Monkey Island
A note about this page: I wrote all of this quite quickly and there may be some careless mistakes. It's probably best that you check out Wikipedia or World of Monkey Island.
A series of pirate-themed adventure/RPG games created by LucasArts. They are set in a fictional part of the Caribbean in an unclear time period, probably the end of the 17th Century, which was part of the Golden Age of piracy in the Caribbean. They follow the adventures and misadventures of the inept but lovable pirate (or wannabe pirate) Guybrush Threepwood, his attempts to win the affections of beautiful Governor Elaine Marley and his quest to defeat his love-rival and enemy LeChuck, an undead pirate with a fixation on Elaine.
The mood of the games is generally light-hearted and humorous, with plenty of in-jokes, hidden features and references to movies and other games. It is impossible for the player's character to die or lose the game, although this can be simulated at least once in each game. The factual basis of the games is very loose: outfits, scenery and ships are highly stylised, and modern items (such as vending machines) are often included. The series also contains many plotholes and contradictions.
Creation and Future
The first two games were created by Ron Gilbert and were inspired by the book On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers. Some scenes were also inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. After Gilbert left LucasArts, the rights to the series were left with the company and the third and fourth games were eventually created. The change in developers has been named as one of the reasons for the poor continuity in the overall Monkey Island plot. There have been rumours about a fifth game, but these have yet to come to fruition.
Characters
GUYBRUSH THREEPWOOD
"I can hold my breath for ten minutes!"
The protagonist. He is in his early twenties at the start of the series, or possibly even younger. He arrives on Melee Island with dreams of becoming a pirate; whilst trying to fulfill this dream, he falls in love with Governor Elaine Marley and rescues her from the ghost pirate LeChuck. The rest of the games follow his continuing battles with LeChuck and his relationship with Elaine. Whilst neither strong nor particularly brave, Guybrush refers to himself as a 'mighty pirate'. He is resourceful and always manages to get himself out of bad situations. His weaknesses include an unexplained fear of porcelain; his special skill is that he can hold his breath for ten minutes.
ELAINE MARLEY
"I don't think my father would approve of me dating the undead."
The love interest of both Guybrush and LeChuck. She is the Governor of the Tri-Island area, a title which she possibly inherited from her grandfather, Horatio Torquemada Marley. Nothing is known about her parents except for that they were 'deadbeats'; it is possible that she was raised by her grandfather. Although she occasionally needs rescuing, she is an independent woman who is able to take care of herself and saves Guybrush's life on one occasion. It would seem that she dominates her relationship with Guybrush. It has also been speculated that she is probably older than him, which seems very likely.
LECHUCK
"Darn yer riddles, ya saucy female!"
The main villain. Before his death, he was a fearsome pirate captain who fell in love with Elaine. When she rejected his advances, he sailed off to find the legendary treasure of Big Whoop. In doing so, he was transformed into one of the living dead: first a ghost, then a zombie and finally a demon. He eventually gains the ability to switch from one form to another at will. His goals are to kill Guybrush and take Elaine as his bride. His base is the mysterious Monkey Island; he eventually builds a carnival there but later destroys it in a fit of rage. Although he can be violent and cruel, he is essentially more successful as a comedy figure than a villain.
STAN
"Say, does your wife know you're such a cheapskate?"
A stereotypical salesman who wears a checkered coat. He constantly waves his arms and/or taps his feet while talking, and he tends to talk a lot, delivering lengthy sales pitches. His line of business changes from game to game. In the first game, he sells Guybrush a ship after a lengthy bartering session. In the second, he is selling used coffins. In the third, after being trapped in one of his own coffins for a length of time by Guybrush, he becomes a life insurance salesman. In the fourth, he is dealing in real estate.
THE VOODOO LADY
"Two, four, six, eight, who do we assassinate?"
A voodoo priestess whose name is not known. She assists Guybrush to a certain extent in each game. In the first, she runs the International House of Mojo and predicts Guybrush's future. In the second, she tells him how to defeat Largo LaGrande. In the third, she advises Guybrush on how to break the curse that he has accidentally put on Elaine. In the fourth, she gives him information on the Ultimate Insult, a powerful voodoo talisman. She moves around from island to island depending on where she is needed.
HERMAN TOOTHROT
"If a tree falls in the forest and no-one is around to hear it, what colour is the tree?"
A hermit on Monkey Island, although at one point he is found on Dinky Island, teaching philosophy. He doesn't appear to have any pants. In the fourth game, it is revealed that he is actually Elaine's grandfather (and he remembers where his pants are) who was pushed into a whirlpool by Ozzie Mandrill whilst they were racing in a tournament; as a result, he ended up on Monkey Island with amnesia until Guybrush manages to cure him by hitting him on the head repeatedly.
