While western audiences continue to wait for a much-anticipated port of Mother 3, another that originally only released in Japan is set to release globally on the Switch. Live A Live is a game that players outside of Nintendo's native country have been aware of for years, and a Live a Live remaster for Switch featuring a new art style is finally set to arrive in July. Announced at a Nintendo Direct in February 2022, fans in all territories will finally have the opportunity to embark upon a quest that has eluded them since the original released in 1994.
While the global release of Live A Live is momentous in and of itself, the impact it could have on both the Switch and the industry at large is huge. For so many reasons, Nintendo's willingness to bring a game that's 28 years old back into the limelight is brave, and could be an opportunity to highlight the immense quality of JRPGs during the Super Nintendo era. With titles like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, and Secret of Mana, the system was perhaps the golden age of the genre, and Live A Live's remaster has a huge legacy to live up to.
Live A Live Could Be a Sign of Things to Come
With Secret of Mana and Romancing SaGa proving to be a natural fit for the Nintendo Switch, it's not a stretch to presume that Live A Live will also see a seamless transition to the modern day. With a demo for Live a Live available now, players can experience the first three chapters almost one month before the game hits shelves. It's an exciting thought, not just because it's a game so worth experiencing, but also because it could open the door for so many other remakes and remasters of some of the best JRPGs from yesteryear.
Octopath Traveler, Shin Megami Tensei 5, and Dragon Quest 11, among so many others, have proven that the Nintendo Switch is perfect for the JRPG genre. The monthly subscription to Nintendo Online also allows players to experience a handful of games from older games from the company, so as Live A Live looks to make an impact on a whole new audience in world outside of Japan, it does so in the best possible climate for it to succeed. More games could follow suit if a somewhat niche title like Live A Live does well, and players could be inundated with exceptional experiences should the game open the floodgates for similar re-releases.
HD-2D Could Be the Past's Future
As Final Fantasy 7 Remake does well to capture a new audience with a story and characters from the past, Live A Live is taking a more traditional approach to its release. It won't be ditching the visuals that were commonplace for the mid-1990s, but instead will be utilizing a similar aesthetic that games like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy have used to maximum effect. HD-2D is an art direction that uses pixel graphics on a 3D backdrop to make the game feel new while also hearkening back to the past, and Square Enix has already confirmed it's working on more games in this style.
Live A Live's success could be a contributing factor in Square Enix' willingness to rely on the art style to bring back so many beloved titles. HD-2D is not only a stunning presentation choice for games with simple mechanics, but it also does so well to make old games feel truly new. It could be the perfect format to see so many other classic Square Enix games come to the Switch, so despite Live A Live being a game that has a limited following in the west, its Switch port could be such an important occasion for fans of the JRPG genre. The pressure to succeed could very well be higher than many would believe.
Live A Live releases July 22 for Nintendo Switch.