[Return to Monkey Island 🚨GAME-WIDE🚨 Spoiler Chat]

8 hours ago, Laserschwert said:

Your English is great, but since you started your post with that, in my head I had to read it with a French accent. C'est la vie!

Thank you, and don't worry. I honestly read my own messages with a bad French accent. Oui, c'est la vie.

 

7 hours ago, Marius said:

Hello! I finished the game last night, had the classic "Huh.", and then warmed up to it. Then I went to bed. And this morning, my partner asked me about the ending, so I told her what happened. And I talked and talked, tried to explain what was going on, which I couldn't, but I kept talking in excitement, and the longer I talked the more tears where flowing. Really!? Stupid game makes me cry and I don't no why? I wasn't able to explain really what was going on, but I felt this strong warmth from this game. The letter really hit my heart. Can't even make sense of all these feelings while writing you this. And I love it.

 

I already miss the game, and I want to replay it immediately.

I feel the exact same way.. I couldn't sleep last night, and now, I'm tearing up.

 

But now that I was able to think more about it...

 

6 hours ago, Dmnkly said:

 

At this point, I think the puzzlemaster Lynchian/Terry Gilliam interpretation would be that Guybrush was an orphan who took solace in imagining pirate adventures at the Big Whoop amusement park, and everything — EVERYTHING — else is a defensive construct of his mind, including Elaine and his family. Only now he's trapped and can't cope without the fantasy, and lives life as a tripped out semi-vegetable in a late-stage Sam Lowry dreamworld. Whenever he gets a little too close to reality, things start to fray and fall apart because he just can't handle it. The choice to shut down the carnival and move on with his life ends with him looking peaceful — completely alone on the bench — because he's finally reached a level of comfort with the truth and he and his mind are all there ever was. But if he refuses that reality and turns around, he's fully embraced the fantasy, and sails off with his fictional love in his fictional piratey world.

 

I don't think that's it. But I like it 🙂

I have a similar interpretation, not as dark, though.

 

I was also thinking of Guybrush being a traumatized kid - not sure what kind of trauma, maybe he is an orphan, like you said, maybe his brother Chuckie is horrible to him, maybe his family doesn't understand him, maybe something else, it's not important.

 

The amusement park is his passion and a way for him to cop about his difficult life. The more he goes there, though, the more his passion becomes destructive, and that's what we see at the end of MI2. There is a fine line between a good passion and a passion that eats you.

 

But then, he grows up and meets Elaine - maybe at the park - gets married... Still, there is something unresolved. He really wants to go back to the park one last time to face everything, to be able to move on, and that's Return to Monkey Island for me.

 

He goes there, it's not as perfect as he would have like, he feels a bit disappointed, but still, he had a lot of fun going back to those memories, and, mostly, the love of his life is waiting for him at the end of the tunnel.

And I think this is when they both finally decide to have a kid. It's a new chapter of his life. He was finally able to move on.

 

Then, he can finally go back to the amusement park with his family, but now, he is at peace. He's not living the adventures anymore, only telling them to his kid with a smile on his face.

 

I don't know if it's a stretch. I mean, it's similar to your interpretation, I'm just keeping the family real.

 

Without getting too personal, maybe I'm putting to much of myself into it - I can see myself through this version of this story, and that's maybe why it's so emotional to me.

 

Frankly, this is why this ending is genius. All of us can see different things through it, and there is no right or wrong answer.

 

[Return to Monkey Island 🚨GAME-WIDE🚨 Spoiler Chat]

Again, I apologize for my English. I’m French. I’m trying my very best.
 

Also, I realized I barely read other people’s posts because I was so in shock about what I experienced.

 

I absolutely love these interpretations, and it seems like we all felt the same way while finishing the game. I, too, had to stop the game and just think for 10 minutes, then talk to my wife, then think again… It’s now been two hours, and I feel like I’m not gonna be able to sleep.

 

I especially love demone’s analysis. Thank you so much for that.

 

And yes, for sure, you’re both right. We don’t need a final battle. I’m so into that kind of stuff, usually, I didn’t realize how powerful it actually is to just not have one. I love the fact that Guybrush is finally at peace with his life.

 

I was playing with my daughter earlier today, and I couldn’t stop thinking about old Guybrush telling fun and silly stories to his kid. It’s so touching.

 

The last shot is literally him being at peace. It’s beautiful. I felt like I was seeing both Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman, finally done with this chapter of their lives.

… Also, I just realized I’m talking to Dominic Armato, which is adding another meta level to everything. I love your voice, by the way – my family has been hearing you almost non-stop for two days.
 

A bit unrelated, but now, every time I play a new game, my three year old daughter looks at the main character and goes: “… Is it Guybrush?!?”

