One of the areas in which graphic adventure games have most other games beat is that they’re actually funny. Reliant on plot, character, and writing in general, graphic adventure games have provided some of the most solid laughs in video game history. These moments have stuck with me through the years, and are as funny and enjoyable as any oft-quoted line from any famously comedic movie or teevee show.

5. Inspector Hector Wakes Up Pantsless

Hector Badge of Carnage Episode 1: We Negotiate with Terrorists

Humour is very subjective, and while fat foul-mouthed Inspector Hector might not be everyone’s cuppa, i found him hilarious. Here, Hector intercepts a shady deal in the park, and tries to claim the cash with no idea what he’s supposed to be exchanging. The fun begins at 4:40 (remember to cue it up):

4. Ben Gets Some Answers

Full Throttle

After a decade of playing Mr. Nice Guy in adventure games and finding non-violent solutions to problems wherever possible, along comes tough biker Ben. After kicking down the door, Ben shows the bartender who’s boss in no uncertain terms (gag ends at 0:15):

With head-ripping fare like God of War to taint a modern-day gamer’s viewpoint, it’s easy to miss what was so surprising and funny about this moment. But if you had spent your gaming life playing characters like King Graham, who would lose game points for violently resolving problems (like stabbing the goat in the first King’s Quest),
the first two interactions in Full Throttle definitely put a smile on your face.

3. The Freelance Police Save the Day … Sort Of

Sam and Max Hit the Road

The original outing of the freelance police strikes a tone that the subsequent teevee series and later 3D Telltale installments failed to regain. Half of it is in Bill Farmer’s sarcastic, lackadaisical Bogart voice for Sam (the character has been voiced by two different actors since, and neither of them quite nail it), and the other half is in the writing. The Telltale games boast Sam and Max-esque writing, but they never quite reach the bar that the comic’s creator Steve Purcell sets with the original.

Max: Mind if i drive?
Sam: Not if you don’t mind me clawing at the dash and shrieking like a cheerleader.

This intro cutscene sets up the utterly original cheerily psychotic pair of thugs, letting us know for damn sure that we’re not in Daventry any more.

2. Larry Wins a Cruise

Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)

Larry Laffer bluffs his way into a teevee studio with a forged lottery ticket, and accidentally winds up on the set of The Dating Connection. And his luck doesn’t stop there. (the gag ends at 4:08)

1. Guybrush gets a Job

The Secret of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge

After being mugged for all his riches, mighty (and now bearded) pirate Guybrush Threepwood needs money to charter a ship. The only paying job in town is already held by a talented sous-chef who shows no sign of quitting. After some crafty inventory work with the local vermin, Guybrush arranges a staffing change. The whole puzzle culminates in one of those hilarious off-screen conversations that LucasArts games are famous for, and ends in a killer punchline delivered by the restaurant owner. (the gag ends at 2:30)

What are some of your favourite funny moments from graphic adventure games?

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