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h-worksrambles · 2 years

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Upon completing the Monkey Island series

After the announcement of Return to Monkey Island, I decided to go back and finish my playthrough of LucasArts’ classic series to get caught up before the new game comes out (yeah I know they won’t all tie into Return but still, I wanted to be thorough). So now that I’ve finished them all, here’s a very brief rundown on my thoughts on all the games in the series. Be warned, I will touch on spoilers for all the games.

The Secret of Monkey Island

The first game in the series holds up remarkably well. It plays out like a loving tribute to this genre of swashbuckling adventure, balanced out with a casual but genuinely funny sense of humour. Guybrush, Elaine and LeChuck are all fun and likable, as are many of the side characters you bump into. The puzzles are also surprisingly good. It plays with its own mechanics in some surprisingly interesting ways without being too frustrating. I do think the first half on Mêlée Island is a little tighter than the second half on Monkey Island, where things get a little too vague and cryptic. But I never found myself particularly bored or frustrated. I feel like I have less to say than I should but that’s because it really does speak for itself. This game is a classic for a reason and I highly recommend it. I like it more and more on each revisit.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge

Yeah, I’m gonna sound like a cliche but here we go. As far as I’m concerned, Monkey Island 2 is the best game in the series. The story follows on from the original in a really effective yet surprisingly sombre way. Sure, the humour is still as razor sharp as ever (maybe even more than the first game) but still. It’s sad to see Guybrush as a washout, seeing him and Elaine broken up on bad terms. The ghosts and villains are still funny, but also more threatening. The jokes are more cynical, the atmosphere creepier and the characters taken in a new direction, and I love it all. This culminates in a legendary mind screw of an ending that completely recontextualises the whole series. And yes, I am that pretentious hack that thinks this ending is brilliant and interprets the rest of the series in the light of this twist, sequels included.

It is a bit of a walk back from the first game in terms of puzzles though. As much as I love having a larger game world with more islands to explore, the increase in scope leads to a somewhat questionable set of puzzles. Lots of combination puzzles and obscure solutions (that monkey wrench...shudder). Still, it has its fair share of solid brain teasers, particularly the final showdown. Still, I love this game, and I can’t wait to see how Return will build on it.

The Curse of Monkey Island

I feel like, because I spoke so highly of 1 and 2, there’s this assumption that I’m going to like the post Ron Gilbert games, including this one, less. The series changing hands has regrettably led to a divide in the fandom. Fortunately, I’m happy to say that I still really like The Curse of Monkey Island. The graphical upgrade here is terrific. I adore how the series takes on the aesthetic of a living cartoon. It may look a little murky on modern day monitors, but I’d still say it stands out as the best looking game in the series. The addition of voice acting is a delight. Dominic Armato basically is Guybrush to me at this point. The humour is still intact, though I’d say it’s somewhat lighter than the last game. It’s less of the devilish humour of the second game where everyone is an awful person (Guybrush included) and more of the casual quirkiness of the first game. And a lot of the jokes and side characters land. Though that does lead me to my only real gripe with Curse’s writing. I get that 2′s ending was controversial, but I feel this game played things far too safe. Curse feels like it’s constantly trying to backspace and be more like the first game again, only addressing 2 when it absolutely needs to. Guybrush and Elaine are just...back together again with no explanation of how they resolved what a crappy boyfriend he was before. The last game’s reveals are all quietly swept under the rug or explained away (rather unsatisfactorally). You can still interpret this game was being part of a child’s imagination like the last two games if you look hard enough. But, combined with the already rushed final act that apparently had a ton of stuff cut for time, it leads to a degree of missed potential. Fortunately, once you divorce it from 2′s context, it’s still a very good time. The gorgeous world is a delight to explore, even if I miss the immersion of having a larger number of good sized islands (again, the structure very much feels like it’s going back to 1). And again, I do think the series still hasn’t quite captured the slick, creative puzzle design of the first game since. Obtuse combination puzzles are the name of the game here, and there’s little more to the puzzles outside of trial and error item use. I dunno, I miss swapping drinks between flasks, following a guy through a maze, making nice with a talking compass to navigate a cave. Still, I was willing to forgive 2 its occasionally wonky puzzle design for its art and writing, and I can do the same here.

The Curse of Monkey Island is caught in an odd place for being the transition point away from the original intent of the series. Which is what makes the fact that it’s so good such a relief. It still looks and sounds incredible, the comedy is on point and the environments a delight to explore. Its puzzles can feel a little iffy at times, and it sometimes feels like its trying a little too hard to be like the first game, and only the first game, but I still really enjoyed the experience.

Escape from Monkey Island

Ok, I have a little less to say about this one because, I’ll be real with you. This is the only one I didn’t finish. I just resorted to a longplay. I don’t think I’m being very original in saying that I like Escape from Monkey Island the least out of the series. But I want to give it credit for the things I like. The story and writing is...OK. This game features the writers and creative team behind Sam & Max Hit the Road, a game I really love. And with that, comes a slightly more over the top, cartoony tone. Unfortunately, while it’s still got some great gags, it doesn’t quite hit the level of insane dark wit of Sam & Max, but still feels a little too off from the previous game’s comedic tone, putting it in an awkward middle ground. But I do like some of the situations it places the characters in. It’s fun to see Guybrush and Elaine interacting as a couple since Elaine spent nearly all of the last game as an inanimate gold statue. I like how it revisits plot threads and characters from Mêlée Island, (even though it contributes to the feeling that the franchise is still trying really hard to be ‘just like the first game again’). The concept of corporate takeovers across the island actually ties back to the infamous ‘theme park’ theory from 2 surprisingly well, which I like at the very least. There’s some good stuff to be found here. Though with some of the strange way it revisits old plot threads, and the bizarre finale, Escape is a fun enough ride that ultimately kind of jumps the shark.