[Return to Monkey Island 🚨GAME-WIDE🚨 Spoiler Chat]

I just finished the game and I feel like I really need to process this ending.

 

I’ve been dreaming of this game since the 90s, and I still can believe it now exists.

 

It really felt deep to me. I actually love the Lynch comparison because it made me felt the same way I felt while finishing S3 of Twin Peaks. Is it a work of madness or genius? Or even a bit of both?

 

I love the animations, music, voice acting so much… It really felt like a big adventure.

 

The ending though… The Secret actually was exactly what I wanted it to be. This has been my theory for decades… and at the same time, I love the fact that the game is still meta about it, and decides to not give a clear answer.

 

It felt abrupt. And I almost yelled: “That’s it?!?” But then I realized that was exactly the reaction the game wanted me to have, and this is what I love about Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman. They are artists, and they want us to reflect on ourselves while they are reflecting on themselves. The game triggers a reaction that pushes us to think about our own feelings and expectations.

 

Even though I would also have love to have a true last battle against LeChuck, I feel like it would have gone against the message of the game, about the frustration it wanted us to feel.

 

I, therefore, feel frustrated but compelled at the same time - which is weird - a bit lost, emotional, for sure…

 

I honestly think they couldn’t have make a better game.

 

I really feel grateful, and I’m so happy that it’s getting so many good reviews.

 

I’m sorry, I feel like I’m not saying anything interesting. Just thinking out loud with my broken English.

 

This, definitely, was a ride.

[Return to Monkey Island [SPOILER FREE]]

Ok, I checked.

Seems like you’re right, you can review refunded games.

However, it shows on the review that the game was refunded.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/steam-review-refunded
It’s something, at least.

[Return to Monkey Island [SPOILER FREE]]

2 hours ago, LowLevel said:

 

Yes, but you can purchase the game, review it and ask for a refund.

 

While I expect some legitimate negative reviews, I have observed behaviors (including "political" ones) that don't have much to do with the controversial art style, so I wonder if some form of organized attempt to shift reviews is likely or if I'm just being paranoid. 😛

I also thought about this . I think however that your review gets deleted when you ask for a refund.

I’m more worried about Metacritic like ThunderPeel said. The website is known for review bombing, mostly since The Last of Us 2.

[Return to Monkey Island [SPOILER FREE]]

60 hours to go... I feel like it's gonna be the longest 60 hours in my life.

[Return to Monkey Island]

 

I will not be able to play on Sunday night then... I'm still really excited! 9am is perfect. My daughter will be at school. I took the day off. Monday is gonna be Monkey Island Day for me! ❤️ 

[Return to Monkey Island]

A bit disappointed for the puzzle solution.

But also, so hyped about what was shown!

 

Spoiler

I’m now convinced that Guybrush will take the elevator from the tunnel to get to Mêlée Island. They’re teasing the alleyway like crazy. It’s not blocked anymore - I feel like they showed it like that on purpose, to mislead us.

 

[Return to Monkey Island]

37 minutes ago, KestrelPi said:

 

If it helps, I don't think the hint reveals anything we haven't seen in clips before.

Awesome! I’ll watch it, then.

[Return to Monkey Island]

1 hour ago, demone said:

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 forced myself to stop the video when

Spoiler

Guybrush is opening the book. I don't want to be spoiled on puzzles.

... but I'm excited as well, so it's really hard to stop myself from watching more.
Argh!

[Return to Monkey Island]

9 hours ago, tmetic said:

My Nintendo email came through at 5.12am BST, which is just gone midnight EST. Can we suppose this means the game will be available at midnight EST on the 19th?

It was midnight EST of the 13th, though. It doesn’t make sense to me. Pretty sure it will be earlier.

[Return to Monkey Island]

14 minutes ago, Remi said:

Now, however, it does. 

Yes, just saw it on my Switch as well. This is so exciting.

[Return to Monkey Island]

For those who preordered the game on the Switch… Was the game already pre-downloaded for you?
It usually happens a week before release, but it still didn’t happen on my side.
Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t just me.

[Return to Monkey Island]

19 hours ago, Toymafia88 said:

Is there a rough idea of when on the 19th September the game will go live?

 

I'm getting it on the switch so not sure when in the day i can play it.

For Switch, it’s either midnight EST or noon EST.

If it’s midnight EST and you live on the West Coast, like me, you’ll be able to play it at 9pm on the 18th.

I was able to do that with other games I preordered in the past.

[Return to Monkey Island]

I really love how Ron is using the word "bizarre" to describe the story of the game. It makes me think of MI2's ending. I'm hyped!

[Return to Monkey Island]

I see where you're coming from, and I agree in a way.

