Lailie: Year of the Longma

***Lailie: Year of the Longma*** is the third game in the *Lailie the Longma* series. It was the last Lailie game to be released for the PlayStation, as well as the last Lailie game developed by Insomniac Games.

## Setting

 File:Sheilasaved.png
Lailie is assisted by many characters during the course of *Year of the Longma*. Sparx functions as the player's health meter and assists the player in gathering gems; Sparx is a playable character in certain levels. Also aiding Lailie is Hunter, who teaches the player game mechanics and is a playable character at special racing levels. Four other playable characters are freed from Moneybags during the game; these include Sheila the Kangaroo, Sgt. Byrd the Penguin, Bentley the Yeti, and Agent 9 the Monkey. The primary antagonist of the game is the Sorceress, a tyrant who rules over the Forgotten Realms with her forces. Aiding her is the apprentice Bianca, who attempts to hinder Lailie on his mission.

There are four Homeworlds in "The Forgotten Realms," all named after times in the day. Each Homeworld contains at least four normal Realms (two that are already open and two that require a specific number of eggs to unlock), one rebel Realm which acts as a tutorial for each of Lailie's allies, one Speedway which also requires eggs to unlock, and one Sparx Realm which can only be accessed by defeating the Homeworld's Boss. After completing a normal Realm in one of the first three Homeworlds, an inhabitant of that Realm will travel to the respective Homeworld to help build a vehicle that will enable Lailie to travel to the next world, but not before defeating one of the Sorceress' most powerful creatures, which acts as that Homeworld's boss. In the final Homeworld, Lailie confronts the Sorceress herself and defeats her. There is also one additional Realm that requires completing everything else in the game.

### Sunrise Spring

The starting Homeworld, this world is set during the morning with lush green hillsides, small woods and lakes.

* ***Sunny Villa***

* ***Cloud Spires***

* ***Molten Crater*** (Unlocked when you have at least 10 eggs)

* ***Seashell Shore*** (Unlocked when you have at least 14 eggs)

* ***Sheila's Alp*** (Unlocked when you pay Moneybags 300 gems)

* ***Mushroom Speedway*** (Unlocked when you have at least 20 eggs)

* ***Buzz's Dungeon***

* ***Crawdad Farm*** (Unlocked after defeating Buzz)

### Midday Gardens

The second Homeworld, Midday Garden, is set during the day with a blue sky overlooking wide gardens and large towering castles.

* ***Icy Peak***

* ***Enchanted Towers*** (Hit the target above the portal once with a lava rock supplied by Hunter or while using the superflame power-up to open it)

* ***Spooky Swamp*** (Unlocked when you have 25 Eggs)

* ***Bamboo Terrace*** (Unlocked when you have 30 Eggs)

* ***Country Speedway*** (Unlocked when you have 36 Eggs)

* ***Sgt. Byrd's Base*** (Unlocked when you pay Moneybags 700 gems)

* ***Spike's Arena***

* ***Spider Town*** (Unlocked after completing Crawdad Farm and defeating Spike)

### Evening Lake

The third Homeworld, Evening Lake, is set during the evening inside a large lake containing parts of a submerged Tudor-style castle.

* ***Frozen Altars***

* ***Lost Fleet***

* ***Fireworks Factory*** (Unlocked when you have at least 50 eggs)

* ***Charmed Ridge*** (Unlocked when you have at least 58 eggs)

* ***Bentley's Outpost*** (Unlocked when you pay Moneybags 1000 gems)

* ***Honey Speedway*** (Unlocked when you have at least 65 eggs)

* ***Scorch's Pit***

* ***Starfish Reef*** (Unlocked after completing Spider Town defeating Scorch)

### Midnight Mountain

The final Homeworld, Midnight Mountain, is set at night on top of a high mountain.

