Muppet Treasure Island (PC) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
847A playthrough of Activision's 1996 adventure game for PCs running Windows 3.1/Windows 95, Muppet Treasure Island.
If you don't want to read everything I talk about below, let me give you the short version up-front:
It's utterly fantastic, and it's everything you could hope for in a Muppets game.
For the less-short version: Muppet Treasure Island is the perfect example of how to make a game for children. No punches were pulled in its development: the production values are amazing and the Jim Henson Productions was directly involved in creating it, all of the original actors are here for their roles, and it successfully pulled off the movie/software tie-in that most developers still can't seem to get right very often - without merely repeating the movie. The thing that it really does right though, lies how respectful it is to its audience. It doesn't treat kids like morons like so many games do, and it's genuinely funny and entertaining. I didn't get bored once recording this - I actually really enjoyed it and legitimately laughed several times. There aren't any real "puzzles" to speak of - it's based wholly around exploration and completing tasks through experimenting, and the few mini-games are simple, clear, well put-together, and never out-stay their welcome.
The real mindblowing thing, though, is just how damned good this game looks and sounds. The graphics look just like they should: the FMV characters seamlessly blend with the backgrounds, and everything looks enough like the show that the technology driving it all but disappears. Nowadays that might not seem like a big deal, but back in 1996, processing power didn't easily afford that luxury. It only required a 486/33 with 8 megs of RAM and a display capable of 640x480 at 256 colors - and with a 486/66, it was pretty smooth and fast - Muppet Treasure Island was an incredible looking game when it was released. It still looks great, 21 years later. About the only thing that really gives away its age is the low color depth, the static camera, and the cursor.
But that's besides the point. It's genuine, good-natured fun without being vulgar, gross, or violent, and it's got enough nods and subtle innuendo that parents will be just as entertained by it (anyone wanting to sit down to a family friendly game with a little one would be well served by loading this one up and plugging the computer into the living room TV. It's just as entertaining as the movie it was based on.
And hey, it stars Billy Connolly and Tim Curry alongside the original Muppet voice actors. Can you really ask for any more authentic? Or Awesome?
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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