Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals

Sierra On-Line

Industry	Video game development and publishing
Founded	1980
Founder	Ken and Roberta Williams
Headquarters	Coarsegold , United States
Products	Leisure Suit Larry series, Police Quest, Space Quest, King's Quest
Website	www.sierra.com

Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals is a graphic adventure game created by Al Lowe and released by Sierra On-Line for platforms including DOS, Atari ST, and Amiga in 1989. This title represents the third chapter in the Leisure Suit Larry franchise. The narrative centers on the main character, Larry Laffer, who, following an unexpected divorce, explores a tropical resort in search of romance. Upon encountering Passionate Patti, gameplay transitions to her perspective as she endeavors to locate Larry.

Gameplay

Built with Sierra's Creative Interpreter (SCI0), the visual style closely resembles the previous entry, 1988's Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places). Player input is managed through a combination of mouse-driven controls and a text parser to execute character commands.

The setting is Nontoonyt Island, now developed into a resort that replaces the earlier game’s tropical backdrop. The entire island is accessible from the beginning, featuring various zones akin to the urban environment seen in Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards.

Larry encounters several potential love interests scattered throughout the resort, each introduced with detailed close-up portraits upon interaction. Central to gameplay is Larry’s act of gifting these women; unlike previous installments, these gifts are not purchased with money.

A distinctive element is the introduction of a second playable character, Passionate Patti, who players control during specific segments. Patti's gameplay aligns more with classic adventure conventions, involving maze exploration and collecting items necessary for solving puzzles. Her sequences also include multiple instances where the player can experience character "deaths," as well as detailed portraits of her romantic interest, a male stripper.

"Filth Level"

Similar to Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, this game opens with cheeky adult-oriented questions. Players may bypass this quiz by pressing Ctrl-Alt-X. The number of correct responses determines a "Filth Level" rating from 1 to 5: at the lowest setting (Mother Goose), all sexually suggestive content is disabled, while at the highest (Totally Raunchiest), full nudity is displayed. Despite featuring nudity, explicit sexual acts involving Larry are never shown on screen. The Filth Level also influences the default expletive repeated throughout gameplay, which users can personalize.

Plot

The storyline unfolds five years after the events of Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places). Having triumphed over Dr. Nonookee, Larry now resides on Nontoonyt Island—a tropical locale reminiscent of Honolulu, Hawaii. He holds a lucrative position at "Natives Inc." and shares a luxurious residence with his wife Kalalau, daughter of tribal chief turned real estate magnate "Chairman Kenneth" (formerly Chief Keneewauwau). After years together, Kalalau leaves Larry for another woman, leading to his job loss. Consequently, Larry reverts to his signature white leisure suit and bachelor lifestyle.

Among the female characters are Tawni, a topless sunbather preoccupied with souvenirs; Cherri Tart, a casino showgirl; Suzi, an attorney from "Dewey, Cheatem & Howe" managing Larry's divorce; Bambi, an aerobics teacher; and Passionate Patti, a jazz pianist formerly known as "Polyester Patty." Larry’s attempts to woo these women fail until he successfully wins over Patti by gathering essential items and performing specific actions linked to his interactions.

After spending the night together, Patti mutters her previous lover’s name in her sleep. Feeling rejected, Larry vanishes into the jungle surrounding the resort. The player then assumes control of Patti as she braves hostile terrain—often discarding clothing—to track down Larry and clear up their misunderstanding.

In the concluding segment, both Larry and Patti are captured by lesbian cannibals. Breaking the fourth wall, they escape using a "magic marker," only to find themselves at Sierra’s Coarsegold, California headquarters portrayed as a film studio. They proceed through various sets referencing other Sierra titles such as Police Quest and Space Quest II, incorporating self-referential humor typical of Sierra games. This sequence culminates with Larry interrupting Sierra programmer Roberta Williams while she directs a scene from King's Quest IV.

The game ends with Larry receiving an offer to work at Sierra and settling with Patti in a California log cabin; he embarks on creating a computer game series inspired by his adventures.

Development

Sierra revisited mature themes with Leisure Suit Larry III, a departure from the more subdued content of its predecessor. The characters, notably Larry himself, were redesigned with a more exaggerated and cartoon-like appearance, moving away from the prior realistic style. The game's manual took the form of a travel brochure, incorporating "advertisements" that also functioned as copy protection codes. Moreover, this installment featured an expanded selection of MIDI music compared to the previous release.

Reception

According to Al Lowe, each installment in the Leisure Suit Larry series, including this one, achieved sales exceeding 250,000 copies. Sierra On-Line announced that by March 1996—before the release of Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail!—the combined sales of the series had surpassed 1.4 million units. With the launch of that title, total sales for the first five games climbed beyond 2 million copies.

Theo Clarke from Games International observed that the game's unskippable opening credits initially hindered gameplay flow but commended the pace once underway. While acknowledging some shortcomings relative to earlier entries, he criticized the intrusive soundtrack and overly large scoring system, noting that certain player responses were less accurate due to increased complexity. Clarke awarded both gameplay and graphics an 8 out of 10, underscoring Sierra’s commitment to quality.

Leisure Suit Larry III was honored with an "Excellence Award" by Game Player's PC Strategy Guide. In 1991, PC Format included the first three Larry titles among the top 50 computer games ever made, highlighting their risqué humor and entertainment value. Later, in 1994, PC Gamer US ranked this game as the 37th best computer game, commending its comedic elements, engaging gameplay, and innovative gender-swapping feature.