Monkey Island

Monkey Island (in Spanish, Isla Mono, although the title was kept in English for the Spanish version) is a saga of graphic adventure video games produced and published by LucasArts, originally known as LucasFilms Games. The games tell the story of how Guybrush Threepwood tries to become the most feared pirate in the Caribbean, facing off against the evil pirate LeChuck and winning the heart of the governor of Mêlée Island, Elaine Marley.

Ron Gilbert, the creator of the series, only worked on the first two games before leaving LucasArts. The rights to Monkey Island remained the property of LucasArts, and the third and fourth games were published without Gilbert's input. He later returned to work with Monkey Island, being the consultant for the fifth installment, made up of five short chapters produced by Telltale Games under license from LucasArts.

His latest work is the Return to Monkey Island video game, the sixth installment of the saga published in September 2022.

The Games

The Secret of Monkey Island

The Secret of Monkey Island (1990) was the fifth game to use SCUMM technology (after Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Loom), a powerful (for the time) engine for graphic adventures, based on its own script language and developed for the first adventure: Maniac Mansion. The graphic adventure debuted first on the Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS and Macintosh platforms, the first two being the highest quality until the arrival of the VGA version and, finally, on CD-ROM with sound improvements. Since July 15, 2009, a special edition made in high definition (1920x1080) has been available, with a total graphic redesign and dubbing. As a curiosity, it is possible to switch between this version and the classic one while you are playing, being able to observe the changes made.

LucasArts was the company that brought this game to market, whose creators were Ron Gilbert, Steve Purcell, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman, led by Gilbert himself.

The protagonist of the story is Guybrush Threepwood, a young man who arrives on the island with the intention of becoming a pirate, but to do so he must go through a series of tests, touring the entire island and, once achieved, travel to the mythical Monkey Island, where he must face the terrible ghost pirate LeChuck to rescue his new love Elaine Marley.

Her lines have a great sense of humor.

The Secret of Monkey Island Chapters

• The three tests
• The journey
• Under Monkey Island
• Guybrush was beating.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge

In the second part, we find a rich Guybrush Threepwood who sets off in search of new adventures. However he is soon robbed of his money by Largo LaGrande, a thug terrorizing Scabb Island. He must find the mythical treasure of the Big Whoop, and win back the love of Elaine Marley, turning to face the pirate, now zombie, LeChuck.

Published in 1991, it was made with the same engine by the same authors, and originally distributed on floppy disk, with VGA graphics, to be later distributed separately and later together with the first part, on CD-ROM. Like its predecessor, a special edition made in high definition (1920x1080) has been available since July 7, 2010, with a total graphic redesign and dubbing. The game has an unexpected ending, which has been said to be the most perplexing in video game history.

Chapters of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck#39;s Revenge

• El Embargo de Largo
• The four pieces of the map
• The fortress of LeChuck
• Dinky Island

The Curse of Monkey Island

In 1997 the third installment was published, again using SCUMM (it was the last LucasArts title to use this system), but in a much more advanced version that allowed for high-resolution graphics, making it look like an animated film.

With the authors of previous installments having left the company by then, the game has other authors, Jonathan Ackley (who was involved in The Dig) and Larry Ahern.

Guybrush Threepwood was to return Elaine to her human form this time, turned to gold by the spell of a cursed ring. This time, LeChuck will transform into a demon pirate, and he will cross paths with Guybrush and Elaine again.

The Curse of Monkey Island Chapters

• The Death of the Pirate Zombie Lechuck
• The Empeora Damn
• Three candles to the wind
• The waiter, the thieves, his aunt and his beloved
• The Beo of the Spider Monkey
• Guybrush machaca again

Escape from Monkey Island

Made in 2000, it used the GrimE engine previously used for Grim Fandango, so its graphics are also "half-3D". In Spain it came out as "La Fuga De Monkey Island", becoming the first game in the saga to come out in Spain with part of the title translated. It is currently available for download on GoG.com exclusively.

LucasArts veterans Sean Clark and Michael Stemmle, formerly of Sam & Max: Hit the Road were in charge and authors of the project.

It chronicles the return of Guybrush and Elaine from their honeymoon, to find that she has been officially declared dead, and their mansion is to be demolished. Of course that means calling elections to choose the new governor of Mêlée Island, but this time the typical case "When there is only one candidate there is only one election", as Elaine will have to deal with the polls with Charles L. Charles. The attempt to solve these problems is only the beginning of a story that will take Guybrush back to Monkey Island.

Escape from Monkey Island Chapters

• Things to do on Mêlée Island when you're dead
• The Future of Manatí
• The Monkey Island Fugue
• Guybrush unusually gives a head

Tales of Monkey Island

Tales of Monkey Island is an adventure saga of five monthly chapters, it was produced by Telltale Games for PC, Mac and Wii, and its release date was July 7, 2009.

During a heated battle with his nemesis, the evil pirate LeChuck, Guybrush unintentionally unleashes a malicious curse that quickly spreads across the Caribbean, turning the pirates into monstrous zombies. The voodoo priestess sends Guybrush in search of "The Big Sponge", a legendary sea sponge that will allow him to stop the epidemic, but this seemingly simple mission has unexpected surprises.

Tales of Monkey Island Chapters

• Launch of the Narval Gride
• The site of Spinner Cay
• Lair of the Leviathan
• The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood
• The Rebellion of the Pirate God

Return to Monkey Island

Return to Monkey Island was announced by the distributor Devolver Digital through a video on April 4, 2022 through a license from LucasArts and developed by Terrible Toybox and has the participation of the author of the first two installments Ron Gilbert, collaborating again with Dave Grossman. The game went on sale on September 19, 2022 for PC and Nintendo Switch. The game picks up the story from the end of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, but the plot respects the rest of the titles in the series. saga so that they are also considered canonical and new islands and places that can be visited during the adventure are introduced.

Special Edition

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

It was released on July 15, 2009. It is the return of the first part of the Monkey Island saga, but in high definition, remastered music and with the voices of The Curse of Monkey Island.

The interface has also been improved for the occasion, hiding the famous table of verbs (commands, orders) and the endless inventory. Likewise, the special edition includes a clue system, some scenes that were omitted in the original version due to lack of space -such as a close-up of the loquacious Spiffy, the dog from the Scumm Bar who summed up the situation without realizing it- and the possibility to return to the graphics of yesteryear with the push of a button.

However, the classic version does not have the texts in Spanish, something incomprehensible since the translation already existed and in fact it is used with the renewed vision.

Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge

On sale since July 7, 2010. As it happened in the Special Edition of Monkey Island 1, in this case we find the "remake" from the second part of the Monkey Island saga, where the game has been completely reissued using HD graphics and remastered music.

Again, the action interface becomes more graphic and next to the inventory panel they are hidden to give priority to the graphics of each scene in the game. Also in this special edition we will have a hint system (although one of the challenges of the game is to complete it without using a single aid of this type). And as was the case in the special edition of Monkey Island 1, the classic version of the game can be accessed instantly at any time simply by pressing a button and later, if we wish, return in the same way to the new version and thus check the contrasts between the two versions.

In addition, as an extra, the option to listen to the comments of the creators of the original game, including Ron Gilbert, who analyze each scene and situation that the main character goes through, is included throughout the game.

Monkey Island Special Edition Collection

On September 9, 2011, a physical compilation of the first two remastered games was released in Europe for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC: The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge.

In addition to the two games themselves, the disc comes with numerous extras, including the soundtracks for both games, and the outline and script for a Monkey Island movie, developed by Industrial Light & Magic that never came to see the light.