Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate! The Legacy Of Monkey Island

'Guybrush Threepwood, mighty pirate!'

Legendary words. Legendary game. At least in the eyes of many loyal Monkey Island fans like myself. For my 100th post there was nothing else I wanted to write about more than this; the series that got me hooked on point and click adventures and Monkey Island is the best of all.

Created by Ron Gilbert and published by Lucasarts in 1990, Monkey Island would gather a cult fan base and go onto release 5 games in it's entirety to date.

The journey of pirates, rubber chickens, 3 headed monkeys and undead zombies began for me in The Curse Of Monkey Island, the third game in the series that was released in 1997 for PC. 

I didn't know about the game and my friend asked if I wanted to go and see it as it was really good. Of course I said no.

What? Yeah, I wasn't feeling it at the time so we went our separate ways back to our houses where he was playing a game that I would soon consider to be in my top 5 of all time while I was probably on the Playstation.

Now the second time he asked I agreed and boy was I glad I did. I had never seen anything like it! The cartoon graphics were just immense and it really was like playing a cartoon. The puzzles, the characters, the randomness, the fun and a talking skull! Murray! That weekend I went up to my parents, begged them to take me to PC world and buy that game!

THE BEST GAME EVER!

And so Monkey Island fever had been born within my heart and had me gripped so tight that I would soon purchase the first 2 games in a collection for the PC. Now all the pieces were falling into place.

So...

Our hero is wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood who winds up on Melee Island looking to become just that. He is soon pointed in the direction of the famous Scumm Bar where all the pirates hang out to take on the three trials given to him by the pirate leaders.

These are:

Mastering the art of the sword by defeating the Sword Master
Mastering the art of thievery by stealing the Idol O' Many Hands
Mastering the art of treasure hunting by finding the legendary lost treasure of Melee Island

What follows is an adventure like no other as you explore the island to complete your tasks. An adventure that will eventually lead you to Monkey Island itself but not before meeting many unique characters along the way and learning the art of using a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle (no that's not an innuendo)

At least I don't think it is?

This was the first point and click video game I had played where all your commands were at the bottom of the screen. You clicked an area of the screen to make Guybrush move in that direction and you used these other commands in order to interact with objects and people. For example you could pick up, examine, pull, push, talk to, open, close, give to and more. Your inventory of items you found along the way was listed next to these commands. 

After playing The Curse Of Monkey Island it didn't take me long to get into this game. I thought it was amazing and I'd never played anything like it. The music, the graphics and the humour were exceptional!

The game was created using the SCUMM engine developed by Ron Gilbert and Aric Wilmunder which was a scripting language used to help finish Maniac Mansion, the first point and click adventure to use it. Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer also used it to help program The Secret Of Monkey Island.

These days you can still play the point and click adventure games by using the ScummVM engine which allows you to play on the most modern of computers. 

So back to Melee Island! When I think of sword fights in video games I imagine myself to be repeatedly bashing buttons to hack and slash at my opponent. However, with Monkey Island things were done a little differently. All sword fights were determined via insults. Yes. To win a fight you had to insult your opponent and hope they didn't know the correct response. Well, actually you had to learn all the insults off the pirates first. For example:

'You fight like a dairy farmer'

The response would be...

'How appropriate, you fight like a cow!'

All the insults had to match up.

'I got this scar on my face during a mighty struggle'

You reply...

'I hope now you've learned to stop picking your nose'

I loved this style of sword fighting! You had to have three correct and then you'd disarm your opponent who would shout 'uncle' or 'I give up' or 'wow, you're good enough to challenge the Sword Master' which then you obviously realise you're ready...if you can locate the Sword Master that is.

In fact a friend and I made up our own insults in school because we loved the game that much. They weren't very good but I'm sure if we made some more up now they'd be worthy of the Sword Master!

How have I written this far without mentioning 2 of Monkey Island's most iconic characters!? 

Elaine Marley and the best gaming villain of all time...the undead ghost pirate LeChuck!

