What I hated about Monkey Island 2 is how they forced you to run back and forth between the 3 islands constantly. I can't think of any problems with Secret or Curse, and Escape suffered from horrible storyline issues, among other hideous problems.
Too early to judge TMI as far as I'm concerned, but I did love the first part, albeit a bit on the easy side. The first 1/5 of every MI game has been pretty ridiculously easy though, so who knows.
MI 1-2:
No voices, but you know what? if they had.. it wouldnt have been Dominic and I cant imagine anyone else being Mr. Brush... So I guess it worked out.
MI 3: It ended.
MI 4: Monkey Combat (shiver) plus at the end it left me feeling cold and empty because I honestly thought that it was the last time I would play a new MI adventure.
Tales: to be honest its using the same two faces for most of the supporting characters... I know they need to reuse stuff to save money but that seemed ridiculous.
MI-1-nothing(can't wait till 2morro 4 special)
MI-2-Loved every second especialy the ending
MI-3-ending was rushed
MI-4-Rewrote MI history and Monkey Kombat T_T but i still enjoy it and like the music
TMI-wont juge till finished it
Monkey Island 1
It doesn't have as many unique responses as the following games and modern adventure games. On a minor note, I noticed that the Voodoo Lady made the plot sound more dramatic than it actually ended up being. She said that Guybrush would find out things about himself and his world that would terrify him, but nothing of the sort happens.
Monkey Island 2
While it has a lot more depth gameplay wise, the story is flawed. I don't care for the gap between the first two games, and things start moving way too fast after you leave the second chapter. I ended up feeling like I had played 2/3 of the game instead of the whole thing. Your inventory also becomes way too crowded, making it difficult to tell what you should do next.
Monkey Island 3
The ending is arupt, though I don't think it's too bad as far as arupt endings go. The final confrontation is also underwhelming. I'm also disappointed that nothing came of El Pollo Diablo. Does he exist? Is there another explanation for the chickens? It's just akward.
Monkey Island 4
Monkey Island 4.
Narwhal
The interface is a bit clunky, the characters aren't unique enough, and I find the jungle puzzles annoying.
Monkey 4: I was really annoyed by the continuity errors:
First there is Herman Toothrot who simply can not be Elaine's grandfather. In Monkey 1 he got to MI on the Sea Monkey. The Logbook on the ship even speaks of a Herman, and he tells Guybrush he trained the monkeys to sail his ship back. In Monkey 3 LeChuck tells Guybrush he was responsible for the disappearance of Mr. Marley. And now Herman is supposed to be Mr Marley and was stranded there by Ozzie Mandrill? What about the Journey on the Sea Monkey? That's really doesnt Work in my opinion.
Then there is the problem with the Monkey Head. First you go down there and it is the entrance to a hellish cave, and the second time you go there it is a clean control room for a big monkey robot? How does that work? Monkey 3 still shows the lakes of Lava beneath the Monkey Head (in a cutscene after LeChuck built his Rollercoaster of Death).
I liked most of the Story, and Ozzi is also a great villain (although
See, I don't get people complaining about puzzle difficulty in an Adventure game and then listing it as a negative. That's the whole point of the genre. As long as the puzzles are logical (and having played through MI 1 & 2 several times, there isn't a single puzzle that isn't logical or that they don't outright explain in the game through dialogue or item descriptions), the harder the better. MI 2's puzzles are one of the strongest components about the game.
My thoughts on the series:
1. All the flaws of SoMI were fixed in MI 2, so I give it a break. It was the first game, they were testing waters, they took the experience and refined everything
2. Nothing.
3. Guybrush's character design (as well as a few other characters). The background art is fantastic, but Guybrush was butchered worse than in SoMI:SE.
4. Continuity errors.
5. Too easy and short and the island / inhabitants lacked the unique character found in previous games (hopefully will be addressed in future episodes).
Monkey Island 1
On a minor note, I noticed that the Voodoo Lady made the plot sound more dramatic than it actually ended up being. She said that Guybrush would find out things about himself and his world that would terrify him, but nothing of the sort happens.
I'm pretty sure that Monkey 2 ending was originally planned to be used in Monkey 1, so that's probably where Voodo Lady's predictions came from.
You know, the weakest part of MI5 (not TMI) was the whole Guybrush Llama puzzle. WHO PUTS A LLAMA IN THE CARIBBEAN?!!
MI1: The fact that you couldn't automatically go to LeChuck's ship after you find it for the first time.
MI2: The Easy mode. Yeesh, that was the weirdest easy mode ever! All the good puzzles were taken out, and you didn't even have to try to get all four map pieces...
MI3: Can't think o nuttin.
MI4: Monkey Combat and the Milk Bottle puzzle. Both were annoying.
MI1: Too short, too few locations.
MI2: Weird ending, dated graphics & no voice since there's no special edition (yet).
MI3: Nothing.
