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Iron Rose and Putra are the standouts for me. Some good and funny dialogue, and they were among the most well defined and developed new characters in a game where my biggest complaint was that there weren't a lot of new interesting characters to talk to.

Exactly what I was hoping for when seeing DALL-E for the first time (logo removal): Still, far from perfect, obviously, but a good basis for further touch ups.

Hello! I finished Return last night and have spent a long time reading through this thread. I love everyone's opinions and analysis. Thanks for sharing them. I've got many thoughts swirling in my brain about Return and I wanted to plonk them down somewhere, so figured this was a good place for it. I'm not sure if they'll be interesting thoughts, and it's going to be scattergun, but it might help me figure out my feelings. I'm so glad the scrapbook exists and it acknowledges all the Monkey Island games. I love them all in different ways. Every time there was an in-game reference to Curse, Escape, or Tales, I was delighted -- I wish there were a few more, but I'll take what I can get. I also wish Herman wasn't retconned to not being a Marley, just because the idea of Ron and Dave sticking with Escape's controversial twist amuses me greatly. The opening Boybrush twist took me completely by surprise. I knew I was in for a good ride after that. Murray is a legend. You can never have enough Murray. When Return was announced, I was reserved about the new art style. However, my concerns immediately vanished when I began playing. In motion it looks absolutely stunning. The colours are vibrant and varied, the close-ups are funny and dynamic, and it's packed full of details. I particularly liked all the creatures lurking in the backgrounds. I found a lot of the interactions with Elaine to be quite unsettling. I appreciate this is a weird take, but: Guybrush seems surprised to see her on Melee, her photo with Guybrush is torn, she appears out of nowhere on Monkey Island, she knows how to get to Monkey without a potion, she coincidentally came to fix the Sea Monkey. At the end, where you're going through Monkey forest with her and Guybrush is struggling to keep up with her pace, I wondered if the distance between them would keep increasing before Guybrush is left alone. I was almost expecting Guybrush to have died when he got pushed off the Monkey cliff (with everything else following being a dream) or Elaine to be a figment of his imagination. I completed Return without using any hints and I'm happy about that. For me, it was the perfect difficulty because I was never stumped for too long. I can see why some people found it too easy, though, especially as the interface immediately shows that you can't use/combine items (which I welcomed -- the brute force 'try everything on everything' is tedious). Bit disappointed I didn't get an achievement for completing it without hints. How did Wally know where the secret of Monkey Island was? I might have missed that explanation. I like that the hover text shows Guybrush's thoughts, rather than just the name of the item. That's a simple change but it works well. Scurvy and Terror were nice islands, but felt slightly hollow. There were points on Scurvy's map that you couldn't visit, which was disappointing. On Terror, it had lots of places to go but nothing to do and no-one to talk to. Cut content perhaps? I wish these were more fleshed out. I can't see these becoming iconic islands. On the other hand, I really liked Brrr Muda. There wasn't loads to explore, but it felt lived in and meaningful. I enjoyed the act on LeChuck's ship where you're mingling with the crew, getting to know them, and helping them out. I respect Flambe's dedication to relaxation. You'll never replace Earl Boen, but the new LeChuck actor did an excellent job. Just the right blend of sinister and silly. I played all the old games directly before starting Return and Dominic Armato's voice acting is, as always, fantastic, but noticeably different. There's still the classic upbeat Guybrush, but at times he sounds more world-weary. It worked really well for the character and themes of the game. So many inventory items were paper-based, like books, pamphlets, notes, diaries, etc. I know this sounds petty, but I wish there was more variety in the items you carried. The trivia book was a fun addition, though thought it odd that it spoilt some things -- I found out Herman would appear in the game through a question, for example. I would have liked to discover that naturally. I also wish I knew that you had to answer them to generate more cards because that explains why I stopped getting them at a certain point. I'm keen to go back and collect them all. The music is fantastic. The way it blends between the tracks is excellent. I crave a soundtrack release ASAP. I've never been particularly interested in finding out what the secret of Monkey Island is, even when I first played the original. I just saw it as a fun framing device for a piratey adventure. Plus, now so much time has passed that any answer will be unsatisfying. I thought Return handled this concept spectacularly, with regular hints from characters that you shouldn't build things up. For me, the ending was perfect because it lets you take from it what you want. I'm still trying to figure out what I want. Guybrush on the bench at the end nearly made me cry. Please don't let this be the last Monkey Island game. But I'm content if it is.

