Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal is a Monkey Island game in the same way that Fallout 3 is a Fallout game. Bethesda’s continuation of the classic series was essentially the next step in their Elder Scrolls franchise. It may have included beautiful, modern representations of the old series’ common tropes, but it was, in gameplay and in tone, still a Bethesda/Oblivion title. In much the same way, Narwhal is the next step in the Telltale adventure games catalogue.
Ever since Telltale restarted the Sam and Max franchise, they’ve been the new face of adventure games (again, much like Bethesda is seen as the “new” face of Western RPGs). Narwhal represents the latest in technological and stylistic advances in that adventure formula. It also includes recreations of Monkey Island styles, recreations so exacting you can’t help but feel that old Monkey Island thrill. Telltale rounded up some of the original cast (most importantly, Dominic Armato, who first voiced Guybrush in Curse of Monkey Island), wrote a new, Monkey-appropriate score, and did their best to recreate the classic scrapes Guybrush Threepwod can’t stop getting in to.
“Did their best” is the key phrase here.
Narwhal very clearly follows the path set out by Telltale’s Sam and Max and Wallace and Gromit games. It brilliantly captures the tone and tics of the IPs its continuing, all while putting its own spin on these games. Who can blame them? They are a game company, and they want to make their games the way they want to make them. The problem with that is that Telltale adventure games aren’t exactly perfect in their present state.
Problems from older Telltale games are still in evidence: primarily, moving Guygrush around is unpleasant and impractical. You can either use an inaccurate, unintuitive keyboard interface (a la Monkey Island 4, Grim Fandango, and all previous Telltale adventure games), or you can use a point, click and hold interface. This feels slightly better, but it’s hard to activate, and even when you do, instead of directly following your mouse, Guybrush will follow a silly radial arrow that hovers around his body. It sounds awkward because it is. You’ll constantly fight the controls for control over Guybrush.
As always, this seems like a strong argument for developers to just give it up already and return to 2d (or 2d represented in 3d) adventure games. Try playing the recently released 'Time Gentlemen, Please' or the new 'Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition', and you’ll be reminded of what adventure games should actually play like.
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