demone

Root beer I think would still have some affect on LeChuck, similar to Tales. Guybrush was meant to stab LeChuck with a cutlass soaked in root beer to injure his spiritual portion. I imagined that once LeChuck was captured and soaked with root beer, they would collectively stab him multiple times to weaken him. Even if he's a zombie, there is still some spirit in him from his resurrection.

The reason I put Return first was because not only do I find it a great game on its own, but it made me appreciate the other games even more. So, even as much as I love the other games and have nostalgia for them, Return actually makes me appreciate them even more now knowing what's been established in Return. It reframed how I view the entire series in a great way.

In a way, it's sorta satisfying. They can troll all they want: they didn't stop Ron from making the game he wanted to make. The game was very well received by both critics and fans. They are spamming some review sites, but it's just sad at this point. They are only robbing themselves of a great experience because they can't look at something with mature and open eyes. Granted, I don't think every negative review is a troll, but there is definitely some review bombing on certain sites.

Perhaps not as noteworthy, but I like the detail in LeChuck's diary that implies he used voodoo magic to conjure up a perpetual storm over his ship to keep seagulls away from stealing his kippers. Explains why it's almost always storming on his ship. It also made me think of his fortress in MI2, which was described as hidden by an endless storm, so perhaps that was also due to voodoo magic to keep it hidden. Lastly, and this is more of my head canon, it sorta gives an implication to the "mysterious storm" that sank LeChuck's ship when he was originally going after the Secret before the first game. If it was voodoo magic, my head canon is that it was the Voodoo Lady, as part of her agenda, who conjured up the storm, then sent out the sharks to rescue LeChuck (she displayed in Tales she can influence creatures) and used them years later to monitor Guybrush on his quest to Blood Island.

Not sure if anyone else noticed/posted this, but when you find Herman, you can use the pieces of paper on him and he'll reveal that they're from him. They are pages from his copy "At the End of the Plank" and he was using them to help mark his way throughout the cave.

Yeah, I should also point out that I very much enjoy Escape, both in gameplay and story. It's just a testament to how much I enjoy the others and not a testament to how bad it is. There are several things I would change, such as how Murray was used, but I still very much enjoy it.

From both a gameplay and story perspective: 1: Return 2: Curse 3: MI2 4: MI1 5: Tales 6: Escape From strictly a story perspective: 1: Return 2: Tales 3: MI2 4: Curse 5: MI1 6: Escape

I've been meaning to buy that book for years now. Really should order it now to see more of the real inspiration behind the series.

Yeah, Harness did a great job and also sounded very organic. My biggest fear was that his take would sound very forced, but it didn't at all. Others have said it, but I think a change in voice actually complimented the take on the character for this entry. LeChuck seems lost in this one: his diary shows that he was still terrorizing the seas but unable to let go of his lust for Elaine and his obsession for revenge on Guybrush. His sudden decision to search for the secret again is almost like a mid-life crisis. He's attacking the seas, but still doesn't have control over them or Elaine and resorted to the last potential source of power he knew about. He's in denial on how much his hatred of Guybrush drives him and projects his own obsession about the secret onto Guybrush. By the end, he lost the faith of his crew and killed some of them while the rest abandoned him. He was left alone to fight for what was eventually revealed as nothing more than a T-shirt and was enveloped by his lust for the secret. Guybrush also remarks that LeChuck's ship seems like one giant mid-life crisis, so I think this was indeed the theme Ron and Dave intended to come across for the character.

Regarding the lack of Monkeys on Monkey Island, beyond being an inside joke, perhaps it's also an indirect reference to Escape, where all the monkeys leave.

I think this is the first time in the series where I would be perfectly fine if this was the final one. I might actually prefer if it was. Ron tweeted earlier that he would be surprised if this was the final one. I actually love the fact that I'm now afraid of them making another one, as opposed to them never being able to make another one. That's simply a testament to how well I feel this one ended.

I went for an hour walk today and could not stop thinking about this game. Yes, it hasn't even been a week, but it has stayed with me and most likely always will. I think, in some ways, the best way to sum up the ending to this game is that if someone simply read it on paper, verbally heard it, or watched the ending on YouTube, the entire message would be lost on them. You need to experience the full journey and context yourself to truly understand and appreciate it. Yes, even then it might not be for everyone, nor should it, but I think at the very least it can be appreciated for what it is. I guess in some ways, that's why I get a little annoyed when I see some the top rated comments on YouTube for the ending are "yet another meta ending" and are clearly from people who didn't play the game, didn't give it a chance, and simply searched for the ending on YouTube. Yes, there is some meta subtext to the ending and, truthfully, the game earns it because Monkey Island is one of the first games and series to have done it right. Beyond that though, there is so much more going on to appreciate and the game also invites you to give it some thought as well. It doesn't simply dictate the ending and themes for you, it invites you to put your own spins on it. It creates an experience that is personable for each, individual person, with no one correct answer and interpretation. I think that's the reason why so many of us here have had a similar experience when first experiencing the ending, myself included. Initially, I felt empty and questioned "Wait, that seriously can't be it?" Then, I kept thinking about it, I replayed the final section several more times, listened to more dialogue, opened the chest containing the secret, saw different epilogues, and I immediately appreciated and loved it. I never played a game where my reaction did a 180 in the span of a few minutes. The game and ending is absolutely brilliant and keeps giving back. Monkey Island has always been great with storytelling, especially when it comes to environmental clues. A favorite example of mine is actually from Tales. That game has a line from Morgan in chapter III that she can speak a little monkey. At the time, it seemed like a simple throwaway joke, but then in the next chapter she mentions she communicated with Jacques the monkey, who informed her on the scope of LeChuck's plans. It wasn't explicitly stated in that scene, but the player could surmise that she could speak to Jacques because she spoke a little of the language. It's just a nice subtle form of storytelling that invites the player to connect the dots. Each game does it to a certain degree, but Return does this in a spades to an amazing degree. It's ingrained in almost every line of dialogue and location. I initially thought that there was something truly disturbing going on beneath the surface of the series. While that can still be seen as accurate, I think the reality is the opposite; there was something truly wholesome going on just beneath the surface. A father bonding with his son and retelling tales of his life, whether they are 100% accurate, embellished, or fantasy. It's up to each, individual person to decide.

