Reside A Reside Evaluation (PS5)

Final 12 months noticed the remake of Reside A Reside launch on Nintendo Swap, some 27 years after its unique 1994 launch on the Tremendous Famicom. This marks the primary time the title has been made obtainable outdoors of Japan, and now that it is coming to PS5 and PS4, we’re comfortable to report that Reside A Reside continues to be a singular and ground-breaking expertise.

Straightaway, the sport presents you with a alternative of seven characters to play as, every spanning a unique time interval. There’s Pogo of the prehistoric period, Masaru Takahara of the current day, Dice of the distant future, and others in between. Selecting one in all these characters gained’t lock you into enjoying the entire recreation as them, as an alternative merely providing a place to begin. Every of those seven characters has a small chapter, simply accomplished in a most of three hours, which types the broader recreation — and there’s no set order you could play them in.

You may count on every of those chapters to be the identical factor, repackaged to suit a brand new time interval — however that isn’t the case in any respect. Every of the characters has their very own particular person personalities and oftentimes talents. Prehistoric Pogo has no verbal abilities, speaking along with his friends in a collection of grunts, however he has an impeccable sense of scent which can be utilized to trace enemies. Akira of the close to future can learn minds, and Oboromaru of Edo Japan can flip invisible utilizing his Shroud of Shadows. Every chapter has a unique storyline, with a touch of a connection that can make itself obvious within the last chapter of Reside A Reside. Some chapters really feel like a very completely different style, most notably Current Day the place your complete factor is ready up as a Road Fighter-esque preventing recreation. It makes for a very fascinating expertise, permitting every chapter to be memorable.

Reside A Reside additionally has the good thing about having the ability to dip out and in of chapters should you really feel you’re not gelling with one thing. Whereas all chapters must be accomplished with the intention to unlock the endgame paths, simply since you begin a chapter it doesn’t imply you’re locked into it till you end. You’re in a position to exit to the menu and begin or resume a unique chapter, and the sport will keep in mind your progress within the timeline you’re leaving. An excellent contact for if you really feel like one thing completely different.

It’s the eighth chapter the place the whole lot comes collectively, and the unfastened narrative thread that is been woven all through the opposite chapters lastly turns into obvious.

Numerous the chapters are extra simple than others, with some feeling significantly puzzling and imprecise. Edo Japan has its foremost character Oboromaru traversing what looks like an unlimited maze of a palace, with many puzzles and traps to determine. Conversely, the Prehistoric chapter is extraordinarily linear in its development with no room for doubt about the place you could go.

It’s small issues like this that basically make Reside A Reside stand out. Sure, this can be a recreation separated into cohesive chunks, nevertheless it additionally looks like a collection of smaller video games that are half of a bigger entire. There’s a sure attraction to this that feels such as you’re in for a very distinctive expertise — even right here in 2023. Our favorite chapter, The Wild West, has its protagonist accumulating objects, and the inhabitants of a city setting traps for the outlaws who’re about to assault. Relying on what number of traps you efficiently set inside a sure time restrict, this has a knock-on impact with what number of enemies you’ll face within the last battle. It’s a very enjoyable mechanic that we’ve not often skilled earlier than, and actually makes that individual story stand out.

With up to date HD-2D graphics, Reside A Reside encompasses a recreated soundtrack from its unique composer, Yoko Shimamura. Breaching a number of time intervals, the soundtrack manages to brilliantly evoke the period you’re enjoying in, whereas additionally managing to sound cohesive when taken as an entire throughout the timeline. It’s a beautiful enhancement to the expertise.

Fight-wise, Reside A Reside looks like acquainted floor. Going down on a grid, every character has a gauge which should be stuffed up earlier than an assault will be unleashed. Transferring across the grid fills up your enemy’s gauge, getting ready their assaults, however a few of your personal strategies might delay or interrupt their plans. Every assault has a unique space of impact, which means you’ll must place your self excellent with the intention to maximise injury throughout a number of enemies, or to make sure you’re hitting anybody within the first place. Enemies have completely different weaknesses and resistances that are simply seen by concentrating on them, so you’ll be able to plan assaults accordingly by utilizing completely different strikes with completely different attributes. It’s all pretty enjoyable, however the battle system would not stand out or really feel distinctive — particularly when in comparison with how participating the remainder of the sport’s design is.

Conclusion

Reside A Reside is an extremely fascinating and distinctive JRPG expertise. With beautiful HD-2D graphics and quite a few foremost characters, it’s laborious to not examine it to the likes of Octopath Traveler, nevertheless it actually is a very completely different kettle of fish. Reside A Reside is a assorted thrill trip that also impresses all these years later, and whereas the fight does battle to stay as much as the remainder of the journey, the sport does a unbelievable job of tying all of its intriguing, particular person tales collectively. It is a history-hopping journey we’ll be excited about for fairly a while.