Return to Mysterious Island

A Few Notes on Gameplay

Return to Mysterious Island allows you to rotate through a full 360° in most locations (to better see the scenery) but you can only move along certain fixed paths between certain fixed points. Many points have multiple paths leading from them so it may not always be obvious which path I am directing you on. I will try to give landmarks to navigate by as best as I can but if you seem completely lost try going back to the last location and looking around for another path.

The vast majority of the game involves combining items from your inventory and using them in various ways. The most interesting facts about this are that almost everything the game expects you to do actually makes sense and that there are usually multiple ways to solve most of the “puzzles”. Actually, I almost hesitate to call them “puzzles” since for most of the game you are taking what would be fairly realistic actions under the circumstances. So, keep in mind when I tell you to do things that there may be (and probably are!) other ways to accomplish the same task. This gives the game a replayability that most adventure games lack.

Since so much of the game involves your inventory it probably makes sense to look at it briefly. You bring up the inventory screen by right-clicking anywhere; right-click again to close it. The major part of the screen contains of what the game calls the “stock”. This consists of a number of tabbed screens; you can switch from one to the other by using the tabs at the top. It is probably a good idea to organize the items you find among the various screens; use whatever organization scheme makes the most sense to you.

In the top-right corner of the screen is the “transit area”. Whenever you pick up an item it will appear here. Periodically check your inventory and move the items in the transit area into the stock.

To the left of the stock are three buttons. The first brings up the game menu. The second is your wrist phone, which also has a GPS unit and a news feed built in. Its batteries are dead but once you find a way to recharge it you will get occasional updates through it.

To use an item from your inventory, click on it to pick it up. If you want to use it on something in the world, right-click to close the inventory screen then click where you want to use the item. Note that the item you are holding is displayed in the top-left corner of the screen. To put the item away again you must again right-click to bring up your inventory then click on an empty space in the stock.

You can also use one inventory item on another and this is a very common action in the game. To do this, simply click on the first item to pick it up then click on the second item. In some cases you can combine three or more items. When this happens, the first two items will appear in the “combination area” which is just below the stock. Now you can click on the third item to pick it up then click on the combination area to add it to the combined item. Question marks in the combination area will show you how many missing items there are. It is possible to have several partially assembled items in the combination area at the same time; use the scroll arrows to the right of the combination area to select between them.

It is also possible to take apart a partially assembled item. Simply click on an item to select it then deposit it back into the stock. Finally, you can “disassemble” an assembled item by dropping it into the “disassembly box” which is to the left of the combination area. The individual items making up the combined item are placed into the transit area. (Note that you are not always able to reverse an assembly. Sometimes the creation of a combined item will destroy one or more of the items making it up.)

A Bit of Background

Return to Mysterious Island is a semi-sequel to the Jules Verne novel Mysterious Island , itself somewhat of a sequel to 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea. Mysterious Island tells the story of a group of Union prisoners from the US Civil War that manage to escape by means of a balloon. The balloon is blown far off course by a storm and eventually crashes on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific. Much of the novel involves their building of a new home on the island, which they name Lincoln Island. They eventually discover that the island is also the home of Captain Nemo; the commander of the Nautilus and protaganist of 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea. In the end they are rescued, just as a volcanic eruption destroys the island. The Nautilus sinks, taking captain Nemo with it.

The game assumes a different ending for the book in which the island was not destroyed.

The Story So Far…

Mina is a sailor who is competing for the “Jules Verne Trophy” by sailing around the world solo. Somewhere in the south Pacific, she encounters a storm and is washed overboard. Battered by the waves, she somehow manages to make it to land and is washed up onto the shore of what seems to be a deserted island. Or, maybe not. As Mina regains consciousness a figure seems to be standing over her, but it leaves before she can be sure of what she is seeing.

Walkthrough
On the Beach

In the aftermath of the storm, Mina (that’s you) picks herself up off the beach. Take a moment to look around. Notice that you can pan through a full 360° in all directions. Admire the view for a while. Note the odd vertical lines out near the horizon. Hmmm… Wonder what those are? Also notice the nice waterfall down the beach. Too bad we can’t go in that direction.

From the waterfall, turn to the left until you are looking at a small notch in the cliff. Go forward to that point. Hey, there’s someone up there! Mina yells but the figure disappears back into the cliff. There must be an opening up there somewhere but we can’t get to it. So, for now, just look to the right to see a bird’s nest sitting on a ledge. Click on it to collect an egg. There is another nest higher up but you can’t reach it.

Look down at the sand to find a “rusty key”. (It looks more like a rusty nail to me.) Click on it to pick it up.

Turn to the left until you are looking along the cliff face. In front of you there is another cliff with a black smudge of some kind on it. (You may also see a rock archway and the remains of a boat further to your left; ignore them for now.) Go forward towards the smudge on the cliff.

You will stop at an exposed rock in the middle of the beach. Hey! What was that! Yeah, it might have been an earthquake of some sort but… weird. (And I suddenly started getting a Lost vibe from the game at this point though I doubt there is a connection between the two.) Once the earthquake has passed, turn to face the black mark on the cliff again and go forward.

Look around this small alcove in the cliff. Mina will identify the black smudge as soot but you can’t do anything with it beyond that. You will also find some flint and a piece of sandstone as well as a spot that Mina says would be good for building a fire. Remember where this is.

If you look around you will find two paths from this point, one leading up a small canyon and into the island while the other leads back to that flat section of rock where you felt the earthquake. Take the path back to the rock. Turn to face the remains of the boat you can see on the beach and go towards it.

Take a moment to look around and pick up the seaweed you see nearby. Now examine the boat and notice the large, wooden rib with the metal plate on top. You can try to pick it up but Mina says it is pretty solid.

Open your inventory and move the items we’ve collected from the transit area into your stock. Arrange them however you like. While we’re here, click on your phone to bring it up. Your battery won’t last long so quickly click on the “News” button to learn that Mina was competing for the “Jules Verne Trophy”. The phone and GPS won’t work and the batteries will die in a few moments anyway. Oh well.

Exit from the phone back to the inventory. Select the sandstone from your inventory then exit the inventory screen. Use the sandstone on the wooden rib to knock it down. Pick up the “driftwood” and the piece of metal.

Return to your inventory and arrange things. Time to make our first item! Use the sandstone on the piece of metal you just picked up. You will see a drawing of Mina sharpening the metal into a knife! Put the knife and sandstone away in your inventory.

Turn to face the canyon and go forward. When you get to the point where you felt the earthquake go forward again. Look to your right; you should see a small plant covered with thorns. Use your knife on the plant to collect some thorns. If you look up and to the left you should see another tree with thorns but this one is beyond your reach. Look around some more and you will find some worms and a metal plaque on the ground. Pick them up as well.

Continue up the canyon. At the next stop you may see some odd metal objects attached to the walls of the canyon. Mina will wonder what they are for. You can’t do anything with them at the moment so ignore them and go the rest of the way up the canyon.

