Contents:
The Intro
Title: Little Big Adventure (also known as Relentless: Twinsen’s Adventure)
Release year: 1994
Developed by: Adeline Software International
Genre: 3D isometric action-adventure
Platform replayed on: PC
Dictators, doomsday, discos, and dino-riding? You’ll find them all in Little Big Adventure!
I think my first memories of this game came from the pages of a gaming magazine in the mid 90s. This was a title that instantly fascinated me, and it stuck with me until I got my own copy many years later.
I believe my fascination came from the visuals. Gaming in the 90s for me was very much a visual experience. I didn’t have the wealth of experience I do now, to evaluate games on more than just their visuals or IP. I doubt I would have even understood the concept of “gameplay”. Getting to play video games was still a novelty, so anything I got my hands on was exciting.
I remember the exponential growth in computing power through the 90s, and I dare to say the most obvious impact on video gaming was with their graphics. I remember going from text adventures, to black and white, to CGA, and then to Super VGA oh my gosh look at all the pretty colours. It was mind-blowing.
So when I first saw those 3D isometric images of Little Big Adventure in a gaming magazine, I was intrigued. I had never seen anything quite like it—I remember thinking how incredibly detailed the graphics were and how they were ahead of their time. They didn’t look “pixelated”! I don’t think I even cared what type of game this was or what it was about—it looked good, and that was all that mattered.
Alas, it wasn’t to be for me. I would have to wait for a few years to experience this game. I remember ordering this game (and its sequel: Twinsen’s Odyssey) online in the early 2000s. (Ordering online! I like to think I was one of the “early adopters” of online shopping.) It would have been one of the earlier gaming purchases I made.
Despite not knowing much about the game when I ordered it, I got lucky, and got to experience one of the most unique, quirky, and charming games I’ve ever played.
So, let’s see what was underneath the impressive visuals and relive Little Big Adventure!
The Game
Thinking about how to classify this game into a genre is not as easy as I first thought. I classified it above as a 3D isometric action-adventure game. But it’s more than that. It also has roleplaying game elements, such as levelling, inventory management, and sidequests. It also features 3D platforming sections.
As the player, you control the protagonist, Twinsen. You join Twinsen as he finds himself confined in a detention centre. You see, Twinsen has been having some strange dreams of late. He dreams of the end of the world!
The game is set on the fictional planet Twinsun, inhabited by a variety of humanoid and anthropomorphic creatures. Twinsun is currently ruled by the evil tyrant Dr FunFrock. FunFrock controls a clone army, transported around the planet using teleportation devices. So, not surprisingly, Twinsen’s strangely prophetic dreams have drawn some unwanted attention from the authorities.
You see where this is going, right?
- Evil dictator—check
- Prophetic doomsday dreams—check
- Unlikely hero—check
- Quest to save the world—check
So you join Twinsen as he sets out to escape incarceration and stumbles upon the ancient prophecy to save the world. Not the most original storyline, but the way you go about it is a joy.
Controlling Twinsen is always a choice between four modes:
- Normal—allows you to walk around and interact with objects and other characters
- Athletic—allows you to run and to jump
- Aggressive—allows you to fight using punches and kicks
- Discreet—allows you to sneak around without being detected
Originally, this game required using the keyboard. This is a more challenging experience, as you need to be able to shift between modes quite quickly at times during the game. Pausing the game to cycle through to the correct mode can quickly become frustrating.
I replayed this using the Enhanced Edition, which features controller support, a very useful HUD, and the ability to zoom in and out. Using a controller sees each mode assigned to a button, so switching is pretty seamless. The Enhanced Edition also removes the annoying damage you would take in aggressive mode when accidentally running into something inanimate. If you do decide to give this game a go for yourself, I highly recommend playing the Enhanced Edition and using a controller.
Along the way, Twinsen discovers his magic ball, which provides him with a ranged attack.
Health, magic, and lives must be managed, but it’s relatively easy to take care of. Health and magic is easily replenished by interacting with objects around the world which drop health or magic. The Enhanced Edition also identifies which objects you can interact with, making it much simpler.
If Twinsen’s health is ever depleted, it’s game over. However, you do have access to more lives by picking up clovers. These are quite rare. In the beginning you are limited to one clover (basically two lives), but you can find additional ones throughout the game.
Game over is not actually that big of a deal. The game autosaves whenever you enter a new screen, so should you lose all your lives, you can immediately restart from the most recent autosave. Losing a clover instead means you can continue on without having to restart from the autosave.
Along his adventure, Twinsen uncovers new locations to visit. In the beginning, you are restricted to using the ferry system to travel, but later on you buy a pretty cool catamaran. You can’t control the vehicles you use, so it’s just a cutscene when transitioning between areas.
Inventory management is relatively simple. There are key items that you need to pick up to progress the story, and then there are standard items such as ferry tickets and gas that you need to manage in order to travel.
Kashes are the in-game currency, and you can visit shops to buy the items you need. You can buy health and magic top-ups, but these are never necessary given how easy it is to find these while exploring.
Well, that’s the game! Let’s see how I got on replaying Little Big Adventure.
The Replay
You join Twinsen in his cell, having been locked up due to his “crazy” dreams. So, first order of business: escape!
