Grim Fandango is a superbly written adventure with likable characters, beautiful artwork and a memorable story.
Grim Fandango's story, characters and humorous writing outweigh it's age and clunky controls. It is likely in the current top 10 best adventure games and should definitely be played.
DETAILS
======== GOOD =======
-- Graphically Grim Fandango has stood the test of time. Each "room" has a beautiful pre-rendered background and follows a "color on dark" style similar to Batman; The Animated Series.
-- Characters are cartoony skeletons with clothes, and it works perfectly without any complex textures.
-- Dialog is fully spoken speech and the voice acting is next to perfect. There are tons of great jokes and subtle hints throughout the game and character talk never gets dragged on.
-- The background music usually has a catchy, jazzy feel to it, and it never gets in the way of the experience.
======== BAD =========
-- No mouse support, only keyboard or gamepad.
-- Maneuvering the character through sections can sometime be a little annoying but this is a minor problem.
-- A handful of the puzzles (especially in the second section Rubacava) are unintuitive or a tad too intricate... Kitty Hat Day?!
MORE DETAILS
======== STORY =======
Manuel (Manny) Calavera resides in the Land of the Dead selling afterlife packages to recently deceased people. The best package is a golden ticket on the "Number 9 train" to heaven, for those who have lived pure lives. Manny soon discovers there is corruption within the business; someone is cheating good people out of golden tickets and selling them to dishonest people for the right price. Manny must find out who is behind this scam and put a stop to it.
======== GENERAL GAME PLAY =======
Grim Fandango follows the usual adventure game style. The main character moves through different areas which contain several sub-sections. Within each sub-section there are characters to talk to that give clues about what's going on and what to do next. Collectible items are scattered all over and the player must think about where these items could be used or who to give them to, so they can advance the story.