An account of Guybrush Threepwood's attempts to become a pirate, get the girl, and kick butt
Way back when LucasArts was still called Lucasfilm Games, Ron Gilbert (along with Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer) introduced us all to a young pirate wannabe by the name of Guybrush Threepwood in The Secret of Monkey Island.
Monkey Island is a pretty big deal. For those not alive or aware enough in the early 1990s to remember the adventure titles released during that era, the Monkey Island games were among the most groundbreaking. One thing that distinguished Monkey Island from some other adventure games of that era was that it allowed players to explore surroundings and interact with the world without the risk of dying or reaching a dead end were they to use the wrong flavor of pie with the ogre, or speak the wrong line of dialogue to the princess during a critical sequence.
Just about every LucasArts adventure title released after the first Monkey Island game followed this model, providing years' worth of fun, accessible games that didn't punish people for trying anything and everything to see what would happen. This is something that remains an important cornerstone to the way Telltale's games are designed.
Guybrush Threepwood appears on Mêlée Island and immediately sets out to prove he has the right stuff to become a fearsome pirate. While attempting to impress some important-looking pirates with his treasure hunting, insult sword-fighting, and burgling skills, Guybrush is introduced to the love of his life, Elaine Marley (the island's governor), as well as his nemesis, the ghost pirate LeChuck (grrrr). That's in addition to a wealth of other characters, including a mysterious Voodoo Lady and a guy with a talking tattoo. LeChuck steals Elaine and escapes to the caverns underneath Monkey Island with the intention of forcing her to become his bride. Guybrush must locate this legendary island with the help of a crew of layabouts, and once there, he must get help from a strange, pant-less hermit, and traverse the hellish underworld to find LeChuck's ghost ship.
LucasArts has recently released The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition for PC Xbox Live Arcade! It features updated graphics, music, and voice acting!
It all started when Guybrush and his newfound beard failed to impress his fellow pirates with tales from the previous adventure. To help shore up his piratey reputation, Threepwood decides to chase down the elusive treasure of Big Whoop. However, before he can get started, his riches are stolen by Largo LaGrande—LeChuck's former right-hand man—and Guybrush must return to his puzzle-solving ways now that he's broke. After a long search for map pieces to Big Whoop and a stormy reunion with Elaine (who is now also governor of Booty Island™), LeChuck reappears in zombie form thanks to Largo LaGrande's voodoo tinkering. Needless to say, but things become a bit more complicated after this occurs.
A few years later, Guybrush returned (though his beard did not) in a new adventure. Adrift in some sort of carnival ride after escaping from the strange ending scenario in the last game, Guybrush encounters LeChuck and his skeleton crew laying siege to Plunder island™, which Elaine Marley manages to also govern. He's captured by LeChuck and must escape the brig. In doing so (again, rather explosively), he causes LeChuck to drop an explosive voodoo cannonball which obliterates his zombie form. Reuniting with Elaine, he takes a ring that he found in the hold of LeChuck's ship and proposes to her. In very Threepwoodian fashion, he's chosen the ring that had a terrible voodoo curse on it, and Elaine transforms into a life-size gold statue. Naturally, Guybrush needs to break this curse, defeat a demonic LeChuck, and stop his crewmates from singing quite so much.
Elaine and Guybrush are newly married in this adventure, and upon returning to Mêlée Island from their honeymoon, it turns out that Elaine's been declared dead. With the governorship left vacant due to her supposed demise, a newcomer named Charles L. Charles demands a new election and promises free grog and good times for the electorate. Meanwhile, a shady Australian land developer named Ozzie Mandrill is buying up all the land in the area and turning once-proud pirate ports into kitschy tourist traps. The Marley-Threepwoods need to reestablish Elaine's status as one of the living, win back the governorship, figure out the truth behind Charles L. Charles's motivations and Mandrill's ambitions, and discover the Ultimate Insult.
