live alive, the Square Enix RPG made from several smaller RPGs, has recently been remastered in HD-2D style for a new generation. The unique premise includes a variety of time periods and settings, each with different gameplay mechanics.
While such variation in gameplay is usually a joy to experience, the unusual nature of the game can sometimes confuse players, leading to errors that can cause a major loss of progress. To help new players, here are a handful of common mistakes to avoid.
10 Prehistory: Beru. don’t train
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In different chapters, the player finds more teammates who can join the team temporarily or permanently. In the Prehistory chapter, one of them is Beru, who joins the group at some point in the story to battle. She’s only available for a short time, but it’s a good idea to earn her a level or two before she progresses much further.
When she reaches level 3, she learns ‘Sing Heal’, a useful recovery skill that helps against the chapter boss. Her health is naturally low, so a support role is ideal, but without reaching level 3, she can only access high-risk physical attacks.
9 Twilight Of Edo Japan: Walking Off The Edge
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Ode Castle is full of traps to ensnare infiltrators, several of which can dump the player in the castle prison. These include trapdoors and conveyor belts, but also a more subtle mechanism: the lack of safety rails. If you walk to the edge of certain platforms in this chapter, the player will fall off.
Being able to accidentally fall is rare for JRPGs, so players can easily run off without realizing it’s possible. Fortunately, this is the only time in the game that it shows up. As long as the player is extra careful in the roof crawl spaces, there is no problem.
8 Edo Japan: Try for a special ending on the first play
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The Twilight of Edo Japan scenario is one of the most detailed in the game. It contains a few unique routes (which would later inspire undertale): zero kills and 100 kills. Players may be tempted to try one of these routes early on, especially since each path rewards the player with a unique weapon at the end.
Unfortunately, both routes are nearly impossible to complete without prior knowledge. The zero kill path in particular is very easy to fail without realizing it. New players can easily get caught up in a confusing challenge on top of an already difficult chapter. Better to save the attempt for a second playthrough.
7 Wild West: It takes too long to set traps
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The unique gimmick in the Wild West chapter is the ambush, in which the player sets traps to take down the enemy’s troops for a final showdown. The preparation takes place in two phases: collecting materials and setting traps. Both continue in real time so that the player will essentially run out of time if not careful.
The problem is that the trap setting process is a bit unclear. The player must give the collected supplies to the townspeople to set traps, but each person needs a different amount of real time to complete. Collecting supplies with only two bells left could easily leave the player without traps, and an almost unwinnable battle.
6 Near future: not using robot upgrades
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In the Near Future chapter, the player joins a robot teammate. This ally is unusual in that he gains no experience in combat, unlike human party members. Fortunately, there is one way to increase the robot’s power: the Robotic Enhancement item.
There is no instructional message explaining how to increase the robot’s stats, so players will only know this after checking their inventory to see what items they find. It’s a good idea to do that in general, but it’s extra important here.
5 Future: Losing on Earth Stage in Captain Square
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This is an optional challenge, but worth noting as a mistake players consistently make. There is an arcade machine in the Distant Future chapter that simulates various pre-set battles such as a puzzle challenge. They start out simple, but in the third stage, “Earth”, players all do the same: use Supernova to kill all the blue flame enemies on the screen, leaving only one red flame.
This makes the stage almost unwinnable, as the red flame ignites the ground, using that terrain to heal continuously. The intended solution is to let the blue flames live long enough to kill the red flame with their own tile effects before using Supernova. It’s a puzzle meant to teach the player the value of waiting before attacking, but that lesson usually comes slowly.
4 Don’t check the radar
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The remake of live alive includes several features that were not present in the original version on the SNES. One is a radar in the lower right corner that tracks exits and points of interest, including a marker on the player’s next target.
It’s a common feature in modern games and it makes sense to add here. Several times the game will not progress unless the player moves to an unrelated room to trigger another scene. Occasionally, the player must leave a room and then immediately go back in. It is not always clear and the radar can reduce a lot of confusion.
3 Do not save
Another new feature in the remake is an autosave feature, which usually saves the game at a room transition. The original game had nothing like that, and can be very punitive at death for players who don’t make a habit of saving.
While the autosave feature prevents a lot of lost progress, it doesn’t fix everything. In large open world areas, losing in battle can put the player at a great disadvantage. There is a particularly annoying section in the Trial of Time where the autosave can trap the player in an unwinnable battle. Make sure to manually save outside before trying it.
2 Ignore Enemies Position
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Into the combat system live alive is a bit different from standard JRPGs. It takes place on a grid, with direction-based moves similar to chess. There are a few other factors influencing the battle that aren’t immediately apparent. For example, enemies use lower defense values when hit in the side or back.
In addition, the enemy’s attack range is based on their position and facing both. This means that approaching an opponent head-on is more dangerous and less effective than attacking from a blind side. Against more deadly enemies, proper positioning can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
1 Go straight to the final boss
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As mentioned before, the radar is a nifty new feature added in the remake. However, it has one major drawback: players who just follow the orange marker to the next scene will miss out on a lot of optional content. This is true throughout the game, but doubly so in the final chapter, which takes the player straight to the final boss, and the end of the game.
Rushing to the end of the final chapter will cause the player to miss the Trials, challenges that hide each character’s strongest weapon, and possibly miss recruiting one or more characters, thus preventing the player from getting the real ending. Knowing the right path is helpful, but free exploration can bring huge benefits.
The remake of live alive is available on Nintendo Switch.
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