Living a Life: Caveman

New Year, new goals. 

I haven't forgotten my goal of discussing all the SNES JRPGs in the world, but I need more data. So, this year, I'm getting that data! And it's day one of 2026, I'm playing a new game, that new game is an anthology, so let's post more updates this year than last. Welcome to Live a Live. 

Pogo's chapter opens on a squad of random redheaded men riding rhino cars around. They were plotting something, but because they're cavemen before verbal communication, I can't understand it. That's the interesting thing about Pogo's chapter: there is no dialogue. It's all sounds, including character skills. 

We make it to Pogo, hanging out with his monkey and/or neanderthal friend, Gori. They live in a cave with other tribesmen and must hunt to survive. There's a barter tutorial where you combine miscellaneous stuff to make weapons and armor, chests and drawers to loot, and frantic cavemen running about. The village chief, who hates you,  tasks Pogo with hunting deer in the small field south of the cave. You don't find any deer, but there are plenty of dogs for some reason. Maybe the deer icon is a symbol for something? I only got into three fights, so that's the limit for today. I got enough meat and was allowed back into the cave as night fell. 

Pogo and Gobi hit their hay beds, but Pogo is woken up in the middle of the night. He goes for a walk around the cave. He takes the elder's stuff and stumbles upon a food thief! Some of the meat is missing, and the hay stacks are moving. A quick investigation, much of which isn't very intuitive, involving the help of Gori, and my learning that pressing the square button lets Pogo and Giri sniff stuff out, reveals that a cavewoman is among them. And Pogo is instantly in love. Her name is Bel, and she's into him as well and gives him a kiss. Bel is a known commodity in the cave, and the elder disproves of her being here. Gori sneaks his girlfriend back to bed, where he kicks Gori out of his bed and pushes both together to let Pogo and Bel sleep beside each other. 

He's woken up by a snuggly Gori. Bel is hiding in a heystack in the corner, but it's time for Pogo to go to work. Do your hunting and crafting, and you can even give Bel gifts during. Although this doesn't appear to do anything but get a kiss. Eventually, and after talking to the right person, those redheads from opening crash their rhinos through the front gate! 

The elder confronts them after they've beaten up everyone in the cave. They're looking for Bel, who no one knows is here. But the baddies find her, which makes Pogo take action. He and Gori, and even Bel, beat up the invaders. Their leader, Zaki, is also thrashed. Zaki's only clothing is a living lizard that he wears as a codpiece. He throws it at us, and the poor lizard hides the fun bits. I don't want to know how... Pogo may have chased away the invaders, however...

The elder is furious. Bel isn't from here, and she's brought turmoil with her. She also ate the food, but that's never brought up. As punishment for housing her, Pogo and Gori are exiled from the cave along with Bel. The three must now find their own way in life. You're gonna want to level up Bel in this field. I didn't and regret it. 

There's a merchant to the north west, and a cave to the north east. Inside are the invaders, but they coincidentally leave just before we enter. Pogo lights a fire and flirts with Bel. She flirts back. Gori farts and blows up the room before getting chased off. After this, the group calls it a night. Pogo is a field of flowers. It's aesthetically pleasing and shows what the SNES can do. He's beside Bel and goes in for a kiss. Sadly, she slaps him. It was all a dream! Pogo woke up to see the invaders were back. They've kidnapped Bel and left through a secret entrance. Pogo wakes up Gori, who throws Pogo through the locked door. On the otherside of the door are a few invaders. They taunt Pogo, who rushes forward, only to fall into a pit. 

This part sucks! It's dark, and you can't see anything. You're supposed to sniff out encounters, avoiding the doom alligators, but I couldn't figure it out. It was maddening! But I persisted and escaped. We kept following the invaders back to their camp, fighting through a field with similar nonsense of the pit (but visible). 

There's a sleeping guard, but I didn't investigate him. Instead, I climbed to a cliff that overlooks the base. We saw the invaders taking two girl monkeys away. This upsets Gori, who goes on a rampage. It clears the area, so it's a clear walk inside, unless you enter the wrong door. Go right. Gori's getting sexy with a group of she monkeys, so we have to ruin that. The two fight their way through an endless horde of maze gingers until they reach the outside. Now it all makes sense! 

They wanted Bel as a sacrifice. They tie her to a pole overlooking a steep cliff and begin chanting. It's interrupted by Pogo muscling his way through. They stand no chance, and even Zaki gets dog walked. The one-on-one battle between them doesn't technically finish, as the earth begins to shake. The god is aware of their presence. The prehistoric deck rumbles and falls apart, sending Pogo, Gori, Bel, Zaki, and his war chief to the bottom. They all get up, and the war chief runs towards their god, just off screen. Zaki calls to him, but the only thing that returns to the group is the warchief's helmet. 

Ominous organ music plays as a dark shadow approaches the four of them. Gori kicks the helmet at god, and the battle begins! We're against the last dinosaur in the world, O-di-o, a tyrannosaurus rex! And he wrecked me. Bel is at level two because I didn't expect her to be kidnapped so fast after getting her. Zaki got one shot, Gori helped poison the ground, but Pogo couldn't tank well enough at level nine. 

Now, imagine I won. The four of them run forward to where Odio came from, revealing that he inhabited a vast field of lush grass and abundant trees. Everyone but Zaki runs around celebrating, while Zaki's tribe joins them. Then Pogo's tribe follows for some reason. After some minor squabbles, peace settles between the two tribes, and they party. After the party, Pogo and Bel go into a room together. Gori tries to follow, but is kicked out. He tries again, but a horde of sexy girl monkeys rushes him to a different room. A pink hue covers the screen, and we see the first word ever said in this world. "Love!" Snu snu happens, and the chapter ends!

Right on! 

This was an odd chapter. Not having any dialogue was a novel choice. It's a neat way to differentiate how different this guy is from the others (presumably). The slapstick interactions between everything were funny. It got less so towards the end, but it's two hours, so I won't take points. The encounter thing was a less fun choice. Running into very difficult enemies unprepared is rough. And I probably didn't take advantage of the crafting enough, so I'll get on that. It's a very unconventional way to have a jrpg, and I'm here for it! But it's chapter one, it's a strange one, and I'm curious how the others will be. And what the payoff will be...