Little Big Adventure
Encyclopedia
Little Big Adventure is an action-adventure game
developed by Adeline Software International
and first released at the end of 1994. It was published in Europe by Electronic Arts
and in North America, Asia and Oceania under the name Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure by Activision
. Over 400,000 copies of the game were sold worldwide in the first release. The game was initially released on CD-ROM
and some time later on floppy disk
s; 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. A sequel was released under the name of Little Big Adventure 2
(also known as Twinsen's Odyssey).
action-adventure
game. All characters and vehicles in the game, including some props in the world, are real 3D polygon
-based objects, performing actions within 2D hand-drawn environments. After completion of certain tasks the player is presented with a full motion video
cut-scene. The player-character, Twinsen, can be switched between four different "behaviour modes" (Normal, Athletic/Sporty, Aggressive, and Discreet), each changing the character's abilities and interactions with the game world. Combat in the game is mainly conducted using the Magic Ball, a glowing ball of energy which the player throws towards enemies, the trajectory and angle of the ball changing depending on the mode the player is in. Switching to the "Aggressive" mode also allows Twinsen to engage in combat via punching and kicking.
The gameplay is partially free-roaming, allowing the player free non-linear travel around the islands of the game's world once they have been "unlocked" by completing certain objectives or solving certain puzzles; there are also many tasks which are optional or non-linear. Certain locations in the game are initially blocked from the player until they progress to a certain stage, such as the islands in the Northern Hemisphere and fortresses on several of the islands in the Southern Hemisphere.
machines which he has dispersed around the planet. The player character
is a young Quetch named Twinsen, who has been incarcerated in an asylum on the fortress-like Citadel Island because of his prophetic dreams about the end of the world.
Twinsen escapes from the asylum and returns to his house which he shares with his girlfriend Zoe, but when Dr Funfrock's clones arrive to re-arrest him, Zoe hides Twinsen from them and is arrested herself. As Twinsen travels between the islands of the planet, seeking to find a way of overcoming Funfrock's clone army and recover Zoe, he discovers that his strange dreams are in fact part of the Prophecy, a legendary tale regarding a being known as Sendell who is said to inhabit the core of the planet and watch over the people of Twinsun. Twinsen's dreams are in fact telepathic messages sent by Sendell, who chose his ancestors to help her watch over the planet centuries prior and is now contacting Twinsen (as the current descendent of his family line) to warn the inhabitants of the planet of the danger posed by Funfrock.
Realising that finding Funfrock and fulfilling the Prophecy is the only way to recover Zoe, Twinsen teams up with a group of rebels resisting the rule of Funfrock, who help him sabotage Funfrock's cloning and teleportation abilities and give him passage through to the Northern Hemisphere, where Funfrock has set up a massive drilling operation into the heart of the planet. Twinsen breaks into Funfrock's main fortress and finds Zoe seemingly locked in a jail, but she is revealed to be a clone created by Funfrock as bait, and Funfrock reveals that with Twinsen safely locked up where he cannot fulfil his part of the Prophecy, he is free to safely drill through to the Well of Sendell deep in the planet's core, where he hopes to encounter Sendell and gain the godly powers she possesses for himself.
Twinsen escapes from the clutches of Funfrock's clones and succeeds in blowing the fortress up, clearing the way for him to fight through Funfrock's drilling operation to reach the Well of Sendell. Funfrock waits with Zoe at the entrance to the Well, telling Twinsen that he'll spare Twinsen and Zoe if he opens the Well for Funfrock to advance and reach Sendell. Twinsen pushes Funfrock off the side of a cliff during a sword fight and opens the Well in order to complete the Prophecy, inadvertently allowing a surviving Funfrock access as well. Twinsen defeats Funfrock in a final confrontation, and him and Zoe encounter Sendell, a being appearing to consist purely of glowing electrical energy, who thanks them for saving a gestalt entity which she is protecting in the core of the planet. Sendell uses her powers to allow Twinsen and Zoe to fly back to the surface, where the inhabitants of the planet have prepared a celebration in Twinsen's honour.
Zoe is Twinsen's girlfriend. She is captured by two Grobo clones shortly after Twinsen escapes from the asylum. Near the end of the game, Twinsen rescues what he thinks is Zoe, but turns out to be a clone. Twinsen rescues the real Zoe at the very end of the game. She is voiced by Julie Bataille in French, and Trish Kessler-Caffrey in English.
Jerome Baldino (better known as Baldino) is the local inventor on Proxima Island. He aids Twinsen in the game with his protopack, which the player must use to rob a museum. He only appears for a short time, though he plays a bigger part in Little Big Adventure 2
. He is voiced by Sylvain Caruso in French, and Christian Erickson in English.