This short and linear sequence provides you with an in-game tutorial. To escape, you must use the athletic, aggressive, and discreet modes. It’s a frantic escape, and it drops you right into the adventure. Take a look:
Once you’re free, you’re on your own. You have the freedom to explore and interact with the world and its inhabitants.
It can seem a bit overwhelming, as you’re not immediately driven towards your next goal. Modern adventure and roleplaying games often feature journals and quest lists. In Little Big Adventure, it’s fairly linear and you don’t often have more than one objective. You can access the holomap, which will always point to areas where you need to do something to advance the story. It just doesn’t tell you what needs doing.
Thankfully, if you ever get stuck, there is a way to get a hint: talk to somebody!
As you can see from the image above, you quite literally get pointed in the right direction. In this case, time to get back home to Zoé!
The story takes off quickly once you return Twinsen home. The authorities are looking for him, and of course his home is the first point of call. Get used to life on the run, as Twinsen spends the whole game as a fugitive.
In effect, it’s not that intense. Twinsen is quick enough to escape from most of the wandering clones and soldiers, and there isn’t a concentrated effort to locate and corner him (even with a network of teleporting clones available). You’re free to roam and explore, as long as you don’t get too close to the authorities. You can take most of them out (they will respawn when you return to an area), but it’s often not worth it.
Pretty soon, you’ll have a very good reason for exploring Twinsen’s strange dreams.
Thankfully, most of the characters you meet along the way are sympathetic to Twinsen’s cause; there is a very revolutionary, underground vibe throughout.
Prove your worth with the local populace, and doors will open (quite literally at times). You become aware of the “Legend”, and all becomes clear: Twinsen is the “Heir” that will fulfill the ancient prophecy and overthrow the tyrant Dr FunFrock.
From here, it’s a journey of acquiring the necessary knowledge and power to complete Twinsen’s quest.
For the most part, provided you keep talking to those you meet along the way, it’s a fairly easy progression through the adventure. There was only one section early on where I thought the game was going to present a more frustrating challenge. I knew there were platforming elements in this game, so when I arrived at a maze-like location requiring a concentrated effort to get through, I suspected the worst. I thought the search for the items of power would become a series of “dungeons” requiring a lot of precise platforming.
Thankfully, my suspicion was proven wrong. It’s more of a classic point-and-click adventure game going from point A to point B with the right items, than a classic Legend of Zelda style dungeon platformer.
There are some incredibly fun, unique, and quirky moments throughout the game which give it its charm. Here are some memorable examples.
There’s the museum heist involving the use of a jetpack:
Joining the resistance movement and raiding a fort to rescue a general:
Snowboarding for no reason at all:
And an underground (literally) disco party:
There are also some “meta” moments (Easter Eggs) that you can find. There is the reminder of the game’s French origin:
The “bug” in the game:
And a Star Wars reference:
Along the way, you continue to collect the items of power Twinsen needs to fulfill his part in the prophecy.
Once ready, it’s time for the inevitable final showdown with FunFrock. I won’t go into spoiler territory with the ending, but hey, I think you can guess how this all ends up!
So, now that I’ve completed my replay of Little Big Adventure, what did I make of it?
The Verdict
Reflecting on my playthrough, I think the cross-genre result was impressive for the time. I never felt pulled in one direction too much. In other words, the balance between the action-adventure, role playing, and platforming elements felt just right. It’s a “sum of the parts being greater than the whole” type of experience. I don’t feel each element is strong enough to stand on its own: it’s not a great platformer, and the roleplaying aspects are not very deep.
The pacing of the story was also very good. It’s not a long adventure, but in a way it feels longer than it is. I think this is because of the unique scenarios and environments you find yourself in. There is a little bit of back and forth with fetch quests, but it doesn’t feel repetitive. Each area also feels big enough that there’s a lot to explore, but without being overwhelming.
I very rarely got stuck for very long, despite there not being a quest log. After realising that if you talk to enough characters and use your holomap, you’re never far off course. I find it satisfying in adventure games when you pick up that important item and know exactly what to do and where to head to next. In Little Big Adventure you often know exactly what to do once you pick up that key quest item. And it’s not a classic adventure game, so it wasn’t designed to stump you, or make you think too far outside the box. Does that mean it’s easy? Well, yes. I didn’t find it particularly challenging. But that wasn’t what I was looking for in this game, back when I first played it, or now.
I was looking to enter the visually appealing world of Twinsun and be told a story. Again, that story wasn’t exactly original, but did I enjoy my time with Twinsen? Absolutely.
I come back to the three words I used in the Intro: unique, quirky, and charming. It’s hard to elaborate on these words, as for me they sum up the game so well. I’ll try though.
For one, I’ve never experienced anything quite like it since. It’s also weird, but good weird. It didn’t make me question its quirkiness; I just accepted it. If you think about it, we never really question Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom, or Sonic the super speedy blue hedgehog. It’s a fantasy, and the attraction of another world, far different from our own. And finally, it draws you in and stays with you. At its core, it’s a dark, grim tale. But it takes place in such a bright and vibrant setting, with Twinsen the underdog protagonist. And we always want to see the unlikely hero rise up! For these reasons, this game has stayed with me—I’ve never forgotten its place in my gaming history.
The name of the game has always made me think about its meaning. With two antonyms in the title, there is an obvious contrast to consider. Twinsen being “little”, achieving a “big” victory. I like to think of it in terms of what this game brought to video gaming: a “little” game developer producing a “big” achievement in game design.
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