Thrik Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 As you can see, they've made the island significantly smaller in EMI, made the town ridiculously small and literally changed the shape of the island in some parts. And as Nick mentioned above, the mansion has totally changed location on the map. This is one of the many reasons why I hugely disliked EMI. As well as having a dodgy plots, it even changes how the damn islands look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Governor Phatt Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Yeah i always hated the shape of the island, its just poor, and looking at the comparisons i didnt realise just HOW different it is. *sigh* Still we can't hope for everything....or anything it seems And i never really thought about that little road... maybe it was going to lead to a location but they ran out of time and removed it.... Or maybe its just to make it look like the island wasnt just built for guybrush's convenience ¬¬ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scabb Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Those changes aren't that big a deal They need to make the locations stand out, especially since there's no clicking involved. The Island seems to have kept the same basic shape, and the harbour/shipyard is in a more sensible location I guess. And you can't really see where the mansion is on the SoMI map. The EMI map is quite impressive really. It's not like the SoMI map was too great anyway, when you see it head on it's incredibly steep and the lookout point is a lot more prominent, yet on the overhead you don't see this at all. Long story short, big deal. Monkey Island looked worse, and they kept that the same, basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrik Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 I have to disagree. Sure, it looks better - but we're comparing it to a 13 year old game here. The fact is that they should have made it look more like Melee island as a whole. As someone else said above, the town and harbour barely looked like their original forms in MI1. The island also changed shape in many parts and the proportion was totally changed. Yeah, it may have made it easier due to the 3d engine. But guess what? I think that sucks in an MI game too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Originally posted by Thrik Yeah, it may have made it easier due to the 3d engine. But guess what? I think that sucks in an MI game too. listen to this man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JawaJoey Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 In case you didn't notice, the maps in EMI were a tad... EXAGERATED. Unless the buildings were huge and the islands were tiny with one major path carving through it, and whenever guybrush left a location he suddenly became huge, then it wasn't supposed to be realistic. It was basically a screen for going from one location to another. Over the MI games, the maps have been evovling towards this. in SMI they were porportionate overhead views, in MI2 they were angled more cartoonish views, in CMI places were more exagerated, and in EMI the maps basically shrunk to a road and the places guybrush needed to get. But map differences aside, I do think they could have put a little more effort into making Melee town look better. The clock tower and voodoo shor area were pretty well done, but when you walked through it you were suddenly no where. Half the town (the jail, the church, the alley) all gone. The scummbar was sort of just sitting in the middle of nowhere, instead of fused with the dock. And the shipyard jumped across the island. And most of the houses of Melee vanished. And suddenly there is a lot more space in front of the governers mansion. It must be those tectonic shifts again. My biggest complaint was Otis. Since when does he have red hair and a funky accent? It seemed like a different character to me. They skimped on the town, but It was still Melee. The clock still didn't change, and it was still night. So they didn't do a great job, but I don't really care. It was good enough for me. And no matter how many plot holes and contradictions with earlier games you can find in EMI, it was a good GAME. Mayvbe not the best MONKEY ISLAND, but still a good GAME. So stop saying how much it sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n3crius Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 In fairness, it probably seems like a good game to many people but for me it's not. I love MI1+2 so much. I liked CMI for it's style, chars, cutscenes, locations. CMI did a good job of trying to explain what happened in the previous game etc. EMI just didn't take anything further for me. Sure it had new locations, some humour and some novel elements to gameplay but I just felt empty at the end. There's a whole load of other stuff I could go on about like the unnessecary 3D engine but theres no point. You either like a game of you dont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrik Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 The main problem for me was that EMI changed too many "ingredients" for the previous three games had. The maps are an already discussed example - but the 3D is also terrible in my opinion (dumping point and click), none of the characters were particularly memorable for me, many locations simply sucked in the visual deparment, and many more things. And yes, it was stupid what they did the Melee Island. In SMI it was portrayed as a large, bustling town with many buildings (shown by layers upon layers of rooftops in SMI) while in EMI it was literally a half dozen buildings and a crappy looking road. Ew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Udvarnoky Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 If the other three Monkey Islands didn't exist I think I'd appreciate EMI more. It's not bad as a game, it's bad as a Monkey Island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernil Posted July 23, 2003 Author Share Posted July 23, 2003 The main problem for me was that EMI changed too many "ingredients" for the previous three games had. The maps are an already discussed example - but the 3D is also terrible in my opinion (dumping point and click), none of the characters were particularly