The Curse of Monkey Island: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''I've sailed the seas from Trinidad to Tortuga and I've never seen anything like it! The engagement ring I gave Elaine has a terrible pirate curse on it. LeChuck is behind it, I'm sure. I should have known that nothing good could come out of that evil zombie's treasures. And if that's not bad enough, the clairvoyant I met in the mangrove swamp told me that if I am to break the curse and save Elaine, [[Tonight Someone Dies|I will have to die]]!''|Excerpted from ''The Memoirs of Guybrush Threepwood: The [[Monkey Island (series)|Monkey Island]] Years''}}

The third game in the ''[[Monkey Island (series)|Monkey Island]]'' series, ''The Curse of Monkey Island'' was released in 1997, six years after the previous installment, ''[[Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge|LeChuck's Revenge]]''. With two of the three fathers of the series, Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman, no longer working for [[LucasArts]], and the third, [[Tim Schafer]], being busy with [[Grim Fandango|other projects]], no one was really around to explain the infamous ambiguous ending of ''LeChuck's Revenge'', so the company decided to go with a [[Cuckoo Nest]] interpretation of it.

''The Curse of Monkey Island'' starts off with Guybrush, adrift in a bumper car after escaping LeChuck's spell and his "Carnival of the Damned", arriving in the harbor of Plunder Island, just in time to save the island (and Elaine) from attack by LeChuck and his undead pirates. LeChuck is slain yet again, and Guybrush proposes to Elaine using a ring he found in the hold of LeChuck's ship. Unfortunately, said ring turns out to be cursed, and Elaine is turned into a golden statue. Guybrush's new mission is to lift the curse on Elaine and return her to normal (and defeat LeChuck again when the evil pirate once again comes back from the dead, this time as a fiery demon).

** Guybrush begins the game with only one item in your inventory: a pair of helium filled balloons. Presumably, these are the same balloons acquired in the endgame of ''[[Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge]]'', but everything else from that game has been lost.

* [[BFGBig Freaking Gun]]: The Destructo-Matic T47 Armor-Piercing Carnage-Delivery System with Auto-Loading and Fax Modem.

* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: When Guybrush poses as "El Pollo Diablo,", he has dialogue options in Spanish or English.

** Added bonus for A) Firing from the fort which was a good 50 meters away. B) Using a musket (Thoughthough not really an option) which are notorious for their poor accuracy at range. And C) [[Smoking Barrel Blowout|Blowing out the smoke from the barrel.]].

** In Part II, even though it's always daytime in Puerto Pollo, the clock tower at the Long John Silver Center for the Performing Arts is a real-time system clock that is built in for your computer, telling you at what time you played the game and keeping track of your current, local civil time. At each hour, the clock chimes in a bit of LeChuck's Theme followed by the chime of the hour number, and about 30 minutes after each hour, the same bit of LeChuck's theme plays, but without the chime of the hour number. Even interesting is that when Guybrush examines the clock tower, he will say what current time will be in the Caribbean Standard Time in hours, minutes and seconds, whether in morning, afternoon and night, [[Mad Libs Dialogue|acting like a speaking clock on the phone at the time of day service]]. Complete with "[[Saying Sound Effects Out Loud|Beep]].".

** Also, when Guybrush speaks with Palido Domingo and asks him how long he's been lying in Brimstone Beach trying to get a tan, Palido will tell him he's been there since seven months prior to the current month and date on your computer clock. If you asked him in August, for example, he'll say, "Since January.". Ask him in ''January'', however, and he'll not only say, "Since June,", but [[New Year Has Come|he will also wish Guybrush a Happy New Year]]! Weird!

** "I didn't think you could die in LucasArts adventure games. The developers must be trying something different."

** Also, throughout the game, there's some instances where Guybrush will attempt a distraction by yelling "Look! A three-headed monkey!", and {{spoiler|a mechanical three-headed monkey makes an appearance in the game's last chapter.}}. Guybrush even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] it with 'I knew it'd turn up sooner or later!'.

* [[Buried Alive]]: Invoked by Guybrush to access a crypt. In a [[Continuity Nod]], he encounters Stan in said crypt, who was [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath|trapped inside a coffin by Guybrush]] in the previous game.

* [[But Thou Must!]]: Guybrush joins a poker game with a group of pirates who are obviously going to cheat, and no matter what he'you' pickspick, willhe'll say "Sure"Of course I trust you."

** InWhen theMinnie Cryptasks if you're attached, you get multiple ways to say "noyes",... and a single "yesno" response, but if you choose it, Guybrush will still say "noyes".

** He is asked early on by the Voodoo Lady if he wants to see pictures of some voodoo children. All of the selectable responses are of him being horrified and loathing it, but he will always say "Perhaps... later.".

* [[Coincidental Accidental Disguise]]: Tar + feathers = El Pollo Diablo.

