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Guybrush did give Carla a signed contract for a cushy government job lol

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I really hope we get a release date next Monday, especially if it comes out in September. Would only be two months away (if it comes out on "International Talk Like a Pirate Day," it would be one day short of exactly two months) and it would be perfect time to open up preorders. Would also love if they keep tweaking Stan's dialogue trees on the site to match the reveals.

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Getting closer and closer lol

 

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Honestly, at this point, I'm happy just knowing the release date and waiting. At this point, the most it will be is five months and we've already waited almost 3 and 1/2 months from the time of the official reveal. 

 

Listening to Dominic's interview with Laura last night was the last tease I needed. I felt like a kid again with how excited I got hearing Dominic talk about Return. He sounded so genuinely excited and happy with the game and the story in particular; the way he described the themes of the game being actually very deep and meaningful, and even a little emotional at times, is all I needed to hear.

 

That is what Monkey Island means to to me; plenty of funny and outrageous characters, puzzles, and interactions, but layered on top of a story that is, at its core, actually pretty serious and spooky, and even tragic at times, with some depth. That's the impression I got from the trailer, so it's awesome to hear that those themes will indeed be throughout the game.

 

Not saying I still won't eat up every tease they send, but I would also be perfectly content waiting with just a release date. 

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Looks like there's also a lot of positively around these tweets as well (at least from what I'm seeing) which makes me happy in addition to the awesome music and title card. I hope this makes the team feel good and motivates them to continue sharing. While the selfish part of me just wants to see more, I also hope the positivity makes the team feel good.

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Sorry for the double-post, but on the idea of them being step-brothers. LeChuck does say in his fortress (if the option for "where do babies come from?" is available) he says that Guybrush came from an orphanage. Aside from being just an extremely messed up thing to say lol, there may be a lot going on there. 

 

It could mean they are step-brothers (Guybrush was adopted and became the favorite while LeChuck turned to voodoo) or they both became orphans at some point (actually blood-brothers, but lost their parents). The parents were somewhat a focal point in that game too and supposedly showed up dead at the end. The end to that game really was just one WTF moment after another.

 

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13 minutes ago, OzzieMonkey said:

The brother thing is interesting, because back in the days of IRC chat on the SCUMM bar website, Ron implied that there was more to it than them just being straight up blood relatives. He said " In one sense, yes they are brothers, in another way, they are not." This could mean anything, really. Step-brothers is a popular theory, or they're part of a brotherhood of some kind but not family. It could also just mean they are connected by destiny somehow, LeChuck does say "we are bound to one another". Of course, the ending suggests it's completely literal, but that whole thing could still be an elaborate ruse to distract Guybrush. Man...it really is such a huge deal that this game will start right there in the amusement park and address what on earth was happening. I mean, if Curse is still canon that broader explanation that it's a spell will probably stick, but then it's Ron Gilbert, he's a twisty turny writer. Who knows what's really going on! 

 

Ok..we've theorised enough, Ron. You can release the game now  

Yeah, I actually remember that chat years ago. The fact that Ron has said for years that Curse fits in nicely with his vision makes me think the whole "spell" mythology was somewhat close to what was actually going on (that Elaine mid-credits scene in LeChuck's Revenge had to have been put there for a reason, right?), but there is still tons to be unpacked. 

 

The carnival, the brothers, the Secret; I need this game now.

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Random question to everyone. How would you like the game to tackle the whole "brothers" twist from LeChuck's Revenge. Do you prefer them to actually be brothers or not?

 

For me, I would prefer if that twist was indeed legitimate and not just a Star Wars' ripoff. I posted last month that, despite it being an obvious play on Star Wars, it still felt earned because of the personal nature of that game. I just don't want it to be brushed aside but something that truly changes the dynamic between Guybrush and LeChuck and runs through the entire course of the game.

 

I also think it opens the door to finally explore some backstory for both characters. I would love to find out how Guybrush ended up on Melee what happened to make LeChuck become so evil. Though I would stress I don't what something that romanticizes LeChuck's actions or makes him sympathetic. I still want to always see him as a villain, but there's obviously a lot more going on based off LeChuck's Revenge.  

 

I also love how this twist has never ever been alluded to in any of the successive sequels. I always found that to be extremely respectful of all the game developers working on those games to not directly address this twist. 

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I'm curious to see what LeChuck's ambitions are in this one. While history would imply he would want Elaine again, I think there's something much bigger going on. He didn't even give her a thought in Revenge, so I'm really interested what route they take with the character. I always wondered if LeChuck wanting to marry Elaine was simply just about having her by his side forever. There is one curious line he says in the original "With years of planning almost ruined by my death," which seems to imply that he had plans for Elaine even before their first encounter.

 

In the novel, On Stranger Tides, Blackbeard wanted to marry Beth in order to gain the powers of man and woman. Since that novel inspired Monkey Island, I wonder if there is something there and LeChuck wanting to marry Elaine was much bigger in scope for his ambitions.