So I've only played monkey island 1, 2, and this, but honestly, despite not knowing how I feel about the ending, I'm pretty sure this is my favorite so far. It was so fun to *actually think about solutions to puzzles in my head and have them turn out to be correct*. That never happened to me with 1 or 2. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up liking Curse more when I get around to playing it, just because of how freaking gorgeous and atmospheric it is. (and I'm a sucker for frame by frame animation). We'll see!

I think I’d want something that played it straight, but maybe allude to it a little bit. Like, if the game opened with a little sliver of Guybrush narration, the slimmest reference to it being a frame story or being somehow recounted, but was otherwise just a rollicking adventure. I feel like Return existing means a next game doesn’t HAVE to get deep into this if it doesn’t want to, it just has to be aware that it happened, and players’ brains will do the rest on their own.

Guybrush: "Somehow it was more exciting before I knew that." Me: "Nuts to that, old man! I kind of wanted to know her name, and now I know her name." 😛

Hey, you got an apology frog!

I have returned from my spoiler hole. I... uhh... ok... huh... just... gonna read the thread

It's not all fun though...

The hint book is excellent, to be fair. I've looked at it randomly now I've finished the game, and the hints have always been excellent. No idea why people post in forums for help when the best help is in the game already (although maybe some people are afraid they'll be penalised for using it?).

Zero, but I was very tempted during the last chapter in the second ring because I couldn't clearly tell what the in-game rule expected of me. So I spend time looking too much into background details and trying to interpret them, when the solution was much easier. It did help that I took a break to go for a walk with my dog and then return back to the game with a fresh mind.

That's a cool take. She definitely seems to be omnipresent, which almost felt like a deus ex machina at times. I was also curious about that tumble he takes off the cliff, which seems unsurvivable (same concept as holding his breath, I guess) and wondered if there was some twist in store. The other thing is that it really seems like they were split up or separated for a time. There's like a gulf between them, even though they say all the right words to each other. I really wish we knew the devs intentions with this; it's one of those things that feels almost purposeful, but I don't know what the right interpretation is. Some have likened it to a "therapist" role, which takes a very specific stance, but I'm wondering if they were on a break for some time and are basically treading on eggshells.

I added a “never” option. Hope that’s alright!

My try made the ship a bit too small:

Yes true it is a remastered bandana.

I somehow made a connection to Stan's toothbrush and tried to break in.

She had second thoughts about him and Guybrush convinced her that his arch nemesis is not so bad and worth following, so he could find the Secret.

One of the best things is, that the real MI3a was never made, so now we have a real addition to the mythos from the old team and the speculation of what could have been in in the 90s is still there. We now have two exciting paths to take us back to the theme park whenever we want. We are like the chums, a club of people telling each other stories. I think that is worth so much more than a definitive answer.

I was kind of expecting to end up in the alley in the end of the game. During the cutscenes with LeChuck and Lila I saw the door and was crossing my fingers that it's not the end yet. I was in denial. Then walking through the door, indeed leading to the alley, simultaneously with Guybrush, I thought, no! Not yet!