MI4: [deep breath] Badly compressed audio, bad control scheme, lame kitschy atmosphere, plot holes, Monkey Kombat, wasted use of Murray, "insult arm wrestling," completely different voice for Elaine.
MI5 (ep 1): A little too easy, no Earl Boen, music is a little too synthetic.
To be fair, you can't really call no voice acting the worst part of MI 2. You need to compare the games based on the time period they were made, not to advances in technology that came later and not feasible when they were initially released.
And complaining about the Easy Mode? That was an option put in, not even the standard game. Half the thread complains MI 2 was too hard and the rest that the easy mode was lame.
I'm pretty sure that Monkey 2 ending was originally planned to be used in Monkey 1, so that's probably where Voodo Lady's predictions came from.
I agree. But, what was the terrible revelation about Guybrush himself? That he was living in a fantasy world? Is that the Secret of Monkey Island? We will probably never know.
TSOMI: It really is an almost perfect game and it got even better with the Special Edition. I could only say that it is not as amazing or big as LCR. And the game got a bit boring in Monkey Island, with few characters to interact with.
LCR: The ending. Not that it's terrible. It's like an Empire Strikes Back ending, but it never got its Return of the Jedi
COMI: It's not as epic as the first too. The ending is too short. They cut scenes due to budget limitation. "A pirate was meant to be" is only in the version in English.
EFMI: Not as bad as most people say it is, but it's more like a self-parody than a proper MI game. The contradictions in the plot regarding the canon of MI games. Monkey Kombat. Controls. Murray appearance was so underwhelming. The graphics don't age very well.
TOMI: I don't want to be overcritical because it's only the first chapter. Music could be more memorable and with live instruments. Map sections are a bit confusing, but thankfully short. The recycling of secondary characters. Control method could be better. Inventory management could be better and require less clicks. Few locations to enter, but that's forgivable. It's a bit short.
To be fair, you can't really call no voice acting the worst part of MI 2. You need to compare the games based on the time period they were made, not to advances in technology that came later and not feasible when they were initially released.
And complaining about the Easy Mode? That was an option put in, not even the standard game. Half the thread complains MI 2 was too hard and the rest that the easy mode was lame.
It's a bit annoying that MI2 is the only one that doesn't have voice though. The game seriously needs a Special Edition!
MI1: Too short, too few locations.
MI2: Weird ending, dated graphics & no voice since there's no special edition (yet).
MI3: Nothing.
MI4: [deep breath] Badly compressed audio, bad control scheme, lame kitschy atmosphere, plot holes, Monkey Kombat, wasted use of Murray, "insult arm wrestling," completely different voice for Elaine.
MI5 (ep 1): A little too easy, no Earl Boen, music is a little too synthetic.
To be fair, you can't really call no voice acting the worst part of MI 2. You need to compare the games based on the time period they were made, not to advances in technology that came later and not feasible when they were initially released.
There's a difference between how well something has held up today and it's value back then. Sort of like why you don't go around proclaiming Pong to be the best game ever made.
No, but it's not as good as the others. However this has led droves of fans to overreact and treat the game like it was garbage when it reality it was a very, very good adventure game that pales in comparison to the rest of the series.
3. Guybrush's character design (as well as a few other characters). The background art is fantastic, but Guybrush was butchered worse than in SoMI:SE.
I actually LOVED Guybrush's character design in MI3. It's my favourite version of him - and it's also my favourite game. Though I do agree with you, SoMI:SE's Guybrush is hugely disappointing. It's the reason that I'm gonna be playing most of the special edition in classic mode. (Once I buy it. )
Anyway.
1. Too much back-and-forth-ing on Monkey Island; a slight problem with switching back to 16 colours randomly during certain animations and such. Otherwise, awesome.
2. Never played, so I can't really say, though I did see a Let's Play of it, so...
3. Stan's hand motions could've been better, but otherwise, I love it to death. Let no man forget that this was the game that brought us MURRAY. (and the 'dead Guybrush' moment was precious.) Also, the two difficulty modes were very well done.
4. I never finished this game. Too awful.
TMI (Too Much Information? No! Tales of Monkey Island!). So far, it's a very fun game. The puzzles are decently challenging - some of them were easy, but others definitely made up for it, not to mention there's a hint system. I won't go into a review, but... Yeah. Probably the only thing I hate is LeChuck and the Voodoo Lady's voices, and Guybrush's new character design. Eugh.
I must concur that I cannot find any faults with Curse of Monkey Island.
It is the melding of everything good in the series. Graphics, voice, puzzle, difficulty, character designs, etc.
Thinking Threepwood's design in CoMI is poor just shows a lack of understanding of the character. He ISNT a good pirate, nor is he intimidating. He is awkward and goofy; depicted perfectly in CoMI.
Thinking Threepwood's design in CoMI is poor just shows a lack of understanding of the character. He ISNT a good pirate, nor is he intimidating. He is awkward and goofy; depicted perfectly in CoMI.
That is a matter of opinion... and saying someone doesn't understand the character because they disagree with you on how Guybrush should look is fairly juvenile...
