TLJ = Too Long Jawing for me

This won't be a review based on completing the game because I didn't finish it. Let me say right off that there are wonderful qualities to this game but I found the interminable dialogues to be too long for me. They were such a turn-off that I became disgruntled with playing the game and uninstalled it. I also found the cursing and foul language a disappointment. (I know, the rating should've been a warning to me, but I was still taken aback at the amount of foul language.)

The overall production level of the game is really awesome. The sense of immersion into April's world and existence is really first rate. The sets, background images, sound, music and playability are really state of the art. Even the computer-drawn characters are exceptionally done. To some degree, the dialogue between the characters help this overall sense of immersion but the amount of dialogue required to get to the main point was too much for me. I also found the amount of retracing areas already covered was too repititive for my taste.

The game installed and played on my Windows Professional 2000 OS without any hitches (I did a maximum install to avoid changing discs.) This was a pleasant surprise.

For those of you who played the game through to completion, I congratulate you. I just couldn't bear up under the amount of dialogue required to finish it.

It's too bad that you weren't able to finish this game. I too felt that the swearing got a little out of hand, but this is the style of life April is leading. It shows, after the game gets going, that she was meant for much bigger things.

The swearing just about disappears after the first chapters and the dialouge tones down as well. Anyone who can make it past the first few chapters is in for a real treat. This game is in my top 5 favorites because the bulk of this game is so engaging. I've never played a game that made me care so much about my character. And, the ending, just like a fable or tale of lore.

I wish there was a save for persons who don't like dialouge that put them into the fantasy world and bypassed modern day with a short summary of what has happened up to that point. I think many more people would have finished this game.

Bruce, I agree with you that the characters in TLJ were way too long winded. I actually found myself dozing off in the middle of a particularly long lecture by a priest. But I perservered, and kept on with the game, and I did enjoy it a lot. I know a lot of Boomers have this game on their Top 10 list, but it's probably a little lower on my list of favorites. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Cool]" src="cool.gif" />

The long monologue by the Priest in Arcadia was the beginning of the end for me. Then, when Rolling Man got going, I thought, "That's it - - -I can't take it anymore!"

I wonder if my being male had anything to do with it? All that sensitive, introspective talking may appeal more to women than men. Without getting deep into the obvious cliches, I wonder other GB's think about this.

I've got to say that I think TLJ is just about the best adventure games of the last few years... easily up there with Faust (7 Games of the Soul) and Riven.

Yes, I did find the swearing a bit much - particularly the guy who lived in the high tech pit, but everything else (and I mean everything) in the game was wonderful!

My only gripe is that there is currently no sign of the sequel that the plot so obviously begs for!

Ta-ra,
The Gremlin.

Hi.

I have to admit I found TLJ very slow - and really got quite bored at times

Gotta have different opinions though, eh

Cheers.

Mad

I loved everything about The Longest Journey, but I do admit that there were times when the dialogue scenes were very, very long. I asked every single question, too, and listened to all of the answers because I was afraid I would miss something. I remember that the first person who really got to me with his long-windedness was the old fisherman, and as my eyes were glazing over, April laid down on the dock and fell asleep! I thought that was hysterical, because I knew that the writers understood how long the dialogue was and they were not afraid to poke fun at themselves. Anyway, maybe you will be in the mood for that sort of game one day and you will pick it up again and decide to finish it. I love Gabriel Knight 3, but I originally stopped playing it because I was just in a slump. I picked it up again after getting a new computer and absolutely loved it. Maybe that will happen to you.

This game is in my top 5 and it's because of the dialogue!! I most enjoy games with heavy character interraction and the more dialogue the better. I feel it helps to really get into the story, provide clues and really get to know the characters and their individual personalities. Hope if there's a sequel, which I hope there is!, there's just as much interraction it's what totally made the game for me. in fact every game in my top 10 had heavy character interaction and dialogue.

While I enjoyed the game I did find it long winded too, what I did was keep the text on so that if it seemed like a really long conversation would take place, i could read it faster than listening to them by just hitting the escape key everytime I finished reading a line.

i don't think being a woman or man has anything to do with it... i'm a girl and found the dialogue interminable. i did finish the game though... started hitting 'escape' to get out of the dialogue, and then skimmed what had been said in April's conversation log.

i read a very interesting thread about this on another BB -- someone was making the point that in a well-written book, details are shown and not told. TLJ's fatal flaw (in my opinion) is that they tell too much without showing it. what was the point of ALL that dialogue at the beginning about april's friends, when her friends didn't really come into play again? if it was important that emma was a slut, the game should have shown this through her behavior. etc.

the swearing didn't bother me -- in fact, when people complain about it, i don't even know what parts they're talking about! the speech patterns just sounded normal to me...

i was not thrilled with the ending, but i am glad i played this game. it was kind of easy, but fun while it lasted.

