Return to Monkey Island Review (Switch)

It still seems barely believable that this game actually exists. As long time Monkey island fans we have played through the original four games, the two remakes and even the episodic series, so to have another full entry arrive is as wonderful as it is surprising. Even when we were reviewing Thimbleweed Park and Broken Age it never really even crossed our minds that a new Monkey island would even be possible at some point in the future. But here we are. No pressure on the team then!

For those new to the series, the games follow Guybrush Threepwood, a wimpy aspiring pirate who continually clashes with the ghost pirate LeChuck as he searches for the Secret of Monkey Island. The opening menu will get you up to date as it gives you access to a scrap book where players can have the previous four main Monkey Island games explained to them through a host of amusing anecdotes told by Guybrush.

After choosing to play on hard or casual (which removes key chains in the puzzles that need to be solved), you’ll be thrown into the game seemingly at the end of the Monkey Island 2. After a genius resolution on how that game ends you’ll then embark on your new quest in what is about as traditional a point and click adventure as you can get these days.

In terms of the new graphics style it has a paper/card element to the design which is similar to something like Tearaway or a sort of digital pop up book. It works really well and adds to the feel of an old tale being told with players sort of moving through the pages. It also helps to make the environments looks absolutely stunning at times.

Presentation mimics much of the original games with it playing out over what essential amounts to a 2D set of screens. Each screen has point of interest for you to interact with and you can select these by pushing the analogue stick or have Guybrush walk close to them in order for them to highlight.

Puzzles are solved by finding and combining objects and then taking them to where they need to be used. An early example of this is needing to get hold of a key to open a door. Here you’ll need to find a magnifying glass to read the lock serial number then take the number to a lock smith to have them make you a new key. Exactly how many steps each puzzle has depends on if you are playing on casual or hard.

The puzzles throughout are of an excellent standard and carry on the tradition of players needing to think outside the box but not descending into the trope of needing to try everything in your inventory on everything else in the hope that something works. There is a kind of strange logic that runs through the game (and the series), and it remains consistent throughout.

Much of the early part of the game will be familiar to long time fans as many of the locations from the first game are back with the initial section set exclusively on Melee island. It’s great to see the original screens recreated here and a fair few of the jokes play on what has or hasn’t changed. While the game is welcoming to new fans there is certainly a lot to be gained from being familiar with the other games as well as nostalgia plays a big part in much of the dialogue.

Overall, Return to Monkey Island is better than we could have ever hoped for. It can happily sit alongside the other games in the series and may have hopefully shown there is life to get another game or two going, or at least get the HD remakes on the Switch. It’s an essential experience for those who have grown up with the series, but it is also welcoming to newcomers and will likely create a lot of new fans as well. Maybe there isn’t anything here quit as genius as insult sword fighting but the writing is great, the puzzles are clever and the audio work is second to none.

Overall 8/10

Twelve Games The Vita Still Needs

The Vita has found homes for a ton of new indie games recently, which has seen it's popularity within certain parts of the gaming community reach almost legendary levels. Before this, it was home to some excellent ports which drew many fight fans to it. It's certainly come a long way, but to our mind there is still much to do. Below are twelve games we think would be a perfect fit for the Vita.

     Super Street Fighter IV AE

For us, this is the single most obvious game currently missing from the Vita’s library. Still played heavily across the various online networks, a portable version of Street Fighter IV would be an essential purchase for many. Add in the idea of cross play with the PS3 and it suddenly becomes a case of sheer madness that every Vita owner isn’t playing it right now.

  Journey

Just imagine what Journey would look like on that screen. Imagine you were having a bad day at work or stuck on a train. Having Journey available would act as the perfect panacea for everyday problems. Could this game aid world peace? We won’t know unless someone gets it onto the Vita. Flower is currently in development so hopefully this may happen sometime in the not too distant future.

      Pixel Junk Shooter 1 and 2

 Pixel junk Shooter’s inertia based gameplay was a breath of fresh air when it first graced the PS3. The use of liquids to solve puzzles coupled with excellent level design and an amazing soundtrack sets it out as one of the best exclusives available on Sony’s system. If it had been developed now we suspect it may well have been cross buy but that is no reason not to get it onto the hand held system.  While we’re on the subject it would be great to see Pixel Junk Side Scroller on the Vita as well.

  King of the Fighters XIII

A favourite around Retro101, we would love to see the latest entry in the King of Fighters series make the move to portable. Street Fighter X Tekken and Marvel vs Capcom 3 show that multi character fighters can work on the system and this is better than both of those games. It may be a little passed the home system release but a spruced up version would certainly lend itself to hours of portable fighting.

   Xcom: Enemy Unknown

How can there be an iOS version of this being developed and not one for the Vita? The deep strategy and turn based gameplay is a perfect fit for portable play. While other games on this list may seem like pipe dreams we are astounded this isn’t already in development. We could see this as a system seller to certain gamers and if done well could show that AAA portable strategies titles have a future on the system.

     Super Meat Boy

This may be an unrealistic request but having Super Meat Boy available on the move could well turn out to be a system seller. The short sections of twitch gameplay perfectly fit a hand held system like the Vita. The only real problem would be the amount of handhelds flung across rooms and trains as you die on a level for the hundredth time.

