Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) is the second game in the Leisure Suit Larry series of graphical adventure games. It was created by Al Lowe and released by Sierra On-Line in 1988. The game was made for several computer systems, including MS-DOS, Atari ST, and Amiga. It uses Sierra's Creative Interpreter (SCI0) engine, which includes 16-color EGA graphics and a mouse-based interface for movement. The story follows Larry Laffer, who becomes stuck on a tropical island during a vacation that goes wrong.
Gameplay
This game differs from the original Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards by following a story that moves in a set path, similar to other Sierra adventure games, especially later versions of the King's Quest series. The player controls the character using the cursor keys, mouse, or joystick, but all other actions are managed through a text-based system. Instead of exploring one city, players move through different puzzles and mazes. Care must be taken to collect specific items during the journey, as failing to do so may trap the player in a situation they cannot escape. While there is no visible time limit, certain events require quick action to progress to the next part of the game.
As in other Leisure Suit Larry games, the main character, Larry Laffer, interacts with female characters through on-screen portraits, though these images are smaller than in earlier versions. The game penalizes Larry for flirting with any woman, which is different from other games in the series; such actions always result in Larry's death and the end of the game. A "Trite Phrase" option allows players to choose a repeated catchphrase during the game, with the default phrase being "Have a nice day."
Plot
The beginning of the game shows Larry mowing the lawn of Eve, a woman from the ending of the previous game, suggesting they are still together. However, this is soon shown to be incorrect, as Eve arrives and barely remembers who Larry is. Larry realizes his relationship with Eve was only a one-night event, and he becomes upset. He leaves, and while doing so, he wins a lottery and a free vacation by accidentally joining a dating game show.
As Larry prepares for his cruise, a small film falls into his hands by mistake. This draws the attention of the KGB and Dr. Nonookee, a scientist who wants to find the film. On the cruise, Larry learns that the woman who chose him for the dating show brought her mother along. To avoid her, Larry stops the ship and escapes on a lifeboat. Later, he is washed ashore on a Pacific island where Spanish is spoken. KGB agents block his path to the airport, so Larry dresses as a woman to pass through.
When the airplane lands, Larry opens the door and escapes using a parachute. He lands in the jungle of a tropical island called Nontoonyt, where Dr. Nonookee has a base. After facing dangers in the jungle, Larry meets Kalalau, the daughter of Chief Keneewauwau. She explains that Dr. Nonookee is stopping a company from building a resort on the island. To marry Kalalau, Larry enters a volcano and accidentally causes Dr. Nonookee’s death. This frees the women Dr. Nonookee had hypnotized, including "Polyester Patti." In the final scene, Larry marries Kalalau, is rejuvenated by a witch doctor, and shares a moment with her as the volcano erupts.
Throughout the story, repeated jokes and situations, such as visiting the same barber shops in different places, add humor. One barber shop is run by Princess Rosella from another game called King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella.
Development
The first sequel in the series used Sierra On-Line's new adventure game software called Sierra's Creative Interpreter (SCI). This software supported a screen size of 320×200 pixels, mouse control, and sound card features. The game shared the SCI0 engine with other titles and had a realistic art style, similar to the King's Quest series, especially in the design of the main character, Larry. It also included grand adventure elements, such as scenes set on a cruise ship and tropical islands.
Sierra On-Line made changes to reduce the focus on the main character's romantic interactions in the sequel. Series creator Al Lowe noted that this shift led to criticism from players, as the game lacked some of the humor that defined earlier versions. This game is unique because Larry cannot interact with female characters until the final stages. Because of this, the game did not include an age-verification test, though some scenes briefly show pixelated images of nudity. The SCI engine also supported FM and MT-32 music formats.
Throughout the game, Larry meets many women, including Rosella of Daventry, the main character from King's Quest IV. This connection is an example of Sierra On-Line's efforts to promote other games within its library. One final scene features a character named "Polyester Patty," who plays the piano. Patty also appears in other Leisure Suit Larry games, such as Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals and Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work, though she is described as blond in this game and dark-haired in later ones.
Using the SCI engine, Sierra On-Line removed disk-based copy protection methods. Instead, the game included a copy protection screen where players had to enter a phone number listed in the manual from a set of images of women. Some versions of the game allowed players to skip this screen by entering the number "0724," which is the birthday of the game's designer, Al Lowe (July 24). This feature was added during testing to avoid repeatedly entering the copy protection code.
Reception
Al Lowe stated that each game in the Leisure Suit Larry series, including Looking for Love, sold more than 250,000 copies. Sierra On-Line reported that total sales of the Larry series exceeded 1.4 million units by the end of March 1996, before the release of Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail!. By the time Love for Sail! was launched, total sales of the first five Leisure Suit Larry games had reached over 2 million copies.
The game Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) received mostly positive reviews when it was released. It earned scores of 9/10 from Commodore User and 90% from Computer & Video Games. A 1994 re-release by Kixx gave the Amiga version a score of 84%.
In a contemporary review, Bob Guerra of Compute! wrote that the game was a "terrific sequel to one of the best adventure games ever written" and said it was "thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end." He noted that the story was as interesting as television shows and praised the game’s graphics and story details, which created the feeling of exploring a real world. Later, in 2000, Zack Howe of Adventure Classic Gaming said the game "may not be the best in the Leisure Suit Larry series, but it is still a humorous and entertaining title to play."
In 1991, PC Format listed the first three Leisure Suit Larry games among the 50 best computer games of all time. The editors wrote, "The three Larry games so far plumb new depths in computer entertainment — they're crude, suggestive, full of innuendo and double entendres and designed to appeal to the worst aspects of human nature — you'll love 'em."