Monkey Island 2 Remake

[Monkey Mania]

Does the game hang up for anyone at certain points?

[elTee]

And I just encountered 2 potentially GAME BREAKING bugs:

 

1) When you close the coffin on Stan, I can't bring up my inventory to complete the puzzle.

 

2) When I blow the ship's horn in the place you're supposed to do that, the guy returns immediately and so there is not enough time to do the thing you have to do.

 

I'm furious right now, especially as they got so much right this time.

 

I can confirm, these are not game breaking on the PS3. You do have to be ridiculously quick to do it though - definitely a problem. But again, you can definitely solve both of these puzzles on the PS3.

[MusicallyInspired]

No. Doesn't freeze up the game for me.

[Threepwood4life]

While extracting the music file I've noticed something... painful:

 

The main theme is contained twice. One named MUS_Menu and one named OpeningCredits. Oh, the irony.

 

Maybe it could be an idea to create a "What If" video with this. Someone could get a video of the original title sequence and put the new version of the MI 2 theme over it so we could see what it would have sounded like if they had left it in.

[elTee]

Also, the bone song was in sync for me... I think there's a small amount of weirdness that comes from the timing of the animations (which had to stay the same as the original), the music, and the fact that the lyrics are now sung instead of written. But I didn't think it was out of sync - I wouldn't have even thought to analyse it if you guys hadn't mentioned it :/

[Snugglecakes]

Glad to read about some of the stuff not being as bad as initially thought.

I'm going mad because I can't download it. At all. The main undersea cable that feeds South Africa's internet is broken and is gonna take up to 5 days to fix and they've blocked everything but basic browsing. How the hell am I going to survive that long without the SE? *bangs head against wall repeatedly

[Monkey Mania]

The Bone song could easily be fixed with a re-syncing of the music. How something like that could get past testing is beyond me.

 

I request a mod of this immediately.

 

Possible solution: Mix the vocals in with the music and replace the vocal files with silence.

[Scapetti]

Why should I have to use the right thumb stick to navigate the book catalog in the library... (and in classic mode too) Oh there are little mistakes here and there... I'm not that bothered on the whole though :/

[elTee]

I'm not convinced it's that easy to 'fix' without breaking the change-back-to-the-original-at-any-time feature...

[Monkey Mania]

I'm not convinced it's that easy to 'fix' without breaking the change-back-to-the-original-at-any-time feature...

 

I'd much rather have an in-sync bone song.

 

Another possible solution is to add a delay to the voice files.

[elTee]

Ah wait, Zaarin has enlightened me - the music and the words are slightly out of sync. Whoops! But it's not a deal breaker for me

[Scapetti]

Oh snap, there's a little guest in Phatt's Mansion! Why do they tease us so...

[KestrelPi]

I just played the bone song on the PC and it also has the exact same problem of being out of sync. Not sure about the Xbox version yet. It starts in synch, but it's like there's just too wide a gap between each phrase, so it ends up drifting out of synch. Did Craig Derrick not even play his own game and see that this was obviously wrong?

[Aububuh]

Okay, first impressions.

I've played for about an hour, and all I've really done is explore Woodtick, but I'm loving it so far. The music is fantastic, the voices are great, (I even like Largo) and everything looks just like it should. My only problem so far is that the organ player on the Voodoo Lady's theme doesn't seem to know what swing is. It just sounds like eighth notes. Maybe it's just a syncing problem because, as I expected, it lags a whole lot on my computer. I am, however, loving the voices-in-classic-mode feature, as classic mode runs perfectly fine, and I can use it to get from one place to another much quicker than in SE mode, and I can still hear the voices. I wish you could get the SE music in classic mode, then I'd never switch to the SE.

 

EDIT: Nevermind, the organ is a syncing problem.

[ATMachine]

I DID notice that some dialogue was changed. Mostly it was the LucasArts Legal lawyer types removing direct name references to product brands that were somehow okay in the original. In one case though, it was simply an attack of political correctness.

 

For instance, Guybrush originally asked the antique store owner "Do you take Visa?" Now he says "Do you take credit?" Sadly for grammatical sense, the response is left unchanged: "Yeah, like you have one."

 

Also, near the end of the game, when LeChuck shows up in the tunnels, and says that he has a "surprise" for Guybrush, one dialogue option was changed. It was originally "I don't suppose it's a Nintendo game..." but now "Nintendo" has been changed to "LucasArts."

 

Plus, in the end cutscene at the amusement park, Guybrush's mother originally warned him to beware "murderers and white slavers." "White slavers" must be too un-PC of a phrase for Lucas executives, as it's been changed to "ne'er-do-wells."

 

I also saw that the LucasArts Hint Line phone number has been updated to its modern counterpart, too. Edit: Actually, it's the same. I was thinking of a different LucasArts phone number, the one listed in MI1 when you try to "order Hint Book" after Guybrush drowns.

 

All these changes are to the game text strings, so they're sadly present in the Classic mode as well.

 

As well, there was always some dialogue missing in the CD version of MI2, when Guybrush gives the Phatt Island fisherman the fish from Elaine's kitchen: originally Guybrush pretended to catch the fish before handing it over, even making noises to that effect. Since the Special Edition is based on the CD version of the game, it's missing here too.

 

On a MUCH brighter note, the concept art gallery is amazing. As far as stuff I haven't seen before: There are several drawings surviving from the early design of Booty Island (since it was originally supposed to be at night), plus a few other backgrounds that were intended to be in the game but cut. These include a voodoo altar within LeChuck's fortress, and a MUCH more elaborate version of the underground metal tunnels linking Rum Rogers' house to Phatt Island proper.

