I am curious though. Compared to Grim Fandango’s superb plot, how does TLJ stack up? Clearly opinions are just that, and I suspect Manny Calevera is just a character that appeals to me more than April ever will.

What I dislike about Dreamfall was death. I went into a room to solve a puzzle. “Oh”, I said, “It’s a sequel to TLJ! I cannot die! Let me… Why am I dead? I CAN DIE?!” Then again, the fact that there’s combat should have been a big hint.

The mechanics of the game feel clumsy, which shows the 3D engine in a poor light. Unlike with TLJ, I don’t examine everything to hear Zoe’s opinion. And the voice-acting is… Par, I’d say. I’ve heard the same voice several times. There’s a reason TLJ didn’t let you converse with all and sundry, imo.

Still, the story was pretty good, with some funny points, and Dreamfall… has funny points in Marcuria. Zoe seems… lifeless. None of the humour April used and uses so often. Consider, if you’ve played Dreamfall, the glowing egg. I’ll say no more for those who haven’t got that far. If you have, compare the two opinions offered on the glowing egg if you examine it with Zoe and April.

I can understand why the ship section could be used as a demo, being isolated and revolving around a strong short-time objective, and adveture games must be among the hardest games to demo, but I felt distinctly underwhelmed by the fact that THIS was the moment a game that was really being talked about for having a great story and central character chose to use as its showpiece. What little context was provided for April’s circumstances was fairly generic, all Chosen One this and bad Chaos that, and April herself… again, without context, the actions the game forces you to do, as April, seem awfully selfish and shallow. It really was a problem with context, because all the stuff that’s happened in the game up till then isn’t explained, so you’re not guided to the point where you think ‘the lives of these wretched sailors is a small price to pay for the entire world!’ I was rooting for the captain to just dump April over the side, which isn’t a great way to feel about a game’s main character.

Also, the fact that the only ’solution’ seemed to involve killing everyone in a random mistake…

Puzzles like the policeman’s eyeball are forgiven because the worlds it created were so interesting, and the story so compelling. So while it may have been a barren journey to see Flipper (and don’t forget you could hold down ‘Enter’ and she’d hyper-speed through any scene, making travel very quick), the conversations with Flipper were so fantastically funny that it was always worth it.

I think the next thing I want to write about TLJ will be reflecting on why when I play it now it doesn’t have the same impact on me as ten years ago. Which will be because I’m ten years older. We discuss this in the next part of the interview, in fact.

The animation was too often sub-par and generally the environment was very desolate and empty, as in there being very little to see or interact with except the items that had some use in solving some of the puzzles. For example, the paint shaker stuck out like a sore thumb as one of the few focusable background decorations, until it fulfills its function as the only device in the whole city that is able to shake a soda can. It’s also notable that in order to get to the shaker in question, you needed to cross three empty screens from the metro station. If you wanted to go see Flipper (the only other reason to visit the location), he was a further two (empty) screens ahead. There probably was one wrecked car you could look at while on the way there but that was that.

Not to mention the absurd rubber-ducky puzzle in the first episode.

That being said, I still remember the game fondly due to its well-realized dramatic arc, a bit wordy dialoque, and quality voice acting.

Dreamfall… Not finished it just yet. In the afore-mentioned cave.

The main problem is the camera. You have to spin it ALL. THE. TIME. and it doesn’t help. I’ve walked into walls and missed interactions with objects because I couldn’t see them. Took me ten minutes to get into the Hotel, because I didn’t know I had to go to the OTHER side.

The scenery is nice, though. But… why all the British and Irish voice actors? Japanese people don’t sound like that…

But yes, TLJ’s looking old. However, I replayed it not too long ago, and that matters very little. It was always about narrative, and the voice acting is mostly stunning. Although yeah, it’s a shame about some of those puzzles.

Most definitely try it. It’s not only a great game with fantastic characters in itself, but you will get even more out of Dreamfall when you can see what the past versions of the characters and places are like.

yes, I do get easily excited too when it comes to TLJ, Ragnar and even Funcom.