WALLY B. FEED
"I'm so tough that in high school I stuffed Davy Jones in his locker!"
A diminutive cartographer who helps Guybrush construct a map in the second game and gets kidnapped by LeChuck as a result. He escapes with Guybrush but it seems that he gets captured again. After a brief stint as a member of LeChuck's crew, Guybrush makes him realise that he's not cut out to be a pirate. He is later found in chains as part of an attraction at LeChuck's carnival. It is unknown how he got taken captive again, nor what happens to him after the end of the third game.
MURRAY
"I am a powerful demonic force! I am the harbinger of your doom!"
A talking skull who was presumably a skeletal member of LeChuck's crew before his boat was blasted to pieces by Guybrush, who adds insult to injury by stealing his arm. He has grand dreams of power and overestimates his own evilness and abilities. Whilst he considers himself a dastardly villain, he is little threat to anyone and even helps Guybrush on occasion. In the fourth game, he has somehow managed to secure a job as a doorman at a restaurant, but is often yelled at for dropping hints of 'evil' into his welcome speeches.
THE CANNIBALS
"Is that a banana in your pocket, or are you just happy to see us?"
A group of former cannibals who live on Monkey Island until LeChuck's carnival on Monkey Island starts to annoy them, at which point they move to Blood Island. In the first game, they were attempting to cut down on red meat and fatty acids. By the third, they had become vegetarians. In the third game, they wear fruit-shaped masks on their head and it is possible to have a lengthy conversation with Lemonhead, who is pretty well-spoken. The tribe worships the lactose-intolerant volcano god Sherman until Guybrush throws cheese into the volcano, causing it to erupt. It is possible that the ex-cannibals' village was destroyed in the eruption.
CARLA
"We are getting paid for this, right?"
The slightly surly swordmaster of Melee Island who becomes part of Guybrush's crew to rescue Elaine. In the fourth game she is a cynical alcoholic as a result of being stranded on Monkey Island by Guybrush. It would seem that she has never liked him: she is probably bitter that he challenged her to a duel without permission and managed to beat her. She rejoins Guybrush's crew in the fourth game on the condition that she will get a 'cushy government job' as payment.
OTIS
"I can't pick a lock or a pocket without making more noise than a flatulent hippo."
A 'victim of society' who is often imprisoned for petty crimes that he didn't commit. Guybrush frees him from prison during the first game; in the fourth game, he ends up in prison again for illegally picking a flower, when it was in fact Guybrush who did this. Although he chickens out at first, he eventually agrees to become part of Guybrush's crew and gets abandoned on Monkey Island along with Carla and Meathook. He rejoins in the fourth game when Guybrush promises him a 'cushy government job' in return.
MEATHOOK
"I'd heard you were killed by a giant clam!"
A burly but gentle pirate with hooks for hands and a tattoo on his belly which he can make 'talk'. He keeps a pet parrot under high security and is deathly afraid of it, referring to it as 'the beast' and claiming that it caused him to lose his hands. In the first game, he agrees to join Guybrush's crew if Guybrush can face 'the beast'. Guybrush isn't afraid of the parrot and Meathook is very impressed. By the fourth game, he has become an artist who paints with melted wax. The parrot has died of loneliness.
LARGO LAGRANDE
"Remember: wherever you are, on sea or land, you can't hide from Largo LaGrande!"
Appears only in the second game. He is one of LeChuck's henchman, a short but physically strong man who likes to bully everyone else, especially for their money. The whole of Scabb Island hates and fears him. He mugs Guybrush, who later chases him off the island with a voodoo doll. Largo is then sent by the newly-resurrected LeChuck to find Guybrush, but he is technically unsuccessful in doing so as Guybrush gets captured due to his own actions. It is possible that he died in the explosion of LeChuck's fortress, but you never know...
OZZIE MANDRILL
"Look upon my work, ye mighty pirates, and despair!"
Appears only in the fourth game. An Australian land-developer and businessman, he buys up most of the property in the area by challenging the original owners to impossible bouts of insult sword-fighting: Ozzie uses Australian insults which nobody else can understand or overcome. He aims to eradicate pirates and piracy for good and has already turned a couple of islands into places of 'orderly consumerism'. Ironically, he recruits LeChuck to help him in his task and even manages to bring the pirate under his complete control using a voodoo talisman. He is eventually killed by LeChuck, although this may have been an accident.
The Games
THE SECRET OF MONKEY ISLAND
Released: 1990
"I'm looking for 30 dead guys and one woman."
