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The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition Official Thread
- Thread starter Shard
- Start date
Bluemercury
Member
They should just release the wii version with the original vga graphics and the new voice from this supposed hi-def version....
Chris Remo
Member
Loom and The Dig are already available on Steam with their original voice acting and character sprites--it's the best of both worlds!methodman said:
Bluemercury
Member
Google said:
Thats the best way to discribe monkey island 1 and 2. 3 is still a fantastic game, although i didnt like monkey 4 at all and didnt even finished it.....
I'm not really sure if I agree with you or not about how Guybrush has turned out vs. how he used to be, but I absolutely agree with this.Chris Remo said:
I played Secret well, well after it had been released. Despite my long love for pirates, I somehow skipped over it as a kid (actually it's probably because my dad simply didn't randomly bring it home for me like he did Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, Fate of Atlantis, and some King's Quest and Space Quest games). But eventually I found my way there a couple years ago. It was kind of shocking how little I laughed. I expected so much more from the other LA games I'd played and from all the comments people made about how funny the game was. Not disappointed, mind you. Just shocked.
I still loved it. I still DO love it. But it was definitely not laugh-out-loud funny.
I also completely loved the first episode Tales of Monkey Island, and it WAS laugh-out-loud funny.
For whatever that's worth.
EDIT: I still need to get around to 2 and 3. ): I'll... skip 4, given the whopping one positive comment I've read about it amidst a sea of negativity.
Versipellis
Member
Sqorgar said:
Chris Remo said:
Sorry for quoting both posts, but I couldn't agree more with you.
And it's sad news for me to know that ToMI Guybrush is somewhat similar to CMI Guybrush...
I always hated how they made Elaine English, it didnt make sense to me and her voice actor was direct to dvd poor.
Also the games have got much lighter. From dark and black alleys of MI1 to incredibly bright and stupidly dumbed down "Piratey" that the latest games have. Its very sad to see so little thought in the newer games.. (see giant monkey robots from MI4)
Also the games have got much lighter. From dark and black alleys of MI1 to incredibly bright and stupidly dumbed down "Piratey" that the latest games have. Its very sad to see so little thought in the newer games.. (see giant monkey robots from MI4)
Chris Remo
Member
She herself was an adventurer, and she was elected governor by, presumably, pirates. She wasn't an installed colonial governor or something like that.Google said:
Chris Remo
Member
Well, she's English in Curse of Monkey Island and on, anyway.Google said:
Chris Remo said:
I must admit that I've never played that much of the Monkey Island series (I'm going to have to go SCUMM out my Monkey Island collection CD and actually FINISH these games), but I'm a bit surprised the revised artwork for the special edition completely changes the style of the first game. I know it makes it more like the later entries in the series, but the close up stills from the original were going for a "realistic" look...
Though I disagree with you on this (I still crack up when Guybrush holds up the bone in LeChuck, for instance), I saw an interview with Harold Raimis on Kotaku like a week back. He was saying that he thought that humor gets old quick - after you've heard a joke, it just isn't as funny the second time - but was surprised when he found out that people kept watching Ghostbusters over and over again. His conclusion was that people just wanted to revisit those characters and moments, not so much the one liners. I think he's absolutely correct. When you write a joke, you are creating a moment of fun that quickly passes. When you write a character, you are creating a memory worth revisiting.Chris Remo said:
Speaking from my own personal experience, writing a dumb goofy character is one of the easiest things in the world to do. I used to do a webcomic which required a joke pretty much every eight panels, but it was also a long running serial with about a thousand plot threads going on at any one time. As long as you have the dumb goofy guy around, you can spend 7 panels on plot and you'll always have a punchline waiting for you at the end, without fail. It's just so... convenient... to have that kind of character around.
In the game I'm writing for now, the main character is... well, he's kind of stupid, but he's also very snarky. In order to get decent jokes out of all the dialogues, I try to set up a sort of social inequality, but it differs from character to character. A dumb character is always at the bottom of the food chain - the NPC talks, and he prods for more info. But I've got a character who frequently talks to people he doesn't like, thinks are beneath him, dirty, characters who he looks up to and admires, and then there's some situations where he's being told what to do and he just flat out resents it. It's been really fun to write because not every dialogue option is a question about what to do next.
I think the original Guybrush is very much like that. He's not beholden to the personality of whatever character he is talking to. He has his own sort of internal Guybrush. He's condescending to Wally. He's smitten and confused with Stan. He shies away from Largo LeGrande. He's completely overwhelmed by Elaine. Sure, Guybrush has his fair share of being bamboozled and talked down to, but it wasn't the only thing he did. It's not just the same old conversation over and over again, but with a different face and vocation (with ToMI, a SLIGHTLY different face). I haven't played the original Monkey Island games in a decade, so I may be way off on this though.