You will now reach a point where the path is blocked by some fallen trees and Mina is still too exhausted from her ordeal to move them. She needs to find some food to recover her strength. Look to the left and collect the amadou fungus growing on the side of the tree and the forked branch lying at its base. To the right there is a vine, use the knife on it to collect it.

Go back down the canyon to where you collected the thorns. Open your inventory and combine the knife and the forked branch to get a “knife with handle”. Use the knife with handle on the thorn tree you couldn’t reach earlier to collect some curved thorns. Open your inventory again and disassemble the knife with handle to get the knife and forked branch back; we’re going to need them for something else soon. Now, go back to the ruins of the boat.

Turn to face the archway and go forward. Turn to the left to look at the side of the arch and the pool beneath it. There are four oysters here; three on the rock and one in the pool; collect all four. (There is also a “giant oyster” in the pool but it is a bit hard to find. I recommend ignoring it at the moment as taking it now prevents you from getting a cutscene later.)

There is also a fish swimming in the pool but we can’t grab it. Time for another item. Combine the forked branch, small vine, curved thorns and worms to create a fishing pole. Use the fishing pole on the pool to get the fish. When you are done, disassemble the fishing pole and put everything away.

Turn back to the arch and go forward and through it. Notice the turtle crawling away in the distance. Turn to the left and you will see another set of turtle tracks extending away from a disturbed section of beach. Click on the disturbed sand to reveal a chest and some turtle eggs. Click on the eggs to pick them up. Select the key from your inventory and click on the chest to open it. Take the silver coins and the broken telescope from inside the chest.

Turn around and examine the rocks to find some lichen; pick that up as well.

Continue down the beach away from the arch. When you reach the point where you saw the turtle, click on the ground to uncover another set of turtle eggs. Pick them up. Continue forward into the trees ahead of you. (The thumps you hear are coconuts falling around you.)

In front of you there are two crabs apparently eating a dead porcupine. Wait until they are facing away from you then click on them to pick them up. Pick up the porcupine too. Look around and pick up the green and brown coconuts and the palm fronds (which the game calls palm trees).

Now, head back towards the arch. When you leave the trees a green coconut will fall directly in front of you. Pick it up. Keep going forward to the arch then on to the small indentation in the rock that Mina said would be a good place to make a fire.

Time to do some things. Open your inventory. Use the knife on the brown coconut to get a stripped coconut and some coconut fiber. Use the knife on the stripped coconut and Mina will show you how to eat a coconut without any waste. (You can also use the sandstone on a coconut but that results in the coconut being smashed to pieces.) Use the knife on each of the green coconuts to remove their husks but don’t do anything else with them yet. Then use the knife on one of the oysters to eat it too. Do not attempt to open a second oyster; you can but your knife will break when you try to open a third and we may need one later.

Now use the rusty key on one of the eggs. Mina punches a hole in the egg and drinks its contents. (Note that this contradicts the game’s statement that the eggs have to be cooked. You get an extra point for eating one of the eggs this way.)

The rest of your food needs to be cooked. Open your inventory and combine the flint with the plaque you found earlier to create a lighter. (Notice as you do that the plaque reads “Nautilus: 1860”) Note that you could alternately have used the sandstone on the plaque to create your knife and combined the piece of metal with the flint to make a lighter. Or, you can make a knife out of both metal items then combine either one of the knives with the flint for the lighter. I believe there are at least two ways to do everything in the game. I will point out alternative ways of doing things when we come across them but I am certain there are still some out there that I have missed.

Now, we could use the lighter we just created to start our fire but we’re going to do it a different way to get some extra points. Use the key on the broken telescope to retrieve a lens. Use the lichen on the palm fronds then use the lens on the combination to get a “ready made fire”. Use the fire on the spot Mina identified on the ground to create a fire. (You get the lens back. Note that you could have used the amadou fungus instead of the lichen and the driftwood instead of the palm fronds when making the fire but the end result is the same.)

Use both crabs on the fire to eat them. Do the same with the fish. Now, use each of the remaining three oysters on the fire. The heat opens them, which allows you to eat them without risking your knife. Finally, cook and eat three eggs (or use the rusty key on them as above, though you don’t get any more points). This should be enough to fill Mina’s health bar to maximum. She announces that she feels ready to explore the island. But, before you do, take the acacia thorns and use them on the fire, causing them to curve. We don’t really need them (we could have used them for our fishing pole earlier though) but we get an extra point for it.

Heart of Darkness

Go up the canyon to where the trees blocked the path earlier. Click on them to move them out of the way then go forward. Another of those strange earthquakes will occur. Mina will comment on this again. (The earthquakes will occasionally occur from this point forward.) Look around and pick up the small palm from the ground.

Continue up the path. The next location is a four-way intersection. Turn to the left. You will see a plume of “smoke” rising into the air and Mina will excitedly say that there may be a house in that direction. Look around and use your knife to collect a hibiscus plant. Mina will comment on how tough the hibiscus fibers are. Next, use the knife on the small palm to get an incomplete bow. Combine the incomplete bow with the hibiscus fibers to create a bow. Now we just need to find some arrows.

Go towards the “smoke”. When you arrive, Mina will be disappointed to find that it is just a hot spring. Look around and you will find a snake on the ground. Use the forked stick to pin it to the ground. (Mina won’t let you kill it even though she had no trouble eating the eggs of an endangered species back at the beach! (Ahem.)) Once the snake is disabled, use the knife on the plant next to it to collect a medicinal plant.

Look above the snake. You should see a tree branch with a cut on it (and a large spider near the cut). Use the knife on the cut and something will ooze out of the tree. Click on it to collect some rubber. Retrieve the forked stick again. (Don’t worry, the snake won’t hurt you.)

If you look around you will find that there are two paths leading from here. Take the leftmost one to reach the edge of a canyon spanned by a ruined bridge. There is what looks like a telephone pole here but you can’t do anything with it yet. Instead, look around until you find a plant with a dead rat nearby. Use the knife to collect the “narcotic plant”. Remember where this ruined bridge is; I’ll be directing you back here later.

There are two paths from this location as well so take the leftmost one. This leads you back to the four-way intersection. Turn left and go forward through the field. This leads to a second four-way intersection. There are screams in the distance and Mina will say that it sound like an animal somewhere is hurt.

Turn left and go forward. You will stop near a tree and, when you look around and Mina sees it, she will identify it as a maple tree. There is a tube extending from the tree (near a lizard) and, if you use the knife on it, it will start to ooze maple sap. You can’t do anything else with it quite yet though so continue on the way you were going.

You arrive at a rocky beach on an inland lake. Turn right and go forward to the lake. Click on the lake to have Mina get a drink of water then click on it a second time to have her take a bath. Note that she says she feels a slight current. Remember where this stone beach is; you’ll be coming back here a lot.