I think I would have liked to see the ending in the weird theme park version of Melee last a bit longer – maybe have Guybrush comment on some more things, see some other characters, or more rooms. And then maybe build up to the secret in the chest just being the T-shirt. I think I like the direction they took but i was just *way* not ready for it to end that abruptly, haha. Like I didn't dislike it, but I definitely wasn't in a good mood as the credits rolled. I guess I wish the game stayed with me a bit more to talk about the themes and resolve some of the collateral damage Guybrush caused. Maybe, like, you get past the code wheel puzzle, there's a little cutscene with LeChuck, then you open up the chest and it's the T-Shirt. Guybrush says "wait, I'm not ready!" (or whatever that line was) and you find yourself in the Melee amusement park behind the church. Cut to title card: *Part 6: the secret.* then you sort of just go through this weird version of melee island, talking to Elaine about your disappointment in the secret, sort of a Part 2 of their conversation on Monkey Island. And then after that sequence, then we go back to the park bench. Idk that's just an idea. I'm not upset. I'm not upset! I'm not upset...

Hmm. I guess this is an early mockup, but why not use the explosion on the disc box case? It looks like Ben is just going for a leisurely ride! Either way, this one isn't for me.

Nah, the rat is fine. There's clearly no burner on under the pot, and when you look at it after putting the rat in there Guybrush first says it appears to be doing the backstroke. If you look a while later he says that it seems to have left (after leaving some hair behind).

We’re gonna need a second black tshirt.

However the story would wind up, I would definitely appreciate it if they peeled back another layer off the theme park ending and went deeper into the metaphysical weirdness of the series. A new lingering thread of mystery feels pretty important to establish.

I scanned archival assets for Laserschwert and all I used was this black tshirt.

Mojo has just posted all the unedited OGGs to twitter so I assume tools are coming soon. From the game rips I made a 20 minute edit of LeShip which includes all the variants and also weaves in the Murray intro cutscene as a mid-song bridge into the Murray track, and closes on the spyglass cutscene, since it ended up working out well as a way to end the track. https://remi.mojodb.com/music/LeShip.mp3

Its under heavy development at the moment , a lot of ReMI stuff has been added. I added support for dumping the audio a few hours ago. I'm not doing a new official release until I can think of a new name for it. Grumpy Explorer is one possibility, any other suggestions welcomed.

A Diplomacy tabletop variant. Either focusing on this Caribbean (Tri-Island Pirates, Undead Pirates, Phatt Island, Skull Island Smugglers, Australian Developers, Vaycaylian Merfolk, Brrr Muda), or on Monkey Island itself (Cannibals, LeChuck, Herman, Jojo, Madison).

Playing on my own, I think I would have powered through. But with my kids... we had an opportunity on Friday to play a few hours, but the Scorched Alaska puzzle was roadblocking us... Instead of throwing those hours away and trying again next weekend, we used the Hint Book to confirm that our solution was on the top deck. After that, we figured out to use the Knife on the cannon light, instead of just using the food on the cannon light itself. Hint Book is a timesaver. The game's fine in its own way, but... I'm kind of ready to be finished now. We've got two golden keys and were making steady progress when we stopped for the night.

As well as the face value gag, I guess this could be another example of the secret’s unveiling being foreshadowed. That secret, anyway.

People have discussed setting accounts with Wally already, but his dialogue in the scene at the end where he's chained up also changes a little bit based on if you paid him or not. If you don't pay him, Guybrush mentions how Wally did all that work for free. If you do pay him, Guybrush says the sea map was expensive, but it all worked out. Then Wally questions what Guybrush means by "everything working out". Also, if you free Wally without talking to him first, he doesn't tell Guybrush to get out of his life. He doesn't say anything, and silently just runs off.

+ the gazillion dollars on shipping and taxes. It’s actually double as expensive if you live overseas.

Hmm. You make a good argument. You nearly persuaded me view it differently... but then I remembered it's $85. Not for me, but enjoy your purchase!

I understood it was referring to the plant, but was way overthinking it - I thought I would have to make the plant bite into something that I would then bring with me, and did end up having to use the hint book. Felt like a fool, hahhh.

