Skullmonkeys (PlayStation)

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Description

Skullmonkeys is the successor title to The Neverhood, which came out only on PC (and, in Japan, as "Klaymen Klaymen" on PSX). The game is an old-school jump and run type of game, with a large number of FMVs. The entire game is molded in clay.

The player takes control of Klaymen throughout the game in an attempt to put a stop to the main opponent, being Klogg, who wants to destroy Klaymen's homeworld, The Neverhood, via a huge robot called "Evil Engine No. 9". He uses an army of extremely dumb skullmonkeys to stop Klaymen in his quest; With the exception of several strange, clay birds, each and every enemy in the game is a monkey. The game features music with lyrics by Terry Scott Taylor.

Screenshots

There are no PlayStation user screenshots for this game.

Promo Images

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Alternate Titles

• "Klaymen Klaymen 2" -- Japanese title

Part of the Following Groups

• Animals: Primates (monkeys or apes)
• The Neverhood / Klaymen Klaymen series
• Visual technique / style: Rendered in clay

User Reviews

A fun platformer, but not a truly worthy Neverhood sequel

David Mackenzie (48)

Critic Reviews

Game Revolution	Apr, 1998	A-	91
Video Games	Dec, 1997	90 out of 100	90
Joystick (French)	Mar, 1998	84 out of 100	84
Absolute Playstation	Mar, 1998	84 out of 100	84
Mega Fun	Feb, 1998	83 out of 100	83
Gamezilla	1998	83 out of 100	83
IGN	Jan 28, 2008	8 out of 10	80
PSM	Mar, 1998	3 out of 5	60
Joypad	Oct, 1998	6 out of 10	60
GameSpot	Feb 15, 1998	5 out of 10	50

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Trivia

First level

When you regularly start the game, you begin at the "Science Center". This is not the true first level, though. The real first level is called "Skullmonkey Gate" and is only accessible via level password. You see Klaymen falling from the sky in the intro screen to that level, so you get a quite neat transition from the FMV intro there. I don't know really why they decided to add it only as a bonus, but nothing much really happens there and the graphics and music aren't that impressive compared to the other levels. So I guess it was a decision based on the first impression the game ought to give.

Soundtrack

The game soundtrack by Terry S. Taylor, which features the infamous "bonus room" song with hilarious lyrics, is available on a double CD together with the soundtrack to "The Neverhood" and "BoomBots" (all three games ever released by The Neverhood, actually). It is called "Imaginarium" and is available through the website of Taylor's band Daniel Amos: http://danielamos.com/store/

There's something special to the game soundtrack here, apart from many levels featuring (mostly mumbled) lyrics in their music. Each level consists of several stages (three, in most cases). In the first stage of each level, you get a reduced version of the music, with the vocals and/or some instruments missing. Sometimes you just listen to the percussion first... The second, third or last stage of each level then features the whole set, so you have some kind of musical climax here.

Related Web Sites

• Imaginarium (A list of all the songs in the game, including some lyrics.)
• Wikipedia: Skullmonkeys (Article in the open encyclopedia)