After your bath, look around. You may see an area of the cliff wall that looks as if it has been bricked up. You can’t do anything with that point yet but remember where it is. Then retrace your steps back to the second four-way intersection; the one where you hear the animal screams. When you arrive, continue going forward.

You will find yourself near a rock wall. If you look around you should be able to see some ruined steps but you can’t go up them because they’re broken. (Huh? This is one of the few places in the game that seems arbitrary; Mina should certainly be able to climb up that damaged section of wall.) Pick up the brick mold from the damaged wall. Look around and pick up the three pinecones lying on the ground as well (the game calls them pine kernels). Finally, note the two long vines hanging from the tree. You can’t do anything with them quite yet because Mina wants to be able to cut them off longer. Remember where they are though. When you are done, head back down the path.

Turn right and go through the opening in the wall and across the field. When you arrive, Mina will be startled for a moment then quickly realize that she is facing a scarecrow. (Bit of a Blair Witch moment there, though.) Click on the scarecrow to collect four dirty rags.

Look around and you will see several monkeys throwing rocks at you. Don’t worry, they can’t hit you here and Mina wisely won’t walk into their range. Look around and pick up the two oranges and two lemons you see lying on the ground. Use your knife on the wheat growing near the intersection to get some straw and some wheat grains.

You can’t take the path past the monkeys so turn around and take the path leading the opposite direction. You should find yourself near the lake again. There is a bare patch of orange ground here and Mina will get nervous when she sees it as there are footprints of a large cat of some type visible. Hopefully it won’t bother us. Click on the orange ground to collect some clay. Open your inventory and use the clay on the brick mold to create unfired bricks. (Note that the brick mold vanishes… Why?) Then exit your inventory and collect some more clay; we’ll need it later. (You’ll be using quite a bit of clay so remember this spot too.)

Look around. There are quite a few things to collect here. Click on the large piece of bamboo to pick it up (you get two pieces). Then, using your knife, click on the stump to get some willow bark and wicker, click on the elderberry plant to get some elderberry pith and click on various patches of bamboo to collect a medium piece of bamboo and some small bamboo shoots.

Now we have some backtracking to do. First, go to the stone beach where Mina took her bath. Use the dirty cloths on the water to get clean cloths. (You need at least two but you may as well do all four since you get a point for cleaning each one.) Next, go all the way back to the beach and to where you built your fire. (The fire may have burned down at this point but if you look at it the fire will blaze back up.) Use the bricks on the fire to create fired bricks. (You get two sets.) While you are here, use one of your cloths on the fire to get a burned cloth; it may come in handy and gets us a point if nothing else. Then, go all the way back to the wall with the ruined steps. Use one set of bricks on the steps to repair them. Now you can climb the steps.

When you do, Mina will note a side path which leads to the monkeys who attacked her earlier. Ignore it for now and look around. You are standing in front of a ruined windmill with a monkey watching you from a tree. Collect the wooden fork, broken metal fork and grapes. If you look straight down you will see that you are practically standing on a pickaxe that you should also pick up. (When you do, Mina makes a comment about it being dangerous. That is because of a somewhat slapstick scene where Mina steps on the pickaxe and hits herself with it. If you want to see it, don’t pick up the pickaxe. Instead, enter the windmill then turn around and leave. When you do, Mina steps on the pickaxe and gets hit. Now you can pick it up.)

You should see a sheet of cloth covering something; click on it to pick it up. When you do, the chest it was covering falls over and spills onto the ground, revealing copper coins. Pick up the coins. You can also click on the chest to read a poem which hints at the location of the chest with the silver coins that we have already found.

Time to take care of those monkeys. You have two choices here. The peaceful solution is to simply take the path Mina pointed out a few minutes ago. This brings you up behind the monkeys and to the ruins of a workshop. The monkeys run away without a fight but you don’t get any points for chasing them off.

Or, you can take the aggressive approach. Combine the wooden fork or the forked branch with the rubber you got earlier to create a slingshot. Then go back to where the monkeys were attacking you. You can now start attacking the monkeys with the slingshot. Every time you score a hit the green bar at the top of the screen shrinks and, when it is gone, the monkeys run away. You can then take the path you couldn’t earlier which also leads to the ruined workshop. You get ten points for getting rid of the monkeys this way which makes it the recommended approach.

A Monkey on Your Back

Look around. The first thing you should see is the ruined remains of a kiln. Use your second load of bricks to repair the kiln. There is a bellows attached to the kiln and, if you click on it, you will learn that it was made of sealskin but is now broken. (I think that you should have been able to use the heavy cloth to repair the bellows but the game doesn’t let you; one of the very few instances where you are forced to do things a particular way.)

Go ahead and build a fire in the kiln. Combine the driftwood with the burned cloth and either the lighter or the lens to create a fire then place it in the kiln. Use another cloth on the fire to get another burned cloth for another point.

Look around and pick up the stack of wood. (You could have picked up the wood first and used it instead of the driftwood to create the fire.) Enter the ruined building. Hey, there’s another monkey in here! This one is hurt and Mina decides that it was attacked by the other monkeys. (Or, maybe it stepped on the pickaxe. Who knows?) Anyway, Mina decides to name the monkey “Jep” and to nurse it back to health.

Start by using one of your clean cloths on Jep. Mina bandages the wound but says that Jep is still too sick to eat. We have some medicinal plants but have no way to prepare them yet. Time to do a bit more work.

Look around. You should find two wooden disks that spin when you click on them. You may or may not recognize this as a potter’s wheel. Use the clay from your inventory on the wheel then click on the wheel to spin it and you get a set of unfired pottery. Unfortunately, a normal fire isn’t hot enough to properly fire the pottery. You will have to find a way to repair the bellows before you can proceed.

Finish looking around the building and pick up another brick mold (though you really don’t need it). Then go all the way back to the beach.

When you arrive, Mina will see some birds circling and comment that she sees something. Go towards the object on the beach to find a dead seal. (How convenient!) Collect the seal then use the knife on it to get sealskin, tendons and two units of seal fat. (You could have used the tendons instead of the hibiscus fibers when making the bow though there is no reason to take ours apart to change.) Now, go all the way back to the kiln.

Look at the fire in the kiln to cause it to blaze back up if necessary. Use the sealskin on the bellows to repair it. Use the bellows to boost the heat of the flames then use the unfired pottery on the fire to create fired pottery. Mina is very happy that she now has containers that can hold water and withstand heat. (You now have all the pottery you need. You don’t need to explicitly include the pottery in any of your combinations; whenever you need a piece it is automatically used for you and you never run out.)

Go to the rock beach where Mina took her bath. Click on the lake to collect a bowl of water. Combine the water with the medicinal plant to create a remedy though you should note that it needs to be heated up in order to be effective. Click on the lake a second time to get another bowl and combine that one with the willow bark to create a second remedy. Then, click on the lake a third time to get a third bowl of water. Don’t do anything with this one. Head back to the kiln. (Along the way, stop at the maple tree and click on the cut you made earlier to collect two bowls of maple syrup.)