I think it might be interesting though. Thimbleweed Park was a nostalgic game, and it did talk about the golden era.

I feel like Return to MI will develop things differently.

Terrible Toybox said, and I'm paraphrasing, I'm sorry, that the game will "look at the past but go toward the future".

So I think it will be more about reflecting on past things to go forward, put an end to the regrets of the old time and finally create something new and fresh.

This is how I see it, at least.

The game is not out yet, so it's only conjectures, of course.

[Return to Monkey Island]

3 hours ago, Kroms said:

Gonna make a wild guess and say someone is overthinking something about the new #MonkeyIslandMonday video.

Are you talking about me?

 

Ron said that the game will be autobiographical in a way.

 

He also recently admit, in an interview, that the game is about Guybrush going after something from his past he never resolved, and that it was a metaphor of him and Dave going back to Monkey Island.

 

Dominic Armato also talked about deep currents within the story.

 

I therefore don't think it's that far-fetched to see the characters as symbolic.

 

I think the game will at least talk about adventure games, like Thimbleweed Park did in its own way.

[Return to Monkey Island]

At this point, I’m pretty sure the young leaders represent the video game industry, that don’t care much about adventure games. They never heard of Guybrush and they don’t want to give him money for his adventure.
That’s interesting…

[Return to Monkey Island]

1 hour ago, Remi said:

 

👆. 👍. The later Monkey Island games -- CMI and later -- doubled down on really wanting to hammer home a joke by padding out punchlines with punchlines to the punchlines. So far, it looks like ReMI is keeping with the brevity of the two originals.

I agree.

Mostly Escape... I replayed it recently, and I didn't like the dialog at all. It didn't feel natural.

I feel like Return will have a better sense of rhythm, if that makes sense.

 

Anyway, I'm so excited... And I love the music as well!

I'm trying not to look too hard at the items so I don't get spoiled, ha, ha.

 

I can't believe we'll all finally be able to play the game in three weeks!

[Return to Monkey Island]

I think it looks great!

So nice to see the inventory. It does make me think of the Delores game, for sure.

Monkey Island looks gorgeous.

Also, something I love with Ron, Dave and Tim’s games… The dialog gets to the point. This is something I find tiring in a of lot modern P&C adventure games – the long overwritten dialogs, it gets old fast. For example, even though I love the Deponia series, it’s hard for me to replay the games for that reason.

I love Ron Gilbert’s games because the dialog is always short and funny. You really feel like you’re interacting with this world. You’re Guybrush, in a way.

[Return to Monkey Island]

13 hours ago, Vainamoinen said:

/lurking_mode_off
 

Ah! Another refugee from the ag forums. Welcome! 🥰

 

/lurking_mode_on

 

Nice seeing you here.

 

And thanks everyone for the warm welcome! ❤️

 

10 hours ago, JacquesSparkyTail said:

It’s going to be interesting to see how much his absence is felt in return. People can troll over the art style or lack of earl boen all they like but to me this is the only thing that’s a legitimate cause for concern. That being said though i’m not too worried. No matter what, this game feels like it’s going to be solid based on what we’ve seen. 

 

I have to agree with that. I’m actually a huge Schafer’s fan – he’s my favorite writer ever. This is only thing I’m a bit worried about. We’ll see for sure if MI is Ron and Dave’s game or was Ron, Tim, and Dave’s game all along.

Still, I’m happy that Dave Grossman is working on the game. I would have been much more worried if it was Ron Gilbert alone, even though I love his work – Thimbleweed Park was amazing, IMO.

I feel like Tim Schafer does great with emotional scenes, and I’ve been missing that a bit with RG’s games.

However, what I read and heard makes me feel like it will be great no matter what. I especially like the fact that Dominic Armato said, in a interview, that the story was poignant.

This is exciting.

[Return to Monkey Island]

Hi!

 

Sorry, I feel like I'm disrupting a conversation.

I'm new here. I'm not a native speaker, so I apologize if my English is a bit clumsy.

I've been a fan of Monkey Island since I was a kid, in the 90s, MI2 is my favorite game (and MI2's ending is my favorite ending ever), and I've been really excited about Return since its announcement in April.

So I guess I just wanted to meet and discuss with other fans. ❤️

I already preordered the game (on the Switch), and I can't wait it for it to come out. I've been going on Twitter religiously every Monday to see new clips from Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman.

I personally love the art style. It has, for me, kind of weird, in a good way, and unique vibe. It made me feel like I'm gonna enter this strange world, which is exactly how I felt when I first played MI1 and 2 in the 90s. I always felt like RG's games had some kind of Lynchian vibe, and I think this fits perfectly.

Anyway... Nice to meet you all!