Lagomorph01

Wow, I never saw these! Thanks! The extra room seems to be there just to poke fun at Guybrush. And fun at Guybrush’s expense is the best kind of fun!

I also received the email, (it wasn’t send to my spam), but I bought the game on Switch already. I will however sign up for the newsletter!

Back on topic: I completed episode 6 yesterday on Switch, and I loved playing this game again! I remember when I first played season one, it was with a bad taste in my mouth. It felt to me like a Sam and Max ‘light’ after the cancellation of the big budget LucasArts sequel. Back in those days, it wasn’t the Sam and Max I wanted, so my focus lay with the different voices, the repeating characters, the returning locations, and not with all the positive things it offers. I completed it once and never touched it again. Now, after so many years, after the moarning period, I must say I do have eye for the positives. The writing is hilarious, I don’t laugh aloud much when I enjoy my media alone, but this made me chuckle multiple times. The plots are really great too, delightfully zany and with very little consideration for reality, just like I like my Sam and Max to be! The remaster has been handled with much love and care, and it really shows. The game has never looked or sounded better. And while I don’t agree with every choice of the developers, it’s very obvious that it’s a labour of love, and that makes me very forgiving. Thank you, Skunkape, for making me give this game a second chance and reigniting my love for this zany duo!

I finally read the whole article, and wow. Just wow. Jason you’ve really outdone yourself. It not only takes me back to a time of great frustration, but it puts it in context clearly and thoroughly. I remember being so upset when LucasArts stopped being LucasArts. I was born in ‘86 and I’m not a native English speaker, so it wasn’t until probably ‘97 that I realised that all the games I loved came from the same company. I never thought it would’ve been on the verge of collapsing even then. I remember buying Grim Fandango as my first ‘legal’ release (I had played other games, mostly Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max Hit the Road, Full Throttle, CMI, but they came from family or illegal ‘Twilight’ cd’s we had in the Netherlands), and vowing to buy every single adventure game from then on, not knowing EMI would be the last. It’s kinda sad to see my fandom came as the company slowly faded away. Anyway, thanks for this fantastic read. I can’t say I know many games that never got released ever got this much love and care put in their eulogy. My hope is for the Sam and Max SE’s being succesful, so that Skunkape can remaster Hit the Road, and after that, when having snuggled their way into the Disney ‘family’, finally finish this, the LucasArts classic that never was. Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?

Really? I would’ve never guessed Daragh was on those projects. He did such a wonderful job on those other projects... Maybe it was a rush job? I know that in the dubbing industry I work in, they often have multiple directors on one project, although only one (the person who did the casting) gets credit. On the other hand, maybe it’s my personal taste, fueled by nostalgia. I’ve played the game so many times without voice acting with my fantasy filling in the voices, that anyone would have a hard time competing with that. Anyhow, respect to anyone who likes the SE’s. They’re just not my cup of tea.

Yeah. I see the sentiment of the sit-com marriage in EMI. I haven’t replayed it in a long time, but I remember Elaine being a lot more shouty and butchy in that game. If CMI Elaine sounded to bitchy and whiney to the directors of EMI, I think they could’ve handled that in the directing instead of completely recasting the part (especially with someone with a totally different accent). I would’ve loved to hear Alexandra Boyd in EMI with more lines and a slightly tweaked direction. Anyway, it’s all water under the bridge now. Although I’m looking forward to playing Tales again to have a re-evaluation on that take. I’m never going back to the Special Editions though. I think the art design is just plain ugly and the voice direction (sans Guybrush, ‘cause Dom knew what he was doing) was terrible. (Actually I heard Rob Paulsen talk about being directed by a LucasArts intern once in his podcast. He didn’t specify the project, but I think it was the SE’s.)

Wow! Thanks for the swift reply! An almost 20 year old question answered. I may weep openly.

By the way, does anyone know the reason Alexandra didn’t reprise the role in EMI? Was it a budget thing? Or did she not want too? Maybe the directors wanted another direction? I always wondered.

The poster for this article makes me laugh and cry at the same time! I like the Telltale games, but somehow they’re never able to compete with the grandeur of the cancelled Hit the Road sequel. I'm curious about the whole read.