He has looked pretty different every time a MI game is released so to say MI3 Guybrush is the only right one is wrong.
The first 2 games i saw guybrush as someone who actually tried to be a pirate and would succeed (both attitude and gfx wise ), but i am glad guybrush sortof turned out to be half retarded ego sentric good guy( which will never be a "real" pirate" ) , makes the game just more enjoyable for my part.
probably one of the few , but really hated the new look at first, but while playing and having fun suddenly i tought this guys looks is just the perfect guybrush. and wouldn't have had it any other way. /ducks
SOMI: There will always be a special place in my heart for this game. But I'm not a big fan of puzzles that forces you to keep doing one thing several times. Like Insult Sword Fighting. Collecting those insults is rather... tedious, after playing the game for 30 times and knowing the game inside and out. That said, the Stan puzzle, to bring the price for the ship down, is also quite boring and tedious for the same reason.
Doing things over and over isn't much fun.
LR-MI2: Best game ever. Regardless of genre. And it's also the only perfect game I can think of. There are no flaws with this. No tedious puzzle I can think of, they're all fun. I never thought of the Monkey Wrench puzzle as bad, and was surprised when I read the complaints about it on the internet for the first time. Not an american, btw. Anyway, best characters, best graphics and art direction, best story, best atmosphere, best puzzles, best and most myserious ending, basically best everything. As I said... flawless.
CMI: Again, puzzles that takes too long before you can progress. Insult Sword Fighting was fun the first couple of times through the game, but once now it's the most tedious part of the game. It also felt a bit too cartoony for my liking, and Guybrush design wasn't too good. Otherwise, maybe even better than CMI in reality, but nostalgia puts SOMI slightly above it.
EMI: Flaws galore. Art direction was okay, but the whole tourist-trap theme completely ruined the pirate atmosphere to me. Worst atmosphere in the series - also worst music so far. Puzzles ranged from nice to absolutely pathetic. Stan was no fun and felt completely wrong. Ozzie Mandrill - oh, please. Monkey Kombat, obviously. The only game so far not worthy of the Monkey Island name, imo.
TMI Ep. 1: I really liked it. But repeated puzzles that weren't really fun the first time, only tedious - you do it twice in a game that takes between 2-4 hours to complete. This part of the game is the one I'm least looking forward to in future replays.
Not to harp too much on the old "monkey wrench" issue, but I'd like to point out that when Guybrush uses the monkey on the pump, he actually uses him like a hand crank and not a monkey wrench. I can't even remember if he makes the "monkey wrench" pun at any point in the game either, so I wonder if the collective imagination of the fans has done some salvaging of an otherwise mediocre puzzle here.
What you actually end up creating over the course of the puzzle is a crank water pump. When you find the pump, the crank is missing, so the monkey fills that role (you can see Guybrush using the tail as a crank, with the tip inserted in the socket), and then you pump water. It would be pretty hard to fashion a monkey tail into the actual shape of a monkey wrench. You couldn't turn an empty socket with a monkey wrench anyway, so I can't understand why people think the recognition of this pun explains everything.
For me, those are the reasons that it is not a good puzzle. I hate to be literally-minded about a comedic video game, but I find that puzzles in Lucasarts games are always sensible and funny. This one ain't either. The monkey isn't used as a monkey wrench, so the pun falls flat and the player's imagination may not make the leap. Otherwise, I love me some MI2.
Not to harp too much on the old "monkey wrench" issue, but I'd like to point out that when Guybrush uses the monkey on the pump, he actually uses him like a hand crank and not a monkey wrench. I can't even remember if he makes the "monkey wrench" pun at any point in the game either, so I wonder if the collective imagination of the fans has done some salvaging of an otherwise mediocre puzzle here.
What you actually end up creating over the course of the puzzle is a crank water pump. When you find the pump, the crank is missing, so the monkey fills that role (you can see Guybrush using the tail as a crank, with the tip inserted in the socket), and then you pump water. It would be pretty hard to fashion a monkey tail into the actual shape of a monkey wrench. You couldn't turn an empty socket with a monkey wrench anyway, so I can't understand why people think the recognition of this pun explains everything.
For me, those are the reasons that it is not a good puzzle. I hate to be literally-minded about a comedic video game, but I find that puzzles in Lucasarts games are always sensible and funny. This one ain't either. The monkey isn't used as a monkey wrench, so the pun falls flat and the player's imagination may not make the leap. Otherwise, I love me some MI2.
I recall him first using the monkey's arms as a wrench, then inserting his tail and using it as a crank...
All I can say is that the only time I felt like a Monkey Island game was a chore was during the whole Monkey Kombat section of EMI. Even when I was stuck in SMI or MI2, I didn't feel like it was a chore. MI2 is the epitome of the series so far IMO, even though SMI and CoMI are both superb in their own right.
M1: Some puzzles are laborious on replay. Getting from place to place can be longwinded.
M2: A few truly brutal puzzles.
