ICYMI: The Secret of Monkey Island

For those of us who have been around for a while, it’s easy to take The Secret of Monkey Island’s many easter eggs for granted. Guybrush can drown? Exploring the Monkey Island tunnels will literally drive him to the brink of insanity? Surely this is common knowledge.

It turns out it is not. In fact, based on the feedback we get from the trivia factoids we occasionally post on the sosh, I’d go as far as to say that most normal, well-adjusted fans have paid little attention to any of it.

And so, for those who haven’t succumbed to the types of broken-minded depths we have, here is a collection of some weird and fun facts you can find in *The Secret of Monkey Island*. Really, though – be careful how far down the rabbit hole you go.

Mêlée Island Fashion

If you’ve ever wondered why the Mêlée map shows Guybrush partly as a red pixel, it’s because an early character design donned a red sash.

The tiny sprite never got updated. The other place you can find it is in the EGA demo, which features some locations that are unreachable in the final game.

The Trials and Tribulations of Otis

While most of us were (and are) tempted to follow Fester’s initial alleyway “pssssst,” you don’t have to do so. Instead, you can go straight to Otis’s cell to get a very different introduction to the sheriff.

Speaking of being framed – there is actually a chance Otis was the victim of a conspiracy. The yellow flowers he was convicted of picking have one specific usage, as their name reveals.

“Caniche Endormi” is French for “Sleeping Poodle.” One can assume Fester arrested Otis to ensure he wasn’t planning on breaking into the Governor’s Mansion. I mean, I, too, might be getting into conspiracy territory here, but then, that’s what they said about Operation Paperclip, too.

Finally, you don’t have to use the grog to save Otis. Instead, you can save the rat, much to Otis’s chagrin.

The Fast-Moving Shopkeeper

Some might have tried to take off with stolen goods from the General Store once or twice. As it turns out, you will get a host of different dialogues if you keep trying to outmaneuver the Shopkeep.

And while following the Shopkeeper is the quickest way to find Carla, doing so means you’ll miss out on the woods’ many sights – Disk 22 only scratches the surface.

That’s the type of stuff headcanons are made of – and I have no issues feeding into it.

Order That Hint Book

Finally on Mêlée: You can drown Guybrush if you hang out under the docks for ten minutes. The scene is, for the lack of a better word, grizzly.

Spying Through the Spyglass on Monkey Island

Even during the lead-up to Return thirty-two years after Monkey 1, there were basic things Mojo learned about The Secret of Monkey Island. Perhaps the biggest one was using the spyglass near Herman’s “sculpture,” where Guybrush will spot different landmarks depending on where it is pointed.

This also serves as a hint for catapulting the rock from the above cliff. (My apologies for forgetting which Mojo Forumer alerted us to this.)

The Many Cannibal Locks

For a good visual gag, keep escaping the cannibal hut, and the tribe will put in place much more drastic measures.

Exploring the Tunnels Beneath the Monkey Head

Keep exploring Monkey Island’s underground tunnels, and you will see a small sub-narrative play out. Specifically, the more oddities Guybrush interacts with, the further he’ll descend into Lovecraftian madness.

Killing Bob

It takes a bit of finagling, but you can evaporate Bob. This also triggers some different lines from Herman.

As far as the ending goes – depending on whether you sink the Sea Monkey or not, you’ll get two different ways off Monkey Island, as well as two different mid-credit scenes.

Tree? Tree. Tree!

And, to go out on a bizarre note…

In the VGA-CD version, Guybrush tells us he is saved by a “Rubber tree!” In the VGA-floppy version, it’s a “Rubber tree.” Why the change? And why do we care? Some questions are better left unanswered.

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