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1 hour ago, ThunderPeel2001 said:

This is maddening. It was painful waiting for an update, but instead of sating me, the trailer has made the wait for release even more excruciating!

What gets me by is the idea that by the time I have my holiday decorations up and I'm drinking my hot chocolate and rum, I'll be playing this game, even if it comes out months before that.

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7 minutes ago, OzzieMonkey said:

Us in 2009: Tales' setting in the chronology is confusing! Is it MI5 or MI6?

Return to Monkey Island: Hold my Grog

I remember when the team said that Tales took place after a figurative Monkey Island 5 to symbolize that much had happened since Escape. Then in the commentary for episode 1, they said they then realized it was a mistake to say that in public because fans took it very literally lol

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1 hour ago, OzzieMonkey said:

It's great to see fans come out in droves to express their love. That's the thing right? They were always there, but people who like stuff don't feel the need to shout it from the rooftops, and are offen scared off by all the fierce negativity. 
 

I've seen some concern from people that the game could be cancelled because of this; I don't think so. Even if Ron was remotely thinking about it (again I don't think so, it's clear he's immensely proud of the work he and his team have done), this isn't simply his decision to make, he has Disney and Lucasfilm to answer to, and there's no way they would can a near-complete game they've sunk money into.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say there is zero chance Ron would even consider that. It would be a complete disrespect to not only himself but to his entire team and all the voice actors. Ron has shown how proud he is of not only the game, but his team as well. Beyond that, releasing the game without any pressured changes would be the ultimate win over these toxic people. The disrespectful and toxic can wallow in their own self-pity while Ron releases the game he wanted to make.

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I also feel a component of it is truly not engaging the negative comments. As hard as that is, it's just more fuel. People are not going to be swayed by any wall of text we might post. They see what they see. Also, on the other side of the spectrum, I've seen a lot of comments on YouTube and Twitter where someone who was actually just making a civil observation on the art style got cursed out by someone defending it. It does go both ways. No one on this forum as far as I've seen, but just a general observation. 

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5 minutes ago, Staple Remover said:

Do you all think there is anything we can do to better promote the positivity and support for the development teams? I feel fueled up to fight this with adoration but I don’t know how. 

Honestly, I just hope Ron visits this forum. It would be great if he made a profile and shared updates here. I think he would really enjoy the comments here. Even if there are disagreements here, they are civil from what I can see and lend themselves to a good discussion.

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Can't blame him but good on Ron for always ready to defend his team and friends. It shouldn't be necessary, but having someone lead a project and always have their team's back is still awesome to see. I'm buying every version of this game I can lol

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4 minutes ago, KestrelPi said:

 

Well, i'm 40 years old in 35 minutes and if I've learned anything in all that time it's that if a developer says something ever about an upcoming game on the internet, then that thing will be interpreted and misinterpreted in every possible way before the day is out.

True and also clickbait. I mean I knew it was bull and I still clicked lol I guess I was looking to get pissed off. 

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There are some articles popping up claiming MI seems to be the last one. I really wish they had taken into account everything that's been said before and how "conclusion" does not necessarily mean "last." I think it's just a conclusion to the story thus far, so if another follows, they can really start with a fresh landscape. One series can have multiple arcs and conclusions for each.

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19 minutes ago, KestrelPi said:

I don't want to get too deep into this but I hope they shy away from insult stuff a bit, if they're gonna make a reference.

 

My interpretation of insult swordfighting in MI1 was that it was just swordfighting. It wasn't like a special form of swordfighting, it was just a framing device for making fights work in a format where they didn't want to have actual combat. They never actually call it 'insult swordfighting' in the game. It worked within the logic of the game, but the intent behind it wasn't that 'these are the rules of swordfighting in this world.

 

CMI brought it back and I think it was fun to change it so that they had to rhyme at sea, but I also think it was the start of the games being weird about insult fighting. There's no reason why non-rhyming insults shouldnt be effective at sea, that sort of undermines the whole point of the insult being a way of throwing the opponent off guard. But I accepted it because I guess within the fiction you could have it that at sea the tradition of rhyming insults is so ingrained that even a brilliant insult that doesn't rhyme doesn't sting in the same way it usually would because it would be an embarrassing faux pas. Sure.

 

Then EMI takes it several steps further. First Guybrush can't win against Ozzie because he can't understand the insults (why would you be insulted by an insult that makes no sense to you?) But also they start calling it 'insult arm wrestling' and 'insult swordfighting' and then get all metaphysical about it and introduce the idea of the ultimate insult which in my mind just goes WAY past what insulting was intended to represent in the first game.

They calm it down a bit in Tales but it still gets talked about as 'insult swordfighting'.

 

Maybe this is a peeve I and I alone have, but I have no time for making insults and insult swordfighting a 'thing' in the MI universe. It's just swordfighting! Insults are just a game mechanic!

