[Review] Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge

REVIEW # 00000000 01000010

How many wood would a woodchuck ckuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

My heart says…

All the early LucasArts graphic adventure have a special place in my heart and so have Monkey Island 2. This is the first Monkey Island game I’ve played (since my first encounter with the first chapter is dated 2006) and while is not my all time favourite is for sure on the podium of the best games ever. I remember playing it with a friend at the same time and we vied to each other to see who was the quicker to complete the game. And as in all graphic adventures the challenge lasted for months leaving us without a winner. We beat the game years later but with a little help of a guide. We couldn’t have imagine how to pass that stupid spit challenge!

Splash screen

George Lucas has got us used to woderful intros. Even in MI2 we do not have a proper splash screen but a funny intro sequence, obviously worth of a 10/10

Graphics

Monkey Island features the state of the art graphics, at least tegarding the point-and-click genre, a kind of visual that even nowadays is highly regognizable. It’s very SNES-like but seeing this on a PC back then was nothing less than awesome!

Narrative

The story starts with Guybrush Threepwood, a pirate well known for being mocked by everybody for his not-so-pirate look, that talks with tho pirates about the time he defeated LeChuck. He’s also looking for Big Whoop, a mysterious treasure and a ship to go there. Unfortunately Largo LaGrande, first mate of LeChuck, placed an embargo on Scabb Island so nobody can leave it. In the island Guybrush will meet Mojo, the voodoo lady and with her help will try to free Scabb from Largo. But when Guybrush meet Largo he show him LeChuck ghost beard to prove he killed it and he got is stealed allowing Largo to resurrect LeChuck. Guybrush will go through many adventures, researches, spitting contest, necromancy and puzzles to finally find Big Whoop and kill LeChuck forever.

Gameplay

As almost all LucasArts adventures, Monkey Island 2 is based SCUMM application, the 5th version, so the game mechanics are very similar to other games of the period. This is the last SCUMM version I really love, since from the later versions (just to understand the SCUMMs used in Sam and Max and The Dig) the engine has less impact and, in my personal opinion is less user-friendly.

The adventure is divided in four chapters, even if the first and the sencond are way bigger than the other two and they are “The Largo Embargo”, all set on Scabb Island, “Four Map Pieces” set in Scabb Island but also in Phatt Island and Booty Island, “LeChuck Fortress” and “Dinky Island”.

All the game is permeated with massive humour and endles references to other LucasArts adventures and Lucas movies. During the third chapter we can also see Guybrush calling a helpline in which he can ask toy the lady who’s speaking why the adventure cames are so expensive, what’s the REAL secret of Monkey Island and other stuff related to Star Wars.

As in all Lucas adventures, sometimes the only way to proceed through the game is to do strange and stupid things (even though in this Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max and incomparable) but there are also situations in which the easuest thing is the smartest: for example in LeChuck’s Fortress, Guybrush faces a huge doorway full of locks and when he looks at it he says that it would be impossible to open, even in the toughest of the adventures. However, the huge door hides a small door that can be open with no effort.

Sound

There are a some funny sound effects and musics through the game but I can say this is the less developed department of it. It would have been better to have for example more sound effects since there are a lot of parts of the game that could have benefit. for example the memorabe spit challenge.

Longevity

Sincerely I don’t know a single person who beat a graphic adventure in less than…months! I’m pretty slow to beat games and it took me years to complete Monkey Island 2 so I can’t help to give the higherst grade possible.

Final Score 94/100