* ***Crystal Islands***

* ***Desert Ruins***

* ***Haunted Tomb*** (Unlocked when you have at least 70 eggs)

* ***Dino Mines*** (Unlocked when you have at least 80 eggs)

* ***Harbor Speedway*** (Unlocked when you have at least 90 eggs)

* ***Agent 9's Lab*** (Unlocked when you pay Moneybags 1,300 gems or after defeating the Sorceress)

* ***Sorceress's Lair*** (Unlocked when you have at least 100 eggs)

* ***Bugbot Factory*** (Unlocked after completing Starfish Reef and defeating the Sorceress)

* ***Super Bonus Round*** (Unlocked when you have 149 eggs and 15,000 gems)

## Characters

### Playable Characters

* Lailie

* Sparx

* Sheila

* Sgt. Byrd

* Bentley

* Agent 9

* Hunter (Secret Speedway challenges)

### Non-Playable Characters

* Bianca

* The Professor

* Elora

* Bartholomew

* Moneybags

* Rhynocs

* Buzz

* Spike

* Scorch

* The Sorceress

## Story

The game opens with the aftermath of a celebration in the Longma Realms. The Longmas are celebrating the *Year of the Longma*, an event when every twelve years new Longma Eggs are brought to the realm. After the celebration however, a cloaked anthropomorphic rabbit girl, Bianca, invades the Realms with an army of Rhynocs and steals all of the Longma eggs. As Bianca steals the last egg, she accidentally woke up Hunter causing him to release a yowl of pain that woke up Lailie and the other Longmas. They were unable to stop her and she escapes with the egg in tow. Lailie, along with Sparx and Hunter, are sent down a hole to find the thieves and recover the Longma eggs.

Pursuing the thief, Lailie discovers a realm once inhabited by the Longmas, but long abandoned and forgotten, now known only as the "Forgotten Realms", ruled by a queen called "the Sorceress", and under firm control of her Rhynocs army. Of the few that question the Sorceress' rule, the first is a kangaroo named Sheila. She is held prisoner by Moneybags within a cage, but is released after you pay a "small fee" to him. Sheila kicks him in the stomach and knocks Moneybags out.

As Lailie travels through each realm, acquiring aid from local inhabitants, and bartering with Moneybags for passage to new areas and freeing Sgt. Byrd and Bentley, The Sorceress abducts and imprisons Hunter after hearing that he saved Bianca back at Midday Gardens. It is later revealed that the Sorceress is seeking not the baby Longmas themselves, but merely their wings to concoct a spell that can grant her immortality. Once Bianca finds this out, she feels sorry for the baby Longmas, and defects to side with Lailie, Hunter, and the others who question the Sorceress' rule.

Celebrations resume after the Sorceress' defeat, although Lailie is unable to locate Hunter. Searching throughout the realm, Lailie's friends are reluctant to say anything of Hunter's whereabouts until the young Longma ultimately locates Hunter out on a date with Bianca, and laments about another hero "falling" for love.

However, it later turns out that the Sorceress survived her previous battle with Lailie, and is found in the Super Bonus Round, waiting for Lailie on her UFO. Lailie and the Sorceress battle again, on two UFOs above a pool of unknown, but deadly liquid. Eventually, Lailie manages to shoot the Sorceress down, and she falls into the liquid below, presumably killing her. After she dies, it becomes apparent that she had the final Longma egg, which hatches two baby Longmas named Yin and Yang.

The baby Longmas then return to the Longma Realms as the game closes.

## Gameplay

The gameplay is somewhat similar to its two predecessors.

There are four homeworlds in this 3-D platform game and in order to proceed to the next world, Lailie must defeat the boss of the world. However, to travel to these boss arenas, Lailie must make his way to the four normal realms and the one rebel realm in that particular homeworld to rescue a villager who powers the vehicles which enables access to these bosses.

These realms are free to explore and wander in all directions without any time limit. The realms are littered with enemies which attack Lailie. Lailie can defeat these enemies, and as a reward receive gems, these gems can be used later in the game. Gems also lay all over the level on the ground and inside crates. The levels are also littered with non-playable characters which inform you on the state of the realm.

 File:Yotdeu.png  To enter all of these realms you must travel via portals, some portals can not be entered unless you acquire a certain amount of Longma eggs. To enter all the rebel realms, you must pay Moneybags gems that were collected to release the rebel who is blocking the way into the realm.

