demone

@JakeWould it be too soon to start an achievements thread? There are several achievements in particular (free Wally!) that seem pretty involved and some are even hidden (no description). I have a feeling some of these result in the different ending variations Ron was talking about. The "don't believe one" appears to be one. Not even sure if this is a good idea, but thought I would bring it up, because some seem pretty involved and require things done by certain points in the game. Regardless, can't wait to get back to this game and start focusing on them now that I saw the full list. They really made this a living and breathing world.

Concerning my head canon now for the Voodoo Lady's agenda, I think it was to entice Guybrush and LeChuck to finally start a quest to discover the secret. She was bound by contract not to reveal anything, so she went through a much more roundabout and manipulative route. Putting them through quest after quest, indirectly helping in LeChuck resurrections (perhaps even directly resurrecting him after Tales by using his imprisoned pox essence) and Guybrush's victories, until one of them finally said "Screw it, the Secret is all that's left." The irony is though, even she didn't know it was just a t-shirt (leave it to Stan) and finally lost interest and passion for its discovery once her business begun to fail. She finally revealed her name and then retired, perhaps looking for De Cava. Maybe Guybrush and LeChuck's battles taught her something about what mattered more.

Yeah, I would only change 2 things. Some type of final battle with LeChuck. There's been so many throughout the series that I didn't mind too much, but would've been a nice transition to the ending. And freeing Wally. There's gotta be a way lol For right now, my head canon is Elaine freed him. Other that that, my expectations were exceeded in basically every way. The more I think about the ending, the more I love it.

I guess those flowers also cost him his cushy government job.

Random question, but does anyone know if there is a way to free Wally?

What I also found interesting is Guybrush says something very similar on the back-cover of Curse. If that was intentional, that's incredible attention to detail the designers have.

Okay, my last thought for tonight. Guybrush, in some way throughout the series, was trying to make sense of why his parents abandoned him and left him to an orphanage. In the series, his parents came out of nowhere, like a kid crying for their parents and asking for answers, just like the dream in MI2. Perhaps that's why his son has a bit of his parents being dead at the end of his hypothetical retelling on MIS2 with his friend Chucky; it was closure for his father. The amusement park gave Guybrush solace as a child to cope with this (and perhaps even motivated him to be a pirate if he wasn't actually a flooring inspector) and so, he kept visiting it even as an adult (eventually becoming good friends with the current owner/manager Stan) and, when he had a child of his own, took the family there. He wanted to make sure his son never felt alone or abandoned like he did and, so, he took him to the one place he himself felt solace in, even if it fell into disrepair.

Also, shoutout to how casually we found out the Voodoo Lady's real name. Fittingly, I actually don't even remember what it is (I'm not even joking). And yes, I already have my head-canon for how her role in this game connects to her mysterious agenda from Tales. I never thought I would say this, but I actually don't want them to make another game, at least for several years. This ending is perfect in too many ways.

Look at the Locksmith's hand in the end.

I have a feeling there is a lot more to unpack in this game upon more replays. Upon my third replay of the ending, I realized you could indeed unlock the chest containing the secret and I loved it lol

Okay, my thoughts as of right now.... I absolutely loved this game. The ending....I'm going to be thinking about for a while, but I think Ron has quite literally given us the keys to come up with whatever conclusion we are most happy with. I think the true secret of Monkey Island is that it's a series of stories that Guybrush came up with based off his own experiences in an amusement park that Stan owned (he visited it as a kid and always kept coming back even as an adult, married and as a flooring inspector), with Stan tweaking the story and animatronics every now and then as the years went on (very much like the POTC ride after the movies came out). Guybrush used the park as inspiration to tell his son exciting stories. The Secret is something to keep the stories going on forever. Guybrush in his youth was truly an orphan and found solace in the amusement park to become a pirate, met Elaine, perhaps tried to defend her from a bully named Chucky/Charles, though she was already defending herself quite capably. He meshed those experiences with the park attractions. Now then, as for my own personal take more ingrained with the "fiction"; I think the answers you can give kiddo Guybrush is what you believe as the true ending; the answer that I finally settled on (I replayed my save many times) was that Elaine was right and it didn't matter what the secret was. Her cutscenes observing Guybrush's destructive actions and the conversations she had with Guybrush while walking were too compelling. LeChuck, his crew, Madison and her partners, were all killing each other by the end and Guybrush did so much damage in his own quest. I like to think, in the end, Guybrush realized it didn't matter anymore, while LeChuck was enveloped by it. Guybrush has everything he ever needed. Sure, I would've liked to have seen my take with own eyes, but then, that would've only been the ending I wanted to see then, wouldn't it. LeChuck was consumed by the secret and Guybrush settled down to have a family. I didn't need to see one more showdown with LeChuck; we've gotten that 5 times prior. Sure, I wanted to see one again when I was playing it, but now.....nah, I'm good. Seeing Guybrush as a father with Elaine, as an actual pirate or a flooring inspector, it doesn't matter. The Secret was that other things mattered more. Guybrush has that now. @DmnklyThank you. You are Guybrush to me, Ron, Dave, and so many others, and a massive part of my childhood. You have no idea what you meant to me growing up. Actually sending a message to you on the day I finished this game.... I can't believe it is actually happening. I was nine when I first played these games, when Curse came out. The circle is now complete lol I couldn't be happier.

