Sadbrush

Arr. I too would be interested in whatever this DropBox archive contains. Took me a year and a half to realize my favorite childhood Lucasfilm game was re-released by LRG, so there's no chance of ever getting it any other way. 😕

Saw it three times. Bottom line, I enjoyed it. But I've been going through a lot lately with this film, trying to process my feelings and reconcile my expectations, and of course the ending. It's not a perfect film by any means (and the de-aging technique is certainly a bit wonky and distracting), but I think it manages to honor the legacy. I was never a Crystal Skull hater (I just read Jason's review, and Jesus Christ, he pummeled that film into oblivion), but it obviously felt very different from the first three (and even the games). Now that Kingdom is no longer the "final" Indy film, I'm able to put it into better perspective and just treat it as another one of his many adventures (including the Young Indy series, which also felt tonally very different compared to the films). Having experienced them all chronologically in the past month (Young Indy, Temple, Raiders, Crusade, Crusade: The Game, Fate of Atlantis, Kingdom and Dial), I kind of feel like I've accompanied this character through his entire lifespan, and so I'm feeling a bit lost and empty at the moment. Not unlike how I felt at the end of Return of Monkey Island (which also took me a damn long time to accept it was "over"). There are not that many franchises left that I care about these days, so it kind of feels like I'm in a state of mourning.

Just a couple years back, they proposed doing a "reboot" with Margot Robbie as the lead. I think that IP is much more universally recognizable and lucrative in conjunction with the theme parks. I can't see Disney with two competing pirate movie franchises, unless they somehow make a resurgence and replace the current superhero trend. Yeah, it kind of makes me think of that recent Willow Disney+ reboot. Which wasn't a success with the legacy fans and failed to engage the younger ones. I think this new Lucasfilm doesn't really know what the hell they're doing and will probably stick with what works for them for the foreseeable future: which is Star Wars, as far as the eye can see. See, this is exactly the kind of thing I wish they would have made, back when the iron was still "hot." It might have just been a one-off film (like lots of animated films of the '90s), but it would have been a cult classic for sure. And probably lured a generation of kids towards the point-and-click genre. Which might have revitalized and fueled it for awhile longer, etc. I understand wanting Monkey Island to remain a niche thing that only adventure gamers know about, but there are other ways it could have thrived, too. Just like Sam & Max, which had comic books and a TV show and a shitload of games over the years, but still hasn't burned its goodwill towards fans (in my opinion). Let's face it, Monkey Island was never going to be the next Indiana Jones or Star Wars cash cow. And while we're at it, remember the attempt to make Maniac Mansion into a sitcom in the '90s? It actually made it even more weird and niche, somehow. And we still only have two of those games in existence, which haven't lost their classic status.

So long as Pirates of the Caribbean exists, they will never go "all in" on Monkey Island.

To be fair, expectations were monumentally high when Ron was involved. We wanted everything to be perfect after a 30-year hiatus. While I think most of us recognize this as a fun, anomalous, one-off idea in an existing pirate game IP that was already heavily influenced by Monkey Island, so our expectations are sufficiently managed. Also, I feel like I'm in the minority on this, but I really want this to be canon with the rest of the games, especially if it takes place smack dab in the middle of Curse and Escape, where Ron wasn't involved at all. Particularly with the original (has it been confirmed yet?) voice cast involved, I'd love for this to fit in and expand the existing lore of the series (which doesn't retcon Return at all).

Wow, I wasn't expecting another Monkey Island entry so soon. That's awesome that Sea of Thieves finally embraced its inspiration, they had already included a well-known MI Easter egg since before. I suspected as much, but I'm sad to hear Ron wasn't asked to consult in any way (once again). Especially since it seems like the developers hold the original games in such high regard. Ah well. At least Dominic and friends appear to be back. This might be enough to get me to buy an Xbox...

Just finished the video. It wasn't as revelatory as I had hoped, although it was nice to hear him speaking openly (mostly) about certain aspects for a change. Here are some disparate thoughts I had while watching. We finally got confirmation that Boybrush was an idea invented for this new game and not the original intention in MI2. I'm curious about the "hidden" things that Ron says people haven't found yet. I wonder how on top of the discussion he is (has he browsed these forums?). He also seemed hesitant to confirm whether certain endings hadn't been found yet, although he did eventually confirm that. Interesting that Elaine and Guybrush were originally meant to be split up at the beginning. I get that the idea was abandoned early on, although it was still my first impression from playing it. I still have so many questions about the early intentions between Guybrush and Elaine and the ending of MI2. Was LeChuck based on any character in Guybrush's real life? Was Stan always the proprietor of the park in SoMI? I'm very interested in how ideas have changed and evolved over the course of all three games. I still don't understand why Ron says that the secret is that it was an amusement park and he's been waiting to tell us that for 30 years. And yet, the ending of MI2 made that very clear. Interesting that he has one true "canon" ending in mind. We can definitely eliminate the drowning death and "I don't believe" endings, I think. It honestly wouldn't take anything away for me either way. The scrapbook note wouldn't have worked in the chest, although it's an interesting idea. I really like that it was an extra feature that came after I thought I had already finished the game. If I had read it in-game, it definitely would have taken me out of it and changed my initial interpretation. I'm glad Ron agrees it was a melancholic ending, although obviously that's a bit different from a developer point of view who's worked on this for 30+ years. As he says, he feels like he's Guybrush sitting on the bench with his thoughts at the end. A standalone Elaine game would be great, but it definitely wouldn't be as silly as Guybrush's adventures. There would be a much more logical and pragmatic progression to puzzles, but I still think it would work. Sounds like it's his next "dream" project anyway.