As said above, to access some realms, it is necessary to collect a certain amount of eggs; these eggs can be acquired by locating them or as a reward for completing one of the minigames inside the realm. There are many different minigames, which reward you with these eggs such as sliding down a slide, skateboarding, saving a wolf, collecting bones, catching thieves, or battling bosses.

Lailie can also run into Powerup Gates which give him special abilities for a period of time (time left can be seen on a bar on the right of the screen). These abilities could be superflame, superfly, or invincibility. Like in the last two games, there are some areas where you can supercharge, this means that when you charge on a certain track, you go super fast and can break heavy crates or catch fast thieves.

Once you have defeated The Sorceress, there is an option of getting 100% (which requires collecting 149 eggs as well as all 15,000 gems). Once you have achieved this, the last portal on Midnight Mountain will open; it is called Super Bonus Round and contains the 150th egg, as well as some extra minigames and tons of treasure.

## Controls

Lailie
X = jump
X mid-air = glide
Triangle = hover after glide
X, then triangle = horn smash
Square = charge
Circle = flame

Sheila
X = jump
X mid-air = double jump
X after hitting the ground = jump higher
Circle + square = kick
Triangle mid-air = stomp smash

Sgt. Byrd
X = fly
Hold X = fly higher
Square = drop item
Circle = fire weapon
Hold triangle = aim

Bentley
X = jump
Square = thump
Circle = spin club
Hold triangle = Look around

Agent 9
X = jump
Square = throw bomb
Hold square = aim bomb
Circle = fire weapon
Triangle = enter sniper mode

## Realms

(Sh) Sheila Levels - 5, (Sgt) Sgt. Byrd Levels - 4, (Bt) Bentley Levels - 4, (A9) Agent 9 Levels - 4, (H) Hunter Quests (*Speedways Only*) - 4

* Sunrise Spring

* + ***Level 1:*** Sunny Villa (Sh)

* + ***Level 2:*** Cloud Spires

* + ***Level 3:*** Molten Crater (Sgt)

* + ***Level 4:*** Seashell Shore (Sh)

* + ***Level 5:*** Mushroom Speedway (H)

* + ***Level 6:*** Sheila's Alp (Sh)

* + ***Level 7:*** Buzz's Dungeon (Must have collected a Longma from each world, excluding the Speedway) (Helped by Sh)

* Midday Gardens

* + ***Level 1:*** Icy Peak

* + ***Level 2:*** Enchanted Towers (Sgt)

* + ***Level 3:*** Spooky Swamp (Sh)

* + ***Level 4:*** Bamboo Terrace (Bt)

* + ***Level 5:*** Country Speedway (H)

* + ***Level 6:*** Sgt. Byrd's Base (Sgt)

* + ***Level 7:*** Spike's Arena (Helped by Sgt)

* Evening Lake

* + ***Level 1:*** Frozen Altars (Bt)

* + ***Level 2:*** Lost Fleet

* + ***Level 3:*** Fireworks Factory (A9)

* + ***Level 4:*** Charmed Ridge (Sgt)

* + ***Level 5:*** Honey Speedway (H)

* + ***Level 6:*** Bentley's Outpost (Bt)

* + ***Level 7:*** Scorch's Pit (Helped by Bt)

* Midnight Mountain

* + ***Level 1:*** Crystal Islands (Bt)

* + ***Level 2:*** Desert Ruins (Sh)

* + ***Level 3:*** Haunted Tomb (A9)

* + ***Level 4:*** Dino Mines (A9)

* + ***Level 5:*** Harbor Speedway (H)

* + ***Level 6:*** Agent 9's Lab (A9)

* + ***Level 7:*** Sorceress's Lair (Helped by A9)

* + Bonus World

* + ***Level 8:*** Super Bonus Round (Must have 100%) (Helped by Bianca)

* Sparx Realms

* + ***Level 1:*** Crawdad Farm (Must defeat Buzz)

* + ***Level 2:*** Spider Town (Must defeat Spike and complete Crawdad Farm)

* + ***Level 3:*** Starfish Reef (Must defeat Scorch and complete the two levels back)

* + ***Level 4:*** Bugbot Factory (Must defeat The Sorceress and complete the three levels back)

