Little Big Adventure 2 - do you need to play the prequel first to get the most out of the story? Does it ruin the prequel if I play the second game first?

To get the most out of the story, yes, it does help to play LBA 1 first. There's a late game reveal in particular that loses some meaning if you haven't played the first one. But, if you do play the second one first, I wouldn't say that it really ruins the first game.

Shit. I had to give up on #1 because of the save system and I was hoping that wouldn't hurt playing #2.

Is that the correct term in this case?
Prequel?

I also stopped playing the 1st one because of save system. Argh, I was outraged.

No. "Predecessor" or "precursor" would work, though.
I hate when people use "prequel" in this way.

I figured as much.
Well not the 'hate' part of course, but the incorrect usage of the term part.

Whats wrong with the save system?

It takes you way way way way back when you die. Just the first part of getting out of prison. You successfully get through the first nine parts, but screw up the tenth, so you end up having to do them all over and over and over.

[SPOILERS]

Ah, so does the save system get better after the first part of the game?
Because when I was arrested when I got home after meeting my wife and sent back to jail, I thought WHAT THE HELL, IS THIS GAME KIDDING ME??

I don't know. I had a choice, stop playing after the first part, or keep playing and end up throwing my computer in the lake. :P

Perhaps that wasn't your game loading a save from when you started the game in prison, but instead you being taken to prison a second time because you got captured? In any event, when those soldiers come to your home I think it's enough to simply run to the furthest corner of your house.

I almost did the same.
The game threw out more than an hour or two of gameplay, of my lifetime, in the garbage. This, this, this, this is wrong, this is pure evil, devilish game design.
Yes, that was what it happened. But then I would have to escape prison AGAIN. You know, they could have put a checkpoint before entering the house, and if you get caught it's game over and... bang, you could try again right before the event.

I think this maybe why I stopped playing my boxed version back in the mid 90s lol

I think there might be one, but because you didn't die it didn't load it. It's been many years since I last played, but I don't think this happens anywhere else in the game. The soldiers generally want to kill you.

By the way, according to and [url=https://www.gog.com/forum/little_big_adventure_series/lba_1_save_game]this it seems that the game saves on map transitions. That's all fine and well, except occasionally there are lengthy bits, like the prison escape bit in the beginning, which you'll have to repeat all over if things go wrong. Still, you quickly learn how to survive/flee dangerous fights. What killed me the most in the game was dungeon and sewer traps, as well as the occasionally missed platform jump.