Does anyone feel that Tales is becoming a little too fantastical?

edited September 2009 in Tales of Monkey Island
Monkey Island has always been excellent at merging sharp wit with piratical stereotypes and bringing the legends of mariners to life. Yet with the introduction of mermen and these snorkel-like sea turtles I can not help but feel as though Tales is drifting further away from the original thematic. Episode Two seemed to remind me more of Wind Waker's world than it did Monkey Island's.

Did anyone else feel that it is encroaching upon the "fantasy" genre a little too much?
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Comments

  • edited August 2009
    Masquerade wrote: »
    Monkey Island has always been excellent at merging sharp wit with piratical stereotypes and bringing the legends of mariners to life. Yet with the introduction of mermen and these snorkel-like sea turtles I can not help but feel as though Tales is drifting further away from the original thematic. Episode Two seemed to remind me more of Wind Waker's world than it did Monkey Island's.

    Did anyone else feel that it is encroaching upon the "fantasy" genre a little too much?

    Maybe a little, but I don't care.It's telltale, it's their first Monkey Island game, and for me it's like a clean new start, where I'm not looking at how it's different from the lucasart games and am enjoying it the way telltale is making it, and love it this far.

    So I don't really care if it's getting more fantastic or not.
  • edited August 2009
    Not really.

    Think about it... We have had an evil ghost that tuned into a voodoo zombie that had a hellish amusement park that messed with your mind.
    Later, that same zombie possessed a stone statue to do battle with a giant robot.


    What Telltale introduced was a vile disease and creatures that were always part of sailor lore. Telltale has a loooong way to go to if they want to be more fantastic then the first 4 games.
  • edited August 2009
    I don't actually see the inclusion of mer-people and such that far-fetched within the Monkey Island series. I mean we've had ghosts, a monkey playing the piano, an amusement park...why not?

    Time and writers have changed the series over the years and so the world is bound to change with them. It keeps the series fresh and original. I dare say that if Ron Gilbert had made Monkey Island 3 then the series would have ended there.

    Not because it would have been a failure (obviously) but because the original games world was fairly limited and the story would have been complete. There are only so many stories you can tell about pirates before exploring other areas that you wouldn't normally associate with them.

    It happens with most long running series. The plotlines are bound to become more and more outrageous as ideas tend to dwindle.
  • edited August 2009
    I think every moneky island is very diffrent from each other so just cos this has mer folk and magic sea turtles doesnt make it to far off from the others since each monkey island has diffrent themes and ideas
  • edited August 2009
    I think if you could accept a lactose-intolerant volcano god, you should be able to accept mermen. That's just my opinion.
  • edited August 2009
    No.
  • edited August 2009
    Yes, I do believe that Telltale has made a game that is too fantastic-al. HEY TELLTALE, TRY MAKING A MEDIOCRE GAME NEXT TIME. THE FANTASTIC WRITING AND FIGHT SCENES AND STORY ARE RUINING MY EXPERIENCE.

    Preach on.



    ...
    [/sarcasm]
  • edited August 2009
    hplikelike wrote: »
    Yes, I do believe that Telltale has made a game that is too fantastic-al. HEY TELLTALE, TRY MAKING A MEDIOCRE GAME NEXT TIME. THE FANTASTIC WRITING AND FIGHT SCENES AND STORY ARE RUINING MY EXPERIENCE.

    Preach on.



    ...
    [/sarcasm]



    yh you jerks my heat cant take the exsitment :P
  • edited August 2009
    yh you jerks my heat cant take the exsitment :P

    I got this vision of you being a really old lady, sitting in a wheelchair playing the game and going "Oh no, another joke coming up, where is my heart medicine? cough cough...."
  • edited August 2009
    bobdevis wrote: »
    I got this vision of you being a really old lady, sitting in a wheelchair playing the game and going "Oh no, another joke coming up, where is my heart medicine? cough cough...."


    angry%20old%20lady.jpg
  • edited August 2009
    That's a pretty good up skirt shot of granny.
  • edited August 2009
    Grow up ;)

    Seriously though, ToMI's scenario is definitely a bit different from MI1-3 (can't speak for 4, as I never finished it), but I think the different changes fit together. The humor has become a bit more obvious, the environments a bit less, for lack of a better word, "dark" and the characters a bit more unusual. The result for me is a different, but still great, game.
  • edited August 2009
    Thanks God they're including new stuff in the franchise instead of remaking or making a self parody of TSOMI like MI 4.

    It really is the harder way, as fans will always complain that this isn't Monkey-ish or this is not how the series should be, but it is for the better and helps keep the franchise alive and kicking.