* [[Conveniently -Placed Sharp Thing]]: Parodied.

* [[Cooking Duel]]: Guybrush must defeat Van Helgen in a banjo duel in order to recruit him. (Hehe has to cheat, of course...).

* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: The Caber Toss is a contest of how straight the log can be made to fall in relation to the participant ("Twelve O'Clock" being a perfect score) after doing a single flip, rather than sheer distance as Haggis McMutton claims. That Guybrush could defeat Haggis by replacing his own caber with a rubber tree log and causing it to bounce out of frame is fairly banal. Then again, Haggis claims he will join Guybrush by virtue of his apparent strength rather than actually being beaten in a fair game.

* [[Exact Words]]: The hangover cure must contain "the hair of the dog that bit you"." In this case, they mean actual hair from a dog. And it must bite you.

* [[Fission Mailed]]: "Funny. I didn't think [[Unwinnable by Design|you could die in LucasArts adventure games]]. [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|The developers must be trying something different]]."

* [[Island Base]]: Skull Island. {{spoiler|Even though it looks like a duck.}}.

** Yeah, but if you sorta squint and turn your head... {{spoiler|it looks like a bunny.}}.

'''André:''' One day... you will understand. }}

* [[Jedi Mind Trick]]: Guybrush can do this on the Cabaña Boy who is keeping him from getting into the Brimstone Beach Club. {{spoiler|[[Won't Work On Me|It almost works.]]}}.

* [[Make It Look Like an Accident]]: In ''[[Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge]]'', Rum Rogers Sr. died in a bathub thanks to his habit of [[Electrified Bathtub|bathing while eating toast]]. In ''The Curse of Monkey Island'', LechuckLeChuck reveals that he killed him there and made it look like an accident.

** Examining the crack in the Goodsoup crypt causes Guybrush to pop-up from the inaccessableinaccessible stump of ''[[The Secret of Monkey Island]]'' in Melee Island (the one with the often misunderstood joke ''Insert Disk #absurd_number''). The original -now crude by 1997- EGA graphics and SMI-music are used and Guybrush mentions that he feels like he’s been here before, maybe in a dream. Luckily he can't exit to the other side, because he isn't aware that [[Ass Pull|a killing horde is in his way]].

* [[The Name Is Bond, James Bond]]: Guybrush can introduce himself to King André this way, either under his own name or other aliases;, but no matter which other aliases he chooses, André will know Guybrush's name anyway by calling him "Mister Threepwood".

* [[Noodle Incident]]: Guybrush reveals he has a fear of [[Faux Horrific|porcelain]] (which is something of a running gag throughout the rest of the game) and never explains why other than that it's "a long story". Fans speculated that it was because he had a porcelain vase smashed over his head during the off-screen fight with Shinetop in the first game. Sadly, [[LucasArts]] shot down that theory.

** The trope is lampshaded by Guybrush during [[The Mutiny]] song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AawQvD8L_h4 "A Pirate I Was Meant To Be"]:

You're not pirates! You're just slackers! }}

** Dread Pirate Bloodnose (also known as Wally B. Feed) "drinks milk straight from the carton!".

** Murray "I will hide your keys beneath the cushions of your upholstered furniture, and NEVERMORE will you be able to find socks that match! ".

*** Hang out long enough, though, and [[Funny Background Event|that chicken on the left starts to go under]].

* [[Riding Into the Sunset]]: {{spoiler|At the end of the game before the credits.}}.

* [[Saying Sound Effects Out Loud]]: Guybrush is made [[Walk the Plank]], but avoids falling into the sea. Lechimp remarks "That's odd, I didn't hear any ''splash''." . Guybrush quickly reacts and utters a loud ''SPLASH!!'' for reassurance.

** The title of Part 4, "The Bartender, the Thieves, His Aunt, and Her Lover", is a spoof on the film title, ''[[The Cook the Thief His Wife And Her Lover]]''.

** Also, the title of Part 5, "Kiss of the Spider Monkey", is a spoof on the title of Manuel Puig's 1973 novel, ''[[Kiss of the Spider Woman]]''.

** [[Named After Somebody Famous]]: Mr. Fossey, who hears voices in his head and interacts with the monkeys at Danjer Cove, is named after American zoologist Dian Fossey, who is known for saving the mountain gorillas from extinction and from poachers in Rwanda, and who met her sudden, untimely demise on December 26, 1985. Most of her life is described in her 1983 bestselling book, ''[[Gorillas in The Mist]]'', most of which was made into a motion picture adaptation 5 years later, with [[Sigourney Weaver]] as Dian Fossey.

** There's a special scene after the credits, in which {{spoiler|1=they spoof the classic [[Urban Legend]] about Walt Disney being kept frozen and buried under his theme park, as LeChuck actually IS buried frozen under his theme park, though a father tells the story to his son as a real father would tell Disney's story in real life.}}.