Elaine is the governor of Melee Island and the object of both Guybrush's and LeChuck's affections. Hence a classic protagonist vs antagonist tale! 

LeChuck is slightly bitter that he died. Died sailing to Monkey Island on a quest to try and impress Elaine and win her heart. Well it doesn't go to plan and LeChuck comes back as a zombie ghost pirate to haunt the Caribbean, lead a crew of undead pirates and attempt to win Elaine's hand in marriage. Guybrush is in the way of that so has to be destroyed.

Actually there's a scene at the end of the game that truly puts the 'monkey' in Monkey Island ;)

Speaking of monkeys there is a myth that a three-headed monkey exists and it does. You see one a few times throughout of the course of the series although none of the other characters ever seem to notice. This has lead to the famous phrase:

'Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!'

And they never look, just shrug off your comment. Ah well.

Oh and by the way the cannibals in the picture above are vegetarian. The one on the right is Lemonhead and you meet him in a later game.

The game is littered with puzzles along the way with many being basic logic. I was stuck a fair few times but after playing the Monkey Island series I find current puzzle games a lot less complicated after learning certain tricks and improving my knowledge. The rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle can do wonders I tell you!

Ok I can write a book on this so let's move on!

Guess what the sequel is about? Yep. LeChuck returns while Guybrush is focused on searching for the treasure of Big Whoop but needs four pieces of a map first.

This time Guybrush has grown a beard!

The second game is bigger and gives you more islands to explore such as Booty, Phatt and Scabb island. The same level of comedy is there and the graphics feature more animations this time such as looks of disgust on Guybrush's face and this:

After LeChuck's return you are tasked with gathering items to make a voodoo doll to destroy him once and for all. Which is the perfect time for me to mention about the voodoo lady herself! Uh...what's her name? Actually we never find out her name but she features in every Monkey Island game to help Guybrush out and point him in the right direction. What her endgame is nobody knows. When asked she once said, 'my name is...not important.' Mysterious woman indeed.

Another character who appears in all the games is Stan. A salesman who can't stop his arms from moving when he talks and will try and sell you anything! In MI1 he sells ships, MI2 coffins, MI3 life insurance, MI4 timeshares and MI5 courtroom souvenirs.

In LeChuck's revenge Guybrush nails him in a coffin and he's sent to Blood Island.   

There are a couple of scenes that stick in my head from the 2nd outing. The first is when Guybrush infiltrates Elaine's madri gras party and ends up wearing a fitting pink dress:

The second being the skeleton dance:

The ending to this game is very strange because LeChuck places a curse on you and you end up in a theme park with your parents...it confused the hell out of me the first time!

This was the first game to feature voice overs and Dominic Armato did an outstanding job as Guybrush Threepwood as did Earl Boen as LeChuck.

This was the last game to be developed by the SCUMM engine and it definitely went out on a high! Now the graphics had been updated to a cartoon style and cutscenes played a prominent part in the game. We also find out how LeChuck gains new recruits for his undead army at his Carnival of the Damned.

Elaine is turned into a gold statue by a cursed ring so our hero sets off to remove the ring and once again defeat LeChuck.

This game featured the return of some old characters as well as introduce some new ones. The most notable being Murray the demonic talking skull! You meet him after blowing him to pieces when he's fighting for LeChuck. He's always talking about how he will take over the world yatter, yatter, yatter, well, if he had a body. Despite the lack of a body he still winds up in random places throughout the game and even in the next couple of instalments. 

The 3rd game also featured the return of insult sword fighting! This time however there is a slight twist. On the sea all your insults have to rhyme! For example:

'You're as repulsive as a monkey in a negligee'

You reply,

'I look that much like your Fiancee'

hehehe

'I'll hound you night and day!'

'Then be a good dog, sit! Stay!'

Before these clashes can take place you need to board your opponents ship by blasting it with your cannons. You then take their plunder and use it to upgrade your own cannons until you face Captain Rottingham!

