Video Game: The Curse of Monkey Island aka: Curseof Monkey Island
I've sailed the seas from Trinidad to Tortuga and I've never seen anything like it! The engagement ring I gave Elaine has a terrible pirate curse on it. LeChuck is behind it, I'm sure. I should have known that nothing good could come out of that evil zombie's treasures. And if that's not bad enough, the clairvoyant I met in the mangrove swamp told me that if I am to break the curse and save Elaine, I will have to die!
—Excerpted from The Memoirs of Guybrush Threepwood: The Monkey Island Years
The third game in the Monkey Island series, The Curse of Monkey Island was released in 1997, six years after the previous installment, LeChuck's Revenge. With two of the three fathers of the series, Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman, no longer working for LucasArts, and the third, Tim Schafer, being busy with other projects, no one was really around to explain the infamous ambiguous ending of LeChuck's Revenge, so the company decided to go with a Cuckoo Nest interpretation of it.Curse starts off with Guybrush, adrift in a bumper car after escaping LeChuck's spell and his "Carnival of the Damned", arriving in the harbor of Plunder Island, just in time to save the island (and Elaine) from attack by LeChuck and his undead pirates. LeChuck is slain yet again, and Guybrush proposes to Elaine using a ring he found in the hold of LeChuck's ship. Unfortunately, said ring turns out to be cursed, and Elaine is turned into a golden statue. Guybrush's new mission is to lift the curse on Elaine and return her to normal (and defeat LeChuck again when the evil pirate once again comes back from the dead, this time as a fiery demon).This game marks LucasArts' final use of the SCUMM engine. This game also marks the first appearance of Murray, the franchise's Ensemble Darkhorse.
Badass Bookworm: Averted. Bloodnose the Pirate tries to play himself off as this, but he's utterly pathetic. That said he does have a gun, forcing you to talk him into defeat.
Guybrush begins the game with only one item in your inventory: a pair of helium filled balloons. Presumably these are the same balloons acquired in the endgame of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, but everything else from that game has been lost.
Midway through the second chapter as well: Guybrush gets swallowed by a snake, and has to collect a wide variety of items inside the snake's belly before finding one that'll help him escape... after which the snake vomits Guybrush into a quicksand pit, which sucks almost all of Guybrush's recently discovered loot right through his pants.
Bilingual Bonus: When Guybrush poses as "El Pollo Diablo," he has dialogue options in Spanish or English.
Not QUITE a bonus, as the Spanish options are simply translations (albeit good ones) of the English options. Dominic even gives them proper pronunciation and emphasis.
Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Happens in the intro, when LeChuck raises his sword to kill Guybrush and Guybrush's future-wife Elaine shoots the sword out of LeChuck's hand.
Added bonus for A) Firing from the fort which was a good 50 meters away. B) Using a musket (Though not really an option) which are notorious for their poor accuracy at range. And C) Blowing out the smoke from the barrel.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: In Part II, even though it's always daytime in Puerto Pollo, the clock tower at the Long John Silver Center for the Performing Arts is a real-time system clock that is built in for your computer, telling you at what time you played the game and keeping track of your current, local civil time. At each hour, the clock chimes in a bit of LeChuck's Theme followed by the chime of the hour number, and about 30 minutes after each hour, the same bit of LeChuck's theme plays, but without the chime of the hour number. Even interesting is that when Guybrush examines the clock tower, he will say what current time will be in the Caribbean Standard Time in hours, minutes and seconds, whether in morning, afternoon and night, acting like a speaking clock on the phone at the time of day service. Complete with "Beep."
Also, when Guybrush speaks with Palido Domingo and asks him how long he's been lying in Brimstone Beach trying to get a tan, Palido will tell him he's been there since seven months prior to the current month and date on your computer clock. If you asked him in August, for example, he'll say, "Since January." Ask him in January, however, and he'll not only say, "Since June," but he will also wish Guybrush a Happy New Year! Weird!
Brick Joke: Early on in the story, Elaine is about to punch Guybrush when she suddenly turns to gold. Guess what happens the instant she's returned to normal.
Also, throughout the game there's some instances where Guybrush will attempt a distraction by yelling "Look! A three-headed monkey!", and a mechanical three-headed monkey makes an appearance in the game's last chapter. Guybrush even lampshades it with 'I knew it'd turn up sooner or later!'
At one point, you have the opportunity to read a poster left by the Plunder Island Naturalist Society that teaches you the word "pappapisshu" (native Plunder Islander for "yowch"). If you do this, Guybrush will use the word instead of "yowch" for the rest of the game. Don't read it, and he'll continue to say "yowch" instead.
But Thou Must: Guybrush joins a poker game with a group of pirates who are obviously going to cheat, and no matter what he picks will say "Sure".
In the Crypt, you get multiple ways to say "no", and a single "yes" response, but Guybrush will still say "no".
He is asked early on by the Voodoo Lady if he wants to see pictures of some voodoo children. All of the selectable responses are of him being horrified and loathing it, but he will always say "Perhaps...later."
Comedy as a Weapon: The results of sword fights are based entirely on insults and puns.
