I found Grim Fandango in a pile of discounted games as a tween in the 2000s. There was a cool skeleton in a suit on the front cover, so I bought it based on that.
Even though I didn't understand most references and sarcasm, few games have grabbed my attention as Grim Fandango did. The art work, the music, the writing. The whole game oozes of style that I've never seen replicated.
Even some 20+ years later I can almost recite most of Act I from heart. If you haven't played this game and like adventure games, this is one of the best.
I remember playing it back in the day and I was severely unimpressed. Compared to Full Throttle it just felt clunky and the 3d art wasn't nearly as good as the amazing pixel art. I ended up never finishing it.
It released with unbearable keyboard controls instead of the familiar point-and-click. If I remember right a remaster eventually came out that allowed mouse control.
I agree that I hated the 3d though. This was a bad patch for games when everyone wanted to go 3d for the sake of it, even though it looked and played worse.
Yeah the keyboard controls were awful, apparently it was because they wanted the game to have a console port using a gamepad.
Thing is I bet the people who played it are right too, I just never managed to bring myself to play more than a few hours of the game before getting frustrated. Bad controls + 90s point-and-click-puzzle-design + early 3d graphics is not a good recipe.
Full Throttle was criticized for its dumbed-down point-and-click (basic only 3 actions + using items, instead of the usual verbs), but that was the sweetspot for my early-teens mind. Can never get enough funny responses of using the lick action.
I also remember the criticism of Full Throttle, but it always rang hollow to me: a game is not just the puzzles, and also some people complained about the action sequences, but for me they were welcome (even if too easy). Everything about the game is golden: the setting about bikers (how cool is that?), the 2D pixel animation, the amazing voice acting and the opening by the Gone Jackals. I fell in love with the game back then, and I still like it on replays.
The game is amazing, but it is really annoying when you get stuck on a weird timing-based wall-kick game, or robot-bunny minefield, or destruction-derby minigame with unclear instructions.
Somehow I remember those parts more than the fun parts, maybe because I didn't have access to a guide back then.
The one thing I remember the most was making the jump across the broken bridge, that was the most badass thing in my childhood mind ever seen. I didn't know english very well so it took _ages_ to get to that point in the game.
SCUMM games always had a "win" key for action sequences, and I remember it would sometimes be mentioned in the manual. (Remember when games came with those? I was one of the sorts of nerds that read them.) Off the top of my head I think it was Alt+G. My first many playthroughs I always used the win button for all the action sequences in Full Throttle. It made the game a lot better back on my original PC I played the game on where it would stutter in the action games and make them hard to win. I still sometimes think the game is better without the action sequences, even if I can normally win them now.
(As I recall even GrimE had a similar or the same combo key. A lot of the complaints about Monkey Combat in EMI I didn't have because after a couple attempts I recall just pushing the win button and moving on.)
fredrikholm · · focus · HN ↗
Even though I didn't understand most references and sarcasm, few games have grabbed my attention as Grim Fandango did. The art work, the music, the writing. The whole game oozes of style that I've never seen replicated.
Even some 20+ years later I can almost recite most of Act I from heart. If you haven't played this game and like adventure games, this is one of the best.
Thank you for linking OP, this made my morning.
DanielHB · · focus · HN ↗
syllogism · · focus · HN ↗
I agree that I hated the 3d though. This was a bad patch for games when everyone wanted to go 3d for the sake of it, even though it looked and played worse.
DanielHB · · focus · HN ↗
Thing is I bet the people who played it are right too, I just never managed to bring myself to play more than a few hours of the game before getting frustrated. Bad controls + 90s point-and-click-puzzle-design + early 3d graphics is not a good recipe.
Full Throttle was criticized for its dumbed-down point-and-click (basic only 3 actions + using items, instead of the usual verbs), but that was the sweetspot for my early-teens mind. Can never get enough funny responses of using the lick action.
the_af · · focus · HN ↗
DanielHB · · focus · HN ↗
Somehow I remember those parts more than the fun parts, maybe because I didn't have access to a guide back then.
the_af · · focus · HN ↗
Mostly, what I remember is the outstanding voice acting, and the most memorable intro ever.
Yeah, whenever I think of Maureen I think of two things: asphalt, and trouble...
DanielHB · · focus · HN ↗
WorldMaker · · focus · HN ↗
(As I recall even GrimE had a similar or the same combo key. A lot of the complaints about Monkey Combat in EMI I didn't have because after a couple attempts I recall just pushing the win button and moving on.)