Very well said. This pretty much reflects my own feelings towards the show. But: Mando did the same for me. While it didn't cover as many different formerly unseen corners of life in the SW galaxy, it did provide me with a smaller set of stories, which didn't try to one-up each other in epicness and relevance to the fate of the universe, like the sequel trilogy did. The only thing bothering me about Andor is the combination of pacing and release scheduling. Generally, I wouldn't mind the slow burn the show provides, but at only 45 minutes an episode, each one covers way too little ground. Premiering 3 episodes in one go was a smart move, and I'd wish they would just continue releasing it as 3-episode/2-hour bundles. Waiting for each episode will be painful.

It is. I haven’t watched the last couple seasons of Star Wars shows (boba and obi wan) because the end of Mandalorian season 2 made me need some time away, but these first four episodes of Andor have been some of my favorite Star Wars viewing of the Disney era. I was never as huge into the EU/Legends stuff as my friends growing up, but Andor captures the most aspirational version of the EU feeling for me: The idea that off in the corners of the Star Wars universe, there’s a bunch of human-scale stories happening that are probably just as interesting (or more interesting) than the operatic drama at the heart of it. Some episodes of Mandalorian have scratched that itch, but nowhere near as potently or consistently as these first few hours of Andor have. Andor also just looks great. One of my favorite things about the main Star Wars movies is that as the story goes on, from scene to scene, you learn more about the universe: you’re going somewhere new, seeing something you’ve never seen before, learning about a new place with its own rules and a history you’ve not yet encountered in the story until now. It’s a type of worldbuilding that leaves tons of pockets for your imagination to explore in its wake. Mandalorian didn’t do that for me - it felt like it was circling the same few places over and over, and even when they went somewhere that was technically new, it either felt the same as what came before, or like it didn’t really belong in the show. Andor though, is delivering this particular Star Wars feeling in a way that’s totally working for me. It helps that all the production design is really inspired, and it’s shot very cinematically. I don’t feel the edge of the virtual set the way I eventually started to on the Mandalorian. (I’m sure they’re using the volume plenty as part of their toolkit, but it’s blended in better and doesn’t feel so one note as a result.)

I noticed that captain lila was coincidentally also one of the people to walk through the door at the end. The three that walked through the door resemble the children at the beginning... This is some nice theory material but I haven't seen anyone think up of one. Maybe doors are symbolic for the seperation and connection of two worlds like in Psychonauts or Deltarune. Only that it's more than just symbolic in those games. It could be that it's also like that in Monkey Island and some magic-time-meta-story stuff is up with them. The random doors in melee island (tm) are also very freaky.

I'm not sure: either the day the game was released or the day before/after that.

You may be interested in this. This was more about DOTT, but DOTT very likely reused the ideas behind the Monkey Island special editions: and then the slides: http://www.p1xelcoder.com/resources/GDC_2017_Remastering_DotT_and_Grim.pdf And then there's also: and its slides: http://www.p1xelcoder.com/resources/Reboot_2016_From_Monkey_Island_to_Broken_Age.pdf

I can't tell the characters apart, the two pale pirate leaders and the museum guy and the composer on the ship, it's really confusing for me (but this might be a personal issue, I'm bad at recognizing faces in real life as well). I really like Flambe, didn't do much, but that's his life moto apparently. He knows nobody can do anything about him being lazy, he's a demon after all and a handy underwater light source! Just chilling in the crowsnest. I know it's not a new character, but I love how they presented the cook in the Scumm-Bar, the spiritual journey and mop enthusiasm!

I hereby designate this an award-winning take. Thank you. 😄

I had to squeeze this wonderful promotional artwork for "Dark Forces" in. Painted by David Grove, this was used for print ads in several magazines back in the time. Interestingly, the original painting was created with much brighter colors, and later darkened for printing. Surely this was intentional, as the art works much better this way, given the game it was created for. I've created several different versions for this:

One of the best analysis I have ever read about the series. I agree with every concept you expose. I think that is the true meaning of the ending too. You exposed it perfectly.