Continuity Nod: There's a pair of Easter eggs that reference the first game, as well as a call-back to the joke about Guybrush looking more like a flooring inspector than a pirate.
Dead Man's Hand: If Guybrush keeps losing against King André and then looking at the losing hands, one of the random comments he'll make is "Aces and eights... that can't be good."
Death By Dispair: Minnie 'Stronie' Goodsoup died of a broken heart after her fiancee left her at the altar.
Did Not Do the Research: The Caber Toss is a contest of how straight the log can be made to fall in relation to the participant ("Twelve O'Clock" being a perfect score) after doing a single flip, rather than sheer distance as Haggis McMutton claims. That Guybrush could defeat Haggis by replacing his own caber with a rubber tree log and causing it to bounce out of frame is fairly banal. Then again Haggis claims he will join Guybrush by virtue of his apparent strength rather than actually being beaten in a fair game.
Don't Try This at Home: Before downing a spiked drink, Guybrush breaks the fourth wall long enough to remind players that mixing medicine and alcohol is a stupid and potentially lethal thing to do.
Everything's Better with Chickens: In this game especially. The very name Puerto Pollo, capital of Plunder Island, takes ruthless advantage of pollo being an Inherently Funny Word that just happens to be the name (in Spanish) for the inherently funny animal.
Exact Words: The hangover cure must contain "the hair of the dog that bit you". In this case they mean actual hair from a dog. And it must bite you.
Failed a Spot Check: In the introduction, a sea-stranded Guybrush mentions several things he could really do with right now, and exactly everything he mentions floats by a few feet away. Moments later, he looks up from writing in his diary to find he's floated into the center of an enormous battle.
Faux Death: Guybrush fakes his death with a combination of alcohol and a homemade hangover cure. Twice. At least.
The Ferry Man: There is a Lost Welshman who needs to be summoned by the lighthouse's light; once he appears, he sometimes eats a sandwich, yet when Guybrush speaks with him, he needs a compass so that he can send Guybrush to Skull Island.
Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Played with in this game, making it the only game to get an "Everyone" rating, even though the word "hell" as a place is mentioned a few times (it does say, either in the instruction manual or on the back of the box cover art, that LeChuck's Beard of Evil is made of "pure demonic heckfire").
Got Me Doing It: In the pirate song, one of the dialogue options will result in Guybrush himself adding a stanza. His expression when the crew breaks into refrain indicates he definitely didn't mean to.
Grave Humour: Several puzzles are based on faking the death and crypts so...
The Gunslinger: Elaine, Edward Van Helgen, and even timid little Wally are very quick on the draw.
Marilyn Maneuver: Again, Haggis McMutton, when his kilt starts getting blown upward in a windy storm at the beginning of Part IV, and he presses his kilt back down.
Murphy's Bed: It had already claimed at least one victim...
Mythology Gag: Examining the crack in the Goodsoup crypt causes Guybrush to pop-up from the inaccessable tree of The Secret of Monkey Island in Melee Island (the one with the often misunderstood joke Insert Disk #absurd_number). The original -now crude by 1997- EGA graphics and SMI-music are used and Guybrush mentions that he feels like he’s been here before, maybe in a dream.
The Name Is Bond, James Bond: Guybrush can introduce himself to King André this way, either under his own name or other aliases; but no matter which other aliases he chooses, André will know Guybrush's name anyway by calling him "Mister Threepwood".
The Napoleon: Wally tries to be one of these but isn't quite successful.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The cursed ring Guybrush gives to Elaine. Guybrush spends four acts to undo his own action.
Noodle Incident: Guybrush reveals he has a fear of porcelain (which is something of a running gag throughout the rest of the game) and never explains why other than that it's "a long story".
Fans speculated that it was because he had a porcelain vase smashed over his head during the off-screen fight with Shinetop in the first game. Sadly, LucasArts shot down that theory.
Not so sad, as such speculation ignored Guybrush's neutral reactions to porcelain in Elaine's room in Monkey Island 2.
What exactly happened between LeChuck's Revenge and Curse?
If you try to combine the dog hair with the scissors, Guybrush will mention he's avoided dog grooming due to an incident with his aunt's poodle. It's never further elaborated on.
Oh God, with the Verbing!: If the player doesn't have Guybrush saw off the plank the first time he boards the Sea Cucumber, and then gets walked off the plank, he will climb on board the ship after sawing off the plank and get this exchange after monkeys surround him again:
Mr. Fossey:[irritated] AGAIN with the sneaking on board the ship! I don't know how or why you came back on board... but the next time you walk the plank will be your last!
Pig Latin: Cruff to King André: "Ix-nay on the evil an-play."
This game has pirates roaming the seas and plundering other ships; unlike the previous stories there is not an external force (LeChuck, Largo) scaring the grounded sailors.
Also, the title of Part 5, "Kiss of the Spider Monkey", is a spoof on the title of Manuel Puig's 1973 novel, Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Named After Somebody Famous: Mr. Fossey, who hears voices in his head and interacts with the monkeys at Danjer Cove, is named after American zoologist Dian Fossey, who is known for saving the mountain gorillas from extinction and from poachers in Rwanda, and who met her sudden, untimely demise on December 26, 1985. Most of her life is described in her 1983 bestselling book, Gorillas in the Mist, most of which was made into a motion picture adaptation 5 years later, with Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey.