memorable for me, many locations simply sucked in the visual deparment, and many more things. Aha! That is....exactly the way I feel...to the bottom of my heart. All of those things together just make me hold MI4 at a lower level than the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starkie Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 And yes, it was stupid what they did the Melee Island. In SMI it was portrayed as a large, bustling town with many buildings (shown by layers upon layers of rooftops in SMI) while in EMI it was literally a half dozen buildings and a crappy looking road. this is just wot i think (tho 6 buildings is pushin it) i also think they shud of had t treasure with "out of comision" or sum bollards round it or summut, just a forest wi 2 paths wud do, 1 to caarla's old place an one to the treasure. Also wot happend to the circus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariana Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I haven't posted here before, but I've been following a few of the threads, and frankly I'm suprised just how vehemently most people hate EMI. Granted, it was actually the FIRST Monkey Island game I played, so that may have biased me. And true, it wasn't perfect, and the end was somewhat...odd...but I really did love it. I think it's the 3D art style that appealed to me. Elaine also had far more personality in EMI than she did in the other games, if you ask me; in fact, she just had way more appearances. My brother actually gave me EMI for my birthday this year, and I liked it so much that I went out and hunted down the previous games and played them in order. I liked them all, but I am unsure if I have a favorite. If I do, I'd say it was either MI2 or EMI. Neither had a quite satisfactory ending, unfortunately. MI2's ending was okay, but...surreal. I just can't think of any other way to explain it. Having heard a lot of friends rant and rave about "old school" games and movies, and then having tried them out myself to see what the big deal was, I really have to say that nostalgia colors your view of such things. A lot of people will like the earlier games simply because they were the first ones they played, and they remember them fondly. Whether they actually are better or not is another question entirely. I'm not saying EMI was perfect, I'm just saying I really liked it, and it is NOT self-evident that it "sucked." Personal preference and all, you know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrik Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 The reason that you don't enjoy older games as much if you play them in modern times is because of the graphics. It's sad, but these days people expect brilliant graphics or they don't enjoy the game as much. I do agree that graphics do contribute to the atmosphere and feel of a game greatly (imagine Grim Fandango without the 3D graphics), but MI1 and MI2 didn't rely on spiffy eye candy to make the gamer enjoy them. The storyline, jokes and such kept the player immersed and happy. EMI did too to an extent, but not enough. The people who played MI1 and MI2 at a time when the graphics were considered good would appreciate the game far more than people who play it now. It's just how we work, we like eye candy. Unfortunately this results in a lot of older games being neglected by newer gamers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remi Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 The backgrounds in MI2 are still great though, they're just in a lower resolution than modern games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrik Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 That is true. They should totally get whoever did those to release the originals before they were made into lower quality - if he still has them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Udvarnoky Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Yes. If Lucasarts has access to all of the original artwork, it would be great to see it all. Would someone mind posting that link to the Lucasarts page again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariana Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Originally posted by Thrik The reason that you don't enjoy older games as much if you play them in modern times is because of the graphics. It's sad, but these days people expect brilliant graphics or they don't enjoy the game as much. While it's true that I appreciate shiny, well-done graphics as well as the next woman, I prefer a good story over graphics. Without a decent story, even the prettiness of a game won't hold my interest for long. Another reason, I think, is the voice acting. I admit this is something that was not possible in earlier games, but it holds at least as much importance for me as the graphics, partly because I think the voices were so well chosen and acted. Anyway, my point is that there are a lot of reasons to like a game. I maintain that while the story in the first two games was engaging, the story in the fourth game was at least as engaging, at least for me. (Although I will admit that the ending left much to be desired, unfortunately.) In any case, I am greatly looking forward to the fifth game in the series, if and when it comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernil Posted July 25, 2003 Author Share Posted July 25, 2003 Ah! Voice acting. Brings me to another thought of mine. Personally, though I know all will disagree with me, I am not a fan of voice acting. MI1 and MI2 enthrall me a bit more just because of the fact that I make my own voices for the wonderful dialogue given to me. Maybe this is a pro for be because I happen to be an imaginative person, and many other may prefer to be given voice. I realise very well that I will never be given another great game without the voices. (Many will say that one such as myself could just turn off the voices and make my own voices for the characters, but nowadays, game makers will rely on the voice of the actor more than they will rely on the dialogue of the character. This makes it near impossible to play a game to its full potential when you aren't in contact with the main block of the games humor.) Farewell, Ernil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remi Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Well... I