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The Secret of Monkey Island

Developer / Publisher: Lucasfilm Games
October 1990
The Secret of Monkey Island - cover art
Glitchwave rating
3.93 / 5.0
0.5
5.0
 
 
644 Ratings / 2 Reviews
#291 All-time
#2 for 1990
Guybrush Threepwood, a wannabe pirate, arrives on Mêlée Island™ where he is given three trials by the pirate leaders in order to become a pirate. He must master the art of swordfighting, steal an idol from governor Elaine Marley's mansion, and find the treasure of Mêlée Island™. Finally finished with his trials, Guybrush returns to the pirate leaders only to discover that the governor has been kidnapped by the ghost captain LeChuck and his crew, so he sets off on an adventure to Monkey Island to find and rescue the governor.
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In collection Want to buy Used to own  
1990 Lucasfilm Games  
8xFloppy 3.5"
XNA
1991 Lucasfilm Games  
4xFloppy 5.25"
ES
1992 Lucasfilm Games  
3xFloppy 3.5"
XNA
Show all 8 releases
1993 LucasArts JVC  
XNA 0 09119 92053 7
The Secret of Monkey Island Bestseller-Games
1994 LucasFilm Games  
CD-ROM
DE 43440233099002
The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition
2009 LucasArts  
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The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition
2010 LucasArts  
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Beyond the fact that I distinctly remember playing this and being completely befuddled, and how good it feels to finally be getting into point and click adventures, I'd have to say this is not that great.

It's charming and obviously has an historical aura about it, and I guess being somewhat enjoyable more than thirty years later is an achievement in itself, but I'm looking forward to play later LucasArts games hoping they made advancements over this.

Still, it's nice enough and the presentation holds up in a retro way, that alone could be reason enough to play it for the archeologically minded.
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kid_for_today 2023-08-08T11:56:35Z
2023-08-08T11:56:35Z
2.0
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“The Secret of Monkey Island” might be one of the very first video games I played as a child. Even though I couldn’t even read English, I remember playing the demo at least a dozen times. It had the troll standing at the Mêlée docks to prevent you from getting out. No matter if I couldn’t figure out any of the puzzles, I just loved walking around and enjoying the setting and atmosphere.

My parents got me a legit copy a couple of years later, and despite the game not being the experience I had expected, I was totally blown away by the humor. Just like Guybrush, I was dreaming of an epic pirate adventure, and in the end, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was just another clumsy kid unfit for pirate life, but with the heart in the right place.

The plot is merely an excuse for what is essentially a genre parody littered with puns and pop culture references. Things play out as you would expect for the most part. yet I thought the twist they got with Elaine’s characters wasn’t as obvious back then.

The puzzles are part of the humor, to the point that many times the puzzles are the jokes and vice versa. The solutions are slightly more intuitive than the average LucasArt graphic adventure, with only a few absurd item combinations and pun-led tasks that could get frustrating. The pacing is generally tight, and the variety of things to do is impressive for a game this old. However, walking back and forth between areas can sometimes get a little tiresome.

About the “special edition”: it’s essentially a carbon copy of the original with a new user interface, revamped graphics, and especially made voice acting. The controls have been changed into an action wheel with a separate inventory menu. While it might have been a choice to make the game more accessible on mobile devices, nothing beats the original interface. The voice acting is on par with the other games in the series, and I have to say I’m not a big fan. Deadpan wry humor is obviously an essential feature of the Monkey Island series, but I thought the performances here were simply flat rather than genuinely deadpan. Many jokes felt funnier read in my mind rather than being acted out.
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manicure 2022-10-28T09:34:30Z
2022-10-28T09:34:30Z
90
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Fightin with words
Secret of Monkey island is one of the essencial point and click adventure games that should be played by every fan of the genre. Unfortunatly, i dont count myself as a fan of the genre. I find the controls inherently immersion breaking for me, giving you control of the actual character in an adventure game immediatly makes the game better. Secret of Monkey island is unfortunatly not the case, and you are doomed to the main character slow pace and the repetition of dialogue if you press the same interaction twice. That said, it is a really funny game. I have played it about 2 years ago, and i still remember a lot of the jokes. It offers a sort of family friendly but witty sort of humour. Without wanting to spoil anything, there are quite a few 4th wall breaking moments that really had me laughing.

