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Little Big Adventure

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Little Big Adventure
File:Little big adventure 1.jpg
Developer(s)Adeline Software International
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts, Activision
Director(s)
EngineCustom
Platform(s)PC, PlayStation
ReleasePC: 1994
PlayStation: 1996
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single player


Little Big Adventure (LBA) is a computer game developed by Adeline first released at the end of 1994. It was made by Adeline Software International, released in Europe by Electronic Arts (EA) and in North America, Asia and Oceania under the name Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure by Activision, with the game selling over 400,000 copies worldwide in the first release. The game was initially released in a CD-ROM version and some times later in a floppy disk version; the CD-ROM version featured full motion video, music and speech whereas the floppy disk version has MIDI music files and still images to replace the videos. The game was later ported to the PlayStation, and released in Europe and Japan.

The game also spawned a sequel, Little Big Adventure 2 (also known as Twinsen's Odyssey).

Plot

The game takes place on Twinsun, a strange planet (not to be confused with Twinsen, the game's protagonist).

The game's introduction sequence:

Twinsun is a relatively new planet on the outskirts of a remote galaxy. Its rotational plane has stabilized between two suns. There is a huge mountain range running along its equator, that divides the planet in half: each hemisphere is warmed by a single sun. The Northern hemisphere, with its orange sky, is warmer than the Southern hemisphere. Except for a polar region, the planet's climate is clement. The formation of life forms on the planet was thus favourable. Four species developed over the course the centuries: the Spheros, the Rabbibunnies, the Quetches and the Grobos. They all lived in harmony until a tyrant named Dr Funfrock reared his ugly head.

Ever since Funfrock's rise to power, the population has been living under a reign of terror. FunFrock set up a police state where suspicion is omnipresent. He is all powerful and controls the people with an iron fist. He has at his disposal two high-tech weapons that ensure his power: cloning and teleportation. FunFrock can clone any of the species at will, and subsequently recruit these clones into his ranks. He can then deploy these clones instantly through a network of telepods that are dispersed over the entire planet.

A few years ago, under the guise of protecting the population, Dr. FunFrock herded the planet's habitants* into the southern hemisphere. The repression is harsh. Every day brings more and more arrests, and the people slowly begin to lose hope. In an effort to keep their spirits up, the people sometimes evoke an ancient legend along with the name of a goddess, Sendell. The mentioning of the legend or Sendell has since been forbidden by Dr. FunFrock.

Meanwhile, a young quetch named Twinsen has been having strange dreams.

  • Note the franglais habitants, which, in English, should be inhabitants. Such small mistakes are to be found throughout the game (and to a lesser extent its sequel). However, many would argue that this adds to its quirky charm.

Twinsen is revealed to be the Heir prepared by his ancestors. His family was chosen by Sendell centuries ago. His prophesied task is to bring freedom to the planet again, by obtaining 4 magical items of power, and finally opening the Well of Sendell.

File:Twinsendino.jpg
Twinsen riding Dinofly

The game

Little Big Adventure is viewed from a pseudo 3D isometric perspective (the game field is rotated 45 degrees). All characters and vehicles in the game, including some props in the world, are real 3D polygon-based objects, allowing for full rotation and movement abilities. The game field is divided in scenes (a small block of the game that is active). When the player exits a scene the game is saved automatically. After completion of certain tasks the player is presented with a full motion video sequence. All text in the game is spoken by the characters in the CD-ROM version of the game. The quality of voice acting is generally regarded as being quite poor. A floppy disk version of the game was released where speech was purely text based. The game world is very large for its time - there are 11 different islands and over 120 scenes that the player can visit. Locations in the game include a desert, a snowy mountain range called "the Hamalayi mountains", a rebel village under attack from missiles, and a construction site.

The game's genre is adventure, however, the game combines several action game sequences and some elements from the role-playing game genre. The game's gameplay is free-roaming, allowing the player to travel around the islands and complete tasks while doing so. Certain locations in the game are initially blocked from the player, such as the islands in the Northern Hemisphere and fortresses on several of the islands in the Southern Hemisphere.

Interactivity with the world is important in Little Big Adventure. Almost all characters can be talked to, and enemies are often performing tasks while the game world is active. The artificial intelligence in the game was particularly groundbreaking at the time, with enemies often running to alarms to alert other guards to the player's location, opposed to games like Doom released in the same timeframe where enemies can only chase and shoot at the player.

Behaviors and gameplay

The character the player controls is called Twinsen. The player controls Twinsen with the arrow keys; and he has 4 different modes of behavior.

  • Normal: The normal mode, in which Twinsen will walk normally and can execute the action command allowing him to activate items, talk to characters, and search objects such as trashcans and chests. When attacking, the attack is straightforward with no curve. He will throw the Magic Ball with average strength. When using the Sabre, he only attacks approximately twice per second.
  • Athletic: In this mode, Twinsen can run and jump. When using weapons Twinsen will move very quickly. He throws the Magic Ball slightly further than in Normal mode. With the Sabre, Twinsen will execute a special move where he will backflip and then frontflip into an attack, inflicting a high amount of damage to any enemy in front of him.
  • Aggressive: This is the melee battle mode, in this mode Twinsen can fight enemies using a combination of punches and kicks, and when using weapons he will attack with more power. When wielding the magic ball, he throws it slightly harder than in Athletic mode; and when wielding the Sabre, he slashes in a fierce, continuous stream, complete with a spinning attack.
  • Discreet: In this mode, Twinsen will tip-toe near-silently and is able to hide. The player may need this to get past some otherwise unbeatable enemies. When the player uses weapons Twinsen will attack very slowly. When using the Magic Ball, he propels it upwards, which is useful for killing enemies or activating switches on higher ledges, or over short walls.

During the game, the player encounters vehicles which can help him get around the island or to a different island altogether. These vehicle driving sections, despite claims in previews, are not interactive unlike Little Big Adventure 2.

Twinsen also has an inventory where he can store objects he finds. Every object has its own set place in the inventory rather than being automatically assigned.

Weapons

Little Big Adventure features only two usable weapons in game: The Magic Ball and the Sabre. Its sequel, Little Big Adventure 2, would eventually feature more weapons than in the original, including the Magic Ball and the Sabre (called the Emperor's Sword in LBA2).

  • Magic Ball: The Magic Ball is a ball of energy that can be thrown by Twinsen. When Twinsen has a high level of magic, the Magic Ball can bounce off walls and other objects. As Twinsen's magic level decreases, however, the Magic Ball's bounce is reduced. The Magic Ball can be used to attack enemies or to activate switches. During both games the power of the ball is upgraded as the player completes certain tasks.
  • Sabre: The Sabre is found later in the game in FunFrock's Main Headquarters on Principal Island, and is an extremely powerful melee weapon. Its most powerful attack is in "Sporty" mode, where Twinsen backflips and then forward flips into a powerful attack.

Trivia

  • The team behind Little Big Adventure is the core team who created the first Alone in the Dark.
  • LBA was initially planned as a SNES game, making use of the Super FX chip for real-time 3D game components.
  • The isometric view used in the games Alien 8 and Knight Lore were, according to the creator, his inspiration for the isometric viewpoint of LBA.
  • In early previews, it was said that the player could drive vehicles in the game. This wasn't implemented in the final version because of lack of time and the idea was kept for the game's sequel, Little Big Adventure 2.

General resources

Fan sites and web directories

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