History YMMV / MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge

* ItWasHisSled: The infamous GainaxEnding. Monkey Island is, in reality, [[spoiler:a pirate-themed amusement park, and Guybrush and LeChuck are just kids swept up in their own imaginations. That said, there are strong hints that this may not be the case, and that LeChuck has trapped Guybrush in some kind of illusion.]] The entire rest of the franchise has been grappling with this revelation, and the undercurrent of [[spoiler:the amusement park theory]] lingers in the background of every game [[spoileruntil ''Return'' explicitly adresses it.]]

* ItWasHisSled: The infamous GainaxEnding. Monkey Island is, in reality, [[spoiler: a pirate-themed amusement park, and Guybrush and LeChuck are just kids swept up in their own imaginations. That said, there are strong hints that this may not be the case, and that LeChuck has trapped Guybrush in some kind of illusion.]] The entire rest of the franchise has been grappling with this revelation, and the undercurrent of [[spoiler: the amusement park theory]] lingers in the background of every game [[spoiler: until ''Return'' explicitly adresses it.]]

** [=LeChuck=] chasing Guybrush around [[spoiler: with a voodoo doll in the tunnels beneath Dinky Island]] is terrifying. While you're desperately trying to solve the last puzzle of the game, there's this dread that at any point, [=LeChuck=] could come in and send Guybrush screaming in pain into the next room. For a little kid trying to finish the game while being forced to watch the loveable pirate being [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]], this game is an anxiety-inducing masterpiece.

** [[spoiler: Near the end of the game, the only thing that survives among a smashed up Big Whoop treasure chest is a ticket with a blue castle on it and an "E", a subtle foreshadowing to the game's ending.]] This is a pretty obvious nod to Disney theme parks' old ticket system, which were tiered from A to E (with E being the highest tier). These had already been retired for almost a decade when the game came out, but most of the target audience was still old enough to remember them being in common use or to have known of them through pop culture. Now that the parks have been several decades removed from having used them though, it can come as a headscratcher to a contemporary player (although the fact that the game [[spoiler:specifically refers to it as a ticket and it has a blue castle on it can still be a pretty good indicator of what it's supposed to resemble]]).

* EvenBetterSequel: DarkerAndEdgier than the original but still with many of same ingredients plus a longer story with more islands and puzzles scattered around, adding a bit of non linear gameplay. Back in the day the GainaxEnding worked as a great SequelHook for a trilogy-conclusion game (that incidentally would take three decades years to arrive).

* TheWoobie: Wally. He's bullied by Largo and the game forces you to steal his monocle, making him unable to work (though you can replace it). The developers agreed, as they cut a scene where Wally would fall into shark-filled waters feeling the guy suffered enough.

* ValuesDissonance: The jokes about crossdressing - both in Largo having a 'pearly white bra' and Guybrush having to wear a dress to go to Elaine's party - might go over the head of modern players. When the game was made, crossdressing was largely considered a fetish (and thus a cheap gag), but some in LGBTQ culture have reappropriated it as an expression of identity.

** [[spoiler: Near the end of the game, the only thing that survives among a smashed up Big Whoop treasure chest is a ticket with a blue castle on it and an "E", a subtle foreshadowing to the game's ending.]] This is a pretty obvious nod to Disney theme parks' old ticket system, which were tiered from A to E (with E being the highest tier). These had already been retired for almost a decade when the game came out, but most of the target audience was still old enough to remember them being in common use or have known of them through pop culture. Now that the parks have been several decades removed from having used them though, it can come as a headscratcher to a contemporary player (although the fact that the game [[spoiler:specifically refers to it as a ticket and it has a blue castle on it can still be a pretty good indicator of what it's supposed to resemble]]).

** [[spoiler: Near the end of the game, the only thing that survives among a smashed up Big Whoop treasure chest is a ticket with a blue castle on it and an "E", a subtle foreshadowing to the game's ending.]] This is a pretty obvious nod to Disney theme parks' old ticket system, which were tiered from A to E with E being the highest tier. These had already been retired for almost a decade when the game came out, but most of the target audience was still old enough to remember them being in common use or have known of them through pop culture. Now that the parks have been several decades removed from having used them though, it can come as a headscratcher to a contemporary player (although the fact that the game [[spoiler:specifically refers to it as a ticket and it has a blue castle on it can still be a pretty good indicator of what it's supposed to resemble]]).

** [[spoiler: Near the end of the game, the only thing that survives among a smashed up Big Whoop treasure chest is ticket with a blue castle on it and an "E," a subtle foreshadowing to the game's ending.]] This is a pretty obvious nod to Disney theme parks' old ticket system, which were tiered from A to E with E being the highest tier. These had already been retired for almost a decade when the game came out, but most of the target audience was still old enough to remember them being in common use or have known of them through pop culture. Now that the parks have been several decades removed from having used them though, it can come as a headscratcher to a contemporary player (although the fact that the game [[spoiler:specifically refers to it as a ticket and it has a blue castle on it can still be a pretty good indicator of what it's supposed to resemble]]).

** Certain subjects referenced in the Phatt City Library have a history overlapping with or even predating UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfPiracy (1650-1720). Animatronics, cryptography, ice cream, sociology, umbrellas, xylophones, yo-yos, zirconium and zoology were known of in ancient times, Idealism goes back to Creator/{{Plato}}, origami is from the 6th century, cartoons may have an origin in the Middle Ages, the game of shuffleboard goes back at least 500 years, toast was described in the 15th and 16th centuries, yachts were popularized in 1660, magazines were introduced around 1663-1731, Descartes' imaginary numbers and ketchup were introduced in the 17th century, Orthopedics was introduced in 1741, and Yorkshire Pudding originated from 1737-1747.

* ValuesDissonance:
** The jokes about crossdressing - both in Largo having a 'pearly white bra' and Guybrush having to wear a dress to go to Elaine's party - might go over the head of modern players. In the time the game was made, transvestism was largely considered a fetish (and thus a cheap gag), but some in LGBT culture have reappropriated it as an expression of identity.
** Apparently it's not acceptable to make jokes about white slavery anymore.

* EvenBetterSequel: DarkerAndEdgier than the original but still with many of same ingredients plus a longer story with more islands and puzzles scattered around, adding a bit of non linear gameplay. Back in the day the GainaxEnding worked as a great SequelHook for a trilogy-conclusion game (that incidentally would take three deacades years to arrive).

* EvenBetterSequel: DarkerAndEdgier than the original but still with many of same ingredients plus a longer story with more islands and puzzles scattered around, adding a bit of non linear gameplay. Back in the day the GainaxEnding worked as a great SequelHook for a trilogy-conclusion game that would take three deacades years to arrive, incidentally