Games, like movies, used to just have jokes in them. Not just absurd circumstances, not darkly humorous satires, but actual jokes that exist for no reason other than to evoke a chortle. Indeed, games like this were jam-packed with them, feeling no obligation to create a logically cogent or historically accurate world when you could instead extract a few laughs from a pirate doing community theater or a laser-guided cannon.

Not every joke lands, but that hardly matters when they come so fast, so thick, and so confidently. Not every puzzle makes sense, but that's what hint websites are for. This game isn't a masterpiece, but it's a great way to spend ten hours—especially if you've got a few friends to play it with.

Cada dia que passa, mais eu me apaixono por Monkey Island.

The Curse of Monkey Island é o terceiro jogo da franquia, trouxe consigo a mudança dos gráficos pixel para animação 2D, e que é absolutamente linda. As animações são muito bem feitas, parecia que eu estava assistindo algum desenho animado que passava na TV Globinho.
Eu não vou ficar repetindo em toda review sobre o quão DELICIOSO é explorar, o quanto é engraçado os diálogos e outras coisas. Tudo que posso dizer é que a qualidade se mantém.
MI3 tem a dificuldade muito mais elevada que os anteriores, puzzles que chegam ao impossível de se resolver, a não ser que você pense muito fora da caixa ou use algum tipo de entorpecente.
Como eu disse acima, a exploração é muito boa, mas aqui há tantos detalhes na arte do jogo que você pode deixar algum detalhe passar batido.
Os personagens são extremamente cativantes, soltei várias risadas em vários momentos. Gosto muito do jeitinho único de Monkey Island.
Agora eu vou me preparar psicologicamente para jogar o próximo, conhecido como a ovelha negra da franquia!

Ya era hora de que jugase a este juego, y me alegro de haberlo hecho, porque es un muy buen Monkey Island.

De primeras me ha costado pasar del 2 a este, porque se nota bastante el cambio en el humor y la vuelta un poco precipitada a muchos elementos del primer juego tras la marcha de Gilbert, pero una vez se pone en marcha funciona muy bien. Muy buenos puzzles, un humor algo más bonachón pero que aún así se siente fiel a la saga, personajes nuevos memorables (Murray MVP), muchos momentazos (¡Stan!) y un estílo artístico lleno de carisma.

Se vuelve a desinflar un poco al final, cuando sus ambiciones loables de abrir el melón del final del 2 se le atragantan un poco, pero nada que acabe de arruinar el conjunto. Es una buena entrega de la saga, cosa que ha sido mucho más fácil apreciar sabiendo que Gilbert podrá hacer su secuela finalmente también tras tantos años.

A lot better than you might expect, knowing that the three main creatives of the previous games didn't work on it. I was extremely impressed with how good the writing still was even without them - it's not as meta or cynical as the first two, but it's every bit as sharp and funny. Turns out losing a bit of that Ron Gilbert edge doesn't make it feel particularly compromised, or inauthentic. (The excellent VA helps with this too - I've found that Gilbert's particular style tends to not work as well when voiced (I'm currently experiencing this with THIMBLEWEED PARK) but this slightly altered tone seems fully written with it in mind, and the actors are all old hands - they crush it.)

I'm also a big fan of the look, and although it's heresy to say it, I might put it above MONKEY ISLAND 2 in that category. That game had some really gorgeous painted backgrounds that are rightly celebrated, but they clashed with the more traditional spritework on the characters (a pet peeve of mine). Here, the animation is practically seamless between the characters and background elements, and it does feel at times like you're playing a live cartoon. It's leagues better than other adventure games that tried for this style back then like TOONSTRUCK, KING'S QUEST VII, and even this team's previous FULL THROTTLE. Tons of charm and personality. For once I don't lament an evolving series moving away from my beloved chunky sprites!

