The Secret of Monkey Island

The Secret of Monkey Island is a graphic adventure game created by Ron Gilbert while at Lucasfilm Games and published in 1990 for the Amiga and DOS. It was ported to other systems in 1991, 1992, and 1993. There are four more games in the Monkey Island series, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, The Curse of Monkey Island, Escape From Monkey Island, and Tales of Monkey Island.

Taking you back in time to when piracy was a way of life in the Caribbean, you take on the role of a young aspiring pirate, Guybrush Threepwood. To achieve his dream, Guybrush has to impress the pirate leaders with his skills. Setting out to make a name for himself the intrepid sea dog makes the mistake of falling in love with a beautiful woman, for this woman was the obsession of a now-deceased pirate LeChuck during his life. This budding romance wakes up the spirit of old LeChuck, and he’s gunning for young Mr. Threepwood.

This pirate adventure is played using the SCUMM interface, meaning you select certain words and use them on items or people. There are inventory puzzles to solve and elements that can be combined. Speaking to the locals is also essential, and many of the conversation branches are pretty funny.

The Secret of Monkey Island is a significant title for Lucasfilm Games because it is their first to make it impossible to get stuck. There was also only one way to die in the game, which is to stay underwater for more than 10 minutes. Guy’s got a hell of a set of lungs!

Upon release, it gained many perfect scores and is often listed on many “Best of All-Time” lists. Mixing comedy and adventure, Monkey Island is a do-not-miss classic.