As I kept reflecting on the ending, some new thoughts have sprung. This will be an enormous post, soI’ll be truly grateful to those who manage to read the whole thing. So called “metanarratives” have been told before, across various mediums, whereas by placing the audience as the unwilling target of some sort of storytelling, fourth-wall breaking pun, or resorting to the “it was all in the main character’s head and imagination all along” angle. Regardless of how masterfully conceived these “metanarratives” can be (whether in the form of books, movies, etc.), there is inevitably a gap, a distance, between what the characters are experiencing and what is our own reaction to those experiences. A good storyteller will diminish that distance, create greater empathy between the audience and the characters, but we are still outside witnesses, external observants. We can be touched emotionally by the story, but that tends to come down to how much empathy has been conjured between us and the characters, on how much we can imagine ourselves in the characters’ shoes, on how much we can “relate”. However, I feel RTMI takes this to a whole new level, using a storytelling method that is a particularly perfect vehicle for exploration of this kind of thematic undercurrent: the point and click adventure game. This goes beyond the mere notion of being able to control where the main character goes, or how long we can linger in certain places or even the choices of dialogue (within the obvious limitations of the game framework). Those are just the mechanical and functional means of the storytelling experience. We learn, in what I think is a pretty definitive and unequivocal conclusion, that the world of Monkey Island is a plateau of existence, a mental place, a dimension, if you will, where Guybrush finds solace, refuge, escapism and entertainment. I won’t go into the discussion whether this dimension is any more real than the one where his everyday existence is taking place. What seems pretty definitive to me, is that those two dimensions are separate, they are two different things, although elements from the “everyday dimension”, to a certain extent, seem to feed the fabric of the Monkey Island dimension (and probably vice-versa. as well), as the things we experience almost subconsciously in our everyday lives can also feed our dreams. This Monkey Island dimension might have been triggered by Guybrush’s experiences, both as a child and as an adult, in a pirate themed amusement park, as a way to escape from a reality that is either too sad, too painful, too dull or too empty to face without solace. The details really don’t matter. And this is where the “metanarrative” comes to its full fruition. We are not witnessing Guybrush escaping into an imaginary pirate world, as he tries to take some reprieve from his everyday existente, while feeling empathy for his plight. No, we are Guybrush! As much as I ever felt in any work of art, we are indeed the character. We are not empathizing with Guybrush, we are not relating to Guybrush. We truly are Guybrush. We are the ones looking for solace, refuge, escapism and entertainment in a fictional pirate world. We are the ones (particularly in this forum of such dedicated fans), who treasure and look forward to the moments we spend in this Monkey Island dimension. We don’t do it to spend the time while waiting for the train to arrive. We don’t do it because there’s nothing else to do. We don’t do it to fill in the blanks in our daily schedule. We make it a pinnacle of our leisure time. It’s primetime worthy. In those playing hours, we rather be in the Monkey Island world than in whatever real life has to offer , regardless of how happy or fulfilled we feel. I don’t play Monkey Island the same way I play other games. Not even in the same way I play other point and click adventure games. It’s not to reach the end, get a dopamine fix or an adrenaline rush. I play it for the experience, to live in that world for a bit. That’s why I like linger in the wonderfully evocative locations, just wander around the locals, why I look forward wish to get stuck certain puzzles, so as the music and ambiance seep through my skin and become engrained, so as to when we listen to the soundtrack, it will immediately conjure up memories and feelings of those precious moments spent in the Monkey Island dimension. And I know Monkey Island is not real. Guybrush knows Monkey Island is not real. But it is true. And it matters. And that’s why we like to discuss the minutiae of this world, what things are “more real” than others (although nothing of it is really real), why we hang posters of it on the wall, listen to the soundtracks, replay the games knowing by heart all the solutions to every single puzzle. We want to keep visiting the same amusement park, we get excited when there’s a new ride on the horizon and we love riding the same