Monkey Island

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Monkey Island
Monkey Island Logo.svg
Logo of the series
developer LucasArts
Telltale Games (2009)
Publisher LucasArts
Telltale Games (2009)
Designer Ron Gilbert , Tim Schafer
First title The Secret of Monkey Island (1990)
Last title Tales of Monkey Island (2009)
Platform (s) u. a. Amiga , iOS , macOS , Mac OS Classic , Microsoft Windows , MS-DOS
Genre (s) Adventure
information Remakes of the first two parts were released as special editions in 2009 and 2010 .

Monkey Island [ ˈmʌŋki ˈaɪlənd ] is a five-part graphic adventure series based on an idea by Ron Gilbert , who was also instrumental in the development of the first two parts before he left LucasArts in the early 1990s. The first part was published by Lucasfilm Games in 1990 . The player slips into the role of the pirate candidate Guybrush Threepwood and has humorous adventures in the Caribbean during the heyday of piracy . Despite the harsh environment, the game is completely non-violent, which is expressed, among other things, in the fact that the action can only be advanced or delayed by solving puzzles. This fact does not affect the fact that the everyday violence in the game is humorously exaggerated and corrupted . Ron Gilbert's sources of inspiration for Monkey Island were the Disneyland attraction Pirates of the Caribbean and Tim Power's book In Stranger Tides . The book inspired the story and characters, while the Disney attraction defined the ambience.

The games in the series

chronology

* Escape from Monkey Island is the only title that got a German translation of the title.

Important characters

Guybrush Threepwood

Appearances: The Secret of Monkey Island , Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge , The Curse of Monkey Island , Escape from Monkey Island , Tales of Monkey Island

Guybrush Ulysses Threepwood is the hero (or antihero ) of the computer game series. The player guides his character through the individual scenes. He dreams of a pirate life, but is one of the most atypical pirates in the Caribbean.

The name can be derived from the naming of your original graphic file. The name of the file was guybrush.bbm (and not, as often touted guy.brush ), which in the ordinary course for animated graphics extension of the program Deluxe Paint revealed. The name was simply adopted in the end.

Ghost pirate LeChuck

Appearances: The Secret of Monkey Island , Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge , The Curse of Monkey Island , Escape from Monkey Island , Tales of Monkey Island

LeChuck is an undead pirate and in all five parts the opponent of the hero Guybrush Threepwood. Its shape changes from game to game. In the first part he is the ghostly appearance of his former living self, in the second part a zombie and in the third a demon with a beard of flames. In Escape from Monkey Island , his shape alternates between his appearances in the first three parts, as well as that of the governor's candidate Charles L. Charles. In Tales of Monkey Island , it temporarily regains its human form.

LeChuck has psychic abilities and, as the undead, has mastered black magic. He won this - and his current existence - while searching for the secret of Monkey Island when he exposed himself to the power of Big Whoop. LeChuck's dearest wish is to marry Governor Elaine Marley and to make life as short and torturous as possible for his rival Guybrush.

Elaine Marley

Appearances: The Secret of Monkey Island , Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge , The Curse of Monkey Island , Escape from Monkey Island , Tales of Monkey Island

Elaine Marley serves as governor of the various games on various islands ( Mêlée Island , Booty Island and Plunder Island ). She meets Guybrush in the first part, falls in love with him and marries him at the end of the third part. Elaine is a strong-willed woman who knows how to actively intervene in events and how to free Guybrush from dangerous situations. She is the granddaughter of former Governor HT Marley, one of the discoverers of Big Whoop's treasure, which has been lost for years.

The voodoo lady

Appearances: The Secret of Monkey Island , Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge , The Curse of Monkey Island , Escape from Monkey Island , Tales of Monkey Island

The Voodoo Lady is a recurring character in all previously released Monkey Island episodes. She always has advice on hand for Guybrush whenever supernatural elements interfere with his adventures. In the fifth part it is suggested several times that she is largely responsible for everything bad that happened to Guybrush or LeChuck, as well as that she intends to bring LeChuck back into the realm of the living.

Herman Toothrot / Horatio Torquemeda Marley

Appearances: The Secret of Monkey Island , Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge , Escape from Monkey Island

Herman Toothrot is an old castaway who runs into Guybrush at times during his adventures. It is characteristic of him that he often runs around without pants and gives strange, confusing or evasive answers to questions. In addition, he often breaks through the fourth wall , addresses the player directly and makes fun of Guybrush.

