The Secret of Monkey Island™: Special Edition

Well, it's hard to give anything less than a 5 star review considering the original game is right there, included, and it hardly needs any introduction or justification. One of the best adventure games, an all time classic, great puzzles, great characters, great humor. It's worth buying even if you just immediately hit F10 to switch to the old game and never go back. Reviewing it as a remake, however... well, there are some flaws. First off, the art style is just awful. While you can see they tried to keep things pretty close to the original for the most part, they went in a more cartoonish direction so it would look more similar to the later games in the series, and it doesn't work very well. It's a matter of personal taste, of course, but I found that it sucked a lot of charm out of the game, and some of the effects, like the rippling water or the heat haze under Monkey Island, just looked cheap and unnecessary. On the other hand, you'll want to play through the newer version at least once because the voice acting they added is pretty wonderful. For me, this is the real highlight of the remake. Everyone's voices are on par with any of the later games in the series, and they fit the characters perfectly, from the crotchety old shopkeeper to the timid pirate ghost with the loose skull. Unfortunately, there's no option to use the new voices with the old art- I can understand that maybe it would have been a little incongruous, but the option would have been nice. There are also a few bugs- though I didn't run into any my first time, on the second a squawking parrot got caught in a loop, and the game crashed seemingly at random beneath Monkey Island. Luckily, the remake has added an autosave, so I didn't lose much progress either time. One good feature is the way the game seamlessly transitions from new to old at the touch of a button- this is very convenient, plus it just looks cool, and I'm glad it's become a standard feature in other LucasArts remakes.

Well, it's difficult to choose, but I think, Monkey Island is the one I love most. Sure, Monkey Island 2 and 3 are much longer and Monkey Island 2 ist much more polished (Monkey Island 3 can't be compared), but the Secret of Monkey Island had this ... innocence. "I wanna be a pirate!" - and that was all there was to say about the game's story at the beginning. Sure, later we have ghost pirates and cannibals, but they all fit in. And the riddles ... (spoiler) Can't get out of the water? Well, pick up the weight that's holding you down, you dummy! This game's setting was the best one. When I play it, time seems to stand still, it's always 11 o'clock. Yes, Guybrush looks somewhat awkward in this remake, but a) you can set the graphics and interface back to the CD version of the game (sadly not the original floppy disc interface) or you can use a mod to change his hair. The remake was well done, but they did a better job with Monkey Island 2. It would have been nice if they re-release the remake with similar bonus content as MI2SE has.

The Secret of Monkey Island is a classic adventure game which I highly recommend checking out if you're interested in the genre. This remastered version is overall quite good; I liked having the ability to change between the original visuals and the new, remastered graphics and although I personally didn't find the remastered visuals that good, at least they're there for people who don't like old 90's graphics. The only flaw I can think of is that the original version of the game does not have voice acting, which is a bit of a shame. Overall still a solid remaster.

The Secret Of Monkey Island is probably my favorite adventure game of all time. This special edition, while clearly with its heart in the right place, misses the mark with one oddly bad decision. The artstyle of the new graphics are downright ugly. This is in no way a dealbreaker in itself since you thankfully have the option to switch back and forth between this visual abomination and the beautiful pixelart of the original release with just the press of a button. What unfortunately is lost when you choose the preferred oldschool graphics is the voice acting. That's a big loss since these voices actually are really good and adds a lot of enjoyment to the game. This is fixed in the special edition of the sequel but is tied to what version of the graphics you choose to use in this release. That's pretty much the only problem to be found here though so if you are looking for a cool, fun and exciting adventure you won't be to disappointed by this special edition.

Monkey Island was a great game and its still great. I really liked the remake. You can switch back and forth between the old style and the new, so that's cool if you find the new stuff off-putting. Yes the control can be a little bit weird, but so where the originals, and it did not detract from the overall experience. I played through it with my kids and the whole family had a great time and the updated graphics, awesome voice acting, and new hints system all helped make the experience better and more accessible for my young brood. Its the second greatest adventure game I've ever played!