History VideoGame / TheLongestJourney

-->''Mystery is important. To know everything, to know the whole truth, is dull. There is no magic in that. Magic is not knowing, magic is wondering about what and how and where.''
-->--'''Cortez'''

** Disrupt the magic compass and prevent the ship's escape from a deadly storm? WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong

** Disrupt the magic compass and prevent the ship's escape from a deadly storm? WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong?

* ViolationOfCommonSense: There are

* CerebusSyndrome: Initially the story did not take itself too serious, being at some points an AffectionateParody of fantasy stories and even campy at times, with lots of LampshadeHanging. But the story starts to take a very dark turn when [[spoiler:the Tyren army invades Marcuria]] and [[spoiler:Emma is shot by the Vanguard]]. And in [[DreamfallTheLongestJourney the sequel]] we find out that [[spoiler:April grew into a disillusioned woman thanks to the events she experienced]].

-->--'''Cortez''', ''TheLongestJourney''

''TheLongestJourney'' is a 1999 AdventureGame developed by Norwegian company Funcom and designed by Ragnar Tørnquist. Famous for its expansive storyline, a lovable, GenreSavvy heroine, and flawless gameplay (as far as [[PointAndClickGame point-and-click]] gameplay goes), the game is commonly credited with resurrecting the AdventureGame genre after its crisis in the late 90's. An OddlyNamedSequel, ''[[VideoGame/DreamfallTheLongestJourney Dreamfall: The Longest Journey]]'', was released in 2006.

* ChekhovsBoomerang: Mr. Guybrush
* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:The Mystery Door in TLJ]]

* LimitedWardrobe: Partially averted, with different, context-sensitive outfits for April. Justified, too - when she enters Arcadia in her nightclothes.

* ShoutOut: The original game features a lot of homages to famous TV shows and movies of our time, ranging from ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', ''EvilDead'', ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', and ''Franchise/StarTrek''. And there is [[MonkeyIsland Mr. Guybrush]].
* SorryImGay: in ''TLJ'', when April tries to get past a security guard by acting cute, all he says is "Sorry, ma'am, but I'm gay".

** Use Axe on the bottom of the boat? What a great idea!
*** In the game's defense it was actually Use Axe on Chest but Miss Miserably.

* ShoutOut: The original game features a lot of homages to famous TV shows and movies of our time, ranging from ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', ''EvilDead'', ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', and ''Franchise/StarTrek''.

* DualWorldGameplay

* LimitedWardrobe: Partially averted, with different, context-sensitive outfits for April.

* ViolationOfCommonSense

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/third_age_2526.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Secret World]]

''TheLongestJourney'' is a 1999 AdventureGame developed by Norwegian company Funcom and designed by Ragnar Tørnquist. Famous for its expansive storyline, a lovable, GenreSavvy heroine, and flawless gameplay (as far as [[PointAndClickGame point-and-click]] gameplay goes), the game is commonly credited with resurrecting the AdventureGame genre after its crisis in the late 90's. An OddlyNamedSequel, ''VideoGame/DreamfallTheLongestJourney'', was released in 2006.

''TheLongestJourney'' is a 1999 AdventureGame developed by Norwegian company Funcom and designed by Ragnar Tørnquist. Famous for its expansive storyline, a lovable, GenreSavvy heroine, and flawless gameplay (as far as [[PointAndClickGame point-and-click]] gameplay goes), the game is commonly credited with resurrecting the AdventureGame genre after its crisis in the late 90's. An OddlyNamedSequel, ''[[VideoGame/DreamfallTheLongestJourney Dreamfall: The Longest Journey]]'', was released in 2006.

* TheLibraryOfBabel: The Dark People's library.

* ScaryShadowFakeout: Invoked - you must assemble a pile of things to make a shadow that resembles one of a man pointing a gun, so that a guy sees it and gets scared.

* ShoutOut: The original game features a lot of homages to famous TV shows and movies of our time, ranging from ''LooneyTunes'', ''EvilDead'', ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', and ''Franchise/StarTrek''.
* SorryImGay: in ''TLJ'', when April tries to get past a security guard by acting cute, all he says is "Sorry, ma'am, but I'm gay".
* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: The scene with the Gribbler in the first game, although the jury is still out on whether it was played straight or as a mockery of the trope.

* ShoutOut: The original game features a lot of homages to famous TV shows and movies of our time, ranging from ''LooneyTunes'', ''EvilDead'', ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', and ''StarTrek''.

* CreepyLongFingers

* DyingTown: Newport, in ''Dreamfall''. In the same game, Marcuria begins showing early signs of this.

* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The [[MoleMen Banda]], furry little creatures with curious speech patterns and [[{{Understatement}} rather elaborate]] naming traditions.

April Ryan is an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary art student]] living in the CyberPunk metropolis Newport and applying for the local Academy of Arts. She has her share of problems with her parents, insecurity about her future, and increasingly strange dreams, but she also has some great friends, a job, and a friendly landlady. Then a weird CoolOldGuy named Cortez appears and tells her that she is TheChosenOne who has to SaveBothWorlds -- and then he sends her to that [[AnotherDimension other world]], {{Arcadia}}, she is supposed to save. As her familiar world crumbles around her, April has to dive deeper into the secrets of the universe, fulfill cryptic prophecies, bring down an AncientConspiracy or two, cope with her friends' deaths, save the [[PhysicalGod Guardian of the Balance]], and ultimately restore the harmony between the Twin Worlds of Stark and Arcadia itself. And that all in less than two weeks.

* AncientConspiracy: The Vanguard; Project Alchera qualifies for "conspiracy" part.

* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: Playing as Zoe, April, and Kian.

* ArcWords: "Faith will bring you where you are needed the most."
** "The Undreaming is unchained."

* [[spoiler:TheBadGuysWin]]: ''Dreamfall''.

* ButNotTooForeign: In RealLife Morocco, just over 99 percent of the population is Arab-Berber, about 90 percent speak Moroccan Arabic and/or a Berber language, and nearly everyone is Muslim. Zoe Castillo is from Casablanca but has a European surname and speaks with a British accent (and drinks wine, has premarital sex, and celebrates Christmas). There are a few people walking around in normal Moroccan/Muslim outfits but they're set dressing, you mostly can't even talk to them. Also, for some reason most important people in the Japanese corporation you visit are white. You could argue that it has something to do with it being set in the future, [[LeastCommonSkinTone but why does the future have to be increasingly more white?]]
* {{Callback}}: ''Dreamfall'' is full of these.

* CliffHanger: The ending of ''Dreamfall''.
* CorruptChurch: The Azadi's religion, [[spoiler: Kian calls them out on it before he's arrested.]]

* CyberPunk: Newport in the original game; ''Dreamfall'' is more sleek about it.

* DarkestHour: [[spoiler: The ending of Dreamfall: April Ryan was hit with a spear and tumbled into the water, never to emerge; Kian had a crisis of faith and was promptly imprisoned; Zoë was sent into a permanent coma.]]
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: The theme of Zoë and April's arcs in ''Dreamfall''.

* [[spoiler: DownerEnding]]: Calling [[spoiler: Dreamfall's ending]] this would be a serious understatement.

* TheEmpire: Azadi, though their portrayal is slightly ambiguous.
* FantasticGhetto: The Marcuria ghetto for the "magicals", set up by the Azadi occupants in ''Dreamfall''.
* FantasticRacism: Between humans and magical races and magical races themselves, most notably the Azadi and their treatment of magical races.

* GoalInLife: Discussed in-depth, especially with Zoe's story arc in Dreamfall.

* HeelFaceTurn: In ''Dreamfall'' [[spoiler:Roper Klacks actually helps April numerous times.]]
** [[spoiler: Gordon Halloway]] has one after his [[spoiler: soul is reunited with his body.]]
** [[spoiler: Kian]] had the beginnings of one at the end of ''Dreamfall.''

* HilariousOuttakes: Accessible via the Book of Secrets in the original game.
* HowWeGotHere: ''Dreamfall''

* InTheFutureWeStillHaveRoombas: One level of ''Dreamfall'' has Zoe sneaking into a corporate headquarters by following cleaning bots through passages that open for them.
* [[ItsPronouncedTropay It's Pronounced Tro-PAY]]: The deity of the Azadi Empire is the God''ess'', emphasis on the second syllable.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Several locations in ''Dreamfall'' [[EasterEgg contain]] [[RecursiveReality game boxes of the game itself]]. For an added bonus, they have not only the final game cover but many designs discarded before the release, as well as some old ''TLJ'' boxes.
* LeftHanging: Just WTF happened [[spoiler:to all the main characters in ''Dreamfall'']]?! That's for starters...
** If you know how bad it was, go to the [[WMG/TheLongestJourney WMG subpage]] and marvel at the size of the ''Dreamfall'' section.

* LimitedWardrobe: Partially averted, with different, context-sensitive outfits for both April and Zoë.
* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler:The dreamer machines]] can have this effect. They even have a flower component that covers a person's face.