In the fourth part it turns out that he is actually Elaine's missing grandfather HT Marley, who was once the governor of Mêlée Island. Towards the end of the fourth part he takes this office again.

Stan

Appearances: The Secret of Monkey Island , Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge , The Curse of Monkey Island , Escape from Monkey Island , Tales of Monkey Island

Stan is a recurring and very enterprising character on the series. In the first part he is a used ship dealer and sells Guybrush the ship with which he comes to Monkey Island. In the second part he runs a funeral home, in which he is locked in a coffin by Guybrush during the course of the game, from which he is also freed again by Guybrush in the third part of the series. He then tries his hand at an insurance broker, but is cheated by Guybrush shortly afterwards. In Monkey Island 4, Stan sells time- share properties and gave up his insurance business because there was nothing to be earned with them. In Tales of Monkey Iceland Stan lawyer has become and directs an indictment on several counts against Guybrush, he also sold outside the courtroom souvenirs to this "trial of the century", as he calls himself. In addition, the late cook Rapp Scallion mentioned “Stan's used kitchen supplies” in the second part. In addition to his business acumen, Stan is characterized by his blue checked jacket, his large hat and his wild gestures with his arms while he talks.

Murray

Appearances: The Curse of Monkey Island , Escape from Monkey Island , Tales of Monkey Island

Murray is a talking skull who first appeared in Monkey Island 3 after Guybrush sank LeChuck's skeletal army. In the further course, Guybrush encounters the skull again and again. Murray's urge to evil is characteristic. For example, when Guybrush tells him he is no more scary than a doorstop , Murray replies, "Is it a really bad looking doorstop?" At Monkey Island 4, Murray is the doorman of the Planet Threepwood restaurant. In the fifth part, Guybrush meets the skull in the belly of a manatee again.

Typical elements of the series

Islands

Each of the games takes place on fictional islands in the Caribbean, but mainly in the so-called "three-island kingdom" archipelago . In addition, the eponymous island Monkey Island and its side island Dinky Island have been visited since the first game . In the successors, the islands of Scabb Island , Booty Island , Phatt Island , Plunder Island , Blood Island , Skull Island , Lucre Island and Jambalaya Island [ ˌdʒæm.bə.ˈlaɪə ] ( listening ? / I ) were sailed. Audio file / audio sample

Libel fencing

The insult fencing appears when second in different forms, in all parts of the series, except for the. In the first part, Guybrush Threepwood learns fencing from General Smirk. He improves his skills by challenging various other pirates to fight in order to finally defeat the swordmaster of Mêlée Island. The fighting method got its name because during the fight insults have to be spoken against the opponent, who then has to counter with the correct answer. Guybrush can only use the insults and responses if they have already been used against him. In the third part, a variant comes into play that is played on the sea. The answers to the insult must also rhyme here. In the fourth part, the version of the third part is modified to the insult arm pressing, here Guybrush can pronounce all the insults and answers required from the start. In addition, the principle of insult fencing is used indirectly in the Monkey Kombat , in which Guybrush uses insults in monkey language. It is also possible to challenge Ozzi Mandril to insult fencing. In the fifth part it only appears in a short sequence in which Guybrush has to fight two opponents at the same time. In addition, there will be a grimace competition for the first time, in which the aim is to combine different facial expressions into the most creative grimace possible in order to surpass the opponent's. Similar to insult fencing , Guybrush first has to collect various facial expressions by looking at those of other pirates or paintings or sculptures.

voodoo

Voodoo magic plays a major role in all parts. Both LeChuck and the Voodoo Lady often use some voodoo spells. In the first part, Guybrush has to brew a magic potion that automatically puts the ship on course for Monkey Island while the entire crew is put into a deep sleep. In addition, the navigator's head has a voodoo chain that makes the wearer invisible to ghosts. In the second part, voodoo dolls in particular have an important function. You can learn the recipe for making these dolls from the voodoo lady. Later on, they also have an impact on the end of the storyline. As a gag, Guybrush finds a paper voodoo doll in the third part, as well as some in the voodoo lady's shop in the fourth part on Mêlee Island. Other striking examples of the application of voodoo are in the third part the voodoo ball, with which LeChuck intends to transform himself into a living person, and in the third and fourth part the transformation of Elaine and LeChuck into a statue.

Malt beer

Malt beer made from a rare voodoo root plays a role in all Monkey Island parts as it is a secret weapon against LeChuck. In the American original, the drink is root beer , which is not identical to malt beer. However, there is no German equivalent for root beer, as it is hardly known in German-speaking countries. The translator of the first Monkey Island part into German, Boris Schneider-Johne , deliberately chose Malzbier as the translation for Root Beer, because “Malzbier in Germany expresses exactly what is meant by Root Beer, namely the exact opposite of real Beer. A children's drink. ”In the following parts this translation was used more and more.

