the reverence that surrounds it. The eight unconnected stories are a lot of fun to play through, each serving as an homage to the tropes of different genres of video games and movies, complete with gameplay that's unique to each chapter. It manages to tone the line between feeling familiar and derivative very well, and as a sum of their parts ends up feeling extremely unique and experimental given how differently each of the chapters feels. They are also paced exceedingly well - each chapter only lasts between thirty minutes and a couple hours, and the games moves you along before anything feels tired. There is also still an endgame section that, while completable in ~45 minutes, allows you to grind and dungeon-crawl to your heart's content, satisfying that itch I get with when I play these types of games. Here, the story truly comes into its own, ending off feeling both whimsical and epic. The overall vibe Live A Live gives off reminds me of Earthbound, which is quite high praise given the place Earthbound holds in my heart. If there's anything I can ding this game and remake for, it's that some of the more antiquated aspects of JRPG design show their face from time to time, and often feel more obnoxious than they do nostalgic. Random encounters (for two of the game's nine chapters), repetitive fights within chapters, and obtuse or even deliberately unclear challenges and puzzles that demand referring to a guide sour the experience from time to time. That being said, Live a Live is an instant classic for me, providing a fantastic and unique JRPG with a runtime that doesn't require taking out a mortgage. The gorgeous soundtrack and quality engine/visual upgrades only enhance the experience, giving a legendary game that's nearly 30 years old modern legs to stand on, and allowing newer players a chance to experience why this strange old game is so beloved.