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Killing your own genre: Grim Fandango
Wonder_Hippie
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Grim:
1. stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise: grim determination; grim necessity.
2. of a sinister or ghastly character; repellent: a grim joke.
Fandango:
1. a lively Spanish or Spanish-American dance in triple time, performed by a man and woman playing castanets.
Tim Schafer is a genius. We must begin with this, because the man deserves our adoration for games like Psychonauts and Full Throttle. Within his relatively short but remarkably impressive catalogue is one gem that no gamer can ever pass up.
In the same year as both Starcraft and Half-life, this title represented an old and outdated genre to many gamers. It was, as they say, in the outs. I dedicate this thread to the raw, compellingly emotional, epic tale that is Grim Fandango.
Main Characters and Story
So, who are you? You are Manuel Calavera, Grim Reaper. Manny, to his friends and superiors.
(Interesting note here, those of you who are fans of Ugly Betty might recognize Manny's voice. That's right, it's none other than Tony Plana, Betty's father on the show.)
Manny works for the DOD, Department of Death, in El Marrow as a sort of "travel agent" for the recently passed. They have to have some way of getting to the other side, as El Marrow and the land of the dead are mere holding places. Why can't Manny pass on himself? We don't know, and neither does he. Sins for which he must atone, wrongs he must right, some karmic retribution, something is preventing him from taking the trip himself.
But Manny is restless. He only ever gives out the low-end packages, usually a walking stick and a dangerous four year trip through the land of the dead, while his co-worker Domino doles out the comfortable four minute trips on the Number Nine express train like candy. You see, your actions while you're alive are tallied up into a sort of karmic bank roll. Good deeds grant you access to the more "expensive" packages, while being evil or malevolent only allows you the aforementioned walking cane. Domino's clients, no matter how seedy or baleful, always seem to get that express ticket.
Along comes our heroine, Manny's partner in this macabre dance, Mercedes Colomar, or Meche.
Dead from an appearently serious case of chicken pox, Manny finds his way to this perfect angel before Domino can sweep her up and add another Number Nine ticket to his resume. But there's a problem, as Manny can't seem to obtain the ticket that she rightly deserves. Dissuaded, she sets off on her own through the petrified forest in an attempt to make her way through the land of the dead.
It is here that the action really begins, and your four years in the land of the dead start to pick up. Manny is disturbed by Meche's misfortune, and wishes to find out why she could not get her ticket. In his search, he uncovers some seedy things about Domino and his boss, Don Copal. There's a detestable scheme afoot, depriving deserving individuals like Meche their due. Manny is fired for his snooping, so he sets off to find Meche and, in doing so, becomes an integral part of one of the greatest and most harrowing adventures of your death.
Supporting Cast
Glottis
At first only a replacement driver for Manny when he goes to pick Meche up, they become fast friends and business partners. A giant orange mechanic, Glottis is an imposing sight, but he's a fierce friend and loyal companion, even if he can be a bit dim at times.
Sal Limones
Sal is the leader of a militant underground association working to uncover some of the black market dealings going on in the land of the dead. He aids both Manny and Meche several times during their adventure, and is an indespensable ally.
Hector Lemans
Every story has to have an antagonist, and this is ours. Hector is the ruthless, greedy mastermind behind the plot depriving poor souls like Meche of their rightful tickets. His scheme is deep and tangled, and it's Manny's job to unravel it.
So there you have it. For me, it's the greatest adventure game of all time. It essentially brought the end of its own genre, giving it a ceremonious and entertaining ending. Between the socialist bees and "sprouting," it's an excellent way to spend a few hours. I do suggest a single-sitting play through, because it's not terribly long, and you'd likely have a hard time stopping once you get started. I do hope this brought some of you down memory lane, as it's been far too long since the last time I played it. For those of you nascent to it, I can't implore you enough to find a copy and get to enjoying.
1. stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise: grim determination; grim necessity.
2. of a sinister or ghastly character; repellent: a grim joke.
Fandango:
1. a lively Spanish or Spanish-American dance in triple time, performed by a man and woman playing castanets.
Tim Schafer is a genius. We must begin with this, because the man deserves our adoration for games like Psychonauts and Full Throttle. Within his relatively short but remarkably impressive catalogue is one gem that no gamer can ever pass up.
In the same year as both Starcraft and Half-life, this title represented an old and outdated genre to many gamers. It was, as they say, in the outs. I dedicate this thread to the raw, compellingly emotional, epic tale that is Grim Fandango.
Main Characters and Story
So, who are you? You are Manuel Calavera, Grim Reaper. Manny, to his friends and superiors.
(Interesting note here, those of you who are fans of Ugly Betty might recognize Manny's voice. That's right, it's none other than Tony Plana, Betty's father on the show.)
Manny works for the DOD, Department of Death, in El Marrow as a sort of "travel agent" for the recently passed. They have to have some way of getting to the other side, as El Marrow and the land of the dead are mere holding places. Why can't Manny pass on himself? We don't know, and neither does he. Sins for which he must atone, wrongs he must right, some karmic retribution, something is preventing him from taking the trip himself.
