The Secret of Monkey Island
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- For the 2020 aftermarket re-release, see The Secret of Monkey Island (Limited Run Games).
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The Secret of Monkey Island, known in Japan as Monkey Island: Yuurei Kaizoku Daisoudou! (モンキー・アイランド ユーレイ海賊大騒動！), is a Sega Mega-CD graphic adventure game developed by LucasArts. A port of the computer game of the same name, it was first published in the United States by JVC Musical Industries in September 1993, and was later brought to Japan by Victor Entertainment two months later.
Contents
Gameplay
The Mega-CD version of Monkey Island derives from the 1992 VGA re-release of the game for IBM PC compatibles, which features an updated interface (based on the 1991 sequel Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge) and CD audio soundtrack. However, with only a single speed CD-ROM drive, the Mega-CD conversion has longer load times which affect every transition in the game.
With only 64 on-screen colours at any one time, the Mega-CD version of Monkey Island makes graphical cutbacks over its VGA counterpart, but is still able to display more colours than most versions of the game. The 1990 IBM PC edition, for example was written to accommodate 16-colour EGA, 4-colour CGA and 2-colour Hercules modes, while the Amiga and Atari ST conversions can only produce 32 and 16 on-screen colours, respectively.
As with the PC CD version, the Mega-CD port of Monkey Island removes the infamous "stump joke". In older versions of the game, a tree stump in the forest maze can be examined, with Guybrush claiming it to lead to a series of catacombs. As he attempts to squeeze through, the game asks for "disk 22" (then 36, then 114) to be inserted, after which Guybrush states he'll have to "skip that part of the game". These disks did not exist (the original game shipped on eight 5¼-inch disks), but LucasFilm Games were nevertheless bombarded with phone calls and letters by confused players thinking they could access that part of the game. Newer versions remove the interaction completely.
The Mega-CD version does not support the CD BackUp RAM Cart, meaning a four-digit password system is used to access later parts of the game. The system is limited as does not keep track of the player's location, minor items and decisions that have been made.
Some light censorship was undertaken for the Mega-CD version.
Versions
Localised names
| Language | Localised Name | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| English (US) | The Secret of Monkey Island | The Secret of Monkey Island |
| Japanese | モンキー・アイランド ユーレイ海賊大騒動！ | Monkey Island: Yuurei Kaizoku Daisoudou! |
Production credits
- Additional Design: Noah Falstein
- Additional additional Design: Everyone else at Lucasfilm Games
- Sword Fighting Insults: Orson Scott Card
- Last Minute Assistance: Tami Borowick, Ron Baldwin
- Additional Art: Avril Harrison, Jim McLeod, Gary Winnick
- Special Guest Film Director: Hal Barwood
- Bulletproofing: Kerner Complex
- Chocolate Supply Supervision: Andrea Siegel, Alexa Eurich
- Lucasfilm Games General Manager: Steve Arnold
- Managing Director: Doug Glen
- Director of Operations: David Fox
- Marketing Manager: Stacey Lamiero
- Public Relations: Betsy Irion
- Art Department Supervisor: Gary Winnick
- Associate Marketing Director: Kelly Flock
- Manufacturing Coordinator: Meredith Cahill
- Product Support: Brandy Wilson (supervisor), Liz Nagy, Carla Green
- Production Assistants: James Wood, Carol Traylor
- Administrative Support: Wendy Bertram, Alexa Eurich, Paula Hendricksen, Debbie Ratto, Andrea Siegel, Lisa Star
- Additional Testing: Lisa Star, Tami Borowick, Michael Stemmle, Tony Hsieh, Wallace Poulter, Ron Baldwin, Wendy Clark, Sam Chan, Frank Toriello, John Sinclair
Sam and Max appear courtesy of Steve Purcell
Cobb™ and Seagull™ appear courtesy of LOOM™
Soundtrack not available on Cassette or LP
Book also not available
The Secret of Monkey Island
A Lucasfilm Games Production
TM & (c) 1992 LucasArts Entertainment Company. All Rights Reserved.
Magazine articles
- Main article: The Secret of Monkey Island/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: The Secret of Monkey Island/Promotional material.
Artwork
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
 |
78 |
|---|---|
| Based on 17 reviews | |
| Mega-CD, JP |
|---|
  Cover
|
 Spinecard  Disc |
| Mega-CD, US |
|---|
  Cover
|
 Disc  Manual |
Technical information
- Main article: The Secret of Monkey Island/Technical information.
References
- ↑ File:SoMI MCD JP Box Front.jpg
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/fb/segahard/mcd/soft_licensee.html (Wayback Machine: 2019-06-10 17:56)
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "July 1993" (JP; 1993-06-08), page 8
- ↑ https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video.sega/c/eI0U1knpeeA/m/-lZGD60zJxsJ
- ↑ GamePro, "February 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 59
- ↑ File:Secret of Monkey Island MCD credits.pdf
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 310
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "August 1993" (JP; 1993-07-08), page 22
- ↑ Famitsu, "1993-10-01" (JP; 1993-09-17), page 1
- ↑ GameFan, "Volume 1, Issue 7: June 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 16
- ↑ GamePro, "February 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 58
- ↑ Hippon Super, "August 1993" (JP; 1993-07-03), page 41
- ↑ Joypad, "Février 1994" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 129
- ↑ Mega, "March 1993" (UK; 1993-02-18), page 30
- ↑ Mega Fun, "02/94" (DE; 1994-01-19), page 76
- ↑ Mega Machines, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-03), page 24
- ↑ MegaTech, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 6
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "February 1994" (UK; 1993-12-28), page 67
- ↑ Sega Power, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-06), page 58
- ↑ Sega Pro, "February 1994" (UK; 1993-12-30), page 74
- ↑ Sega Zone, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-23), page 46
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 86
- ↑ Video Games, "1/94" (DE; 1993-12-19), page 48
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Main page | Comparisons | Maps | Magazine articles | Reception | Promotional material | Technical information | |