Use each of the two bowls of medicine on the fire to heat them up. Then, go to the workshop and use each of the bowls on Jep. He will drink the medicine and his health will improve to the point where he can eat. Use the bowl of water on him as well to have him drink it.

Use the knife on one of your coconuts to get an open coconut. Give that to Jep then give him all three pine cones. He will eat them and his health will return to full. Mina will decide that she has now done enough for one day and she and Jep will settle down for a well-deserved night’s sleep.

(Note: You should now have scored over 100 points, which means you get your first bonus scenes in the gallery. Open your inventory and click on the “objectives” button.)

Ghost in the Machine

During the night, Mina and Jep will be visited by the ghost of Captain Nemo. Nemo asks Mina to find his body and give him a proper burial. Well, why not…

First, look above the entrance to the workshop to see another bird’s nest. Use Jep on the nest to collect another bird’s egg. Then leave the workshop and go to the windmill. Take the steps you repaired down. (The path is a bit hard to find but it’s just to the right of the windmill.) Open your inventory and use your knife on Jep (don’t worry, you are giving it to him, not attacking him with it) then use Jep on those vines hanging from the tree that you couldn’t do anything with earlier. Jep will climb the tree and cut the vines for you. Mina will take the vines and use them to make a pair of rope ladders. In your inventory, drag Jep to the disassembly box to get your knife back.

Now, go down to the stone beach and collect another container of water. Then, go all the way back to the beach and to the notch in the cliff where you saw the mysterious figure way back at the start. Before you do anything else, use Jep on the bird’s nest you couldn’t reach before. You still can’t get the egg (it falls to the ground and breaks) but watch the feather float to the ground. When it lands, pick it up.

Use one of your rope ladders on Jep then use Jep on the opening in the cliff. The apparently highly intelligent Jep will climb to the opening and lower the ladder for you. Climb the ladder. (The cut scene showing Mina climbing the ladder takes forever to go away on its own so just click on it to continue.)

Welcome to Granite House! Look around. The body on the floor should be immediately obvious and Mina will surmise that it is Captain Nemo. Pick up the mysterious key, musical score and diving suit that are lying next to the body. Look around some more and get another egg from the bird’s nest next to the cave entrance. Look above the entrance to see the name “Granite House – 1860”. You should also be able to find a block-and-tackle arrangement but you don’t seem to be able to do anything with it at the moment.

Head on deeper into the cave. The paths forward and to the left are too dark for you to enter so turn right and go forward. Examine the chest in front of you to open it. Take the shirts and wicks from the chest. (You should get two shirts and three wicks.) Turn to the right. You should see a cannon pointing out of an opening in the cliff face. There are documents on the left and right walls. The one to the right shows a map of “Lincoln Island”, apparently where you are. The one to the left shows a layout of some caves, including the one you are in. Notice that there is a tunnel leading to the back of the Granite House.

Turn back to the cannon and go forward. There are a good number of things to pick up here. Look around and get the cannonball, hardened powder, photos, and the rod and tubes. Click on the top of the table to the right of the cannon to find two papers.

The first paper seems to be a letter from Captain Nemo. It tells of how he returned to the island but was attacked by something and is now dying. He mentions those odd streaks near the horizon and indicates that they are part of a shield of some kind that keeps the island hidden. He adds that the shield isn’t perfect and how sometimes, in storms, things can get though the shield. Well, that explains how Mina wound up here. Now, how do we get out?

The rest of the letter is even more fragmentary but it indicates that we need to repair his diving suit and also says something about guardians and traps. Uh-oh. Guess we need to be careful.

The other paper is a set of chemistry notes. It tells how to make several items and compounds, including Becquerel and Volta batteries, Nitroglycerine, Sulfuric Acid and Gunpowder.

OK, the paper tells us how to make a Volta battery and we actually have everything we need for it. Combine the medium bamboo tube, silver coins, copper coins, a lemon and a clean cloth to create a Volta battery. Mina will automatically use the battery to recharge her wrist phone.

Unfortunately, she can’t call out. You can use the GPS to find out your current location and Mina will express surprise that the island is near the major shipping lanes. Also, you will occasionally get some news updates on the phone detailing the search for Mina and at some point you will get a call from Mina’s mother (though she can’t hear Mina when she tries to answer). There will be a beep and the phone button will flash when an update comes in. None of these are of major importance. (The GPS function won’t work inside the caves, btw.)

The main thing recharging the phone does is to activate the encyclopedia option in the inventory. Now, when you select an item, the lower part of the inventory screen will give you much more information about the item and suggestions on what it can be used for.

(Note: You could have created the Volta battery much earlier; anytime after you have all the components. This means you could have recharged the phone even before you meet Jep. I placed its creation here since this is where you get the in-game instructions on how to create it.)

Turn away from the cannon and go forward. Look around the shelves in front of you to get some iron filings (you get two sets), a roll of wire, a hammer and screwdriver and some nails (you get two sets of these too). If you look to the left of the shelves then you will find some planks.

Now, turn right and go forward. Look at the shelves to your left and collect some charcoal (you get two sets). Look at the floor to find a steel chain.

Turn to the right until you see two “windows” and a fireplace. Go forward. Look around to find a boiler and another piece of amadou. Look on the shelves to the right of the fireplace to pick up a tank then pick up the coil that was behind the tank.

Open your inventory and combine the logs, the burned cloth and the lighter to produce another ready-made fire. Put the fire in the fireplace. Then combine the boiler, tank and coil to produce a still. Put the still on top of the fireplace.

Now we can do all kinds of things! First, use the knife on your remaining stripped coconut to get another open coconut. Use the open coconut on the still to get a bowl of alcohol. Then use both oranges, the grapes and the remaining lemon on the still to get another four bowls. (You get a point for each bowl you create.)

Use both bowls of maple syrup on the fire to get two units of sugar. Then turn around and use one sugar on the still for another bowl of alcohol. (Keep the other sugar; we’ll need it later.)

The seaweed you picked up earlier should now be dried seaweed. Use it on the fire to get soda. Combine the soda with one of the seal fats to get soap and two containers of glycerin.

Use your container of water on the fire to get boiling water. Combine one of the glycerins with the boiling water to get candle wax. Finally, combine the candle wax with a wick to get a candle. While you are at it, combine the other seal fat with a wick to get an oil lamp (and you keep the seal fat).

Go back to the front room where you found Captain Nemo’s body. Combine the planks, nails and hammer to create a coffin. (The hammer disappears for some reason.) Use the coffin on Nemo’s body and the view will instantly pan to one side, showing the coffin lying on the ground. Now click on the block-and-tackle you couldn’t do anything before to attach it to the coffin then click on the coffin to lower it to the ground. You will get a cut scene as Mina and Jep respectfully bury Captain Nemo on the beach, where the land meets the sea.

