The monkey Island games have been a shameful gap in my gaming experience for most of my life. GOG just sent me a voucher to buy them for about $2 each so which ones should I get? Is it just Secret and Curse which are the essentials?
(Also I know that they can be played via emulator for free but I think if I was going to do that it would have happened by now.)
I think the first two are generally considered to be the best (and are the only ones that are canon for Return). I've only played the first one, though.
Secret of (1) and Lechuck's Revenge (2) are the best two. You can either play them in ScummVM with a filter on to smooth out the graphical edges, or play the remasters with the new handrawn graphics. Lots of people hated the latter, I thought they were great. Crucially, the remasters introduced full voice acting with the (wonderful) cast of the later games.
The first two are seriously obtuse, so if you're not playing the remasters with their in-built hints I'll recommend a good, spoiler free guide.
Curse (3) is also great but where things go non-canon, without the original creators involved. Escape (4) is crap and can be skipped.
The telltale ones are surprisingly good, but not a patch on the first 3. And the newest game that came out last year is also great, and marks the return of one of the OG creators (Ron Gilbert).
https://www.uhs-hints.com/hints/genres/adventure.php
There's the hint site, took me a while to remember its name! Nudges you in the right direction, based on where you're lost, rather than telling you where to go. The new games have this built in, but for the older ones it's a lifesaver.
Thanks! I grabbed 1 & 2. I'll see how I get on!
It's definitely worth getting Curse as well. That's arguably the funniest one.