EMI-ish tendencies and NPCs [spoilers]
So I really, really loved Launch of the Screaming Warhawl. Such excellence, Telltale! One of your best yet.
But I was wondering if anyone apart from myself cocked their eyes at some of the things introduced in the episode.
- Is Monkey Island in our world? I've always assumed it isn't, but then we have King Louis and the Voodoo Lady's lover wearing Spanish armor, and you have to wonder...I never thought the Caribbean was our Caribbean.
- Is anyone else worried about the EMI-ish...roots in the game? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing completely bad about that, but did anyone feel tha a reporter, or at least a reporter who talks like a New Yorkian, feels a tad out of place? Same about, err, Ninja Dave. Amusing, but I guess it was out of place.
- And finally, well...while I loved some of the characters like the Marquis, who I think may be one of my favourite characters ever, you have someone like, well, Winslow, who's just so bland. Some of the NPCs just didn't work. You have someone like McGee, who was hilarious because of his voice ("Me leg!"), but Winslow...I mean, he has potential but I don't see him becoming this super awesome supporting character the way Murray does, any other iconic background character I can think of (Ralph Wiggum, Butters Stotch, etc).
Otherwise I loved it, though, and man oh man has this game been worth every goddamn minute I've been waiting since 2000. Thank you, Telltale.
But I was wondering if anyone apart from myself cocked their eyes at some of the things introduced in the episode.
- Is Monkey Island in our world? I've always assumed it isn't, but then we have King Louis and the Voodoo Lady's lover wearing Spanish armor, and you have to wonder...I never thought the Caribbean was our Caribbean.
- Is anyone else worried about the EMI-ish...roots in the game? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing completely bad about that, but did anyone feel tha a reporter, or at least a reporter who talks like a New Yorkian, feels a tad out of place? Same about, err, Ninja Dave. Amusing, but I guess it was out of place.
- And finally, well...while I loved some of the characters like the Marquis, who I think may be one of my favourite characters ever, you have someone like, well, Winslow, who's just so bland. Some of the NPCs just didn't work. You have someone like McGee, who was hilarious because of his voice ("Me leg!"), but Winslow...I mean, he has potential but I don't see him becoming this super awesome supporting character the way Murray does, any other iconic background character I can think of (Ralph Wiggum, Butters Stotch, etc).
Otherwise I loved it, though, and man oh man has this game been worth every goddamn minute I've been waiting since 2000. Thank you, Telltale.
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Comments
I can see both sides of this.
1) Hmm, difficult to say if the MI caribbean is ours, it always seemed so seperate and otherworldly in many ways, so I agree that it's a bit weird when direct historical references are made. On the other hand, this has always been a thing of uncertainty and why couldn't it be an imaginary corner of the real world?
2) The games have always had anachronisms and cultural references, of course, but somehow in the earlier games they seemed less in-your-face. They weren't subtle, but it was more like 'this is a pirate world which happens to have some modern stuff in it' rather than 'this is a piratey version of the modern world'
I think possibly work could be done on the appropriate use of anachronisms but every time I think how out of place, say, the ninja doll seems, I remind myself that in the first game I was digging up T-shirts and handing out motivational literature, among other things.
3) Sort of agree that some of the characters were forgettable (I still can't remember some of their names, even), but I think the big players are yet to reveal themselves.
Like The grog machine, the cereal in the ship ( i can't remember the name) and the "I found the legendary treasure of Meleé island and all i got was this lousy t-shirt"-t-shirt in SMI.
Regardless, it's still a part of the Monkey Island canon. I think it's fair to say that a courthouse is fair game in a piratey universe though.
I liked Winslow... I think Winslow will be more involved than say, Guybrush's crew in SoMI, for example. I'm also wondering why neither Winslow or Marquis contracted the pox of LeChuck, especially since Winslow will be sailing across the infected Caribbean with Guybrush and Marquis will undoubtedly make another appearance.
I completely agree with this, the anachronisms and forth-wall breaking of the first couple of games added identifiable gags that were funny for their absurdity, whereas in Escape, for example, the entire game-world seems like one enormous anachronism and I think that detracts from the humor.
The Monkey Island Caribbean has always been an alternative, yet self-contained, take on the real 17th century world, so any historical references aren't too out of place in my opinion. However, as far as I can recall, the Marquis de Singe is the first character to actually be from/have knowledge of outside the Caribbean. No wait, I'm forgetting the Australian...
As for the Australian in EFMI, that particular character made me cringe greatly and not just for the stereotypical mannerisms and badly-done accent. Since the Australian landmass hadn't been colonized in the 17th century, it presented as an anachronism that, in my opinion, went way too far outside the box. Having a Grog Machine is one thing, having a poorly-done character from a country that doesn't exist yet is another.
As far as I can see, Tales of Monkey Island does things a lot better than EFMI, the Anachronisms aren't as thick as EFMI and the ones that are there seem fairly passive and not as intrusive into the piratey atmosphere as they were in EFMI.
I'd definitely go along with that. In EFMI the tone felt off all over the place, whereas the tone of TMI so far seems great, with just an occasional feeling of 'hmm.. not sure that fits, but I'll let it slide...'
To be fair, Nick Tate, who was the voice of Ozzie, is Australian. It's just playing on the over-the-top stereotype that's pretty prevalent in every American TV show and film. If you didn't like it, though, that's your opinion and fair enough.
I liked Winslow, too. I like how unflappably affable he was. After you blow him up he's all like 'well done, the ship is yours!' etc before signing off with 'And now if you'll excuse me I have some massive internal haemorrhaging to attend to...'
I guess they could have played up this side of his character a little more, to make it more obvious.
Yeah, I wondered about that too. What do you think, guys?
I'm not sure exactly why it made me cringe so much to interact with that particular character, it's not because I'm an Australian. The Team Fortress 2 Sniper is an example of a stereotypical Australian, but I find that character quite funny.
It probably has something to do with the amount of forced Australian references that the EFMI character makes. You can make a funny character that pokes fun at the Australians without making 400,000 references to marsupials and monotremes.
Yeah, but those are incidental, and far more subtle. The most extreme example of a sore thumb is the giant monkey robot from EMI, and there's nothing like that here; but characters like Nypperkin stand on thin ice.
Yeah, but have you forgotten any of the first three games' supporting characters? Those are pretty important. They make a game.
Edit: Whoops, double post.