The new Monkey Island launches later today, which is an excellent excuse to look at the Lucasfilm Games’ adventure titles you can get on Steam, GOG and some other platforms. I’ve been slowly collecting and replaying most of them over the years. They still hold up – it’s impressive how solidly these games established the genre’s blueprint. This era, 1989 to 2001, from a small game studio located on Skywalker Ranch, set standards that still work today.
You might frown at the idea of playing games that are over 20 years old. But the titles on this list have aged well, and those that got remastered feel fresh and modern again. Above all, they are just really good games, often imitated but never overshadowed.
We have to start with the venerable Monkey Island because it’s my favourite. I love the first three games and enjoyed the fourth and Telltale’s spin-off series. The MI games are the genre’s gold standard. They even gave Pirates of the Caribbean most of its good ideas. The first two games are available in excellent remasters. Sadly, I don’t think the beautiful hand-animated third game will ever get the same upgrade. But it’s still very playable.
Not everyone thinks that Monkey Island is the best of this era. I have to agree that Day Of The Tentacle is as good as MI and visually better, and maybe even funnier. Purple Tentacle is an iconic villain, and, yes, the time travel stuff is very cool, maybe even insult sword fighting cool. You can decide – like MI 1 and 2, DOTT has a fantastic remaster. But to me, MI was the first, plus it had two solid sequels. There’s more to like. But could DOTT take all three of them in a fight? Maybe…
The third game on this list is also my least favourite because of my disappointment. Full Throttle is the best game from the Lucasfilm adventure era. It’s the best point-and-click adventure game ever made. Yes, it’s superior to MI and DOTT. This rock-n-roll post-apocalyptic biker romp is fantastic, and the remastered edition brings back all that magic. But it’s too short and never followed up with a proper direct sequel. Whenever I finish this game, I just want more.
Speaking of disappointment, why is there no remaster for The Dig? It’s a cinematic-style adventure game of the same quality as Full Throttle but more serious and elaborate. That might be why it didn’t do as well as the other titles on this list, which are generally goofy or comedic. The Dig had jokes, but it was also aiming higher and, by all accounts, succeeded. Unfortunately, audiences weren’t really interested at the time. The original game still looks and plays well. A remaster could bring The Dig out of its cult obscurity.
The next game’s obscurity makes me dizzy and erratic. There are many grave injustices in the world: war, famine, persecution, and nobody’s remastered Sam & Max Hit The Road. I know, right? And if you don’t know, this is probably the best point-and-click adventure game ever. What? You want proof? Shut up. Get off my back. Yeah, I just said that about Full Throttle. And I stand by that. But now we’re talking about Sam & Max. Please keep up. We don’t have all day. There are freaky crimes to solve.
Look, several games on this list could stand for the ‘best ever’ title. It’s hard to choose. And if you asked me to select between remastering Sam & Max or Indy 4, I’d be stuck. Indy 4 is not the misguided Crystal Skull movie, but my shorthand for Indiana Jones & The Fate Of Atlantis. It’s as good as the original three films, with a good plot, lots of vibrant locations, and some vintage Indy quips. They even hired a voice actor who sounds like Harrison Ford. And it’s a very solid adventure game.
At least we can end this list on a high note – a cult classic with a well-deserved remaster. Yes, the brilliant Grim Fandango. Sadly, this game landed on the curb. It was the second-last adventure game by the studio and the first to use a controversial switch to 3D graphics from the genre’s beloved 2D styles. The remaster helps brush these issues aside and puts this fantastic Day of the Dead film noir on the pedestal it deserves.
I’ll leave you with a few honourable mentions: Loom, Zack McKraken, Maniac Mansion and Last Crusade. They are good, too and show the building blocks that created the golden era that followed.