TRIVIA

- Technical specs according to the label: AT or compatible 10 mHz 286 or faster required. 640K RAM required. VGA/MCGA 256 Colors. Supports AdLib™, Roland™, Soundblaster™, and SoundMaster™ II sound cards. 1.2M. 5.25″ disk. Keyboard, mouse or joystick. Hard drive required.

	Classic IBM DOS (VGA) version

- The very same box also came out for Amiga and Macintosh (with different spec labels). Some international versions of the box have different screenshots on the back cover.¹

- It’s the first box of the SCUMM series to feature the very short-lived “LucasArts/Lucasfilm Games” double logo (box published in December '91). The only other boxes to have it are The Secret of Monkey Island (IBM DOS v3, Macintosh) and Loom (IBM DOS v2), all from 1992.

	Company logo 1987–1991

	New company logo on the spines		New company logo on the front and back

- The box clearly shows the official title of the game: Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, not the “The Secret of Monkey Island 2” as some believed back in the day.

- The title logo on the front cover differs a bit from the logo on the spines. First and foremost:
No angry monkey is grabbing the number 2.

	Logo on the front cover

	Logo on the spines

- Let’s have a look at the box art, revisited by Francesco Crisci:

	Animated cover2

- The box art for the front and the back cover were again done Steve Purcell who was also responsible for the game’s conceptual art and animation.³ His name is carved into the ship on the front cover.

	Purcell signature

- Creator and designer Ron Gilbert wanted the box art on the front to look like a cover from a classic book.⁴

- The front was originally an oil painting on a linen canvas. Purcell decided to do it big - two by three feet, and spent a month painting it. The original painting hangs in his office (in a giant gilded frame).⁵

- Head of the Art department Collette Michaud was hired to do the graphic design for the package. Purcell ended up shooting reference photos of her in costumes for both Guybrush and LeChuck.⁶

	Collette Michaud modelling as Guybrush7		LeChuck wig and hat8

- Collette became his wife later.⁹

- LeChuck has a whole bird and not just a feather in his hat.

	LeChuck's hat decoration

- The Guybrush voodoo doll is based on Guybrush’s look in The Secret of Monkey Island.

	Guybrush voodoo doll		Guybrush in Monkey 1 (VGA)

- Purcell had two other ideas for the cover:

	LeChuck and voodoo doll outside of his fortress10		Guybrush and Elaine near the International House of Mojo11

- Here an earlier version of the final box art still including Elaine:

	Early cover concept art12

- The background of the back cover features a nice collection of pirate memorabilia on a wooden table including a sextant, a dagger with a monkey handle, a map, coins, and a skull candle.

	Unobstructed view of the back cover’s background13

- Purcell sold the original painting made for the back cover on eBay.¹⁴

- The (stitched-up) map shows Dinky Island where Guybrush is searching for Big Whoop. Or maybe it’s just Guybrush’s spit.

	Map of Dinky Island in-game		Guybrush’s contribution on the back cover?

- At least one of the coins is a Purcell coin.

	Purcell signature

- Like the box for The Secret of Monkey Island, the introduction is an excerpt from The Memoirs of Guybrush Threepwood, the Monkey Island Years.

- “256-color scanned art.*” Yes, this is the first game of the SCUMM series in which backgrounds were scanned from hand-drawn sources.*

- “*32-color for Amiga system.” For the Amiga, the designers repainted all screens in 32 colors.¹⁵

- “Optional easy mode for beginners and magazine reviewers.” Although a joke, it's true, reviewers were often in a hurry and didn’t have the time to go all the way. The “lite” mode must have been highly appreciated.

- As the screenshots illustrates, there is now a graphical inventory (and fewer verbs) in place. The very same interface was later adopted by The Secret of Monkey Island v3 released half a year after Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's revenge.

- What about the screenshots as GIFs you ask? According to the box they are all from the “IBM VGA 320x200 256 color” version. Here they come:

	Screenshot 1: Warning! Contains graphic depiction of gratuitous expectorations.		Screenshot 2: Visit the graves of pirates of yesteryear—and dig them up.

	Screenshot 3: Buy the friends you have always wanted.		Screenshot 4: Keep hands and feet away from food intake area.		Screenshot 5: Behind every fearsome pirate is a really gnarly chair.

- All the screenshots have inventories that are impossible to recreate in-game (for instance, you cannot have the Largo voodoo doll and still his wig). So they are most likely from developer modes or beta versions.

- Screenshot 1: Guybrush approaching the spitting contest on Booty Island. The Spitmaster wears a green jacket on the box but a blue one in-game. In addition, he speaks in a “yellow voice” on the box (green in-game).

- Screenshot 1: This screenshot is from the normal mode as the spitting contest is not part of the “lite” mode.

- Screenshot 2: The top of the hill in the graveyard on Scabb Island is different in-game. It’s where Marco Largo LaGrande is buried and no crypts can be seen when getting to the close-up of that area.

	Graveyard on the box		Graveyard in-game		Close-up of the hill top

- Screenshot 3: This is the very beginning of the game. As soon as Guybrush tries to go to the left or to the right of the screen, he gets mugged by Largo.

- Screenshot 4: Guybrush meeting Governor L. Phatt upon his arrival on Phatt Island. This shot cannot be recreated in-game as Phatt is not fed when you have dialogue options to chose from.

- Screenshot 4: The liquid food jets have a different color in-game.

- Screenshot 4: This screenshot is from the “lite” mode. In the normal mode, there is a book on Phatt’s belly.

- Screenshot 5: Yes, this is a pretty cool throne that we get to see at LeChuck’s fortress.

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References:
(1)“Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge Covers.” Moby Games. www.mobygames.com/game/monkey-island-2-lechucks-revenge/cover-art. 2020/03/10.
(2) Crisci, Francesco. “Monkey Island 2 - LeChuck's Revenge cover.” Behance, published on 2017/03/07. www.behance.net/gallery/49800091/Monkey-Island-2-LeChucks-Revenge-cover. 2020/04/03.
(3) Gidney, Adam. “Steve Purcell.” BOX=ART, updated on 20016/12/29. www.boxequalsart.com/stevepurcellartistpage.html. 2020/04/02.
(4) Retro Gamer. No. 116. 2013. P. 30.
(5) Idem.
(6) "Steve Purcell (Sam & Max creator/Pixar) – Interview". Arcade Attack, publsihed on 2019/09/20. www.arcadeattack.co.uk/steve-purcell-sam-and-max. 2020/04/06.
(7) Retro Gamer. No. 116. 2013. P. 31.
(8) Idem.
(9) Idem.
(10) “Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (Concept Art)” The International House of Mojo. mixnmojo.com/media/galleries/Monkey-Island-2-LeChucks-Revenge-Concept-Art. 2020/04/01.
(11) Idem.
(12) Idem.
(13) “Monkey Island 2: Le Chucks Revenge – Artworks. Selmiak‘s Website. selmiak.bplaced.net/games/pc/index.php?lang=eng&game=Monkey-Island-2--Le-Chucks-Revenge&page=Artworks. 2020/03/14.
(14) Idem.
(15) “LucasArts' Secret History: Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge Trivia” The International House of Mojo. mixnmojo.com/features/sitefeatures/LucasArts-Secret-History-Monkey-Island-2-LeChucks-Revenge/5. 2020/04/01.