Alexandra IDV

Sounds fun! I've got the book ready, and will join you all in reading it on February 2.

I asked Ron and Dave about this on Twitter, and turns out the violinist was made solely for the teaser trailer.

Really like the look of the big box, but as usual with these types of CEs I'm not that interested in the things included in it - and certainly not enough to pay the higher price. I'll be getting the standard Switch edition.

Realistically I don't think this is gonna affect anything - people buying this are Loom superfans, while a new Loom game would target a broader audience of adventure game players. Still have hopes that the success of RtMI will lead to Lucasfilm investing in further adventure games.

Tempted to get this - it's one of my favorite adventure games, and I've never owned it outside of Steam. Will also pretend that this is heralding Forge and Fold, because of RtMI happening after LRG's MI collection.

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.

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.

I would love to see it completed and added, but I wonder if they would really have put the hidden noninteractive version of it into the game if they were expecting to be able to add it in full later on. 🤔

I guess we're all posting our updated rankings, and being a big fan of ranking things I guess I gotta, too. I considered for some time whether Return is tied with Curse for me, but although I think it does do several things better, I will in the end put it just below Curse at #4.

Absolutely. I recently finished the sci-fi mystery adventure AI: The Somnium Files, and as I played it I thought about how grateful I was that writer/director Kotaro Uchikoshi had been given the chance to make such an original and interesting game, on a bigger scale than any of his previous works.

Mmm, I recall Ron and Dave saying similar things in recent interviews, too. I don't know where they'd go with the series after Return's ending, but I'd be interested to find out.

Of course. Loom is my favorite Lucasfilm adventure game after Monkey Island, so sequels or a remaster of that is what I'm hoping for the most - but really, I'd be stoked to see more classic adventure game revivals in general. Disney owns Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle - Double Fine just got the license to develop and publish the DotT remaster.

I, too, "solved" the puzzle by chance... I rotated the wheel a few times and clicked around on the year just to see how it worked, and then it just opened itself in front of me. I kind of wish there existed a thing you actively have to click to submit your answer, to prevent this.

LeChuck did return to being a zombie in the beginning of Tales as well without explanation, presumably because it's the most iconic and recognizable design. I'm tbh fine with *unspecified stuff* having happened between Tales and Return that we don't know details about, that resulted in this.

I think Return is doing well enough that Lucasfilm will look into doing more adventure game revivals, and that if not only Ron wants to do it but Craig as well, it very well might happen. Keeping my fingers crossed! (Also hoping that this is finally the time when Loom's sequel(s) happen!!)

Unfortunate that this one was cut - it's got some very compelling art, and I would've loved to have another island to move back and forth between after getting the ship. Of course it comes across as even more mysterious and interesting than it possibly would have now that we only know it as a what-could-have-been area, but it still looks really neat.

Not far enough into Return to rank it, but... 1. MI2 2. Secret 3. Curse 4. Tales 5. Escape For a while, MI2 and Curse were tied for #1 to me, but having replayed the series ahead of Return, I've had to change my mind. The parts of Curse that I like, I really do love, but... the rushed and sudden ending, the carnival area, the way the entire town of Puerto Pollo is one screen seen from a distance + interiors... still a great game, but it's not as perfect as my memory of it was. Meanwhile, I gained a lot of new appreciation for Secret in my recent playthrough - especially the part set on Monkey Island, with its air of mystery and with its nature scenes.

I'm the kinda person who, while appreciating a physical release and preferring to get one when possible, is not into having one with loads of trinkets inside it. I would love an artbook with commentary from the developers, but that's about it to be honest.

Oh, interesting. Weird that it shows up to regular users like that.

I just went to put my Return preorder in, and scrolling down I noticed this: "Monkey Island Advertising...", with stretched art from the physical release of the MI1&2 Special Editions and a mention of talk like a pirate day. Clicking it just takes me to the store page for MI2SE, choosing to add it to my wishlist does nothing, and it does not appear on the MI franchise page. Anyone know what this could be about?

Sounds like I'll be able to start playing immediately after finishing up work on Monday, so works out great for me. Unfortunate for British folks who already have the day off, though.

I guess you exit the elevator on Mêlée for a single screen... if we want to count that (I do)

God, the "fictional MI5 / MI4.5"... I think it was really funny to see Tales keep making wild references to supposed events of a previous adventure that we never got to see (including LeChuck apparently taking on a walrus form at some point), but fans got too hung up on the supposed importance of it.

I wonder. MI first got on my radar sometime in 2009-2010 when I saw old fans discussing Tales and the rest of the series online, and as a result I tried out MI1SE. I still think the previous games (or at least MI1&2) should've gotten new console ports ahead of Return, for newcomers who want to catch up.

-I expect to have a good time. To me, Tales was not an as magical experience as the first three, but I was definitely not disappointed in it - and if Return is on that level or above I will be happy. I do think it has potential to exceed that, though. -As much as the developers try to make Return approachable to new players, this is still a niche game genre, which makes it hard to estimate how the reviews will end up - I see this all the time where reviewers familiar with certain genres tend to give very different scores compared to those new to them (both viewpoints are of course valuable to different readers). -No chance of it outselling Devolver-published Cult of the Lamb. Might be the highest-selling point-and-click adventure game - I don't know of any particularly high-profile ones from this year other than Return, AI:TSF Nirvana Initative, and the Sam & Max S2 remaster (feel free to inform me of any I might have missed).