But Manny is restless. He only ever gives out the low-end packages, usually a walking stick and a dangerous four year trip through the land of the dead, while his co-worker Domino doles out the comfortable four minute trips on the Number Nine express train like candy. You see, your actions while you're alive are tallied up into a sort of karmic bank roll. Good deeds grant you access to the more "expensive" packages, while being evil or malevolent only allows you the aforementioned walking cane. Domino's clients, no matter how seedy or baleful, always seem to get that express ticket.
Along comes our heroine, Manny's partner in this macabre dance, Mercedes Colomar, or Meche.
Dead from an appearently serious case of chicken pox, Manny finds his way to this perfect angel before Domino can sweep her up and add another Number Nine ticket to his resume. But there's a problem, as Manny can't seem to obtain the ticket that she rightly deserves. Dissuaded, she sets off on her own through the petrified forest in an attempt to make her way through the land of the dead.
It is here that the action really begins, and your four years in the land of the dead start to pick up. Manny is disturbed by Meche's misfortune, and wishes to find out why she could not get her ticket. In his search, he uncovers some seedy things about Domino and his boss, Don Copal. There's a detestable scheme afoot, depriving deserving individuals like Meche their due. Manny is fired for his snooping, so he sets off to find Meche and, in doing so, becomes an integral part of one of the greatest and most harrowing adventures of your death.
Supporting Cast
Glottis
At first only a replacement driver for Manny when he goes to pick Meche up, they become fast friends and business partners. A giant orange mechanic, Glottis is an imposing sight, but he's a fierce friend and loyal companion, even if he can be a bit dim at times.
Sal Limones
Sal is the leader of a militant underground association working to uncover some of the black market dealings going on in the land of the dead. He aids both Manny and Meche several times during their adventure, and is an indespensable ally.
Hector Lemans
Every story has to have an antagonist, and this is ours. Hector is the ruthless, greedy mastermind behind the plot depriving poor souls like Meche of their rightful tickets. His scheme is deep and tangled, and it's Manny's job to unravel it.
So there you have it. For me, it's the greatest adventure game of all time. It essentially brought the end of its own genre, giving it a ceremonious and entertaining ending. Between the socialist bees and "sprouting," it's an excellent way to spend a few hours. I do suggest a single-sitting play through, because it's not terribly long, and you'd likely have a hard time stopping once you get started. I do hope this brought some of you down memory lane, as it's been far too long since the last time I played it. For those of you nascent to it, I can't implore you enough to find a copy and get to enjoying.
Wonder_Hippie on
0
Posts
Also, I wouldn't say this ended the Adventure game genre. The DS is bringing it back.
I support this thread.
On soulless feet we cross the floor
The music stops as if to answer
An empty knocking at the door
It seems his skin was sweet as mango
When last I held him to my breast
But now we dance this grim fandango
And will for years before we rest.
This is pretty much the best game ever.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
This reminds me why I play adventure games in moderation.
(I'll beat Monkey Island 4 one day...)
Ebay, Amazon, or friends that own it. Really, do it now. Are you doing it yet?
i should really go back to it.
Seriously.
http://www.grim-fandango.com/diaries.php
Nice find. I love this man.
i hope to whichever deity is listening that we do. I would love to play this again.
Not likely unless LucasArts signs up with Steam. Which I doubt.
Look: www.ebay.com.
Dunno why I never thought of that. I'm on the page now, clicking the buttons.
EDIT: wow is this game ever cheap in Australia... not so much here
The part in the elevator? Yeah, that part's literally impossible with today's CPU's.
It shone, pale as bone
As I stood there alone
And I thought to myself how the moon,
That night, cast its light
On my heart's true delight,
And the reef where her body was strewn.
It shames me that I haven't played this game. I've done it, now I just have to hope it works on vista.
No, the patch pretty much fixes it.
*pull out a gun*
"Put that away."
*pull out your scythe*
"That, too."
*pull out the lil' chipper*
"Put that ..heh heh *cracks up with laughter*...okay, you can keep that."
No it didn't.
Also, it didn't bring about the end of the genre. Right now, there are adventure games being developed for commercial sale, most notably A Vampyre Story, which is being developed by mainly ex-Lucasarts employees. (The good ones, the ones that worked on adventure games in the past.)
It's an emulator designed to run GRIME engine games like GF and Monkey 4 - but it's far from complete. Only runs up to Year 3, IIRC.
I guess that's what Hambone was talking about (I hope he wasn't referring to the latter half of that sentence, at least), so I must find this game.
[a few minutes later]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_vampyre_story
Oh...
I have no words to express how happy I am right now.
A Vampyre story is something I've been craving for some time. The point and click adventure genre was always my favorite computer genre, ever since I first started playing games, and the Lucas games always had that little extra bit of magic to them. That humor,wit, and intelligence that's rare in games and makes them replayable classics.
The new Sam and Max games have been sating my appetite quite well. I was ridiculously giddy when those were announced, and I subscribed to Gametap exclusively for them. But I must have more! I shall search out Grim Fandango post haste.
PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
I love this game.
Also, many thanks for mentioning A Vampyre Story. I tend to forget that people other than Benoit Sokal still make adventure games.
Gamertag: PrimusD | Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
There's also Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth, but that's just an awesome fangame, not a commercial venture.