Opinion

Live A Live Proved to Me Finishing a Game Isn’t the Same as Enjoying It

LIVE A LIVE

Warning: The following article about Live A Live contains spoilers.

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I had just defeated Odio. My 5 compatriots that I had assembled from across time and I had done it. I had cut down legions of enemies, conquered trials of skill and wisdom to gain legendary items, and faced almost every incarnation of the Lord of Dark. As I looked upon my fallen foe, something struck me in the corner of my eye: Where was Pogo? I knew I had met him. I’d had a little conversation with him, but I left him in that field and when the final battle came, he was nowhere to be seen.

After all those hours spent playing and finally finishing the game, ending with a two-layer boss battle and then a boss gauntlet, I somehow hadn’t achieved the best possible ending. I sat there, unsatisfied. After a few minutes, I just deleted the game. In my quest to save the timeline, Odio had won. The next day, I was at work ruminating on Live A Live when I came to the obvious conclusion. I texted my fiancee and asked her to turn on the PS5. Then, I used the PS5 app to redownload the game. I owed it to the many timelines I surrendered to hate — and I owed it to Pogo.

After several hours of grinding and getting every character their legendary weapon, I arrived at Odio’s lair and defeated him once more, along with his counterparts. Then, like a bad cold, Odio rose for one more encore. I defeated him easily, and when the credits rolled, I was finally content. However, though I felt satisfied because I did it, I didn’t enjoy it.

I had just wanted it done.

And so FOMO and a sense of duty set in

Think of it like this: I felt like Frodo after the One Ring is destroyed. It’s over. It’s done. Good day, sir. There was a time when I enjoyed Live A Live but it had long since passed before that ending. What replaced my enjoyment was a macabre sense of duty. I had come so far, I had achieved so much, and when I realized I hadn’t got the true ending, I snapped. I had grown attached to this narrative, even though the gameplay had frustrated me, so I wanted the best outcome for these characters and this world.

A kind of completionist’s will came over me. I wanted that ending, even if I didn’t enjoy how I achieved it. I look back at my time with Live A Live, and I know I only kept playing it from a combination of FOMO and a sense of duty. It’s a bizarre kind of limbo, something I wonder if other gamers ever have.

I wanted the story of Live A Live to be truly over so that I would never feel the need to return to it. It’s a strange experience to think about. I wanted to finish the game, but I was not enjoying the journey. This experience has made me reevaluate how I look at the games I play. When the sun rose at the end of the credits and the heroes looked over the saved land, they seemed relieved. And I felt that same sense of relief.

Unfortunately, that was all I felt.

I wonder what this all means. Am I falling out of love with games or have my tastes matured? Knowing that I’m not mature, I worry it is the former.

About the author

Graham Day
Graham has been writing online for close to a decade. This includes writing about games, books, films and so much more. He loves stories of all kinds across every form of media. For the Escapist he tries to come up with his own unique angles on the stories we adore. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and has been an actor, an amateur animator, writer and artist. He also runs his own website based in Ireland.
    Graham Day
    Graham has been writing online for close to a decade. This includes writing about games, books, films and so much more. He loves stories of all kinds across every form of media. For the Escapist he tries to come up with his own unique angles on the stories we adore. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and has been an actor, an amateur animator, writer and artist. He also runs his own website based in Ireland.

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