M3: Several characterisations are distractingly inconsistent with the original games (Elaine, Stan, even Wally). Excessive amounts of dialogue which tends to lack the concise wit of the second game in particular. Takes the series in a more lightweight cartoon direction - the intrigue is mostly gone.
M4: Fiddly controls, inconsistent art, some truly regrettable story decisions towards the end and some overly punishing puzzles. I do however think this one is over hated where the previous game is over praised.
TOMI ep1: Yet more fiddly controls, the much-commented-upon reused character designs, the humour still a touch gentle for my tastes. Plus this is just me but I'd rather they hadn't brought back Elaine's Curse voice.
There were many flaws each game for me (although I still replay all of them because they're among the best games in the world). I've listed them in full below: -
SMI: what were turn_on/off for?; the algorithm deciding when the chef came out of the kitchen was a bit strange (causing me to wait for ages by the fire sometimes); when you used an insult your opponent didn't know the answer to, he was allowed to use the insult immediately, whereas the other way round, you had to wait until the next pirate; often, you couldn't get a full list of insults and their comebacks to fight the Sword Master with; you could prevent yourself from continuing on the ship by putting one of the items in the recipe in the fire; what was the lens for? I wanted to use the banana picker!
LR: it took too long rowing the coffin to the shack; you had to know the laundry claim ticket was there or by chance close the door; the monkey wrench puzzle wasn't too clear; LeChuck has a fortress now?; the ending suggests MI is now dead (waaaaaaah!); no insult swordfighting; the Booty Island map-piece drags on too long for the reward; the game crashes if you argue with Rapp Scallion for too long due to a memory issue; that Dinky jungle was a pain to escape from after a wrong turning
CMI: the gold tooth puzzle had a glitch; wtf was the walkthu speaker all about?; Stan didn't look or sound quite right (corrected in EMI); the mirror puzzle had a glitch; the Flying Welshman didn't have a Welsh accent; the last scene of the end sequence was very weak
EMI: Insult Everything; Guybrush's royal pageboy look; LeChuck was cleverer than Elaine and yet played second fiddle to a new villain; Melee was the only piratey island, the Voodoo Lady didn't exert as much presence and wasn't quite right; Pegnose sounded like he was talking through the Guybrush mask all the time; Pegnose's hideout was seriously underused; Murray's return was badly wasted; how did Timmy get from one island to another?; Herman Toothrot came from Melee Island on the Sea Monkey and H T Marley met his demise at LeChuck's hands; Elaine's too thin
SMI SE: Guybrush looks like a chav; the shopkeeper looks too friendly; Elaine looks like she's 14 and is too thin; the voice-acting for LeChuck and Elaine were flat as pancakes; the inventory system doesn't work too well
TMI E1: rushed; limitations due to port to Wii; lack of variety of spoken dialogue; the re-use of the treasure-hunting puzzle gets long in the tooth; the idol locations are easily missed; the secondary characters were too bland; Elaine is, again, too thin; the puzzles were too easy
There were many flaws each game for me (although I still replay all of them because they're among the best games in the world). I've listed them in full below: -
SMI: what were turn_on/off for?; the algorithm deciding when the chef came out of the kitchen was a bit strange (causing me to wait for ages by the fire sometimes); when you used an insult your opponent didn't know the answer to, he was allowed to use the insult immediately, whereas the other way round, you had to wait until the next pirate; often, you couldn't get a full list of insults and their comebacks to fight the Sword Master with; you could prevent yourself from continuing on the ship by putting one of the items in the recipe in the fire; what was the lens for? I wanted to use the banana picker!
LR: it took too long rowing the coffin to the shack; you had to know the laundry claim ticket was there or by chance close the door; the monkey wrench puzzle wasn't too clear; LeChuck has a fortress now?; the ending suggests MI is now dead (waaaaaaah!); no insult swordfighting; the Booty Island map-piece drags on too long for the reward; the game crashes if you argue with Rapp Scallion for too long due to a memory issue; that Dinky jungle was a pain to escape from after a wrong turning
CMI: the gold tooth puzzle had a glitch; wtf was the walkthu speaker all about?; Stan didn't look or sound quite right (corrected in EMI); the mirror puzzle had a glitch; the Flying Welshman didn't have a Welsh accent; the last scene of the end sequence was very weak
EMI: Insult Everything; Guybrush's royal pageboy look; LeChuck was cleverer than Elaine and yet played second fiddle to a new villain; Melee was the only piratey island, the Voodoo Lady didn't exert as much presence and wasn't quite right; Pegnose sounded like he was talking through the Guybrush mask all the time; Pegnose's hideout was seriously underused; Murray's return was badly wasted; how did Timmy get from one island to another?; Herman Toothrot came from Melee Island on the Sea Monkey and H T Marley met his demise at LeChuck's hands; Elaine's too thin
SMI SE: Guybrush looks like a chav; the shopkeeper looks too friendly; Elaine looks like she's 14 and is too thin; the voice-acting for LeChuck and Elaine were flat as pancakes; the inventory system doesn't work too well
TMI E1: rushed; limitations due to port to Wii; lack of variety of spoken dialogue; the re-use of the treasure-hunting puzzle gets long in the tooth; the idol locations are easily missed; the secondary characters were too bland; Elaine is, again, too thin; the puzzles were too easy
Top Flaw
SMI: Turn WHAT on/off? You can't select Elaine
LR: Monkey wrench puzzle
CMI: Sorry I fell asleep at this point
EMI: Lack of piratey theme
SMI SE: Bland voices
TMI E1: Rushed product
Dang. Complainer!
