Monkey Island

This blog will discuss the series of games by Lucas Arts called Monkey Island. I will talk about the games I played in the series, my opinion of the story, graphics, level of difficulty and more. 

Monkey Island is essentially a point and click puzzle game mixed in with adventure and an interesting story about a young guy, Guybrush Threepwood (main character)  aspiring to become “a mighty pirate” and save his lady love Elaine Marley.  Guybrush's main struggle is to defeat the notorious zombie pirate (main antagonist) LeChuck. The two characters refer to each other as one another's nemesis. Both characters vie for the affections of Elaine. 

The series has six games: The Secret of Monkey Island, Monkey Island 2:LeChucks Revenge, The Curse of Monkey Island, Escape From Monkey Island, Tales of Monkey Island, Return to Monkey Island. 

This series is a great beginning for those just starting out in gaming, much easier learning curve than the first shooter. You can stop in the middle, and it's much slower paced. You just have to solve all the puzzles before parts of the game open up. The puzzles can be somewhat obscure to solve but it's a game of wits. Also, you can choose the option with fewer puzzles, but, I personally prefer the more puzzles option as the game flows better. 

The animation/graphics have changed from the game's inception, personally I prefer the third game graphics “The Curse of Monkey Island” as it is more cartoon style. The story is the one of the nicest and the ending is well done. 

The story does not really change throughout most of the games, but the puzzles become slightly more complex and the endings are different. I will discuss the games of the series that I played in a separate blog, without revealing too many spoilers. 

One of the cool things about this game is that the main character Guybrush Threepwood essentially remains the same, a greedy, self absorbed pirate and just after secrets. Although, he does appear as a good guy.

Another similarity in the game is Guybrush's constant battles with the main antagonist zombie pirate LeChuck as they both want to conquer the seas as pirates and their affection for Elaine Marley. What is rather amusing, is Guybrush is constantly thwarting LeChucks evil schemes using his wits.

The idea of gathering information from various characters, sailing on a ship to different islands and picking up clues along the way is what I personally like most about this series of games.

I also like the fact that there are many supporting characters in the game, it's not just one character facing challenges to achieve a goal, unlock a secret. 

If you are looking for a game that is easy as a learning curve, friendly to play, and makes you think when trying to solve puzzles; at the same time has a pleasant story this is the game to start.

Each game of the series is divided into parts as Guybrush completes his tasks to achieve his goal, which sets the scene for the story. 

Most of these games can be completed in about 4 hours depending on how you play, so its not over exhausting.

Overall, Monkey Island is a great game to start with when exploring gaming. One thing to note, you do have to have some patience and like puzzles , slow pace to appreciate this game.

Hope you enjoyed this summary, feel free to comment and contribute to this blog.