      Dust: An Elysian Tail

To us, the Vita actually seems like Dust’s natural home. The gorgeous 2D graphics would come to life on the systems screen and its Metroidvania approach would fit perfectly with gamers on the go. It’s also one of the best digital games of the last year. We already have a version of Muramasa: The Demon Blade coming, but Dust is a different animal and deserves to be given the portable treatment. 

     Persona 4 Arena

With Persona 4 Golden available and acting to shift more Vitas than ever before it would be logical to assume that new fans and old would like to continue on the story. We already know the Vita can pull off amazing versions of flashy 2D fighting games so bringing the excellent Persona 4 Arena to it wouldn’t seem like a massive leap of faith to us.

   Mark of the Ninja

Speaking of massive leaps of faith, even though Mark of the Ninja seems to be staying put on the Xbox it would be an excellent game to have on the go. The level design and clear visual asthetic would create a great stealth experience on Vita. It would provide a type of game currently not available to Vita owners and above all is just an incredibly good game. If something could be worked out to get hold of it we would be first in line to buy.

   Geometry Wars

The only half decent portable version of Geometry wars is currently on the DS. The Vita could produce something visually and sonically special to equal the excellent Geometry Wars 2 on the Xbox. The clean visual style would seem even more vibrant on the screen and competition around the globe would likely go crazy as online scoreboards began to erupt with stupidly high scores. How can this not happen?

   Monkey Island / Broken Sword

If they can develop HD versions of both Monkey Island games for iOS there is no reason for them not to be on the Vita as well. Machiarium proved that point and click games can be done really well on the system so it would be great to see games like Broken Sword and Monkey Island make the leap. Who knows? It might even help kick start the genre again. 

REZ

Sega’s first foray into moving it’s Dreamcast games onto the Vita was a little shaky with Jet Set Radio looking great but not really fitting the strengths of the system. REZ on the other hand would be amazing. The visuals and sound would light up the Vita and it seems to the most obvious game from Sega’s recent move into HD versions of Dreamcast classics. If the boat has sailed on REZ then would happily settle for Child of Eden instead.

The Secret of Monkey Island Review (PC)

Back in 1990, the point and click adventure had a cult following, mostly fuelled by Sierra's Quest series and a few oddball adventures from Lucasfilm Games (now Lucasarts). Ron Gilbert's Maniac Mansion had captured the imagination of gamers with its oddball approach to the graphic adventure by offering a dose of comedy, strange characters and exploding hamsters. But Gilbert had an idea that would make Lucasfilm Games a major player in the genre. Along with Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman he would conjure a story of a wannabe pirate, a spectral villain, a beautiful Governor and a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle all combined to make one of the finest games of all time.

The title screen, showing the Island in its entirety, is combined with a fantastic MIDI score that lets you know you're in for something special. It's like the opening sequence of a movie (something rarely seen in games of its time), and when you are first handed control of Guybrush Threepwood, the comedic tone is set instantly as you talk to the island's blind lookout. Straight away the player is sucked in, and wants to see how the story plays out.

The plot concerns the aforementioned Guybrush on his quest to become a pirate. He has a lot going for him (not least his ability to hold his breath for ten minutes), and almost every line that comes from his mouth is a classic. But it's the other citizens you encounter that really make the game. The hook handed Meathook with his talking tattoos, used ship salesman Stan, the swashbuckling Governor Marley, ghost Pirate LeChuck, the fruit-headed cannibals, I could go on. You want to talk to everybody, explore every conversation tree until all dialogue is exhausted, afraid that you'll be missing out on another golden comedy nugget.

Dialogue is not only used for the purpose of characterisation and story, it's also used for the legendary insult sword fighting. By learning insults and their responses, Guybrush is able to build up a dialogue tree of putdowns in order to take on the sword master of the Island, offering a refreshing and hilarious alternative to violence seen in many games (even Mario kills his enemies, you know). It fits in so well with the feel good vibe of the game, and even today, many fans will trade gibes with each other ("You fight like a dairy farmer", "How appropriate, you fight like a cow" being a particular favourite).

Of course, a large part of the graphic adventure is the puzzles, and Monkey Island's range from something as simple as using a cooking pot as a crash helmet to cooking a dish that'll knock Guybrush out for several days. The inventory is full of McGuffins and puns (the red herring being an early example) and each is worth looking at (such as the compass Stan gives you. It always points to his showroom). Even with such a bizarre miscellany, the puzzles remain fairly logical (something the second game would often stray from), but you may still find yourself a little perplexed at times.

All this gushing praise may smack of a reviewer overcome with a nostalgic buzz, misleading potential newcomers into a game that will be of little interest to them. That assumption would be wrong. Despite the game approaching its nineteenth anniversary, it still holds up today. The limited colour palette and low resolution may seem a little quaint, but still retains its charm and makes the world feel genuine.

The linear path progression that runs through all point and click adventures may seem the polar opposite of what gamers of today want, but to dismiss anything so well constructed and fun to play, for that reason, would be foolish. Ron Gilbert and his team (including many who would go on to create their own classics such as Tim Schafer) made a title so fresh, clever and laugh out loud funny that anybody who considers themselves a gamer simply must play it. It's as essential as a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle.

10/10

Written by Dan Gill