Nah, just kidding. But those are a lot of complaints...
Well, I do believe that is why they shortened the verb list for the CD and SE versions and removed these never used verbs altogether (so I don't really think you can count that anymore).
Well, I do believe that is why they shortened the verb list for the CD and SE versions and removed these never used verbs altogether (so I don't really think you can count that anymore).
I've recently dug out some LucasFilm Games products and found it's even more bloated and shakey in the days of McKraken. SMI was one of the more user-friendly ones before the company changed its name.
LeChuck's Revenge.
Difficulty. It was just hard.
Surprisingly though, the monkey wrench puzzle wasn't a difficult one once you had been silly enough to try and pick up the monkey.
Curse of Monkey Island.
When it first came out it seemed too cartoony. Years afterwards though, it isn't a flaw.
The ending puzzle. Constant punching of my LeChuck was ok in SOMI but the puzzle pieces were split over too many of the "scenes". This is what I remember of it at the time.
It may be when playing it again, it is different.
I think the weakest part of Tales of Monkey Island have been a small but vocal section of the fan base who will never be satisfied with any product that doesn't equal their memories of the games they played as a kid. It almost seems like all they want is a remake of their favorite games but when that comes out they still are not satisfied.
I think the weakest part of any adventure game is when it's neither funny nor intellectually challenging. With that as my criteria, I don't think any Monkey Island game really had a weak part. I will agree that some were "less strong" but "weak" is too strong to describe Monkey Island.
MI1 - The Storekeeper's Safe puzzle, and using push/pull to unlock it.
MI2 - Rowing the coffin through 2 screens.
CMI - LeChuck's "death" was disappointing
EMI - What did the worst damage was the Vista Point boulders, and having to fight the timing and shoddy controls to get the boulders to hit.
SMI: the puzzle with Stan. i found it so tedious
MI2: never played it
CMI: the ending.
EMI: MONKEY KOMBAT! a cute idea but so annoying
To make that complete (and to understand what we're all on about), I highly recommend you find MI2 somewhere and play it to finish.
The island hopping in chapter 2 should prepare you for chapter 2 of TMI. In fact, TMI draws heavily in style and humour from MI2 and CMI, so after you've finished MI2, I urge you to play CMI through again.
LeChuck's Revenge.
Difficulty. It was just hard.
Surprisingly though, the monkey wrench puzzle wasn't a difficult one once you had been silly enough to try and pick up the monkey.
Curse of Monkey Island.
When it first came out it seemed too cartoony. Years afterwards though, it isn't a flaw.
The ending puzzle. Constant punching of my LeChuck was ok in SOMI but the puzzle pieces were split over too many of the "scenes". This is what I remember of it at the time.
It may be when playing it again, it is different.
The problem you're decribing from SMI is more applivable to the ending of MI2. In SMI, all you have to do is
pick up the root beer at Stan's and, at some point, use it on LeChuck.
Monkey 1:
The insult swordfighting learning... insult swordfighting on it's own is hilarious and perfectly done, but later on a lot of pirates come up with "OH YEAH" instead of getting the response you needed to learn. (no biggie, but it's the one thing that bugs me about the game)
Monkey 2:
Having to constantly go to the International House of Mojo... the coffin ride is anoying.
Monkey wrench puzzle was fun IMO, since I knew I needed a wrench, so after a long search I looked up the hint and thought is was a funny joke.
Monkey 3:
Same problem as Monkey 1
Monkey 4:
control scheme, grafics, no mouse option and I don't like the story all that much, it's too transparent.
Tales of Monkey:
Some very illogical puzzles (canon ball on glass, clubcard in sock etc. etc.) other than that, the first episode lives up to my expectation.
SoMI SE: The pause in the dialogue between lines due to the old engine not being timed for voiceovers.
MI2: The fortress. What pirates have fortresses?
CMI: I loved the look of this game, I think the atmosphere really fit the humor. Guybrush's proportions were a little too tall and skinny for my tastes though, they could have gone a BIT more lifelike like the first two games.
EMI: It's existance. I don't consider this part of the MI series I dislike it so much.
ToMI (MI4, imho): Mer-people? The jury is out, but I'm worried.
Comments
Too early to judge TMI as far as I'm concerned, but I did love the first part, albeit a bit on the easy side. The first 1/5 of every MI game has been pretty ridiculously easy though, so who knows.
