During the most recent Nintendo Direct Mini, Terrible Toybox, Devolver Digital, andLucasFilm Gamesfinally revealed the first look atReturn to Monkey Island, the newest entry in the groundbreaking point-and-click adventure game series in 13 years. This trailer came with many reveals, such as the first look at the new art style, glimpses at the returning voice cast, and a peek at the gameplay for the upcoming title. The trailer finally promised that this adventure will finally reveal how Guybrush found the fabled “Secret of Monkey Island.”
A small piece of news that went relatively unnoticed was the reveal on the game’s Steam and Nintendo eShop pages thatReturn to Monkey Islandwill be the final game in theMonkey Islandseries. The Steam page specifically lists it as “the exciting conclusion to theMonkey Islandseries.” While this news will undoubtedly come as a shock to many,Return to Monkey Islandacting as the series' conclusionultimately makes a lot of sense.
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Return to Monkey Islandis one of the most unlikely modern video game sequelsto even exist. For a long time fans had given up hope on seeing Ron Gilbert return to the series he created in 1991, especially given the series' new ownership under The Walt Disney Company as part of its acquisition of LucasFilm in 2012. While many had assumed Disney had no interest in revisiting LucasFilm Games/LucasArts IP, Ron Gilbert made many posts on his social media accounts claiming that he was going to attempt to buy the rights to the series off Disney.
Disney eventually did show some interest in LucasArts' old IP after teaming up with Double Fine Productions to release remasters of classic titles such asGrim FandangoandFull Throttle, lending some hope toMonkey Island’s eventual revival. Later, the company would even go on to acknowledge the series in other ways such as releasingThe Secret of Monkey Island: Special EditionandMonkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revengeas part of Xbox’s backwards compatibility program, and releasing classic titles likeCurse of Monkey Islandon Steam. No major indications that a newMonkey Islandgame was coming arrived until mid-2021, when Microsoft’sSea of Thievesfeatured a reference toMonkey Islandas part of itsPirates of the Caribbeancrossover, indicating that it was possible to license the IP from Disney.
Then finally, earlier this year, in true Ron Gilbert fashion, the latest entry in theMonkey Islandseries was finally revealed in the form of an April Fool’s Day post on the creator’s personal blog, something he often promised to do if he was ever to create a new game. The game was then officially announced on April 3rd, 2022 asReturn to Monkey Island,a Ron Gilbert-led follow-up toMonkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revengethat is set for release in 2022. While the game will acknowledge events and characters from later games, Gilbert has stated that this will be mainly based on concepts for a follow-up toMonkey Island 2he planned before leaving LucasArts.
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Why Return to Monkey Island Is A Good Place To End The Series
From explaining the long and uncertain road to even receiving a Ron Gilbert led follow-up toMonkey Island 2’s infamous ending, which concluded with the twist reveal that the events of the game were possibly just two boys playing pretend at a theme park, it’s easier to see whyReturn to Monkey Islandmakes such a good final outing for the series. It’s evident from his battle to win back the rights for the series and develop a new entry that Gilbert has had a lot of time to think about howMonkey Islandshould end. This includes telling a story abouthow Guybrush eventually found the “Secret of Monkey Island,“and ignoring entries that don’t fit into Gilbert’s original vision for the third entry.
Furthermore, many details can be grasped from the information recently released about the game that indicate why this is where the story should naturally conclude. These details range from the recent trailer opening withGuybrush recounting experiences from his past- indicating that this story is being told at a point where Guybrush may be done with pirating - to new, younger pirates such as Captain Madison replacing previously dominant ones and ushering in a new generation. Even the pirate leaders on Melee Island seem to have been replaced.
Even for fans ofMonkey Island, it’s hard to know where the series could go after a big blow-out likeReturn to Monkey Island. Ever sinceMonkey Island 2, the series has been spinning its wheels with certain story elements, like howCurse of Monkey Islandfailed to satisfyingly pay off its predecessor’s ending reveal by ignoring its storytelling nuances,Escape From Monkey Islandfailing on its promise of introducing new villainsand instead falling back on LeChuck, andTales of Monkey Islandbeing just as standalone as the game before it despite introducing some interesting new elements. It seems like if there was ever a gameMonkey Islandshould bow out with,Return to Monkey Islandis shaping up to be the one.
Return to Monkey Islandwill release for PC and Nintendo Switch in 2022.
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