Live A Live review: Square Enix’s remake has too little character

When I studied theology in my previous life, there was a lot of smoke about how society has “distrust of metanarratives.” (Thank you, Jean-Francois Riotard). Metanarratives, which fit into a comprehensive structure where everything in history breathes meaning into its individual parts, are no longer cool and faced skepticism.

But if metanarratives aren’t prevalent, Live A Live It seems that I didn’t receive the memo.

The time-consuming adventures of the multi-era follow eight characters throughout each era, from prehistoric times to the distant future. You can play the first seven scenarios immediately and complete them to unlock the eighth scenario set in the Middle Ages. After completing the eighth scenario, the “Final Chapter” unlocks all characters and integrates them into one crucial story of humanity’s struggle against eternal evil.

Original released in 1994 Live A Live The second work after Takashi Tokita was the lead game designer at Square Enix FINAL FANTASY 4 (Released as FINAL FANTASY 2 (In the US) and before overseeing his work Chrono Trigger.. So basically Live A Live Is sandwiched between Tokita’s catalogs between the two best games of the 90’s. And it reflects that environment. Creating multiple story threads in a video game and stitching them all back together was original in 1994 and is still ambitious today. It is a literary movement attempted by a master of his technique.

Step into a bookstore and you’ll find binaries created by the publishing industry between literature and genre fiction. Literary fiction is sold as character-driven and realistic, simply labeled “fiction,” but genre fiction is said to be driven by tropes, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and romance. Sold in categories. This binary, as in most cases, cannot clearly describe a work of art and probably should not exist. But it helps explain where this remake is missing. Live A Live Is full of literary ambitions, but relies heavily on genre metaphors.

Literary ambitions become apparent only at the end of the game, with the light bulbs lit and all the characters and their scenarios combined into one story. However, the effect of the revelation diminishes because the character does not make an impression along the way. There are Archetypal Old West stories, kung fu stories, and space murder mysteries. Each does not portray unique people with their own rights, but depends on the archetype of each genre to portray the protagonist. Each scenario before the final chapter takes 30 minutes to 2 hours to complete, so there is little time to understand, believe in, or connect with individual characters.

Image: Square Enix / Nintendo

You can play as a frustrating outlaw who steps into a town in the western United States with a bounty in his head, but I don’t know why.Then in the style of Magnificent Seven, You are hired to save the town, urge the people of the town to protect themselves, and at the same time tell them that you are not a good person. (In this chapter, you can also hear how Square Enix thinks about the sound of mariachi music.)

Or, at the end of the Edo period, a quiet ninja who was tasked with sneaking into the palace even though he hadn’t finished training. (Your teacher is very important for other unnamed businesses.) It’s cool to fly between the rooftops, but beyond the fact that the palace leader is involved in the war, why you It is not possible to know if he is assassinating the leader of the palace. (As a side note, he also releases a prisoner who will become Ryoma Sakamoto, a real imperialist who helped overthrow the shogunate and helped westernize Japan. In this retelling, he also has a surprising Cockney accent. )

The near future chapter relies on the rebellious orphan metaphor, the distant future relies on the rogue AI metaphor, and the prehistoric scenario relies on the boy and girl metaphor. Captured by a rival tribe.Here, out of 11 playable characters Live A LiveOnly one is a woman.

Image: Square Enix / Nintendo

The scenario is simplified to short bits, almost like individual set pieces, so gameplay can’t hook into huge chunks of the game. In addition, in the first eight chapters, turn-based combat often feels like a useless interruption to the overall flow of the game. The battle is so simple that it’s rarely thrilling to level up. To me, a good turn-based battle feels like a puzzle that requires careful planning to solve.However Live A LiveCombat often ends with one or two moves, but I have little consideration of which of my attacks can attack the most enemies at the same time. Until the Marquee encounter at the end of each chapter, combat feels more of an obligation than a boon and interferes with a more compelling mechanism.

In fact, its mechanics conduct How to provide a story To avoid fight. For example, a ninja can hide and sneak through a palace instead of engaging an enemy. Prehistoric characters can sniff around to identify where nearby enemies are waiting. The chapters of the distant future are more powerful than the other chapters. This is because most battles with a clever twist are actually done in a fully optional arcade game with increasing difficulty. The final chapter contains some exciting boss battles, but it’s a bit late after more than 16 hours of robotic clicks on a monotonous turn-based battle that doesn’t scale.

Aside from character and combat issues, the game still shines with how unique the actual role-playing is.Meanwhile, games like Persona 5 Immerse yourself in the life of a high school student fighting the devil, or in games like: Skyrim Offering endless paths through a fantasy open world, you play Live A Live As a microcosm of mankind fighting complete oblivion.

Image: Square Enix / Nintendo

And while many role-playing games have biblical themes and hints, Live A Live I feel the Bible in the DNA itself. There is a consistent villain that continues to emerge as the essence of evil through various scenarios. There are also self-sacrificing teachers whose disciples take over the work. There is also considerable morality about hope.

But most importantly Live A Live I feel the Bible in an attempt to connect the history of all mankind into one story. but, Live A Live Stunningly, any game tries to tell a story that is as vast as it has ever been told. Over and over again, the character is too thin to hold its weight.

Live A Live It will be released on Nintendo Switch on July 22nd. The game was reviewed on Switch using the pre-release download code provided by Nintendo. VoxMedia has an affiliate partnership. These do not affect your edited content, but VoxMedia may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links.Can be found Click here for additional information on Polygon’s ethical policy..