Live A Live battle guide: How does the Gauge work in combat?

2022's Live A Live remake of the 1994 Super Nintendo title is finally live, and JRPG fans are having a great time with the modern rendition of the 90s classic.

The updated version maintains a lot of the look and feel of the original sprite-based game. Much of the texture and lighting was enhanced with high-definition rendering. The title's narrative follows a lot of the structure in titles like Octopath Traveler, catching the attention of both new and returning players.

With more people trying out the remake, there have been a lot of community questions regarding some of the in-game systems and how they work.

One of the more popular issues that players seem to be having with Live A Live is with the Gauge and how they will be able to use it in combat effectively. While the battle system in the title borrows the turn-based formula from popular JRPGs, it introduces one twist, providing much more depth combat in the game.

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Mastering the Guage in Live A Live

The Gauge feature is one of the core mechanics in the Live A Live battle system, and understanding some of its various nuances takes considerable time.

Hence, to make things simple, here are some of the things that players should keep in mind when getting more familiar with the Gauge in the JRPG,

• The Gauge in Live A Live can be considered as two separate meters, the “yellow-orange” and “red-orange.” When the former meter is full, any character will be allowed to take action, while the latter signifies the charge time for an attack or action.
• The “yellow-orange” Gauge affects every single character locked in battle. However, the “red-orange” one will primarily vary from character to character, and those with higher Speed ratings will enjoy a much faster Guage charge time than the rest.
• The second Guage deals primarily with attacks that require a specific charge time and vary from ability to ability. It’s more like a cooldown meter in Live A Live and more powerful attacks in the game like Master Cannon or Death Blossom have a much longer “red-orange” meter fill rate than some of the other basic abilities in the game.

• To make matters more interesting, the Guage in the JRPG is present for both the player-piloted characters and the enemies and various NPCs in the game. This forces one to be a bit strategic with how they use their attacks and abilities in the title, as moving from one space to the next also works in advancing both these meters.

While the title's battle system might feel a bit overwhelming and daunting at first, it’s not all that difficult to grasp some of the core mechanics that the game comes with. The system relies on strategy over everything else, and Adventurers will need to practice a bit before they can effectively plan their steps out.