Running gags

Numerous running gags are used in the game. The three-headed monkey is relatively well known . Since Guybrush in the first part of Otis with the sentence “Behind you! A three-headed monkey! ”, Guybrush often uses this phrase as a distraction. In the first part of the series, the monkey actually appears twice, but both times it is not noticed by anyone except Guybrush. If Guybrush wants to introduce himself or is asked to do so, the player can always use the phrase “I am Guybrush Threepwood, a powerful pirate”. In addition, in the first conversation with other characters it is always possible to offer leather jackets for sale. For this, the player has the phrase "I'm selling these fine leather jackets." This phrase appears in other LucasArts games and is a reference to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade . Another allusion to Indiana Jones is an X to mark the location of a treasure, as well as recurring references to the fact that an X has never marked the location of a treasure in history. The sentence from the first part “You fight like a stupid farmer” and the counterattack “How appropriate, you fight like a cow” are used as insults; this is often taken up and parodied in such a way that in the most unsuitable situations it is available with a certain regularity as an answer option in conversations with other characters .

In addition, Guybrush very often claims that he can hold his breath underwater for ten minutes, which he even proves. Another characteristic that was often expressed in later parts is his disgust for porcelain and the color pink.

References to movies and other games at Monkey Island

References to Indiana Jones can be found in the games in the series . In the first part, when you open a chest on LeChuck's ghost ship, as well as in the second part after swinging a grappling hook, the title motif of the music by Indiana Jones, composed by John Williams , is heard . When Guybrush climbs out of a chest full of snakes in LeChuck's Revenge , he says, “I hate snakes!” In a pirate shop on Booty Island, you can even find Indiana Jones' whip on sale, but this is not for sale. The Phatt Island library has a number of titles in the index that relate to the Indiana Jones movies or games, such as a book by Indiana Jones' father that explores the question of whether there is the ark of the covenant or it is just an ancient myth. On Phatt Island, Guybrush has to take a book off the stomach of an overweight governor and at the same time replace it with another without waking him up. Guybrush uses exactly the same tactics as Indiana Jones at the start of Raiders of the Lost Ark . Furthermore, if Guybrush is caught in a place where he shouldn't be, the player has the phrase "I sell fashionable leather jackets like this one." - an excuse given by Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is used in similar situations. On Dinky Island, Guybrush finds a phone booth he can use to call LucasArts and asks when Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis will be released. When Guybrush wants the diamond ring from smugglers' hands in the third part of the series, he uses the phrase “the diamond belongs in a museum!”, Based on Indy's saying from Indiana Jones and the last crusade . Guybrush can utter a similar quote in The Secret of Monkey Island when he is caught stealing the idol.

At the end of Monkey Island 2 there is a parody of Star Wars when Guybrush is asked by LeChuck, who is wounded on the ground, to remove his mask in order to see his real face. Previously, the sentences "I am your brother" and "Recognize your feelings, you know that it is true". In addition, in part 4 of the series, in one of the backgrounds of the swamp, you can see the shape of an X-Wing, similar to the spaceship with which Luke Skywalker crashed in Master Yoda's swamp.

As in many LucasArts adventures of the time, the characters from the adventure Sam & Max are parodied in the first three parts of Monkey Island . In the first part you find strange sacrificial figures in front of the monkey's head on Monkey Island. One of them shows Max on the shoulders of Sam. In the 2009 published The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition version, however, the statue was replaced by a figure of the purple tentacle from Day of the Tentacle , as LucasArts owns the rights to Sam & Max lost to the creator Purcell. In the second part there is a Max rabbit costume in the costume shop in Booty Island. In the third part you find Max playing around with the lighting in Plunder Island in the theater. Various attractions (Bruno, Trixie etc.) from Sam & Max can also be found in the third part in the amusement park on Monkey Island in the background.