This game also featured a few songs! On Plunder Island Guybrush attempts to become a member of the barbershop quartet by singing several songs but they don't all go to plan. Who can forget the monkey in my pocket song!?

There is another featured song when you assemble a crew and hit the high seas. This one is a classic:

A third song called Plank of Love was cut from the end of the game as they didn't have enough space for it. I would have loved to hear that!

After reaching Blood Island you can travel to Skull Island which kinda looks like a...

Guybrush: They should have called it Duck Island

The game once again ends with a showdown with LeChuck. He has to be vanquished once and for all this time right?

Ok so here's where the mood starts to change. I wasn't a great fan of the 4th game. It was good but seemed to lack the charm that made it's previous ones great. One of the better things is that you return to Melee Island for the first time since MI1 and can see how it's changed. This is what I didn't like though. There's a new villain called Ozzie who is

buying up all the businesses and turning the Caribbean into a tourist destination taking away the swashbuckling feel to the game. I know it was part of the story but it didn't sit well with me. Anyway everyone thought Elaine was dead and she has to run for governor again against a chap called Charles L. Charles...

This time it's also about the ultimate insult, a talisman LeChuck wants to use on Elaine to get her to marry him. How long has this been going on for now?

We also get to visit Monkey Island again after Guybrush is left alone there.

Insult fighting is back once more but this time it's insult arm-wrestling! The insults don't have to rhyme this time but some do:

'Today, by myself, twelve people I've beaten'

...

'From the size of your gut I'd guess they were eaten'  

Another notable part of MI4 was monkey kombat! You had to learn the different stances of Anxious Ape, Charging Chimp, Gimpy Gibbon, Bobbing Babboon and the Drunken Monkey! You do each of these by using the terms eek, ack, oop, chi!

Kinda like paper, rock, scissors but with monkeys. Monkey kombat is how you defeat LeChuck at the end.





One good thing about MI4 is that we learn more about the character of Herman Toothrot who we meet in the first game. He's a teacher of philosophy and a hermit.

I was ecstatic when I learnt that more Monkey Island was being made and while once again not to the level of the original 3, Telltale Games did a good job of bringing the monkeys back. The latest instalment was released in 5 separate episodes.

Set several years after the previous game Guybrush creates a voodoo cutlass to destroy LeChuck once and for all. However it instead turns LeChuck into a human and spreads a 'pox of LeChuck' across the land infecting people and making them act a bit strange to say the least. Guybrush's hand also becomes infected and attempts to strangle him. So it's all about curing the pox and making sure LeChuck doesn't do anything naughty now that he's human again...right...

Oh and Murray returns! YAY! He was in MI4 also.

I've forgotten a fair amount of this game so I'll have to play it through again. I remember there being a ditty for having a monkey in your pocket again.

Also how they ended the last episode tells me there might

very well be more Monkey Island on the way. I don't mind episode series if it brings me more MI but I'd love a feature length official 5th game.

The good thing about these point and click adventures is that you can't die! You don't have to worry about your number of lives or your health bar or...wait...what just happened to Guybrush? He can die!?

The games are filled with jokes and this is one of them. In The Secret of Monkey Island Guybrush is thrown into the sea and weighed down by a heavy idol. It's ok though because he can hold his breath for 10 minutes! However if you allow 10 minutes to pass Guybrush actually drowns! Gutting.

In The Curse of Monkey Island if you keep clicking on the ocean on Blood Island, Guybrush will enter and see the scene above from MI1.

There are many more in-game jokes that relate to other Lucasarts titles such as Sam & Max and Indianna Jones.

The first 3 games of MI are listed in the '1001 games to play before you die' book and I couldn't agree more. The series is definitely worth a few hours of your time! 

A couple of years ago they released special editions of the Secret of Monkey Island and LeChuck's Revenge with HD graphics and voice overs which was pretty neat to play. The best thing about the games was that if you pressed the 'select' button whilst playing then the game would transcend back to it's original settings with the grainy graphics! Awesome!

If you've read this far then I thank you! Remember...

The monkeys are listening!