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[Blues1990]

I've been in the mood to play most of the Point-and-click adventure games from Sierra Entertainment, what with Kings Quest IX being released this year & with just finishing Telltale Games Sam & Max series. One of the bigger suggestions most of my friends had recommended to me was the Leisure Suit Larry series, so I had picked up the 1991 remake to see what it was all about.

Despite the content being tasteless at best & shallow at it's worse, I wasn't expecting the game to be genuinely funny. Larry is a lovable loser that also happens to be sexually frustrated 40 year-old virgin, and seeing him on his quest to lose his virginity (& perhaps find true love in the city known as "Lost Wages") is a fun trip. Larry himself isn't all much better than the backstabbers and dick head's he come across on his adventure to get laid, but you do feel sorry for him when all is said & done. However, I wasn't expecting the alternative ending, where if you failed to find true love in the city after 8 hours, Larry will lose all hope and will voluntary commit suicide. Apparently, the series isn't a stranger to delving into morbid humor, so I'm kind of worried what is in-store for me in the game's sequel, "Looking for Love (In Several Wrong Places)".

So, yeah. For those who have played the other games in the series, what are your thoughts?

 

[Blues1990]

Anyone? Or is this series too trashy for some folks around here?

 

[BTails]

The Larry games don't get enough credit: despite the content, they're never overly sexually explicit, and are frankly often hilarious. Granted a lot of it is juvenille humour, but Al Lowe is a pretty clever guy.

I'm a big Larry fan (and Sierra fan in general), but I must tell you: Larry 2 is pretty poor. The raunchyness is turned down, and the whole thing becomes a James Bond parody, while Larry bumbles around, barely escaping death. There's plenty of dead-ends (points in which you can't continue due to missing some item earlier), random deaths, time limits, and the final puzzle is straight up broken due to a parser bug.

It's worth playing, but I'd use a walkthrough. Larry 3 is a huge improvement, 4 doesn't exist (literally), 5 is mediocre, and 6 & 7 are honestly by far the best two in the series.

 

[Garou]

One of the all-time classics, especially the original EGA-release with the parser gave you a very satisfying sense of freedom in a (kind-of) real-life setting while other games at the time were full of dragons, dungeons, magic, etc.

 

[Blues1990]

The Larry games don't get enough credit: despite the content, they're never overly sexually explicit, and are frankly often hilarious. Granted a lot of it is juvenille humour, but Al Lowe is a pretty clever guy.

I'm a big Larry fan (and Sierra fan in general), but I must tell you: Larry 2 is pretty poor. The raunchyness is turned down, and the whole thing becomes a James Bond parody, while Larry bumbles around, barely escaping death. There's plenty of dead-ends (points in which you can't continue due to missing some item earlier), random deaths, time limits, and the final puzzle is straight up broken due to a parser bug.

It's worth playing, but I'd use a walkthrough. Larry 3 is a huge improvement, 4 doesn't exist (literally), 5 is mediocre, and 6 & 7 are honestly by far the best two in the series.

Okay, given the information you've provided, I'll just look at an internet article that sums up the plot from that game, & I'll skip to Leisure Suit Larry 3. And there isn't a fourth installment?!

One of the all-time classics, especially the original EGA-release with the parser gave you a very satisfying sense of freedom in a (kind-of) real-life setting while other games at the time were full of dragons, dungeons, magic, etc.

Yeah, it's still sad that there aren't too many games that have more of a contemporary setting (aside from those that delve into the more fantastical, such as Earthbound).

 

[Randy Monk]

I got my first PC when I was 12 and Larry 1 EGA was my first game.

I've played all of them even that piece of crap Magna Cum Laude.

For a guy that is meant to be a loser and wears a leisure suit, he got laid quite a lot. My favourite in the series is still Larry 3: Passionate Pattie. Thats the one they should've remade not the first one. The first one now has 3 versions but the best game is still stuck as a text parser EGA game.

I'm not sure if there is a market for another game like Larry but its great for what it is: an adventure game with self deprecating humour and non stop sexual innuendo.

 

[RedAssedApe]

play 6 and 7. those are the best games imo. the narration in the talkie/cd versions is especially great.