On that stuff alone, and the fact that they managed to keep this series going in fine form presentation- and humor-wise without the main dudes, this should score higher, but the puzzle design is pretty lacking and repetitive (almost always just trying to figure out how to get a thing from a guy), the middle section with the ship combat/insult swordfighting is awkward, and the ending is abrupt and unsatisfying. All those knock it down a bit. You could also complain about some of the absurd puzzle solutions, if you wanted to, but I don't, really. They're par for the course for this period (although that shouldn't be an excuse), but I am absolutely willing to give them a pass in this instance because they are complicated, unbelievable, and stupid not only to be difficult, but in service of gags, and on that level they work bigtime. This is a genuinely funny game.

A pleasant surprise. Just a hair away from the overall quality of the other two, even with its differences.

My favorite of the series, so far. Though I don't expect Escape from Monkey Island or the Telltale game to be very good, so I'll just state Curse of Monkey Island is the best in the series and my favorite. By far it is the funniest, with the best writing and variety of characters and places. But the gags are magnificent as well. It's also a long, fun adventure with satisfyingly interwoven puzzlebox locations that require untangling several different threads to obtain the goal at the center of whatever island you're on. The art is wonderful too, whispy and like a syndicated cartoon that aired at just the wrong timeslot so that no one really ever appreciated its charm. Yeah, this is the best one.

Despite not having Rob Gilbert and Dave Grossman as development leads (as well as Tim Schafer, who only worked as a consultant on Curse), "The Curse of Monkey Island" manages to retain the same wit and charm as the first two games with a fair balance of easy and brain-wracking puzzles. The star of the show, however, is the art and animation. Even though I love the look of Monkey Island 2 Special Edition, this is by far the most cohesive and charming art style in the series. It clearly set the tone for the look of those remasters over a decade later. The only thing hampering it is the low resolution in-game and in cutscenes. An HD cleanup of Curse would be fantastic!

The more Monkey Island games I play, the lesser do I think of the puzzles in these games. How did I beat this by sheer luck as a child?!

Still, the first one after Ron Gilbert's departure sure is different, but Monkey 3 is a game I still hold in high regards. It cranks up the absurd comedy to 11 and while being different, still incredibly charming. I love the art design and soundtrack to this day and thank good you can immediately change screens with a double-click in this one. Too bad Guybrush's normal movement speed is still comparable to the one of snails.
Dominic Armato's first appearance as Guybrush is phenomenal and the voice acting alone, paired with the great dialogue is worth the playthrough. Oh and the visual gags are on par with 1 & 2, even tho some heavily rely on the nostalgia for these games and often are throwbacks to the old artstyle. Still incredibly fun and a huge part of the appeal of the Monkey Island games.

Idk what to write on this one any more. It's my childhood and I hold it dear to my heart, even though it is flawed and I don't like the puzzles anymore.
Also... Murray is pure comedy gold and I am glad Ron and team are bringing him back for Return to Monkey Island <3

Oh shit, am I scared to boot up MI4 now. But I fear the marathon must go on...

The writing, the atmosphere, the art style, and the animation, it is such an excellent combination that makes for a really engrossing and immersive story while also not trailing away from the comedic undertone the series is known for, and easily the most adventure focused Monkey Island game (so far).

Similar from MI1 to MI2, Curse of the Monkey Island's gameplay is even more simplified from MI2, barring being able to highlight objects. You are now only presented three options: Use, observe, and talk, which changes depending on the context (use being swapped to "push", "talk" being swapped to "eat", etc.). This means there's a lot less creative puzzles, but also a lot less frustrating ones as well. I've used a guide to get past maybe 15% of the game, the rest I've figured on my own because they're a lot more intuitive compared to previous games. There are still unfair puzzles (the quicksand one) but overall, with a little bit of thinking, I was able to get past most without getting frustrated. Granted, I played on normal difficulty, I don't know how much different it'd be from hard.

Although I praise this game's story, I did feel like the ending was a bit lackluster. There was no real buildup to the final fight until the last moment, when it was way too late.

