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Present Day walkthrough, battle strategies & learnable abilities list | Live A Live guide

by Chao Min Wu on 22 July, 2022

The Present Day chapter of Live A Live is no longer quite the present day - after all, Live A Live was released almost thirty years ago! So, I suppose we could call this chapter, 'The Strongest', where you play as professional fighter Masaru Takahara, thirty years ago rather than strictly present day.

This may sound like a slightly weird comparison to make before you see the chapter yourself, but Live A Live's present day scenario is sort of similar to the Mega Man games. You choose an opponent from several, in any order. You battle them - and during combat, if you're hit by the opponent's signature abilities, you'll learn them. I guess this makes Masaru like a mix between Mega Man and a Blue Mage.

Since this scenario is heavily focused on combat, you will need to get a good gasp of Live a Live’s battle system. Live A Live has a lot to do with spacing between your opponents, as abilities will only work on certain tiles. In real terms, this entire chapter is one big boss rush. As such, it's short - you can clear it in well under an hour - and we'd categorize it as medium difficulty. Hit this link to go back to the walkthrough hub, if you need a different chapter guide.

To be the world’s strongest fighter. The best of the best. A dream shared by many but one young warrior believe he truly has what it takes to claim the title. By making the skills of other masters his own, he intends to prove himself.  Muay Thai, professional wrestling, lucha libre, Koppo, sambo, and sumo – the most powerful techniques of these storied traditions he will learn. All he needs to do is to bait his opponent into revealing their secrets.

The Present Day chapter in Live A Live is all about combat and learning new abilities - and our walkthrough covers both in detail.
The Present Day chapter in Live A Live is all about combat and learning new abilities - and our walkthrough covers both in detail.

Live A Live Present Day Walkthrough: Battle Order & Strategy

Because you can challenge any of the various opponents in Live A Live's present day chapter in any order you like, you've got a difficult decision - just like with choosing a chapter order for Live A Live itself, you have to pick one to start with!

For what it's worth, I would highly recommend that you challenge Seishi Moribe first. This isn't because he's easy, but rather is about protagonist Masaru's unique skill of learning skills from enemies - Sishi Moribe has some powerful abilities that will make later battles easier, such as Fleetfoot.

Remember, to have Masaru learn the abilities and moves of enemies, you simply need to get hit by the move you want to learn. Even if you're breezing through a battle, you should make sure you hold back enough to get hit with all of the learnable moves, then finish the enemy off. You can see strategies for each enemy, and how to learn their moves, by scrolling or clicking the one you plan to battle:

Fighting Seishi Moribe

Seishi Moribe is our recommended pick for the first character to battle; you'll be able to learn powerful skills off this Japanese martial artist.
Seishi Moribe is our recommended pick for the first character to battle; you'll be able to learn powerful skills off this Japanese martial artist.

Learnable Abilities:

  • Celestial Palm
  • Fleetfoot

Strategy:

Moribe has two powerful abilities that you can learn from him. The first one is his Celestial Palm. Celestial Palm causes all kinds of nasty debuff and he will only use it when you’re right next to him. Get up close and eat one, then be prepared to back off.

After learning Celestial Palm, you’ll be heavily debuffed. Keep your distance away from him, and use focus to heal up.

Once healed, try to keep about two space from him to bait him into using Fleetfoot. Once you have acquired the two abilities, defeat Moribe using regular means. Fleetfoot is an extremely powerful ability as it has a conventional range that can deal with many opponents without issue.

Fighting Namkiat

The next opponent we're covering in Live A Live's Present Day chapter walkthrough is that against Nakimat, a Thai fighter with knee-kicking shades of Street Fighter's Abel and Sagat.
The next opponent we're covering in Live A Live's Present Day chapter walkthrough is that against Nakimat, a Thai fighter with knee-kicking shades of Street Fighter's Abel and Sagat.

Learnable Abilities:

  • Spiral Knee
  • Lookpanjama Kick

Strategy: 

Just like all opponents, there are two abilities that you can learn from Namkiat. The first one being the Lookpanjama Kick. This is learned by striking his body tile; in doing so he'll most likely counterattack with the kick.

Once you've learned the kick, if you move directly one space away from him, Namkiat will use Spiral Knee. Spiral Knee is Namkiat’s most powerful attack, and when you have acquired the two abilities, you should avoid standing a square away from him so he doesn’t use Spiral Knee. Namikat is really easy if you have good range attacks like Fleetfoot from Seishi Moribe.

Fighting The Great Aja

Hearing that the Great Aja is from Mexico probably gives you a clue as to his fighting style - he naturally has the moves of a Luchador Wrestler. It's time to beat him and learn his moves.
Hearing that the Great Aja is from Mexico probably gives you a clue as to his fighting style - he naturally has the moves of a Luchador Wrestler. It's time to beat him and learn his moves.

