The Secret of Monkey Island Is Now Running From Start to Finish on MSX2 Hardware

Lucasfilm Games' 1990 adventure classic The Secret of Monkey Island is now playable from start to finish on MSX2 and Turbo R hardware via a new port by Maggoo.

Guybrush Threepwood has found another computer on which to become a pirate. A new conversion of Lucasfilm Games' 1990 classic The Secret of Monkey Island is now playable from beginning to end on MSX2, MSX2+ and Turbo R systems. The project uses the early EGA and AdLib PC edition as its technical foundation, which is a sensible fit: MSX2 Screen 5 provides a 256-by-212 bitmap display with 16 colours, while MSX-MUSIC offers Yamaha FM synthesis that can reinterpret the original AdLib soundtrack.

Mouse and keyboard controls are supported, preserving the point-and-click interface rather than turning Guybrush's inventory into a keyboard wrestling match. An R800-equipped Turbo R is recommended for the best performance, although standard MSX2-class hardware remains part of the target.

The conversion is not being presented as completely finished: developer Maggoo says the full game is playable but exhaustive testing of every room, dialogue branch, puzzle and obscure interaction remains outstanding. The underlying SCUMM-style work is especially intriguing because the same approach could potentially help other early Lucasfilm adventures reach MSX hardware later. Monkey Island has spent thirty-six years being ported, remade and reissued. Apparently the real Secret of Monkey Island is that Guybrush will eventually appear on every computer anyone stubborn enough can locate.