I had no idea that this was even a thing, but that's amazing.

The more I think about it, the more unsatisfying another entry would feel at this point, especially coming from a different team. It would be the jump from MI2 to Curse all over again, ignoring all the mythology and setting it firmly in the fantasy of the pirate world. But that world has come crumbling down at the end of this and it's hard not to constantly be aware of that now. Maybe the best strategy would be to make a Boybrush-centric game (perhaps the search for his dad after he went missing from his latest adventure?), even though I hate those passing-of-the-torch stories. Also, I wouldn't want Boybrush to be an exact carbon copy of his dad; maybe he has other fantasies and aspirations. I don't know, I just don't want the next MI game to be a hard reboot that ignores all the previous entries or anything like that. But then again, it feels too soon to consider all of this because I'm still too close to the ending.

That's a cool take. She definitely seems to be omnipresent, which almost felt like a deus ex machina at times. I was also curious about that tumble he takes off the cliff, which seems unsurvivable (same concept as holding his breath, I guess) and wondered if there was some twist in store. The other thing is that it really seems like they were split up or separated for a time. There's like a gulf between them, even though they say all the right words to each other. I really wish we knew the devs intentions with this; it's one of those things that feels almost purposeful, but I don't know what the right interpretation is. Some have likened it to a "therapist" role, which takes a very specific stance, but I'm wondering if they were on a break for some time and are basically treading on eggshells.

Yeah, this was pretty much my experience playing through the first time. I kind of wish we could have seen all the "behind the scenes" locations of Mêlée Island and visited those cardboard versions for the last time. I really felt Boybrush's disappointment when the story comes to a sudden halt after all that massive buildup. I'm not upset about it anymore, but I don't think the impact of the ending would have been hurt by giving us a few more moments to linger in that world. Man, it will be weird playing through Curse after getting this ending. I honestly wonder how it will register while seeing that alternate continuation of MI2. I guess you can experience it through Boybrush's point of view and pretend you're being told one of Guybrush's stories for the first time.

Were escape rooms a thing back in 1990? That's another idea that I feel has changed from the original intention of this world and was probably only added on later.

Man, what a missed opportunity! It would have been so satisfying to finally fix that clock after all this time, especially after Guybrush makes that comment about it being broken. Maybe those dark runes graffiti could have also come into play since it's in the same area. I keep meaning to ask about that. Who told Corina to store the safe there and not allow anyone to move it? It has to be Stan, since it contains the gaudy chest we see at the end. But I was really hoping for more exposition to come out of this revelation, and why it becomes so convoluted with the five keys and everything. Also, Widey Bones: Feels like there is so much we have yet to learn about her, but then she turns out to be another cardboard cut-out. Dang, the more I think about it, the more I can pick apart holes.

I just want to say, I really love this interpretation. It's the "Night at the Museum" theory. Would be cool if everything came to life after dark after Stan closed up shop and handed Guybrush the keys. Yeah, this is the reason I struggled so long with the ending. I've written a lot about my initial disappointment with the last 5 minutes of the game (it really did feel like a traditional adventure up until that point), and the lack of conclusive answers provided by the devs (which I felt had been promised). It's been buried now, but after pondering about it for some time, I'm quite happy with my own headcanon version and I've been able to make everything "fit" to my own satisfaction (with a few additional tweaks here and there). Personally, I didn't really need a final LeChuck confrontation, although I was surprised at how abrupt the ending came. I do like the fact that we follow LeChuck through that final door with the anticipation of a climactic battle, and then our perspective changes completely (similar to the ending of MI2). It is sad though that LeChuck does not appear to be a real person within the park and is only the source of Guybrush's wild imagination, which does take the wind out of my sails. I still maintain that he was partially inspired by his adopted brother Chuckie (and bears a striking resemblance), who possibly vied for Elaine's affections at some point, but it's not the same. Anyway, those 10 variations on the ending really helped me to move on, since it gives you loads of new ways to interpret what happened and also gives some indication of where things "stand" with all the characters at the end of the game. My OCD and desire to know everything gradually lifted over the past week (has it only been a week?), and now I can accept all the evidence as presented.

Random question, but if Guybrush and Elaine had a daughter, do you think they would name her Girlbrush or Ladybrush? (Or possibly, Laneybrush?)