Multi-language Monkey Island

The CDTV Land edition of The Secret of Monkey Island has received a fresh update, allowing owners of CDTV systems to enjoy the game in not just English, but also in German, French, and Italian — all from a single disc!

 

It seems we hit the right note late last year with the fan release of The Secret of Monkey Island as a true CDTV title, because the response has been very positive. The CDTV Land edition of the game features an updated version of the game code that makes it fully playable with the standard CDTV remote (with the costly CDTV keyboard now being optional) and adds 60Hz support for PAL CDTV players, ensuring the game can be enjoyed in its original aspect ratio and refresh rate by everyone. Today we have added multi-language support, so you can now enjoy the game not only in English, but also in German, French, and Italian!

The start of a wonderful adventure on CDTV!

The Secret of Monkey Island was popular in many countries across the globe, with the game achieving particularly strong sales in Europe. In fact, series creator Ron Gilbert has noted that the game performed better in Europe than in its home market, the United States, especially in Germany.^[1] While many European countries, like the Nordic regions and the Benelux, have a high level of English proficiency, other regions, such as Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and Spain, were more accustomed to content being dubbed into their native languages. Consequently, it’s worth noting that upon its initial release many (if not most!) players experienced The Secret of Monkey Island in a different language than English!

 

Language Selection

Selecting the language for the game in this new revision is a breeze! One of the standout yet underappreciated features of CDTV is its support for multi-language titles: CDTV players can be configured to one of 15 preset languages in the Preferences menu. If a CDTV title supports the chosen language, the system will automatically display all text and speech in your selected language. While this may seem like an obvious feature for modern devices, back in 1991, it was a relatively new convenience. Earlier games with multiple languages often required players to manually select their preferred language each time they started the game. The ability to set your system’s language once and have all compatible media default to that language was a forward-thinking innovation on the CDTV platform, available from day one.

Simply select English, German, French or Italian here and then just insert the disc!

 

Center Stage

The improvements for this second revision of the game don’t stop at language options. CDTV also offers a feature to adjust the screen’s centering, which was particularly valuable in the era of CRT monitors and analog video signals. If your display lacked centering controls, you had to manually adjust the image at the source. With CDTV, this could be set in the Preferences menu, allowing you to center the screen once, and have it persist across all compatible titles.

Set your screen position here and the game will respect it!

Sadly, most CDTV games didn’t take full advantage of this feature, but The Secret of Monkey Island now does! This means you can fine-tune the horizontal and vertical positioning of the game and enjoy it exactly as you want it. It’s a small detail, but for those who like things perfect, it’s a welcome touch. Additionally, it feels good to make use of these built-in features of the CDTV operating system!

GROG! GROG! GROG!

When adjusting your CDTV screen position settings, you may notice that the LucasFilm Games logo appears slightly off-center to the left when the game starts. Unfortunately, this is how the logo is originally stored in the game files. It seems the LucasFilm Games team may have had a bit too much Grog when saving it. Don’t worry, though—the rest of the game will display perfectly centered according to your settings! ■

 

 

Cover Art

As with last year’s release, The Secret of Monkey Island for CDTV comes with stunning cover artwork in the original CDTV cover art design. This updated edition, quite fittingly, includes additional cover art translated into Italian, German, and French, available in both the classic CDTV style and the slightly more modern CDTV Land style. Choose your favorite design, print it, and add it to your collection — it’s a great way to display your love for the game, alongside other classic CDTV titles!

Multi-language monkey business

 

Why Language Matters

While many German, French, and Italian-speaking players are fluent in English today, there’s something uniquely special about experiencing a game in your native language. The language you first learned, the one spoken by your family, friends, and community. For those who played The Secret of Monkey Island in their native tongue back in the early 1990s, nothing compares to reliving that experience in the same language.

The Secret of Monkey Island in German

With that in mind, CDTV Land is proud to present this multi-language version of The Secret of Monkey Island. Download it, burn it, pop it into your CDTV player or A570, and relive the magic just as you did all those years ago. You deserve it! ■

 

Download

The game can be downloaded at one of the links below. Please keep in mind that this game is a fan-made project, created by volunteers who contributed their time and effort out of love for the game, without compensation. Feel free to download, share, and enjoy it for personal use, but please refrain from selling it. Thank you for your support!

• Revision 2 – The Secret of Monkey Island (CDTV Land Collection)
• Revision 2 – The Secret of Monkey Island (CDTV Land Collection) – Mirror
    
• Revision 1 – The Secret of Monkey Island (CDTV Land Collection)
• Revision 1 – The Secret of Monkey Island (CDTV Land Collection) – Mirror

 

Notes