    And as has been mentioned before there were a lot of unrealistic stuff in all previous games. Please, let's keep nostalgia aside and enjoy this new series as it is. If they just include Stan and Murray most of my nostalgia will be satisfied.
  • edited August 2009
    mermaids are totally a part of pirate lore. I don't see the issue. We've had ghosts, undead skeletons, etc...
  • edited August 2009
    Frogacuda wrote: »
    mermaids are totally a part of pirate lore. I don't see the issue. We've had ghosts, undead skeletons, etc...

    yeah .. but first i was a bit surprised with mermens..but still i love the idea :D
  • edited August 2009
    Oh, maybe you are right, maybe they are getting JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUST a little too far. But it works pretty good. Plus breaking the mold a little is what every sequel should do. Heh, and I love the various squishy fish creatures we've seen so far. Just be glad there is no Prawnfolk in the game.
  • edited August 2009
    I thought some of it was a little ...weird. Mostly that
    giant sea turtley thing
    . The merfolk were okay, but I'm just gonnna see where the game is going...
  • edited August 2009
    Some people seem to be misreading this entirely. ;) I did not hate Episode 2 (some of you seem extraordinarily defensive about it) I merely found the "fantasy" setting a little strange. It need not follow the previous games to the letter - Tales feels too light and easy for that anyway - but voodoo curses, ghostly pirates and Monkey's have been strong staples of the series yet are still grounded within the 'real world'(for want of a better terminology) setting.
  • edited August 2009
    I like the ideea of expanding the Monkey Island Universe! I think the Mer-People fit within the story perfectly!
  • edited August 2009
    If Tales were set in the Tri-Island area, I would be shocked to see mer-folks and strange pokemon. But because Tales were set in the Gulf Of Melange, I am not too bothered by these things.
  • edited August 2009
    Dr_Doctor wrote: »
    If Tales were set in the Tri-Island area, I would be shocked to see mer-folks and strange pokemon. But because Tales were set in the Gulf Of Melange, I am not too bothered by these things.

    Where were the Pokemon? I tried sailing to Kanto, but Winslow said he couldn't sail there. Am I missing something?
  • edited August 2009
    The game may be branching off into more sea myths, but I would take the mer people over the monkey robot any day. The great thing they are doing in this game is that they are giving detailed explanations for each new aspect included and just not throwing it in and expecting us accept it because it's a monkey island game. We learned a lot of the mer people from chapter 1, so actually seeing them was not that surprising. It's just adding more layers to their back story, which is all connected to the main plot.

    So as long as everything in the game has a reason and a story for being there, I think the series will benefit greatly from it. No more giant mechanical robots buried on a deserted island with no explanation as to how it got there or what it's purpose was prior to that. Or talking figureheads, talking monkeys and....well I don't want to say anymore because I actually really enjoyed Escape and don't want to complain about it too much.
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited August 2009
    I feel like in Tales, Guybrush and crew have gone a little "off the map," so to speak, so it doesn't feel that out of place that they're in "here be dragons" territory a little more than if they stayed within the main islands of the series. The world of Monkey Island has always felt very "constructed" to me, and I think it makes enough sense that when you stray closer to the edge and further from where you're supposed to be, it might get a little weird on you.

    That's hardly canon, or official, by the way -- I'm just speaking for myself here and my read on what's going on as a fan.
  • edited August 2009
    Masquerade wrote: »
    Some people seem to be misreading this entirely. ;) I did not hate Episode 2 (some of you seem extraordinarily defensive about it)

    Yeah as far as I've noticed people around here are extremely defensive and misread things a lot...


    In answer to your question, I don't think mermaids and the sea turtle thingies are a stretch at all. Of course mermaids are part of pirate lore and mythical sea creatures as well, fits very nicely into the theme IMO.


    Also as far as I remember they are a combination of fish, turtle, and seahorse... Just like the items you have to find, so they fit that aspect of the story/game...


    Personally I really enjoyed it when they showed up [the sea creatures] and I had kind of a 'MI moment' heheheh...
  • edited August 2009
    If Tales were set in the Tri-Island area, I would be shocked to see mer-folks and strange pokemon. But because Tales were set in the Gulf Of Melange, I am not too bothered by these things.
    Jake wrote: »
    I feel like in Tales, Guybrush and crew have gone a little "off the map," so to speak, so it doesn't feel that out of place that they're in "here be dragons" territory a little more than if they stayed within the main islands of the series. The world of Monkey Island has always felt very "constructed" to me, and I think it makes enough sense that when you stray closer to the edge and further from where you're supposed to be, it might get a little weird on you.

    That's hardly canon, or official, by the way -- I'm just speaking for myself here and my read on what's going on as a fan.
    Never though of it that way. You're saying Tales isn't supposed to be just like the others but even more "out there"? I guess I should think of Tales more like a spin-off than a proper sequel?
  • edited August 2009
    Too fantastical?

    MI is best when it is strange and weird. When it choses to do a mundane and completely inappropriate plotline like "chase off the tourists" is when things begin to stink. And boy, did they stink.
  • edited August 2009
    Mermaids weren't my favorite characters, but I'm a sucker for huge fantastical sea creatures.
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited August 2009
    Never though of it that way. You're saying Tales isn't supposed to be just like the others but even more "out there"? I guess I should think of Tales more like a spin-off than a proper sequel?

