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I've finally gotten around to gathering all the memo's and letters from Monkey Island™ and I've collected my paper crafted replicas too. I wrote the "legalese" for the rest of the letter. To: Herman Toothrot From: Yammer, Hem, and Haw, attorneys at law Re: Suit against cannibal tribe over malicious tossing of your oars into a chasm. I think we have a case here. We can probably soak them for emotional distress and possibly punitive damages as well. “Hmm. Sounds like Legalese. I don't think I can translate the rest.” Casus contra anthropophagos difficile est probare sine causa adducendi ad iudicium. Ex nostris monumentis monstraris in insula remota vivere solum cum anthropophagis et pirata larvae Lechuck loqui. Cum hic progreditur casus, vehementer commendamus ut omnes verbales et scriptae communicationes cum Anthropophagis desineres. Opus est ut artissimum iudicium de altero iudiciorum trium insularum interesse debeas; Judex PLANK. praesidebit. Should you require an inter-island visit pre case, please inform our office. Any return mail should be sent in the accompanying bottle. Yours Yammer, Hem and Haw P.S. Please allow 3-5 years for reply, the tides between here and Monkey Island™ can be unpredictable. Latin Translation: The case against the cannibals may be difficult to prove without the case being brought before a court of law. From our records you are shown to live on a remote island with only the cannibals and the ghost pirate Lechuck to speak with. Whilst this case progresses we would heartly recommend that you cease all verbal and written communications with the cannibals. You may need to attend the closest court for judgement on another of the Tri-Island courts, Judge PLANK. will preside.

The guys at Revolution Software, in a Steam news about their improvements on Broken Sword 2, added this nice shoutout to Ron and the RtMI developers. 🙂

You know, I think I'm going to reminisce by looking through the manuals for the first two games... SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!! 🤯 Yes, the MI1 manual hints you toward sneaking in the kitchen and going to the dock to mess with the seagull. I guarantee I read it when I was younger. If modern Let's Players are having a harder time with the seagull puzzle than we all did, it might be related to this. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!! 🤯 Pick up Sign; get a Shovel. I distinctly remember reading this puzzle solution, because it's the sort of puzzle I would have probably missed for a while if the manual hadn't told me.

Ron and Dave had a long phone conversation with our own @elTee and @Marius. Or the other way around, arguably. It was fun.

Man, I'd love to make a Monkey Island themed cocktail. Sadly, I'm not expert on mixing drinks (or is that stirring?). I'd definitely want one called The Ultimate Insult, where it has either such little alcohol that it's insulting to even call it a cocktail (hence the name), or way too much.

Basically what I suggested in one of the other threads. We know the game starts where MI2 leaves off, directly. And we know from interviews that the start of the game and how it proceeds from the carnival is a guarded secret and is going to be interesting in SOME way. So I bet we'll want to discuss it. But we might not be ready to dive into a full-on spoiler thread when we do. I propose this thread for discussing the very opening of the game. Depending on how the game actually opens, I am going to suggest that here is the place to discuss spoilers for, but NOT BEYOND, for example: 1) The Part 1 splash screen 2) Guybrush's arrival on Melee, assuming that's the first proper island. 3) After the Big Interesting thing happens. Whichever feels most appropriate, use judgement. Basically because the end of MI2 is weird we can expect the start of ReMI to be weird. When that weirdness subsides and this game starts being more of a normal Monkey Island game, that's when to stop talking about it here and start using the full spoiler threads. How about it?

I caught this too. Gotta say, in my mind the only adventure franchise that can comfortably compete with monkey island is broken sword so it’s cool to see the respect on show here.

👕 I beat #Mojole #177 and all I got was this stupid t-shirt. 5/6 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 💛💛💛💛💚 🖤🖤🖤💛🖤 🖤💚🖤💚🖤 💚💚💚💚💚 https://funzone.mixnmojo.com/Mojole/

I was thinking... the elevator that takes you to Melee in Monkey 2... all my life I thought of it as a simple easter egg, when in reality it is something that happens. I wonder if since Return to Monkey Island starts at the amusement park and then (I guess) we go to Melee, if the way to get there is the elevator and in fact we have some kind of explanation as to why in the tunnels on the island Dinky there is an elevator that takes you to Melee.