old, well-worn, familiar rides.. And when not in the amusement park itself, we reminisce by looking at ticket stubs, park maps, promotional brochures. And I, like Guybrush, want Monkey Island to be as real as possible. So I keep chasing the horizon, clinging on to every small thing that might make it a little bit more concrete. I want to make LEGO models of Melee Town, the Giant Monkey Head and Woodtick. I want character statutes to proudly display on my bookcases. I want to wear T-Shirts of the Legendary Treasure of Melee Island. But it is not real. It 's not concrete. It can’t be. And just like Guybrush, I felt disheartened when I reached the back alley of Melee Island at the end of the game. It’s time to go home. My day at the amusement park is almost over. No more new rides to try. It’s with heavy hearts that I turn off all the lights in the park. I have to get back to my more mundane existence. But this game gives us something absolutely new. Almost revolutionary. It shows us a Guybrush with a life outside of Monkey Island. And a happy and fulfilling life at that, with a beautiful family. And we realize, maybe for the first time, that Guybrush doesn’t really need Monkey Island anymore. He’s ceased to be obsessed by it. And this is where The Secret comes in. And how it really could never have been something of true importance. It was a red herring all along, a distraction, something with an importance that grew in an unwarrantedly disproportionate manner throughout the years. It was ever only something that was part of the fabric of Monkey Island, among many other things. It was never its raison d'être, never a cipher to understand the whole thing. Monkey Island is not a mystery to solve, but a “reality” to experience. Like life itself. Lechuck lost sight of this. Monkey Island ceased to be a “good place”, where one could have sprawling adventures, meet colorful characters and visit fascinating places. It was all about The Secret, looking for some sort of resolution, an answer, something with which to cover the gaping holes in his existence. At the end of the game, Guybrush is finally freed from this anchor (ohh, symbolism). He can now visit Monkey Island because he wants to, not because he has to. It’s something that adds to his life, it doesn’t replace it. And it has become a pure thing again. A place where he can play pirates, simple as that, only constrained by the limits of his imagination. Stories being told around a campfire. In light of this, the very beginning of The Secret of Monkey Island has become even more perfect. Guybrush arrives at Melee Island not by ship, but by walking through a stone archway, as it were some sort of portal, and declare bluntly and plainly: This is all we want. We are Guybrush from the very start. We want to be pirates in a make-believe world. That’s why we are playing. Even the setting is perfect. How else would a Pirate setting be enticing unless when seen and interpreted by a child-like imagination? Throw any serious degree of historicity in it and the whole thing crumbles, with all the pillaging, violence, depravity and filth involved. It has to be a Pirate universe as imagined by a child. Again, it was never about The Secret. The whole point of experiencing Monkey Island is perfectly captured by the very first thing Guybrush says. There can never be a Monkey Island prequel. There’s no other possible beginning. To do it would be to corrupt it. Nothing exists before that declaration of intent. That’s where the whole dimension of Monkey Island is born. “I want to be a pirate”. That’s the absolute summation of what Monkey Island is all about. At the end, Guybrush (and myself), realize there’s peace to be found in knowing there’s no deeper meaning behind all of it. Monkey Island is a “good place” to visit every now and then. Guybrush has regained the purity of intent shown in that very first scene in The Secret of Monkey Island. The whole thing has become unburdened by overarching narratives, unsaddled by strict continuity between adventures, freed at last from the shackles of having to provide answers and meaning. Elaine emphasizes this by suggesting yet another adventure. Of the simpler, purer kind. And how perfect and crucial that little intervention is. Brings the whole thing full circle. And Guybrush sits on that bench, looking truly at peace with himself (as I see it), having regained the true purpose of Monkey Island. That image is the perfect coda to the Ron Gilbert trilogy. The lookout scene in SOMI as an overture. This is one as an epilogue. The world of Monkey Island is now wide open. There was never a better time to create new stories in it. Purer stories. With more cannons and less “canon”. I became a father 6 months ago. A little Boybrush named Manuel. Like Guybrush, I now have a family to share the world of Monkey Island with. And it has become something new again.

