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This week on Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee reviews Return to Monkey Island.
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The Zac McKraken game HAS to be made eventually, and when it does I will be right there at Kickstarter to throw every penny I have at it.
The ending made all the effort I put into the series and the excitement at the prospect of knowing what the secret is feel worthless. And I felt the same. The game made me feel stupid for being invested.
Oof.
I wish people would stop making works into meta commentaries on the work itself
It’s disgustingly self indulgent
People aren’t here for you, they’re here for the wonderful things you create
I started a webcomic a while back, will return to it many years from now to remake it when I’m ready. I had a ‘About the Author’ section on my home page, but decided to get rid of it.
I want people to think about the story, not the feelings of the faceless stranger writing the story. For the reader, I am only a distraction from my own art. A lot of Hollywood types could stand to be similarly humble these days.
LeChuck reminded me of Pepper, now I'm kinda sad 😮💨
Such an ugly game.
I've seen every ZP probably thrice over, to my shame. I've seen Yahtzee hate on games from A to Z but this is the first time it feels like he got burned by it, let down by it. Well done, Return to Monkey Island, you managed to letdown the most cynical man on the internet, your trophy made of dog turds is in the post.
Personally, I think the game is… fine. Not good. Not bad. Just.. fine.
Disliked the start, hated the ending. But most of the mid-section was fine. Not as funny or clever as Monkey Island 1 to 3, not as horrible as Monkey Island 4, not quite as fanfic-y like Monkey Island 5.
But the music was nice, the voice-acting on point and the graphic was good after getting used to it.
The puzzles are… fine. Way too easy at times, but mostly fine.
But the one thing I absolutely HATED and that has absolutely NO PLACE in a Monkey Island game were these god damn stupid and cringy Corona jokes. The longer it went on, the more I had to grid my teeth to get through it. That stupid question catalogue, that stupid ship with the stupid guillable self-isolated sailors… I hated that bit. It felt tacky, uninspired, strangely political, already outdated and the worst is, it wasn't even creative or funny in any way.
Don't know which was worse. That part or the ending.
Ron Gilbert and his ending
Granddad. Herman Toothrot was supposed to be Elaine's granddad.
I'm glad I'm not alone in my feelings about the ending. Fuck you Ron Gilbert.
I've often thought it odd that Yahtzee is so dismissive of Curse of Monkey Island, because I know quite a lot of people who consider it to be the pinnacle of the series. It had voice acting for the first time, which was REALLY good voice acting in defiance of video game standards at the time, the art style provided the best controllable graphics experience since Dragon's Lair, only properly controllable this time, and it contained an ENORMOUS amount of hilarious gags, challenging puzzles, and unforgettable one-liners ("That means Mr. Fossey is-" "Aye captain! FREE BANANAS FOR THE WHOLE CREW!" "-a complete and utter loon.").
DAMN. I felt those burns. And honestly, the devs completely deserve them. I've been on the receiving end of a few Author Tracts in my time with video games, and over half of them have made me swear, that if i EVER meet any of these game directors at a Con, I'm going to kick them squarely in the groin, then hand them a 5-page dissertation on why this is a metaphor for where my life has taken me.
Isn't this kinda like what danganronpa fans went through with V3? Another game came to mind but promptly left the second I started typing, hopefully I'll remember.
Hahaha I love the last line…. because you should never pay more than 20 bucks for a computer game
I'm happy enough believing that there were only three Monkey Island games, with Curse having a good ending to finish the series on.
I like how black flag was the best modern pirate game to pull up for the world of 2022, I gotta replay that
I just finished the game. Like Yahtzee, Monkey Island 1 was what really sparked my interest in video gaming as a kid. This felt deeply unfulfilling, like it was doing a victory lap for a game that didn't exist. There weren't any real stakes, the adventure lacked gravitas, and despite relying on nostalgia, it didn't build off of that. The one time there could have been an interesting twist with significant consequences (MILD SPOILER: Elaine finding out about how Guybrush's actions have affected others SPOILER END), the game just plays it off as if it didn't matter.
The ending and its unlocked note from the devs made it seem as though the game was just their own personal sendoff. Not a humorous, narrative adventure with puzzles and satire, but something akin to an excerpt from a memoir.
As if they forgot about their audience entirely… Just kind of bummed out about the whole thing really.
I don't think I've ever seen Yahtzee's comments on a game echo my own so closely. I've said most of the same things this video does almost word for word.
As a massive Monkey Island fan, it's hard for me not to get disappointed by this sequel. It's not awful, but it should have been a lot better, and I actually think the strong praise the game has received most other places is kinda detrimental in the context of the way the game kinda ruins the nature of classic adventure game puzzles.
Maybe they plan on making a 4th game and plan on making that game worth playing and caring about.
Why does the art look like the same one in that online personality test everyone does?
There, can we say that it sucks now without idiots leaping down our throats insisting that it might still be good?
I read somewhere that just like George Lucas, Ron Gilbert also went the same way. He grudgingly looks back at the past and taunts you with visions of it. He wants to do new stuff but he's stuck with a fanbase he does not want to carter to and who disrespect it, and he repeats the same mistakes he did prior.
Tales of Monkey Island had a better pay-off I'll tell you that much.
Curse of Monkey Island is really good though.
I used to love point-and-click adventures. Broken Sword series was my favorite. But BS 5 kind of killed it for me. Never finished the second half of that.
They just don't make them like they used to.
so the game pulls a danganronpa v3, got it
Or you can listen to what Elane had to say.
Turned off by cheap presentation for the most important franchise in the genre.
I hate this increasingly common trend in modern media where the writers very blatantly or just flat out say things like "why are you enjoying this thing? You should stop enjoying it" and said thing is the thing that they fucking made!
2:00 there's a whole scrapbook for this. monkey island has always had loads of references
Overall, I enjoyed Return to Monkey Island(although I've never met a Monkey Island game I didn't like) but that ending is pretty oof. It certainly made me appreciate Escape From Monkey Island's take on the secret a lot more.
grumpy gamer should meet grumpy reviewer
Are you saying you DIDN'T like Curse of Monkey Island??