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

Gameplay

The game takes place on Nontoonyt Island, the tropical setting from the previous game which has since been transformed into a resort. Like the city setting of Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, the island has several areas and is fully explorable at the game's start. The controls feature a mouse-based interface and a text parser for directing Larry's actions.

Littered throughout the resort are Larry's potential mates; whenever the player interacts with these women, they are featured in a close-up portrait, once again echoing earlier games in the series. The basic structure of the game involves Larry presenting each woman with gifts, although none of these items require money to obtain, unlike in the original Leisure Suit Larry.

Leisure Suit Larry III features a second playable character, the titular "Passionate Patti", over whom the player briefly assumes control. Patti's portion of the game is much the same as Larry's, including multiple 'death' scenes and a detailed character portrait of her love interest, a male stripper. However, the Patti sequences are more reminiscent of traditional adventure games, requiring players to navigate through a maze, as well as collect items for use in later puzzles.

Plot

The story begins five years after the events of Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places). Following Larry's victory over Dr. Nonookee, the tropical island of Nontoonyt has become a resort reminiscent of Honolulu, Hawaii. Larry has settled into a high-paying job in "Natives Inc." and lives in a luxurious house with his wife, Kalalau (the daughter of the tribal chief from the previous game). Larry's current boss is Kalalau's father (now a development mogul, who changed his name from "Chief Keneewauwau" to "Chairman Kenneth"). After years of marital bliss, Larry's union comes to an abrupt end when Kalalau dumps him—for another woman—and soon finds himself out of a job as well. With this news, Larry retreats into a phone booth (a nod to Superman) and swaps his aloha shirt for his signature white suit, firmly announcing his return to the swinger lifestyle.

The female characters include Tawni, a topless sunbather who is more interested in souvenirs than dating Larry; Cherri Tart, a showgirl who performs at the casino; Suzi, a lesbian attorney of law firm "Dewey, Cheatem & Howe" willing to finalize Larry's divorce proceedings; Bambi, an aerobics instructor; and Passionate Patti, a jazz pianist in the hotel (the character appeared in the previous game under the name "Polyester Patty"). Larry's attempts to seduce each of these women are, in typical Larry fashion, doomed to failure—until he meets Patti, who can be won over if Larry collects the right items and performs the right actions based on his encounters with the others.

Ultimately, Larry and Patti spend the night together, but after a round of passionate lovemaking, Larry hears Patti mumble her previous partner's name (who she intends to leave) as she drifts to sleep. Dejected, Larry abandons his new lover, eventually becoming lost in the uncharted jungle surrounding the resort area. It is at this point, the game shifts perspectives; the player now controls Patti, who must navigate the hostile terrain and assorted perils of the jungle (usually by removing parts of her clothing in the process) to find Larry and resolve the misunderstanding.

The final act of the game sees Larry and Patti get captured by lesbian cannibals. In an example of breaking the fourth wall, the pair escapes captivity through the use of a "magic marker"... only to end up at Sierra's Coarsegold, California headquarters (realized in-game as a literal movie studio), where they must make their way through various set pieces from other Sierra games, including Police Quest and Space Quest II. Finally, they come across Roberta Williams directing Princess Rosella in a scene from King's Quest IV, and Larry is offered a job at Sierra. The game ends with Larry and Patti living in a California log cabin, and Larry writing an aptly titled series of computer games based on his adventures.

Development

With Leisure Suit Larry III, Sierra decided to return to the adult-oriented themes, which were almost absent from Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (In Several Wrong Places). The artistic style of the game's characters (particularly Larry) are more cartoony and exaggerated than in the previous game, which opted for a realistic approach. The instruction manual which was packaged with the game resembles a tourist manual, with several "advertisements" which function as codes for passing Sierra's copy protection.

As was the case with Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, the game begins with a series of tongue-in-cheek questions to which the authors reasoned only adults would know the answer. As before, however, this process can be skipped by pressing Ctrl-Alt-X. The number of questions answered correctly determines the games "Filth Level", which displays itself on a scale from 1 to 5: The lowest level (Mother Goose) bars players from viewing any of the game's titillating scenes; alternatively, the highest level (Totally Raunchiest) leaves all instances of nudity intact. Although the game contains several instances of nudity, none of Larry's sexual encounters are shown explicitly. The Filth Level also determines the default expletive which is repeated throughout the game (however players are also given the option to edit it and put their favorite expletive).

The ending sequence of Leisure Suit Larry III, which involves a rampage through Sierra's offices, includes many self-aware jokes which are prevalent in Sierra games. At its conclusion, Larry interrupts Sierra programmer Roberta Williams as she is "directing" the whale escape scene from Kings Quest IV. Williams herself was featured on the box art of Softporn Adventure, a 1981 Apple II text adventure which served as the basis for the original Leisure Suit Larry title.