Monkey Island Marks 35 Legendary Years!
You may not know it, and we won’t blame you if that’s the case, but 1990 was a turning point in the world of video games. The innocence of the 8-bit era was coming to an end, and the visual, sound, and narrative sophistication that would define an entire decade was beginning. That massive transition to 16 bits marked the start of the “console war” between Sega and Nintendo, not to mention it set new standards for the generations to come across multiple genres. IBM and Microsoft consolidated VGA + MS-DOS as the dominant platform for PC gaming, while consoles began to open up a wide range of new possibilities.
Amid that chaos, a modest Ron Gilbert, who had already been working at Lucasfilm Games since 1985, launched his first personal project, fully supported by the studio, which from that moment on would be known as LucasArts. Gilbert didn’t know it then, but at that historic moment, he defined what would become the standards of the point-and-click adventure genre forever, leaving no doubt that he marked a turning point for an entire genre, and a large part of the video game industry!
“My name’s Ron Gilbert, and I want to create the best pirate game!”
Lucasfilm Games was founded in 1982 as the video game division of Lucasfilm, the already well-known company of famous filmmaker George Lucas. Three years later, in 1985, Ron Gilbert joined the team, working as a programmer and designer on smaller game projects such as Koronis Rift and Ballblazer. In 1987, he co-designed alongside Gary Winnick the legendary Maniac Mansion, for which he also created the once-famous SCUMM engine (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion), which would eventually become the foundation for countless adventures. Even so, it wasn’t until 1990 that Gilbert released The Secret of Monkey Island, his own project, with the studio’s full support, which at that point was renamed LucasArts, and again built on the iconic SCUMM engine.
The Secret of Monkey Island had shone from the very first moment, as it wasn’t just another ordinary adventure game. That first “Monkey,” as we affectionately called it, which was inspired by Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean attraction that would later give rise to the popular film saga, was perfectly balanced with a mix of different elements that resulted in a charming, addictive, and incredibly fun combination. A sense of humor suitable for all audiences, at times bordering on the absurd but never crossing into bad taste, paired with characters who, pixelated as they may have been, managed to win our hearts for decades, and a story full of hilarious twists and turns, along with the intrigue and mystery brought by a simply brilliant antagonist, all came together to form a story we never wanted to end!
If you’re part of those gamer generations, do you remember what The Secret of Monkey Island was about?… No? Keep reading!
“Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!”
The story, which at first might seem like a simple and straightforward proposal, introduced us to a young man named Guybrush Threepwood, who suddenly appears one clear night on Mêlée Island and says his first historic line: “My name’s Guybrush Threepwood, and I want to be a pirate!”… Yes, just like that. At first, he says it to the very first person he meets, a nearsighted lookout! Obviously, the humor doesn’t take long to show up. This character tells him that to achieve his goal, he must speak to the “Pirate Leaders”, who can be found in the island’s tavern, curiously named SCUMM Bar, just like the engine.
These pirates ask him to prove his worth by completing three difficult trials, and for that, Guybrush must explore the entire island, encountering a wide range of curious and amusing characters, starting with Elaine Marley, then a candidate for Governor, with whom our young protagonist falls hopelessly in love at first sight. Without knowing it, in that very same moment, he also meets the saga’s main antagonist, the Ghost Pirate LeChuck, although in that first appearance he is disguised as Fester Shinetop, a rather unpleasant human, sheriff of Mêlée Island, who also has his eye on the beautiful candidate Marley.
Alongside the love of his life, Elaine Marley, and his future nemesis, the Ghost Pirate LeChuck, Guybrush Threepwood meets other incredibly interesting characters throughout the adventure, some of whom will even accompany him in several of his future escapades, or something like that. Carla, the legendary “Sword Master” of Mêlée Island, who turns out to be a woman, one of those you simply don’t mess with, and thanks to whom the young aspiring pirate learns that a sword fight has little to do with the weapon itself, but rather with what is said during the duel to crush the opponent’s morale. For that reason, a good sword fight ends up being a hilarious battle of insults.
“You fight like a cow!”
In his peculiar adventure, he also meets Captain Smirk, who helps him train in the art of insult sword fighting, Otis, a prisoner in the jail of Mêlée Island whom Guybrush must help escape, the Voodoo Lady, a mysterious voodoo priestess who would later appear in every installment of the saga, always guiding the young man in the right direction, Meathook, a curious muscular pirate with two hooks instead of hands and a patch over one eye, who confesses to having suffered his injuries after messing with his pet, “The Beast” (which turns out to be A PARROT!!), and we can’t forget Stan, the ever-talking, overly enthusiastic used ship salesman, owner of Stan’s Previously Owned Vessels, capable of selling you a mailbox. Stan is one of the funniest and most charismatic characters in the saga; he’s always trying to sell something used, ships, coffins, whatever! His flood of words and the way he flails his arms make him one of a kind, a character you either love or hate from the very first moment.
A beautiful legacy, and 35 years of history
Perhaps without having experienced it, you could say that The Secret of Monkey Island was a simple game, with silly humor and not much depth, but believe me, you’d be very wrong. That first “Monkey,” loaded with humor, adventure, and clever puzzles, opened the doors to an indescribable world of adventures that would later continue under both LucasArts and Sierra On-Line, among others.
That first entry in the iconic Monkey Island saga taught many things: to players, it showed that a video game wasn’t just about how fast you could shoot your weapon or avoid dying at the hands of an enemy, and that it wasn’t necessary to dive into frantic chaos to find genuine, lasting entertainment that could hold your attention for hours, days, or months. And to studios, well, simple: THIS IS ALSO HOW GAMES ARE MADE, THIS IS ALSO WHAT GAMERS LOVE. THEY WANT MORE!
The Secret of Monkey Island was the first of many LucasArts successes in the point-and-click adventure genre. They later gave us the graphic adventures of Indiana Jones, which remain among the studio’s most entertaining and humorous titles, among many others, not to mention the inspiration that spread across other studios. I mentioned Sierra On-Line earlier because, together with LucasArts, they were the two main representatives of this genre that accompanied generations of gamers.
So…
The Monkey Island saga seems to be one of those that, no matter how many times it closes its arcs and says farewell to its audience, will never truly end. Obviously, being so iconic, and after so many years since its beginnings, those first titles of the franchise have seen remakes and different versions, but if we want to truly immerse ourselves in its story and to appreciate that original effort, my advice, if you’ve never played them, is to look for those early titles, the pixelated originals from 1990. Every version is fun and engaging, but I’ll always recommend the original experience! And now it’s time for me to say goodbye. I must board The Sea Monkey and sail the ocean toward Monkey Island. But, since you’ve made it this far, it would be great if you dropped by the comments below and told me about your favorite moments or your best memories with this historic saga! You know pirate, we’ll be reading you! 😉
Images Source: My Little Retro Computer World YouTube Channel, Reddit