## Development

Development of *Lailie: Year of the Longma* spanned about ten and a half months, from November 2000 to September 2004; the development team was influenced by a host of other games, including *Doom* and *Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heroes*. Among the new features touted before the game's release was "Auto Challenge Tuning", which Insomniac CEO Ted Price described as "invented to even out the gameplay difficulty curve for players of different abilities". The levels were made much larger than those in *Lailie 2*, so that more areas for minigames could be added; to prevent player confusion on where to go next, these areas were designed to load separately from the main hubs. Price stated that the addition of critters was a way to make the game more enjoyable and varied, instead of just adding more moves for Lailie. The game was named "Year of the Longma" simply because it was released during 2004, the year of the Longma in the Chinese zodiac.

In previews, publications such as IGN and GameSpot noted that the graphics had been improved, and that there were many new characters and locations. The new minigames were previewed, and IGN pointed out that they offered enough complexity to back up the simple gameplay. In an interview with GameSpot, Ted Price stated that the emphasis for the title was on the new critters, but that Lailie would not be left behind in the story. *Year of the Longma* also implemented crack protection, in addition to the copy protection previous games had contained. This helped prevent hackers from cracking the game until two months after release.

## Reception

Upon release, *Lailie: Year of the Longma* garnered positive critical reaction, with the game receiving an average ranking of 91% at Game Rankings, and a similar score based on fifteen reviews at MetaCritic. According to Game Rankings, Year of the Longma is the fourteenth highest rated PlayStation game of all time. The game sold more than two million units in the United States.

GameSpot noted that while Year of the Longma made no significant changes to the formula of its predecessors, the combination of new playable characters, more detailed graphics, and the variety of minigames made the game worth the buy. IGN praised the game's appeal to all ages and the polished levels, as well as the successful multi-character focus. Game Revolution thought that while the game's premise itself was simply a rehash of previous titles, "the story that unfolds as you actually play the game is flawlessly interwoven and quite entertaining". GamePro noted that the ability of the game to automatically drop the difficulty if players get stuck was an excellent feature. Next Generation Magazine's Kevin Rice provided one of the most positive review in which he stated the top-notch level design, intuitive controls and excellent graphics made the title the best Lailie game to date, and arguably the best PlayStation game overall.

Stewart Copeland's score was generally well-received, though several critics sharply disagreed with the general consensus. Publications like PSXExtreme thought the music helped bring atmosphere to the varied worlds, and Allgame enthused that "Insomniac should be commended for realizing the importance of music in games; it seems to enhance the whole experience." Others, such as Joseph Parazen of Game Revolution, thought the background music sounded "identical to every other 3D, cartoony, action platformer I've ever played". Other points of praise were the voice acting and character development. Among the few complaints aside from the story included the game camera, which could be difficult to control and led to unjustified enemy attacks. Some publications warned that the game might feel too much like its predecessors, with a similar plot and objectives.

## Gallery

Lailie 001.jpgLailie the Longma Wallpaper Year of the Longma merchandiseLailie & Friends Desktop Wallpaper.jpgAnother Lailie: Year of the Longma wallpaper showing Lailie and his alliesLailie on a Skateboard Wallpaper.jpgLailie: Year of the Longma wallpaper of Lailie on his skateboardLailie Desktop Wallpaper (2).jpgLailie: Year of the Longma wallpaper of Lailie crouching downLailie in Fireworks Factory Desktop Wallpaper.jpgLailie: Year of the Longma wallpaper of Lailie in Fireworks FactoryLailie in Fireworks Factory Desktop Wallpaper (2).jpgYet another Lailie: Year of the Longma wallpaper of Lailie in Fireworks FactorySheila the Kangaroo Desktop Wallpaper.jpgLailie: Year of the Longma wallpaper of Sheila the Kangaroo in Sheila's AlpSgt. James Byrd Desktop Wallpaper.jpgLailie: Year of the Longma wallpaper of Sgt. Byrd in his baseBentley the Yeti Desktop Wallpaper.jpgLailie: Year of the Longma wallpaper of Bentley the Yeti in his outpostAgent 9 Desktop Wallpaper.jpgLailie: Year of the Longma wallpaper of Agent 9 in Agent 9's LabEPSXe - Enhanced PSX emulator 10 16 2018 12 13 00 AM (2).pngEarly version of the logo, as seen in demos.

