Grim Fandango

Making a good adventure game is not easy. It takes a lot of creativity and patient to put everything together. There are three things that designers must always tackle with: storylines, graphics, and sounds. Without these core mechanics, no games will ever be a true game and it's replay value will be at a minimal- and Grim Fandango is no exception. 

In Grim Fandango, you play as Manny Calavera who is literally "Grim Reaper" working for the Department of Death in the Land of The Dead. The DOD is a travel agency who provides tickets to newly dead souls that will take them to the Ninth Underworld where they can finally rest in peace in the afterlife. There are three ways to get there. The first two methods will take them four years to get there whereas the third one only takes four days. It's the Number Nine, a super-face train that only a certain number of clients are eligible to have them. This is the premium package.

Employees of the DOD must sell a huge amount of premium packages if they too wish to travel to the Number Nine. But unfortunately for Manny, none of his clients are qualify for premium packages. But on one fateful day he meets Mercedes Colomar, a fresh dead soul who isn't qualify for the premium package as well, so Mercedes begins walking to the Ninth Underworld on her own. Feeling some guilt and love, Manny trails her to a journey that they will never forget. The story of Grim Fandango is one of the most compelling elements in the game and it builds up as you get deeper into the game. Manny will meet lots of interesting and whacky characters and also stumbles into lots of creative and exotic locations. I will not spoil anymore plots here so if you want to know how the story goes, play it yourself.

The controls of the game is not too complicated and immediately becomes second nature. The same goes with camera angles, for it is fixed on certain corners and areas just like any Final Fantasy or Resident Evil games so players can see all interfaces very easily. Grim Fandango involves players to interact amongst other characters within the game. There are thousands of dialogues for you to select and it will help find clues and obtain important items for your quest.

Another great element that makes Grim Fandango perfect is the fact that you cannot die in the game. That's right. Lucasarts crafted the game so weirdly that Manny, the main character, will never die under any circumstances. So no matter how many times you try making Manny die, it will NEVER work, so don't worry about finding health items or save points because there aren't any! You can also save your game at anytime which helps a lot. However, that doesn't mean you can finish the game with ease. The puzzles are a shocker and a blast in it's own right. Majority of the puzzles in the game are a tension or just plain nuts because there are hardly any clues to help you solve it. Typical adventure games would give you hints and tips to help guide you to solve a puzzle but guess what, Grim Fandango doesn't have any! Clues are either hidden deep inside a character's dialogue as a sub-sub-dialogues or from the items you are currently holding, so eventually you find yourself lost in the middle of the game just figuring what on earth you're suppose to do.

If you don't believe anything what I just said about Grim Fandango, then see it for yourself. It's a masterpiece, a classic and a must-have for all gamers alike whether you're just a rookie or a veteran. Everything about Grim Fandango is beautiful and you have to play it yourself to experience such a wonderful game. I love it so much as I personally hold it close to my heart. I play this game at least once a year and I never get tired of it. It's just so fun and gorgeous.


The only bad thing about Grim Fandango other than its availability (If you haven't bought the game yet) is its compatibility. Depending on your graphics card and depending on your specs, Grim Fandango will only work on certain computers. When playing the game, you may experience some crashes, stuttering sounds and poor graphics on the characters. There are some official and fan-made patches to help you play the game properly but sometimes it doesn't work. Let's just hope it'll work on your computer if you're planning a purchase.

Like I said before, Grim Fandango is golden. It's a masterpiece. It's an absolute classic created by the legendary Tim Schafer. If you happen to stumble upon Grim Fandango in any store shelves in the world, grab it and buy it! It's a chance of a lifetime and you won't regret it! It's really that good! 
 
Score: 
Gameplay: 1 Star
Graphics: 1 Star
Sounds: 1 Star
Replay Value: 1 Star
Overall: 1 Star
Total: 5 out of 5 Stars