Grim Fandango celebrates 25th anniversary, Tim Schafer shares fan love
Calavera attitude.
Can you believe it, but yesterday marked 25 years since Grim Fandango first made its way into the world. Nope, nor can I!
To mark the ever marching hands of time, and I suppose the occasion, the team at Double Fine has shared some special fan creations including cosplays and artwork.
"Our team got together with our community and made this amazing tribute filled with stories, art, and tattoos!" Grim Fandango's director Tim Schafer shared on X (formerly Twitter). "Thank you to everyone who contributed and collected these beautiful memories! I'll keep them next to where my heart used to be."
The collection of stories and photos is a rather special read for fellow Grim Fandango fans. As well as sharing some really quite wonderful creations, Double Fine also ran a poll to see which Grim Fandango characters remain firm favourites all these years later.
As a surprise to probably no one, protagonist Manuel "Manny" Calavera came out on top as fan favourite from the game, with many praising his charisma and wit.
"He is a perfect representation of a guy that can make mistakes, have doubts, and overcome them," a player known as Mighty Pirate wrote, explaining why Manny was their number one.
Glottis took the number two spot, with Salvador Limones, Velasco and Membrillo then rounding out the top five.
"Grim Fandango has been a part of people's lives long enough now that it's been with them longer than it was without them. And yet somehow that still feels like the blink of an eye," Double Fine wrote in its post.
"25 years is a long time in video game years. It marks countless leaps in technology and audience trends, contains the rise and fall of genre, the triumphs and sometimes the tragic closures of studios. Games move at a mile a minute and that can sometimes mean things don't hold up quite as we remember them. Folks say things like 'wow, this updated version with five billion polygons looks like how my kid brain felt the game did!' or 'how did I ever play with only tank controls?'
"But sometimes, if you're lucky, you create something that lasts. You make something that holds strong and retains its shape year after year. Grim Fandango is one of those lucky games."
You can check out the full post, along with all of the accompanying community stories and pictures here. It is some really rather lovely stuff for my now 30+ soul, and I hope it will be for you as well.