Live-A-Live: Square's Lost Gem

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unfortunately I haven't seen any other games try anything like it.

Well, there's a clone of it:
http://vgboy.dabomstew.com/other/touhoualive.htm

Meiling's Scenario, first part:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG4hP30_XyQ

At first, I didn't even realize that it was an RPG Maker 2003 game.

Forgot about this. My issue with it is that it seems more like a simple text/sprite swap of the actual game than a totally new LaL-inspired one. Of course this isn't a hack and I am impressed with the engine. If I knew how to program, I'd be making a LaL-style game right now to pay homage.

I've started playing Saga Frontier, the game has some features from LaL such as instant health restore at the end of battles, relatively easy difficulty, and quirky characters. The music is of similar quality. Overall, my experience is telling me this: I'd recommend it to a LaL fan. The battle system is completely different but the atmosphere is there.