Previously on Monkey Island...
Thanks to its episodic nature, Tales of Monkey Island has a bit more narrative drive than if the entire story were available to you in one game like the previous ones. That also means though that each chapter can be more reviewed critically than part of a larger whole which makes it slightly easier to criticize. Whereas chapter one was all about getting our hero his own ship and getting back to Elaine, chapter 2 feels more setup than anything, almost side-story and you get the feeling this one is more about introducing you to things that will have bigger roles in chapter 3 rather than chapter 2 being strong in its own right.
After receiving the Screaming Narwal and a new shipmate in Winslow, Guybrush is then surprised to find female pirate Morgan LeFlay onboard seeking Guybrush's hand. After a quick (and rather bloodless) slicing of the hand and a somewhat tedious-to-play duel, Guybrush arrives at Jerkbait Islands, home of the Mer-folk where those stricken by the Pox are attempting to take the summoning orbs. With the leader not likely to give up the orbs to the pirate, it's up to Guybrush to get them himself with the help of...LeChuck? And he's nice at that?
The majority of chapter 2 is solving the puzzles to get the orbs and it's here where it feels slightly dull. Whereas chapter one was about figuring out what to use at a given time, this time you probably know what to do but when you travel between various islands constantly, it starts to feel slightly tedious. Even though it goes without saying but make sure to examine everything you see (hold F4) and if it can be taken, do so because more than once I'd get somewhere and realize I don't have something which required another trip back to the other island, finding what I was missing and going back. Chapter one actually had a "puzzle" feel to it, this just feels padded. However, there is some cool moments such as the return of Elaine, more scheming from the Marquis, LeFlay actually turning out to be a cool character and even LeChuck being nice.
Chapter 2 is obviously worth playing for the story and since starting up chapter 3 without playing this will make you go "wait what? what's with this?" However, this one just felt slightly tedious to play and feels like that required "setting things up" part of the story where you get everything in place before you go into the next chapter.
