Wow this really brings back memories! If Ron Gilbert is reading this, thanks for all your hard work on this game. This game was definitely one of the highlights of my childhood.
As to what makes the game great, I think it's the perfect combination of humor, pirates, and difficulty level that feels just right for a kid in the early 90s. It also has an amazing soundtrack.
> difficulty level that feels just right for a kid in the early 90s.
You must've been a clever kid and/or I'm a bit dense :) When I played most of the Monkey Island games as a teenager / young adult there were definitely several times when I had to resort to GameFAQs.
ADOM had similar issues. You kill a cat any time, you miss out on a later quest. Instead you just had to fight the cat lord. Missed out on a very powerful ring.
And it was so, so easy to kill a cat. You use the automatic repeat-move key and auto-hit when you collide with a monster, and if you ever find a cat anywhere that way, its dead. People would rage-quit and start all over, it was that frustrating.
I remember that there were quite a few games that I never was able to finish as a kid, but to finish them is not really the point. The point is to play. And to play them was fun.
As to what makes the game great, I think it's the perfect combination of humor, pirates, and difficulty level that feels just right for a kid in the early 90s. It also has an amazing soundtrack.
Look! A three headed monkey!