Posted September 17, 2009
And deservedly so.
I might be a little biased, however, as I'm Norwegian and the game came with Norwegian voiceacting if you wanted it, and for some reason that elevated the game for me quite heavily. But trying to look at it objectively, it's still one of the finest adventure games out there for several reasons. Let's have a look at them, shall we?
Main Character:
April, a young student in a somewhat futuristic world, with all the cares and don't cares such a young lass would have. Emphatic and possessing a dry wit, while being capable of both introspection and insightful commentary on her surroundings and situation. It was one of the first games of it's genre where I truly found myself caring for her fate, and for the characters around her.
She is astoundingly well portrayed throughout the game, and is the driving force behind wanting to solve every puzzle and continuing the journey, just because you want to help her as much as you can and see how she'll react to the rest of the world she's finding.
World(s):
The worlds of Arkadia and Stark are fantastically portrayed. Each character and creature you meet are fascinating and are sure to invoke the full range of feelings you are capable of throughout the game, while being wonderfully fitting in each situation you find them in. Arkadia being a lovely dualistic experience between dark and dystopian future, and a bright and cheerful future with delightful "future tech" which just feels natural and in-place. The same goes for Stark, in it's own way. A far more varied experience in itself, it provides everything a fantasy world can conjure up, both in creatures and settings. And they all feel natural and very fitting.
Excellently portrayed through the (for it's time) fantastic art.
Story and Characters:
The story is confusing, there is no doubt about that. After I finished the game the first time, I had to immediately play it again just to get a full grasp of everything that's going on. But there's no doubt that it is masterfully told in a way that always leaves you with a powerful urge to discover more and gain answers to the questions you are constantly asking yourself.
Buuuut it's confusing allright. Sometimes you just aren't sure at all what the hell is going on, and for some people that might put them off this game. If you like a good mystery and don't mind it just deepening over your playtime, this is definitely the game for you.
The characters you meet and interact with are also masterfully written and portrayed. Anyone who has ever played this game will reminisce with joy about Raven and April's banter and friendship. About that delightful dimwit sweeping the pavement outside the old cinema, or that cliche detective outside the same building. You'll remember the Dragons with a smile, and from there you'll laugh when you recall that crab/shellfish/something thing that communicated entirely through Clicks, and yet gave you that slightly warm and fuzzy feeling when you helped him out.
All given wondrous voiceacting, at least in the Norwegian version. I haven't heard the international English version, so I can't speak of that.
Gameplay:
It's a very simple game, mechanics wise. Point and click, click and combine, rightclick to get up a menu asking if you want to talk/approach/use/pick up something. It's quite simple, in gameplay regard. But the puzzles? They're not simple at all. Some are in fact so non-intuitive that I would always recommend having a walkthrough bookmarked in order to get you past the most frustrating points where you get stuck. When you read the solution, you'll often facepalm and say "of course, why didn't I think of that?", but that's just because the solution doesn't make any sense until you already know about it.
The overall flow and puzzle solving in the game works very well, and is both intuitive and sometimes random. But like I said earlier, some puzzles are just mindbogglingly difficult and unintuitive. Don't let that discourage you, though, since these are very often highlighted in any online Walkthrough so you can get help with it without spoiling the rest of the game.
Graphics:
Weeeell... it's getting old in that regard. The 3D characters in 2D environments can sometimes be a slight chore both to maneuver and interact with, as we're quite simply used to much better these days. Finding out what can be interacted with, and what can't sometimes consists of just moving the mousepointer around to see when it changes into the "You can do something here" mode.
For it's day, it was fantastic and without comparison within the adventure genre. But if you never played games from this era, you might want to check out a few HQ vids on youtube or something before you make the final decision on whether or not to buy this. If, however, you're one of the veterans of this era, you are already well aware of the "problems" I'm pointing out here, and you're probably quite adept at handling them.
Conclusion:
To me, a far better adventure games than even the old Monkey Island series and the DoTT games. The Dig, Full Throttle and so on can't compare, for me. My personal favorite amongst Adventure games, and one that I often find myself installing just to play for a few hours to get that lovely nostalgic feeling.
It's worth the money, without a doubt.
... don't ever bother paying for the sequel, though. Adding sneaking and combat into this game universe just didn't do it any favors at all. Biggest disappointment I've had except the time the Console Devtards managed to turn F.E.A.R's gutwrenching horror moments into quicktime events. Buut that's another rant for another time.
For now, just know that The Longest Journey is one of the finest games I've ever played, and it's got my seal of approval. Enjoy it. It's never as good as the first time.
