Details of Return to Monkey Island

[ThunderPeel2001]

3 hours ago, BaronGrackle said:

Ahem, if the museum has a wanted poster with Kate Capsize's face on it AND the list of extensive crimes from MI2, then shouldn't that poster also clearly say the name "Guybrush Threepwood" on it a few times? Considering the result of that puzzle was to create an association between Guybrush's name and Kate's face upon reading it k thx bye

 

Except that the bottom is torn off.

 

3 minutes ago, BaronGrackle said:

Let me ask: did you try to use your money pouch on Wally to "settle accounts"? Before I finished Part 1, I could use the money on Wally to pay for the mop map and on Locke to pay for the keys, but they didn't ask for the payment automatically.

 

Have you paid Wally yet?

 

That's really odd because Guybrush only has one coin left by the final chapter, so I assumed he was paying for everything as he progressed through the game.

 

Did anyone else notice that you walk up to the church in the final scene and Guybrush will make a comment to Elaine about renewing their vows?

 

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by ThunderPeel2001

[Thrik]

20 minutes ago, ThunderPeel2001 said:

In an odd, retro, choice: The character are the same facing left and right. So eye patches flip from eye to eye and t-shirts have their lettering reversed, depending on which way the character is facing. It's really odd for a modern game to be honest, because it's not like it would have taken much work to fix.

I think in most cases it wouldn’t make much noticeable difference and did probably help keep the production of so many character sprites breezy, but yes the Melee top did stand out and perhaps warranted a special case. He spends most of his time talking to you with the shirt reversed after all.

[BaronGrackle]

31 minutes ago, ThunderPeel2001 said:

Except that the bottom is torn off.

These are the lines I meant, earlier:

 

 

Yes the image suggests the name and crimes have been torn off, but the dialogue doesn't. Just chalk it up to Guybrush's finnicky storytelling, I think.

[Huz]

4 hours ago, Huz said:

I had to look closely to realise they don't carry the joke through to the curator's fake pegleg though - that does stay on the same side as he turns, as you'd expect in reality.

 

OK, the subsequent exchanges made me check the game and realise I was completely wrong in the post above! The whole guy is a mirror image, which does make more sense.

 

I still imagine it's a deliberate homage to the original games rather than pure laziness though. I mean, you're not going to put writing on a character's clothing by accident.

Edited September 28, 2022 by Huz

[Blondebeard]

3 hours ago, ThunderPeel2001 said:

 

I think this is more in reference to the fact that his business is booming (in direct comparison to the International House of Mojo's).

 

 

In an odd, retro, choice: The character are the same facing left and right. So eye patches flip from eye to eye and t-shirts have their lettering reversed, depending on which way the character is facing. It's really odd for a modern game to be honest, because it's not like it would have taken much work to fix.

Good point! That makes more sense.

 

3 hours ago, BaronGrackle said:

Let me ask: did you try to use your money pouch on Wally to "settle accounts"? Before I finished Part 1, I could use the money on Wally to pay for the mop map and on Locke to pay for the keys, but they didn't ask for the payment automatically.

 

Have you paid Wally yet?

No, I didn't even knwo you could do that. What's their reaction?

[ThunderPeel2001]

59 minutes ago, Huz said:

I still imagine it's a deliberate homage to the original games rather than pure laziness though.

 

Hmm. I don't think it's an homage -- it's not like flipping characters was unique to MI. Every game in the 16-bit era did it (fun fact, it's why "MAXIMUM" is written down the trouser leg of Dee Jay in Super Street Fighter II).

 

Ronzo was very keen to make this a "modern" game (after everyone called TP "retro"). So I really think it's just resource constraints... rather than an attempt at making it retro. Although it is still surprising and confusing 🤷‍♂️

 

For a game that goes hard out of its way to not put English anywhere visible, why put it on a character. Hmm.

Edited September 28, 2022 by ThunderPeel2001

[ThunderPeel2001]

4 hours ago, BaronGrackle said:

Yes the image suggests the name and crimes have been torn off, but the dialogue doesn't. Just chalk it up to Guybrush's finnicky storytelling, I think.

 

Hmm. Could we say that the "Guybrush" part had been torn off, but the crimes remained maybe?

[BaronGrackle]

56 minutes ago, Blondebeard said:

No, I didn't even knwo you could do that. What's their reaction?

The hovertext says "Settle accounts with [name]."

Guybrush asks, "Do I owe you anything right now?"

Locke says something like, "Thanks for noticing."

Wally says something like, "Thanks, with all this business I tend to forget about getting payments for small orders like yours."