When the cut scene ends a figure will appear near the stone archway and call Mina’s name. Go there. When you arrive, your view will pan to look at the pool and a voice will say “a present”. At this point your cursor is pointed exactly at the giant oyster in the pool; click on it to pick it up. (If you picked up the giant oyster earlier then this scene won’t take place.) Use your knife on the giant oyster to get a giant pearl. Mina will exclaim that it is probably worth enough for her to buy another boat. Assuming we ever get off the island, of course.

This Old Granite House

There are a large number of things you can do at this point, not all of which are necessary for winning the game (though they do give you more points). You can do most of these in any order so don’t feel that you have to do them in the order below.

Also, there is a somewhat random event that will occur at some point. Some time after you have entered and exited the Granite House for the first time, a monkey will appear in Granite House and throw down your rope ladder and it will not allow Jep to put it back in place. Fortunately there is a back way in. You actually want this to happen since you get points for getting past the monkey, so at this point simply enter and exit Granite House a few times until the monkey appears and throws the ladder down.

Once it does, pick up the rope ladder then go back to the stone archway. Keep going down the beach until you reach the cluster of trees where you picked up the crabs and the porcupine. Look up and you should see a coconut still in one of the trees. Shoot the coconut with the slingshot or use Jep on it to make it fall. Pick it up and use the knife on it to get another stripped coconut. Use the knife on the stripped coconut to get another open coconut.

Return to the stone archway then head up the canyon and through the fallen trees. Keep going forward until you reach the ruined bridge. Use the rope ladder on Jep then use Jep on the telegraph pole next to you. Jep will demonstrate that he is a genius level monkey by crossing the chasm and using the rope ladder to replace the bridge. Cross the bridge.

You will find yourself confronted by another aggressive monkey and Mina is afraid that using the slingshot on this one will make it angry. You have several choices here on how to get past the monkey.

First, look in your inventory and notice that the encyclopedia entry for the large bamboo tube says that burning bamboo will scare animals away. Well, we don’t have a fire here but to our left there is a second hot spring and Mina will comment that it can be used to cook something. Put the large bamboo into the hot spring and it will pop loudly, scaring the monkey away.

Or, you can give the monkey a bowl of alcohol. It will drink the alcohol and pass out, letting you proceed.

Once you have taken care of the monkey, search the building it was in to pick up some mineral coal and a broken cage. Look next to the hot spring and pick up some sulfur. (You could actually have picked up the cage and the sulfur without dealing with the monkey.) Continue forward down the path. At the next location, look around and get some potash and some iron sulfate. That’s all for here. Turn around and go back across the bridge. On the far side of the chasm, take the right path to return to the first hot spring.

Combine wicker with the broken cage to create a cage. Use the forked branch or the wooden fork on the snake to pin it in place then use the cage on the snake to capture it. Then, go to the stone beach where Mina took her bath.

Time to get clean. Use the soap on Jep to bathe him. Then, use the soap on the water (the lake, not any water you may have in your inventory) and Mina will use it to wash her face. (Be sure to wash Jep first as the soap vanishes after Mina uses it.) Since Jep is upset with his bath, combine the thin vine or the coconut fibers with the straw to create a mattress. Use the mattress on Jep and he will take a nap. Finally, get another bowl of water.

Now go to the windmill. Once there, use the heavy cloth on the windmill to attempt to repair it. Unfortunately Mina can’t do anything because the monkey in the tree holds the windmill blade and prevents it from turning. Looks like we need to do something with this monkey too.

There is no convenient heat source here so we can’t use the bamboo trick and the monkey doesn’t trust us enough to take anything from us. Well, maybe it will trust another monkey. Give Jep a bowl of alcohol then use Jep on the other monkey. The monkey accepts the gift and lets go of the windmill blade. Use the cloth on the windmill blade to repair it.

The windmill still isn’t ready for use. Go inside and look up. Mina will comment that the windmill shaft is rusty. Give a seal oil to Jep then use Jep on the shaft. Jep, the world’s smartest monkey, will grease the shaft of the windmill and it will start turning.

There are now a couple of things you can do. Look around to find the input and output hoppers on the windmill. Put the hardened powder in the input hopper to create gunpowder. Pick it up. Then use the wheat on the input hopper to create flour. Collect it as well. Now head to the kiln.

Time to do some baking. Combine the water, flour, an egg, the open coconut and the sugar to make a ready-to-bake cake. Use the ready-to-bake cake on the fire to create a cake. (Yes, a cake. It looks more like a pie to me.)

Next, go to the area with the clay. Get some clay (if you don’t have any) and use it on the brick mold to get another set of unfired bricks. Then get some more clay.

Now we’re ready to head for Granite House again. Go back to the stone beach. Remember the spot on the cliff wall that looked as if it had been bricked up? Use the pickaxe on that point to break open a tunnel.

You can’t immediately enter the tunnel because it is dark. Use the candle or the oil lamp on the tunnel to illuminate it. Now you can enter. About halfway down the tunnel you will find a monkey blocking your path; you will have to find a way to get past him.

Like the monkey near the bridge you have several things you can try. The bamboo trick is out since there is no heat source here. However, you can give him a bowl of alcohol (if you still have one) to make him pass out or you can give him the cake (if you have baked it) to cause him to go to sleep. Finally, you can use the caged snake on him to scare him away. (You could also have used the cake or the snake on the monkey by the bridge.)

Once the monkey is gone you can look around to find a lantern and a gun; pick them up. (You also find the skeleton of a monkey who apparently was playing with the shotgun.) The lantern is dead but you can recharge it by using your Volta battery on it. Combine the gunpowder, iron filings and the gun to get a gun and ammunition. Now you’re armed and dangerous! Continue on down the tunnel.

You will arrive in Granite House from the first of the two darkened tunnels (which are now lit). Turn right and go forward. Notice the hole in the ground. Don’t worry about it; we’ll be getting to it in a moment. Instead, look at the cabinet to the right. Search it to find some sulfuric acid, some more sulfur, another lantern and a broken projector. Look to the right of the cabinet to see a water basin with some writing above it. Click on the writing to read it. Get some water from the basin if you don’t have any.

Use your Volta battery to recharge both lanterns if you have not already done so. Combine the broken projector, lens, photos and one of the lanterns to create a projector. Use the projector on the table in the middle of the room to cause it to project images on the wall. You can now look at the images. (Do take the time to look at them, you get points for doing so. They show scenes from the original novel, Mysterious Island. Oddly, you cannot pick up the projector once you put it down.)

Now you can go down the hole in the floor. You will find yourself on the shore of an underground lake. Look around and pick up the helmet and the air tank. Combine the diving suit, helmet, air tank and the remaining lantern to create a working diving suit. (Notice that, once you do, the picture of Mina on your inventory screen changes to show her in the suit whenever she is in this location.) Now, face the underground lake and attempt to enter. Mina will start to do so but will then see a large creature moving through the water. Yikes! That was close! Glad you’re fast on your feet, Mina.