No voices, but you know what? if they had.. it wouldnt have been Dominic and I cant imagine anyone else being Mr. Brush... So I guess it worked out.
MI 3: It ended.
MI 4: Monkey Combat (shiver) plus at the end it left me feeling cold and empty because I honestly thought that it was the last time I would play a new MI adventure.
Tales: to be honest its using the same two faces for most of the supporting characters... I know they need to reuse stuff to save money but that seemed ridiculous.
MI-2-Loved every second especialy the ending
MI-3-ending was rushed
MI-4-Rewrote MI history and Monkey Kombat T_T but i still enjoy it and like the music
TMI-wont juge till finished it
It doesn't have as many unique responses as the following games and modern adventure games. On a minor note, I noticed that the Voodoo Lady made the plot sound more dramatic than it actually ended up being. She said that Guybrush would find out things about himself and his world that would terrify him, but nothing of the sort happens.
Monkey Island 2
While it has a lot more depth gameplay wise, the story is flawed. I don't care for the gap between the first two games, and things start moving way too fast after you leave the second chapter. I ended up feeling like I had played 2/3 of the game instead of the whole thing. Your inventory also becomes way too crowded, making it difficult to tell what you should do next.
Monkey Island 3
The ending is arupt, though I don't think it's too bad as far as arupt endings go. The final confrontation is also underwhelming. I'm also disappointed that nothing came of El Pollo Diablo. Does he exist? Is there another explanation for the chickens? It's just akward.
Monkey Island 4
Monkey Island 4.
Narwhal
The interface is a bit clunky, the characters aren't unique enough, and I find the jungle puzzles annoying.
I liked most of the Story, and Ozzi is also a great villain (although
hah!
2. The new characters in the game. Never cared for 'em. Like that big fat governer.
3. The ending...Ugh. And the fate of Murray.
4. Animation, character designs, puzzles, etc.
Tales: Too dang short!
My thoughts on the series:
1. All the flaws of SoMI were fixed in MI 2, so I give it a break. It was the first game, they were testing waters, they took the experience and refined everything
2. Nothing.
3. Guybrush's character design (as well as a few other characters). The background art is fantastic, but Guybrush was butchered worse than in SoMI:SE.
4. Continuity errors.
5. Too easy and short and the island / inhabitants lacked the unique character found in previous games (hopefully will be addressed in future episodes).
I'm pretty sure that Monkey 2 ending was originally planned to be used in Monkey 1, so that's probably where Voodo Lady's predictions came from.
MI1: The fact that you couldn't automatically go to LeChuck's ship after you find it for the first time.
MI2: The Easy mode. Yeesh, that was the weirdest easy mode ever! All the good puzzles were taken out, and you didn't even have to try to get all four map pieces...
MI3: Can't think o nuttin.
MI4: Monkey Combat and the Milk Bottle puzzle. Both were annoying.
MI2: Weird ending, dated graphics & no voice since there's no special edition (yet).
MI3: Nothing.
MI4: [deep breath] Badly compressed audio, bad control scheme, lame kitschy atmosphere, plot holes, Monkey Kombat, wasted use of Murray, "insult arm wrestling," completely different voice for Elaine.
MI5 (ep 1): A little too easy, no Earl Boen, music is a little too synthetic.
And complaining about the Easy Mode? That was an option put in, not even the standard game. Half the thread complains MI 2 was too hard and the rest that the easy mode was lame.
I agree. But, what was the terrible revelation about Guybrush himself? That he was living in a fantasy world? Is that the Secret of Monkey Island? We will probably never know.
TSOMI: It really is an almost perfect game and it got even better with the Special Edition. I could only say that it is not as amazing or big as LCR. And the game got a bit boring in Monkey Island, with few characters to interact with.
LCR: The ending. Not that it's terrible. It's like an Empire Strikes Back ending, but it never got its Return of the Jedi
COMI: It's not as epic as the first too. The ending is too short. They cut scenes due to budget limitation. "A pirate was meant to be" is only in the version in English.
EFMI: Not as bad as most people say it is, but it's more like a self-parody than a proper MI game. The contradictions in the plot regarding the canon of MI games. Monkey Kombat. Controls. Murray appearance was so underwhelming. The graphics don't age very well.
TOMI: I don't want to be overcritical because it's only the first chapter. Music could be more memorable and with live instruments. Map sections are a bit confusing, but thankfully short. The recycling of secondary characters. Control method could be better. Inventory management could be better and require less clicks. Few locations to enter, but that's forgivable. It's a bit short.
It's a bit annoying that MI2 is the only one that doesn't have voice though. The game seriously needs a Special Edition!
Yeesh. :mad:
was MI4 really that bad?
I actually LOVED Guybrush's character design in MI3. It's my favourite version of him - and it's also my favourite game. Though I do agree with you, SoMI:SE's Guybrush is hugely disappointing. It's the reason that I'm gonna be playing most of the special edition in classic mode. (Once I buy it.