FunFrock is the main antagonist of the game. He is the dictator of Twinsun who controls the planet using three powers: cloning, teleportation and mutant breeding. His true goal is to achieve the God-like status by destroying Sendell, the goddess of the planet. After Twinsen defeats him, the planet is peaceful again, and no longer under the reign of terror. It is revealed in Little Big Adventure 2
that Twinsen actually killed a clone of Funfrock in the end of the game. He is voiced by Pierre-Alain De Garrigues in French, and Christian Erickson in English.
Dino-Fly is a dinosaur
with wings, roosting on top of Tippet Island. He says he has been waiting for the heir (who is Twinsen) for centuries. He helps Twinsen get to the other islands of the northern hemisphere of Twinsun. He is voiced by Pierre-Alain De Garrigues in French, and Christian Erickson in English.
Sendell is the goddess
of Twinsun. She calls Twinsen for help in his dreams, warning him of FunFrock's dictatorship. She and other Sendells are watching over a Stellar Entity that is in gestation in the centre of Twinsun. She is seen briefly in the ending cutscene. She is voiced by Julie Bataille in French, and Trish Kessler-Caffrey in English.
In August 2011, co-founder of Adeline Software Didier Chanfray said in an interview that downloadable re-releases of both Little Big Adventure and its sequel were "under negotiation". He also added that a "remix" of the game was being considered for release on touch-pad devices.
On October 11, 2011, the game was re-released in digital form by Good Old Games.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
developed by Adeline Software International
Adeline Software International
Adeline Software International was a video game developer founded in February 1993 as a subsidiary company of Delphine Software International, and based in Lyon, France...
and first released at the end of 1994. It was published in Europe by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
and in North America, Asia and Oceania under the name Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. Over 400,000 copies of the game were sold worldwide in the first release. The game was initially released on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
and some time later on floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s; the CD-ROM version featured full motion video
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
, music and speech whereas the floppy disk version has MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIDI is an industry-standard protocol, first defined in 1982 by Gordon Hall, that enables electronic musical instruments , computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and synchronize with each other...
music files and still images to replace the videos. The game was later ported to the PlayStation, and released in Europe and Japan. A sequel was released under the name of Little Big Adventure 2
Little Big Adventure 2
Little Big Adventure 2 is a computer game made by the core team who created the first Alone in the Dark.It was later re-released by Activision in June 1997 in both North America, and in Brazil, under the name Twinsen's Odyssey...
(also known as Twinsen's Odyssey).
Gameplay
Little Big Adventure is a real-time pseudo-3D isometricIsometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
game. All characters and vehicles in the game, including some props in the world, are real 3D polygon
Polygon (computer graphics)
Polygons are used in computer graphics to compose images that are three-dimensional in appearance. Usually triangular, polygons arise when an object's surface is modeled, vertices are selected, and the object is rendered in a wire frame model. This is quicker to display than a shaded model; thus...
-based objects, performing actions within 2D hand-drawn environments. After completion of certain tasks the player is presented with a full motion video
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
cut-scene. The player-character, Twinsen, can be switched between four different "behaviour modes" (Normal, Athletic/Sporty, Aggressive, and Discreet), each changing the character's abilities and interactions with the game world. Combat in the game is mainly conducted using the Magic Ball, a glowing ball of energy which the player throws towards enemies, the trajectory and angle of the ball changing depending on the mode the player is in. Switching to the "Aggressive" mode also allows Twinsen to engage in combat via punching and kicking.
The gameplay is partially free-roaming, allowing the player free non-linear travel around the islands of the game's world once they have been "unlocked" by completing certain objectives or solving certain puzzles; there are also many tasks which are optional or non-linear. Certain locations in the game are initially blocked from the player until they progress to a certain stage, such as the islands in the Northern Hemisphere and fortresses on several of the islands in the Southern Hemisphere.
Plot
The game is set on the fictional planet Twinsun, a world which is held in a suspended orbit between two suns resulting in a polar region around its equator. Four different sentient species populate Twinsun; Quetchs are aesthetically similar to humans except that they all possess ponytails, Spheros are short spherical creatures, Grobos resemble anthropomorphic elephants, and Rabbibunnies are tall, thin humanoid rabbits. As the game begins, it is explained that all peoples of Twinsun have been herded into the Southern hemisphere by a brutal tyrant called Dr Funfrock, who has subjugated the planet by developing an army of clones which travel using teleportTeleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
machines which he has dispersed around the planet. The player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
is a young Quetch named Twinsen, who has been incarcerated in an asylum on the fortress-like Citadel Island because of his prophetic dreams about the end of the world.
Twinsen escapes from the asylum and returns to his house which he shares with his girlfriend Zoe, but when Dr Funfrock's clones arrive to re-arrest him, Zoe hides Twinsen from them and is arrested herself. As Twinsen travels between the islands of the planet, seeking to find a way of overcoming Funfrock's clone army and recover Zoe, he discovers that his strange dreams are in fact part of the Prophecy, a legendary tale regarding a being known as Sendell who is said to inhabit the core of the planet and watch over the people of Twinsun. Twinsen's dreams are in fact telepathic messages sent by Sendell, who chose his ancestors to help her watch over the planet centuries prior and is now contacting Twinsen (as the current descendent of his family line) to warn the inhabitants of the planet of the danger posed by Funfrock.