 

[Zimbardo]

the only Larry game i played through was 'Love for Sail' ...which i guess was part 7.

that was quite a while ago, so i don't remember much ...but i do remember thinking it was pretty good at the time.

and i fondly remember this particular sound/music that's played when you find a certain item ...
http://youtu.be/eQKyvV4xKbU

 

[BTails]

Okay, given the information you've provided, I'll just look at an internet article that sums up the plot from that game, & I'll skip to Leisure Suit Larry 3. And there isn't a fourth installment?!

Well, considering 1 through 6 is $9.99 on GoG, I'd just go for the bundle and play through LsL2 with a walkthrouh. There's certainly some funny parts, but it's by no means a great game.

And yes, there's no Leisue Suit Larry 4: it's called "The Missing Floppies" for a reason. There's a few different stories behind the lack of LSL4. The main reason is that Larry 3 ends on a pretty positive note, wrapping up the whole series. Al Lowe knew that you couldn't make a Larry game where he was happy, and couldn't think of a good way to undo the happy ending of the third game, so he skipped right to Larry 5.

The other story is that Al Lowe got annoyed by everyone at Sierra asking him if he was working on Larry 4, and eventually in frustration told a fellow coworker: "No, I'm working on Larry FIVE!", and found that so funny that he stuck with it.

 

[Blues1990]

I got my first PC when I was 12 and Larry 1 EGA was my first game.

I've played all of them even that piece of crap Magna Cum Laude.

For a guy that is meant to be a loser and wears a leisure suit, he got laid quite a lot. My favourite in the series is still Larry 3: Passionate Pattie. Thats the one they should've remade not the first one. The first one now has 3 versions but the best game is still stuck as a text parser EGA game.

I'm not sure if there is a market for another game like Larry but its great for what it is: an adventure game with self deprecating humour and non stop sexual innuendo.

I honestly wouldn't mind a sequel that ignores the games that didn't have Al Lowe's involvement, but where could he take Larry? There is a lot of comedic potential for having a loser that had birthed an equal (or even bigger) loser, but anything can happen.

Play 6 and 7. Those are the best games, in my opinion. The narration in the talkie/cd versions is especially great.

I did check out some footage from Danny & Ross's playthrough of Leisure Suit Larry 6, and the narrator is brilliant. I wished I knew who voiced that character.

 

[Fess]

Played Larry 1 and 3 on Amiga as a teenager and thought they were pretty great as all Sierras adventures at that time. Never tried the newer ones though, always thought they kind of went downhill as the graphics got more detailed and looked too much like a comic, it was better when they still looked kind of serious.

 

[megalowho]

Leisure Suit Larry 6 is a genuinely entertaining adventure game. 7 less so but still passable, looked nice at the time as well. The rest I can take or leave, been a while since I've played any of them though. Not my favorite series by any stretch but a memorable one.

 

[Kolgar]

Played the original game as a kid on my old Apple ][. What fun memories.

I'd no idea there were so many sequels; I'll have to check them out!

 

[firehawk12]

It's too bad that the new remake ended up being a mess, with Lowe quitting and then with the game being nailed by the critics. It would have been curious to see them at least remake 2 and 3.

 

[Randy Monk]

I honestly wouldn't mind a sequel that ignores the games that didn't have Al Lowe's involvement, but where could he take Larry? There is a lot of comedic potential for having a loser that had birthed an equal (or even bigger) loser, but anything can happen.

Yes indeed, there is a lot of potential. I reckon a new character, possibly a nephew or illegitimate child, could be the start of a new series. He could even be a Gaffer, wears a fedora and Larrys suit (because he is after all, a white knight).

 

[Blues1990]

It's too bad that the new remake ended up being a mess, with Lowe quitting and then with the game being nailed by the critics. It would have been curious to see them at least remake 2 and 3.

With what I have heard with the second game being a stinker, I would've been interested to see what Lowe and his crew could have done to fix the game. At least mechanically.

Yes indeed, there is a lot of potential. I reckon a new character, possibly a nephew or illegitimate child, could be the start of a new series. He could even be a Gaffer, wears a fedora and Larry's suit (because he is after all, a white knight).

Oh lord, I want that to be a thing now!

But I think it would be better if Larry had a son, as Magna Cum Laude & Box Office Bust didn't feature Larry as a starring character, but instead featured his nephew Larry Lovage. If Al Lowe was involved in a modern sequel, it would be hysterical if Lovage was mentioned briefly, but in a negative light.

 

[RagnarokX]

They just remade the first game complete with voice acting in 2013 via Kickstarter. Some people paid thousands of dollars to get their likenesses into the game.