The recent announcement of Money Island 2 receiving a special edition did not come as a surprise; the success of the first special edition had led to many rumors of the sequel getting a similar treatment. I have been waiting for this day for a long time, secretly I hoped it was coming but did not let myself get excited, on the chance it did not happen. But is it true, Monkey Island 2 is returning in all its glory.

LeChuck's Revenge has a very special place in my heart. I played it during a very influential point in my life; and it left a deep impact on my sense of comedy, storytelling, and forever cemented my love of gaming. That may be a bit hard to swallow; it is after all just another adventure game, although I consider it to be the greatest adventure game ever made. There was a spark, a strange pull it had over me as a kid, I had never even heard of Monkey Island before, let alone played it. My little mind was blown away by the absurdity of its characters, the deviously ridiculous puzzles, and its surprisingly deep narrative. The richly visual world sprung to life, a truly brilliant amount of detail is found in what was at the time impressive graphics. I have such found memories of my quest for Big Whoop; every puzzle, every moment is engrained into my mind. The jokes are still with me, and they still make me smile just thinking about them.

The illogical quality, the utter disregard for good taste and proper storytelling conventions impacted me, I was Guybrush Threepwood, and yes I was a might pirate. So many timeless moments that have remained with me, as I forgot most of my childhood Monkey Island 2 has remained. Visions of Wally the cartographer, the morbidly obese Governor L. Phatt, or the voodoo doll of Largo LaGrande still live in my imagination.

A few scenes sickout in my mind; one in witch Guybrush picks up a dog, placing it eloquently in his pants, the look on his tiny pixelated face is pure gold, it may have been only a few pixels but the hilarity in his face was priceless. Another was the spitting contest, experimenting with different combinations of grog to achieve the perfect spittle. Or the absolute geniuses of the final battle with LeChuck, reusing the voodoo spell from the opening chapter. And who could forget Stan and his previously owned coffins, convincing him to enter a coffin giving me a demonstration of its roominess, only to have Guybrush nail him in, the dark humor and absurdity left me slack jawed. The act of nailing the coffin shut may be the single funniest think I have ever encountered.

My quest for the treasure Big Whoop stands a one of my greatest entertainment experiences as a child, it meant a lot to my young self and still does. The sudden shock ending, making me question the reality of the adventure left me in utter amazement. It was a truly epic quest, sending me throughout the Caribbean on a grand comedic adventure. Going back to play it in recent years, I was stunned to find there was no voice acting, in my mind Guybrush had a voice, he spoke in my imagination and in my memories. My fantasy of the game will surely never live up to the reality, but that will not change my reverence for the experience.

LeChuck's Revenge stands among giants; it lives with games such as Super Mario Brothers, Final Fantasy 6, Xenogears, Super Metroid, ICO, among others that defined my love of games as a medium. The games that meant something personal to me, the experiences that remained despite time.
I am literally giddy with anticipation. There is little worry of my found memories being destroyed. After the superb respect paid in the first special edition, though some have complained about the controls, and perhaps I am blinded my nostalgia but I never encountered any such issues. I have all the faith in Lucas Arts ability to remake my youth. Forget Halo Reach, forget Super Mario Galaxy 2, and forget StarCraft 2. Monkey Island 2 special edition: LeChuck's Revenge is my most anticipated game of 2010 bar none. Finally hearing the voices of characters so dear to me will be an important moment to me, nailing Stan into his coffin, and listening to his cries for help.

For me Monkey Island 2 was a seminal moment, it was my star wars, it defined my taste in videogames, it placed me on my path to being a gamer. My original journey to the treasure of Big Whoop will never be forgotten, I am ready to reimaging my youth.