The Alliance Alive Reviews
For all the things it does right, The Alliance Alive generally feels like a game that wasn’t quite ready to get pulled out of the oven, but was released anyway.
The Alliance Alive is a great-looking game with an interesting premise and intriguing battle mechanics, but in the end it falters from its combat decisions.
Cattle Call moved a bit closer to greatness with The Alliance Alive, but they are still not quite there as one of the 3DS's last RPGs falls short.
The story and characters of The Alliance Alive will stay with me far longer than anything else in the game. Yoshitaka Murayama has proven '90s-style storytelling is still as enrapturing today as it was two decades ago. His work just needs to be paired up with a better game. I respect all of the new gameplay ideas present here, but without fine-tuning, they bring down what should be one of the last great 3DS games.
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While it may not stand out as an individual title, The Alliance Alive gets by with somewhat unique ideas and a memorable soundtrack.
Cattle Call tries to make improvements on their previous RPG outing, but not to great effect.
This RPG is more than deserving of attention with its compelling combat system, well developed progression, rich and varied visual environment, as well as a vast and varied world. Alliance Alive would deserve to see an earlier release in Nintendo's last-gen handheld, if only to ensure more visibility to its efforts.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I had hoped that after a few initially rocky hours, The Alliance Alive would somehow turn it all around and be a game that I would love. Unfortunately that's not quite the case here, and on a system with no shortage of good RPGs, it's hard to sell The Alliance Alive to anyone but the most ardent of fans.
For anybody looking for the next grand scale RPG on the market, The Alliance Alive really isn't going to be that. Those looking for yet another fun little adventure focused on characters though will likely find plenty of hours of enjoyment out of The Alliance Alive.
The Alliance Alive is a solid, well designed JRPG that's definitely an improvement over its predecessor. It's filled with enjoyable character interactions and excellent features like the fast forward option for combat.
Even though it's not the best JRPG out there in the vast 3DS library, The Alliance Alive comes in the twilight of the portable system, and it offers 40-plus solid hours of adventuring for the ones who were left wanting more from The Legend of Legacy.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Alliance Alive's one-of-a-kind atmosphere and decadent soundtrack are high notes in an experience otherwise subject to the whims of random number generation.
I had a lot of fun learning about these characters in search of a blue sky and I appreciate FuRyu taking chances on new IPs in a generation full of sequels and remakes. The Alliance Alive is a straightforward and fun JRPG with enough to keep the player invested throughout its story, but it could use some work on difficulty balancing and the inclusion of voice over.
A solid JRPG experience by FuRyu, The Alliance Alive is a reminder that the Nintendo 3DS still has lots to offer as a platform even after the Nintendo Switch launch. Although the game is very traditional in its mechanics, it's still fun to play with an efficient and rewarding progression system.
The Alliance Alive is a good game that's held back by some unfortunate missteps. Its fantastic premise and strong narrative provide a storyline that feels surprisingly fresh compared to other JRPGs, while its combat provides some welcome depth to its turn-based gameplay. The title often feels too easy, even by JRPG standards, and several features could have been better fleshed out, but the overall product is a stark improvement over studio Cattle Call's previous effort. With the 3DS on its way out to pasture, those with a hankering for an old-school JRPG with some new ideas should find something to like with The Alliance Alive.
Overall, The Alliance Alive is a solid RPG with a unique narrative structure, a deep but accessible combat system, a nifty soundtrack, and a couple small graphical annoyances. Considering the portability and power of the Nintendo Switch, it also might be one of the last great RPGs for the 3DS, so don’t let the handheld disappear without a good fight.
The Alliance Alive is yet another terrific RPG on 3DS, a platform that refuses to go quietly.
Good pacing, engaging mechanics, and an interesting setting help make The Alliance Alive a noteworthy RPG.
The Alliance Alive succeeded in everything The Legend of Legacy failed in. From rich environments and a somber atmosphere, to more balanced combat, and to an overall much better story, you truly have a JRPG that channels the roots of a lot of classic games. While the game may have a few technical issues, it is a rather enjoyable time through and through.