Tales of Monkey Island

Developer : Telltale Games

Publisher : Telltale Games

Year : 2009

If there is one adventure series that holds a soft spot in my heart, it is the legendary Monkey Island of the famed Lucas Arts. There is probably a couple more now that I think about it, but Monkey Island is definitely up there with the best. Full of humor and memorable, lovable characters, it is a world that you can escape into to lose yourself in satire and adventure, and forget your problems. Seriously, I will even argue that it can teach you not to take yourself, and life (that) seriously. For that reason alone, it gets my love.

The serie's protagonist was Guybrush Threepwood, an adolescent, light-hearted (except the times when he ruins people's lives), and skinny, totally not intimidating boy, who for some reason wanted to be a mighty pirate. Besides his wits, optimism, and extremely persistent nature, he had no assets. Yet, he must have seen something in itself, because he managed to destroy the evil ghost-zombie-voodoo-pirate LeChuck three times, find the famed treasure named Big Whoop, and steal the heart of the beautiful Elaine Marley, daughter of the governor.

Each of the first three Monkey Island games were brilliant, from puzzles and sense of adventure to funny dialogues. I felt some disappointment with the fourth entry 'Escape from Monkey Island' (which was actually a commercial success), in which the humor felt uncharacteristically forced for me. Though it had some good puzzles, we are talking about legend stuff here, so the bar of standards was very high. So I was both excited, and worried to play the fifth installment of the series, 'Tales of Monkey Island'. Also the fuel to my worries was the fact that this time another company, 'Telltale Games' has designed the game. 

The game was actually released chapter by chapter during 2009, but since you can say that I was a bit late to the party, it was pretty complete by the time I played.

The JuJu is Back

The game has definitely rediscovered its humor, and mystical, adventurous atmosphere. The dialogues do not feel forced at all, and the characters feel like their usual selves, if slightly more mature. Telltale Games did understand what Monkey Island was all about, I am happy to say. It is also not afraid to experiment ; it introduces a couple of plot points never before seen in the series, and manages to add even more memorable characters that do not feel out of place with the already awesome staff, which includes the likes of villainous skull Murray, or the sleazy salesman Stan. The new characters Morgan Leflay and Marquis de Singe were especially well-made - they had personality, depth, and novelty. The voice actors were also perfectly chosen for the characters. Good job!

Gameplay

Now that we've found the spiritual side of the Monkey Island was back in form, let's analyze an equally important parameter - the gameplay, and the puzzles. Well, there is good and bad in these regards. At first I was highly put off with the easy interface, in which there are no various commands to select from. You can only click on an object, and if it is necessary, Guybrush will pick it up, and toss it into his physics defying pockets. If not, he will just comment on what it is or why it is of no use. In the inventory screen, you can only combine items, or use them on the outside world. I disliked this because I thought the game would be too easy that way. I quickly found I was wrong, however.

The game's puzzles are not difficult, but they are definitely not piece of cake either. Despite the simplified interface, and lack of complex commands, you surprisingly can't solve these puzzles without thinking, which is what the genre is all about. Another good news is there are no nonsensical or obscure puzzles. The puzzles all make sense (in a goofy world), and there are enough clues scattered around the game, which show up in forms of dialogue, or remarks from the protagonist. And some of the solutions are pretty creative, such as the voodoo sequence of the third chapter, which will probably remain one of my favorite puzzles in adventure games.

The Ugly

There is a real down side to the game. It feels very constricted. The places where you can go at any certain moment are very limited. Gone are the huge maps of the series, where you could travel all around a big world, and discover items, and solve puzzles in it. This is probably because of the fact that the game was released via chapters, so it is very linear, and each chapter feels like you are playing a demo of the game. 

This also makes the game easier, since you know the tasks you need to perform in order to progress the game is to be found in your immediate surroundings, so you never waste time with looking for the solution in the totally wrong side of the world. But still, I like the freedom of the old games more, particularly the second one, where you could hop from one island to the other in the same chapter. It is up to your tastes whether you think this is a blessing or a curse.

Final Verdict

Overall I liked what Telltale Games did with this game. Even though it is not as good as the first three installments, it is a worthy addition to the series. I am glad that my worries were proven to be unfounded. 

Note : Monkey Island series is still active in full form. Another game, Return to Monkey Island was released in 2022, and had a great reception. It is highly likely that we will see even more future Monkey Island games, and I am really glad for that.

Rating :  B-