I think they missed a trick by Guybrush not having a direct confrontation with LeChuck. It was nice popping out in the Melee again... but given that we've seen that trick before, it might have been better for Guybrush to finally kill LeChuck, only for him to fall over like a cardboard cutout. Or something like that. Anyway, the more I think about it, the more I see it like this: Ron is Guybrush on the bench, and we're Boybrush getting sucked into his tales.

If I can get slightly personal for a minute, I have severe anxiety and am prone to very intense depression, and it tends to make me value clarity a LOT, because otherwise I tend to overthink, catastrophize, and generally think the worst of any situation. Because there are so many ways to intepret things, it overloads my brain a bit and picking one version never quite sits comfortably for me because it always feels like I'm denying something. Man, I'm really thinking too deeply about a videogame, I suppose it's good that it is so thought-provoking, though it's personally not in a way that feels right for me. Maybe I just need to give it time. I think I'm also in the minority of really hoping this isn't the last game, just so I can close out the series on a higher note for my own preferences.

I'm always sort of wary of peeking behind the curtain too much these days, given the double edged sword that has proven to be. I think the average player doesn't think a lot about content getting cut, and doesn't understand very well that cutting is a big part of the creative process. On the one hand I'm super interested in what the concept behind Cogg might have been and what the puzzles were like and how it fit into the story. On the other, it's hard for me to wish it hadn't been cut because maybe it killed the pacing, or they decided it was just the worst bit of the game, or didn't advance the plot enough, or just didn't fit thematically as well as some other stuff. 'Cut for time' could mean a lot of things. Sometimes I watch deleted scenes out of interest, but I only very rarely wish they hadn't been cut. In a way, I'm happier this easter egg exists than I am sad that Cogg wasn't finished in the end.

This is interesting because I'm having this exact same discussion elsewhere with somebody who feels the same. And of course, I like to talk about why I like the ending, but at the end of the day, if you don't like it, you don't like it, and I don't think you need to apologize to yourself or anybody else for that. But this other person had a very similar reaction. They felt punked, going so far as to imagine Ron and Dave making fun of them. And THAT got my hackles up. Not in an "I'm mad at you, you dolt" way, but in a way that just made me sad. Kind of like, after all these years and all these wonderful moments and all love that has gone into these, how could you think they wanted to end things with "Ha ha, we tricked you, stupid!" So if it makes you feel any better, Leontes, you're not alone. Though it makes me sad here, too. I mean, I get it. Sorry to flog a tired analogy, but David Lynch isn't for anybody. And I don't think you're wrong to use the word burden, necessarily. Neither do I think you're wrong for not wanting to work for it. I hate to say it, but maybe this ending just isn't for you. Which shouldn't come as a surprise. No matter what they did, it was bound not to be for somebody. (Read: a bunch of somebodies.)

I think after spending a couple of nights thinking about it I'm starting to form a tentative opinion. I really like Return to Monkey Island. I think I sort of love it. but (though it's just a little but) I think I like it more for what it does than what it is. In terms of what it is, it's great. It's well written, has fun characters, jokes that make me smile, neat puzzles, a servicable central story and wonderful art and music. All I could have realistically hoped for from a new Monkey Island game in 2022 really. But I'm never going to like it more than the MI2. I'm never going to internalise it in the same way I did with those games. I was ten. Those games opened my eyes to all SORTS of stuff that I've carried with me my whole life. But also, there are just some areas where I just don't think it's quite as sharp as the original - the dialog trees, the locations, the characters - I just don't think they're as well defined as I felt them to be in the earlier games. They're decent, just not *chef kiss* wonderful in the same way. But what it does, I think, and why I value it so much is that it provides just enough (but not too much!) extra context to the world of Monkey Island that it lifts every other game in the series. Return to Monkey Island is the game that does that rare thing of improving all the other games around it, and making me value them even more than I already did. And for doing that, I think it's really something special.