izigame.me

First and foremost, the presentation of this game is top-notch! Yoko Shimomura's music is phenomenal from start to finish and she even gets credited right next to the director. It's honestly deserved, as the score does a fantastic job of fleshing out character and immersing you in the world - though admittedly there were times I struggled to focus on dialogue because I was too distracted by the absolute tasty-ass jams she was laying down. Graphical presentation is also a triumph. I was a big fan of Octopath Traveler, and I hope to see more of this HD-2D style from Square-Enix for years to come.
Live A Live is advertised as a collection of 7 short stories, each following a different character in a different time period. This is mostly true, though the game does hide some secrets for you to discover as well. Those short stories vary not only in setting but in style. Some are definitely better than others, though I don't think any were bad. The standout for me is clearly the Distant Future. I was expecting a cute little robot and some fun sci-fi space shenanigans...I got something far more sinister...
From what I can tell, this is an extremely faithful remake of the 30-year-old SNES game. With that in mind, I was honestly surprised how approachable and accessible it was during the bulk of its runtime. The final chapter, unfortunately, went out of its way to remind me this is indeed a 30-year-old game that doesn't actually give a shit if you finish it or not; it suddenly became a grindy slog with tons of cryptic bullshit and upon looking up a guide online I was confronted with that horrible feeling of "how the hell was I supposed to KNOW that???" There is literally a boss who suggests you buy a strategy guide if you're confused, no joke. It's a blemish on an otherwise casually-enjoyable game.
It's also worth noting that this game can be aggressively Japanese in its humor and sensibilities, particularly in the Prehistory and Near Future chapters. I do believe that played a large part in its lack of localization until now. It's not inherently a bad thing, but be prepared for certain jokes or tone not to land quite right and it's something to be aware of if you're sensitive to cultural differences.
Final chapter lazy design aside, the biggest thing keeping this from hitting a 5-star rating is the relatively short length. I don't mind shorter games, but it does mean a lack of depth to our characters in a story-driven game like this. All the protagonists are likeable and most of the stories are enjoyable, but I do wish we could have gotten a bit more insight and/or time with them. If you, like me, are coming to this due to its similarities to Octopath Traveler, keep in mind these characters get only one chapter each and there's next to no world-building. Not bad, just different.