History VideoGame / GrimFandango

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: The Double N Train and anyone who passes through the Tunnel. No one knows what ''really'' resides on the other end.
-->'''Manny:''' You know, sweetheart, if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: [[AnAesop nobody knows what's gonna happen at the end of the line, so you might as well enjoy the trip.]]

* WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: Manny gives to Membrillo the undertaker a metal detector so help identify "corpses" better, and Membrillo comments he could find a belt buckle with initials. Manny laughs, asking who the heck would keep his initials on his belt buckle, only for Membrillo to point to his own belt buckle, causing an awkward silence.

** The title. "Grim Fandango". The would be a "Danse Macabre", wouldn't it?

* StealthPun: "The deadbolt is set. But with what?" A [[spoiler:skeleton key]], perhaps?

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Olivia, whom Manny catches having an affair, states she has a liking for "really bad men". Unsurprisingly, she later betrays Manny and Salvador because one of her boyfriends is the big bad, Hector LeMans.]]

* CompleteMonster: Hector Lemans. For more informations see other examples edited here.

* TitleDrop: One of Olivia's poems, which seems to be based on ProcolHarum's song ''A Whiter Shade of Pale''

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Olivia, whom Manny catches having an affair, states she has a liking for "really bad man". Unsurprisingly, she later betrays Manny and Salvador because she's working with the big bad, Hector LeMans.]]

** The human souls are described as not needing to breathe (which is the reason why they can stay underwater indefinitely). And yet, after Meche has threatened Domino with a gun, he locks her up in a metal room and he explains to Manny that he leaves her inside until the ''lack of air weakens her''.

* MundaneUtility: Manny's scythe is used for a vast number of different things. He uses its long handle as a quarterstaff for self-defense and to bar doors, its great reach to hook faraway objects and bring them closer, its pointed tip as a knife to cut open a package, the metal of the blade to conduct electricity through a circuit, and the great force with which it can be swung to break ceiling fixtures, among other things; as for its ''intended'' use, Manny only whips it out it twice: freeing Bruno from his cocoon, and literally reaping to cut down flowers to find Sal's body - in dramatic slow motion.

* PoirotSpeak: Manny, being from Central/South America, occasionally dips into Spanish mid conversation for every other word.

*** Examine the huge anchor at the edge of the world, and Manny will say "Oh, sure, NOW I find an actual rusty anchor...", and, eventually, "So, rusty anchor, at last, we meet!".

* TryEverything: There's one puzzle in Year Two which maddeningly requires you figure out what to do with a slip of paper reading "Rusty Anchor". The only solution is to show it to everyone in the city to figure out what it means - and [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything this being a Tim Schafer game]], ''everyone'' has a unique answer, up to and including a catchy little piano ballad (see below). Of course, when you finally find the right person to ask, he begins his answer with [[LampshadeHanging "You mean, besides the song, and the poem, and the bar, and the statue by that name?"]]

This 1998 AdventureGame for the PC from TimSchafer is a heady blend of [[FilmNoir noir]], Mexican mythology and Schafer's own warped sensibilities. As with all adventure games by [=LucasArts=], it contained no real action or danger, and no possibility of dying, focusing instead on solving the often tricky puzzles strewn throughout the game, as well as just wandering through the place talking to people. It differed from adventure games of the time in its simple interface; Manny could move in three dimensions in a stationary environment, and interacted with it through three keys -- an Examine key, a Use key and a Get key, which could be used when Manny turned his head to look at something or someone. Sometimes all three keys could be used on the same item to different effect; stand near the giant pit of kitty litter and hit Examine, then Use, then Get, and you will get an increasingly funny series of reactions from Manny. Also, except for one arm-in-a-coffee-grinder moment, the adventure game standard of combining items was absent.

* CreatorCameo: The LucasArts man-holding-a-bow appears on the leftmost part of the Aztec relief.

* LogoJoke: LucasArts ''Gold Guy'' turns into a skeleton in the intro.

* ShoutOut: In contrast with other Lucas Arts adventure games, Grim Fandango has a remarkably very low amount of shout outs, but there are still some:

** In Year 2, crossing under the blimp on the bridge causes you to hear the theme for ''SecretWeaponsOfTheLuftwaffe'' - a LucasArts flight sim.

* VideoGame3DLeap: The first post SCUMM LucasArts adventure. The transition was traumatic to the genre. The 3D graphics were still crude next to crafted and detailed sprites. Grim Fandango suffers from the loss of [[PointAndClick mouse control]], almost total removal of features such as item combination and just moving across the map becomes tedious. All-in-all it was Gamespot game of the year, but it sold so poorly it became a GenreKiller in the minds of videogame producers.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything

* DisSimile, {{Metaphorgotten}}, or something of that ilk: "Manny, until now we scraped along the ground like rats. But from now on, we ''soar!'' Like eagles. Like eagles on... [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot POGO STICKS]]!"

* WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: Manny gives to Membrillo the undertaker a metal detector so he can find out the identity of the corpses better. Membrillo says that he could find initials of the person on a belt buckle. Manny laughs, asking who the heck would keep his initials on his belt buckle... until Membrillo points the detector to Manny's own belt buckle, which obviously has ''his'' initials on it.

** The tool that sees the most use in the game, Manny's scythe, is used in an ingenious number of ways - but only once to actually reap a dead soul. It sees more use as a circuit component than as a blade. He uses the scythe the way scythes were designed to be used - to cut plants - just once (to reveal Sal's body).

* ShutUpKirk: In a moment that subverts JustBetweenYouAndMe, BondVillainStupidity and WhyDontYouJustShootHim:
-->'''Manny:''' Is this where you tell me all about your secret plan, Hector? How you stole Double N tickets from innocent souls, pretended to sell them but secretly hoarded them all to yourself in a desperate attempt to get out of the Land of the Dead?
-->'''Hector:''' No.
-->'''''(BLAM!)'''''
-->'''Hector:''' This is where you writhe around in excruciating pain for about an hour because that ''idiot'' Bowsley ran off with the fast-acting sproutella. That slow stuff ''will'' sprout you, but it's going to take a ''long'' time, I'm sorry to say.

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Played with.
-->'''Manny:''' I'm going to try to guess his password...
-->'''Manny:''' Nope. It's not "GOLDEN BOY."
-->'''Manny:''' And it's not "MR. D" either.
-->'''Manny:''' So much for "DOMMY."
-->'''Manny:''' "ARROGANT FRAUD" doesn't work...

-->'''Manny:''' Well, he likes "BOXING" too, but that ain't it.
-->'''Manny:''' Not "GREED."
-->'''Manny:''' Not "VANITY."
-->'''Manny:''' Not "SLEAZE."
-->'''Manny:''' I give up.
** Finally:
--->'''Manny:''' Hey, Dom. What's your screen-saver password?
--->'''Domino:''' Get away from my computer, Manny.

-->'''Lupe:''' [[NoIndoorVoice HI MANNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]]

* HopelessBossFight: Domino Hurley and [[spoiler: Hector [=LeMans=]]] will go on forever til you TakeAThirdOption.

* RoadApples: In Rubaca, Manny finds a pool filled with dirty cat litter. ''Giant cat'' litter. Manny says that it is "tempting" to jump in the dirty litter, and he will explode in a long burst of laughter if you try to have him pick up some of it.

** The tool that sees the most use in the game, Manny's scythe, is used in an ingenious number of ways - but only once to actually reap a dead soul. It sees more use as a circuit component than as a blade. He uses the scythe the way scythes were designed to be used - to cut plants - just once (to reveal Sal's body).

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