Games

The Curse of Monkey Island

On to #3! The forthcoming Return will be a direct sequel to #2, so arguably I should've stopped there; but they've also said it doesn't erase #3–5 from canon, and definitely features characters and/or elements from those later sequels, so my plan is to just go ahead and play them all.

As for how long this one takes to complete (vs. the 6 hours it took me to finish each of the first two this time round), the save games don't have a timer here, so I'm keeping track of it myself. Therefore, I also have no idea which percentage I've (supposedly) completed. I'm into Part Two already, though, after just over an hour playing. That said, it feels like this game has to be longer — there's lots more stuff to look at, each with its own description (rather than the generic "nice" that was trotted out so often in MI2), and tonnes of dialogue options in every conversation; plus, really lengthy cut scenes. Unless the game itself is very short (which I don't remember it being), this has to have a longer playtime. (For what it's worth, a site I found called HowLongToBeat says the first two take 6½–7½ hours, while Curse takes 8–9½, so I may well be correct.)

Big aside...
I've not included re-play counts on these (like I do for film or TV rewatches) because the first two were Special Editions and it was the first time I'd played those remakes. But also, I'm really not sure how many times I've played any of these. The first two, at least twice each before these recent plays; Curse, I really can't remember if I only ever played it once or if I went back sometime. Looking ahead, I also can't remember if I only played Escape once or more (I feel like I did replay it at some point). I only become certain with the fifth game, Tales of Monkey Island, which was released in chapters, and I clearly remember only playing Chapter One. Plus, it's archived on this blog if I had forgotten.

Games

The Curse of Monkey Island
Past the combat and into Part 4 now, after another hour played. Whole new island, lots to do and explore and puzzle out next time.

The Room
Talking with someone about how much I'd been enjoying replaying Monkey Island, they recommended this iPhone game (it's available on other formats now), which it turns out is a decade old but had passed me by (like most games in the past 10 to 20 years, to be honest). So I downloaded it for the free trial, then bought the full game (only 89p), then finished it. Well, it shows how much I was enjoying it that I burned through it all so fast! Fortunately, there are sequels. They're each a little more expensive, so hopefully they'll last a little longer...

Games

The Curse of Monkey Island
Completed. Just under 7½ hours, so a bit longer than the first two took me in the end. Gotta say, the final cut scene is a bit disappointing. I guess there was some “the game is over, just get out of it” logic there, but considering how long some of the earlier ones were, it feels like we should be rewarded with a decent coda. Hey-ho, it’s hardly the end of the world.

Next: Monkey goes 3D in Escape.

Games

The Booze of Monkey Island
What's this? Another game I'm starting instead of continuing Syberia. Ah, but I also finished this one, because it's only short (it took me three hours, and that was with exploring most of the dialogue trees, which are extensive). And you can't complain about it's length, because it's free. And also unofficial — it's a fan game. But it's really good — the graphics are lovely (like a modern HD version of Curse) and, even more importantly, the humour is bang on. There are a few bugs and translation issues, but nothing that hinders gameplay. If you're a fan of Monkey Island, it's definitely worth playing... and soon, before the Disney lawyers learn about it and nuke it.

Games

The Curse of Monkey Island
Almost at the end now, I think (I'm into Part 5, which is the penultimate one, but I think each of the last two are quite short). At just under 6 hours of playtime now, I suspect by the end it won't have taken much (if any longer) to complete than the first two.

Games

Escape from Monkey Island

On to the fourth Monkey Island game; the last one I played in full, back when it came out, 22 years ago. 22 years! Jesus. Also, as I mentioned when I started Curse, I can't remember for sure if this is the second or third time I'm playing it — I feel like I did re-play it sometime, but I can't remember when. So, no re-play count for now.

First impressions? The then-current 3D graphics have aged much more poorly than the pixel art and cartoon styles of the first three games. It's not just the low poly counts and basic textures — the pre-rendered backgrounds feel much more sparse than the detail-packed drawn ones; and it changes camera angle far too often, which can be confusing. That's compounded by the keyboard-based controls (presumably designed to be controller-friendly for console ports), which are clunky. If you choose character-based navigation, it can be oddly confusing about which direction Guybrush will go in; but if it's camera based, that changes every time it switches angle, leading to you sometimes accidentally running in and out of a location repeatedly. Shame they didn't also include mouse support for PCs — it would be much nicer with good ol' point-and-click. Hopefully I'll get used to it as the game goes on...

Games

The Curse of Monkey Island
Just a bit more today — up to 5 hours playtime now, and it's clear there's plenty of game left to go.

The Room Two
Gonna try not to rush through this one quite so much!

Games

The Curse of Monkey Island
These last two parts aren't quite as short as I thought. They're hardly full parts, really, having only a couple of scenes each, but they are pushing up that final gameplay total.

Games

The Curse of Monkey Island

After 3½ hours total played, I'm into the ship combat / insult swordfighting section (aka Part 3).