Realising that finding Funfrock and fulfilling the Prophecy is the only way to recover Zoe, Twinsen teams up with a group of rebels resisting the rule of Funfrock, who help him sabotage Funfrock's cloning and teleportation abilities and give him passage through to the Northern Hemisphere, where Funfrock has set up a massive drilling operation into the heart of the planet. Twinsen breaks into Funfrock's main fortress and finds Zoe seemingly locked in a jail, but she is revealed to be a clone created by Funfrock as bait, and Funfrock reveals that with Twinsen safely locked up where he cannot fulfil his part of the Prophecy, he is free to safely drill through to the Well of Sendell deep in the planet's core, where he hopes to encounter Sendell and gain the godly powers she possesses for himself.
Twinsen escapes from the clutches of Funfrock's clones and succeeds in blowing the fortress up, clearing the way for him to fight through Funfrock's drilling operation to reach the Well of Sendell. Funfrock waits with Zoe at the entrance to the Well, telling Twinsen that he'll spare Twinsen and Zoe if he opens the Well for Funfrock to advance and reach Sendell. Twinsen pushes Funfrock off the side of a cliff during a sword fight and opens the Well in order to complete the Prophecy, inadvertently allowing a surviving Funfrock access as well. Twinsen defeats Funfrock in a final confrontation, and him and Zoe encounter Sendell, a being appearing to consist purely of glowing electrical energy, who thanks them for saving a gestalt entity which she is protecting in the core of the planet. Sendell uses her powers to allow Twinsen and Zoe to fly back to the surface, where the inhabitants of the planet have prepared a celebration in Twinsen's honour.
Characters
Twinsen is the hero of the game. The chosen one of the planet, heir to its prophecy, he must gather magical objects and sabotage FunFrock's reign. He is voiced by Sylvain Caruso in French, and Dana Westberg in English.Zoe is Twinsen's girlfriend. She is captured by two Grobo clones shortly after Twinsen escapes from the asylum. Near the end of the game, Twinsen rescues what he thinks is Zoe, but turns out to be a clone. Twinsen rescues the real Zoe at the very end of the game. She is voiced by Julie Bataille in French, and Trish Kessler-Caffrey in English.
Jerome Baldino (better known as Baldino) is the local inventor on Proxima Island. He aids Twinsen in the game with his protopack, which the player must use to rob a museum. He only appears for a short time, though he plays a bigger part in Little Big Adventure 2
Little Big Adventure 2
Little Big Adventure 2 is a computer game made by the core team who created the first Alone in the Dark.It was later re-released by Activision in June 1997 in both North America, and in Brazil, under the name Twinsen's Odyssey...
. He is voiced by Sylvain Caruso in French, and Christian Erickson in English.
FunFrock is the main antagonist of the game. He is the dictator of Twinsun who controls the planet using three powers: cloning, teleportation and mutant breeding. His true goal is to achieve the God-like status by destroying Sendell, the goddess of the planet. After Twinsen defeats him, the planet is peaceful again, and no longer under the reign of terror. It is revealed in Little Big Adventure 2
Little Big Adventure 2
Little Big Adventure 2 is a computer game made by the core team who created the first Alone in the Dark.It was later re-released by Activision in June 1997 in both North America, and in Brazil, under the name Twinsen's Odyssey...
that Twinsen actually killed a clone of Funfrock in the end of the game. He is voiced by Pierre-Alain De Garrigues in French, and Christian Erickson in English.
Dino-Fly is a dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
with wings, roosting on top of Tippet Island. He says he has been waiting for the heir (who is Twinsen) for centuries. He helps Twinsen get to the other islands of the northern hemisphere of Twinsun. He is voiced by Pierre-Alain De Garrigues in French, and Christian Erickson in English.
Sendell is the goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
of Twinsun. She calls Twinsen for help in his dreams, warning him of FunFrock's dictatorship. She and other Sendells are watching over a Stellar Entity that is in gestation in the centre of Twinsun. She is seen briefly in the ending cutscene. She is voiced by Julie Bataille in French, and Trish Kessler-Caffrey in English.
Development
The music for the game was composed by Frenchman Philippe Vachey who also composed music for Little Big Adventure 2.In August 2011, co-founder of Adeline Software Didier Chanfray said in an interview that downloadable re-releases of both Little Big Adventure and its sequel were "under negotiation". He also added that a "remix" of the game was being considered for release on touch-pad devices.
On October 11, 2011, the game was re-released in digital form by Good Old Games.