I might be a little biased, however, as I'm Norwegian and the game came with Norwegian voiceacting if you wanted it, and for some reason that elevated the game for me quite heavily. But trying to look at it objectively, it's still one of the finest adventure games out there for several reasons. Let's have a look at them, shall we?
Main Character:
April, a young student in a somewhat futuristic world, with all the cares and don't cares such a young lass would have. Emphatic and possessing a dry wit, while being capable of both introspection and insightful commentary on her surroundings and situation. It was one of the first games of it's genre where I truly found myself caring for her fate, and for the characters around her.
She is astoundingly well portrayed throughout the game, and is the driving force behind wanting to solve every puzzle and continuing the journey, just because you want to help her as much as you can and see how she'll react to the rest of the world she's finding.
World(s):
The worlds of Arkadia and Stark are fantastically portrayed. Each character and creature you meet are fascinating and are sure to invoke the full range of feelings you are capable of throughout the game, while being wonderfully fitting in each situation you find them in. Arkadia being a lovely dualistic experience between dark and dystopian future, and a bright and cheerful future with delightful "future tech" which just feels natural and in-place. The same goes for Stark, in it's own way. A far more varied experience in itself, it provides everything a fantasy world can conjure up, both in creatures and settings. And they all feel natural and very fitting.
Excellently portrayed through the (for it's time) fantastic art.
Story and Characters:
The story is confusing, there is no doubt about that. After I finished the game the first time, I had to immediately play it again just to get a full grasp of everything that's going on. But there's no doubt that it is masterfully told in a way that always leaves you with a powerful urge to discover more and gain answers to the questions you are constantly asking yourself.
Buuuut it's confusing allright. Sometimes you just aren't sure at all what the hell is going on, and for some people that might put them off this game. If you like a good mystery and don't mind it just deepening over your playtime, this is definitely the game for you.
The characters you meet and interact with are also masterfully written and portrayed. Anyone who has ever played this game will reminisce with joy about Raven and April's banter and friendship. About that delightful dimwit sweeping the pavement outside the old cinema, or that cliche detective outside the same building. You'll remember the Dragons with a smile, and from there you'll laugh when you recall that crab/shellfish/something thing that communicated entirely through Clicks, and yet gave you that slightly warm and fuzzy feeling when you helped him out.
All given wondrous voiceacting, at least in the Norwegian version. I haven't heard the international English version, so I can't speak of that.
Gameplay:
It's a very simple game, mechanics wise. Point and click, click and combine, rightclick to get up a menu asking if you want to talk/approach/use/pick up something. It's quite simple, in gameplay regard. But the puzzles? They're not simple at all. Some are in fact so non-intuitive that I would always recommend having a walkthrough bookmarked in order to get you past the most frustrating points where you get stuck. When you read the solution, you'll often facepalm and say "of course, why didn't I think of that?", but that's just because the solution doesn't make any sense until you already know about it.
The overall flow and puzzle solving in the game works very well, and is both intuitive and sometimes random. But like I said earlier, some puzzles are just mindbogglingly difficult and unintuitive. Don't let that discourage you, though, since these are very often highlighted in any online Walkthrough so you can get help with it without spoiling the rest of the game.
Graphics:
Weeeell... it's getting old in that regard. The 3D characters in 2D environments can sometimes be a slight chore both to maneuver and interact with, as we're quite simply used to much better these days. Finding out what can be interacted with, and what can't sometimes consists of just moving the mousepointer around to see when it changes into the "You can do something here" mode.
For it's day, it was fantastic and without comparison within the adventure genre. But if you never played games from this era, you might want to check out a few HQ vids on youtube or something before you make the final decision on whether or not to buy this. If, however, you're one of the veterans of this era, you are already well aware of the "problems" I'm pointing out here, and you're probably quite adept at handling them.
Conclusion:
To me, a far better adventure games than even the old Monkey Island series and the DoTT games. The Dig, Full Throttle and so on can't compare, for me. My personal favorite amongst Adventure games, and one that I often find myself installing just to play for a few hours to get that lovely nostalgic feeling.
It's worth the money, without a doubt.
... don't ever bother paying for the sequel, though. Adding sneaking and combat into this game universe just didn't do it any favors at all. Biggest disappointment I've had except the time the Console Devtards managed to turn F.E.A.R's gutwrenching horror moments into quicktime events. Buut that's another rant for another time.
For now, just know that The Longest Journey is one of the finest games I've ever played, and it's got my seal of approval. Enjoy it. It's never as good as the first time.