Sometimes it's enough to just be good, instead of reinventing the wheel. Monkey 2 arguably suffered from being overambitious, slowly falling apart as you got further along in your hunt for the treasure map. Curse of Monkey Island drops the dead weight and just lets the game flow. Great puzzles with great writing. The art style is gorgeous and for the first time that these characters have gotten voices: It's a killer cast. Its only real flaw is the last section, which turns in an endless Dialogue Tree slog.

"Did moon logic killed adventure games?"

That question serves as the title of one of my favourite youtube videos by PushingUpRoses (I highly recommend her channel, specially if you're into point and click adventures). In that video, she adresses the possibility that frustrating or simply bad puzzle design ended up being one of the reasons of the demise of the adventure genre, of course, along with the rise of other game genres like FPS and new technologies.

And, being aware of the release date of this game, i couldn't help it but to constantly ask to myself that same question: "Did moon logic killed adventure games?"

I really had a hard time with the puzzles in this game. This game let you choose between an easy and hard mode, the latter having more puzzles. I'm not sure if there's a big difference between both modes but i definitely discourage to choose the hard one, which i actually chose. The first two Monkey Island had their own difficult moments, moon logic puzzles that could definitely stuck your progress, but still, most of them were solvable. This time i felt that the puzzles were just a complete illogical mess. I just had to give up and play the whole thing with a walkthrough, wether in the first two Monkey Island it was about to check just a hint in case you got too stuck. I'm surprised to see how this one is usually easier for most people, for me it was the other way round.

But of course, the animation, story, voice acting and music, it's all perfect. That's what it made me play the whole thing with a walkthrough instead of just abandoning it. And it was worth, for sure. But i would've really liked a different experience when it came to the puzzles.

I'm guessing my experience doesn't really reflect the average so i'm not in a position of not recommending this game. If you're a fan of the oher two Monkey Island game, then definitely grab this one.

Yo why the hell hadn't I played this game before? As a huge Monkey Island fan this was always a gaping hole for me, but this game was so much fun, hilarious, and one of the best monkey island games I've played!!! First out, huge shout out to Ed for gifting me this one so I could finally stop being lazy and playing this.

This one has some of the best music in the series, some of the best puzzles (that don't feel too crazy obtuse for the most part) it's fully and very well voice acted, and a funny story to continue on Guybrush's crazy adventures.

I think my only complaint here (like a lot of these games) is I really do wish it was a little longer. Only five hours for me to complete here, of course, if you're not good with these types of games that might take longer.

I think overall I still slightly prefer Monkey Island 2, but a genuinely fantastic game, and one of the best monkey islands!!!

Às vezes eu tenho vergonha de admitir o quanto alguns jogos me afetaram e moldaram uma boa parte da minha personalidade. Eu não sei exatamente o motivo de me sentir envergonhado por isso.

Talvez parte seja por um preconceito que tenho em relação a "comunidade gamer" e a pessoas que fazem de jogos o ponto central da vida delas. Ou parte pode ser também por perceber que uma obra comercial, que foi produzida em massa e consumida por milhões de pessoas, foi algo que conseguiu me afetar profundamente.

A verdade é que, com ou sem vergonha, eu me pergunto se eu teria sido a mesma pessoa se não tivesse jogado The Curse of Monkey Island quando criança. Parte pelo tom sarcástico, do qual eu não me orgulho muito e tenho tentado melhorar, mas parte por querer viver em um mundo em que existem soluções não violentas e fora do óbvio para os problemas.

O Guybrush tem uma ingenuidade em tudo o que ele faz, mas não de um jeito pejorativo. É uma pessoa que analisa com calma a situação e não olha com os filtros do senso comum. Talvez eu esteja dando muito crédito para um personagem de video game, mas é algo que admiro em pessoas e acho que é muito importante para o mundo.

Os problemas do mundo hoje não são simples ou fáceis de resolver. Se tentarmos solucionar utilizando o senso comum, vamos nos frustrar chegando em respostas fracas, impossíveis, gastas. E quando eu me pego pensando nisso, me bate a insegurança de como pessoas vão interpretar essas falas vindas de uma experiência de jogo.

