Tiermaker - LucasArts Adventure Game

[MurraySchull]

Was feeling curious, with enough time having passed since Return's release, what our thoughts were on whereabouts it ranks alongside the other Monkey Island/LucasArts games. Then I started thinking about Tiermaker and wondered if a template had been made yet that included Return. Lo and behold! :

 

Create a LucasArts & More Tier List - TierMaker (There were a couple of other options on Tiermaker that were more extensive, but weren't completely up to date.)

 

I've given the games their scores in terms of how they compare to each other. (i.e. I don't think Zak actually is "Dreadful", just when compared to the rest of the games!)  And yes, it appears I've yet to catch up with the majority of the side-Lucas titles!

 

 

Here's mine:

Edited June 18, 2023 by MurraySchull

[ThunderPeel2001]

I fixed your list. (I reserve the right to fix it again another day.)

 

Edit: I changed the labels...

 

Edited June 19, 2023 by ThunderPeel2001

[OzzieMonkey]

Here's my list. I don't think any are outright dreadful, and I changed crummy to average.

 

 

Edited June 19, 2023 by OzzieMonkey

[JacquesSparkyTail]

Be kind. I can’t help how god made me. 

[MurraySchull]

10 hours ago, ThunderPeel2001 said:

I fixed your list. (I reserve the right to fix it again another day.) Although I don't know about the labels...

 

Same, I'd have gone with different labels too, but this was the only template on the site I could find that included all 14 Lucas adventure games plus Return. So, you know, give and take!

 

A couple of these sort-of overlap a little bit. I'd probably have put "Save The World" in the third tier originally, but the remaster pushed it up to second for me with the visual facelift. I was also teetering between tier 2 and 3 for Maniac Mansion. (Was also semi-teetering Escape for tier 2 and 3, but I can't help having a soft spot for it!)

 

Broken Age is on my list to play, however, as I still have it from the Double Fine pandemic sale!

Edited June 19, 2023 by MurraySchull

[ThunderPeel2001]

1 hour ago, MurraySchull said:

Same, I'd have gone with different labels too, but this was the only template on the site I could find that included all 14 Lucas adventure games plus Return. So, you know, give and take!

 

Apparently you can edit the labels... I just updated my list to better reflect how I feel about the games. Still not 100% sure about Loom's placement though. These lists are so tricky!

 

12 hours ago, ThunderPeel2001 said:

I fixed your list. (I reserve the right to fix it again another day.)

 

Edit: I changed the labels...

 

 

[danielalbu]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:22 PM, MurraySchull said:

Was feeling curious, with enough time having passed since Return's release, what our thoughts were on whereabouts it ranks alongside the other Monkey Island/LucasArts games. Then I started thinking about Tiermaker and wondered if a template had been made yet that included Return. Lo and behold! :

 

Create a LucasArts & More Tier List - TierMaker (There were a couple of other options on Tiermaker that were more extensive, but weren't completely up to date.)

 

I've given the games their scores in terms of how they compare to each other. (i.e. I don't think Zak actually is "Dreadful", just when compared to the rest of the games!)  And yes, it appears I've yet to catch up with the majority of the side-Lucas titles!

 

 

Here's mine:

The Dig and Loom are crummy and Escape from Monkey Island is astounding?

 

Where are we?

The bizarro world?

[Gins]

The Dig is for me certainly one of the top two tiers. I've never played another game like it.

[BaronGrackle]

And mine. You'll see I have a preference for the older pixel titles (though Grim Fandango and Tales snuck through, since their stories grabbed me so much). I really enjoy the worlds set up by Maniac Mansion and Zak McKraken, and Thimbleweed Park to me feels more like a sequel than Day of the Tentacle.

 

Apologies to Sam and Max and The Dig. They're both great experiences, but something about the settings and characters didn't grab me as much as with the other franchises.

Edited June 21, 2023 by BaronGrackle

[KestrelPi]

I suppose this is where I am these days

Edited June 21, 2023 by KestrelPi

[ThunderPeel2001]

The  more I look at everyone's lists, the more I think you can make arguments for placements anywhere.

 

Just look at Maniac Mansion:

 

Reasons for "perfection":

• It revolutionised a genre
• It has a crazy amount of solutions and endings, especially for the time
• The story is great (for the time)
• There's so much to do and fun things to discover, especially for 1987
• It's funny

Reasons for "nah":

• The interface is painful to use
• There's not really any characterisation by today's standards
• The puzzles are too obtuse by today's standards
• There's dead ends
• It's ugly

I think both of these lists are true.

 

For me, I value puzzle characters and story, as well as puzzle logic, but I'm pretty ruthless and unforgiving about the context they were released in.