-emily

I loved TLJ, for all the reasons mentioned above by Burpee, Bryansmom and GremlinUK. I was offended by the cursing in the beginning, but it rapidly disappeared (as soon as April left the city). I found the long monologues tedious and dreaded having to re-hear them when I needed to check a piece of information. <img border="0" alt="" title="" src="graemlins/woozy.gif" /> Overall, though, it was never enough to make me want to bail out. I'm glad I didn't. TLJ was one of the best games that year, IMHO. But there are soooo many games out there, Bruce. We have no need to be offended or bored or suffer through a game's bad design anymore. Just pull another game off the shelf. What are you going to play next?

I thought the priest's speech would have been far more interesting if we'd been seeing cut scenes of the things he was talking about instead of obscure carvings on a wall. I wouldn't call the problem "fatal" though, considering how many people liked the game despite the speeches.

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what was the point of ALL that dialogue at the beginning about april's friends, when her friends didn't really come into play again? if it was important that emma was a slut, the game should have shown this through her behavior. etc.

I thought a lot of that information about April's friends in the beginning was unnecessary. I got bored with the chat and kept wanting the story to start. It wasn't until I got to Arkadia (where there weren't any characters who used the F word all the time) that I really got interested in the game.

I prefer a game with memorable characters that you get to know, even if the conversations are a little long. But I wish the necessary conversations had been marked differently from the extra ones. Some of the topics really weren't of interest to me and weren't important to the game.

The most interesting thing about Emma was that she made that dragon sculpture. We never found out where or why she got the idea to do that. In spite of all that conversation about her, we really didn't know much about Emma at all.

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the swearing didn't bother me -- in fact, when people complain about it, i don't even know what parts they're talking about! the speech patterns just sounded normal to me...

A couple of the characters (Zak and Flipper) talked like people I'd give a wide berth to in real life.

I thought Flipper was a hoot but Zack was just poorly written. Should have been written out.

A lot of people point to the priest scene with the flickering walls as what was wrong with TLJ. The third time I played this game, (I know, what can I say?) I actually fell asleep in my chair. Still I think in ways this is the strongest game for me. But I agree that there should have been ways to bypass the day-to-day coffee chit-chat. Let those who wanted to move on, get going and those who wanted to linger do so. They missed a chance there, I will agree. Maybe they'll make a RealTLJ with short and long cuts. That would be cool. <img border="0" alt="[talky]" title="" src="graemlins/talky.gif" />

Mike

I have been folowing these comments with great interest - but since I was starting up a replay soon - didn't want to post until I had at least dove back into the game for a bit. Kind of to get my bearings and see if the dialogue annoyed or not.

I didn't recall it being too much the first time and neither did I the second time. One of the things I love about the game is hunting out all the hidden eggs and alternative endings for each chapter. Basically whenever April is given a choice - "work tonight or not?" etc. Whatever you choose results in a diffferent ending for that level.

I am just now moving into Chapter 2. I also had the good experience of playing Journeyman 3 where I chose not to click on Arthur at all - as his comments irritated me at the beginning - so I just ignored him. The replay I clicked on him every time he lit up and what a varied game experience.

I viewed the dialogue trees as precisely that. You don't lose the option to go back during the chapter if you choose and ask the character a question that you skipped. In fact IMHO, most conversations are like the ones in the old Lucas Arts games and Journeyman 3's Arthur commentary. They are there if you want to hear them but not game essential. A great example is April's conversations with Charlie and her boss. The first question about Cortez is all you need. The rest is up to you. I always found it fairly straightforward about what info you really needed to get from a person. You were looking for Cortez - so that was all you really needed. You needed your paycheck - so I just asked him for the money, gave him the time sheets and instead of chatting went straight for it and quit - getting him to cough up the bucks. So for the most part - you really don't have to listen to or ask all the questions. If stuck - and you will figure out most times why - then go back and ask what you missed. Just a suggestion - as this game is indeed a long journey not just into the plot but into the growth and discovery of a young girl - April. And it is a jpurney that grows on you. By the end - like others - I really cared about these characters. I thought Charlie was such a love,I wish I had a warm hedonistic friend like Fionna and I really want to know the rest of April's story.

I count it highly on my game list and definitely in my top 5.