Honestly, this also adds such a nice, emotional layer onto the entire series. Seeing Guybrush going from being on Melee in the first game with nobody and nothing but a dream of being a pirate and now seeing him have a family is genuinely heartwarming. Also, going to be really fun to play previous entries thinking that it's Guybrush recounting the events to his son or his son acting them out with his friends. I LOVE this lol

The explanation they give....I absolutely love it. In a few minutes it neatly ties up the ending and connects it with the rest of the series. So, my take is essentially Guybrush's son is reimagining the stories Guybrush told him with his friends. Each game at this point has basically been them reimagining the tales. Largely, the tales they reimagine are accurate, but they incorporated their own twist into the ending of the second game and take liberties here and there with other aspects (the pirates insult sword fighting saying, "come on, play along"). This game starts with them finishing one of their retellings of the second game, and the explanation given in Curse remains canon. So Guybrush and LeChuck aren't brothers (at least where I'm at in the game now). It fits so nicely because Guybrush and LeChuck never bring it up again, because LeChcuk never said it. Now, it does make me question the whole "dad's skeleton head" now. Beyond that, this game is incredible. And l'm loving the great scores it's getting. Well, done, Ron, Dave and everyone else. I still have plenty to play, but I don't have one complaint right now.

Almost there. Time for one last replay of my favorite parts of the previous games, listen to some old interviews, and re-watch the Monkey Island Mondays and trailers one last time before the big event tomorrow. I'm still in a little disbelief that this game is actually happening. To think that only 6 months ago, it was as if this game was nothing but a huge "what if" in fans' imaginations and I didn't even think it would be possible until years and years later, if at all. Been great speculating with everyone for the past 5 months and to be active on a Monkey Island forum once again. Mere hours now.

My random thought of the night. The title card that is being used for the countdown, and what I presume is the part titled the titular "Return to Monkey Island," is actually pretty unsettling. When I watched the IGN video again from yesterday, I also noticed the music has some unsettling portions to it. I'm getting some big MI2 vibes so far; there was something very unsettling about the atmosphere in that game and I'm really happy to see that vibe seemingly continue in this game. Little over 1 day left.

Yeah, it's gonna feel really weird to play this game I think, but in a very good way. It's been years since I played a genuine adventure game, let alone one so tied to my life. I grew playing this series and it has lived on in ways no one could really anticipate. I know that sounds cliché to say, but I truly think that this series has become something so much more than Ron, Dave, or Tim ever expected. Less than three days left. I'm almost sad the wait is almost over.

Yeah, this is the first video I regret watching, but only a little bit lol On the plus side, I'm happy nothing bad happened to Wally in this clip. Also, is it just me or is Guybrush really well liked by many of the characters so far?

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath either (at least not for 10 minutes) - many games use that schedule, so I had very small hope that maybe it would be same in this instance as well. Either way, it's mere hours at that point, after years and years of not even thinking this game would ever happen.

Yeah, I would very much prefer them to break the Monkey Monday pattern and just release at 12am EST and maybe 11am EST can be like a launch trailer or something. Either way, just a few more days!

Random question, but are any reviews actually releasing tomorrow?

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.

Also, IGN posted a new video featuring the Voodoo Lady. Not really implicating her having serious involvement in the overarching story, at least in terms of her agenda, but one short clip at the beginning of the game isn't too much to go off of, especially since the video was more about a feature rather than her character. Trying to be vague for anyone who hasn't seen the video.

I also love this. To think Dom was afraid that Ron hated him at one point. I think in addition to this game just being real, it's great to see Ron and Dom hanging out and really becoming good friends.

Just watched the IGN scrapbook video. Dom does such a great job here of inserting genuine emotion into Guybrush's character, specifically when talking about Elaine.

Yup, seeing "Return to Monkey Island" download is just surreal. It's real, it's actually happening lol