I had that DotT poster hanging in my workspace for the longest time too. Good times!

I always thought that she never really got the character down. She had only a few lines in CMI, and I feel the voice direction wasn’t good enough in Tales and especially the SE’s. While I do prefer British Elaine to American Elaine, I think her EMI voice had more character.

I second that. Pity though.

I'm hoping for this. It's $60,00 shipping to ship it to the Netherlands. Since I already have all 5 Monkey Island games originally, the book is the only thing I really, really want from this package, and I'm not spending more than $200,00 on a book. Any info if they'll release it separately?

Good to hear you're already working on season two, Jake! Now please, let's not derail this positive thread. I'm sorry I used the term above, I understand why it would trigger you at a time like this. I hope the bad winds that blow will soon lay down, let's enjoy Sam and Max the best we can! I bought season one on Switch, and I'll buy Season two in a heartbeat!

I remember getting terribly upset about censorship when I was younger (mind you, I didn’t rage on the internet), and while I notice it still triggers me (I’m 34 now), I’m not too bothered by it anymore. I guess all that therapy payed off. 😉

Whoa! I just looked at the steam forums because of this thread, and what a hateful place that is! I also feel the need now to let you know that the person posting under the name ‘Lagomorph’ there has nothing to do with me. I just don’t get why people feel the need to shout, rage and threaten all the time. There is a lot of anger in the world. I too am grateful for this community of peaceful minded enthousiasts, and to be honest, it’s the only forum that I post on (I don’t even have FB anymore, guess I’m a grumpy old fart too.)

It’s a good idea, and I bet it could sell some units. I just think that when Ron Gilbert says the tools at hand are not good enough, he means they’re not good enough for a seasoned veteran with a mind of his own. Younger developers may not experience the ‘problems’ he has with the existing tools, because they’re not used to programming their own code. Mind you, I think if the price tag is good a name like Ron Gilbert (or Tim Shafer erc.)could outsell all other Adventure Game tools on the market. But I still think it would be to great a hassle for them. In their heart, I think they’re storytellers, and the tools they create are made for telling their story’s, that’s where their focus lies.

Look’s fantastic!! The more obscure the artwork becomes, the more impressed I am with the results!

I’m kinda on the fence about this one. I love the artwork for the box, the art cards and the artbook, I like the Loom button and the pins, but I truly dislike the Guybrush statue and I could do without the Murray candle holder and the other stuff. The thing that could win me over is the quality of the artbook, but since they said they didn’t have time to access the Lucas (Disney) vault, I’m still a bit sceptical about it. @Laserschwert, do you maybe know a bit more about it that you’d like to share? Also, what’s a shadow box?

Thanks for the reply. I guessed it would be something like this. But it's a crying shame I tell you! Also, the comparison of the Mêlée Town backdrop really shows how effective good use of dithering can be! I never realised how much the artists really outdid themselves with this game! I'd still love to see a reproduction of the original Mêlée Island lookout scene.

Those close ups are so friggin' amazing! I can't imagine a reason to take them out! Especially if the second cut scene would have been presented first, the build up to LeChuck's new look would've been far more dramatic!

Whoa!! What a HUGE improvement on the original! I never thought I'd want to buy this box. It just seemed like a (really bad) cheap collection, slapped together to make a few bucks of of loyal fans. But now... thanks to the design changes, the whole thing looks fan-friggin-tastic! Blast... I was so happy that I didn't want to spend money on that... but now, all bets are off. Damn you, Laserschwert, and your fantastic graphic design and art restoration skills! (Kidding, you've done wonderful work!)

Really looking forward to being able to see all this stuff! Seems like I chose the perfect time for my playthroughs!

Here's hoping that the original drawings are still in a drawer somewhere then. Or maybe it would be easier just drawing on the old sprites. That is, if we even get a special edition of course.

I think the size of that standee indicates that the CMI sprites were designed at a much higher resolution (maybe even in vector, was that a thing in the mid 1990's?), which could make the game look great if there ever is a Special Edition! (Hopefully made by a dedicated team like Double Fine, instead of the LucasArts interns who made the first two SE's.)