Return To Monkey Island Part One takes us back to Melee Island, where all good pirating adventures begin. Return To Monkey Island is exactly that, a return to everything you know and love about this classic series. This guide is for the hard mode, which can be tricky at times, but a lot of this will apply to the casual mode too. Here are all the steps you need to take to complete Return To Monkey Island Part One.
Return To Monkey Island Part One: Finding A Ship
Guybrush starts his adventure by heading to Melee Island, to find a crew and a ship. His destination is Monkey Island, so he can finally discover the island’s secret. The first thing to do as always remains the same, head for the Scumm Bar and speak with the pirate leaders. The new leaders aren’t quite as helpful as the previous lot, who weren’t all the helpful to begin with. They have absolutely no interest in helping Guybrush, so we need to find another way.
You can now explore the island, asking others about a crew and a ship. Unfortunately, there are no crews to hire and Stan’s shipyard is out of business. As much as Guybrush may not want to, you need to head over to LeChuck’s ship. Speak with the Quartermaster about getting a job on the ship, the only position available to Guybrush being a swabbie. However, before long she will figure out that Guybrush is blacklisted, and refuse to hire him.
Return To Monkey Island Part One: We Need A Mop
There are no other options for getting to Monkey Island, LeChuck’s ship is the only ship leaving the island. As such, we will need to find a disguise. Also, potential swabbies are expected to source their own mops, so you will need to get one of those too. After speaking to the Quartermaster, some of the shop owners who were away will return to their stores. Head up to Low Street and into the International House of Mojo. After speaking with the Voodoo Lady, be sure to buy all the items you can. They are in the foreground, at the bottom of your screen, and are easily missed. Some many not be available straight away, so be sure to come back later if you need to. The items you want are the Forgiveness Frog, the shrunken head, and the knife. Once you leave, head across to Maps-n-More and talk to Wally. There is a monocle on his desk, which you are free to take.
Head up to the High Street, many of the buildings there are closed or abandoned. The two places you can go to are the jail, and the new locksmiths. Go to the locksmith and speak with her to learn that all locks have a serial number, and she can make a key for any lock if you give her said serial number. This is obviously a very bad system, and one we can exploit. For example, if you head to the jail you will find Stan and Otis behind bars. Stan has no intention of leaving, but Otis very much wants Guybrush to break him out, again. Use the monocle on the lock of his cell to find the serial number, then go to the locksmith to get a key made. Return with the key to free Otis from his cell, and unlock an achievement.
We can then carry on to the Governor’s Mansion, and meet with Carla. The Swordmaster herself is now Governor of Melee Island. Chat with her, then try to borrow one of her books. She will stop you, saying Guybrush never returned the last book he borrowed. To make it up to her, you need to give her the Forgiveness Frog. The frog by itself will not suffice, it needs a message. Combine it with the quill to write a message on the frog. It needs to start with “Dear Carla”, and then apologise for losing her book. The rest of the message can change, as you need to make mention of some details specific to her. Those details can be found by reading her election poster at the docks, and reading the plaque on her statue on Low Street. Choose the options that relate to the details mentioned in those two places to successfully gain Carla’s forgiveness.
Once forgiven, you can borrow her books. The book you want to borrow is Ingredients. Take the book back to the Scumm bar and head into the kitchen in the back. Chat with the chef, ask him about his mop and he will tell you that you need to go on a quest to make your own. Leave the kitchen and you will see a rather snobby man sitting at a table. After speaking to him, return to the kitchen to find the chef panicking about serving this man. Give him the Ingredients book and he will get busy cooking. While he is distracted, pick up his mop. Use it with the knife you bought from the Voodoo Lady to shave off a small piece. Replace the mop, then head back to Wally’s map shop on Low Street.
Tell Wally that you need to find a tree from which you can get a handle for your mop. He will tell you that he can make a map to such a tree, he just needs a piece of wood from a mop to do it. Give him the sliver of wood from the chef’s mop, and he will craft a map for you. Now you need to head to the island interior, and go to the forest near the museum.
Enter the dark forest and you will have two paths you can take. Beside each will be either a carnivorous plant, a purple flower, or some glowing mushrooms. If you inspect the map that Wally gave you, you will see a path laid out using these three plants as guides. Use the map to determine where to go at each turn, and you will soon reach the mop handle tree. Interact with it using your knife to get yourself a mop handle. Once you have it, combine it with the shrunken head to create your mop. Seemingly, you can also combine the handle with the sponge found at Stan’s shipyard, it’s up to you what you use. Now you have your mop, you need a disguise.
Return To Monkey Island Part One: Getting A Disguise
When you leave the forest, you will be right beside the museum, which is where we need to head next. Go in, and you will find an eyepatch in a display case, which is guarded by a parrot. Head to the back of the museum, into the store room. There you will find a box of cracker mix, grab it and head back out. Go back to High Street and visit the locksmith. Give her the cracker mix, and she will allow you to take the crackers on the counter. Grab them, then head back to Wally’s on Low Street. There will be another monocle there, pick it up then return to the museum.
At the museum, you need to do a few things. First, go into your inventory and combine both of your monocles. You need both in order to read the serial number of the display case. Read it, then go back to the locksmith to get a key made. Take the key back to the museum to pull off the grand heist. Feed a cracker to the parrot, then unlock the display case while the curator isn’t looking. Grab the eyepatch, then return to the International House of Voodoo.
The eyepatch has lost its magic, as it once disguised the wearer. Show it to the Voodoo Lady and she will tell you she can restore it, but you need to bring her the Bite of a Thousand Needles. Head back to the forest, and use your knife to take a sample of one of the carnivorous plants. Bring it to the Voodoo Lady and she will recharge the eyepatch, giving Gunbrush the ability to transform into a zombie.
With your new disguise and mop in hand, head back to LeChuck’s ship. Speak to the Quartermaster and get yourself a job as a swabbie. With that, you are on your way to Monkey Island. For the next part of the walkthrough, check out Return to Monkey Island Part Two.