Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Released: 1991
Published by: Lucasfilm Games, LLC
Developed by: Lucasfilm Games, LLC
Credits: Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer, Dave Grossman, Tami Caryl Borowick, Bret Barrett, Peter Chan, Steve Purcell, Sean Turner, James Alexander Dollar, Larry Ahern, Ken Macklin, Michael McLaughlin, Collette Michaud, Michael Z. Land, Peter McConnell, Clink Bajakian, Robin Goldstein, J. White.
Introduction
Guybrush Threepwood is back in the second installment of the Monkey Island series. Having dispatched the evil ghost pirate LeChuck in Monkey Island 1, Guybrush goes on a treasure hunt for the fabled "Big Whoop", but evil is about to return when Largo LeGrande revives LeChuck from the dead.
The game continued to leverage the power of the SCUMM engine with its simple and intuitive point-and-click goodness.
This game was the first title to be released under the new Lucasfilm Games moniker, LucasArts. It was also Lucas' last title to make use of a codewheel for copy protection.
System Requirements
| System Requirements | 80286 CPU, DOS 3.0, 640 KB RAM, MCGA/VGA graphics required. Audio support for Ad Lib, Covox Sound Master II, Roland MT-32, CM-32L (or LAPC-I), and Sound Blaster. A 486 CPU is recommended along with 1 MB RAM. |
|---|---|
| Original Media | Five 3.5" 1.44 MB (HD) floppy disks or Six 5.25" 1.2 MB (HD) floppy disks. |
| Installed Size | 9 MB |
From where can it be run?
The game must be installed to a hard disk.
Game Audio/Video
|
Intro Music Samples: MT-32 "Old" Intro  MT-32 "New" Intro Sound Blaster (emulated) Intro Ad Lib (emulated) Intro Ensoniq AudioPCI (GM mode) Intro Ensoniq AudioPCI (MT-32 mode) Intro |
Game Introduction (video) |
Copy Protection
Upon startup, the game asks you for how many of two ingredients to use in a voodoo recipe. The original game came bundled with a "Mix n' Mojo Voodoo Ingredient Proportion Dial", with which you turn the two dials to line up and look at the proportions displayed in the window.
Some versions of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge are cracked, so entering in anything into the recipe still permits the game to continue. The ScummVM version is like this - you still see the copy protection screen, but just enter any numbers to progress into the game. One issue is that in some versions this will also skip past the difficulty selection screen (see below).
How to Setup
The game does not come with a setup program. The game can be run with the following command-line arguments to automatically run it with a set configuration:
monkey2 [ v | m | e ] [ k | j | mo ] [ i | a | s | r ]
v = VGA graphics
m = MCGA graphics
e = EGA graphics
k = Keyboard only
j = Joystick
mo = Mouse
i = Internal speaker
a = Ad Lib sound
s = Sound Blaster sound
r = Roland sound
For example, to play Monkey Island 2 with EGA graphics, a mouse and Roland sound, you would type:
monkey2 e mo r
It is worth mentioning is that Monkey Island 2 supports the additional sound effects of a Roland CM-32L.
Difficulty Levels
Before Elaine finds you hanging (but after the copy protection screen), you are presented with a difficulty selection screen:
If you select the top choice (hard difficulty), there are more puzzles throughout the game. For example, when you collect ingredients for Largo's voodoo doll, in easy mode you get a clean white shirt instead of having to do the Mad Marty puzzle.
Note: Monkey Island 2: Le Chuck's Revenge Special Edition does not give you the option of a difficulty level - it always runs in 'hard' mode.
Problems
Problem: When playing the game with its fantastic Roland MT-32 music, I hear no sound effects from my Ad Lib / Sound Blaster.
Cause: Both MI1 and MI2, by default, cannot play sound effects when run in Roland sound mode. When run in Ad Lib or Sound Blaster mode, both music and sound effects are heard, so it's a compromise: the Roland MT-32 music is far better but you want to hear SFX too.
Solution: You can play both games using SCUMMVM which support sound effects under Roland mode. Alternatively, a fan called New Rising Sun built a patch to allow sound effects to be played out of your Ad Lib or Sound Blaster card, whilst simultaneously having music played out of your MT-32 (or LAPC-I). It allows for Roland MT-32 music together with PCM sound effects for the Sound Blaster, and AdLib sound effects when they are the only ones available. Be sure to apply this patch to an original version of the game.
The patch consists of two main files:
SOUNBLAS.IMS replaces the original SOUNBLAS.IMS, so you have to run the game with "MONKEY2 s". Replacing ROLAND.IMS would have been the more logical option, but unfortunately, the game's script code knows what the selection is and will not even bother to try to play Largo's "whoa!" sound effects with any selection other than Sound Blaster, so it is this driver that has to be replaced.
To apply the patch, simply copy all patch files into your MI2 directory, and run APPLY.BAT. APPLY.BAT must be run once in order to hear all PCM "spitting" sound effects. The reason is that these exist for PCM, Ad Lib and Roland, but MONKEY2.EXE will give the Roland file to the sound driver because that one appears first in MONKEY2.001. REORDER.COM simply reorders them so that the PCM one appears first in the file. In addition, APPLY.BAT fixes the programming mistake that the barkeep's spitting sound is only heard on Ad Lib. APPLY.BAT must only be run once to modify MONKEY2.001 in the manner described; then it can be deleted.
In theory, it should work with all language versions.
To Quit the Game
Press ALT-X. When asked "Are you sure you want to exit the game? (Y/N), hit Y.
Supporting Documents
Here are the original documents that came with the game:
Save Games
Apparently, your save games are stored inside the monkey2.bin file. I recommend checking after a game save to see if this file's date/time changes. If so, it's highly likely this is correct so if you need to transfer save games from one computer to another, or archive them somewhere, it's this file you need to backup.
For the ScummVM version, save game files are stored in the game's directory. Their filenames match the ID of the game, so if your game's ID is 'monkey2', each save game file will be monkey2.s00, monkey2.s01, etc.
Versions of the game known to exist
| Version | Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Original version 1.0 | December 1991 | EGA and VGA supported. This was LucasArts' first game to use the iMUSE engine (developed by Michael Land and Peter McConnell), which synchronises the game's MIDI music to the action in the game, like a movie does. Used interpreter version 5.2.02. |
| Budget re-release | 1992 | KIXX was given the licence to re-release MI2 in 1992, with copy protection removed. |
| Compilation | 19 July 2000 | A "Monkey Island Bounty Pack" was released on CD-ROM, which included the first three Monkey Island titles: The Secret of Monkey Island, LeChuck's Revenge: Monkey Island 2, and Curse of Monkey Island. |
| Special Edition | 7th July 2010 | The Special Edition upgraded the game's graphics to high definition, updated the audio engine, new voice-overs, and came bundled with concept art and an in-game hint system. It comes on a CD-ROM and includes the option to play a background audio commentary which plays at certain points throughout the adventure. This version doesn't have an 'Easy' mode, so all the puzzles must be played through. The introductory sequence and main musical theme have been completely removed (believed to be necessary as it displayed credits that were now out of date). In this version you can use the original control mechanism or control Guybrush using a control pad/joystick. |
| ScummVM version | This doesn't contain an executable file - you simply install ScummVM and point at the game's directory via ScummVM. | |
| Steam Edition | This version includes voice dialog (the "talkie" version) which can be played in conjunction with the classic (original) graphics mode. |
Installed Directory Contents
Once installed, the following directory structure exists in the game directory.
Directory of C:\GAMES\MONKEY2 . <DIR> 06/05/21 20:42 .. <DIR> 06/05/21 20:42 |