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Welcome to Return to Monkey Island! Whether you're a veteran of the series or a total newbie to adventure games, this game has something for everyone - swashbuckling humor, great puzzles, and a gripping story.
What's more, there's a fantastic introduction to the game that eases you into the kind of puzzles, controls, and leaps of logic you'll need to master to make your way through. Here's our complete guide to the prelude to make it even smoother sailing.
Working Out The Controls
When the game begins, you'll be in control of a very young Guybrush, with Chuckie following his every move. Take a moment to get to know the control scheme of the game:
- Click on the ground to get Guybrush to walk to your pointer. Double-click to make Guybrush run.
- Open your inventory by clicking on the bag icon in the lower-left corner of the menu or pressing the 'I' button.
- Interact with an object in the environment or a person by clicking on it. You can hold the Tab button to highlight all interactable objects.
- Sometimes you'll have more than one option when interacting with an item. One will be attached to the left-click, and one will be attached to the right-click.
In your inventory, you'll find your To-Do List, which currently has only one item on it for now: Buy Scurvydogs. Clicking on the outhouse door will add another objective: finding the outhouse key.
How To Find The Outhouse Key
Click on the open doorway next to the Scurvydogs sign to enter the shop. Examine the objects inside the shop - you won't be able to get any of the grog on the right, but you can get the outhouse key by examining the peg leg on the left and then snagging the key.
How To Buy Some Scurvydogs
Talking to the shopkeeper with eyesight problems inside the Scurvydog shack will reveal that you need to find some money to buy some Scurvydogs, and you're but a pair of penniless wannabe pirates. Interact with the Scurvydogs near the ceiling to ask how much they cost, and you'll find out that they cost half a piece-of-eight each.
With the outhouse key in hand, leave the shop. Open your inventory and grab the outhouse key, and then click on the outhouse door to unlock it. Inside the outhouse, you can examine everything to hear some funny lines, but what you're looking for is the small metal object between the grate on the floor and the door. This is a slug - a fake coin.
Head back to the Scurvydog shack and give the slug to the shopkeeper there. He will test the slug and, thanks to his bad eyesight, let you have some Scurvydogs. With that done, you have two new objectives to take care of.
How To Mess Around And Explore
To progress, head to the right of the Scurvydog shack and continue to the next area. Here, you'll meet Dee. She will update this objective with a ton of new things to do.
- Check out the massive anchor simply by clicking it. It's right by the entrance to the area. This segment also serves as a tutorial on skipping dialogue and viewing previously spoken dialogue.
- To beat Chuckie in a race, challenge him to a race at the track's starting point. Then, you will need to wait until Dee finishes her countdown. Then, double-click at the finishing line to get Guybrush to dash to the end – he's more than fast enough to beat Chuckie.
- To feed the duck, first, you'll need to try to investigate the couple's picnic basket. They'll start talking at length about the faults of the youth today – use this time to grab some of the bread to their left quickly. If they're not talking, you can't pick up the bread. Use the bread with the duck in the pond.
- To add some sauce to your Scurvydog, first, you'll need to examine the pile of red 'yuck' to the right of the pond. Once you've identified that it's ketchup, you can pick it up. Now, combine the ketchup with your Scurvydog within your inventory window.
- To practice sword-fighting, simply click on the stage at the back of the area. Dee will refuse to practice with you, but Chuckie will oblige.
- To find a four-leaf clover, right-click on the sign with a four-leaf clover on it. There is one four-leaf clover in the field, but its location is randomized. Use the Tab button to find it – a circle will appear around it.
- To make a wish at the wishing well, head to the right of the screen. You'll find a coin on the ground next to the well – pick it up, and then use it on the wishing well. You'll get to choose what Guybrush wishes for!
- Save the game before tossing the coin in the well. After viewing one of the wishes, reload to see the rest, if you want!
With all of those bullet points crossed off, you've successfully Messed Around and Explored.
How To Find Your Real Parents
Open the gate on the right side of the screen and then head further to the right. Walk up to the familiar-looking pirate sitting on the bench.
With that, the calm introduction is over, and it's time to start taking on the meat of the adventure.