Voodoo Lady says something like, "Much, but not monetary" and doesn't take payment.

 

I don't remember trying the coinpurse on anyone else yet.

[Remi]

Just now, ThunderPeel2001 said:

 

Hmm. Could we say that the "Guybrush" part had been torn off, but the crimes remained maybe?

 

All the crimes could not fit on the front of that poster. Therefore:

1. The bottom of the poster had the name on it.
   1. That part was torned off.
2. The back of the poster had all the crimes. Therefore they could still read them.

Just simple logic. Ish.

[BaronGrackle]

3 minutes ago, ThunderPeel2001 said:

 

Hmm. Could we say that the "Guybrush" part had been torn off, but the crimes remained maybe?

We can say what we want!  There's not much room below Kate's picture itself, but perhaps the crimes were preserved on a nearby plaque or paper. Maybe they were rewritten on the back.

 

EDIT: Here

 

WANTED: GUYBRUSH THREEPWOOD

for the murder of G.P. LeChuck^ ^also for the use of witchcraft on the person of Largo LaGrande^
^the thievery of clothing and medically prescribed hair supplements for such witchcraft^ ^graverobbing^

^trespassing^

^larceny without a permit^

^disturbing the peace^

^illegal gambling on a sporting event^

^use of falsified identification for the purchase of alcohol^

^exceeding allowable FDA limit for rodent parts in vichyssoise^

^premature entombment of a non-dead individual^

^reckless tampering with city-maintained plumbing without prior acquisition of an environmental impact report^

^transportation of animals not in a mental state to give consent^

^vandalizing a historical miniature^

^reckless use of gardening tools^

^impersonating a woman in order to evade prosecution^

^unauthorized exiting from a penal institution^

^two counts of unauthorized exiting from a penal institution^

^unauthorized exiting from a penal institution^

^impersonating a federal mail boat^ ^reanimating dead persons within city limits^

^possession of library books not specifically checked out to oneself^

^mixing drinks without a liquor license^

^and releasing a dangerous reptile in a populated area.

Also wanted for questioning regarding the disappearance of prescription eyewear. Reward offered for information leading to the suspect's apprehension. Threepwood is to be considered armed and dangerous.`

Edited September 28, 2022 by BaronGrackle

[ThunderPeel2001]

4 minutes ago, BaronGrackle said:

I don't remember trying the coinpurse on anyone else yet.

 

Giving it to Carla results in an achievement of course

 

One more detail: It feels like Carla was a bit of a dick. She and Otis were castaways together (with Meathook). Years later Otis takes a flower from her garden and she locks him up! Ouch.
 

3 minutes ago, Remi said:

The back of the poster had all the crimes. Therefore they could still read them.

 

But how did Guybrush read them in MI2? Yeah, basically the crimes were written across the top. And the name was written on the bottom... which also makes no sense 🤪

 

The more we discuss this stuff, the more I feel like a middle-aged man sitting on a park bench in faux pirate attire.

 

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by ThunderPeel2001

[Remi]

8 minutes ago, ThunderPeel2001 said:

But how did Guybrush read them in MI2? Yeah, basically the crimes were written across the top. And the name was written on the bottom... which also makes no sense 🤪

 

The more we discuss this stuff, the more I feel like a middle-aged man sitting on a park bench in faux pirate attire.

 

 

 

Cheap thin paper, so he could read through it. He knows how to read mirrored text, no problem.

 

(Or this is one of those retcon decisions Ron and Dave decided to make, which probably is the correct but boring answer.)

[BaronGrackle]

I posted the contents above. It starts with "Guybrush Threepwood" and ends with "Threepwood is considered armed and dangerous". So either the middle part was copied on back, or the middle part is preserved elsewhere.

 

Note also: this means the museum teaches that Kate Capsize defeated G.P. LeChuck in MI1. Thus she joins the ranks of other claimants such as Voodoo Lady, Elaine, and LeChuck himself drinking too much root beer.

[ThunderPeel2001]

12 minutes ago, BaronGrackle said:

EDIT: Here

 

 

I can write VERY small!

[LowLevel]

Does anybody know what this item was for?

 

What Guybrush says sounds like a puzzle but that information is never used in the game.

 

Green: 50%

Blue: 25%

Yellow: 12.5%

Orange: Orange you glad you're here?

 

🤔

Edited September 28, 2022 by LowLevel

[ThunderPeel2001]

I just assumed it was the a guide to the sale, and an indication of how bad things had gotten. But who knows.

