Escape from Monkey Island Review

We’re now taking a look at the fourth installment in the Monkey Island series. One huge change, which is noticeable from the get-go, is that this installment is not in 2D like it’s predecessors – but in 3D. Having been made within the LUA engine, instead of the old and beloved SCUMM engine, the game does take a jab at itself, as you at some point in the game revisits known places on Mêlée Island, and find that the SCUMM-Bar is no longer there. Instead a new running sushi restaurant is in place, the LUA-Bar. This ‘disappointment’ sadly looms as a grey cloud above the entire game, being that this is by far the weakest installment in the series. With that being said, it does have it’s moments and some of that well-known humor known and beloved to the franchise.

We kick the game off with Elaine and Guybrush returning from their honeymoon to Mêlée Island where they learn that Elaine has officially been declared dead. Not being the guvenor anymore (due to being dead) her mansion is also scheduled for demolition. Being in need of a new guvenor, Charles L. Charles, a main dressed almost entirely in purple, is the frontrunner for the position. Elaine begins her campaign to get her position back, and Guybrush is tasked with obtaining a family heirloom and the legal documents for the mansion. In doing so, Guybrush engages in insult-armwrestling (instead of insult swordfighting), in order to hire a navigator, a guy named Ignatius Cheese. We also run in to a few old friends, Otis and Carla. Onwards we move, towards Lucre Island. Enroute Guybrush learns of the Marley family secret – a voodoo talisman called the Ultimate Insult.  This powerful talisman can be used to spread insults so foul that they destroys the soul of those who wears it. Guybrush is then framed for a bank robbery by the thug Pegnose Pete, who was hired by the old australian land developer Ozzie Mandrill, but alas Guybrush is able to prove his innocense.

After getting the legal documents Guybrush returns to the manor, where they learn that Charles L. Charles is not who he claims to be – he is the demon pirate LeChuck! LeChuck is on the hunt for the Ultimate Insult. Elaine continues with her campaign whilst Guybrush searches the two islands of Knuttin Atoll and Jambalaya in order to recover pieces of the Ultimate Insult. When he returns to Mêlée Island we learn that LeChuck has been elected govenor. LeChuck and Ozzie Mandrill then steals the pieces of the Ultimate Insult from Guybrush. We learn that LeChuck is in debt of Ozzie Mandrill, because he was the one who freed him from his icy prison. Ozzy wants to rid the Caribbean of pirates and turn it all in to a resort. LeChuck wants to use the Ultimate Insult in order to break Elaine, and finally marry her. The two bad guys agree that Guybrush might be a useful hostage, so they drop him off at Monkey Island.

Being in quite the pickle, Guybrush picks himself up and plans for his escape. In order to do so he needs to learn the ancient art of Monkey Kombat from the Monkey Prince. Meeting an old friend, Herbert Toothrot, we are tasked with restoring his memory – the old hermit has contracted amnesia twenty years ago after being pushed into a whirlpool close to Australia by none other than Ozzie Mandrill. When his memory is clear once again, we learn that Herman is Elaines long-lost grandfather. Guybrush then goes about constructing his own Ultimate Insult, that is even bigger than the Marley family talisman. WIth it, he learns that the giant monkey head statue on Monkey Island is in fact a giant robot. After it is powered up, all the monkeys of the island and Herbert Toothrot helps piloting it. With the help of the robot, Guybrush disables the Ultimate Insult amplifier set in place by Ozzie Mandrill. Afterwards, Guybrush returns to Mêlée Island.

When Guybrush returns, he learns that Ozzie has captured Elaine and has assembled the Ultimate Insult. When used on Elaine, it flukes due to the amplifier being broken, LeChuck in a fit of rage decides to take matters into his own hands. He possesses a giant statue of himself as the govenor, and Ozzie takes control of said statue with the Ultimate Insult. Guybrush and LeChuck thus clash in battle, giant statue against giant robot, in the art of Monkey Kombat. In the combat Guybrush performs repeated ties, which gives Elaine room to escape, which in turn causes LeChuck to smash his head in exasperation, which crushes Ozzie and destroys the Ultimate Insult for good. LeChuck goes out in a fiery explosion, and Guybrush and Elaine are reunited once again. Grandpa Marley takes up the torch as governor of Mêlée Island, and the newlywed couple returns to their one and true love – piracy.

Thus ended the first ever 3D Monkey Island – but no the last. The entire The Tales of Monkey Island followed up on this trend. It does look weird, coming from the old games, and the graphics does not age as well as it’s 2D counterparts. The story is weaker than the rest of the series, and the gameplay can sometimes be tedious. That being said, it still does have some of the humor we know and love. We also meet aplenty of old friends from the franchise – the Voodoo lady, Murray, Otis and Carla, Herman Toothrot to name some of them. The new villian Ozzie Mandrill is a bit strange, and deviates a bit from the old pattern we’ve seen with villians in the former games, making LeChuck more of a henchman than the true evil villian. One plus for the game is the music – as always seems to be the case with Monkey Island games, the music is spot on. Lastly one might ask, is Escape from Monkey Island worth playing? If you’re a fan of the series I would give it a go, but if you are looking to just play a fun adventure game I would skip it – and opt for any other Monkey Island game.