After being thrown overboard at the end of the game's second part, Return to Monkey Island players will find themselves down on the sea floor. Thankfully, Guybrush is famously able to hold his breath for eight whole minutes (ten, in some Monkey Island games), providing players with more than enough time to help him find a way to safety and the series's titular island.
Part 3 of Return to Monkey Island ends up being one of the game's shortest sections, but the puzzles found within it can at times be a little tricky. Players will once again need to find a way to alter Guybrush's appearance and will also need to discover a few of his mortal enemy's biggest secrets. This guide will explain everything they need to know.
How to Follow the Map to the Secret
To begin with, players will need to keep heading to their right until they arrive on a small beach. Here, they'll want to pick up the Skull over to the left and then make their way into the jungle. This will take them to the Monkey Island map screen, from which they should pay a visit to both the Shipwreck and Up to admire the view areas and grab the two Skulls that can be found there.
Next, it's time to go to the Red Berry Bush area and use the map that Guybrush stole from LeChuck, which will tell players to go past a stone hand, take a path by a wooden chicken, and then sneak by some bees and follow a sign. It's all fairly straightforward by Monkey Island standards, but for those having trouble, it translates to taking the right, middle, and right paths respectively, which will take players to a large X and a shovel.
Picking up the Shovel will lead to Guybrush being ensnared in an elaborate trap, though the three pirate leaders had actually been hoping to capture LeChuck rather than him. It turns out, the trio swapped LeChuck's map to the secret out for a fake before he could ever get his hands on it and now need some key information about the evil ghost pirate in order to decrypt the original.
For the map to reveal its secrets, someone will need to play LeChuck's music, say his catchphrase, and then eat his favorite food. Of course, this ends up falling on Guybrush's shoulders, but before he can get started on that, he'll first need to convince the pirate leaders to release him. This can be accomplished by suggesting that the trio ask LeChuck's crew for the information needed and then exhausting the resulting dialog options.
How to Board LeChuck's Ship
Upon being freed, players should follow the pirate leaders to the giant monkey head, being sure to pick up the Skull on the path that leads there before heading through the gate. They'll also need to grab the Arm Bone, which can be found to the far right of the inner area. With that in hand, they should return to the map screen and then make their way over to Volcano Beach.
After grabbing another Skull from near the water's edge, players should head to the left and into the ocean. If they keep heading left, they'll eventually come to a giant anchor which they can use to reach LeChuck's ship. For now though, they should head a little further to the left to find a sixth Skull before climbing the anchor.
Given that the porthole that players used to escape the hold in Part 2 has now been sealed shut, players will only have two options here. The first involves heading up on deck, which will lead to Flair throwing Guybrush overboard. After that, players should climb the anchor again and head left to the ship's rudder, where they'll once again find Gullet.
After speaking with the former First Swab about his poetry and helping him out with a few rhymes, players can ask to see the finished poem. Gullet will straight up refuse, but if they hand over the business card that was given to them by the museum curator in Part 1, they'll be able to get their hands on Gullet's Poems. Next, they'll want to return to the three pirate leaders at the giant monkey head.
If players tell the trio that Guybrush is no longer welcome on board the ship, Lila will suggest using dark magic to disguise Guybrush's appearance. All that she'll need to do so is a deeply personal item from one of the ship's crew, so players should hand over the poetry book and allow her to do her thing. They'll then be able to use the poetry book to transform into Gullet, which effectively gives them free rein of the ship.
How to Find LeChuck's Theme Song
Once back on board, a short conversation between Guybrush and Flair will take place, after which, players can speak with Apple Bob to learn that LeChuck recently commissioned somebody to create him a theme song. They can head below deck to learn that that person was Flair, but it's faster to just head to the right and ring the bell once to call another vote. Upon doing so, players will be able to head below deck and find some Sheet Music on the barrel near the entrance to the galley.
How to Find LeChuck's Catchphrase
To find LeChuck's catchphrase, players should make their way to the ghost pirate's private cabin and pick up the diary from the shelf on the right. Reading through this will eventually lead players to the February 17 entry, which reveals that LeChuck's current catchphrase is "Brandish the seven bilges!"
How to Find LeChuck's Favorite Food
Before they can find out about LeChuck's favorite food, players will need to head back up to the deck so that the crew returns to their default locations. They'll then be able to find Putra down in the galley and should ask about LeChuck's favorite food before making a point of calling her Chef. She'll be so happy that she'll reveal LeChuck's favorite food right away and players can ask her to prepare some. Before she can do so, though, players will first need to return to Volcano Beach and use the knife with the dead squid to get a Tentacle, which they can then hand over to Putra to receive a portion of Tentacles with Daisy Sauce.
How to Decrypt LeChuck's Map
At this point, players will have everything that they need to decrypt LeChuck's map and so should make their way back to the giant monkey head. To begin the ritual, they'll need to play LeChuck's theme music, which can be done by heading to the far right and placing the six skulls on the spikes to the left and right of Murray. They can then hit the skulls with the arm bone to play out LeChuck's theme song (Do, Do, Mi, Sol, Fa, Fa, Re), with Murray serving as Fa. It's worth noting here that the sounds are determined by the skulls themselves rather than the spikes that they're placed on.
Next, players will need to select LeChuck's catchphrase (Brandish the seven bilges!) from the options provided and then take a bite of the Tentacles with Daisy Sauce by selecting "Okay..." This will complete the ritual and cause the map to reveal its secrets. It will also trigger an earthquake right across the Caribbean, after which, the map will have vanished and the three pirate leaders will quickly turn on Guybrush, eventually throwing the mighty pirate off a cliff
How to Escape From Monkey Island
Aside from a few meaningless dialog choices, players won't really have much to do over the next minute or two other than watching events unfold. Eventually, though, Guybrush's wife Elaine will show up and find Murray, who was able to steal the decrypted map from Trent before he was thrown off the cliff after Guybrush.
Looking at the map will reveal that the secret of Monkey Island is at the voodoo shop back on Melee, though players will need to find a ship in order to get there. Thankfully, Elaine's sole purpose for coming to Monkey Island was to repair Guybrush's ship from the first Monkey Island game, which, conveniently, can be found not too far away.
After picking up Murray and the Ship Repair Manual, players should follow Elaine to the map screen. At this point, those hoping to unlock the Tight Ship achievement should return to the giant monkey head and grab the six remaining Skulls from the spikes.
Once they have the skulls safely back in their inventory, players should head for the Shipwreck area, which is where the remains of the Sea Monkey lie. Using the ship repair manual together with the wreckage will lead to a short montage, after which, Guybrush and Elaine will set sail for Melee Island. If players had all six Monkey Island skulls in their inventory before repairing the ship, the Tight Ship achievement will unlock when they arrive at their destination.
Return to Monkey Island is available now on PC and Nintendo Switch.