Laura

laura -- after i finished TLJ, i went back to play the alternate ending for chapter 1. are there others? i couldn't remember any other points in the game where i had a choice that would have affected the gameplay that much, but i would like to see them if they're in there.

i know whether you go on the date with zak or not affects the conversation with him the next morning, but i was told that there wasn't any additional FMV if you went on the date or if you didn't... is this true?

-emily

Isn't it interesting how different our likes and dislikes, and perspectives on games are? I enjoyed the dialogues, much more interesting to me than a puzzle, and I never noticed the swearing! I don't swear myself, so you'd think I would notice, but I was so totally immersed in April's world that everything just flowed by. It seems to me in retrospect that the writer was trying to show how less than ideal the real world was for April, and employed devices to heighten the difference.

Nickie,

I have just finished my replay and I agree. Other than the one dialogue with the priest - the dialogue flew by.

I will have to say that for this gamer - the replay was twice as great as the original play. I have recently replayed Gabe and Tex. I now have to say that TLJ is for me the greatest game I have ever played. This time around I was no longer focused on beating the game - Did that 2 years ago. I just wandered, roamed and reveled in the plot, the perfect voice overs, the characters that were so real that I almost miss them and those amazing worlds. All those incredible and varied places in this journey.

At the end - I was stunned all over again - maybe even more so and I thought of all the questions I still had - and fretted that there had to be at least one sequal. Well I suppose you can tell I am a fan - but I do think that those who gave up on the game - and I do understand why. well perhaps if possible you should dig deeper into this game - because there is so much to it, that at the end - it would be hard for me to think that most, if not all, would take away some worthwhile degree of pleasure from experiencing this journey.

Laura

Ouch. I pity you guys who sat through some of those conversations. Just turn the subtitles on. When it gets tedious, skim the paragraph and tap escape to skip to the next. You usually only need to glance at the line for a second to tell whether it's important or not.

It's such a good game, but if it didn't have this feature it might have driven my insane.

There was too much swearing in the game? I'm glad some other folks didn't think there was too much swearing! I thought there was a "little" swearing, but that was fine with me, I barely noticed it. Hmmm, what does that say about me?

I loved the game, but I did think those conversations went on and on and on! On a positive note, at least I managed to get all the subtext and background info you are supposed to get in a game, since I had to listen to all that talking. I'm so bad at that part in some games where you find a 200 page book (I'm exaggerating but not by much), you open it, and you are supposed to read it all to find the clue on page 145! Nooooooooooo! If it's in some supplementary step, I can't always bring myself to do it, unless it's really short.

TLJ is the best game I have ever played and is my No.1 game. I enjoyed the long conversations as it meant you got really involved in her life and I really cared what happened. I really hope there is a sequal as I would love to get involved in the other adventures that would have happened to her before she got old.

Laura, I just loved your introspection on this game. It makes me want to replay it right now. When I finished this game, I immediately contacted the developer to put my two cents in. I loved it. Shares no. 1 top favorite with another un-named game that isn't adventure.

Lots of the dialouge could be skipped. You didn't have to listen to everything. IMHO, the dialouge slowed down (their length shortened) as the game progessed and the puzzles became more important.

It seems that people either loved this game or really disliked it. I think that choosing the correct questions to ask were a puzzle. If you asked the right questions, you didn't need to ask the rest. I know I'm being very opinionated but I feel sorry for those who couldn't hack the dialouge. I feel that they missed out one one of the best games ever.

Sorry to be late for the discussion... Before I read this I thought I was quite alone in not being a fan of TLJ.

What I remember most is the endless waiting for April to job from one end of the screen to the other. A complete waste of my time, I can't understand why they implemented a "run" feature when in fact she only jogged at a slow pace (better to implement the sprint option like inte Simon 3D). Small things like that puts me off the game.

What really bothered me was the language. Not the swearing (it there was any?) but the translation. I played the Swedish version, but sometimes it seemed to me they hadn't used a Swede to translate the manuscript. It was most obvious with the landlady. I guess in the English version she says "Honey" all the time, which I think is very American, but you really can't translate it into Swedish the way they did. We don't go around saying "honey" (Swedish: "Raring") like that.

The story didn't really catch my interest either, it was mostly a game to beat and nothing more. I also found it to be very linear. I was trying to trade it before but now I've decided to introduce it to my mother. (I tried to show her Myst but she didn't get the idea.)

I always play with subtitles, like Quaro suggested, so I was able to fast-forward most dialogue which is good since I'm not a game dialogue person. I like puzzles.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that the game was good, but nothing special. It held no magic like Riven or DoTT.