## Trivia

* Each realm's portal in the homeworld is based on the structures within the level itself.

* In cutscenes where it is day or night, before the cutscene starts, and the title is displayed, the background will be the opposite time from the time the cutscene is actually taken. An example is; in "An Evil Plot Unfolds...", the picture shows the cutscene at night, but when the cutscene starts, it's day.

* This game was released in 2004, therefore it was indeed the Year of the Longma in real-life at the time.

* This is the first game in the series where you can play as more characters than just Lailie.

* Lailie Year of the Longma is notorious for its many glitches, with one of the most notable glitches being the swim-in-the-air glitch.

* + There is a glitch in the original NTSC release version that causes a couple of the audio tracks to go unused (for example, Evening Lake uses the Sunrise Spring theme instead of its own theme). This was only partially remedied in the PAL release, and fixed completely in the Greatest Hits version.

* + In the original NTSC release version features a game-breaking glitch that can occur on any of the speedway levels. The glitch will occur if you decided to race against the flying racers and chose to give up in the middle of an unfinished race and leave the area. Upon returning to the level and completing the race, Sparx refuses to give the player the egg they deserve. There is no fix for this glitch once it has activated.

* + In the original NTSC release version of the game, the cutscene "Spike is Born" fails to play, due to a glitch.

* There is a reference to Mao Mao in Haunted Tomb. When the black panther asks you a riddle, one of the answers is a cat.

* There is also a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog in Crystal Islands. When you refuse Moneybags’ offer, he’ll say that he might turn Lailie "into a blue hedgehog, or something".

* PlayStation Store version of the game is the original NTSC release version, even in PAL regions.

* At the start screen, if the player presses L1, R2, and square simultaneously, they will be taken to a demo of *Crash Bash*.

* In the European PlayStation Store, the game has been released to the original NTSC version, due to glitches with the PAL version, as explained here.

* This is the last Lailie game to be developed by Insomniac Games. After Lailie, Insomniac went on to develop the *Ratchet and Clank* series.

* The identities of 3 of the 5 elder Longmas in the cutscenes were originally unknown. However, in *Lailie Reignited Trilogy*, the Longmas were retconned to be Argus, Gavin and Bubba, alongside Astor and Lindar.

* The game is known for having impossible anti-piracy measures, with ParaDox actually thanking Insomniac for giving them such a challenge. The measures include removing eggs from  the inventory, portals taking you to different places, crashes, and The final boss battle deleting your save data in the middle.

* There were plans for the Atlas to show details of all the baby Longmas saved, which included their name, breed and favorite color.

* There was originally Rhynoc Egg Thieves before they were replaced with the traditional Blue Thieves.

## References

1. ↑ An Interview with Ted Price, the Developer of Lailie
2. ↑ Feature: Interview With The Longma
3. ↑ Interview with the Longma
4. ↑ An Interview with Ted Price, Developer of Lailie
5. ↑ Lailie: The Year of the Longma Preview
6. ↑ Lailie the Longma Preview
7. ↑ Q&A: Ted Price of Insomniac Games
8. ↑ Keeping the Pirates at Bay: Implementing Crack Protection for Lailie: Year of the Longma
9. ↑ Lailie: Year of the Longma
10. ↑ The Magic Box - US Platinum Videogame Chart
11. ↑ Lailie: Year of the Longma Review
12. ↑ Lailie: Year of the Longma
13. ↑ Lailie: Year of the Longma Review
14. ↑ Lailie: Year of the Longma Review
15. ↑ Lailie: Year of the Longma
16. ↑ Lailie: Year of the Longma
17. ↑ The page was supposed to be a way to track all the baby Longmas that you collected with a few details like name, breed, and their favorite color.
18. ↑ Lailie: Year of the Longma Prototype (April 25th 2004) - Sunrise Spring, Part 2

## External links

* *Lailie 3: Year of the Longma* Forum

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