 

 

Ok, this one just blew my mind a little (apologies if it's already been said), but the background in the Prelude seamlessly changes after the couple walks off. I was so focussed on the couple, and transition was so seamless, that I didn't notice.

 

It's totally thrown was I said about it being "reality" out of the water.

Edited September 28, 2022 by ThunderPeel2001

[LowLevel]

I just noticed that the symbol on the codewheel operated by LeChuck are different from the symbols on the one operated bu Guybrush:

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by LowLevel

[Thrik]

Yes Thunderpeel, very dream-like the way that’s done.

 

It starts out as a fairly faithful reproduction of MI2’s Big Whoop, but then becomes a strange seaside park.

[Jake]

1 hour ago, LowLevel said:

I just noticed that the symbol on the codewheel operated by LeChuck are different from the symbols on the one operated bu Guybrush:

 

My guess is that’s to obscure the joke from fully being revealed until you get there.  But it could also be lore. 

[ThunderPeel2001]

1 hour ago, Thrik said:

Yes Thunderpeel, very dream-like the way that’s done.

 

It starts out as a fairly faithful reproduction of MI2’s Big Whoop, but then becomes a strange seaside park.

 

Yes. It utterly blows my "is reality actually a world where pirates still thrive?" idea out of the water. Reality is, indeed, modern day 😮

[Thrik]

Or at least, the 80s!

[BaronGrackle]

12 minutes ago, Thrik said:

Or at least, the 80s!

Something something Thimbleweed Park something something weaver magic something something Caponian stupidity machine finally starting to affect the planet something something should've never let that Purple Meteor escape something. . .

Edited September 28, 2022 by BaronGrackle

[LowLevel]

If you have a savegame of the first minutes in Melee Island, load it and try to make sense to what Widey Bones says.

 

After completing the game, her words become a little more meaningful and I had the impression that some phrases were written as if they were referring to fans or to what fans might say after completing the game. 🙂

• They all think they deserve it. Well, they do and they don't!
• Lights out always comes sooner than you think.
• It's a fairly good story. I wonder if there will be a sequel?

Also, this might or might not be related to Cogg Island: "If you listen close, you can hear the gears grinding."

 

 

[BaronGrackle]

3 minutes ago, LowLevel said:

If you have a savegame of the first minutes in Melee Island, load it and try to make sense to what Widey Bones says.

 

After completing the game, her words become a little more meaningful and I had the impression that some phrases were written as if they were referring to fans or to what fans might say after completing the game. 🙂

• They all think they deserve it. Well, they do and they don't!
• Lights out always comes sooner than you think.
• It's a fairly good story. I wonder if there will be a sequel?

Also, this might or might not be related to Cogg Island: "If you listen close, you can hear the gears grinding."

 

 

My daughter wanted to halt progress in Part 1 to document everything Widey Bones says and try to put it in the "correct order" for a narrative. The idea intrigued me, but I vetoed it so we could make a little progress.

 

(Currently in Part 2.)

[NightWalker]

8 hours ago, LowLevel said:

Also, this might or might not be related to Cogg Island: "If you listen close, you can hear the gears grinding."

 

 

I associate this to the gears and machinary of the park. Even if you are in the imaginary world, inside Guybrush's head, you still can hear the gears of the park. This is my interpretation, but it could be what you say too. It would have been interesting to know Cogg Island fully and maybe that would have given some answers to this sentence of Widey Bones.

 

Widey says this too: "No one ever works together. All want their own prize". This could be a reference to LeChuck, Madison and Guybrush wanting to go ahead and have the prize everyone for himself. But it could be a reference to the fans too, because everybody had his own theory about the secret.

 

"The secret smells like popcorn!", says Widey too. And the first thing you find when you are going to know the truth is the popcorn on the floor, when you get out of the door in the alley, in the back of the church at the ending.

 

Yeah, the game is full of phrases with double meaning. After completing the full game, I found that almost every conversation has some link to the ending. For example, at the beginning, when you talk with Stan in the jail, he says that "he gives everybody what they want, although not everybody knows what they want". It could be a reference to how the park gives you the experience you are looking for.

 

If you stay still in the jail, Stan will say random sentences. In one of them, he says: "They say the only real prison is the one in your head". This is amazing when you know about the ending.

 

The curator of the museum explains, at certain moment, that "everybody makes their own connections with the exhibits, and it's highly personal and different for everyone". This could be a reference as how everybody, in the real park, lives his own experience and his own adventure.

 

There are a lot of more links to the ending. The game is full of winks to it. It's greatly written.