Learnable Abilities:

  • Frakensteiner
  • Tornado Press

Strategy:

Learning abilities from the Great Aja is a little bit different from most opponents - as you'll want to be at the boss’s line of sight for these abilities to trigger. Because of how his sprite is designed, this means that you want to be diagonal to the boss. So, if you’re northeast to the boss, you can learn his Frakensteiner ability.
You need to be at a diagonal from The Great Aja, as pictured, in order to learn his moves.
The other ability is his Tornado Press. Tornado press occurs at a really far range, that is two squares away from him. When both abilities are learned, using kick abilities causes Ajat to be disoriented and will end the battle really quick.

Fighting Tula Han

The stereotype tour around the world continues with Tula Han, a Russian who is basically a special forces soldier sort. His brutal holds are useful to learn.
The stereotype tour around the world continues with Tula Han, a Russian who is basically a special forces soldier sort. His brutal holds are useful to learn.

Learnable Abilities:

  • Armlock
  • Cross Heel Hold

Strategy:

Tula Han is an opponent that is focused on counterattacks when you use fist and kick abilities. First you will need to get right near to him and use Gale Strike to learn Armlock.

Then use a kick ability to learn Cross Heel Hold. Getting hit with Cross Heel Hold will most likely disable your movement, so be sure to use focus to heal up. Once you’re healthy, Tula Han can be easily defeated by using throw wrestling abilities or counterattacks.

Fighting Max Morgan

Max Morgan sure looks like a legally distinct version of a famous US wrestler, brother. Scream
Max Morgan sure looks like a legally distinct version of a famous US wrestler, brother. Scream "we comin' for you" at him before you fight him, but be careful not to say a bad word.

Learnable Abilities:

  • German Suplex
  • Max Bomber

Strategy:

Get close to Max Morgan and strike him with any ability. He will most likely use his German Suplex on you which can cause paralysis. Once you have learned this ability heal up with focus and move exactly two squares away from him. Doing so can trigger him to do his Max Bomber ability.

Due to Max’s high pool of HP, I would recommend spamming range abilities like Fleetfoot to get the better of him. If you manage to defeat Jackie and acquire the Aloha Slap, that would be Max’s main weakness.

Fighting Jackie Iaukea

Another US fighter, hailing from Hawaii, Jackie Iaukea is a bigger gentleman... and he actually fights in a Sumo style - but has transitioned to MMA. He has a couple of great moves to learn.
Another US fighter, hailing from Hawaii, Jackie Iaukea is a bigger gentleman... and he actually fights in a Sumo style - but has transitioned to MMA. He has a couple of great moves to learn.

Learnable Abilities: 

  • Mano Toss
  • Aloha Slap
  • Worldbreaker's Wraith

Strategy:

Jackie actually has three special moves that you can acquire from him, which makes him different to every other battle in this scenario. There's a catch, of course - which is that the third special move is rarely seen. In fact, to trigger it, you need to learn his first two moves - his Aloha Slap and the Mano Toss. These abilities both occur when you’re next to him.

The third ability is called the Worldbreaker’s Wraith. Jackie will only use this ability as a desperate last resort usually after disarming him. You can disarm Jackie by using the Armlock ability that acquire from Tula Han. Just be wary that Worldbreaker’s Wraith hit extremely hard, like above 200 HP. So be sure you have enough HP to survive this blow if you want to learn this ability. To defeat Jackie easily, just simply spam kick abilities like Fleetfoot from afar.
Learning the Worldbreaker's Wrath is more difficult than the others, but it's well worth it if you can survive being hit by it.

Fighting the Present Day Final Boss Encounter

This boss has no moves to learn - it's all about what you've learned up to this point. Consider it a test, of sorts - and it's a big one, as the boss has 832 HP.

Strategy:

The difficulty of the last scenario is based entirely on how many abilitles you have acquired along the way. If you've been diligently following this guide and have acquired acquire some of the really good abilitles, the last boss should be a breeze.

The last boss's main attack is his diving ability, that will do 150 damage and will cause temporary debuff on himself, so watch out for that.

If you learned abilitles like Fleetfoot, you can attack the boss several times without letting him get close to you. The strongest ability you can unleash on the last boss is the Worldbreaker’s Wraith ability, which we detail how to learn from Jackie above. Even though it's the most powerful ability, it isn't totally nessessary - just be sure to keep a distance away from the boss and you should be fine.

After defeating the final boss of this scenario, you can save your game. If you decide to replay this scenario, you can relearn abilitles that you have missed. But there is also a way of learning these abilitles by leveling Masaru in the final scenario. 

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