Computing runs down from 20 to 11 in its all-time ranking of the best Amiga games from yesteryear
19. The Secret of Monkey Island
Published in 1990, this classic LucasArts point and click adventure introduced young pirate wannabee Guybrush Threepwood to the world. It was originally devised by Ron Gilbert (who got into game design thanks to the Battleship clone he found on the Texas Instruments TI-59 programmable calculator his father used to bring home from work), together with other industry legends Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman.
The Secret of Monkey Island was somewhat revolutionary in that it was principally about exploration and story, rather than combat. The concept was born out of Gilbert's frustration with other adventure games, in which wrong choices, or poor combat skills could lead to the character's death, and the need to reload.
The game was well-received both critically and commercially, with the writing, humour, graphics, sound and gameplay all widely praised. Writing for Amiga games mag The One, Paul Presley stated that "LucasArts appears to have taken all of the elements that worked in its previous releases and, not only incorporated them into this tale of scurvy swashbuckling, but even improved on them in the process!"
And then there's the insult sword fighting.
A gift that just keeps on giving, there have been four sequels so far. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, released in 1991, then The Curse of Monkey Island in 1997, Escape from Monkey Island in 2000, and Tales of Monkey Island released in 2009. One more trip to Monkey Island to be released in 2017 perhaps?
