[Pieter Jan]

I assume most of you know or at least have heard about one of the greatest games of all time: little big adventure, so I'll skip the introduction.

I have some questions and general remarks about this game:

1. I wonder since these games were developed by a French company, whether the dialogues were originally written in French? - And if so (I guess only people who have played both versions - supposing an original french one exists - will be able to answer this one), is it worth replaying these games in the French version? I ask this because in the case of books (I read some dutch translations of english books when I was young and afterwards read the originals) I find translations often somewhat lacking. I'm not a fluent Frenchspeaker but I am capable of reading French books (occasionaly aided by a dictionary) and let's say discuss politics or religion hackely in french. But I do stress that it would still take a huge effort off of me ! So is it worth it?

2. One of the factors that very much attracted me to this game, were cities. Before LBA you already had games like Zelda in which huge continents could be freely explored and in which you could travel back and forth and do stuff nonlineary, but the world was mostly about forests, deserts, rocks and dungeons. Yeah I know there were villages present but they seemed soley to serve as places to replenish armor and health or to get clues about what will await you on your yourney outside.

The cities in Lba, though super tiny, had cosy town squares (the city on desert island in LBA2) or dense built centers (the second city in LBA1) and distictive architecture (Arab, underground, futuristic, ...). But they did not only defer greatly in outlook but also in function! Apart from shops, there were bars, museums, casinoos, package centers, hotels, nurseries, ... I know this is going to sound absurdedly strange, but I love LBA for the same reason that I love Grand Theft Auto. LBA pioneered or at least perfected the sandbox-style in the action-adventure games that leaned most to the adventure style!

3. Do you guys have any knoledge about othe sandbox andventures with great emphasis on towns rather than deserted ruins or sprawling wildlife?

[Arial Type]

Personally I found the LBA series very interesting and maybe even innovative (although the true innovation was the first Alone in the Dark).

At the same time, I finished LBA 2 just a couple of weeks ago, and I must confess I disliked it. And one of the reasons were the primitive dialogues, so you might be correct about bad translation. Another major issue was the fixed camera. I know, it was only 1996, but the game was MADE for free roaming camera. Just imagine Pandemonium or Sonic 64 where you need to move camera with ENTER every second. Along with some frustrating arcade sequences and not very inspiring gameplay it was a letdown. I would like to see LBA 3D though

As for sandbox action-adventure games taking place in cities, you would be probably recommended with L.A. Noire. But I'm currently playing Omicron: The Nomad Soul, the first adventure from Quantic Dream, and it is simply FANTASTIC! It came out in 1999, long before GTA 3, yet it is so much cooler. The 3D living futuristic world you are free to explore (unless you have a pass to another section of the city), with its own history, beautiful settings and breathtaking atmosphere, bars, strip-clubs, bookshops etc, people walking around and so on. One of the coolest features is the ability to posses other characters bodies, like in Messiah (which also came out only in a year). There are shooting, fighting and swimming sessions, yet the game remains true to adventure genre with a strong developing storyline (I still can't believe they came up with something like this!) and real puzzles, unlike Fahrenheit or Heavy Rain. This is what ags should've grown into. Alas...

[Miranna]

I'm not 100% sure if LBA was originally in French, but I would very much assume so.

As someone who grew up playing both games in French, I can say that the french dub and the French dialogues are actually one of the major good points of the game, so I would recommend playing it in French, yes. If only because of the really good voice actors that they took, especially in the second game. Twinsen's voice actor in particular delivers a very earnest and fitting performance.

There are also some references that (probably) only french people can understand (like Jerome Baldino's name, for instance) but these are few and are not required to be understood, so there's that too.

So I would recommend it, and you can always drop it if it proves to be too hard to understand. The GOG version includes the french version, on top of the English version, by the way

oh, and sorry for my poor English

[thejobloshow]

Little Big Adventure is my all time favourite game and, like you, I was drawn in by the freedom and open world nature of the beast. In 1994, this was amazing to witness because it was much larger than Alone in the Dark and with much more interactivity than the Zelda games, which I imagine was a major influence.

Of course the game only has two flaws: 1. you lose health when you run into walls and 2. some enemies can be merciless when they hit you once, forcing you to load a previous save. Fortunately, the former issue was fixed with the Playstation PAL release and I recommend new gamers to play that version.

I can't think of many games that are quite like LBA, but the closest I could say would be Deus Ex in terms of freedom and player choice. However, that's a big city and not a series of towns.

[Pieter Jan]

Thanx for the recommendations guys!

LA Noire is certainly way out of reach for my poor engined PC, but I'm definitly going to check out Omnicron.

"I finished LBA 2 just a couple of weeks ago, and I must confess I disliked it"

I actually liked the second one best. Having to change the camera constantly, strange enough, didn't bother me all that much. I Also like the way how LBA2 makes reference to the first game: Seeing the temple of Bu turned in a tourist attraction and the presence of a museum in honor of Twinsen's first quest, felt like rewarding experiences! The gradual built-up of the story is also a big plus for me! First you 're out on a quest to ... cure your dinofly. Shortly afterward you encounter some friendly aliens, but already you sense, something is not quite right! PAM PAM PAM

I'm also craving for a thirth installment (wich would obviously require me to upgrade my hardware)! Hypothetically: if I were on the board of a thirth LBA, I would introduce greater connection between the cities. Literally (new modes of intercity travel) and figuratively (a running feud between 2 towns, represantatives of the different towns that assemble in some sort of capital, ...)