[LGR Theme plays]
[fizz, sip]
Aahhh!
[typing]
[AdLib "Leisure Suit Larry" theme plays]
You know, I really enjoy so-called "adult games."
I'm not necessarily talking about those weird Japanese ones–
those are something else entirely–
but games with an adult theme
that take a very humorous and nonsensical approach to the idea.
Sex and how people try to get it
is actually rather hilarious, if you think about it.
And Leisure Suit Larry games are probably my favorite games
that take that perception and run with it.
Specifically here, we have his first game,
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
by Sierra Online from 1987.
The Larry games are nothing short of comedic game gold.
Created by Al Lowe as sort of a spoof of the earlier Sierra title Softporn Adventure.
Leisure Suit Larry takes the singles scene and shows it off for what it is:
ridiculous and absurd antics
all for a little midnight lovin'
and temporary alleviation of loneliness.
Or in Larry's case, losing your virginity at age 40.
Larry Laffer is a lifelong bachelor
who has just been kicked out of his mother's house
and is now out on the town,
having transformed to the ultra-loser,
Leisure Suit Larry,
complete with at least 20 gold chains
and his trademark white polyester leisure suit.
The entire goal of the game is to play the scene with the ladies
and lose your virginity.
Just like in real life, there are a couple of ways to do this
and about a thousand way to fail,
so you'll have to play your cards just right
in order to get the girl of your dreams.
You start out in front of Lefty's bar
and from there, it's up to you.
If you've played other graphical Sierra adventure games of the time,
like King's Quest,
it's exactly the same thing.
You use the arrow or numpad keys to walk around
and type in commands to interact with the world.
You aren't really given much to go on,
so it really is lots of trial and error.
So keep those save and load hotkeys handy.
There's a manual that comes with the game
which is a big help for beginners,
especially if you're not familiar with these types of adventure games.
There was also an optional official hint guide available from Sierra,
which probably would help quite a bit,
but all the answers are initially blank.
So I suppose you need some kind of pen or something
to highlight and expose the answers
but I don't have it.
So, it's just a useless guide to me.
There are tons of guides just like this online though,
so just search for one of those if you're stuck.
For those of you that are used to adventure games like this
or even later games like Monkey Island or Sam & Max,
you'll have no problem getting used to the game,
since it's the same types of commands,
just typed instead of clicked.
For those of you that are not as familiar,
you make heavy use of such commands as "use,"
"get," "look" and "talk,"
combined with a subject of those commands,
such as "look lady."
This will have Larry look at the lady
and from there you can do different things like talk to her,
proceed to humiliate yourself,
and most likely get put down.
Now what makes this game so different from other Sierra adventure games
to this point is the humor.
Others had their moments, but Leisure Suit Larry is essentially non-stop.
It isn't just chuckle to yourself humor, either.
It's laugh out loud hilarious at times.
Everything from the things people say to the narrator's quips
to your own actions and their resulting animations.
It's just great.
It all wraps up into one amazingly fun little package
that can be completed in a couple of hours,
if you really sit down and play through it.
Seriously, moments like the scene
where you're buying condoms from the convenience store
are absolutely classic.
If you don't find that stuff funny, you take yourself way to seriously.
There really isn't too much more to say here without spoiling things.
The only other thing I really want to touch on was the idea of immersion.
You hear that term tossed around like it's expected nowadays,
that a game - especially open-ended games -
immerse you in an idea or a location or time period
so much that you forget that you're playing the game,
feeling like you're there.
It's something mostly intangible,
but it does exist, no doubt about it.
Leisure Suit Larry is very strange in that way
because it does immersion in spades.
I've never understood that phrase, but Leisure Suit Larry does it.
It's just– maybe there's something about how it's drawn
and the people you interact with.
When a game this old and simplistic
pulls this off so well,
you know you've got something unnaturally impressive on your hands.
It's also worth noting that I've been playing the Tandy version here,
but it was also playable in CGA
and different variations of sound cards and such.
And in the early '90s, there was a remake of the game.
It's the same content, just with enhanced graphics and sound,
as well as a revamped interface like the later Sierra adventure titles.
Yet somehow I still find myself coming back
and wanting to play the original when I need my Lounge Lizards fix.
May not necessarily be my favorite Leisure Suit Larry game,
but there's just something about THIS one
that's surreal and totally satisfying.
If you haven't played Leisure Suit Larry,
do yourself one of the biggest favors of your gaming life
and try it out.