** Faith is really [[spoiler: Zoe's sister and their mother is potentially yet again the first White Dragon.]]

* KnightTemplar: The Azadi, who seek to [[spoiler: destroy the world in order to "cleanse it".]]

* {{Matriarchy}}: The Azadi Empire is ruled by six Empresses, political power is expressly the woman's domain (though military power is the man's), they worship a Goddess, and the term for an orphan without fortune or connections is a "motherless" child. Sub-trope Enlightened Matriarchy (great cultural and scientific achievements, started off saving the entire civilization), or Original Matriarchy (overstayed their welcome big time to become an occupation, [[{{WellIntentionedExtremist}} Well-Intentioned Extremism]] on full display including the FantasticGhetto, repressive government, assassinations, and mass murder).
* MegaCorp: Lots of them in Stark, e.g. [=WATIcorp=].
** The police is owned by a megacorp. What does this mean? When you're arrested, you're read both your rights ''and'' a catchy soda ad.

* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: In ''Dreamfall''.

* NoobBridge: In ''Dreamfall'', the music puzzle that lets Zoe out of the caves into Marcuria has been known to cause lots of trouble for new players, who didn't realize that a certain item from the previous location could be picked up and used on the wall symbols to reproduce the melody hummed by random encounter enemies on said location.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: The jury is still out on [[spoiler:April's]] case... and will remain thus until ''Chapters'', apparently. But DeathIsDramatic, right? Right?...

* OddlyNamedSequel: ''Dreamfall''

* OneHundredAndEight: In Dreamfall, only one copy of [[spoiler:Roper Klack's]] book remains because when the reader reaches page 108 ''they explode''. The last remaining copy has been de-enchanted though, and is safe to read.

* PrecisionFStrike: Alvin Peats in Dreamfall when talking to Zoe: "You're connected to that fucking girl."

* RidiculouslyHumanRobot: [=WATICorp's=] trademark talking-animal robots, which in the past have been programmed with features such as ADHD.

* [[spoiler:ShootTheShaggyDog]]: ''Dreamfall''
* ShoutOut: The original game features a lot of homages to famous TV shows and movies of our time, ranging from LooneyTunes, EvilDead, Film/{{Labyrinth}}, and StarTrek.
* SimpleScoreOfSadness: A simple piano solo from "Rush" in ''Dreamfall'' when [[spoiler:Faith dies.]]
* SimultaneousArcs: Occurs throughout ''Dreamfall'' after you're introduced to the other two characters. Produces a very striking moment, when Kian meets April and player is being switched from one to other in their dialogue.

* StealthBasedMission: Several parts in ''Dreamfall'', most notably the Grubber cave and the [=WATICorp=] building.
* StepfordSmiler: [=WATICorp=]'s museum and staff in ''Dreamfall''. The museum has fluff in regards to [=WATICorp=]'s robotics history, and the mechanically cheerful voice uses the same tone to describe how fluffy-wuffy much everyone loved Roboy and the fact that the prototype Watilla's habit of soiling itself was a controversial design feature, not to mention glossing over the original Robunny's numerous injury cases ("of which [=WATICorp=] has been completely absolved"). Meanwhile, security guards and mechanized drones tell you that almost no one was hurt in today's exhibit rampage, and that since you're somewhere you shouldn't be, they're going to very politely use force now.
** Zoe realizes that [=WATICorp=]'s ''products'' are StepfordSmilers; at the beginning of the game, she realizes that when Wonkers, her Watilla, talks about what he does while she's not home, he's trying to communicate that he's lonely, even though he's not programmed to know the words to tell her so, or even comprehend what he's feeling. Rezza's Watilla Lucia is similarly unable to communicate or understand her mental state in regards to his disappearance, but it's clear she's even worse off than Wonkers, who can at least rest assured of Zoe returning home once in a while.
* TheStinger: ''Dreamfall'''s ending... again.
* StringyHairedGhostGirl: Faith, [[spoiler: who is actually far more benevolent than most other examples]].

* TakenForGranite: [[EvilSorcerer Roper Klacks]] favourite pastime is turning people into [[AndIMustScream sentient statues]].

* TookALevelInBadass: April is just a normal art student in the first game, but a competent fighter and a huge rebel leader in the second.
* TranslatorMicrobes: Na'ven or Alltongue in Arcadia is a magical language that can be learned in a few minutes just by listening to it)

* TwoLinesNoWaiting: The plot structure of ''Dreamfall'', albeit with three plot strands.