Looks like we need to get rid of the creature before we can explore the underground lake. Combine the knife with the porcupine (remember it?) to get quills and a porcupine without quills. Combine the narcotic plant with the porcupine without quills to get a laced bait. Then, go back down the hole and use the laced bait on the water. The creature eats the porcupine and leaves, apparently to sleep it off. Now you can safely enter the water.

(It appears as if you can use the gun to shoot the creature too. Ready the gun then attempt to enter the water. Blast away at the creature when it appears. I was never able to succeed so I cannot report on the final outcome of this option but feel free to try.)

You will soon find a ship anchored in the cave and will quickly discover that it is a submarine; none other than the Nautilus itself. Climb the ladder in front of you to reach the main deck.

Look around and you should see a red light. Click on it and a control will rise from the deck. If you examine it, you will see an opening that looks like it should match the mysterious key you found earlier. Unfortunately, the key won’t work. If you examine the key you will find that its crystals have lost their charge and need to be replaced.

However, you now have bigger problems. A hatch in the deck opens and several robots come out. Mina immediately decides that discretion is the better part of valor and beats a hasty retreat. Fortunately the robots can’t follow you underwater. Unfortunately, they now know you’re here.

War Against the Robots

Great. Now we’ve got killer robots after us. Don’t try to leave Granite House yet, that would be a Bad Thing™. Instead, go to the room with the cannon. You should see a robot flying around outside. We need to get rid of it but first we need to play chemist some more.

First, go to the room with the still. Look at the fire to bring it back up if necessary. Put the iron sulfate in the still to get another unit of sulfuric acid. When you have it, go back down the hole to the underground lake.

Once there, look at the wall behind the ladder to find some saltpeter. Combine the saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur to get gunpowder. Get another saltpeter then combine it with your second charcoal and sulfur to get a second gunpowder. Get a third saltpeter and combine it with one of the sulfuric acids to create a container of “sulfuric acid and saltpeter”. Collect yet another saltpeter and do the same with the other unit of sulfuric acid. Get still another saltpeter to get an extra point.

Go back to the room with the still. Put one of the containers of sulfuric acid and saltpeter in the still to get three units of nitric acid. Don’t do this with the second container; drag it to the disassembly area to get the sulfuric acid back. (We only made the combination earlier so the game would let us collect one more saltpeter for an extra point.)

Use the knife on one of the shirts to get two more clean cloths. (Leave the second shirt alone; we’ll need it in a few minutes.) Use one of the clean cloths on the fire to produce another burned cloth. You can then combine either the burned cloth or the amadou, the mineral coal and the lighter to create another ready-made fire (though you won’t need it and don’t get points for it). Use the unfired bricks on the fire to get two more sets of bricks for an extra point.

Combine one of the nitric acids with the glycerin to get nitroglycerine. Then, combine the nitroglycerine, some clay and a wick to create dynamite. Combine another nitric acid, the sulfuric acid and either a clean cloth or the elderberry pith to create guncotton. (Oddly, you could have used sugar instead of clay to create the dynamite but there is a better use for the sugar.)

Combine the feathers, the wicker or the small bamboo shoots and the porcupine quills to create arrows. Then combine the arrows with the bow you made earlier to create a bow and arrows. The bow is a bit harder to use than the gun (it fires more slowly) but with hordes of killer robots about we can probably use all the weaponry we can get. (We could have used the acacia thorns we got a while back instead of the quills if we hadn’t curved them in the fire but the quills work just as well and curving the thorns got us an extra point. You really don’t need any weaponry until the robots show up anyway.)

While we’re going for points, drag your Volta battery to the disassembly area to take it apart and use its lemon on the still for one more alcohol and another point. (Don’t worry, you won’t need the Volta battery again and Mina is now set to throw a really big party when she gets rescued.)

Now return to the cannon. Click on the back of the cannon to open the breech. Put the cannonball and either some gunpowder or guncotton into the breech. (You can add the second set of iron filings or nails to the cannon too, for more of a “shotgun” effect if you wish.) Close the breach then click on the cannon’s fuse.

You will get a view of the robot flying around outside, with a crosshair in the middle of the screen. Note the “fuse” at the bottom right and the fact that your cursor has turned into a match.

This is the first of several arcade-type sequences in which you fight the robots now patrolling the island. You can die if you fail in these sequences but all that happens when you do is that you get a cut-scene then you immediately get an option to try again, so there really isn’t anything to worry about.

In this sequence, you need to light the fuse at the right time so that the robot flies into the path of the cannon when it fires. You get around three shots before the robot kills you so the pressure isn’t that bad. I found the best timing was to light the fuse just as the robot turned towards the center of the screen. It shouldn’t take you long to get the timing down. When the robot is blasted, Mina will cheer her success.

Now you can leave Granite House via the front entrance. Use the ladder on the vine just below the entrance to replace it then return to the beach, go to where the remains of the robot have fallen on the beach and pick up the “thruster”. Then go to the remains of the boat and look around. You should see a “damaged key” lying on the ground nearby. Pick it up then turn to face the rock arch.

You should see another robot flying around beyond the arch. While not strictly necessary, we’ll take it out too. Ready your bow and arrows then go to the arch. When you arrive, immediately shoot at the robot (remembering to aim for the thruster at the base). The robot will explode. Go forward to examine its remains and pick up another thruster. Look around and you will find another damaged key; pick it up as well.

(You can of course use the gun instead of the bow and arrows and it is actually easier to destroy the robot that way. But you get more points for using the bow and, since there is no penalty for dying, I recommend it if you are going for points.)

It’s time to head inland. Head up the canyon towards the interior of the island. When you reach the entrance to the canyon you will come across a damaged robot. There is a control panel on the side of the robot; examine it for a closeup.

You will see a set of four letters and a numeric keypad. You need to enter the numbers corresponding to the letters.

To solve this, the important letters are those in the word “NAUTILUS”. N=1, A=2, U=3 and so on. (Note that “U” appears twice in “NAUTILUS”; you can use either 3 or 7 for it.) Any letter not in NAUTILUS has a value of 0. So, for example, the letters “XAPS” would correspond to 0208. Enter the correct numbers and the robot will shut down and its thruster unit will disengage. Pick up the thruster then look around and pick up another damaged key.

Continue up the canyon. Well, now we know what those odd metal objects are. Don’t try to cross the laser beam; a pair of shock cannon will fire and kill you.

Fortunately, there are several ways past here. First, look around until you see a metal plate. You can’t reach it but Jep can. Give him the screwdriver and use him on the plate to have him open it, Examine the opened plate.

The object of this puzzle is to use the buttons along the top and right sides of the puzzle to create an unbroken path from the source (right center) to all five of the lights along the left. This actually isn’t that difficult. Click on the button above the first column then the buttons to the right of the first, second and fourth rows. All lights turn green and the laser cuts off.