Not posting the video was part of the terms...not that I think our interviewers cried too many tears over it. I think the raw transcript approach works great for these things. The results remind me of the old (2004ish?) interview with Ron that Jake and Chris Remo did for Idle Thumbs (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). It was good enough for Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles.

A separate thread for each Part could be useful? [SPOILER FREE] [PART 1 DISCUSSION ONLY] etc.

I'm also of the feeling that it'll be playable, but I think it'll be a playable prologue rather than Part I. I do think it somehow relates to the Secret, perhaps tangentially, but in SOME way, since it makes sense to me that if you find the secret in this game. What we know about the secret so far is that you're going to find it, it will be the same secret that Ron had in mind in 1990 and what he said in an IRC chat room some years ago:

I'm actually guessing the whole carnival part will not be a simple cutscene that explains what happened, even if it's with weird stuff. I'm hoping it'll be a playable part. Maybe we get stuck on the park and by examining things Guybrush starts making comparisons (like we all did with the fact that the park is actually a messed up Booty Island) and starts to remember things. If they did try that hard to stay consistent with MI3 like they said in interviews, then we know Guybrush escapes with a bumper car, and maybe we'll get to do that, but it seems unlikely to me... It's probably some time-warp voodoo stuff. The other games happen, but somehow Guybrush escapes from Big Whoop and skips those and starts from this game, but maintaining his memories from previous games (?) (It's a stretch, but that's the weirdest thing I could think of...) Edit: or maybe we just have to make that hangover remedy to stop being a kid and make a bumper car float to escape 🤷🏻‍♂️

👕 I beat #Mojole #177 and all I got was this stupid t-shirt. 6/6 🖤🖤🖤💛💛 💛💚🖤🖤🖤 🖤💚🖤💛🖤 🖤💚💚💛💚 🖤💚💚🖤🖤 💚💚💚💚💚 https://funzone.mixnmojo.com/Mojole/

That was me! Experiment B was the pepperoni rum, yes. Experiment A was the Phlegm and Tonic: https://monkeyisland.fandom.com/wiki/Pirate_Potables I didn't use jiggers; I used smaller amounts. I used Diet Coke for phenylalanine. I used Mountain Dew for Yellow Dye #5. I think I had a bit of candy for Green Dye #3 (I couldn't find results for Green Dye #2). I substituted cheese sauce for paste, because CMI taught us that melted nacho cheese is a substitute for tar. The drink tasted terrible (Guybrush agrees!) But it didn't make my spit thicker. When I mentioned this on the discord, someone correctly guessed that I didn't stir the Blue Whale with a hook... that's probably what went wrong. I need to figure out what's in a Caribbean Body Slam. All that talk about pepperoni is giving me a meat-and-drink craving...

Man, it was a stroke of genius to make the carnival part of the giant monkey robot this whole time. Who knew that Guybrush's parents were really Pegnose Pete and the Marquis De Singe? ...Ok, I'll come back when I've ACTUALLY played the game.

I think I’m going to set up a separate subforum and fresh threads when release hits, so for now I’d consider this still a speculation thread.

Among the great adventure game dialogue puzzles: standing before the court of Manaan, charged with murdering their ancient mythical beast and destroying their economy/safety. Answering them, and walking away without punishment. Some of my favorite Star Wars characters of all time are from KOTOR2, and all of them are subversions: Kreia, G0-T0, and Hanharr.

8 am PDT — same as the #monkeyislandmondays

Morning Pacific time, since people who are ~13, 14 hours ahead of Seattle at 10 am have had their release dates updated to September 20. Don't quote me on that, though.

Still nothing from Tim or Double Fine?

