HTML5 is a wonderful thing. It allows us to bring the future to your very eyes, with incredible multimedia websites filled with quality content. It also allows us to bring the past to you, too, as this in-browser SCUMM emulator proves. The Secret of Monkey Island is one of the classic Lucasarts games available, but it’s not quite the version you remember.
I was brought up on point and click games, and the Monkey Island series is part of my very soul. I’ve played The Secret of Monkey Island so many times the image of Melee Island is burnt into my retinas. So within 30 seconds of playing this in-browser edition, I knew something was fishier than the legality Stan’s commercial ventures. Since when did you start the game on the docks? Walking into the Scumm Bar reveals more inaccuracies; the kitchen backs straight onto the front room, and there’s no sign of the three pirates’ table at all. Head over to the town centre and you’ll find the prison is a good 50 meters closer than it should be, replacing the clock tower arch.
“What foul play is this?!” I cried. A little research revealed that this is no full game, no sir. This is a demo. Yes, we used to have these things called demos back in the day, and this is what Monkey Island’s looked like. So if you’d like to play the demo of The Secret of Monkey Island, simply head here. There’s files for Day of the Tentacle, Loom, and others that I’m not well-learned enough in to spot significant errors, so go in to these expecting demos too.
Still, it’s SCUMM in your browser, and that’s pretty neat.