What would happen if Orson Welles and Tim Burton created a video game...
Good art, in my opinion, is the ability to successful capture the intended message of the creator's view on Life, Love, and Death as well as Good and Evil (if the creator believes in Good or Evil, which those who do not I still have great respect towards).
After all aren't those the only three things that every single person on this earth can relate, too? Life? Love? and Death? Therefore, good art should be able to capture the minds and hearts of everyone who is still breathing the same air we do. That's not to say they have to like it... just that they can relate to it... Someone who witnessed the Holocaust probably wouldn't say that Schindler's List was their favorite movie of all time... then again...
If you even bothered clicking on this review you're probably wondering, "What the heck? This isn't a review? What is this?" then I congratulate you on getting this far. It will get better.
Grim Fandango is one of the Greatest Games of All Time, simply because even if it wasn't a game but instead a series of cutscenes if would still be able to capture the hearts and minds of millions of viewers with its incredible cast of characters, superb story-telling, beautiful voice acting, and its inspired art design. This game could have easily been a Pixar or Dreamworks production. It's just that same caliber (although it would be a light too dark for Pixar). This is a game that would make Roger Ebert rebuttal his argument that video games can never be art. First of all, it is at heart a "noir film" which is Roger Ebert's favorite genre of films. Secondly, it's smart comedy... the kind that makes football players and jocks go, "Huh?" (A million apologies to all you smart athletes who found this offensive). Third, it plays largely on the irony of the setting: The Land of the Dead. Roger Ebert seems to have a fascination with death, if you follow his reviews long enough. So to put all of this in layman's terms:
Roger Ebert doesn't know sh**! (especially when it comes to video games)
Okay... moving on, now. While every single character in this game is equally charming in their own way, the game's protagonist is really the foundation for the story's success. He's is the Humphrey Bogart of video games, and to remove him would be similar to removing Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean. Although that comparison isn't really fair because, while Jack Sparrow was far more interesting then the rest of the crew in Pirates, every single character in Grim Fandango breathes life into that game. The protagonist's name is Manuel Calavera, a.k.a Manny. Manny is a travel agent stuck in the Land of the Dead trying to "buy he's next ticket out of here." This is stifled by the fact that he has a large debt to repay due to some poor choices in his past life. In order to atone for his sins, he has to work it off at the Department of Death travel agency selling tickets to customers who have recently died so that they can board the "Number 9" train which seemingly insinuates to be the rail-road to paradise. The affordability a person boarding the "Number 9" depends on the morality of that person's past life. However, after a failed attempt to send one of the "purest of hearts" aboard the "Number 9," Manny quickly unfolds a scam in which the criminal of the underworld, Hector LeMans has concocted to cheat even the most innocent out of their rightful place on the "Number 9." Things just get "sticker" from there, as the plot continues to baffle the player with its webs of intricacy.
To give Roger Ebert some of his credibility back, Mr. Ebert once said that in order for a movie to be considered "great" it must contain at least "three good scenes" (hmm... talk about high standards, right?!) I've played this game twice and every single pre-rendered shot is a good scene. Grim Fandango is simply bursting with cinematic quality. From the pre-rendered backgrounds, to the Mexican calaca inspired characters, to the incredible writing... what's not to like? Actual there is only one thing I wish could have been changed...
...the controls. Grim Fandango can be played with either a keyboard or a joystick (good luck finding those in a store nowadays), but it doesn't matter they're still just as awkward. "I" is for inventory, "E" is for examine, and I believe it's "U" for action, and the arrow keys are for moving Manny. If I remember correctly, Manny moves in a tank-like-Resident-Evil-style control scheme which doesn't really bother me, since I love Resident Evil. The real issue is that I just wish it was "point-and-click" like all the other adventure games. Normally, I like games that are unique, but for this particular genre I would have strongly prefered a more accessible control scheme involving the mouse.
In case you didn't notice, this is a hard adventure game! Some of the puzzles just don't make sense... as in they break the boundaries of human reasoning. This doesn't detract from the game at all, but instead just makes it extremely difficult to solve. An example would be inserting two anchors into the windows on opposite ends of a ship's hull and then raising the the anchors to tear the ship in half in order to make a quick get away. Does this make logical sense? No! But it doesn't matter, because the game never tries to be logical in the first place. Instead it focus on the quirky, enticing, cameos of the typical crime genre around the 1930's and 40's. And it does a damn good job, too.
Grim Fandango isn't a long game, which I discovered is typical of the genre (ex. Syberia), but that shouldn't deter anyone from buying it, because it is a treasure worth keeping. It's so sad to me, that while Steam, Playstation Network, and even Wii Shop are re-releasing past Lucas Art games such as Monkey Island. Grim Fandango is being kept on the back-burner as it's nearly incompatible with todays technology without using some sort of emulator. With such an incredible game, how come it's not being continually broadcasted to n even wider audience? Still, I am incrediby thankful for my experience with Grim Fandango. As Dr. Seuss once said, "Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened!"