But you know what? The writing honestly isn’t the problem. Nor is it the 3D graphics (which, while primitive and a step down from Curse, are honestly not that bad for the time). But, God, this game is a slog to play. You know what I’m gonna say. Screw the tank controls. Screw Monkey Kombat. Screw the game breaking bugs that forced me to restart multiple times before I gave up. Say what you will about the divisive visual changes in the first two entries’ remasters. This game needed a Special Edition to clean up its issues. Just releasing it unchanged on Steam and GOG without tweaks to help it play nice with modern systems did this game no favours.

Escape isn’t some iredeemable disaster. It’s a fine enough point and click. But on the writing level it isn’t quite up there with the rest, and on a gameplay level it’s notably flawed.

Tales of Monkey Island

Tales of Monkey Island is a genuinely enjoyable revival of the series though it isn’t without its flaws. On a story level this is the most I’ve enjoyed the plot of any of these games since 2. The Pox of LeChuck is a fun and compelling plot mechanic that allows for some really interesting character work. I like seeing Guybrush struggling to shake off the curse, Elaine having a really sweet relationship with him while still taking charge in the action scenes and (especially) LeChuck forming an uneasy truce with Guybrush and Elaine. I personallly love viewing LeChuck under the lens of 2′s twist because I love the implications that Guybrush has built up his own brother in his head as this bullying, evil monster, reimagining their petty squabbles as epic duels across on the sea. So seeing a ‘what if’ scenario of how he and Guybrush could actually be good friends is really interesting in that context, even if it’s just an act. In general, LeChuck gets a great showing here. After he got side lined as a villain in Escape, this game almost fools you into thinking LeChuck will be supplanted by a villain again by the Marquis de Singe, but when he takes centre stage once again as the Big Bad, he gives a heck of show in probably the best final showdown in the series. The comedy’s pretty solid too. The humour is certainly different from the other games, moreso resembling the zany quippiness of Telltale’s Sam & Max games. Fortunately, I like those games a great deal so that’s no great loss in my book, though I can see the less casual humour and more supernatural tone being offputting for fans. Between the more overtly supernatural setup and character shakeups, I’m again tempted to compare it to Telltale’s Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, a title I have already spoken about at length. Much like that game, it sort of feels like...very high quality fanfiction, one that isn’t afraid to get a little out there with the source material.

It’s not all good news though. Tales is at its best when it’s doing fun and interesting stuff wth its lead cast or returning characters. But the new additions are a mixed bag. I like Morgan Le Flay. She’s a fun character with a pretty good arc and an enjoyable developing friendship with Guybrush. And Winslow is absolutey too pure for this world. But the Marquis De Singe never feels like a very funny or threatening villain. And as happy as I was to see Stan and Murray return, most of the one off characters felt like misses. There’s a lot here that feels like filler, with the third episode being the weakest in my opinion, dragging its feet with a rather over the top premise and weak jokes while we wait for the plot to resume. Fortunately, it ends on its best two episodes, bringing together threads from both the pre and post-Gilbert games to make a really fun finale. The Voodoo Lady twist especially has some really cool implications...that we never really got to see followed up on. Is Monkey Island just doomed to constantly have unresolved twist heavy cliffhangers?

The puzzles are honestly quite good too. It delivers a lot of the classic Monkey Island staples, but in bite sized episodic chunks. Mazes, recipes, item combination, travelling across island maps and sea charts. The works. Still, I was pleasantly surprised how much of the challenges were genuinely fun, right from the first episode, even for someone as notoriously bad at puzzles as myself. Dare I say, I liked the puzzles here overall more than in 2 or Curse. Still, the curse of Telltale’s limited production and short development times rears its ugly head. The art style is quite nice but the grapics are definitely pretty dated even for 2009 and the asset reuse can get REALLY glaring.

Tales is imperfect, to be sure, but it does a solid job bringing back the franchise for (so it seemed at the time) one last hurrah. It’s a genuinely interesting, funny and surprisingly dramatic story that gives these much loved characters a chance to shine. If you tapped out of the later Monkey Island games, or if you’re only more familliar with Telltale’s later, more choice driven titles, I’d say give this one a shot.

...And that’s all of them. Even as someone relatively new to the point and click adventure genre, these games were a delight to go through. and if you’re curious about my ranking...

1. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge 2. Secret of Monkey Island 3. Curse of Monley Island 4. Tales of Monkey Island (I feel Tales and Curse could switch on any given day) 5. Escape from Monkey Island

By the end of this year, Return to Monkey Island will be in our hands, and we still don’t know much about it. Will it be an interquel? An alternate timeline? How much will it take from Curse onwards? How much will it address 2′s ending? It all remains to be seen. But I for one, can’t wait to find out. Because if these five games are any indicator of the quality we can expect, there’ll be a lot to look forward to. LucasArts, you game design like a dairy fighter! How appropriate. You write like a cow.

#immediate thoughts #monkey island #secret of monkey island #monkey island 2 #curse of monkey island #escape from monkey island #tales of monkey island #lucasarts #telltale games #return to monkey island #monkey island spoilers

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