In addition, there is a reference to LOOM in the first and second part of Monkey Island . In the first part, the allusion is much more of a kind of advertisement. If you speak to a pirate on the far right in the SCUMM bar in the anteroom, you will see the figure "Cobb", a henchman from the LOOM adventure. Since he has a button on his shirt that says "Ask me about LOOM", you can ask him about it. If you do this, the game starts to tell you about the game and the word <Advertising> flashes in the selection menu under the picture. After you were shot down with a cannon by the Fettucini brothers in the circus, you can answer the question about your own well-being with the words: "I'm Bobbin, are you my mother?" In the kitchen of the SCUMM-Bar you can also find the seagull from LOOM. It was completely adopted in its graphics and animation. Instead of the mussel, however, it eats a fish in Monkey Island. In the second part, the seagull from LOOM only appears in difficult mode. She is sitting on a pile of papers in a tree house on Booty Island. In the credits ("credit") of both games, the manufacturers thank you for lending you the Möwe (and Cobb in the first part).

In the third part, a deceased chicken restaurant visitor also wears a button with the inscription: "Ask me about Grim Fandango". Grim Fandango was released almost a year after Monkey Island 3, and the restaurant visitor also bears a striking resemblance to the main character of the game.

reception

The first part of the game series was largely well received by the critics. The magazine Power Play describes the plot of the game as funny and extensive, but due to the size of the game, changing disks is a bit annoying for players without a hard disk. The technical innovations were also praised, the background music was appropriate and atmospheric, the graphics were described by Eva Hoogh as "dreamlike". On the occasion of the 15th birthday of the game series, Christian Schiffer emphasized that the puzzles and characters of the game would enjoy unbroken popularity to this day, and that the game is still considered by some to be the best game of all time.

The second part was also largely praised. For example, Power Play was of the opinion that LeChuck's Revenge was even funnier than its predecessor, and the encounter with the characters in the first part was particularly emphasized. In addition, the puzzles are of a high level, the story interesting and exciting. The graphics are more colorful than those of the first part, but there are some pictures in which details are lost in a tangle of colorful pixels. Everything that is important for the plot can be easily recognized.

Tom Schmidt writes in Power Play about the third part that the humor quality is close to that of the first part, although the puns of the first part are missing during the battles of abuse. In his opinion, the graphics are confusing at the beginning, but you get used to it over time. Furthermore, the game length is a bit short, which is especially true for the last chapter. Nevertheless, the game is a milestone, just like its predecessors were.

The fun factor of Escape from Monkey Island was still there, but the controls of the game were criticized. This is not able to replace the comfort of the old mouse control, but after a while you can get used to it. Furthermore, the new 3D graphics, because of which one must initially fear that Monkey Island would have fallen into the mainstream , is referred to as " scurvy- arousing" among other things . The figures are distorted, strangely proportioned and alienated like a comic . About the choice of words in the dialogues it was noted that she was trying to restore the pun of the first parts, but during the battle of insult she seemed constructed again.

Some fans especially criticized the innovations in the games The Curse of Monkey Island and Escape from Monkey Island , in which Ron Gilbert was no longer involved. Telepolis editor Christian Schiffer writes that these two games would be considered decent adventure games, but still disappoint the fan base.

An animated film based on the Monkey Island material by director Steven Spielberg was planned, but did not get beyond the pre-production stage. Monkey Iceland was in 2014 by the independent theater company culture Reederei Halle (Saale) as trash comedy dramatized and in another season in the fall of 2015 resumed . The production was realized by means of a crowdfunding campaign.

Web links

Wikiquote: Monkey Island  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ron Gilbert: On Stranger Tides . Grumpy gamer. September 20, 2004. Retrieved April 17, 2006.
  2. ↑ The Secret of Creating Monkey Island - An Interview With Ron Gilbert, excerpt from LucasFilm Adventurer vol. 1, number 1, Fall 1990 ( English ) scummbar.com. June 16, 2004. Retrieved May 22, 2011: " [The POTC Ride] keeps you moving through the adventure, but I've always wished I could get off and wander around, learn more about the characters, and find a way onto those pirate ships. So with The Secret of Monkey Island (TM) I wanted to create a game that had the same flavor, but where you could step off the boat and enter that whole storybook world. "
  3. ↑ TelltaleGames.com: Tales of Monkey Island General Discussion ( Memento from September 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Interview with Boris Schneider-Johne on gamersglobal , July 6, 2009
  5. ↑ Power Play -Testbericht, January 1991
  6. ↑ ASM -Testbericht, February 1991
  7. ↑ a b Article on Telepolis on the 15th anniversary of The Secret of Monkey Island
  8. ↑ Power Play -Testbericht of January 1992
  9. ↑ Power Play -Testbericht, January 1998
  10. ↑ JavaJim review , November 2000
  11. ↑ netzwelt.de test ( Memento from April 26, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ Adventure-Treff .de: Numerous concepts for the Monkey Island film leaked. Retrieved May 16, 2019 .