The Secret of Monkey Island

aka: The Secret of Monkey Island: Enhanced Version, The Secret of Monkey Island: VGA CD-ROM version
Moby ID: 141074
DOS Specs
Included in Original See Also

Description

An updated version of The Secret of Monkey Island with some graphical and audio updates.

A notable change includes the inventory using icons instead of text, like in *Monkey Island 2

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Credits (Macintosh version)

50 People (47 developers, 3 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 81% (based on 16 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 117 ratings with 4 reviews)

Look Behind You! Its A Three-Headed Monkey!

The Good
The Secret of Monkey Island came to the Sega CD! Few graphic adventure games were released for the home console systems, let alone a wonderful game such as this. Everything that was great and laugh out loud funny about the computer version is here in full glory, along with a password feature.

The Bad
The first two problems are due to the hardware limitations of the Sega CD, which become even more absurd given the fact that this is not a perfect adaption of an old computer game.

Their is a loading time, that is not too terribly long but you will probably notice it from time to time. While most computers used 256+ on screen colors, the Sega CD only used 64, which gives Monkey Island a slightly drab and washed out look. The other problems stem more from the choices made by the friendly folks at Lucas Arts.

The passwords only return you to the general vicinity where you quit, with some of the items you collected missing. It is not a major problem because it does not interfere with the ability to beat the game, but it is something worth noting.

Last, but not least, the marketing behind this game was almost non-existent from what I can remember. As a limited commercial success, LucasArts decided not to release more of their CD-ROM graphic adventure games for the Sega CD.

The Bottom Line
The Sega CD version of the Secret of Monkey Island does not offer any major differences from the CD-ROM computer edition, beyond a password feature, single speed loading time and a slightly more drab look.

While it is hard, if not unwise, to mess with something as great as Monkey Island the Sega CD edition never got the support that it needed to be successful and thus home console gamers had to do with more LucasArts adventure games.

SEGA CD · by ETJB (428) · 2010

The BEST LucasArts game!

The Good
Everything! I loved the funny little sprites, the music, the dialogue, the sound effects - everything! I bought the CD version in a second hand shop for $3. Best $3 I ever spent!

The Bad
The one thing I didn't like about this game was that the puzzles were a bit tedious. Sometimes they didn't make sense. But that minor little problem doesn't let down the whole game.

The Bottom Line
If you get it, I'd get the CD version. It contains enhanced graphics and better music. It also includes sound effects. For $3, what a bargain! LucasArts really topped it off with this one!

DOS · by James1 (240) · 2001

Guybrush's Sega Adventure

The Good
The Secret of Monkey Island was one of the many classic adventure and RPG that were scheduled for a Sega CD port. One of the reasons that I bought the Sega CD was because of its ability to run some big RPG and Adventure games, which often didn't get released for cartridge-based, home console systems.

LucasFilm's wannabe, silly swashbuckler is a welcome addition to the Sega CD library. All the characters, comedy, locations and puzzles are brought over from the original computer version.

Young Guybrush Threepwood has arrived on a Caribbean Island with a dream; become a grog-drinking pirate. Along the way he will meet the beautiful governor, a zombie pirate and maybe, maybe, discover the secret of Monkey Island.

The Bad
The Secret Of Monkey Island doesn't really take advantage of the Sega CD hardware. Unlike the later remakes, this game seeks to be a direct port of the original game. Not a bad idea, if it can be done well.

Unfortunately, the Sega CD hardware can't handle a direct port. One of the first cases of this involves the Sega controller.

It is a bit awkward to control with the standard Sega controller. It's not impossible, but this is a game best suited for mouse. Alas, the Sega CD Mouse controller came later and isn't compatible with this game.

The second example of the hardware limitations involves the single speed drive.

The Secret of Monkey Island suffers from frequent pauses while the single speed device loads the disc's data. It's not quite as bad as the Sega CD port of Willy Beamish, but it's noticeable.

Then we come to the graphical limitations of the Sega CD. While it is nice to be able to see your inventory items (early computer versions of the game simply listed your available inventory), the overall graphics in the game suffer from the hardware limitations of the Sega CD.

The Sega CD - like its cartridge sibling - could only display 64 colors on screen, from a total palette of 512. This could be overlooked for the Genesis, because its hardware was designed in the 1980s.

However, when the Sega CD was released in the early 1990s, it was difficult to justify anything lower than 256 colors on screen out of several thousand. That was the capacity of the SNES and most PC and Mac computers of that era.

In this case, the Secret of Monkey Island looks darker and muddier than its original computer version. Not necessarily a bad look for a pirate-themed game, but it doesn't help sell the Sega CD as the Next Level of 16-bit gaming.

Finally, the game relies on a password feature, in order to save progress in the game. The save game feature wasn't great on the Sega CD (due to its limited available memory), so I can see why the game designers opted for a password system.

It's obviously better than nothing, but the passwords don't always save your entire inventory. Instead the password seems to only save the inventory items you absolutely need to win. Not a huge complaint, but can discourage experimentation.

The Bottom Line
The Secret of Monkey Island is a classic, point and click, graphic adventure game. Lucasfilm was a leader in adventure gaming and it's unfortunate that Disney, after buying the company, chose to close the book on these games. This Sega CD version is still fun to play, but suffers from the system's hardware limitations. It also would have benefited from a compatible mouse. Sega CD owners looking for an adventure game, should give the game a spin.

SEGA CD · by Shamal Jifan (20) · 2017

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

Macintosh added by Kabushi. FM Towns added by Terok Nor. SEGA CD added by Unicorn Lynx.

Additional contributors: Alaka.

Game added January 21, 2020. Last modified March 2, 2024.