History YMMV / EscapeFromMonkeyIsland

* AuthorsSavingThrow: While the control scheme is still heavily criticized, it does feature two welcome additions in comparison to its spiritual predecessor ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'':
** Rather than your only cue that you are near a point of interest being the player character looking at the object, this one adds one extra level of feedback by having context-sensitive text pop up near all points of interest. This also means it is immediately obvious that there is more than one item you can interact with, rather than forcing you to push a button to figure it out.
** The inventory system now has every item visible at once. While you still have to rotate through items one by one, being able to see them all makes it a lot easier to recall what you do and don't have on-hand.

* DarkHumor: Charles L. Charles says at one point, "I've got hands to kiss and babies to shake". The game was released barely 3 years after the Louise Woodward "baby-shaking" murder case, in which she was eventually convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

* ContestedSequel: This game was hated by a lot of the series' older fans when it came out, due to the graphics, controls, plot, rehashes, {{retcon}}s and frequent bugs (in the PC version at least). But conversely a lot of people grew up with this (and possibly ''Curse'') as the only ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' games they knew and so recall it fondly. By the time ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' came out, the demographic had shifted, and ''Escape'' was generally considered in a more positive light.

* HarsherInHindsight: The Voodoo Lady's store is filled with all sorts of crazy stuff as it usually is, and one of the things you can examine is a voodoo mask. If you do, Guybrush will say "Wow, cool! A 4DFX [=Voodoo6=] 6000 mask! Cutting edge voodoo technology!" This is an obvious reference to to 3DFX's old line of video cards; as luck would have it, the [=Voodoo5=] would wind up being their very last video card, and they'd fold barely a month after the game was released. This also winds up being an UnintentionalPeriodPiece as a result, and the reference is most likely lost on a contemporary player.

* BrokenBase: This game was hated by a lot of the series' older fans when it came out, due to the graphics, controls, plot, rehashes, {{retcon}}s and frequent bugs (in the PC version at least). But conversely a lot of people grew up with this (and possibly ''Curse'') as the only ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' games they knew and so recall it fondly. By the time ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' came out, the demographic had shifted, and ''Escape'' was generally considered in a more positive light.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The Voodoo Lady's store is filled with all sorts of crazy stuff as it usually is, and one of the things you can examine is a voodoo mask. If you do, Guybrush will say "Wow, cool! A 4DFX [=Voodoo6=] 6000 mask! Cutting edge voodoo technology!" This is an obvious reference to to 3DFX's old line of video cards; as luck would have it, the [=Voodoo5=] would wind up being their very last video card, and they'd fold barely a month after the game was released. This also winds up being an UnintentionalPeriodPiece as a result, and the reference is most likely lost on a contemporary player.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: This game cranked the amount of social commentary and (then-)recent pop culture references way up high compared to prior installments, really giving off this vibe.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** The first post-[[PointAndClick SCUMM]] ''Monkey Island''. The engine change adds clumsiness and the game lacks a powerful story a la ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'' to compensate for it.
** The general consensus among ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' fans is that this one isn't quite as good as the previous games, not only thanks to a weaker script, but also thanks to control issues inherited from the ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'' game engine: The game uses awkward tank-style controls for movement (in the style of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'') instead of the previous games' point-and-click interface, and using inventory items and interacting with the environment requires the player to shuffle one-by-one through a list of available options.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The Voodoo Lady's store is filled with all sorts of crazy stuff as it usually is, and one of the things you can examine is a voodoo mask. If you do, Guybrush will say "Wow, cool! A 4DFX [=Voodoo6=] 6000 mask! Cutting edge voodoo technology!" This is an obvious reference to to 3DFX's old line of video cards; as luck would have it, the [=Voodoo5=] would wind up being their very last video card, and they'd fold two years later. This also winds up being an UnintentionalPeriodPiece as a result, and the reference is most likely lost on a contemporary player.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: While the control scheme is still heavily criticized, it does feature two welcome additions in comparison to its spiritual predecessor ''Grim Fandango'':

* BrokenBase: This game was hated by a lot of the series' older fans when it came out, due to the graphics, controls, plot, rehashes, retcons and frequent bugs (in the PC version at least). But conversely a lot of people grew up with this (and possibly Curse) as the only ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' games they knew and so recall it fondly. By the time ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' came out, the demographic had shifted, and Escape was generally considered in a more positive light.

* CriticalDissonance: The game did positively with the critics, even outscoring [[VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland the following installment]]. Fans, on the other hand, near unanimously consider this the worst game in the series by no small margin, no thanks to the unorthodox control scheme, poorly aged visuals, the retcon dump, and [[ScrappyMechanic Monkey Kombat.]]

* {{Sequelitis}}: While not without its merits, this installment is widely considered to be the weakest in the series. The low points include the mediocre 3D graphics (especially coming from the high heel that was ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland''), the inconsistent quality of the writing, some jokes that rubbed the series' fan in the wrong way (like turning Elaine into a nag who constantly bosses around and bullies Guybrush), and the much dreaded Monkey Kombat. The RetCon as to Toothrot's true identity doesn't help.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: This game cranked the amount of social commentary and (then-)recent pop culture references way up high compared to prior installments, really giving off this vibe.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** [=LucasArts=] must have listened to all the criticism that Monkey Kombat got; in the [=PS2=] port, you are no longer forced to jot down the pose change combinations and the defeat flowcharts, as the game handily keeps track of them for you and provides a very easy-to-follow UI. Thus, it becomes a bit more like traditional insult fighting the series is known for where the only thing you have to worry about is completing the chart. While it certainly doesn't make the puzzle ''good'' by any stretch, it takes a ''lot'' of the sting and tedium out of solving it.
** While the control scheme is still heavily criticized, it does feature two welcome additions in comparison to its spiritual predecessor ''Grim Fandango'':
*** Rather than your only cue that you are near a point of interest being the player character looking at the object, this one adds one extra level of feedback by having context-sensitive text pop up near all points of interest. This also means it is immediately obvious that there is more than one item you can interact with, rather than forcing you to push a button to figure it out.
*** The inventory system now has every item visible at once. While you still have to rotate through items one by one, being able to see them all makes it a lot easier to recall what you do and don't have on-hand.

* {{Sequelitis}}: While not without its merits, this installment is widely considered to be the weakest in the series. The low points include the mediocre 3D graphics (especially coming from the high heel that was ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland''), the inconsistent quality of the writing, some jokes that rubbed the series' fan in the wrong way (like turning Elaine into abusive wife), and the much dreaded Monkey Kombat. The RetCon as to Toothrot's true identity doesn't help.

* PortingDisaster: In the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version, the quality of the voice clips is wildly inconsistent throughout the game. Most of the time, they sound fine. But sometimes they sound like they're being played back through a telephone. This is sad, because in most other respects, this version is actually superior to the [=PC=] original (better graphics, a control scheme that's better suited for the [=PS2=] controller, etc.).

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Carla and Otis from the first game are brought back, but do nothing of any real importance during Guybrush's missions to Lucre and Jambalaya island, and disappear entirely from the game after the latter island. Likewise, Stan and Murray re-appear, but both in such minor roles that you don't even have to talk to them in order to complete the game (Stan gives you a literal PlotCoupon, but there's an alternate way to get that particular item without speaking to him).