"I cursed my luck again as I slid down the monkey's throat. Have my dreams of
guzzling grog and plundering galleons been reduced to this? 'Three small trials
and you're a pirate like us.' Fair enough. If only I could stomach the foul brew
these scurvy seadogs swilled, the rest would be easy. How could I have known I'd
meet a powerful and beautiful woman with a jealous suitor too stupid to realize
he'd been dead for years? And how can I crawl through this great stone monkey to
find a man who walks three inches above the ground and sets fire to his beard
every morning?"

"Deep in the Carribean lies Melee Island, ruled by the beautiful governor Elaine
Marley. The cruel pirate LeChuck is deeply in love with her - so deeply that he
refuses to accept his own death! As a ghost, he dwells with his undead crew
somewhere beyond the mysterious Monkey Island. You are Guybrush Threepwood, a
young man whose only wish is to become a real pirate. At the Scumm Bar you meet
three pirates who tell you'll have to complete three difficult tasks in order to
be worthy of this title. Could Guybrush ever suspect that while trying to complete
those tasks, he will encounter the governor Elaine Marley, fall in love with her,
and face the anger of the dreadful ghost pirate LeChuck?! This is when the
adventure truly begins!" (mobygames)

Undoubtly one of the best games ever made in any genre MONKEY ISLAND presents
(along with it's even better sequel!) the 100% quality mark for adventure games
until today. It utilizes the command verb-based SCUMM interface first introduced
in Maniac Mansion. It is the first LucasArts' adventure game in which it is
impossible to get irrevocably stuck or to die (except when you're holding your
breath longer than 10 minutes in one occasion!). The branching dialogue system
allows you to talk to characters in different ways without fearing a wrong choice.
There are plenty of inventory-based puzzles to solve, and even "insult
swordfighting" to participate in, where Guybrush has to prove his wit is as sharp
as his sword!

These insults, by the way, were written by Orson Scott Card, author of the
incredible Ender-Wiggin-novels, starting with ENDER'S GAME . If wars in the future
will be fought like computergames (remember the Iraqi-wars!), aren't then kids the
better soldiers? Interesting thought and highly recommended books!

The graphics and the atmosphere they create remain among my alltime-favourites
even now. 256 colours then! I remember very vividly how stunned I was (and still
am!) while the intro started, 'Deep In The Carribean: Melee Island', and the title
song kicked in! Especially the nightly Melee Island where the story starts (and
where it's always 10 AM) is simply beautiful all around: the house of Captain
Smirk, the labyrinth in the forest, the village square, where this guy is selling
the maps to the treasure, etc. You have the constant feeling of being in the
Carribean - and being a pirate in these surroundings is just the thing you want!

The sense of humour typical to LUCASFILM is at it's best here, subtile fun of
SIMPSONS quality is everywhere. And there are also many graphical jokes and
allusions to other games: the one pirate making blunt advertisement for LOOM, the
bird from the same game appearing in the kitchen of the SCUMM bar (that's the name
ove the tavern the pirates hang out), the joke about dying in Sierra games ('Oops,
hope you've saved your game'), the poisoned dogs (they are only sleeping!) and the
hole in the tree stump in the forest, where the game asks you to 'Insert Disks #22
and #34' - that part of the game hasn't bee programmed yet. But don't fear, in
MONKEY ISLAND 3 you can go up a hole in the ceiling somewhere and appear right at
that very spot!

And then there's the soundtrack! In retrospective that made the first connection
between Reggae and computers to me. Absolutely haunting melodies, like the title
song or LeChuck's theme, come along on a striclty Reggae/Offbeat basis, constantly
reminding you that you're in the Carribean. Michael Z. Land improved his ingenious
I-Muse system even more and the background music reacts seamlessly to you actions.

All these elements mix up to something so atmosherically thick that you just can't
help but getting sucked deeply into the great plot. A Vodoo-lady is telling your
future (check the music score to that scene!), you set sail on the legendary 'Sea
Monkey', the only vessel that's ever been to Monkey Island and - so the stories -
came back with just a crew of apes, and then there's the head of the dead
navigator...

The bottom line is that MONKEY ISLAND is simply a perfect adventure game - in the
true sense of the word. Everything clicks together here and if you've never played
an IF piece before be prepared for an incredible experience! A MUST!

THE GAME

WALKTHROUGH

HOW TO PLAY LUCASFILM GAMES >>>>

LINKS:

• SCUMMBAR
• lucasarts.vintagegaming.org