The Lamonster
Member
DAY ONE
And I'm playing this in classic mode the whole time.
And I'm playing this in classic mode the whole time.
Versipellis
Member
That is one of the many things you get to hate in EfMI (painey said:
H.T. being Elaine's gramps, that is
Chris Remo is pretty much spot on with this.
I have to say though, I wouldn't group Secret of Monkey Island as much with LeChuck's Revenge. I actually think LeChuck's revenge has the most different "tone" and most different Guybrush in the series. Also the best game overall, and easily the most atmospheric.
LeChuck's Revenge and Curse are the two funniest in my opinion...LeChuck's revenge being more amusing and clever, while Curse being more laugh-out-loud funny.
Secret is great, but it always seemed to me to be a pale shadow of LeChuck's revenge (ad yes, I played them when they came out, and in order).
I have to say though, I wouldn't group Secret of Monkey Island as much with LeChuck's Revenge. I actually think LeChuck's revenge has the most different "tone" and most different Guybrush in the series. Also the best game overall, and easily the most atmospheric.
LeChuck's Revenge and Curse are the two funniest in my opinion...LeChuck's revenge being more amusing and clever, while Curse being more laugh-out-loud funny.
Secret is great, but it always seemed to me to be a pale shadow of LeChuck's revenge (ad yes, I played them when they came out, and in order).
The Lamonster
Member
Here's hoping to see MI2 next on XBLA/PC.
And then Curse but with no changes besides an HD cleanup.
And then Curse but with no changes besides an HD cleanup.
Chris Remo
Member
That's a very good point. In fact, it lends even more confidence to my suspicion that adding voice acting removed a lot of the tone. In text, Guybrush CAN be all of those things you describe, and he successfully is. Once you have to attach a voice to it, it's much, much harder to achieve that, especially if you're playing for laughs. All the lines have to work within the same basic tonal range, without being schizophrenic.Sqorgar said:
The Lamonster
Member
But did anybody really think this special edition would create tons of new fans? The vast majority of players and lovers of this edition will be fans of the classic.Chris Remo said:
Dominic does a great job in Curse and Dominic=Guybrush has been engraved in my mind since then, so it's just going to be icing on the cake.
Will he deliver some lines unlike the way I remember hearing them in my mind? Most likely. Will it still be awesome to hear Dominic recite all the classic lines? Absolutely!!
Chris Remo
Member
I don't know, but it will obviously be played by SOME new people, and those are basically the people I was initially addressing. (Obviously, the conversation got much more in-depth over the course of the thread.) Anything that pops up one of Steam's New Release windows or is highlighted on the front page of Xbox Live is guaranteed to grab new people. I've played plenty of Xbox Live remakes of old games that I never played on their original systems.The Lamonster said:
the first two (and especially 2) have a mysterious and otherworldly quality to them that curse, while still a great game, definitely lacks. in mi2 the world felt rich and enigmatic; finishing the game i felt like i had seen only the comical, absurd, even puzzling surface of a world that hinted at something much darker underneath, hidden behind the sardonic, cynical, yet sometimes naive humor and irony. most of this was absent from curse, in favor of a more goofy characterization of its characters and themes. don't get me wrong, i still loved curse but it never felt like it was set quite in the same universe.
Salmonax said:
Murray: I'm a powerful demonic force! I'm the harbinger of your doom! And the forces of darkness will applaud me as I STRIDE through the gates of hell carrying your head on a pike!
Guybrush Threepwood: Stride?
Murray: All right then, roll! ROLL through the gates of hell. Must you take the fun out of everything?
Geez, I hope so. I am constantly reminded that I am an old fart when it comes to LucasArts. I remember back when it was LucasFilm Games. I played Maniac Mansion when it came out. I watched the tv show. I was on Club Caribe, for heaven's sake. LucasFilm Games WAS my childhood. And these days... wow, the number of people who say they've never played Monkey Island and wonder if Tales is a good place to start (it's not) just makes my bones creak.The Lamonster said:
I've been trying to get my wife to play Monkey Island for a while now. I was hoping that a really big HD version of MI with voice acting would make it easier for her to finally play the damned game... and then discovered that it was only being released through Windows and Xbox Live, and she won't touch anything Microsoft with a ten foot pole
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
This looks so awesome.
800 points? F yeah . This is going to be my first Monkey Island game ever. Soooo excited.
Oh man, I want to play the game in 1080p with voice over. But I hate the main character's look, and I'm afraid the re-imagining will affect the overall classic experience. I hope reviewers address this matter.
