Live A Livewas originally released for the SNES in 1994 in Japan. Say what you will about Square Enix’s modern practices, but they should at least be praised above other gaming companies for bringing their long-forgotten games back to the limelight.
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They could have just as easily releasedLive A Liveas a simple port to the eShop like some of their other games. For example, the first threeRomancing Sagagames, also on SNES, barely got any touch-ups or enhancements.Square Enixwent a little overboard with this game to ensure it felt more modern, which is great. Overall, how well doesLive A Livehold up nearly three decades later?
8Best: The HD-2D
Square Enix needs to bring back all of their SNES games as HD-2D ones now.Live A Liveis living proof as it looks so good in HD. It would have been good enough to get an official port after all this time since the 16-Bit sprites still look great natively.
The HD-2D styleinLive A Liveenhances what made the original look so good as well. The graphics are the thing that should grab ahold of curious RPG fans first. The SNES, overall, is one of the consoles that hold up the best thanks to its graphical engines.
7Worst: No Difficulties
It’s hard to imagine that a company would put out a game, be it an RPG, action title, puzzle game, or whatever, and not have difficulty options. There areno assist featuresin the game either. This can make a lot of the battles, especially the boss battles, inLive A Liveparticularly challenging.
When one fails in an RPG, the common strategy is to level up and try again. However, some scenarios in the game make it impossible to grind for experience points. As modern asLive A Livecan feel, it also seems a bit archaic thanks to these limitations.
6Best: A Hybrid Of Turn-Based Plus Tactics
This game has a strange set of mechanics that can be difficult to learn at first. It operates as a turn-based RPG, complete with random battles. However, characters can also move around a grid during battle like they were ina tactical RPG.
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Every action a character makes requires time. Sometimes actions will launch immediately, and sometimes energy needs to be built up. It’s an interesting combat system that was ahead of its time on the SNES.
5Worst: Missing Battle Settings
Square Enix foot the bill on upgrading the graphics into their new HD-2D style and even gave characters voices. However, this game is missing a lot of common remaster features that are present in many of their other titles.
For example, there is no autobattle, and there is no way to fast-forward through battles. These two things would be good on their own, but they would be a perfect match forLive A Liveif combined. TheFinal Fantasy 12remaster received upgrades like these, so why didn’t this game do so as well?
4Best: Multiple Perspectives
Players can choose from seven scenarios at the start of the game, including The Distant Future, The Near Future, Twilight of Edo Japan, Imperial China, Prehistory, The Wild West, and Present Day. Each scenario is self-contained, and they all take about two to three hours to finish.
These bite-sized RPGs are great as they give players peaks into what certain genres would look like. For example, there are not many ninja or cowboy RPGs out there. The game overall feels like a Game Jam wherein everyone at Square Enix, Square at the time in Japan, pitched their ideas for the nextbig SNES RPG.
3Worst: Technical Flaws
There are some technical flaws with the game that keep it away from reaching greater heights. The load times are fast, for example, but they are frequent enough that they still feel bothersome.
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Players can skip through the story if they like, as not every scenario in the game is a masterpiece. Like battles, there is no way to fast-forward through conversations instead, though. Also,as a remaster, it is missing a lot of extras. A CG or animated intro would have spiced up the package along with a bigger art gallery.
2Best: The Music
Yoko Shimomura is best known nowadays as the composer of theKingdom Heartsfranchise. However, she has been working with the company since the days of the merger. She did the soundtrack toLive A Live,which sounded great on the original SNES cartridge. It sounds even better with this remaster now, though.
The range she goes through is astonishing, from Wild West showdowns to more ambient tones in space. It is not the best soundtrack she ever made, but it showcases her talents likeno other RPGbefore or after it, which is an accomplishment.
1Best: Save Anywhere
One of the more annoying things in old RPGs is having to rely on save points. As such, being able to save anywhere is always a blessing to see. ThePokemonseries, as well as the modernFalloutgames, are two good examples.
ThankfullyLive A Livedoes not disappoint as it too allows players to save whenever and wherever they want. It makes it aperfect portable RPGto pick up and put down for minutes or hours at a time. It also gives players twenty slots to save, so they can bookmark their favorite spots. Not all players are going to take advantage of this feature, but it is nice to have as an option.
Live a Livewas released on Jun 10, 2025, and is available on Switch.