** When Guybrush uses his [[Ventriloquism]] skills with Captain LeChimp he does a [[Star Trek|Captain Kirk]] / [[William Shatner]] impersonation, hams, random speech rhythm, etc. LeChimp's (a gorilla) golden and purple attire deliberately resembles a Starfleet uniform.

** A later conversation choice references a famous line from the Bond film ''[[Goldfinger]]'', with Guybrush asking ''Do you expect me to talk?'', and André replying [[No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine|''No Mr. Threepwood, I expect you to buy.'']]

** Mort has a book titled ''[[Zombies Ate My Neighbors]]''.

** Playing with the lights in the theatre enough will result in a ''[[Sam and Max]]'' illumination on the stage

** Exiting and entering the crypt an absurd amount of times in a row rewards you with an unsettling [[Easter Egg]];: a protagonist from ''[[The Dig]]'' being devoured by a spider.

** Guybrush is still [[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure|"selling these fine leather jackets."]]

** [[Alas, Poor Yorick]]: If you try to use Murray, Guybrush will say, "Alas, I can't use Murray with that."

* [[Spiritual Successor]]: ''[[Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island]]''.

'''Lost Welshman''': Well SURE, [[Myst|mist]] is [[Scenery Porn|pretty]]! But EGAD is it dull. }}

* [[Tampering with Food and Drink]]: At one point in the game, you are required to drug yourself by mixing hangover medicine with alcohol.

{{quote|'''Guybrush:''' This makes the drink oh so much more appealing. }}

* [[That Reminds Me of a Song]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AawQvD8L_h4 "A Pirate I Was Meant To Be"].

*** Though, really, anyone who skips straight to that line as soon as it pops up [[Comically Missing the Point|just doesn't get the premise of the game]].

* [[The Three Trials]]: Find a map, a ship, and a crew in the second act. A ring, a diamond and hand lotion in the fourth act. Each object demands a lengthy expedition and perilous adventure -... yes, even the hand lotion.

** {{spoiler|The Voodoo Lady turns out to be right, [[From a Certain Point of View|in a manner]]. He does indeed die, but fakes it.}}.

'''Guybrush:''' Well, yes. }}

* [[Un Paused]]: Elaine is gearing up to punch Guybrush right before {{spoiler|she turns into a statue. She resumes the punch when unfrozen.}}.

* [[Variable Mix]]: iMuse at its finest. Depending on the interlocutor the background music would segue smoothly into a remixed version; the Barbery Coast theme would gain an accompaniment of accordion when talking to [[French Jerk|Captain Rene Rottingham]] , and when on the Sea Cucumber, steel guitar, steel drum, and atmospheric seagulls would be added to a more upbeat version of the Sea Cucumber theme when Mr. Fossie came to harass you.

'''Murray:''' Drat. }}

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: Wally's fate. This trope MAY have been invoked intentionally, since Guybrush makes a point of saying that he needs to save Wally and all of the monkey slaves (but then the theme park explodes). It's hard to say though, because other stuff clearly WAS cut out due to [[Executive Meddling]].

* [[With This Ring]]...: Guybrush invokes [[Finagle's Law]];: he proposes Elaine with an expensive looking diamond ring [[Genre Blind|he just got out of LeChuck's vault]], the ring turns out to be cursed and turns Elaine [[Taken for Granite|into a golden statue]]. To break the curse, he has to get a ring [[Equivalent Exchange|more expensive than the cursed one]] and put it in Elaine's hand.

* [[A Winner Is You]]: {{spoiler|1=After defeating LeChuck, the game instantly cuts away to a 30 second scene without any dialogue, that consists of Guybrush and Elaine [[Riding Into the Sunset|heading off to their honeymoon]], while their friends are waving goodbye. The developers had planned to include more gameplay, but had to cancel after the game threatened to [[Schedule Slip]], so this could be the explanation}}.

* [[You Fight Like a Cow]]: As you'd expect from the franchise that [[Trope Namers|named the trope]], the Insult Swordfighting minigame returns... but with a twist: Becausebecause the fights take place at sea, the comebacks have to rhyme with the insults.

'''André:''' [[Insane Proprietor|I'm not crazy -- my prices are!]] }}

* [[Your Mom]]: One of René Rottingham's rhyming swordfight insults is "Your mother wears a toupee!", to which Guybrush can respond, "Oh, that is so cliché", which is the same response to a pirate's "En garde! Touché!".

* [[Zip Mode]]: If you double click on an exit, the game will skip the repetitive, boring and long proccess of Guybrush having to phisically walk to there. <ref> A feature sadly missing in the more modern ''[[Grim Fandango]]'' and ''[[Escape from Monkey Island]]'', 3D non-SCUMM-based keyboard controlled games.</ref>.