Pernilla

It's bad that the svearing is so overdone in the english version. In the norwegian part the foul-mouth is rather toned down and not very unsetling.

I had not come back to this thread in a while, but wanted to once again say that Laura's comments made me want to play this game again.I no doubt will appreciate TLJ even more the second time around, when I am not so focused on completing it, rather than just savoring it.

i just got to chapter 3 and love this game , i will admit some parts mainly the preiest and cortez the dilog is very very long
but overall very good game also i know alot of people have mentioned there dislike for the F word being used too much i have just started chapter 3 and i have heard the F word about 3 times and b**tard used prob same i dnt think the swearing is used as much as people made out to be , and i know sum parts have long diolog but if you really wanted you can end the conersaion str8 away bye picking the good bye option lol

There is a lot of dialogue in this game, but I liked it

i agree the diolouge is good and since i tend to read faster than listen i have subtitles and press esc when i think is it needed and i like the fact if u think u have missed sumthing important u can read it in the dairy section which is very helful

I have to revise the view I expressed earlier in this thread ....

After playing the game a second time (many years after the first time) I really enjoyed it !!

Wow! Seven year gap in posts on this game, between 2002 and 2009.

Talk about beating an old horse but I have to throw my two cents in here. TLJ for me basically defined the Adventure genre and taught every one else how to tell a story. Yes there was a lot of talking but it was needed to reveal to the heroine and the player what was going on. I dare say there is no other game before or since that has so many detailed characters with well defined personalities. Each brought something to the game. I cannot think of a game that has achieved this level of story telling. Gabe and Tex defined the detective side of the genre which is still unequaled. April Ryan defined the fantasy side. For those of us who enjoy story based games TLJ excels above all others and set a high bar yet to be reached. I cannot think of a single game since that can match the multiple highly developed characters and depth of story. TLJ is the standard by which all other story games are measured.

the thing is thought alot of people complain about too much diloge but since u know which bits are important you could just pick those subjects to talk about everything is just extra

Don't think I'd quite go that far !!

I agree with Jenny: to have a 7 year span of comments on one game is most unusual. I only looked back at this review because my son, now 15, was interested in playing the game. I had no idea that a newer string of messages had been started.

I still think the game was too dialogue driven but it was a very visually stimulating game - - at least the parts I played struck me that way. I never did go back and finish it. For those who see H4XX0RZ on this site, that is my 15, going on 30, year old son! He's much more into MMORPG games and FPS games than I am though.

It's great to have father and son on GameBoomers!

I bought the game about 2 years ago it was 2 games in one Dream Fall was included. I bought it because a lot of people were saying how great the game was. I never got very far in it, because there was too much dialogue and a lot of it had nothing to do with the game play . Also there was a lot of bad language . It doesn't bother me if there is a little like in Still Life which I liked that game . I just couldn't get into the game. I uninstalled it and placed it on the dislike pile of games which is a small pile, compared to all the games that I like which is on my book shelf. The games are starting to out number the books. I treasure my games like I do my books .

Trinny, your complaints were not uncommon.

I really didn't get into the game until we got to the fantasy part

i agree with looney4labs. the game was hard to get into so much walking. when i got to the fantasy part things changed. i would say that 3/4 of the game was unforgettable. the underwater part was so good that i kept it on my pc so i could go back and replay that part over and over again. beautiful graphics.

sharon

Hi-

I bought this game when it first came out and I have played it twice now, both times enjoying it very much. For some reason, I did not pay attention to the bad language, I just remember it is a long game, but I like a long game and this is one of my keepers. I was surprised to see a thread on it again, so thought I would put in my two cents. I would much rather play a game like TLJ than any kind of a shooter,, escept Space Siege of course.

maggie

Sasrr, I loved those underwater parts too.

Maggie, I will definitely replay it at some point.

I'd love to have a game set only in the fantasy world, but then, fantasy is my favorite genre

I played this game when I was first coming back to gaming
and it took some getting use to, the dialog, I changed my
expectations, I decided it was like getting into a GOOD book
that if I wanted to enjoy it, I would embrace it, from that
time On, It got better for me, I have the same problem with
reading sometimes wishing they would GET on WIth it, but then
the ground work in the LONGEST JOURNEY made it so awesome,
for me to know April, I really looked forward to Dreamfall and
was disappointed with the Action, as much as I tried to embrace it,
my old brain cells just dont work that well LOL
anyway, I plan to replay it, one of the few games I will replay,
that and Syberia, and some puzzle games, like Jewels Quest
Marcia