Anyway.
1. Too much back-and-forth-ing on Monkey Island; a slight problem with switching back to 16 colours randomly during certain animations and such. Otherwise, awesome.
2. Never played, so I can't really say, though I did see a Let's Play of it, so...
3. Stan's hand motions could've been better, but otherwise, I love it to death. Let no man forget that this was the game that brought us MURRAY. (and the 'dead Guybrush' moment was precious.) Also, the two difficulty modes were very well done.
4. I never finished this game. Too awful.
TMI (Too Much Information? No! Tales of Monkey Island!). So far, it's a very fun game. The puzzles are decently challenging - some of them were easy, but others definitely made up for it, not to mention there's a hint system. I won't go into a review, but... Yeah. Probably the only thing I hate is LeChuck and the Voodoo Lady's voices, and Guybrush's new character design. Eugh.
It is the melding of everything good in the series. Graphics, voice, puzzle, difficulty, character designs, etc.
Thinking Threepwood's design in CoMI is poor just shows a lack of understanding of the character. He ISNT a good pirate, nor is he intimidating. He is awkward and goofy; depicted perfectly in CoMI.
That is a matter of opinion... and saying someone doesn't understand the character because they disagree with you on how Guybrush should look is fairly juvenile...
He has looked pretty different every time a MI game is released so to say MI3 Guybrush is the only right one is wrong.
probably one of the few , but really hated the new look at first, but while playing and having fun suddenly i tought this guys looks is just the perfect guybrush. and wouldn't have had it any other way. /ducks
Doing things over and over isn't much fun.
LR-MI2: Best game ever. Regardless of genre. And it's also the only perfect game I can think of. There are no flaws with this. No tedious puzzle I can think of, they're all fun. I never thought of the Monkey Wrench puzzle as bad, and was surprised when I read the complaints about it on the internet for the first time. Not an american, btw. Anyway, best characters, best graphics and art direction, best story, best atmosphere, best puzzles, best and most myserious ending, basically best everything. As I said... flawless.
CMI: Again, puzzles that takes too long before you can progress. Insult Sword Fighting was fun the first couple of times through the game, but once now it's the most tedious part of the game. It also felt a bit too cartoony for my liking, and Guybrush design wasn't too good. Otherwise, maybe even better than CMI in reality, but nostalgia puts SOMI slightly above it.
EMI: Flaws galore. Art direction was okay, but the whole tourist-trap theme completely ruined the pirate atmosphere to me. Worst atmosphere in the series - also worst music so far. Puzzles ranged from nice to absolutely pathetic. Stan was no fun and felt completely wrong. Ozzie Mandrill - oh, please. Monkey Kombat, obviously. The only game so far not worthy of the Monkey Island name, imo.
TMI Ep. 1: I really liked it. But repeated puzzles that weren't really fun the first time, only tedious - you do it twice in a game that takes between 2-4 hours to complete. This part of the game is the one I'm least looking forward to in future replays.
What you actually end up creating over the course of the puzzle is a crank water pump. When you find the pump, the crank is missing, so the monkey fills that role (you can see Guybrush using the tail as a crank, with the tip inserted in the socket), and then you pump water. It would be pretty hard to fashion a monkey tail into the actual shape of a monkey wrench. You couldn't turn an empty socket with a monkey wrench anyway, so I can't understand why people think the recognition of this pun explains everything.
For me, those are the reasons that it is not a good puzzle. I hate to be literally-minded about a comedic video game, but I find that puzzles in Lucasarts games are always sensible and funny. This one ain't either. The monkey isn't used as a monkey wrench, so the pun falls flat and the player's imagination may not make the leap. Otherwise, I love me some MI2.
I recall him first using the monkey's arms as a wrench, then inserting his tail and using it as a crank...
M2: A few truly brutal puzzles.
M3: Several characterisations are distractingly inconsistent with the original games (Elaine, Stan, even Wally). Excessive amounts of dialogue which tends to lack the concise wit of the second game in particular. Takes the series in a more lightweight cartoon direction - the intrigue is mostly gone.
M4: Fiddly controls, inconsistent art, some truly regrettable story decisions towards the end and some overly punishing puzzles. I do however think this one is over hated where the previous game is over praised.
TOMI ep1: Yet more fiddly controls, the much-commented-upon reused character designs, the humour still a touch gentle for my tastes. Plus this is just me but I'd rather they hadn't brought back Elaine's Curse voice.
they did fix it
SMI: what were turn_on/off for?; the algorithm deciding when the chef came out of the kitchen was a bit strange (causing me to wait for ages by the fire sometimes); when you used an insult your opponent didn't know the answer to, he was allowed to use the insult immediately, whereas the other way round, you had to wait until the next pirate; often, you couldn't get a full list of insults and their comebacks to fight the Sword Master with; you could prevent yourself from continuing on the ship by putting one of the items in the recipe in the fire; what was the lens for? I wanted to use the banana picker!
