Yep, it’s time for another Fandom Newcomer Speech.

After several years of holding back, I finally decided to try Monkey Island. Not too surprisingly, I liked it. It was only a matter of time until I branched out into just about every LucasArts adventure, my latest acquisition being Grim Fandango, which I played for the first time this year.

Not surprisingly (again), I was impressed. This is one different game. No wonder some of the reviewers didn’t like it. Heaven forbid such a game should shatter their perceptions and their expectations of what an adventure game should be about. My Spanish class and my 2001 trip to Oaxaca certainly helped with understanding some of the game…I guess I lucked out.

(Note of interest: With the major part that Dia de los Muertos played in the earlier part of the game, I half-expected marigolds to be mentioned once or twice. On DDLM, their petals are used to form paths back to the dead ones’ former homes, since the color of the marigolds is said to be the only color the dead can see.)
(Another side note: the cats in Year 2 seem greatly influenced by Oaxacan wood sculptures, in both shape and coloration. Has this been pointed out already?)

And of course, the ending. With most adventures, I sit back and think: “Well, that’s it. I did it. Wow.” Few adventures get a “Woah. Now THIS is a game I’m going to play again. And SOON.” GF was one of these precious few. Maybe I was still in that all-logical, emotionless, puzzle-solving frame of mind, because the first time I finished the game, I didn’t feel much other than a slightly confused sense of completion.

Then I slogged though it again…

GAAAAAAAAHHH. Oh, such gaming consternation I have never before experienced in my scant number of years as an adventurer. I haven’t had such a helpless, pathetic feeling of “Now What?”-ness since…cripes, when was the last time? KQ7? SQ6? I don’t know what would fill this indescribable void, maybe not a sequel, wouldn’t exactly fly…I think…

But of course I made the mistake of reading what other people thought about this concept. "Sequel bad", "sequel good"...Now I’m so confused, I don’t know what to want anymore. When will I learn…

Maybe the one thing I’d like to see in some tangible form would be elaboration on existing themes in the GF universe, a look at things that we never got a chance to see in detail in the game. For instance –- (this may be a topic just as pointless and dubious as the DOTT/PAT “Red Paint “ Conundrum) -- but for all the detail that went into the descriptions of the Eighth and Ninth Underworlds, you’d expect at least a passing mention of Underworlds One through Seven. I have a feeling that one or more of lower ones might be “The Bad Place,” if you get my drift. Of course, there’s also the subject on where and how animals fit into these worlds…if indeed they do. I found a brief yet through explanation of the Underworlds in an old thread, but, regrettably, it didn’t shed any life on how the first seven Underworlds would fit into the GF universe.

Okay. That’s enough.


Akril


If the train runs off the track,
Will you want your money back?

Yes, a lot of stuff in Grim Fandango has been influenced by the Mexican festival of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and the Aztec religion. Also, marigolds are mentioned in GF. When Don Copal gets sprouted he turns into marigolds

Hee, it's nice to see that Grim Fandango has painted yet another citizen with it's golden brush of delight.

With almost everybody that has played it praising it as one of the greatest games ever, plus most reviews, it's almost impossible to think that it failed with regards to sales.

But then, the same happened to Beyond Good and Evil - another (although it plas much better on a console) adventure/rpg/stealth hybrid type game which I encourage you all to try.

Slightly OT, but my sister failed to understand the beauty of Grim Fandango. I had to bribe her into trying it, and she hated every second of it. Finally I got tired of her mocking the game so I let her go.

What an idiot. There again, I didn't like the game either when I saw my brother play it for the first time. Only after I tried it myself...

Yeah, I was left with the same sort of "what now?" feeling after completing the game. :)

While I don't think a sequel would work that well, it would be fun to see another adventure game of this kind (GF Engine and quality atmosphere, story, puzzles) developed, perhaps even by the GF team.

Hmm..?

Someone knows the future of the Grim team? Did they split up or do anything else?

Would be interresting to know.


Yeah i know alot people who almost hate Grim for no reason. But my sister likes it, and my cousin too..ans allmost all my friends lol..

cioa

Arthur ;)

I'm not sure what happened to all of them, but Schafer and some of his loyal subjects formed Double Fine (http://www.doublefine.com), so I'd recommend looking out for their upcoming Psychonauts. Read their comics too - most excellent!

Thanks for the info Thrik, almost forgot about double fine ...

*add to favorites*

;)