. This is going to be my first Monkey Island game ever. Soooo excited. Oh man, I want to play the game in 1080p with voice over. But I hate the main character's look, and I'm afraid the re-imagining will affect the overall classic experience. I hope reviewers address this matter.
2 Monkey Island games in one week? Count me in - I'll be purchasing this on Steam as soon as I am able!
I'm almost a little disappointed at the lack of inane posts complaining about the Guybrush haircut, though. Thanks for keeping complaints about the graphics to something more logical than last time, guys!
I'm almost a little disappointed at the lack of inane posts complaining about the Guybrush haircut, though. Thanks for keeping complaints about the graphics to something more logical than last time, guys!
vodka-bull
Member
As vg247 reported, it will release on July 15 for 800 MS points. Hell yeah!
Minsc
Gold Member
Sqorgar said:Geez, I hope so. I am constantly reminded that I am an old fart when it comes to LucasArts. I remember back when it was LucasFilm Games. I played Maniac Mansion when it came out. I watched the tv show. I was on Club Caribe, for heaven's sake. LucasFilm Games WAS my childhood. And these days... wow, the number of people who say they've never played Monkey Island and wonder if Tales is a good place to start (it's not) just makes my bones creak.
I've been trying to get my wife to play Monkey Island for a while now. I was hoping that a really big HD version of MI with voice acting would make it easier for her to finally play the damned game... and then discovered that it was only being released through Windows and Xbox Live, and she won't touch anything Microsoft with a ten foot pole
Run Curse of Monkey Island through SCUMMVM on linux or whatever, GAF might not like it as much, but it's really an easy one to start at for someone who's new to adventure games. All the old ones run through scummvm on whatever os for that matter.
I agree with most of Chris's ponts. I started off with the series with the CD edition of Monkey Island and that got me into point 'n click adventure gaming. Loved the humor, the locales, the music (and oh how good that CD audio was), and the feeling you got when you solved a puzzled and opened up a new area.
Then right when i finished it I found out that LeChuck's Revenge had come out and quickly purchased that. I ended up loving it just as much as it was so much darker and more twisted than the original was. The only gripe I had was with the music which wasn't as good of quality as my SoMICD, but I still loved the haunting theme of the Zombie Pirate LeChuck (used to creep me out at the end of the game when you are trying to run away from him, collecting parts to finish him off). One of the things that always made the silent humor work in these games were the character speaking animations (something that will be lost in this special edition). The way the heads will bobble up and down really added to the goofiness of the early games. Hence the reason why I kidnapped Guybrush and turned him into my first avatar.
Many years later when I first saw Curse of Monkey Island in a PC gaming magazine my first thought was "OMG What did they do to Guybrush". He was tall, lanky and really dorky looking. Wasn't what I had in mind as what he should've looked like but at the same time it did look like a Guybrush. When I finally played the demo and heard the voice and saw his expressions I realized that, while it wasn't the Guybrush I was used too before, this one worked in its own way and I was fine with that. As for the game itself, I enjoyed it but couldn't help but feel there was something missing that the first two games had. Its scope was narrowed and didn't feel as epic and open as the previous entries. Also it seemed to have forgotten specific plot points from LeChuck's Revenge that kept me from taking it seriously as a sequel. On its own though, I thought it was a very well made game.
Then there was Escape...
Then right when i finished it I found out that LeChuck's Revenge had come out and quickly purchased that. I ended up loving it just as much as it was so much darker and more twisted than the original was. The only gripe I had was with the music which wasn't as good of quality as my SoMICD, but I still loved the haunting theme of the Zombie Pirate LeChuck (used to creep me out at the end of the game when you are trying to run away from him, collecting parts to finish him off). One of the things that always made the silent humor work in these games were the character speaking animations (something that will be lost in this special edition). The way the heads will bobble up and down really added to the goofiness of the early games. Hence the reason why I kidnapped Guybrush and turned him into my first avatar.
Many years later when I first saw Curse of Monkey Island in a PC gaming magazine my first thought was "OMG What did they do to Guybrush". He was tall, lanky and really dorky looking. Wasn't what I had in mind as what he should've looked like but at the same time it did look like a Guybrush. When I finally played the demo and heard the voice and saw his expressions I realized that, while it wasn't the Guybrush I was used too before, this one worked in its own way and I was fine with that. As for the game itself, I enjoyed it but couldn't help but feel there was something missing that the first two games had. Its scope was narrowed and didn't feel as epic and open as the previous entries. Also it seemed to have forgotten specific plot points from LeChuck's Revenge that kept me from taking it seriously as a sequel. On its own though, I thought it was a very well made game.
Then there was Escape...