Unfortunatly to get to those good moments, you have to get through a few obtuse puzzles. I resorted to a guide whenever stuck, but being in that position in the sort of game this is only makes me frustrated and wanting to drop it. The puzzles arent solve by logic, they are solved by trial and error and this is a sign that their design is not all that good. Again this is a major pet peeve i have with everysingle point and click out there, and to be fair this game isnt one of the worst that does this. Which is a shame, because the stories and writing in these sort of games is some of the best out there. its a game i would recommend for anyone who is into wacky humour over gameplay.
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Threntall 2016-06-22T19:38:02Z
2016-06-22T19:38:02Z
3.5
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Catalog

nbatman The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-28T03:14:41Z
2024-03-28T03:14:41Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
plan to play
clough11 The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-27T12:54:11Z
2024-03-27T12:54:11Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
WalluWaan The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-22T10:39:19Z
2024-03-22T10:39:19Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Meuner The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-22T03:09:34Z
2024-03-22T03:09:34Z
4.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Point and click
Sikila The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-14T01:29:39Z
2024-03-14T01:29:39Z
4.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
bgnd The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-13T06:59:23Z
2024-03-13T06:59:23Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
TotemDF The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-13T06:38:51Z
Windows
2024-03-13T06:38:51Z
85-89
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
eliottstaten The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-11T01:21:36Z
2024-03-11T01:21:36Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Vloflo The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-09T10:21:40Z
PS3
2024-03-09T10:21:40Z
4.0
1
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Steam
willoverdoseonmusic The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-06T23:02:01Z
2024-03-06T23:02:01Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
V1ens The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-02T18:45:40Z
2024-03-02T18:45:40Z
2.5
1
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Kremling98 The Secret of Monkey Island 2024-03-02T17:08:48Z
2024-03-02T17:08:48Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Player modes
Single-player
Media
8x Floppy 3.5"
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  • Previous comments (6) Loading...
  • darklink20001 2020-01-21 01:09:51.077796+00
    maybe a little overrated? i dunno, i played the special edition which looks decent but doesnt have the same charm as other classic lucasarts games. i wouldve played with the og graphics but the voice acting wasnt there.
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    • davidraccoon 2023-10-28 06:32:15.602486+00
      I agree. Good but very overrated.
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  • darklink20001 2020-01-21 01:10:53.732062+00
    still a really solid game but doesnt stick with me like grim fandango day of the tentacle or sam and max. im thinking ill like some of the sequels more
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  • to_noid_or_not_to_noid 2021-08-25 20:22:51.364699+00
    “Rubber Tree!”
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  • VariousThings 2022-04-02 00:42:13.245147+00
    It's a shame that the Special Edition doesn't let you combine the classic graphics with the talkie audio. :(
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  • 3zz3zz3zz3 2022-05-02 08:20:41.986859+00
    can anyone else admit that the endgame taking place particularly in the monkey island is the most painful part of every game in the series (except for mi3 i guess). forever walking........boulders........ anyway i love these games so much
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  • Fiddlesticks 2022-06-08 04:17:38.717669+00
    @VariousThings The Secret of Monkey Island Ultimate Talkie Edition might be what you're looking for!
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  • CheCapitalista1955 2022-07-10 04:31:11.245864+00
    Overrated? No. This is one of the Best games in the Story. But if you take it serious is hard yo understand why.
    reply
    • funkacademy 2022-09-13 17:11:41.602841+00
      hide Removed by mod
      This post was removed by a site moderator.
    • ... 2022-10-29 05:40:26.168482+00
      hide Removed by mod
      This post was removed by a site moderator.
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  • RawheatC 2022-09-23 13:04:15.065525+00
    Played this years ago before my brain was fully developed and I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to be doing, let alone understand any of the humour. Gotta try it again at some point.
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