Tales of Monkey Island: Episode 1 – Launch of the Screaming Narwhal Review
Ah, Monkey Island. Since it’s debut in 1990, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with the series, and Curse of Monkey Island is still my favorite game of all time. So, when LucasArts shut down its adventure game division, I lamented that gamers wouldn’t get to experience any more of Guybrush Threepwood’s classic adventures.
Thankfully, of course, LucasArts has undergone yet another creative overhaul, and the new people in charge realize that just pumping out a Star Wars game four times a year isn’t winning them any fans anymore. So they’ve “loaned” the Monkey Island to the best graphic adventure team going right now, TellTale Games.
And overall? It works. The game fells like Monkey Island, in many ways more than Escape from Monkey Island did almost ten years ago. The writing and puzzles, while not flat-out hillarious, are always smart and amusing, and you’ll find yourself pushing to get through even the few puzzles that don’t work as intended, to get to the next series of puzzles/dialog. It’s one of those games that you don’t want to put down.
It’s not all sunshine and lollipops, though. There are a few puzzles which don’t really follow a logical track, as if they were half put together in the writing room and then never finished. Also, the control scheme from Wallace and Grommit makes an appearance here, which is too bad. It doesn’t really work for this type of game, and while I realize they’re somewhat beholden to the scheme now, it’s simple more hassle then fun.
The other issue which really needs to be tightened up in the next game is the dialog trees. Monkey Island is well known for its expansive dialog trees and hillarious back and forths, but that’s notably absent here. They’ll often give four amusing dialog options, then have Guybrush deliver a canned response no matter what you pick. Now that’s an old LucasArts trope (to keep the plot moving despite the player), but it’s way overused here, and if you go back to the old Monkey Islands, Guybrush often does deliver the off-the-wall non-sequiters, and the writer’s struggle to get the plot back on-track is one of the more amusing parts of the whole game. TellTale’s writing seems a bit too “on rails” in the first installment.
Extra Features:
There aren’t any extra features, not even a preview of the next “chapter.”
Technical:
I played the retail version of the game, and most of the bug fixes were implimented. I did run into one (non-game corrupting) bug, in which Guybrush began hovering over the ground rather than using his walking animation. The other major bug currently being reported is that you can use one key plot item without going through the process of getting it in your inventory, preventing you from finishing a puzzle later in the game.
Graphics:
The main plot characters are obviously lovingly animated. Guybrush looks like Guybrush (though his weird beard is prominent and doesn’t look good), and LeChuck, Elaine, the Voodoo Lady, and the new villain, Marquis de Singe, all look their part. The little animations like Guybrush’s cursed hand spiting him at every turn, a callback to Wallace and Grommit, and other sight gags all translate effortlessly. They overuse the “fat pirate” model a bit too much, however.
Almost the entire game takes place on windswept Floatsom Island, which looks good, but there’s only a handful of actual locations on the island, so they get a little boring. This feels like it will be a recurring theme with this series though, with each episode pretty much contained to one small area.
Sound:
Dominic Armato slips right back into his role as Guybrush as though he’d been playing him constantly for the ten years since Escape. His wit and timing are still right on, and frankly, it’d be hard to hear anybody else as Mr. Threepwood now. The other actors are servicable. Elaine is back to being English, which is a step up from EMI, and while LeChuck is no longer the legendary Earl Boen, Adam Harrington does a suitible mock-up.
Michael Land returns as the Monkey Island composer, and he does a wonderful job. The songs fit the area and theme perfectly. My only complaint is that there wasn’t more there to experience.
Replay Value:
There are a few dialog bits and character interactions that you’ll probably miss on the first playthrough, but otherwise, the only reason to play through it again is for a plot refresher before the next episode.
Final Score: 8.5/10
As a relaunch to the series, Narwhale is excellent. Sure, it’s going to take the TellTale people some time to put everything together fully, most everything they are doing is working so far, and there’s no reason to suggest that the series won’t get better as it goes on.
That’s the one thing that bothers me though. Tales is an incomplete game, and you’re almost better off waiting until November when you’ll be able to play the whole thing through. As a stand-alone episode, Narwhale is great, but it’s incomplete and that month long wait between episodes is almost too long.
If you’re interested in taking a look at the game, you can download a copy of the PC Demo at the TellTale Website.