You Fight like a Dairy Farmer; Monkey Island

I’m here with my wonderful almost-husband to talk about his favourite game, The Secret of Monkey Island. With LucasArts now closed for business how has the game stood the test of time?

So Daniel, why out of the hundreds of games you have played (and owned) is The Secret of Monkey Island the one you go back to time and time again?

I remember when I used to watch my dad play it when I was younger; it reminds me of my childhood. It displays humour and has a very well written story by one of my favourite video game writers of all time, Ron Gilbert. Also, because I want to be a pirate.

A Pirate, eh? You look more like a flooring inspector.

*pause*

So, what did you think of the special edition remake which came out in 2009?

It was shocking at how much I could remember despite it being years since I previously played. For 800 Microsoft points it was a nice blast to the past. The choice between the original gameplay and the updated HD graphics added a new element to the game, and the choice to switch between them certainly helped with the nostalgia factor.

In your opinion, what lets the game down?

Besides the sometimes tedious insult fighting, the game is just too damn short! And while all the minor characters sound how I imagined in the remake, it isn’t quite up to Hollywood standard.

So, in your opinion what is the real secret of Monkey Island? Is it three-headed monkeys? That LeChuck is Guybrush’s father or that the lovely Elaine is his sister?

I believe that the true Secret of Monkey Island is that it is all in the imagination of a monkey having a bath and that Monkey Island is just the bubble bath floating around its head. Guybrush and LeChuck are Monkey Action Men toys, and Elaine a Monkey Barbie.

Now that Lucas Arts has been closed by Disney, who would you like to see pick up the Mantel of the Monkey Island franchise?

Travelers Tales; their five-part miniseries was fantastic, well paced, well written and true to the characters.