The Secret of Monkey Island

The Good
For the time, AWESOME graphics and sound... I bought this when it first came out, and only King's Quest V could compete at the time (it was released the same month, if memory serves). The storyline is funny and logical at the same, the difficulty level is just right (most of it is logical, and the fact that you can't die or do something that you might regret later is a true relief to Sierra adventures, etc.) The characters are lovable. Guybrush the dork-turns-hero, Stan the sleazy used-ship-salesman, the fat free cannibals give this game a very personal touch... I play it every once in a while again, and it feels like visiting old friends.

The Bad
That dang Grog machine stole my gold piece! One of these days I'll call LucasArts and demand a refund... :)

The Bottom Line
Simply awesome, and this nowadays you can get it in various compilations (I personally own the LucasArts 10 adventures on 2 CD's thing, and there's also a compilation with the first 3 Monkey Islands available for under $20), so it's a true bargain as the game still holds it's own today. By the way, this was the first improved SCUMM game and would spawn such classics as Monkey Island 2, Indy 4, and Day of the Tentacle. Sure, they were Maniac Mansion, Indy 3, Zak McCracken, but Monkey Island 1 was the first Lucasfilm adventure that had various improvements which would later become standard: right-click on the mouse to execute a command, the visibility of items by merely passing over it with the mouse etc. made gameplay much more fluent then in it's predecessors.

Also interesting: at the same time Sierra released King's Quest V - ALSO featuring an updated system, just at the time when Lucasfilm updated their engine. Sierra and Lucasfilm - the eternal rivals when it comes to adventure games (at least in the eyes of many) were trying to surpass each other again and again, and the adventure-loving gamer benefitted tremendously, as both Lucasfilm/Arts and Sierra produced a plethora of awesome adventures during the 80's and 90's that are still loved by many today.