I think that every poll about RtMI ambiguities should consist of only one option: “Not even Ron knows”.
I went for “Both Neither pirate real giraffe are toy sleeping is.”
Based on what Ron has said over the years on his blog and twitter, and also accounting for clues in the games themselves, as well as previous game design documents, this seems the most logical explanation which ties everything together satisfactorily.
Did some of you manage to show the horse armor to someone and having a response?
Other than Elaine at the end, you can show it to Stan and the museum curator earlier. Also, its popup text description and Guybrush’s comment will change in some locations (e.g. on LeShip, underwater).
Almost everyone. Stan was the one most blabbing on.
This is one of the sadest posts I’ve read here.
It reminds me of the Primitive Art in SMI. Particularly because bananas and rocks are important objects in SMI on the island of Monkey.
I have just tried to load my last savegame to try to finish the game without discovering the Secret. It happens that if you take the key of the chest from the dummy of the locksmith but you DON’T open the chest, when Guybrush remains alone on the bench, he takes the key out and looks at it melancholically
It’s kinda crazy that the game lets you walk out without knowing you can open the chest. I know Ron’s trying to give a choice as to whether or not to open it, but it seems like a lot of people assume it can’t be opened and walk out, so they didn’t know there was a choice.
It’d be worst to accidentally miss the plaque on the wall though.
“Guybrush chases the demon pirate LeChuck to hell and Stan is there.”
This was the ending we got. Mutiny on Monkey Island hellgate confirmed.
Ok, I finished the game today. No hints of any kind, it was a choice from the beginning. It was sometimes frustrating, especially midgame, but I found part 5 quite easy.
Did I like it?
Yes.
But only when I discovered the Secrets (both of them).
I must admit that, until the end, I was like “ok, good game and all, but nothing special”.
When I got out the maze under Monkey Island and I found myself in the alley in Melee, I was disappointed at first. “the theme park thing? Again?!”
But when I read the plaque, I understood the REAL secret was still waiting for me. And when I discovered it, I liked it immensely.
We spent years with unlikely and convoluted theories about the Secret. And we were trolled for years, and that’s what we deserved. Well played, I’m going to get one of those T shirts as soon as possible.
Speaking about secrets…
Do anybody know where in the hell is that sexy ghost pirate fiddler?
In the teaser trailer.
That’s why they call it “teaser”, then.
I just realized, Return makes the same mistake Escape did in ignoring alternatives we had in the first game.
Escape assumes we marooned our crew to Monkey Island, while it is in fact possible to travel back to Mêlée with them.
Likewise, Return assumes we did let Bob intact, while it is in fact possible to zap him with the voodoo root potion.
Is that a mistake, o a deliberate choice?
After all, you might also die under Melee Docks. I think it is quite impossible to take that “alternative” into account.
Alternatives are alternatives, only the main story goes into the canon, I guess. And Bob is a nice character, he deserves to be in.
EDIT
Oh, and Murray, too, shouldn’t be in the game, since he was thrown out board by the sexy fiddler.
Unless she was fired because of that and subsequently Murray was rescued. That would explain many things. Too bad, a good violin could have cheered up the crew.
Alternatives are alternatives, only the main story goes into the canon, I guess.
It is not defined which alternative is the main story line, until a sequel choose to.
Yet canon is usually defined by everything which happens in official media, which would include all possible endings, I guess.
And Bob is a nice character, he deserves to be in.
Indeed, he does. Yet it is possible to zap him.
Oh, and Murray, too, shouldn’t be in the game, since he was thrown out board by the sexy fiddler.
I wouldn’t worry about that. He gets tossed around all the time. Obviously, it’s a running gag that he shows up in all those places while he clearly isn’t able to move by himself.
It is not defined which alternative is the main story line, until a sequel choose to.
Yet canon is usually defined by everything which happens in official media, which would include all possible endings, I guess.
Ok, don’t call it canon, call it as you like but the fact that Guybrush can die in MI1 makes it mandatory to discard some alternative options.
Anyway, following your point, Ron did assume also you destroyed the Sea Monkey on Monkey Island, since you find her stranded there.
Or maybe he assumed you returned the Sea Monkey to Melee, somebody took it and sailed her back to Monkey Island, then shipwrecked her there. That would explain why she’s stranded on a different beach, by the way.
In any of the two cases Ron must assume only one of the options happened, because one necessarily excludes the other. And that’s what happens in the real world, too.
The final of MI1 can be different depending upon your choices. every final excludes what happened with the other choices. I don’t understand why a new chapter should “reset” the story line making all the options viable, especially if some options contradict the other, so it is impossible to allow both, except involving magic.
Or involving the “it’s all in Guybrush’ fantasy, everything is possible” thing, but then EVERYTHING is possible. It is even possible that he killed Bob playing and then he did resuscitate him for the next playing session. Kids do that all the time.
So, who cares?
Well, are you a fan of Tales? Perhaps Bob found his way back to the mortal realm at some point after being root beer zapped, as Guybrush did.
For me, I was surprised to see hard confirmation that Guybrush destroyed the Sea Monkey! I know it’s in continuity with Escape’s version, but I never got the impression Return cared much for Escape’s canon (between Herman, the bureaucratic takeover of Stan’s shipyard, and the obsolescence of Pirate Leaders).
In theory, the Sea Monkey II didn’t NEED to be made from the wreckage of the Sea Monkey. Any source of wood could have sufficed, including the cleared rubber trees back at the vista.