also imagined what the voices would sound like, but I have to say that all the voice actors in the MI games have done a great job (particularly Dom and Boen who had the most difficult jobs). Besides, it's not like they could have released the games without voices now anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariana Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 You know what's really funny? I did a search a while back on a voice actor website to find out who did all the voices for Monkey Island, and what else they've done. I've done this in the past for games I particularly liked, and it's interesting what you'll find. A lot of voice actors have dabbled in just about everything: regular afternoon cartoon shows, video games of all kinds, dubbed anime series, even cartoon holiday specials and animated educational videos (like the infamous gun safety videos put out by the NRA, if memory serves). A lot of these names you will NOT see doing feature films, animated or not. I find this interesting. It's an entirely different level of acting, and it makes me wonder if perhaps voice actors prefer this sort of acting, perhaps even have a lot of friends in the business and truly enjoy working with them...or if it's a stopping place on their way to bigger and better things, or maybe somewhere their career got stuck. I'm actually inclined to think it's the first. If it were me, I would much prefer voice acting to stage or movie acting. It seems like it would be so much more fun. What really interested me was seeing Cam Clarke's name under the credits for EMI as a bit part or two. For anyone who doesn't know, Cam Clarke was the voice of Ryudo in Grandia II, and he was also the voice of Leonardo in the Ninja Turtles cartoon from oh-so-many years ago. He's dabbled in a whole LOT of things, and I'm sure there are some video games he's done that I've forgotten but others would know. I haven't checked it out yet, but I'm sure that in CMI, the voice of Haggis was the same as Scrooge McDuck. Anyone remember Duck Tales? *Ahem* Yes, I used to watch it as a kid...enough that the voice just jumped out at me as being particularly memorable. And if anyone has ever played the Lunar games, localized and dubbed by Working Designs, you will know that Working Designs likes to include goodies like "making of" sequences and outtakes at the end of the game. I think they tend to cast from their own sources rather than the same voice actor pool a lot of other game companies use, but you can tell just how much fun the actors are having by the outtakes and the interviews. It sounds like it would be such a blast to do. (Personally, if I lived in the area, I would so try out for vocal singing roles in games like that. I know they already have Jenny Stigel for most Working Designs games, but I think I could do just as well...ah well, silly dreams. But it WOULD be fun.) I think it would be fascinating to hear what the voice actors for the Monkey Island games have to say about their roles. Were there ever any interviews with them? It would be interesting to read them if there were... For that matter, has anyone ever emailed or chatted with any of the actors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remi Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 I find this interesting. It's an entirely different level of acting, and it makes me wonder if perhaps voice actors prefer this sort of acting, perhaps even have a lot of friends in the business and truly enjoy working with them...or if it's a stopping place on their way to bigger and better things, or maybe somewhere their career got stuck. I'm actually inclined to think it's the first. If it were me, I would much prefer voice acting to stage or movie acting. It seems like it would be so much more fun. From what I understand VO is its own little business, and not an easy one to break into at that. I believe Dom talked a bit about that in an interview or chat or whatever. I haven't checked it out yet, but I'm sure that in CMI, the voice of Haggis was the same as Scrooge McDuck. This is true. I think it would be fascinating to hear what the voice actors for the Monkey Island games have to say about their roles. Were there ever any interviews with them? It would be interesting to read them if there were... For that matter, has anyone ever emailed or chatted with any of the actors? We got interviews with Dom (Guybrush obviously), Denny Delk (Murray) and Wally Wingert (Herman Toothrot) at The SCUMM Bar which obviously down. As soon as the data is recovered they'll be up again though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariana Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Originally posted by RemiO We got interviews with Dom (Guybrush obviously), Denny Delk (Murray) and Wally Wingert (Herman Toothrot) at The SCUMM Bar which obviously down. As soon as the data is recovered they'll be up again though. That's great! I'm looking forward to seeing the page back up, since I wasn't a Monkey Island fan until only this summer, and when I started looking for fan pages, most of the big ones were down... >:/ Phooey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicardoLuigi... Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 i'm sorry...i couldn't stop myself. well, at least i don't have a collage this time, it's just one picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior™ Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 I don't mind the changes they've made about Melee. Sure, it was great and mysterious with a dark and gloomy atmosphere back in SMI. And sure, this ambiente got lost in EMI, but hell....Melee still was beautiful and the most important things about it were still there. So let's stop being nitpickers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrik Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 I didn't actually find it particularly beautiful though. The town itself looked barren and extremely boring. Sure, the other parts of the island looked alright but I was expecting the town to be like the main part of the island, but it isn't since there's hardly anything there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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