Octopath Traveler vs. Live A Live – Which Game Tells the Narration Better?

When it comes to storytelling and character attention, Team Asano – a division of Square Enix headed by video game producer Tomoya Asano – is one of the few development teams that does justice to both. One of their best-selling games of all time is Octopath Traveler, a HD 2D JRPG that tells eight separate stories from eight different characters.

Live A Live is a similar JRPG. Developed in 1994, it was the directorial debut of Takashi Tokita, one of the geniuses behind Final Fantasy IV. In fact, the game was developed by Development Division 5 (aka the Final Fantasy Team). It was localized by Team Asano in 2022 with minimal changes to its scenario.

At first glance, both use a similar storytelling method. So you must be wondering which of the two is better.

Which is Better: Octopath Traveler or Live A Live?

In our opinion, Octopathic Traveler does a much better job of guiding you to the game’s true enemy, and we’ll tell you why.

Objectively – and only in relation to the overall story – Live A Live tells the narrative uncomplicated. Just by playing two or three routes, you already know that there is an insidious villain interfering with the timelines. His name changes, but they are all a variation of “Odio”, the Dark Lord’s true name. At the end, you get a full story of his motives and intentions.

Octopath Traveler is the exact opposite. It doesn’t tell you anything until the credits roll. It’s up to you, the player, to do this connect clues collected from the stories of the eight protagonists and stitched together the story, purpose and motive of Galdera, her true boss. Galdera doesn’t even appear in the main game. You have to look for it after the game and in battle very hard to beat. Only after this will Octopath Traveler reward you with the final missing piece of narration. Discovering Galdera’s identity and defeating her is a plus rewarding experience.

With all the clues to uncover, secrets to uncover, and villains to fight along the way, these eight people have been there for you. So it only makes sense that at the end of the game, they’ll be the only ones who can solve Galdera’s puzzles – and together at that.

Related: In what order are the scenarios played in Live A Live?

Live-A-Live characters lived through different stories, only with Odio as a connection. The Octopath Group is a group of adventurers who accidentally discovered a damn evil entity that only they can defeat.

Not to say that Live A Live is not an entertaining game. Live A Live’s gameplay is actually more interesting than Octopath Traveler’s as each era forces you into a specific playstyle. The fun of Live A Live comes from the uniqueness of each setting and the way each story is played out. while watching individual storieswe would say so live one life‘s were better executed.

In any case, we recommend playing both and finding out for yourself which is the more enjoyable experience.

If you’re interested in more Octopath Traveler comparisons, check out how Triangle Strategy relates to Octopath Traveler here in the Pro Game Guides.