There's a special scene after the credits, in which they spoof the classic Urban Legend about Walt Disney being kept frozen and buried under his theme park, as LeChuck actually IS buried frozen under his theme park, though a father tells the story to his son as a real father would tell Disney's story in real life.
When Guybrush uses his ventriloquism skills with Captain LeChimp he does a Captain Kirk / William Shatner impersonation, hams, random speech rhythm etc. LeChimp's (a gorilla) golden and purple attire deliberately resembles a Starfleet uniform.
When Guybrush tells the Lost WelshmanI'm not afraid, he replies You will be... you will be. The dialogue is lifted from Luke and Yoda from The Empire Strikes Back.
Playing with the lights in the theatre enough will result in a Sam & Max illumination on the stage
In Blondbeard's fried chicken restaurant, there is a skeleton that looks like Manny Calavera and he has a button that says "Ask me about Grim Fandango".
The banjo duel is a family friendly Homage to Deliverance.
A character decides to rewrite various Shakespeare plays to better suit the local pirates' tastes, mangling not only famous Shakespeare quotations but entire plotlines, resulting in lines such as "Wherefore art thou treasure, Romeo?", "Spot, ye blasted dog, get out of me bloomin' garbage! Out, Damned Spot!!" and "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him...and his two pals!", the latter spoken while juggling three skulls (one of them being Murray, of course).
Alas, Poor Yorick: If you try to use Murray, Guybrush will say, "Alas, I can't use Murray with that"
Take That: This subtle... or maybe not so subtle jab:
Lost Welshman: Lost for years in the mist. Oh how I hate that blasted mist. Guybrush: Really? I like mist. I think it's pretty. Lost Welshman: Well SURE, mist is pretty! But EGAD is it dull.
Tampering with Food and Drink: At one point in the game you are required to drug yourself by mixing hangover medicine with alcohol.
Guybrush: This makes the drink oh so much more appealing.
Tar and Feathers: Guybrush is tarred and feathered by monkey crew members of a pirate ship. He later uses this to pose as El Pollo Diablo, a giant chicken who has terrorized the area.
Tarot Troubles: "I've got five Death cards. That can't be good."
The Spanish (or any other foreign language) version of the game doesn't have the pirate song segment. It skips directly to sea navigation.
The Three Trials: Find a map, a ship, and a crew in the second act. A ring, a diamond and hand lotion in the fourth act. Each object demands a lengthy expedition and perilous adventure - yes, even the hand lotion.
Tonight Someone Dies: The game really, really wants the player to believe that Guybrush is going to kick the bucket, not only by having the Voodoo Lady tell him he's going to die on Blood Island, but also with the fortune teller, who deals him five Death cards.
The Voodoo Lady turns out to be right, in a manner. He does indeed die, but fakes it.
Guybrush Threepwood: If I gave you your arm back, what would you do with it? Murray, The Mighty Demonic Skull: I'd terrorize the South Seas! I'd torture the living! I'd demolish the... er... [beat] Murray: What I meant to say was I'd use it to pet kittens. Guybrush: *(Laugh)* Nope. You blew it. Murray: Drat.
Viewers Are Geniuses: One of the most important puzzles in the game hinges on the player knowing that alcohol and medicine should not be mixed under any circumstances. While for most people this is a no-brainer, younger players are a lot less likely to know that this is a bad idea since, you know, they don't drink alcohol.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Wally's fate. This trope MAY have been invoked intentionally, since Guybrush makes a point of saying that he needs to save Wally and all of the monkey slaves (but then the theme park explodes). It's hard to say though, because other stuff clearly WAS cut out due to Executive Meddling.
A Winner Is You: After defeating LeChuck, the game instantly cuts away to a 30 second scene without any dialogue, that consists of Guybrush and Elaine heading off to their honeymoon, while their friends are waving goodbye. The developers had planned to include more gameplay, but had to cancel after the game threatened to Schedule Slip, so this could be the explanation.
You And What Navy?: Guybrush can say this as one of his options to Wally to talk him into defeat when he threatens to shoot our hero.
You Fight Like a Cow: As you'd expect from the franchise that named the trope, the Insult Swordfighting minigame returns...but with a twist: Because the fights take place at sea, the comebacks have to rhyme with the insults.
You're Insane!: There is a scene when smuggler King André believes that the Goodsoup Family Diamond and its energy flowing though it is the key to his power, and you can choose this:
Guybrush: You're a madman! André: Am I mad? Am I? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Is it madness to sit in a cave at the top of a deserted island, accumulating vast amounts of gold and jewels and stuffed animals, stockpiling plunder from across the Caribbean and passing the savings on to you? Is that madness? Or GENIUS?!? Guybrush:[shrugs] Good point. I take it back. André:I'm not crazy -- my prices are!
Your Mom: One of René Rottingham's rhyming swordfight insults is "Your mother wears a toupee!", to which Guybrush can respond, "Oh, that is so cliché", which is the same response to a pirate's "En garde! Touché!"
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