 

One small thing that amused me was that Chester, the Hint Line worker, is male in the Special Edition, but female in Classic mode (and is thus voiced differently in each version).

[Scapetti]

All these changes are to the game text strings, so they're sadly present in the Classic mode as well.

 

You sure about that? Because the Purple Tentacle costume is still the Sam & Max costume in the classic and it still says "Sam & Max"

[ATMachine]

You sure about that? Because the Purple Tentacle costume is still the Sam & Max costume in the classic and it still says "Sam & Max"

When you look at it, even in Classic mode, Guybrush will still say "Nice costume," the same way he reacts to the Purple Tentacle costume in the SE. The original line about him wanting to pick up "the latest comic book by Steve Purcell" has been wiped from existence.

[Scapetti]

When you look at it, even in Classic mode, Guybrush will still say "Nice costume," the same way he reacts to the Purple Tentacle costume in the SE. The line about him wanting to pick up "the latest comic book by Steve Purcell" has been wiped from existence.

 

How do you even remember this stuff? XD But yeah, you see that other character in Phatt's Mansion? (Yeah, you most definitely did)

[Threepwood4life]

As well, there was always some dialogue missing in the CD version of MI2, when Guybrush gives the Phatt Island fisherman the fish from Elaine's kitchen: originally Guybrush pretended to catch the fish before handing it over, even making noises to that effect. Since the Special Edition is based on the CD version of the game, it's missing here too.

 

Actually that is in the game you have to get the fish before talking to the fisherman then place the bet with him and then give him the fish and he starts to pretend hes catching it next to him.

[ATMachine]

How do you even remember this stuff? XD But yeah, you see that other character in Phatt's Mansion? (Yeah, you most definitely did)

Haha, yes. Manny really gets around, doesn't he?

[SyntheticGerbil]

Possible solution: Mix the vocals in with the music and replace the vocal files with silence.

 

That's probably the best way since it's not like you have control over the song or that there is really any need for the vocals or music to be separate.

 

When you look at it, even in Classic mode, Guybrush will still say "Nice costume," the same way he reacts to the Purple Tentacle costume in the SE. The original line about him wanting to pick up "the latest comic book by Steve Purcell" has been wiped from existence.

 

I guess that's fitting since Steve Purcell hasn't done a complete comic book for about 15 years or more now.

[tfarr]

Just finished playing through the iPad version. Here's my take:

 

The Good?

 

- The background artwork looked great! Seems like there was a bit more attention to detail than in SME:SE.

 

- Dominick's (sp?) voice acting was incredible. Especially when he does the Empire Strikes Back "Noooooo!" at the end!

 

- Almost all of the other voice acting was really spot on. Was the original CMI Wally not available or did he pass away? I guess if he has passed away, he would be unavailable... wouldn't he?

 

- For digital music, it transitions *ok*. Not great, but ok. Not as good as real IMUSE with MIDI though. Who cares though, right? We all have our MT-32s on the shelf in our closets

 

The Bad?

 

- Captain Kate's voice acting was horrible! Ugh. She sounded like a bored teenager. She's the worst part of the game.

 

- The Voodoo Lady's head looked funny. When she's looking diagonal to the left, her eyes are slanted down instead of up, giving her a down syndrome sort of look. He face when looking towards the camera is almost too slender.

 

- Lack of monkey's dancing in the intro. Boo

 

- The music wasn't loud enough or lacked presence in key scenes... like Wally's abduction, the battle with LeChuck at the end, etc.

 

- It left me craving more commentary track. I think there was probably less than 25 individual segments. Maybe it's just the iPad version that has a limited commentary track?

 

- Buggy Stan hammering and flag switching puzzles.

 

 

I really enjoyed this release and just have a few minor complaints. Nothing that ruins the experience for me.... especially since I can just go back to my original copy.

 

Did anyone notice that when you turn off the metronome, you can still hear the ticking?

[KestrelPi]

I've just been looking and listening to all of the music in its extracted form, and it really is fantastic what Jesse Harlin has done, it's just a shame that in a few places it was implemented a little poorly. As a sountrack to listen to, it's amazing. Someone with more time on their hands than me and a good knowledge of the soundtrack needs to put this stuff together

[ATMachine]

While extracting the music file I've noticed something... painful:

 

The main theme is contained twice. One named MUS_Menu and one named OpeningCredits. Oh, the irony.

Look at their length, then listen to them; these two pieces are actually the exact same music file, just with two different filenames.

 

You can play the credits (both original and SE versions) from the main game menu. So I think one of the files plays over the menu screen, while the other plays during the credits when you view them from the menu.

 

I did notice that the intro music restarted itself when I started viewing the SE credits, which is probably because of the use of two different files.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Yeah, ATM, I believe you're wrong about Guybrush and the Fisherman. I'm 90% sure that scene is in the CD version. Also, you previously mentioned that you couldn't buy the fountain pen, but you can

 

Anyhoo, my impressions? LOVE IT! A ton better than the original SE! 90% of the voices are perfectly fine (Largo is still wrong, but I can live with it). If the first SE was 40% what it could have been, this is 80%. Such a great improvement!

 

There's still some rough edges, some oddly changed dialogue and alterations (tried looking down the cliff face on Booty?). The music is too lost in the background and isn't nearly as dramatic as it needs to be in places (what's there sounds great, though -- even the totally altered Booty Island sound).

 

This time around the niggles are far outweighed by the good stuff (some wonderful backgrounds, too!)

 

Questions:

 

There's always been some jokes I just didn't get. Can anyone else explain them (now they're fresh in everyone's memory)?

 

"There's only shiny pages left in the catalogue" (at the outhouse)

"Cheese grater/Sword sheath"

"Inspected by 27" (when looking at the hat)

 

Just loving this so far!