Alternatively, there is a safe way past the shock cannon. Combine the chain with the broken metal fork to create a lightning arrester. Use the lightning arrester on the laser and it will attract the discharges from the shock cannon, allowing you to pass safely. (For maximum points, use the lightning arrestor to pass the beam then turn around and use the panel to solve the puzzle.)

Continue to the interior of the island. When you pass the fallen trees you will start to hear thunder. Hmmm… sounds ominous.

At the first four-way intersection you will see another robot further down the path and Mina expresses concern that it will see you. Note that the robot seems to be close to the telegraph wires and that occasionally you will see what looks like an electrical “arc” near it. Turn right and go to the second four-way intersection. There is a robot down near the lake but we’re safe here for the moment. Time to play Dr. Science again.

Combine the wicker or the bamboo shoots (whichever you have left), the remaining shirt and the coil of wire to get a kite. Give the kite to Jep then use him on the telegraph pole near the intersection. Lightning hits the kite and the current travels along the telegraph wires to the robot, destroying it. (One of the best kills in an adventure game, ever!) Go back to the ruined bridge to collect the robot’s thruster and damaged key.

(If you are missing something you need for the kite you can also get rid of the robot the hard way. Go to the first hot spring then take the path from there to the ruined bridge. This lets you come up behind the robot and you can shoot it with either the gun or the bow and arrows. The kite gets you more points though.)

Ignore the other robots for the moment and go to the clay pit. Get some clay and combine it with the glass and metal strips, the potash and the remaining nitric acid to create a Becquerel battery. (You really don’t need it but it replaces the Volta battery we disassembled earlier.) Pick up another clay and give it to Jep to have him hold it. This lets you pick up yet another clay for another point. Drag Jep to the disassembly area to get the clay back. While we’re doing things with Jep, give him the dynamite to get another point then immediately drag him to the disassembly area to get it back.

Now, go straight up the path to the kiln then go to the windmill. Uh-oh, another robot. Fortunately, this one hasn’t seen us. Use the dynamite on the robot to destroy it then go down the steps and pick up its thruster and damaged key. (Note: For me the cursor froze on the “can’t use” icon when the robot blew up. I could still go down the steps and the cursor returned to normal once I did. Be sure to look up to see the gravity defying tree branch.)

(Note that you could also have used the dynamite to get past the laser and the shock cannon by blowing them up, though you don’t get any points that way.)

Ready your bow and arrows and head towards the lake. When you encounter the robot, quickly shoot it in the thruster unit to destroy it. (This one is easy to get with the bow and arrows since it isn’t moving when you first arrive.) Pick up the thruster and damaged key then continue on to the lake. Enter the tunnel to return to Granite House. Once back in Granite House just go to the hole and descend to the underground lake. Enter the lake to return to the Nautilus.

Well, it looks like the Nautilus is under guard too. Ready your weapon of choice then wait for the patrolling robot to pass. As soon as it does, climb the ladder. When you get to the upper deck, turn to face the robot and blast it.

We All Live in a Rusty Submarine

OK, the guardian robots are gone so put your weapon away then examine the console we had a brief look at earlier. As we noted then, the console looks like it accepts the key you have but the crystals in that key have lost their charge. Maybe we can use the damaged keys we collected from the robots to replace them.

Use the screwdriver on the mysterious key to remove the old crystals. Then use the screwdriver on each of the damaged keys to get a single crystal from each. (You should have six damaged keys; you only need the crystals from four but may as well retrieve all six.) Then, combine the empty key with four crystals to create a key. Use the key on the console.

Another puzzle will appear. This one is easier than it looks. Simply add 1 to the first number, 8 to the second, 6 to the third and 0 to the fourth. (1860 is the date from the Nautilus plaque and the Granite House carving.) If the number is greater than 9 then just consider the one’s digit (So 8 + 8 = 16, use 6). The hatch will open and allow you to enter the Nautilus.

The steps end in a cage. You can see a control on the wall to the right but you can’t reach it. Jep might be able to but Mina is afraid that he will cut himself. Combine Jep with one of the thrusters then use him on the control. Jep will float across and open the cage. Drag Jep to the disassembly area to retrieve the thruster.

Go around to the left. There is a beam lying on the floor but you can’t do anything with it yet. Continue on around until you reach a flight of stairs blocked by a fallen metal plate. Use a thruster on the plate to partially raise it then use a second thruster to raise it the rest of the way. You can go down the steps at this point but instead go back to that beam you couldn’t do anything with a moment ago. Click on it now and slide it across to the plate you just raised. Cross the beam to go stand on the plate.

Examine the puzzle in front of you. Each time you click on one of the tiles it rotates. You need to rotate the tiles so a letter “N” is formed. The only trick to this one is that some of the tiles have fallen off. Click on the fallen tiles at the bottom of the puzzle to pick them up and place them in the proper positions. You can then click on the newly replaced tiles to rotate them. When the tiles have been placed and rotated to form the “N” the door will open. (Don’t worry if you have trouble with this one; the puzzle is optional. We’re only here for the points.)

Once the door is opened, behind it you will find a hallway with a hole in the floor. You are given the option of jumping down, but don’t. Instead, go back across the beam and down the stairs.

The door here has a puzzle on it too (I’m sure you’re surprised). This one looks more difficult since it seems as if you are solving two puzzles at once, but you really aren’t. The keypad alternates accepting entries for the top and bottom panels. For the top panel, simply enter “1860”. For the bottom panel, each time pick whichever one of the letters available are from the word “NAUTILUS”. The door will open.

Uh-oh, another robot! Hmmm… this one seems to think we’re Captain Nemo. That’s lucky. Ignore the robot for the moment and wander around the room. There are a lot of artifacts on display that you can look at but we are only interested in a few things at the moment; the safe, the desk and the organ.

Start with the safe. Examine it and you will find another tile puzzle. This one is similar to the one in the room above in that you are again trying to form the letter “N”. In this case you click on the small buttons between the tiles. Each time you do, the four surrounding tiles rotate around the button. To solve this one, click on row 2 button 3, row 3 button 1, row 2 button 2, row 2 button 1, row 2 button 3, row 3 button 4, row 2 button 3, and row 4 button 1. When the safe opens, examine its contents. Note the two levers on the bottom; pull both of them. One opens the windows on either side of the room while the other opens the cover on the organ. You should also note the picture of Nemo and his family; notice that Mina bears a resemblance to Nemo’s wife.

The desk has several items of interest. First, there is a drawing showing the underground cave in which the Nautilus is hidden. Then there is a letter from Jules Verne himself addressed to Captain Nemo. Apparently Verne heard the story of Mysterious Island from the heroes of that story and turned it into a novel. He changed the ending to preserve Nemo’s secret. Finally, there is Nemo’s personal journal and a first-edition copy of Mysterious Island itself.

