Return to Monkey Island begins with Guybrush looking to find both a ship and a crew so that he can finally discover the secret of Monkey Island. However, after speaking with Melee Island's new pirate leaders, it soon becomes clear that doing so isn't going to be possible. As a result, the mighty pirate decides to hitch a ride onboard the ship of his mortal enemy LeChuck, who also happens to be planning a voyage to the series' titular island.
Naturally, the first step toward achieving this involves heading over to LeChuck's ship, where Return to Monkey Island players will be able to speak with the quartermaster and ask her about a job. It just so happens that the crew is short a swabbie, though, in order to be considered for the position, Guybrush will first need to get his hands on a mop. Naturally, in true Monkey Island fashion, doing so proves to be far from simple.
How to Make a Mop in Return to Monkey Island
If they haven't already, players should head over to the International House of Mojo in the Low Street area and pick up both the Knife and the Forgiveness Frog from the wooden shelf in front of the Voodoo Lady. While they're on Low Street, they should also examine the plaque beneath the statue of Carla, the former Swordmaster and now Governor of Melee Island. This will reveal that she fought bravely at Santo Domingo, which will come in handy a little later on.
Once that's all taken care of, players should return to the SCUMM bar down at the docks and head through the door to the far right to get to the kitchen. They'll then need to talk to the chef, who'll tell Guybrush that he needs to make his own mop from scratch rather than simply buying one. This means that players will need to track down a mop handle tree and carve themselves a handle from one of its branches.
Rather than heading blindly into the forest to look for this rare specimen, however, players should instead go to Wally's shop on Low Street and ask him to make them a map. Unfortunately, the long-suffering cartographer needs a sample of wood from the mop handle tree in order to chart its location. Thankfully, the trip wasn't completely wasted, as players can help themselves to a Monocle from the box on Wally's desk while they're here.
After taking the Monocle, players should head back to the SCUMM bar and talk to the chef once again to learn that a difficult customer is asking him to make a dish containing "Ingredients" that he recently had while visiting the Governor's mansion. While on the subject of the Governor, players should examine her re-election poster, which can be found attached to a building on the left side of the Dock area. By doing so, they'll learn that Carla is dedicated to dedication.
Next, players should head to the Governor's mansion and speak with Carla upon their arrival. After exhausting all of the dialogue options, they can walk over to the bookshelf to the left of the stairs and examine the yellow book titled "Ingredients." They can ask to borrow it, but Carla will reveal that she's still angry with Guybrush about a book that he borrowed previously and never returned, and, despite his best attempts to apologize, she flat-out refuses to forgive him.
Luckily, players just so happen to have a Forgiveness Frog in their possession, though they'll need to personalize it before handing it over to Carla if they want her to forgive Guybrush. This can be done by opening up the satchel and combining Guybrush's State of the Art Pen with the Forgiveness frog. Players will then be faced with five different choices about what to write on the back of the frog and should choose the following options:
- Dear Carla,
- Sorry for losing the book I borrowed.
- I value that you are dedicated to dedication...
- ... as shown by your actions at Santo Domingo.
- I've implemented a reminder system for myself.
It's worth noting here that the third option won't be available if players haven't examined Carla's re-election poster down at the docks, while the fourth option won't become available until after players have read the plaque beneath the statue on Low Street. Assuming players did both of these things earlier though, they'll be able to sign the frog using the aforementioned options and can then hand it over to Carla.
Once Carla has forgiven Guybrish, players should again ask her if they can borrow the Ingredients book. This time she'll agree, after which, players should return to the SCUMM bar and give the cooking book to the chef in order to distract him. While he's busy cooking the mystery meal for the difficult customer, they can use the knife to carve off a Slither of Wood from the handle of the mop by the door.
Players can also attempt to steal the chef's mop by picking it up and trying to leave the SCUMM bar while holding it. This will result in a humorous cut-scene and unlock the "Mop Heist" achievement for those who are playing the game on Steam.
With the wood sample now in their possession, players should return to Wally's map shop on Low Street and hand it over to get the Map to the Mop Tree. They should grab another Monocle too, as they're going to need two of them for one of the puzzles found a little later on. They can then take the map to the Forest area, which is accessed via the Island's Interior map screen. To get there, players can either follow the path to the right of the Governor's mansion or head through the arch near the Melee Island lookout up on the cliffside.
Upon their arrival, players should head into the Deep Dark Forest area and then use the knife with the Carnivorous Plant on the right side of the screen. Next, they'll simply need to follow the map from Wally to find the mop handle tree, which entails taking the right, left, left, and middle paths respectively. They can then use the knife together with the mop handle tree and enjoy the hilarious sequence of events that ensues. When they regain control, they'll find a freshly-carved Mop Handle in Guybursh's satchel.
Now that they have a mop handle, players should return to the map screen and pay a visit to the area marked Shipyard. Here, at the former site of Stan's Previously Owned Vessels, they'll find naught but a small Sponge lying on the ground. If they open up their inventory, they'll be able to combine the sponge with their newly acquired handle to get a Mop. With it, Guybrush is now one step closer to landing a job on LeChuck's pirate ship, although will need to find a way to hide his identity before he can finally set sail to Monkey Island once more.
Return to Monkey Island is available now on PC and Nintendo Switch.