It is a JRPG!

This got interesting...

We're in the medieval period, playing as a young man named Eorstead, specifically, during an important event. It's already tournament season, and we're in the semi finals. Our opponent is a man named Armstrong. He poisons us, but isn't a real threat. The other match is happening at the same time, and we know the winner of that one. It's our friend, Straybow. The king announces the finals will begin immediately, and we quickly learn Straybow isn't an archer. He's a mage. And Eorstead is a knight who makes quick work of the squishy guy. 

The king declares Eorstead the winner! His prize is to become the heir, obtaining the marriage rights to Princess Alicia along with it! And now it's time for a feast! 

We skip ahead to Eorstead and Alicia on the balcony of the castle. They're talking about the feast, and Alicia already declares her love. She promises to always believe in him. This vow is instantly tested as the castle is attacked! Eorstead defeats wave one, but the Demon King kidnaps Alicia and flies away to the castle mountains to the northeast. 

Eorstead informs the king, who remembers when the Hero Hash defeated the Demon King twenty years ago. He and his ally have been missing ever since, but now's the time for a new hero! Eorstead promises to return Alicia home, and all of Lucinda sees him off. As he leaves the town, Straybow joins him, a bit upset that he wasn't asked before. 

Oh, hey! Random encounters are back! Live a Live is a '90s RPG after all! 

The two heroes are in a forest, mostly unprepared. You can find gear scattered on the walls of the castle, and healing herbs are located throughout forest glades. Heading east, to the demon castle, leads to a blocked gate, so head west. The village of Familia is here. The boy is a big fan of Eorstead, and there's a strange hermit here as well. There's a shiny shield on his wall. But this was fruitless, so go northwest, up the snowy mountain. 

Mobs here are no joke, so good luck. The two will eventually find a silent hermit chopping wood. He doesn't speak but has the same shiny shield on his wall. Climbing further up the mountain takes us to the gravestone of Hash, the hero from twenty years ago. 

Return to Familia and inspect the shield again. Straybow will remark that it's the same shield, and the hermit gets excited. He introduces himself as Uranus, one of the heroes from twenty years ago. If the two of them have seen this shield, then they've met Hash. Uranus asks to be taken there, which we do. Uranus tries to speak to the silent hermit, but he won't respond. He's jaded from being forgotten. Uranus even antagonizes him. The three try to leave the hut, and the silent one starts to move. He unlocks a chest and puts on fancy armor. "I'm no coward," responds Hash! The old heroes and the new heroes group up to put an end to the Demon King once and for all! But we need to visit the gravestone first. Hash wants his sword. 

Hash's sword, Byron, can unlock the seal to the demon's castle. This section is long! This dungeon is winding and filled with stuff. Chests, demon bodies, and random encounters. Maybe I do hate those? Eventually, we reach an interesting sight. It's a room filled with states of Odio. I recognize the dinosaur, horse, Buddha, and Street Fighter. Nothing else is here, but that's interesting. There's another door in the back of the room. 

There's another statue here, but so is the Demon King. We quickly get into battle, and I struggled! Level eight is not high enough. Or it wouldn't be if I sucked! Straybow died on turn three, but Uranus' heals are legit! Still, though, don't be afraid to grind. Amon Bloods, and the fire panels they made, probably did more damage than my characters. 

DK goes down, but Alicia is nowhere to be found. The true Demon King is elsewhere. Further making the situation worse, Hash is sick. He's contracted the plague, somehow, and is on death's bed. He joined us to bring peace once and for all before he died. As his last act, he hands his sword to Eorstead. Hash dies, and then it gets even worse. The room starts shaking. DK has one more trap. Eorstead, Straybow, and Uranus quickly escape, but Srraybow is too slow and gets caught in the collapse. We're down two heros already, and we're lost with no leads to the princesses' whereabouts. 

Eorstead and Uranus leave the dungeon, without random encounters, and return to the king. He's heartbroken and offers us rest. Eorstead had a nightmare where a shadow was harassing Alicia in the room where Hash died. He wakes up to see the king standing over him. The king leaves, and Eorstead follows. He sees the same shadow standing over the throne and attacks. It dies, but it's the king's body lying there. The chancellor enters the room and declares Eorstead a murderer. Uranus joins them and calls that absurd. The chancellor starts believing it was Eorstead who killed Hash and Straybow and declares him a demon. This scares everyone, letting us escape the castle. Uranus hangs back to buy us more time. 

Return to Hash's gravestone on the mountain, and Eorstead will remember that Alicia believes in him. He'll return to the castle, only to be thrown in jail. He sees a dying Uranus down there, who informs him he was tortured but never sold out Eorstead. The screen goes gold for some reason before Uranus's last words. It's something to the effect of "As long as someone believes in you, you'll go far." He dies, and Eorstead breaks out of jail. Knights now give chase, but we need to return to the demon's castle. Mobs here are worth killing, and I reached level thirteen. There are a few doors that will summon a boss, who's a manifestation of a fear. Gynophobia is the only one I remember, and not just because she's scantily clad. 

Eorstead eventually makes it back to where Hash and Straybow died. The door is open, and nothing is destroyed. Inspect the statue to reveal a secret door. A long corridor leads to the top of the mountain, where there's another statue. From the bottom of it steps out a perfectly fine Straybow. 

He's furious we're here. His plan is ruined again. He noticed the secret door and how it worked, and he hung back when we ran off. Straybow loved Alicia the whole time and always felt second class to Eorstead. But if he saved the princess, she'd love him. But now Eorstead has to die. 

Straybow is harder, but if you spam Hexflame, he isn't too much of a problem. I tried to get cute... 

Straybow is dead, but he isn't alone. Alicia exits from the statue and didn't hear any of that. She just sees Straybow's corpse beneath Eorstead. She asks why Eorstead didn't save her. She was waiting, but he never appeared. But the one who did is now dead. She promises Straybow that they'll always be together, pulls out a knife, and kills herself. 

The winds begin to howl as scenes from this chapter replay in Eorstead's head. Everyone Eorstead cared about is either dead or betrayed him. He has no home, friends, or love left in this entire world. He's alone. If they want him to be a demon, then he'll become a demon. The font changes now, and the hook of Liva a Live drops. Eorstead declares that he is no longer human. He is now the demon Odio! 

This chapter was heartbreaking, and I think I might be a pretty good game. Got a hunch.