Leisure Suit Larry | |
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Cover art for the 1997 collection
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Genres | Graphic adventure |
Developers | Sierra Entertainment, High Voltage Software, Team17, Replay Games |
Publishers | Sierra Entertainment, Codemasters, Replay Games |
First release |
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards July 5, 1987 |
Latest release |
Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded June 27, 2013 |
Leisure Suit Larry is an adult-themed video game series created by Al Lowe. It was published by Sierra from 1987 to 2009, then by Codemasters from 2009. The games follow Larry Laffer, a balding, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing man in his 40s. The game play revolves around him attempting, usually unsuccessfully, to seduce attractive women.
The series had its origins in Sierra's earlier Softporn Adventure, a 1981 text adventure created by designer Chuck Benton; the story and basic structure from that game were reused for the first "Larry" game. The "Larry" games were one of Sierra's most popular game series during the genre's heyday, when it was first released in the mid-1980s. The series contains the only games produced by Sierra that contain significant sexual themes.
In general, the games follow the escapades of Larry Laffer as he attempts to convince a variety of nubile women to sleep with him. A common link between the games are Larry's explorations of luxurious and cosmopolitan hotels, ships, beaches, resorts, and casinos. The character of Larry Laffer was voiced by Jan Rabson.
After the first game, the series – despite becoming known for its lewd content – gained a reputation for not featuring as much sexual material as expected; this was particularly true of the middle games in the series, which were released at the same time as more explicit games, like Cobra Mission. At most, the raunchier moments were usually hidden as Easter eggs. Things became racier again toward the end of the series, particularly in the (original) final installment, Love for Sail!
Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude, a spin-off version of the series, featured a different protagonist and style of game play. It was developed by High Voltage Software and released by Sierra in 2004. In 2007, Vivendi Universal Games announced a mobile remake of Love for Sail! In 2008, Sierra Entertainment announced plans to release Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust. It was developed by Team17, and the publishing rights were offered to Codemasters, who published the game in 2009. Larry Lovage, the protagonist of Magna Cum Laude and Box Office Bust, was voiced by Tim Dadabo.