Return to Mysterious Island<\/i> 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.)<\/p>\n
Return to Mysterious Island<\/i> is a semi-sequel to the Jules Verne novel Mysterious Island<\/i> , itself somewhat of a sequel to 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea<\/i>. Mysterious Island<\/i> 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<\/i> and protaganist of 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea<\/i>. In the end they are rescued, just as a volcanic eruption destroys the island. The Nautilus<\/i> sinks, taking captain Nemo with it.<\/p>\n
The game assumes a different ending for the book in which the island was not destroyed.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Special thanks have to go to the members of the Just Adventure<\/i> forums <\/a>, especially member Elfstone, for their help in finding the various bonus points in the game. We’ll get a perfect score yet! <\/div>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n