The LucasArts classic adventure game The Secret of Monkey Island has weathered the test of time better than most other adventure games of its era. LOOM, Day of the Tentacle, and their contemporaries have not seen modern reproductions, and their influence remains less represented than The Secret of Monkey Island, a game which receives most of the credit for the classic SCUMM-engine adventure games that came before Myst.
It's pleasant to say, then, that the game is still also a treat to play. The modern TellTale remake features both a revamped version of the game and the original classic, and I would not find it hard to recommend the title as a sacred relic of the past or as a modern adventure title. With a resurgence of the titles (mostly through independent developers and the aforementioned TellTale) it's valuable to see where the genre began, but for those not interested in a history lesson, there's still plenty to see in The Secret of Monkey Island.
Our story is that of a young man, Guybrush Threepwood, who wants to become a pirate. He wanders the town and forests of Meleé Island (tm) asking for the help of any person who can give him some guidance. However, the pirates of Meleé Island (tm) are no longer seeking new recruits, as the Ghost Pirate LeChuck has scared them witless of setting out for the high seas. The story progresses pretty naturally from there, eventually setting up an encounter between LeChuck and Guybrush.
However, the progression of the story mostly comes through solving a series of puzzles. Some have survived far better than others; when Guybrush eventually sets foot on Monkey Island, most of the puzzles are nearly nonsensical, and a few on Meleé Island are also extremely underwhelming. I was forced quickly to resort to a guide to complete the game; however, for those more stubborn than me that need some guidance, there is an in-game hint button that displays hints either in the classic or modern gameplay.
The puzzles that do work, however, are extremely satisfying. Even when puzzles are nonsensical (the infamous "rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle" comes to mind) they generally come with a great joke or scene, and so I still found it extremely gratifying to play the game with a guide on tap for those more difficult moments. Unfortunately, the way the game was originally played was by communities; it was easier when it released to contact friends who were also playing the game and find solutions organically. I believe a strategy guide is a decent replacement for that community spirit, but it's not nearly as fun as that old style used to be.
It's good, then, that the jokes mostly play to the game's strengths. None of the humor is pop-culture referential, and so its sardonic, witty dialogue and situations are still a great laugh. Some of the game's dialogue has officially entered my "favorite lines in a video game" vocabulary, and for those familiar with the game, it's easy to see why. The characters all still come across just as strong, with or without voice acting.
In fact, it's with the revamped options that I take the most issue. The new art looks bewilderingly bad, and it certainly no longer fits the style of the original title. The classic sprite art is impressive because there is a shocking amount of detail work done in terms of lighting and shading on most of the environments, and the animation is of a pretty high quality for sprite animation in general. The revamped art retains the original animation frames, however, to maintain a hot-swap button; as a result, the new animation looks stilted. It also simplifies the art direction, making what was once impressive shading look like bland environments and animation. There's also a huge problem with the verticality of the characters in the new art, warping characters that originally had proportions similar to those in Prince of Persia to skeletal figures with the proportions of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. Liberties have even been taken with the features and clothing of the game's cast; ultimately, the new art is very disappointing.
Voice acting has also been added in the revamped version, and it's mostly acceptable. There is a weird pause in the audio clips between lines, partially due to an urge to replicate the original line timing for the hotswap command. I was also not fond of Guybrush's voice along with a few others (the cannibals come to mind), but a few highlights definitely stand out as missing from the original game. Unfortunately, voice acting cannot be enabled in the classic version of the game, but it's easy enough to switch on the voice acting with the hotswap button for those who are curious. Music tracks have also been revamped for the new version of the game and are equal in quality to the original's fantastic score. Use of the hotswap button does cause a slight delay in the music, though it quickly catches up.
It's worth noting that the aesthetics of the original game are so strong I played almost the entire game in its classic, sprite-based state. While the revamped options are nice for those who need them, the original game carries a better user interface, more detailed art, and plenty of charm to make up for the lack of voice acting. The writing, humor, story, music, and art all easily stand the test of time, and while the puzzles may convince you that most of the adventure games of the early 90's and late 80's were a little dumb, there's so much to like in The Secret of Monkey Island that any who finish the game will come away smiling.