It's all in the mind! Let's play Live A Live

Shenanigans!

(though it's for the best yeah)

You could've deleted it yourself and reposted it once I'd finished instead of editing to go "haha, split the update. Look at all these mistakes I'm making!" It's not too big a deal, but it got a little annoying because it made a real spoilery update post bleed over into the next page.

I don't think I've ever deleted one of my own posts before, I always assumed outright removing a post was one of those board admin-only powers.

Nope. Posters can delete their own posts. Mods can delete posts, edit them, and restore deleted ones. I haven't figured out how to move posts (or that just might be a power reserved for Matchstick and Parish)

And now back to your regularly scheduled LP

There's not really a whole lot of "gameplay" in the Cube chapter, it's mostly about walking around and talking to people, watching the story unfold. But that's one of the things I like about Live A Live, how very different each chapter is, how they mess around with the typical JRPG concepts.

Also, I particularly like the spacesuit sprites.

That's one of my favorite touches as well, it's not just the same JRPG with a different tileset and characters for each chapter. Though the LP has started with the two most different ones, and the rest are going to feel a bit more consistent compared to Masaru and Cube's chapters, each one still has enough unique features to make them stand out.

My favorite chapter in the game can be approached a couple of different ways, hopefully Epithet will touch on that when he gets to it.

There's another chapter with fewer battles than this one (assuming you bother with Captain Square).

Oh boy, Live A Live's one of my favourite retro RPGs. Glad to see yet another LP of it.

If you want to link music without having the suggestions spoil stuff, maybe try this? Just replace the url after the first = sign with whatever youtube link you want to use.

If it's the track I'm thinking of, now I feel kind of bad for linking to it.

Man, I don't look at the forum for a month and I miss the start of this LP. It feels a bit late to point out that Epithet missed out on learning a move in Masaru's chapter, I suppose. (But he totally did.)

Good on the translators for using the Earthbound font.

Each chapter has a different font.

Dead dudes: 1



Rachel's just standing there staring at Kirk's suit.



Rachel: ….







He's just foolin'



The Corporal is checking on the cargo.



Well, a weapon. They never learn, damn their hides.

It's definitely pointy, at least.



Not at this exact second, at least.



Huey: Th…

The antenna's broken off!



The Corporal does not mince words.







He was always worried about us…protected us…



This couldn't hurt.

Huey: It's awful! Kirk…Kirk is dead!



That's…Quite unfortunate…

Well. We can at least give him a proper burial. Make the preparations. I'm on my way.





He lost one of his crew, and he didn't flinch a bit.

Huey: …





Maybe there's something he'd like buried with him.



The lock has been disabled to allow cleaning







Just like Kirk to read something like this…



"What are you doing! Get that done, warp speed!"

Corporal: At least we can lay him to rest.

Hmm….



Insane puzzles in here. The Memory Card allows Cube to save high scores in Captain Square.





It's true, I didn't really like Kirk, but I never wanted him to die!

There's also a diary entry of Kirk's available now that Cube's gotten into his account.



The agenda for the upcoming motor show has been decided.

Once we get to Earth, I'm heading straight to Detroit.

But after that I need to think about my vacation schedule.

After all, I'll be alone with Rachel. I have to work out a good plan.



And now Rachel has locked Cube out of her room.







What's that, Lassie?



Corporal: What are you looking at me like that for? How should I know?

And besides, shouldn't you let Rachel know?





Hehe…

You're so cute! Sleeping like a little baby…

Right.

The rest of the crew forces the door and runs in.





I know exactly what's going through your head.

You thought that if you killed Kirk…



That's what you thought! Right?



Pull yourself together, Rachel.



Huey is after you

I am waiting in front of the airlock

I need to get my body back











Next time: Computerghost: Legit or totally legit?

This'll work out SO WELL, won't it.

Let's see what's going on down in the airlock.





Man you didn't even bring him his body. What are you doing?





Seems they have things under control.



As soon as Cube leaves the room a horrible tearing rings out, followed by something screeching.





Ohcrap.







Letting it get Cube will instantly kill him. Evading it in this wide space isn't difficult, though.





Rachel takes the opportunity to snatch the airlock controls.

They grab her, but not before Cube gets sucked into the airlock chamber





Kato: Are you all right?

Phew…looks like nothing's broken.



Corporal: Calm down…



It's a damn shame, but the man's dead!





Thank you.



I don't exactly want to die out here, either…





He leaves and calls the rest of them on an intercom.



Well, it's gone…

I don't know where it went, but we're not safe no matter where it is. Let's regroup in the break room.

The game fades out there, so you don't have to make your way back yourself.



Rachel: …

I'm sorry. I… I mean, it was so sudden.

And we're given control again.



Corporal: Don't worry, we'll catch that thing.

No one seems very responsive. Therefore: Coffee.





I'm so tired…I'm sorry, Cube. I wanted you to be able to learn all sorts of fun things…

Killer aliens are fun, c'mon.



