Live A Live

Live A Live
A group of seven characters, drawn using different artstyles, are shown in a cream background behind the title logo.
Super Famicom cover art of the seven lead characters
Developer(s)Original
Square
Remake
Historia
Square Enix
Publisher(s)
  • JP: Square
Remake
  • JP: Square Enix
  • WW: Nintendo (Switch)
  • WW: Square Enix (PS4, PS5, PC)
Director(s)Takashi Tokita
Designer(s)Nobuyuki Inoue
Programmer(s)Fumiaki Fukaya
Artist(s)Kiyofumi Katō
Yoshihide Fujiwara
Yoshinori Kobayashi
Osamu Ishiwata
Yumi Tamura
Ryōji Minagawa
Gosho Aoyama
Kazuhiko Shimamoto
Writer(s)Takashi Tokita
Nobuyuki Inoue
Composer(s)Yoko Shimomura
EngineUnreal Engine 4 (Remake)
Platform(s)Super Famicom
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 5
Windows
ReleaseSuper Famicom
  • JP: September 2, 1994
Switch
  • WW: July 22, 2022
PS4, PS5, PC
  • WW: April 27, 2023
Genre(s)Role-playing, turn-based tactics
Mode(s)Single-player

Live A Live[a] is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. A remake was published by Square Enix in Japan and Nintendo worldwide, releasing first for Nintendo Switch in 2022, and the following year for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows. The game follows seven distinct scenarios scattered across different time periods, with two more unlockable scenarios linking the narratives together through the recurring antagonist Odio. Gameplay is split between exploration with story-specific twists, and turn-based combat played out on a grid.

Production began in late 1993, and was the directorial debut of Takashi Tokita. Tokita wanted to tell multiple stories within a single game, with each section drawing inspiration from different sources. Character designs for the seven main scenarios were handled by different manga artists. The music was composed by Yoko Shimomura as her first large-scale project after joining Square.

Reception of the game has been positive, with praise going to its unique gameplay and narrative mechanics, though its short length was faulted. The remake was praised by Western reviewers, particularly its overall design and redone graphics and music, though several noted gameplay elements that had aged poorly. Selling 270,000 units, the original release was considered a failure, while the remake sold 500,000 copies worldwide. Tokita's work on Live A Live influenced his later projects.
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