Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)

Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)

Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
Founded	1988 (1988)
Founder	Al Lowe
Headquarters	United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Al Lowe (creator)
Products	Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)
Owner	Sierra On-Line
Parent	Sierra On-Line

Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) represents the second installment in the Leisure Suit Larry series of graphical adventure games. Created by Al Lowe and released by Sierra On-Line in 1988, it was developed for multiple platforms such as MS-DOS, Atari ST, and Amiga. Utilizing the SCI0 engine, the game features 16-color EGA visuals and a user interface controlled by a mouse. The narrative continues to follow the misadventures of Larry Laffer, who finds himself stranded on a tropical island during an ill-fated holiday.

Gameplay

In contrast to the original Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, this title adopts a more linear narrative structure, akin to other Sierra adventure games, especially later entries in the King's Quest franchise. Players guide the protagonist’s movement using cursor keys, a mouse, or a joystick, while other interactions are managed through a text parser. Rather than exploring a single city environment, players encounter various puzzles and labyrinthine areas. Certain collected items must be handled with care to prevent inescapable situations. Although no explicit time constraints are visible, some scripted events demand timely player responses.

As is customary in the Leisure Suit Larry series, Larry’s encounters with female non-player characters are accompanied by on-screen portraits, albeit smaller than those in the previous game. Uniquely, this version penalizes Larry for attempting to flirt with women—such actions result in his violent demise and immediate game over, marking a departure from earlier series mechanics. Additionally, a "Trite Phrase" feature allows players to enter a catchphrase repeated throughout gameplay; the preset default is the well-known "Have a nice day".

Plot

The storyline begins with Larry tending to Eve’s lawn—Eve being his prior romantic interest—suggesting they had continued their relationship. However, Eve barely recalls him, revealing their liaison was merely a one-night encounter. Feeling dejected, Larry unexpectedly wins both the Lottery and an all-expenses-paid vacation, which leads him to participate in a dating game show.

Larry inadvertently comes into possession of microfilm, drawing the attention of both the KGB and an eccentric scientist named Dr. Nonookee, who are eager to retrieve it. While aboard a cruise ship, Larry evades an unwanted companion by abandoning ship via lifeboat and eventually washes ashore on a Spanish-speaking island in the Pacific. Disguised as a woman at the airport, he manages to avoid capture by KGB agents.

Larry then parachutes onto Nontoonyt, a jungle island where Dr. Nonookee conducts his operations. There he meets Kalalau, daughter of chief Keneewauwau, who informs him that Nonookee is obstructing resort development by a corporation. To win Kalalau’s hand in marriage, Larry ventures into a volcano, inadvertently causing Nonookee’s death and freeing native women under hypnosis—including "Polyester Patti." The game concludes with Larry marrying Kalalau as volcanic activity intensifies.

A recurring humorous motif involves visits to identical barber shops at each location, one of which is managed by Princess Rosella from King's Quest IV.

Development

This sequel was built using Sierra On-Line’s updated Sierra Creative Interpreter (SCI) engine, supporting 320x200 resolution graphics alongside mouse and sound card functionality. It showcases realistic artwork and diverse settings such as cruise ships and tropical islands, paralleling elements from the King's Quest series.

Compared to its predecessor, Sierra reduced Larry’s sexual encounters; he is unable to engage with women until near the conclusion of the game. Consequently, despite brief pixelated nudity scenes, no age verification was required. The engine also supports FM synthesis and MT-32 audio capabilities.

The title includes cross-promotional content like Princess Rosella from King's Quest IV and introduces "Polyester Patti," who later appears as "Passionate Patti" in subsequent series entries. Sierra eliminated disk-based copy protection in favor of manual-based phone number verification combined with an undocumented cheat code referencing designer Al Lowe’s birthday.

Reception

According to creator Al Lowe, each installment in the Leisure Suit Larry series achieved sales exceeding 250,000 copies. By March 1996, total sales for the franchise had surpassed 1.4 million units, eventually exceeding 2 million following the release of the first five titles, prior to Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail!

The game Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) garnered predominantly favorable critiques, earning a 9 out of 10 score from Commodore User, a 90% rating from Computer & Video Games, and an 84% score for its 1994 Amiga reissue by Kixx.

Bob Guerra of Compute! described it as an "excellent sequel," highlighting its compelling narrative and captivating graphics. Retrospective assessments often emphasize its comedic elements and enjoyable gameplay, even though it is not considered the strongest entry in the series.

In 1991, PC Format placed the initial three Leisure Suit Larry titles among the top 50 computer games ever released, citing their risqué humor and strong appeal to mature players.