The video I linked got to the topic eventually, referring to MI2 things like the library. Youtuber Scarfulhu reviewed MI2 and briefly touched on the three islands as government satires. Scabb is an anarchy where people are free... but a single bully takes over really easily. Booty is a democracy with lots of consumer goods... but everyone is fixated on partying and ignorant of danger. Phatt is a fascism with access to information (library)... but the leader benefits above everyone and openly works with LeChuck against you.

"And with that post by BaronGrackle, the thread turned into an endless list of flaming exchanges about how literally the giant [SPOILER FREE] label should have been taken." From "The Chronicles of Mojo Days" - Low Level - PUB May 2029 - House of Mojo

So good!

I'm going to link a brand new "What is the Secret" video that seems put together pretty well. The author is very aware that his video is going to be dated almost immediately, as RMI is coming Monday to wash all theories away. I'm enjoying it as a tribute and final romp to the exciting mentality we've experienced in the MI fanbase for decades. We'll probably keep arguing about the nature of the Secret(s) in the future, but the dynamics of that discussion are going to be shifted when Monday arrives. EDIT: Sort of a tangent: a lot of people mention anachronisms in MI1 and MI2 that point to the amusement park. What I rarely hear about, are the MI1 anachronisms that point to Mêlée Town being a modernish town - a suburban community. - Election poster (akin to the town mayor) - PTA (Parent Teachers Association) - The city's Chamber of Commerce - A clear division between the main city and the surrounding county, the latter of which has... - A traveling circus in town - A used car dealership... err, used ships - A run-down old tourist trap area, Hook Isle, which has gone out of business (- And later on Monkey Island itself, a series of bickering notes posted between local residents. I've seen a reddit thread compare it to notes left in an apartment complex. Also references to tourism being disrupted after LeChuck moved in - there goes the neighborhood!) One could argue that before MI2, the Mêlée Island of MI1 checked more boxes for "tourist town" than for "theme park". That includes the Three Trials and t-shirts as tourist activities. EDIT EDIT: Oh, he actually does talk about the "small town" stuff. I should finish it...

I guess it's a mini-coda.

I love the scrapbook. Hearing Dom read the lines in the IGN video was great.

Has anyone listed the Scrapbook contents shown so far? It looks like... I think it's reasonable to guess that

Audiobook version bought thanks to a free Audible credit!

As much as I enjoy reading the speculation of the carnival, among everything else for this game, I'm going to refrain from even attempting to give my own input because I feel that whatever really is happening is going to be something truly unexpected. I would actually be initially disappointed if it goes the whole "child fantasy" route. With everything that's been said about what happens in the opening and then onward, I think it's something much more disturbing honestly. With Ron revealing that there are multiple endings with plenty of room for interpretation, I think it's going to be much more complicated. This is the probably the first time in a game where I actually don't want to make a theory. I'm truly at a loss on even trying to speculate what Ron and his team have cooked up and I very much love that lol Edit: Okay, I lied, I'll speculate about the opening music: I think after the Monkey Island theme, there will be a few seconds of silence on a blank screen until we hear the carnival music, perfectly innocent. It the gradually plays with a hint of something sinister, but not overtly at first as we finally fade into the carnival setting with Guybrush. As you play through the carnival and solve puzzles, the music gets darker and more creepy as the world begins to morph. All hell finally breaks loose and the music goes full on MI2 mode before transitioning into the melody for this game, finishing the credits.

👕 I beat #Mojole #176 and all I got was this stupid t-shirt. 4/6 🖤🖤🖤💛💛 💚💛🖤💛💚 🖤🖤💚🖤🖤 💚💚💚💚💚 https://funzone.mixnmojo.com/Mojole/

I do but since these artists have done tons of art for D&D and fantasy in general, without the titles they tend to look just like any other fantasy art so I kept the titles and logos to make it less like ripping those artists works and more like relating these to the games (which had heavily cropped or edited versions of the art)... Not sure if I made sense haha.