Talvez a vergonha venha daí, de desqualificarem minhas ideias para o mundo, desqualificarem minha personalidade porque um jogo está lá no meio do que a compõe. Quem sabe com um pouco mais de ingenuidade, pessoas possam considerar que grandes inspirações e soluções podem vir de qualquer lugar, mesmo que seja de um jogo de computador de 1997 sobre piratas e maldições.

Some of the puzzles in The Curse Of Monkey Island are utterly incomprehensible. Occasionally, the graphical limitations of the game obscure items that are useful from those which are simply part of the mise-en-scéne. Other puzzles require such an outlandish combination of items that could only be discovered by indiscriminately attempting to unite literally anything in Guybrush’s inventory. It makes the game a frustrating experience at even the best of times, and that is to say nothing of The Curse Of Monkey Island’s clunky, tedious pirate ship battles in the third chapter. However, passion is infectious, and it is impossible not to absorb the enthusiasm that has gone into making this game. From the anachronistic humour and charming ensemble of characters to the hand-crafted background art, from Michael Land's gorgeous soundtrack to the vivacious voice performances, nobody can accuse The Curse Of Monkey Island of being made with anything but love. This winning personality carries the game through even the rockiest of waters.

I dont think theres ever been a game series as technologically impressive as monkey island. Listening to the directors commentary in MI2 made me realize how revolutionary something as simple as the music changing without a loading screen really was. The iMUSE system was groundbreaking. And then you look at the visual difference between these two games. One is really simple and has the entire prompt menu and inventory underneath the screen, the graphics are relatively simple and theres no voice acting (without mods). It looks good for its era and still holds up. And then this game is insanely stylized, still looking like it could come out today (minus the low resolution) with full voice acting and loads of unique animations. This games artstyle is so iconic I thought 1-2 were in it too for the longest time. And these were the exact same system, graphics had been revolutionized THAT much. This game even has difficulty selection. Best of all the writing is still funny.
TL;DR: lucasgames went from selling us the equivalent of leather jackets to Fine Leather Jackets

Un xogo ao que lle pesa demasiado a traizón estética e a evolución de sistema de xogo que supuxo. O guión é bo, aínda que obvie o final do 2 para despois volver a el dun xeito estrano, e en realidade é divertido e con puzzles ben definidos, difíciles pero lóxicos, moi no nivel estándar de Lucasarts.
O problema para min é o feito de abandoar o sistema de verbos -que é o mellor que tiña Lucasarts- e ir ao point & click. E tamén o de facer un Guybrush que non ten nada que ver co dos anteriores, porque podía ir ao rollo cartoon sen esa traizón.
Como cousa boa, tentar voltar aos insultos, máis ou menos, e o combate naval, algo repetitivo pero agradecíbel. Tamén se agradece o final, aínda que sexa un pouco estrano para unha aventura gráfica.

It's the best title, I always felt it. Sorry Ron Gilbert.
The first one, ok this sets the whole franchise. The second one, too many clunky puzzles I cannot wrap my head around. The third one, oh boy I have played through this so many times and it is still hilarious.
The Art Style is best and only needs some polish.
Give me a 4k Remaster pls! And Disney, sell the Franchise to Ron Gilbert.

PS: Pirates of the Carribean is a knockoff.

Apesar de não estar na mesma liga que os dois primeiros clássicos da série (principalmente no tocante à originalidade), ainda mantém o charme de Monkey Island e entrega um produto final divertido e esteticamente muito agradável. Minha maior crítica fica para alguns puzzles que exigem pixel hunting. Mais do que esperado para adventures point-and-click? Tecnicamente, sim... Mas pixel hunting só faz sentido quando é possível... ver os pixels! Algo que não era problema algum em jogos de PC com gráficos EGA ou VGA. O visual bonitão e coeso de Curse acaba sendo um problema inesperado na hora de procurar alguns objetos essenciais. Felizmente isso só me ocorreu umas duas vezes no decorrer do game.