Dancing the Grim Fandango

I have come to realise that there is one thing that gamers crave above all else in their video games: uniqueness. It’s something that we only seem to see fleeting glances of in the modern day. Where did all the innovation and inspiration go? Well, a lot of it was spent in 1998 with the conception of Grim Fandango.

This is a game that manages to combine many apparently unrelated elements seamlessly, so that they all come together in a way that makes perfect sense. Specifically, the game creates a melting pot of Aztec beliefs in the afterlife and a Film Noir style, with heavy influence from films like Casablanca. The characters take the intriguing form of skeletons in the mould of “Calacas,” ideas of which originate from Aztec times.

You play as Manny Calavera, a travel agent in the “Land of the Dead” who is working to pay off a debt owed to the powers that be. His job is to escort lost souls after they die, with the most desirable outcome being a ticket on the Number 9 Express, taking said souls to their final resting place, “The Ninth Underworld”. Unfortunately, not all are deserving of this reward, and so they come to Manny to see how he can help them. Frustrated at always being given the worst clients, Manny ends up stealing a client from another travel agent. His quest to get this apparently deserving customer, “Meche,” a ticket on the Number 9 Express turns out to be far bigger than he can imagine as the player unravels a tale of friendship, corruption and betrayal.

Every single character has a unique personality with completely different voices, which means you care about their fates

Now, what I’ve told you about the story may make this game seem just a bit too wacky for anyone over the age of eight. However, once you are experiencing it first hand you realise that it is genuinely superb. You want to know what happens next, you want to tie off all the loose ends, and you really want Manny to succeed in his quest. The characters drive the story along brilliantly, and the voice acting in this game is some of the best I have heard in any video game, with the standouts being Manny and his oversized friend, Glottis.

The dialogue is very amusing and charming, and every single character has a unique personality with completely different voices, which means you care about their fate. Even the minor characters are brilliantly voiced and manage to be unforgettable, something many modern games fail to achieve (I’m looking at you Fallout 3). Manny himself is one of my favourite video game characters of all times. He is unassuming and socially awkward, but he has many hilarious anecdotes to relate to the player in the form of soliloquies. He is simply brilliant.

So what do you actually do in this game? Well, I would define Grim Fandango as a puzzle game, although simply labelling this game as just another puzzler would be very wrong. You normally arrive at a location with a set of tasks you are supposed to complete to help Manny advance on his epic adventure. As you explore an area, you discover different items, characters, and locations that fill in the gaps in your knowledge, and give you clues as to how you can progress. The game play normally consists of finding different items strewn across the fantastic environments and working out how they can be used to achieve to goal in hand. This normally involves combining different items at certain locations.

The puzzles, in tune with the rest of the game, can be very weird and wonderful and require some imagination to solve

This process requires thought, patience, and trial and error in equal portions. There may be times where you have 10 items in your inventory and not a clue about how any of them can help you do what you want. There is no hint system, so you may feel a little lost at some points. But as you persevere, the answer will normally reveal itself. The puzzles in one area all link together, so solving one will lead onto another, and eventually onto the advancement of the storyline (marked by a cut scene). The puzzles, in tune with the rest of the game, can be very weird and wonderful and require some imagination to solve, with only one or two that seem counter-intuitive, which is impressive for a puzzle game of this size. In general they feel both clever and natural, and are difficult enough for you to get a sense of achievement when you solve one.

The game was designed by Tim Schaffer (of Psychonauts and the Monkey Island series), which means you expect something a bit special, and you are not disappointed. Grim Fandango deserves the numerous awards it has for its artistic design. The game plays out with characters moving around static backgrounds, which change as you move Manny to the edge of the scene. The levels are very detailed and highly varied, and although you will return to some of the locations that you visit early in the game, you are never bored of the environment you are in.

The visuals are mind blowing for the time, not necessarily in terms of graphical performance, but in terms of the boldness of everything on screen. It holds up even to this day, with the character models being the real highlight. You would think that the skeletal figures you meet may appear recycled, repetitive figures, but they all have an individual styling and you can tell that great care was put into each and every one of them. Remember, this is from 1998, so don’t expect full HD graphics. However, when I tried a patched version recently it ran like a charm and there were no frame rate issues to speak of.

The puzzles, in tune with the rest of the game, can be very weird and wonderful and require some imagination to solve

The controls may appear puzzling themselves at first, but you very quickly get used to them. Manny is moved around his 3D environment with the 4 directional keys, with different buttons assigned to different actions, such as picking up items, examining your inventory or attempting to use items. At its core, the game play is very simple. If you’re looking for action packed thrills and spills you won’t find them here. The action is reserved exclusively for the cut scenes, and the gameplay is decidedly slow paced. However, the story that drives the gameplay is the real point of interest, and as you always have a goal to accomplish you will never feel uninterested.

I absolutely love this game. I can’t recommend it highly enough if you like a game with a superb story and terrific characters. Even if you don’t like puzzle games, I feel you should try this game for an experience that few other games can deliver. Manny Calavera and his great adventure will stick with you for a long time. The interesting, challenging puzzles will keep you hooked, and the fact that you cannot fail to care about the characters mean you will definitely want to see this stunning adventure through to its satisfying climax.