You know, when we've all finally completed ReMI, I'm going to miss the intense period of activity we've enjoyed since April 😥 I wonder if I could get Ron to delay the release... 🤔

New interview with Noah Falstein: he confirms his prediction about thesis written in the future for Return to Monkey Island and says that the game is not only entertaining but also quite deep, in some way. 🙂

I believe the way that these things uuuusually work is that if it's locked it needs to check the internet to see if the game can be played yet. Once it is unlocked, though, you should be able to play it in offline mode.

Yeah, I wondered that! I'm guessing it won't just be the latter, unless MI1 in Ron's mind also has multiple endings. (It's easy to see the minor differences in the final cutscene as the germ of this idea, though!) As a mega completionist who wants to see everything, part of me is hoping it's not too difficult to figure out how to change your destiny and see a different ending. But another part of me thinks it would be great if the inflection points are so opaque that the only way to do it is to have another playthrough and do everything differently. Exciting either way!

Ken's quite the character and it shows in his writing. He's got a very spartan like business approach. (You've got A employees, B employees and C employees. Get the best of the best and if you can't get the best, don't get in the game. That kind of attitude.) While I don't like that stance on business, he does have some fascinating insights in what the Sierra business philosophy was, and where he got his inspiration. I can still recommend the book, even though I don't think Ken's the kind of guy I could have a particularly nice chat with.

I was considering something similar, but instead having a different drink as I play through each game. Here's what I'm thinking: MI1: Root Beer cause we kill LeChuck with it Mi2: Either a green alcoholic drink or Mountain Dew to represent the spit and the mixed drinks MI3: Lemonade like Kenny's (but without the bottomless mug) MI4: Coffee cause of Starbucaneers MI5: Orange juice to represent the acidic Ichor that Moose drinks

As much as I’d love to go back to Scabb, I’m also kind of glad that it’s never been touched again. It’s my favorite one. Woodtick is so perfectly done with its art, cast of characters, and incredible music, Scabb’s locations are all lonely and a touch creepy, the map music is unique in its lonely backwater mood, and though the island seems small, it’s revealed to be full of little secret spots the more you play. I like to imagine that place is continuing on exactly how it is, maybe a little shabbier and a little more sunk into the swamp but otherwise unchanged by time. Scabb Island Romantic signing off.

The SCUMM Bar kitchen has stew in the full version. If you add the meat, it returns to your inventory as "stewed meat." Likewise with the herring--guess Guybrush grew up between the demo and the full game! Other foods: MI1: --Fettucini (obviously) --Wax lips (It's food! Look it up!) --Spice cake (One of LeChuck-as-Fester's manglings of "Threepwood") Bananas --Mushrooms (Guybrush hates them) --Lemon (a case could be made for Lemonheads, the candy, as well) MI2: --Muenster cheese (the Men of Low Moral Fiber's rat's name is Muenster Monster) --Potatoes (Bernard the chef is peeling and tossing them) --Vanilla (the color of the envelope with Captain Kate's belongings) --Birdseed ("parrot chow") --Governor Phatt references a lot of different foods when he talks in his sleep--can't remember them all, but definitely eclaires, cheese, and chocolate sprinkles --Whatever the fish is that Guybrush uses to win the bet with the angler --Honey (Young Lindy invested in a restaurant chain called "Gangrene n Honey")

In MI1, Guybrush teases one of the Men of Low Moral Fiber by saying he likes rats "with a little wine sauce." Along with the cereal, the Sea Monkey contains cinnamon sticks and fine wine. Many bananas are found on Monkey Island. There's livestock on LeChuck's ship, and I doubt they're being raised for friendship. I don't know if ghost pork counts, though. In M2, Governor Marley's party is referred to as a fish fry. Insulting Governor Phatt can include a reference to "bacon grease and pure fat." Among the suggestions that appear in the end credits: - Or eat lime jello with pineapple in it. - Or go out for pasta. - Or invite some friends over for salmon and white wine. In the library's card catalog, Yorkshire Pudding is a subject. Guybrush references ketchup when reading "Vegetables Children will Eat." There is a book called "Scourge of the Pizza" with the byline "Examination of forced olive consumption." There are also references to gumbo, tomato worms, and soda fountains.