We Almost Had Live A Live On SNES Thirty Years Ago, Producer Reveals

As many will know, Square's remake of Live A Live for Nintendo Switch will mark the first time the game has been made available outside of Japan.

Up until now, fans have mostly had to make do with unofficial translations of the game, with many believing it would never see a release overseas until an announcement was made back in February of this year. But in a recent interview with the website One More Game from earlier this month, Live A Live producer Takashi Tokita revealed the game had almost been localized thirty years prior.

The stumbling block? Poor Japanese sales projections.

As Tokita tells One More Game:

“We originally intended to launch a global release, but as the sales prospects in Japan did not seem particularly promising, we did not localize the game then. We attempted several times to remake the game and port it to other platforms, but we did not see those through to completion.”

So what changed between then and now? Well, according to Tokita, it was just a matter of the pieces lining up perfectly. He tells One More Game:

“A few years ago, when I joined the Asano team that is known for their hit title, Octopath Traveler, I saw an opportunity for the HD-2D remake for Live A Live. I’m glad to say that after around 30 years since the original plot was released, fans can enjoy the global release soon. I hope everyone in the world will play this game!"

It's amazing to think thirty years later, we'll finally be able to experience Live A Live in the West, but we also can't help but wonder what could have been if the game had made the trip much earlier. Would Live A Live now be regarded as another bonafide Square classic or was Square right to pull the plug? Let us know what you think below!