monkey islandRon Gilbert, is a saga that needs no introduction. It’s a of the most recognized and beloved graphic adventures in video games. Developped by Lucasfilm Gameshas 4 main deliveries, EThe Secret of Monkey Island (1990), Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (1991), The Curse of Monkey Island (1997) y Escape from Monkey Island (2000). Later in 2009, Telltale ventured out with Tales from Monkey Islanda bit further apart, although Gilbert was involved in the initial brainstorming.
Really, Gilbert participated in the first two deliveries, the others were in charge of other administrators. There aren’t a few that describe them as non-canonical and that shouldn’t affect the main timeline.
It is only now, in 2022, that the saga returned in style with Back to Monkey Islandagain with Ron Gilbert at the helm. The new slice is developped by Terrible toy box and distributed by Lucasfilm Games and Devolver Digital. It is, this time, the direct sequel to the second installment of 1991, being in reality the third part of the story, now released more than 30 years later.
The History of Monkey Island
For those who are new to the saga or need to refresh their memory, the game gives us the opportunity to see a short summary of the story by means of an album by our protagonist, Guybrush Threepwood.
A few minutes after starting the game already answers some doubts about the second installment, it shows us the amusement park and we find out who Chuckie is. But, we still have the biggest unknown of all up in the air, to be discovered. what exactly is the secret of monkey island. From here I won’t say much more to avoid spoilers, but searching for the secret involves returning to familiar places and meeting old friends and foes, solving many puzzles, enduring more or less 10 minutes underwater and other surprises. .
Completing the adventure will take you around 8-9 hours, in which you will enjoy every minute, without exception. Depending on the difficulty you choose at the start, the game may take a bit longer because on difficulty the puzzles are more complicated and will require more stages to complete.
The dialogues are as expected, extremely good and successful in every situation, in addition to having some optional. They also benefit from an exceptional localization in Spanish. The story itself has good progression and a classic structure. The story is divided into parts and despite the fact that it is something that the saga has always done, currently it continues to work perfectly, it does not become heavy at any time, the humor and charisma so characteristic of the saga are still present.
Some aspects remain in Return to Monkey Island while others are renewed
Back to Monkey Island is fully aware of the year we are in and this is something that can be seen directly in the interface. It leaves behind the typical SCUMM system drawer and introduces something more up to date, the Dinky Engine. It is cleaner and based on contextual actions with the two mouse buttons. The inventory is at the bottom left and the menu at the top right. At first glance this may seem too simple for purists, but it remains a necessary change. Don’t worry because the beginning of the story serves as a tutorial for all the mechanics.
The puzzles are very clever, as usual, and are not affected by the interface change. In the dialogs, if we press the “comma”, we can review the previous dialogs, in case we need to read something again. Something I’ve personally been grateful for is the ability to highlight all interactive elements on the screen, by simply pressing the tabulator. With this type of game you have surely had the typical thing happen to you that you can’t find something on the screen and you start clicking on everything you see, well, that’s a thing of the past. Although you can’t use it either, obviously.
You can also play with the remote control, where objects will be marked around the character and we can choose which ones to interact with. Personally, I prefer to use the mouse and search for objects myself, although I have sometimes needed to use the tab key for some things.
The clues that we can use or not
We also have a clue book in case we don’t know how to move forward. It’s a very interesting point because I think it’s a very good example of Back to Monkey Island He knows the times very well. You know that when someone doesn’t know how to follow, they’re going to resort to YouTube or guides to get ahead, well, that saves us that step.
It’s something, again, optional. If we decide to use it, the first thing it will do is give us somewhat generic advice, then, if we continue to use it, it will continue to give us more specific advice and clues. He can even give us the solution if we want, leaving it up to the player to know what he wants to know so as not to lose that pleasant feeling when solving a puzzle.
Ultimately, we have a book of goalswhere we see, excuse the redundancy, our next objectives in the form of a list of tasks.
As in the vast majority of current games, Back to Monkey Island has collectibles. The first time we go to SCUMM Bar, we find a sticker album, where we can place some trivial cards. These cards present us with questions about the saga, the history of LucasArts, about the developers or about the history of the game itself. The cards appear randomly on the screens, if you hit it, it will stay in the album but if you fail it will disappear and you will have to find it.
As you can see, some things remain but others have evolved to fit modern times. Although these things may be a source of complaint or controversy for the most purists, we cannot forget that, except the interface, the rest is optional. You can forget the clue book and the collectibles and you can do without the tabulator to mark the objects.
The artistic change in Return to Monkey Island
Something that isn’t optional, and is here to stay, is the new graphic style, which elicited different reactions from fans, some quite unfortunate, it must be said. In this section there is no possible objectivity, there is no opinion more correct than another, whether you like the change or not. In my case, at first it made me a little uncomfortable, but as I saw moving material, I liked it more. Finally, having finished the game, I can say that the new style suits him like a glove, He has personality and little by little he conquers you
I won’t deny that Rex Crowley’s new design may crash a bit at firstyou’re missing the old style and I can understand that might annoy some people, but it goes away once you immerse yourself in all the game has to offerthe story, the characters, the humor and the nostalgia.
Some comparisons with the first game
In order not to reveal much, you can see comparisons from the beginning of the game below, in this case, from Melee Islandwith the original game.
We start, how could it be otherwise, with the lookout point on the island.
We continue with the map of the place itself, where some of the places we can explore have also changed.
We continue with the prison, where, again, we meet an old friend.
And we end up with another old acquaintance, whose name we also know after 30 years. You can find out in-game, if you ask.
The conclusion of the story
Something that will, in my opinion, be even more controversial than the art change, is undoubtedly the end. Back to Monkey Island It has one of those endings that blow you away or you hate it.personally I loved it. For many it will be a perfect ending to an exceptional adventure, for others it will be an extremely disappointing ending.
Something that if I warn you is that you don’t close the game when you are done, wait for the credits to rollunlocks something big that gives context to why the game is the way it is, and it’s sure to excite more than one fan.
Return to Monkey Island Final Notice
Although some changes may not please everyone (not possible though), that Back to Monkey Island brings is great, the smile on finding a reference, the laughter on a joke, the time and effort to solve a puzzle, the emotions on seeing the characters, the feeling of pure adventure, just fun.
It’s a love letter from the original creators who love the sagaWe even have the composers of the first games, Michael Land, Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian, as well as David Fox as the programmer of the originals.
Back to Monkey Island is both an excellent video game and a of the best graphic adventures of recent yearssomething that will no doubt be talked about for a long time. It’s a must-have game for fans of the genre as well as new players.
Back to Monkey Island
24,99$
Pro.
- pure nostalgia
- extremely funny
- very clever puzzles
- Original Composers Soundtrack
Contra.
- Sin a bit of having too many references
- it gets very short
I do things… It’s the neighbor who chooses the meme and it’s the meme who wants the neighbors to be the meme
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