Little Big Adventure: Enhanced Edition

Little Big Adventure: Enhanced Edition for PC is a remastered edition of the classical action adventure game with RPG elements (also known as Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure in the USA) that was initially released for PC in 1994. The original was developed by Frédérick Raynal and his Adeline Software. The reedition was published by DotEmu, known for such remasters as Heroes of Might & Magic III: HD Edition, Raptor: Call of the Shadows, and several installments of the Metal Slug series.

Plot

The action takes place on the distant planet of Twinsun which is ruled by the despotic dr FunFrock. In the game, we assume the role of a youngster named Twinsen who was locked in a mental hospital by the dictator soon after he started to have disturbing dreams about an imminent end of days. The protagonist’s task is to break away from this prison and discover his true destiny, according to which he is a descendant of ancient mages that protect the planet’s eternal secrets.

Mechanics

The gameplay of Little Big Adventure combines features of an adventure game with numerous action sequences enriched with RPG elements. Twinsen’s task is to traverse subsequent locations, talk with non-player characters, and collecting various items that are required to solve encountered puzzles. The game’s characteristic feature is the possibility of controlling the hero in four different modes depending on the situation. In normal, we walk around, have conversations, and collect items. In sports, we can run and jump, which proves useful in overcoming various obstacles. Aggressive mode lets the protagonist fight (with bare fists and using different hardware), and in the discrete mode we can stealthily sneak behind guards’ backs. How we deal with available tasks depends largely on our inventiveness. The key to success is to use all four modes in the right way and at the right moment.

Compared to the 1994’s vanilla version, Enhanced Edition introduces several changes to the gameplay. The most important changes are the introduction of an ability to adjust the length of jumps and the throwing distance (the trajectory is displayed on screen), as well as a simplification of some arcade sequences that used to torment the users of the original.

Technical aspects

As you might guess, Little Big Adventure: Enhanced Edition for PC is different from the original mostly in terms of the technical side. It has to be stressed that the changes introduced by DotEmu are not too extensive and will be probably noticed only by the biggest fans of the original. The game presents the events and the three-dimensional characters from an isometric perspective. The new version features, among others, a simplified interface, a helpful tutorial that introduces us to the gameplay mechanics, and a dynamic hint system. Other incredibly useful options include controller support, zoom that was absent in the original and lets us better inspect the available locations, and the autosave system. It is also worth mentioning that the original 1994 game, devoid of any enhancements, is also a part of the game.

Last updated on November 15, 2016