 

...Ahem

100% agree with this. When I saw Guybrush and Morgan just actually swordfight, my mind was blown because it was all insult swordfighting up until that point and it was so refreshing to experience something new. It looks like Guybrush and LeChuck will finally, finally have a genuine swordfight and I really hope it's more like in Tales where you solve puzzles during the fight or something new entirely. 

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27 minutes ago, Rum Rogers said:

A bit sad to see there's no clear reference to EMI whereas all the other games are strongly acknowledged. I mean, if you embrace TMI it makes no sense to ignore EMI. It's all or nothing imho. Just a minor complaint here, I'm literally just sad for EMI to also be bashed by RMI when it's been stated that all the games will be treated with respect. Maybe there WILL be some reference and then I'll be fully at peace.

Yeah, I think it's a little early to say Return is bashing Escape. 

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3 minutes ago, OzzieMonkey said:

I've long hoped since Tales finished that the next game would be a big finale that had a sense of closure around the series, given the ambiguous nature of its future throughout the years. While I understood the motive behind keeping things open for the next person, I think it's best to make a satisfying ending where you're ok with it being the last in case the series remains dormant afterwards. 

Agreed and I think with Ron back behind the helm, this is the perfect opportunity to close it off. I never thought we would see the day where there would be 6 Monkey Island games. Tales and the Special Editions were a shock to me when they were first announced and Return was an even bigger shock. I would of course love for more to be made in the future, so long as they have a good story that does the series justice, but if this is indeed the last one, I will still be overjoyed with what we got from this series for over 3 decades.

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I just noticed that the website refers to this game as the conclusion. Small detail, but I think that really shows just how crazy this game will be if it's meant to conclude the story arc started in the first game. Ron has already said in an interview that he won't rule out potentially making another one if the opportunity presents itself and they have a good enough story, but looks like this will be the end to the current arc of the series.

 

The trailer certainly has all the bearings of a grand finale and with seemingly more dialogue than the other games before it, yeah.... the more I think about it, the more I might take the week off this game comes out, grab some snacks, maybe a beer or two, and truly experience it uninterrupted. 

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I also love that it seems we will also be getting several new villains in this game. Guybrush has amassed quite the rouge's gallery over the years, so it's great to continue and see new antagonists show up. I wonder if Largo will be in the game? I would love for his character fate to finally be wrapped up. If he is, I think that's one of the many surprises Ron will want to keep secret for players to experience firsthand in the game itself, especially since fans have been asking about him since LeChuck's Revenge came out. Also, I wouldn't mind some Governor Phatt lol

 

I'm so intrigued to see how this game will begin. Based off everything shown and said, the beginning will finally reveal what happened at the carnival and serve as a nice bridge into Curse, then jump ahead after Tales, acknowledging things that fit and avoiding anything that would limit the scope of their story. I love how Curse intentionally kept what happened at the carnival vague with Guybrush also fuzzy on the details; almost like was planned lol (I obviously know it wasn't but its awesome how that worked out). It's the best of all worlds in my opinion and I couldn't have hoped for it to work out better seeing as I love all the games that came before this one.

 

Speculation tangent; Maybe the game will open with modern-day Guybrush finally recalling what happened at the carnival, goes into a playable flashback, and the details of those memories serve as the foundation for him to start his new journey. Flash to the present and the new journey officially begins.

 

As for the secret, I'm not sure if I'm in the minority here, but I think it's time. I said before that I'm not expecting to be blown away by the secret simply because its relevance was really only in passing references in optional dialogue trees. I'm more invested in how everything is connected, which I imagine the secret is integral to. So, I say let's roll the dice and risk it.

 

One last thing I will say about the art style; I think it lends itself so well to the overall tone and vibe most Monkey Island games have. They have funny and outrageous characters and situations, but the core storylines are typically pretty serious and spooky. These art style really conveys the foreboding sense of something sinister going on just beneath the surface and is slowly revealing itself more and more as the story continues. This is what I loved so much about LeChuck's Revenge tone in particular so much. I love that I am already getting that same feeling from this trailer.

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I honestly just can't stand when they make these ridiculous claims that Ron is destroying his own creation and then hide behind "its my opinion." Nah, some of these are just personal attacks. 

 

Don't like the art style, fair enough, but don't attack the guy. 

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Looks so epic. Guybrush and LeChuck finally fighting one-on-one in a swordfight! I have wanted this type of fight for so many years, especially after seeing Guybrush's skills against Morgan. 

 

Also, I really hope the negative comments don't get Ron down and he sees and hears the excitement and positivity. This looks incredible to me and I can't wait! 

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7 minutes ago, Jake said:

Haha thank you! I’ve always been here. I was on Mojo and these forums for years before working at telltale

I guess I never noticed since I only just recently joined the forums after Return to Monkey Island was announced lol. Gotta admit, feels a little surreal to be talking with a game developer from a previous MI game in anticipation for a new MI game, but I think is also indicative of how special this upcoming game truly is. Full circle some might say.