I love Grim Fandango. And I probably should since I post all the time on this forum. But there's always that one plothole......ow.
Though, I'm sure, many of you have noticed this plothole, yet have been in denial about it, thinking it's probably something that would make sense in the land of the dead. Even if that is so, it gives me such a headache. Considering all my friends are on vacation and I have no one to rant to, I'm needing to vent. I've just completed Grim Fandango for the first time in two years. Still a great experience. But even when I first played this game oh so long ago, it still hurt my head. So here goes the uncovering:
First of all Glottis has tweaked the company car to go extra fast. They go to the petrified forest the same day as all the other stuff, and overnight, they drive all the way to Rubacava in the highpowered bone wagon Bone Wagon. So, ever so implausably, Celso's already there from walking even though Meche would be lost in the forest for an entire year. But Celso's already there, and he already has a job. So that's just the implausibility factor. Not too important if you ignore it. BUT, the big time manipulation occurs when Celso's wife who died a little AFTER he did and she was already shipped off. BUT, though Celso had died and was brought to the Land of the Dead just the day before and his wife died AFTER him, she sailed off from Rubacava SIX WEEKS beforehand. Anyone up for a headache?
Okay, I'm feeling a bit better after venting. Man, I love forums, just there to set free the inner ******* that you have to conceal everyday in public. I'm actually a cool guy once you get to know me.
Heh, don't worry, others have noticed it before. I recall there being quite an in-depth discussion about this a long while back, possibly on the old pre-LucasForums forums.
It is a pretty big plot hole, but it's nothing I've lost sleep over. It was just one of those "Oh" things. In comparison to Escape from Monkey Island, GF's timeline is watertight. ;)
I once encountered that problem in the mistake section of some site. I thought about it a while and shrugged it off then.
But now that you mentioned it... it is kinda bothering...
Wow. I never thought of that.
I always assumed they tooks weeks to get there, maybe because they got lost :p
Manny says at one point in the car, "I could have walked faster than this!", so perhaps that could affect things?
That was before Glottis made the big changes to the car, I think.
Yeah, but still - if manny said that because Glottis was driving round in circles and getting lost etc, then it would still make sense.
Yes, that is quite true. It's probably the only possibility.
The only other way I think of justifying is that we didn't see the entire journey through the forest. I mean, this thing is supposed to be a gigantic maze of a forest - so why did it only occupy about seven screens? Surely there's far more than that.
This leads me towards the impression that after we got over that bridge, there was quite a lot more journeying through for them to do, and by the time we saw them arriving in Rubacava a number of weeks had passed - it just wasn't made clear that they had.
Of course, we are probably defending what is basically just a plot oversight.
That makes sense as well. If I remember correctly someone wrote the journey to be a bit longer in a fanfic or something. Maybe it was the novelization?
I think it's most probably just something they overlooked when making the game, I don't think it's a plot hole to be honest, just a small error in the way they cut from crossing the bridge to arrival in Rubacava.
I'm picky. It's not a big deal, but I don't honestly think there's a way to justify it. Perhaps there could have been missing weeks, but then there would have been missing weeks. It only looked like a day to me.
"This going to be an annual thing with you, Manny? Every Day of the Dead, you toss your bones into the drink, and I fish 'em out?" -Velasco
You could reject just that line, I guess.
For the record, I bought the game in December '03 for $10 at Microcenter.
Dude. Shutup.
Heh heh just kidding. I never thought of that when i first played the game.
On another note: VampireNaomi, do you play Golden Sun, or is that image just a random one (am Golden Sun fan)?
Originally posted by WRAiTHX
Dude. Shutup.
Heh heh just kidding. I never thought of that when i first played the game.
On another note: VampireNaomi, do you play Golden Sun, or is that image just a random one (am Golden Sun fan)?
I love Golden Sun! I have both games on GBA and I think they are the best Nintendo games I have ever played. Alex is my favourite character so that is why I chose him to be in my avatar.
Actually dude, that's not a plothole and I'll tell you why. It does not take Manny and Glottis one day to reach Rubacava. Not once does it say, "The Next Morning..." and they're there. Sure the scene from the Gopher Bridge and the arrival at Rubacava are cut choppily, but that does not mean it only took Manny and Glottis one day. Given that, Celso could have easily reached Rubacava before Manny and Glottis and have gotten a job (sure, Celso is on foot, but is it not too farfetched to assume that Manny and Glottis had gotten lost? Perhaps gone in circles for a while?), and it is very believable that Celso's wife, who died after Celso, had been taken care of by another agent and had an upgrade on her package. Perhaps she got the car or bus package, allowing her to reach Rubacava before Manny, Glottis, and Celso. Furthermore, just from Glottis' expression as he is atop the Scrimshaw (get the pun?), you can tell he isn't exactly a great driver.
Haha! No plothole!
Pardon my last post; I didn't read all the posts before me, cause I was so jazzed about the topic. And regarding Velasco's quote ("This gonna be an annual thing for you, Manny? Every Day of the Dead you throw yourself into the drink and I fish you out?"), I choose to assume it was written without any prior thought about the long journey before. Or, it could simply be what Hitchcok loved to call, "Refridgerator Logic" =P
An excellent John Cassavetes quote: "Continuity is for pussies."
VampireNaomi, did you beat the superdupersuper hard boss in golden sun 2; the one you could only fight if you got all the djinn?
Originally posted by WRAiTHX
VampireNaomi, did you beat the superdupersuper hard boss in golden sun 2; the one you could only fight if you got all the djinn?
Yes, but I had to try several times. Wasn't his name Dullahan? I haven't played GS in a while.