I'd like to say it isn't hopeless, but given the circumstances…



Thanks.

You have to give everyone but the Colonel a cup before anything new happens.





Captain: What, are you serious?! That's…Quite unfortunate…



How long do you intend to stay holed up in that room?

Captain: What, are you serious? That's…Quite unfortunate.

What, are you serious? That's…Quite unfortunate.



The screen flickers and goes dark.



I don't want it to hurt Kirk!



Tasty tasty corpses. Remember, preserving the sanctity of your dead friends is more important than saving your own life.







Kato: But they…!

The Corporal manages to calm Kato down, at least.





Kato won't let us out yet.





Eventually he leaves, and Corporal Darth follows.





This is a pleasant sight.



Something new starts to play. (Pasted this url into the doc, forgot to turn it into an actual link when I posted it. THUMBS UP!)



Rachel…?



Dammit, Huey! That was such a rash thing to do!

Huey: It…It's okay. I..I just… Even now, I…Rachel…



Dead dudes: 2.



We've got to do something.





Let's hope so.

Can you go to the computer terminal? Ask the Mother Computer for the password to the captain's room. I know it's dangerous, but you're the only one I can ask…









Next time: The captain's quarters.

Cube needs to find the the password for the Captain's room, and Kato thinks the Mother Computer will oblige.





The Behemoth is chilling out in the hall outside of the computer terminal. It's trickier to avoid in this small space, but still doable.



Very well. Please stand by.

Password confirmed. It is: OAKFDE

Not too difficult to remember. Guess it's up to Cube to input it as well.



Fortunately the Behemoth is gone by the time he's finished.





Registration error
Password incorrect_

Better go tell the surviving crew about this.



As Cube enters the hall near sick bay and the cold sleep chambers, some sort of blast door shuts in front of him. It just so happens that the Behemoth is here too, hanging out towards the bottom of the area.







And…you couldn't get in? What's going on here?



Kato: You don't really think that the Captain is behind all of this? I can't believe that!

Corporal: Well then, who else could it be? Me?



Corporal: Either way, we'll know as soon as we get the door open.





Kato inputs a couple of combinations, but neither work.

Kato: I know! I thought of that!



And he cuts the lock.





The battery has a limited lifespan





Corporal: I thought so…

Now the only ones left are me and you.

Dead dudes: 3.





Corporal: Don't play dumb. You killed all the others, didn't you?



What are you saying? Why would I…?



I wouldn't have any reason to want to kill any of you, but…

I have no idea what kind of grudges you might hold.



What…What would you know about any of us, anyway?



But nobody hated anyone else! None of us'd kill another human being!



They were just trying to live the way they wanted to, struggling and mulling over things along the way.

Just like anyone else!

IF ACCUSED OF MURDER SPOUT PLATITUDES.

There's something recorded on the Captain's computer terminal.



Captain: This is the Cogito Ergosum. We're currently on course for Earth.



Something starts to hiss.



Aargh! S-somebody help!

Th-The door won't open!?



Not much else to do in this room.



Crew Member Huey has unfortunately died

The lock has been disabled to allow cleaning



And now we can rifle through Huey's stuff.



Month X, Day X

The results of the test I took on Earth should be ready soon.

If I pass, I'll become Captain of my own ship. I'm keeping it secret at the moment. When we get to Earth, I'll surprise them.

If I pass, it'll be kinda sad, but I'll have to leave the ship.

Before I leave this ship for good, I'd like to have a nice long talk with Rachel.

So did he pass?



Greetings.

We regret to inform you that you did not pass the exam for qualification as a ship captain.

The next exam period is in 6 months.

—Shipmaster Authority

Nnnnnnope. That's a pretty terse notice, too.



An alarm's going off in the other living module hall.

After a little bit of looking Cube finds the source.



It's the Corporal's room.

The reason is indeterminate. Forcefully disabling the lock now.

Please investigate



Registration Complete. Entry granted.

Umm…all right. This may not be the best idea.





Continue to monitor the organism even during transport.

In the event that you notice any sort of reaction to the presence of humans, take care to write it down.

It is of the utmost importance that it reach its destination. Should the worst happen, its safety at the expense of human life has been deemed an acceptable risk.

That is all

—Command HQ

This could be a problem.

…A military notice?





I thought there was something funny about this!



…Just to bring that thing back to Earth? You had this planned all along!



Daaaaaaaaaad!



Kato: Since you wanted data on that monster, you used us like lab rats for an experiment.

Corporal: Calm down!







Now the power's out.





I kinda doubt that.

Kato: Let's get out of here, Cube!

So a killer alien gets loose, and they're convinced that one of the crew is eating everyone?

Since you don't want to give away the name of the track just yet for spoiler reasons, I uploaded a version to Youtube without the title, if you'd like to use it in the LP.

It's too bad you don't get a battle screen when you run into the monster. I'd love to see what it'd look like as a battle sprite, even if it'd be an unwinnable fight.