    I don't know. I wouldn't go that far. That's just my personal take on the situation, as I said. I personally think this story has led Guybrush a bit off the beaten path, and I'm enjoying the ride.
  • edited August 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    I don't know. I wouldn't go that far. That's just my personal take on the situation, as I said. I personally think this story has led Guybrush a bit off the beaten path, and I'm enjoying the ride.

    its allways intresting when you leave the comfort zone and go into unknown territory
  • edited August 2009
    I agree completely with Masquerade. I don't mind the inclusion of Mermaid lore, that is traditional oldey worldy stuff, but the designs and artwork just don't sit in the Monkey Island universe.

    I would have much preferred a more traditional stlye of mer-people. Likewise with the sea monster things, it's just a step too far in my opinion.
  • edited August 2009
    I think so far, Telltale has really done a good job reviving a series that was sort of on life support in terms of setting ideas and the kinds of characters one would run into. Compared to MI4, the subtle joke of commercialism mixed with the old pirate world was taken to the extreme. Monkey Kombat also showed how sticking limited to certain themes can ruin one's attachment to a game. I feel like Tales of Monkey Island is really taking the pirate theme of the series and is exploring it more than the last few games did. Barber shops, tropical resorts, and Australian capitalists have little to do with pirate themes. Mermen and sea monsters feel right, and are kind of a nice original change of pace. You still get the authentic pirate feel with the humorous anachronistic dialogue and themes.
  • edited August 2009
    Thorbie wrote: »
    I think so far, Telltale has really done a good job reviving a series that was sort of on life support in terms of setting ideas and the kinds of characters one would run into. Compared to MI4, the subtle joke of commercialism mixed with the old pirate world was taken to the extreme. Monkey Kombat also showed how sticking limited to certain themes can ruin one's attachment to a game. I feel like Tales of Monkey Island is really taking the pirate theme of the series and is exploring it more than the last few games did. Barber shops, tropical resorts, and Australian capitalists have little to do with pirate themes. Mermen and sea monsters feel right, and are kind of a nice original change of pace. You still get the authentic pirate feel with the humorous anachronistic dialogue and themes.

    my favorite part of curse of monkey island was the smuggler's cove with king andre, because it had the most to do with pirates
  • edited August 2009
    I don't think so at all. We all know that MI and Pirates of the Caribean have many distinct similarities, however... I think pushing the realms of fantasy is a fantastic way to make Guybrush's tale more exciting. As long as we don't see Aliens... MI is right where it needs to be for the new era of adventure gaming
  • edited August 2009
    my favorite part of curse of monkey island was the smuggler's cove with king andre, because it had the most to do with pirates

    even when he metioned the charges under blood island being controled by a satalite
  • edited August 2009
    It's not like merfolk are first mythological creatures in the game. We have already seen ghosts, zombie, skeletons, talking monkeys, troll
    (although that was just a guy in the costume, but for Guybrush it seemed like real)
    and voodoo magic. So IMO new additions fit with the theme and are something to which sailors did actually believe back in the day.
  • edited August 2009
    I believe Mermaids do have a place in Monkey Island I was just surprised about how casual everyone but Guybrush was about their existence. I've always thought of Mermaids as elusive creatures that could exist or could just be a figment of weary sailors desperate imaginations.

    Going to the Jerkbait Islands and just being like, oh hello Merfolk, threw me at first but I was quickly like 'whatever' and just rolled with it.
  • edited August 2009
    I definitely understand the original poster's view because I thought it myself when we were first introduced to the mer-people.
    It reminds you of The Legend of Zelda and if it goes a lot further then it could feel wrong.
    That being said- a giant manatee seems to fit perfectly with Monkey Island
  • edited August 2009
    Kenif wrote: »
    I definitely understand the original poster's view because I thought it myself when we were first introduced to the mer-people.
    It reminds you of The Legend of Zelda and if it goes a lot further then it could feel wrong.
    That being said- a giant manatee seems to fit perfectly with Monkey Island

    How so? I played The Legend of Zelda back in the day when it was hot game in NES (I also played Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which IMO was better than the original) and I don't remember that there was merfolk. Sure there was some enemies in the water who shooted at you, but there's no similarities with Monkey Island's merfolk.
  • edited August 2009
    How so? I played The Legend of Zelda back in the day when it was hot game in NES (I also played Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which IMO was better than the original) and I don't remember that there was merfolk. Sure there was some enemies in the water who shooted at you, but there's no similarities with Monkey Island's merfolk.

    He might be referring to the zoras in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.
  • edited August 2009
    Masquerade wrote: »
    ...Tales is drifting further away from the original thematic.

    That's what I think Monkey Island needs, honestly. You can't copy the past all the time. Gotta progress, move forward. As to the notion that it seems more like Wind Waker, I just don't see it. Maybe mildly but I certainly don't feel like I'm playing Wind Waker. It's still an original flavour.
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