Look around a bit more. Notice that a beam has fallen from the ceiling and destroyed one end of a display case. Click on the beam to move it. Notice the empty display where the beam had fallen.

You have several choices here. You can take the pearl you found in the giant oyster and put it on the empty display. Or, you can look under the sofa nearest the door. There is a second pearl there (though it may be a bit hard to find; it is just at the corner between the bottom of the sofa and the second leg). If you can find it you can place it on the display. Or, you can ignore the entire thing since it isn’t really necessary. (You do get a point for putting a pearl on the display. You may have to place a pearl there if you are answering the riddles described below as it is the answer to one of them.)

You will also notice that on one wall there is a display of weapons but the robot will not let you get close enough to them to read the dates on their descriptions. On the other hand, the robot ignores Jep. Give Jep the clay then use him on one of the display plaques. Jep will press the clay against each of the plaques, recording an impression of the dates. (This is also something you need to do to solve one of the riddles described below though you can do it at any time, even if the robot never asks you the riddle. The counters showing the number of correct/incorrect answers appears after you do this, even if you aren’t answering the riddles at all! Giving the clay to Jep is worth a point though.)

At some point you should talk to the robot again. It will tell you that the Nautilus is in need of repair (its control cables have rusted) and that the entrance to the underground lagoon has been blocked by an avalanche but that the shield protecting the island is still functioning. You can ask the robot to shut down the shield but it says it cannot without first confirming your identity.

You have two choices here. The robot wants to ask you a series of riddles. The answer to each riddle is an object somewhere in the room. You answer the riddle by finding the object and clicking on it. You have to answer seven riddles correctly while missing no more than two. When you have answered all seven, the robot will decide you are Nemo and accept your orders. (This is fairly straightforward but I recommend using the alternate solution.) The riddles you get are random so there may be others I haven’t seen but here are the answers to the ones I found.

Riddle	Answer
A lifesaving animal for sailors in strife…	Dolphin (picture on wall to left of organ)
All its twinkling sisters, shine above the crests…	Starfish (in display case)
Captain, show me this strange creature…	Sponge – polyp (in display case)
Cedar Laurel, Ulmus Beech…	Aboriginal Club (wall of weapons behind robot; you must give the clay to Jep and let him take impressions of the plaques first, though you should note that the first letters of the first four words spell “club”)
Floating in its shell, like you in your vessel…	Argonaut or Nautilus (picture on wall to left of organ)
Found again after five hundred years…	Chinese Porcelain – Yuan dynasty (along wall to left of organ)
It has five teeth for grazing, along the sea floor…	Sea Urchin (in display case)
Its silvery surface which weighs the invisible…	Mercury Barometer (on wall near safe)
Ivory daggers in close-knit rows…	Shark’s teeth (in display case)
Of all the creatures adorning the walls…	Swordfish (picture on wall to left of organ)
On a wine-red case it lies supreme…	Giant Black Pearl (either find the one under the sofa or take the one from the giant oyster and put it on the empty display in the display case)
Rising from the water with her large eyes…	Dragonfly (picture on wall to left of organ)
The respected master of the greatest conqueror…	Aristotle’s “The Poetic” – 9th Century Arabic Manuscript (in safe)
This shell from the sea, though not the prettiest…	Janthine – mollusk (in display case; note that there are two Janthines in the case, you want the one on the right (it has a left-handed spiral to its shell))
This miraculous device, a precious ally…	Sextant (on wall near safe)
Underneath the ocean, it’s racing across the sand…	Seahorse (in display case)
What correspondence from so far away…	18th century metal case (in safe)
When its contents turn misty and start forming stars…	Storm Glass (on wall near safe)
When time and distance are measured together…	Chronometer (on wall near safe)
Where are all my believers, the sun is so far away…	Aztec Scepter – 14th Century (on wall to left of organ)
Your most treasured belonging…	Picture of Nemo’s family (inside of safe door)

The other way to convince the robot you are Nemo is to use the organ. Go to the organ and notice the box above the keyboard. You will see that there is a set of music there, similar to a player piano music roll. Click on the lever next to the box and the organ will automatically play the music.

When the organ finishes, select the musical score from your inventory and use it on the box to add it to the score. Then, use the organ to manually play the part of the score that you just added. This is easier than it looks. Notice that there are a limited number of keys that you can actually play. The score is played using only the black keys, so number the black keys you can play from 1 to 7, starting at the left. Then, play keys 5 – 7 – 3 – 5 – 1 – 2. The robot will recognize the music as being Nemo’s style and will accept you as Nemo. (I recommend this solution as it seems to give you more points.)

Once the robot decides you are Nemo, Mina will tell it to drop the shield hiding the island. She returns to the beach as the strange lines and light effects on the horizon fade. Mina contacts her mother and, after a brief reunion, sends her coordinates and tells her mother to contact rescue. (Um… Mina? Your phone works now. Have you thought about calling rescue yourself?)

In the underground lagoon, the ghost of Nemo (or, is it Nemo himself?) plays the organ as a rescue helicopter arrives at the beach and drops a ladder to an enthusiastically waving Mina. She has survived the island and rescue has arrived.

Congratulations, you’ve won. Roll the credits. (If you have followed this walkthru, you should finish with around 387 points. I have heard that the maximum possible score is 400 so there are apparently a few things I have missed along the way.)

(If you are short of points there are a few things to be aware of. Shooting a robot with the gun is worth four points, using the bow is worth seven and using a “unique” item (the cannon, the kite or the dynamite) is worth ten. Using the slingshot to chase off the monkeys near the kiln is worth ten points, coming up behind them and scaring them away is easier but gets you none. Similarly, playing the melody on the organ is worth ten points while answering the robot’s riddles is worth nothing. Finally, there seems to be a timed component to some of the puzzles; finish them as quickly as possible for maximum points.)

Final Thoughts

Return to Mysterious Island is one of those excellent games that will keep you up well into the night as you keep telling yourself “just let me try one more thing”. The puzzles are logical, well thought out and realistic, leading to a level of involvement that is missing from many games. Maybe it is because of my engineering background but I loved the inventory combination puzzles and my only real complaint about the game is that it was too short! After I met the robot on the Nautilus, I thought I would have to repair the sub and clear the underwater avalanche before sailing for home in the Nautilus itself. I didn’t expect to simply tell the robot to turn off the shield and have the game end. (And it seems too bad that you have to reveal Nemo’s secret island to the world; I wish there had been a way to rescue Mina while allowing the island to remain hidden.)

There seem to be a few minor loose ends too; mainly the apparent resemblance between Mina and Nemo’s wife. Once this was revealed I kept expecting it to become relevant but the game ends soon afterwards and it never seems to amount to anything. (The ending also seems to imply that maybe Nemo isn’t dead; hey, he does have that copy of the Necronomicon!)

Still, Return to Mysterious Island is an excellent game and one well worth playing through. Glad you came along for the tour.