In the cutscene that features LeChuck and Madison fighting each other in ship combat, there's a ghost chicken floating on a piece of wood, similar to the opening of the The Curse of Monkey Island. The ship combat itself was something pretty exclusive to that game as well, so a pretty tidy reference.

Also, if you look at one of the knocked over torches in the shipyard, Guybrush will say "It lit up the place, like a carnival"

Should you mention the Secret to Stan, he says it "takes him back." Perfect foreshadowing for that chest at the end.

If you look at the grease in the scurvy dog shack, Guybrush mentions the place could use a swabbie and then comments how he would never be a swabbie.

In the crow's nest of LeChuck's ship, you can see three sharks swimming in the ocean. Might be a reference to the sharks from Curse that followed Guybrush everywhere. I also think that Stan handing Guybrush the keys at the end were Ron and Dave's way of saying they are giving the player the literal keys to make their own ending and interpretations.

I think Ron knew how he wanted the game to begin and end and the secret. But the specifics, the journey, of the game were not laid out yet. He had ideas of LeChuck being a demon and going to hell (which is technically still in the the final product) but other games of their series had already done that. From that interview, my take is Ron knew the focus for each game, but the specifics of each were something only really covered during production with the team. It seems the first game was initially a combination of all the different ideas from what would've been a trilogy, but to better streamline the story, they segmented certain plot threads. Monkey Island is all about the puzzles and dialogue and those inform the story. So, it would be a bit pressing for Ron to have that laid before even starting working on the game.

Are the trivia cards randomized each playthrough? I actually didn't pay as much attention I should've to them during my initial playthrough.

My thoughts can't stop. I'm even starting to think that another interpretation of the Secret in some ways could be that Monkey Island is the epicenter or a convergence of multiple paths, dimensions, timelines, and outcomes. The irony is that Guybrush and LeChuck, most other characters, and us the player, were essentially already aware of this and were a part of it since the first game. They just didn't know/think it was the Secret because it didn't have a label on it like the chest. Thinking further, the pirate from the first game who partially tells Guybrush LeChuck's origin said only LeChuck knows the Secret. Perhaps he did, but LeChuck himself didn't even realize he knew, hence his ignorance when Guybrush asked him about the Secret in previous games. Stan used that to his advantage to create a gaudy and clearly labeled chest to pass as the real Secret as part of a marketing ploy.

So, the other day I posted two things I would change about the game. Freeing Wally and having a showdown with LeChuck. Both of those are now perfectly answered for me. There is an achievement to free Wally, which I did last night and man did it feel satisfying. I had wanted to do that since Curse, my first MI game, so a weight has been lifted. With the multiple epilogues, it gave a scenario for what happened to LeChuck and Lila. Forever fighting in the pits of hell over the Secret. Knowing what they are fighting over is a T-shirt makes it all the the more satisfying. Cool way of showing how their obsession enveloped them. I realized I just wanted a bit more closure on Lila and LeChuck especially and that short epilogue does just that in spades. It also works on many levels. LeChuck was described several times throughout the series as true evil that could never be destroyed completely. So, him being enveloped by his lusts and trapped in hell fighting over essentially nothing is perhaps the perfect end for him. It also compliments the fantasy/carnival aspect well. Their animatronics are stuck in place, still after the secret, while Guybrush leaves and starts a family with Elaine. So, now I wouldn't change a thing. The game is perfect to me and just gets better the more that gets unraveled/revealed. The other epilogues compliment other characters/aspects perfectly as well.

Wow, the site just posted a breakdown of all the possible epilogue variations (10 in all) and honestly it was the icing on the cake for me. It presents a scenario that addressed what could've happened to LeChuck and Lila (basically forever fighting in the pits of hell over a chest, which they don't have the key for, containing a T-shirt while lava slowly rises around them), gives one last bit of closure for the Voodoo Lady and adds some further heartwarming scenes of Guybrush and his family and all the friends he made throughout the series. There's even an actual Monkey in one.

And done! Wally has been freed! Feels so good to actually save him this time. I had wanted to do that all the way back to my first MI game, Curse. Finally, a weight has been lifted lol. But yeah, you just need to use the monocles to examine the shackles on LeChuck's ship before the end of Part III and then have Lock Smith create the key before the end of part IV. Then simply use the key on the shackles. Also, his reaction to Guybrush upon being free will be slightly different depending on if/how you interact with him just before freeing him. If he realizes that Guybrush inadvertently caused LeChuck's anger towards him, he'll state he wants Guybrush to stay out of his life before leaving. If not, then he simply walks away.

So I started the Wally one. Tricky because the shackles aren't even an observable object and only become clickable when you have the monocles equipped.

Yeah, more or less. Perhaps it's even why Boybrush choose Big Whoop specifically to imagine there since he knew it ended at a carnival. And maybe LeChuck only "hexed" Guybrush at the end of MI2 into some weird mental state where he could be easily subdued. I think Larry and Johnathan were deliberately vague here to allow some wriggle room.