The Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition

For anyone who has been playing games for a long time, you surely know the name Guybrush Threepwood.  The mere mention of the strange name takes you instantly back to the wonders of the SCUMM Bar, and the even more secretive Monkey Island.  For those that played this game in the early 90’s (or even later on some of it’s newer incarnations) there were few greater joys than following this point and click adventure full of pirates and big laughs.

I felt a little bit like a fanboy when I heard that the game was coming to the app store.  I had to call my kids right away and tell them (they’ve all gone through the adventure a few times), and we all waited for it to arrive.

Finally it’s here and all of us went to our separate locations to play through the game.  Not the type of family bonding that Norman Rockwell would have painted about, but we’re happy with it.

The Secret Of Monkey Island has always held a special place for me.  Here you have a game with all the elements for a great story.  Guybrush Threepwood decides he wants to become a pirate and after a spending some time in the SCUMM Bar sets off to learn all the skills he needs.  The game has swordfights and treasure hunts, peril and pirates, humor and romance, and, of course, a secret that must be discovered.  Basically this is the gaming equivalent of “The Princess Bride”.

LucasArts did an amazing job putting everything together.  For one thing this is pretty close to a straight port from the 1990’s classic.  But it has gone a pretty major face-lift.  All new artwork has been created and it looks amazing.  There is a very fun and fanciful look to everything and it really pops on the screen.

And while the art is amazing your eyes, the sound will grab a hold of your ears.  The music for the game has been completely re-done… Now don’t get too riled up just yet, it’s not “new” music, it’s the same music but now recorded with real instruments!  The sound is rich and very fulfilling.  There are also some very good voice actors who bring the characters to life.

It’s a big improvement, and a bigger win for fans.  But, just in case you want to really relive things, you can swipe across the screen and play the game in all its classic glory.  I didn’t even know this when I bought it (didn’t read the descriptions) and only stumbled on it by accident, I thought something was wrong until my daughter pointed it out to me.  Now I go back and forth all the time just to see the differences.

But keep in mind, Monkey Island, is a straight point and click game.  I thought that would mean that the touch screen would be used more like a… well… touch screen.  But LucasArts decided to have you use your finger more like a mouse and move a cursor around the screen.  This was really a bummer at first for me, but after a while it wasn’t too big of a deal and the controls became more second nature.  But to keep the controls in mind when you first play.  They’ll just take a little time to feel right for you.

One thing that did get to me a bit was the small writing and the font used.  Sure, most of the time you’re hearing the stuff so it doesn’t matter, but there are times when you do have to read the copy and it’s very hard to do in this game.  And it also takes you out of the game to see the trademark symbol after some of the words.  Lastly some people might find the buttons a bit small to use.  Everything is compacted together and those with big fingers might not have a full on enjoyable time of it.

But a few little bits of nitpicking have not stopped my enjoyment of the game in the least.  The Secret Of Monkey Island is almost 20 years old and still stands as an example of what gaming should be.  The game itself could be a textbook in a gaming class.  I am now looking forward to LucasArts bringing out their other adventures to the app store… please… pretty please.

Don’t hesitate… Take your iDevice on the adventure of its life.  Join Guybrush and see what the Secret of Monkey Island is all about.  I’m talking about both the actual secret and the game.  It’s a can’t pass for anyone who enjoys swashbuckling comedy romances!

The Good

Talk About A Great Trip Down Memory Lane!

New Artwork & Sound Are Awesome

You Can Play Classic Mode If That’s Your Wish

Almost 20 Years Old And It’s Still Better Than 90% Of What’s Out There

The Bad

Controls Take A Lot Of Getting Used To

Subtitles & Menu Items Are Small

Now I Want All The LucasArts Games!

This Video is from the German Version. USA Version has English Text

Related posts:

1. Secrets of the Mysterious Island: Adventure to the fullest
2. Return to Mysterious Island Review
3. Monkey Bash Review

Category: Games