BaronGrackle

I honestly think it would be for the best if this were the finale. 1) Ron has made sad comments about the hard work he puts into his own original creations, without owning the IP. I read one he made about The Cave. The sad truth is, it's very unlikely that Ron will ever own the IP to Monkey Island. 2) This game's internet drama is just a sample of the baggage that comes from a new entry in a decades-old franchise, in which there are fans from multiple generations and entry points, with different/contradictory expectations based on that. It's impossible to perfectly balance that, EVEN BEFORE you get to the concept of appealing to new players in a new generation. If Ron's creative juices are still flowing after this, I think he and his fans would get the most out of a new story that he owns entirely, and which has a blank slate. Just my opinion.

The Map should be on this list and placed on the wall, connected with strings to photographs of every employer, reletionship, and identity it has had in the series.

Yeah, I almost made a post like this earlier. Curse also has Lemonhead, and Escape of course has Herman. Arguably, Secret has Cobb while Curse has Manny! It does put Return on top as having the most returning characters, and we don't even know how far that goes. Considering the Thimbleweed Park reaction from newcomers who didn't like/understand constant in-jokes, I wish they'd make all the Monkey Island games available on Switch.

When I look at reddit polls (a true and reliable metric, I know), Escape polls better than Tales when all of the Monkey Island games are choices. Tales polls better than Escape when they are the only two choices. You can infer different things from that, but to me it suggests that Escape has a very distinct feel to it that can translate as love-it-or-hate-it.

Guybrush should be on this list, as Murray's henchman.

Guybrush has comments for Turning On and Off the grog machine.

Without the packaging: the old captain hid his key in a cereal box - arguably the one nearest the front, since Guybrush coincidentially grabs the correct one. With the packaging: the prize included in the cereal box by the manufacturers is a key that happens to open the cabinet on the Sea Monkey - arguably the cabinet uses a very basic "lock" that can be easily picked. Equal parts silly to plausible for each, methinks.

Okay, that reminds me: the key prize in the cereal box. You could use it to unlock the cabinet without "opening" the prize. Would this be a case of the graphics for the CD version being in error? Would it make more sense to interpret the key as loose in the cereal box, instead of inside a package?

I think the Passport to Adventure demo refers to a non-Frank guy by name? But I don't remember if it remained the actual name, or if it was just for the demo.

This version is nice and easy to listen to on a playlist. But within the game itself (in my opinion), it would be too low-key, too subtle, too quiet and smooth. Is that a marimba? I'm missing out on the trumpets! Stan's shipyard music is big and brassy and in your face. It's huge and obnoxious and as loud as his jacket. Blaring horns and crashing cymbals! The man drags you into a used car commercial and suffocates you! I enjoy how the Special Edition treated it.

In the post two days ago you did literally mention that ScummVM fixed certain bugs. One of my reasons for this post was to get more information on those bugs specifically. Thank you for linking them! Growing up, I did notice the clock tower would "skip" its second line if you left the room. Very interesting. Have you physically danced to it while haggling? It's good energy. Unless Return has Stan selling us another ship or something, I'm going to always associate his first theme with "make a major purchase from me" Stan, as opposed to the "do something unto me" version in the other games. The Go Tell Aunt Rhodie version is fine. And it's pretty darn appropriate when Stan is in his death-related ventures for Revenge and Curse.

Yeah, he knows Herman along with your three crewmates! If you let them talk long enough, someone other than you will invite Bob back to Mêlée. If you don't say anything for the Herman version, I THINK Herman and Bob start to leave by themselves until Guybrush automatically says something.

You can root beer him, take him back to Mêlée, or leave him on Monkey. But we should note that ghosts have returned from root beer obliteration. Even before Tales Chapter 5, we saw LeChuck's ghostly beard survive the process in Revenge Part 1!

Hey! Other than the sunset, stump joke, different close-ups, and extra music, I've heard mention of various glitches in the VGA version of Secret? The only one I know of is something about lighting, when sprites are in dark areas versus brighter areas. Are there bugs other than this? Is there a website or set of articles that go over the differences in detail?

Well, I freaking love Hardtack, but I didn't consider him a henchman! I replayed Siege of Spinner Cay recently. It's worth seeing the conversation when you try to run the blockade with Elaine distracting one side, but without LeChuck distracting Hardtack. The whole "why haven't you fired at me yet?" conversation is one of my favorites in the saga. I'm glad Hardtack seemed okay when we last left him and would hire him as ship's cook anytime.

Bob was a good choice, and a great musical conductor. Yet, no theme song himself. So...

If this counts as "drink grog with us", then Guybrush is finally certified as a pirate.

If you ever decide to give KOTOR a chance (now on Switch), try as a Scoundrel named Guybrush, and play like him. Then it's The Largo Embargo, The Three Trials, Four Map Pieces, and Guybrush Kicks Butt.

You are not a Lucasarts Star Wars gamer from the 90s-00s? No Kyle Katarn, X-Wing and TIE Fighter, and/or Knights of the Old Republic? KOTOR has some moments that feel pretty adventure gamey. And I'll always cherish the moments I rampaged through Barons Hed with Max the lagomorph.

(cough cough) Old EU power marriage, or Force Awakens can't make it work?

Point of order: Even at the exclusion of Kate and Rogers?

"Canonical closure"? 😅 Forgive me, but I... I've witnessed Star Wars, Harry Potter, Kingdom Hearts... I heard something about some books called Twilight...

Twist: Guybrush lives in a totally believable pirate voodoo world, but anything that seems out of place with a totally believable pirate voodoo world is his imagination. Examples being anachronisms like the grog machine, and the entire docks scene with Elaine. Heh. And also he killed like eight guys while swordfighting on Mêlée roads.

I guess it's unpopular: I see Elaine as head-over-heels for Guybrush in both Secret and Revenge. She left the guy for year(s) and wrote books about him being disappointing, but she was about to jump back together with him LIKE THAT, back in the Booty Island mansion. I wouldn't imagine it as a giant leap for her to pine after him after assuming him dead for months. People have told me that doesn't necessarily mean they're destined to be married. Fair, but it does lean toward them being together - even if it's the modern type of relationship that's sort of become equivalent to how marriage was recently perceived. EDIT: I sometimes wonder if it was Grossman or Schafer who wrote the scenes at the MI1 docks or MI2 mansion, rather than Gilbert, whenever I read Gilbert's comments on Elaine and Guybrush. Because those scenes don't give me a "little brother" vibe.

You probably already know, but just in case you don't: running it on Scumm VM lets you play Lite Mode.