"I don't think I want to hear any more about it."
Guybrush Threepwood arrives on the island with a dream of becoming a pirate. To do this, he must complete the Three Trials: he must find treasure, he must master the art of sword-fighting and he must steal a precious idol from the Governor's mansion. Whilst carrying out his tasks, he meets the Governor and they fall in love. Unfortunately, the Governor is being pursued from beyond the grave by the evil LeChuck who kidnaps her. Guybrush must put together a crew to rescue her from Monkey Island. He gets there too late and finds that LeChuck is returning to Melee Island to marry Elaine in the church. With the help of the island cannibals, Guybrush puts together a voodoo concoction that can destroy ghosts. He returns to Melee Island to find that Elaine didn't need rescuing at all: she managed to escape by herself. Nevertheless, Guybrush gets into a fight with LeChuck and destroys his spirit form.
LECHUCK'S REVENGE
Released: 1991
"I'm on a whole new adventure."
"Growing a mustache?"
"No, bigger than that."
"A beard?!?"
Guybrush is on Scabb Island. Elaine has broken up with him and people are getting bored of hearing about how he defeated LeChuck, so he is searching for new glory in the form of Big Whoop, a mysterious but highly prized pirate treasure. First, however, he must deal with Largo LaGrande. one of LeChuck's henchmen. He manages to do so with help from the Voodoo Lady, but accidentally gives Largo the means to bring LeChuck's body back from the dead. His only method of escape is to find Big Whoop, so he sets sail to find the four pieces of the map which are stranded all over the Tri-Island area. He brings them back to Scabb Island to be put together by a cartographer, but when the cartographer is kidnapped Guybrush decides to go to LeChuck's fortress to retrieve the map. He gets caught but escapes and somehow ends up on Dinky Island, the location of the treasure. Here he is confronted by LeChuck once again, who tortures him with a voodoo doll and claims to be his brother. The game ends with the two of them as children who have been found by their parents after wandering off at a carnival. It is still debated as to whether this is simply a hex initiated by LeChuck or whether they are truly siblings at a theme park who are imagining that they are pirates.
THE CURSE OF MONKEY ISLAND
Released: 1997
"Do you know anything about lifting curses?"
"I know a lot about lifting curses. That's why I'm a disembodied talking skull sitting on top of a spike in the middle of a swamp."
After escaping from LeChuck's carnival, Guybrush drifts into a battle between LeChuck and Elaine in her fort on Plunder Island. He is captured by LeChuck but blows up his ship from within; unfortunately, the voodoo explosion turns LeChuck from a zombie into a demon. Guybrush, meanwhile, proposes to Elaine using a ring that he finds in LeChuck's treasure hold. However, the ring is cursed and transforms Elaine into a solid gold statue. The only remedy is to replace the ring with a pure one of equal size. One such ring is to be found on Blood Island so Guybrush goes about getting a map, ship and crew. On the way to Blood Island, he is hindered by Captain Rottingham who steals his map and intends to claim the diamond ring for himself. Guybrush defeats him and retrieves the map. On Blood island, he finds the ring after a series of quests which involve everything from faking his death (twice) to making the island's volcano erupt. Shortly after Guybrush has broken the curse on Elaine, the couple are taken captive by LeChuck's crew and are taken back to the carnival on Monkey Island. Guybrush defeats LeChuck yet again by burying him beneath a mountain of ice.
ESCAPE FROM MONKEY ISLAND
Released: 2000
"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to escape from Monkey Island?"
"No, how difficult is it to escape from Monkey Island?"
"Well...it's really difficult."
Guybrush and Elaine are now married. They return from their long honeymoon to find that Elaine has been declared dead and many properties are being bought by a mysterious Australian named Ozzie Mandrill. As Elaine's mansion is up for demolition, Guybrush must find the deeds to save it. This relatively simple mission escalates into a full-scale adventure as it is revealed that Ozzie Mandrill wishes to rid the Caribbean of piracy. To make matters worse, the candidate who is rivalling Elaine for election is none other than LeChuck in disguise, and he is in league with Ozzie. The two villains are searching for a powerful voodoo talisman which can completely destroy the morale of anyone who falls victim to it. Guybrush sets out to find this talisman himself, to prevent his enemies from getting their hands on it. He is successful, but is immediately captured by LeChuck and Ozzie who steal the talisman and leave Guybrush on Monkey Island to keep him out of the way. Guybrush manages to escape with the help of Herman Toothrot, the hermit who gradually remembers that he is Elaine's grandfather, and a talking monkey named Jojo. They return to Melee Island in a giant robot and destroy LeChuck.
Rotation
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