LR: it took too long rowing the coffin to the shack; you had to know the laundry claim ticket was there or by chance close the door; the monkey wrench puzzle wasn't too clear; LeChuck has a fortress now?; the ending suggests MI is now dead (waaaaaaah!); no insult swordfighting; the Booty Island map-piece drags on too long for the reward; the game crashes if you argue with Rapp Scallion for too long due to a memory issue; that Dinky jungle was a pain to escape from after a wrong turning
CMI: the gold tooth puzzle had a glitch; wtf was the walkthu speaker all about?; Stan didn't look or sound quite right (corrected in EMI); the mirror puzzle had a glitch; the Flying Welshman didn't have a Welsh accent; the last scene of the end sequence was very weak
EMI: Insult Everything; Guybrush's royal pageboy look; LeChuck was cleverer than Elaine and yet played second fiddle to a new villain; Melee was the only piratey island, the Voodoo Lady didn't exert as much presence and wasn't quite right; Pegnose sounded like he was talking through the Guybrush mask all the time; Pegnose's hideout was seriously underused; Murray's return was badly wasted; how did Timmy get from one island to another?; Herman Toothrot came from Melee Island on the Sea Monkey and H T Marley met his demise at LeChuck's hands; Elaine's too thin
SMI SE: Guybrush looks like a chav; the shopkeeper looks too friendly; Elaine looks like she's 14 and is too thin; the voice-acting for LeChuck and Elaine were flat as pancakes; the inventory system doesn't work too well
TMI E1: rushed; limitations due to port to Wii; lack of variety of spoken dialogue; the re-use of the treasure-hunting puzzle gets long in the tooth; the idol locations are easily missed; the secondary characters were too bland; Elaine is, again, too thin; the puzzles were too easy
Top Flaw
SMI: Turn WHAT on/off? You can't select Elaine
LR: Monkey wrench puzzle
CMI: Sorry I fell asleep at this point
EMI: Lack of piratey theme
SMI SE: Bland voices
TMI E1: Rushed product
Dang. Complainer!
Nah, just kidding. But those are a lot of complaints...
Well, I do believe that is why they shortened the verb list for the CD and SE versions and removed these never used verbs altogether (so I don't really think you can count that anymore).
I was very thorough
I've recently dug out some LucasFilm Games products and found it's even more bloated and shakey in the days of McKraken. SMI was one of the more user-friendly ones before the company changed its name.
Difficulty. It was just hard.
Surprisingly though, the monkey wrench puzzle wasn't a difficult one once you had been silly enough to try and pick up the monkey.
Curse of Monkey Island.
When it first came out it seemed too cartoony. Years afterwards though, it isn't a flaw.
The ending puzzle. Constant punching of my LeChuck was ok in SOMI but the puzzle pieces were split over too many of the "scenes". This is what I remember of it at the time.
It may be when playing it again, it is different.
I think the weakest part of any adventure game is when it's neither funny nor intellectually challenging. With that as my criteria, I don't think any Monkey Island game really had a weak part. I will agree that some were "less strong" but "weak" is too strong to describe Monkey Island.
MI2 - Rowing the coffin through 2 screens.
CMI - LeChuck's "death" was disappointing
EMI - What did the worst damage was the Vista Point boulders, and having to fight the timing and shoddy controls to get the boulders to hit.
MI2: never played it
CMI: the ending.
EMI: MONKEY KOMBAT! a cute idea but so annoying
To make that complete (and to understand what we're all on about), I highly recommend you find MI2 somewhere and play it to finish.
The island hopping in chapter 2 should prepare you for chapter 2 of TMI. In fact, TMI draws heavily in style and humour from MI2 and CMI, so after you've finished MI2, I urge you to play CMI through again.
The problem you're decribing from SMI is more applivable to the ending of MI2. In SMI, all you have to do is
The insult swordfighting learning... insult swordfighting on it's own is hilarious and perfectly done, but later on a lot of pirates come up with "OH YEAH" instead of getting the response you needed to learn. (no biggie, but it's the one thing that bugs me about the game)
Monkey 2:
Having to constantly go to the International House of Mojo... the coffin ride is anoying.
Monkey wrench puzzle was fun IMO, since I knew I needed a wrench, so after a long search I looked up the hint and thought is was a funny joke.
Monkey 3:
Same problem as Monkey 1
Monkey 4:
control scheme, grafics, no mouse option and I don't like the story all that much, it's too transparent.
Tales of Monkey:
Some very illogical puzzles (canon ball on glass, clubcard in sock etc. etc.) other than that, the first episode lives up to my expectation.
MI2: The fortress. What pirates have fortresses?
CMI: I loved the look of this game, I think the atmosphere really fit the humor. Guybrush's proportions were a little too tall and skinny for my tastes though, they could have gone a BIT more lifelike like the first two games.
EMI: It's existance. I don't consider this part of the MI series I dislike it so much.
ToMI (MI4, imho): Mer-people? The jury is out, but I'm worried.