Excitement and speculation have been growing ever since the recent announcement of Return to Monkey Island, the latest installment in the beloved point-and-click saga. It has left many fans and pundits pondering how this new release will fit within the rest of the games in the much-acclaimed adventure series. The question becomes even more interesting considering the fact that Ron Gilbert, creator of the first two titles in the series, is back to helm the project.
Gilbert wasn't involved in the making of the Monkey Island games following his departure after LeChuck's Revenge. This means that the visionary creator was never truly able to fulfill his promise of revealing what the "secret of Monkey Island," the big titular mystery from the first game, actually was. With Gilbert returning and set to continue the narrative from the events of LeChuck's Revenge, there's a good chance the mystery may soon be revealed after more than 30 years.
Speculation and debate on this subject have raged the past few decades among devoted fans. Many believe that the secret of Monkey Island is that which is revealed at the climax of the second game -- that Guybrush and his nemesis LeChuck are actually children living out their piratical fantasies at a local theme park named Big Whoop.
Considering that Gilbert originally took the idea for the first Monkey Island from the Pirates of the Caribbean Disneyland ride, this would make a degree of sense. The theory is only reinforced by the fact that in a 2003 IRC chat, lead artist Bill Tiller posited the same theory -- that, in fact, the world of Monkey Island is drawn from the imaginings of an overactive child's imagination, even if this was a conclusion for which he didn't particularly care.
Yet, this assumption is by no means set in stone. If indeed that is the answer, it remains to be seen how Gilbert and co. will craft Return to Monkey Island's narrative to accommodate the fact that the secret was, in fact, that the entire story was a mere fantasy. The events of the third game, The Curse of Monkey Island, practically disregard the infamous twist of its predecessor by continuing Guybrush's adventures as if nothing had ever happened, with Gilbert himself recently stating on Twitter that this continuation was, in fact, canon. If this is the case, fans may have to look elsewhere for what the elusive mystery may be.
Many think that the secret is not the fact that the world is imagined, but rather that Guybrush and LeChuck were transported to another dimension via the use of a portal underneath Monkey Island, and the secret refers to the portal itself. Again, this is hard to square with the events of the third game. It also doesn't jibe with the fact that it is the first installment that is entitled The Secret of Monkey Island rather than the revelatory follow-up.
Others think that the secret has nothing to do with the ending of LeChuck’s Revenge at all and that it in fact dwells within the first game. The secret is one that players have already had revealed to them -- that LeChuck is in fact hiding out underneath a giant monkey head on the island -- and that it merely refers to LeChuck’s hellish underground lair. Considering that this is quite literally a "secret" that pertains specifically to the island's physical geography, it would make a degree of sense.
Yet, there is nothing concrete to suggest that this is the mystery's solution. With no actual confirmation, speculation will likely continue if and when more information is revealed. There's certainly a great chance that there is no true secret of Monkey Island, and that the word "secret" was simply used to create an alluring title that enticed gamers to a fresh release. It could also simply refer to any, or all, of the strange goings-on the game boasts, from ghosts and zombies to giant monkey heads and voodoo practitioners.
With multiple and often contrasting narrative strands caused by changes in writing personnel, developers and creatives, it can be hard to establish the true events of the Monkey Island narrative. Even with Gilbert returning to helm a new chapter, there is a likelihood is that the secret of Monkey Island may never be revealed at all. Perhaps it is whatever the player chooses it to be.
