A few hours ago what, for many, is the most important news related to video games of the year has jumped. It doesn’t matter if Sony announces the release date of its PS VR 2 for PS5, or if Microsoft enlightens us with an Activision-Blizzard exclusive. Even though Nintendo wants to distract us with the second installment of the great The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. Ron Gilbert is back, LucasArts too and that deserves us to get serious, very serious.
We return to Monkey Island
It is a simple teaser of just one minute, specifically 58 seconds, but it was enough for the community to go crazy with a project they had been working on for two years in secret. This announcement gives us the opportunity to warm up the engines with the saga and to do so, nothing better than revisiting the previous four installments on any platform for which we have any version available. Although yes, it is important to say that Return of Monkey Island will be a direct continuation of Monkey Island 2 .
The Monkey Island saga officially has four games: The Secret of Monkey Island , The Secret of Monkey Island 2 LeChuck’s Revenge , The Curse of Monkey Island, and Escape from Monkey Island . Of all of them, the first two cannot be found as such for the new platforms, although the special editions that were launched 13 years ago can. Remember that between 2009 and 2010 the classic was dressed in silk with better graphics (1080p) but leaving the development of graphic adventures practically the same.
At the same time, new adventures arrived, titled Tales of Monkey Island that are not strictly necessary to prepare for the new Return of Monkey Island , but it is worth taking a look at them to have a broader perspective of everything that happens to our funny protagonists. So if you want to relive the first four parts before the arrival of the fifth, let’s go over them a bit:
The Secret of Monkey Island (1990)
The original graphic adventure, the one that marks the path of the saga and presents us with the main ingredients of what will be its magic formula : humor in abundance, impossible situations, a protagonist who is a bit of a disaster and a villain who has come from beyond the grave with a passport straight from the hell. In short, Guybrush Threepwood, the pirate LeChuck and Elaine in a game where you have to talk, think, investigate and solve puzzles by mixing those objects that we find around the stage. I am glue and you are glue.
Where can it be played and downloaded?
The original 1990 game is not available to purchase from any digital store. Part of the blame lies with the special remastered version that was released in 2009, and that with updated graphics offers the same fun experience as the saga. It is currently available for Xbox 360 and PC.
The Secret of Monkey Island 2 LeChuck’s Revenge (1991)
The success of the first game leads LucasArts to create its sequel. Graphic aspect revamped, much more spectacular, with the same ingredients of humor, puzzles and even more impossible riddles and an extraordinarily advanced narrative that maintains even more the level of the saga. We will not tell you how it ends because it is a SPOILER of the good ones, but it will be surprising when you enjoy it again. Go LeChuck and Guybrush!
Where can it be played and downloaded?
Like the first installment, the original game is not available to purchase from any digital store. Again there is a special version with remastered graphics released in 2009, and with renewed graphics it offers the same fun experience of the saga. It is currently available for Xbox 360 and PC.
The Curse of Monkey Island (1997)
Already in the golden age of the multimedia phenomenon in the 90s, the first game that is practically a cartoon movie arrives. The old SCUMM interface is given a better life, now all graphics are full screen and the spirit of the originals is maintained through a crazy story with continuous references to common places in the franchise. Get it back to play it again. Definitely.
Where can it be played and downloaded?
This edition was an important generational leap, and that is why we can find it to download easily.
- Buy on Steam (PC and Mac)
Escape from Monkey Island (2000)
So far it is the last title of the franchise and it is, of the four, the one that passed with more pain than glory. It is the first to add 3D to the characters and the scenarios have the appearance of pre-rendered graphics. It is quite far from the general aesthetic, but hey, you have to understand the years in which it arrived. Be that as it may, we will meet the same characters again and star in a story that, hopefully, will continue in 2022 with Return to Monkey Island .
Where can it be played and downloaded?
Another “modern” game that can be easily found on Steam.
- Buy on Steam (PC)