Grim Fandango is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts. The game was was released on October 30, 1998 for Windows. It was remastered and released on Linux, OS X, PS4, Playstation Vita, and Windows on January 27, 2015. Android and iOS got the game on May 5, 2015. It was released on November 1, 2018 for the Nintendo Switch. The game was released on Xbox One on October 29, 2020.
Manuel “Manny” Calavera works as a travel agent for the Department of Death in El Marrow, a job he was forced into to settle a debt. Frustrated by being assigned souls destined for the long, four?year journey because of their poor choices in life, Manny faces pressure from his boss Don Copal to deliver higher?value clients or lose his position. In a bid to improve his standing, Manny takes Mercedes “Meche” Colomar from Domino Hurley, a top performer, only to have the Department’s system still assign her to the four?year route. While Manny seeks Don Copal’s help to correct the error, Meche sets off on foot and Don Copal uses the incident to have Manny arrested.
A man points a gun at Manny Calavera, the Grim Fandango protagonist, in a gritty alley. The skeleton detective is caught off guard in his blue suit, set against a backdrop of aged brick and stone architecture.
Salvador “Sal” Limones, leader of the underground Lost Souls Alliance, frees Manny and reveals a conspiracy: Domino and Don are manipulating the system to withhold Number Nine tickets and funnel them to Hector LeMans, the crime boss, who then resells them at exorbitant prices. Sal enlists Manny to support the LSA by establishing pigeon mail and lending Manny’s biometrics to access Department systems. Realizing he can’t topple Hector immediately, Manny teams up with his loyal driver Glottis and sets out to find Meche in the nearby Petrified Forest, arriving first at the port town of Rubacava to wait for her.
A scene from Grim Fandango: Manny Calavera, a skeleton in a white suit, walks past the Calaca Cafe as a man points towards him.
A year later Rubacava has grown and Manny runs a nightclub. He spots Meche leaving with Domino, but she stops him. News arrives that Don Copal has been punished for the scandal. Manny pursues the pair, stows away on a ship as a janitor, and after another year—now promoted to captain—tracks them to a coral mining facility at the Edge of the World. There he discovers Domino has been holding Meche and other victims whose tickets were stolen, forcing them into slave labor to mine coral and conceal Hector’s crimes. Domino offers Manny a place in the operation, but Manny refuses; he rescues Meche and defeats Domino, who falls into a rock crusher, and the group escapes.
A scene evoking Grim Fandango, featuring a man in Sully pajamas standing with arms crossed, facing a large, orange, cartoonish character in a blue uniform. To the right stands a skeletal figure in green, set against a backdrop of rock formations and gnarled trees.
After another year of travel they reach the Number Nine terminus before the Ninth Underworld, where the Gate Keeper refuses passage without valid tickets. It becomes clear that a wicked soul or anyone using a fake or stolen Double N ticket will transform the express into a hell train that condemns everyone aboard. Meanwhile Glottis falls gravely ill; demons at the terminus explain that only restoring Glottis’s purpose by traveling at extreme speed can revive him. Manny and his companions improvise a rocket?like train cart, race back to Rubacava, and save Glottis.
A man points at characters from the Grim Fandango game: Manny Calavera, bees and a skeleton in a suit. The scene is set against a nighttime backdrop with buildings and a large structure.
Returning to El Marrow—now under Hector’s control and renamed Nuevo Marrow—Manny reunites with Sal and the expanded LSA. With Olivia Ofrenda’s help they uncover that Hector has been hoarding genuine Number Nine tickets while selling counterfeits to others in a desperate bid to atone and escape the Land of the Dead. Manny confronts Hector but is betrayed when Olivia is revealed as Hector’s partner and Sal is captured. In the ensuing struggle Sal sacrifices himself to stop Olivia, allowing Manny to defeat Hector.
Manny and Meche recover the real Double N tickets, including the one Meche deserved. Manny ensures the tickets are returned to their rightful owners and, as a reward for his deeds, receives his own ticket. Manny and Meche board the Number Nine together for their journey to the Ninth Underworld while Glottis bids them a tearful farewell.
Achievements
- Number Nine Ticket: Unlock all achievements
- The Right Way: Play the whole game with tank controls
- "You know the rules.": Talk to Eva about how she got stuck here
- “Gets the aggressions out, doesn't it?”: Use the hole punch
- “Scaring the living...”: Scare the living a few times
- “Thick, black, nauseating fumes...”: Talk to Glottis about cravings
- “Lousy bony fingers!”: Get the balloon twister to pop a balloon
- “Like a pixie!”: Talk to Brennis about how he got to the machine
- “I could do something bad right now...”: Try to dig up some dirt on Meche
- “Precisamente, amigo.”: Learn of a nefarious plot
- “Join or Die! Again!”: Receive a message from Eva
- “'ARROGANT FRAUD' doesn't work.”: Try to guess Domino's password a few times
- “Run you pigeons! It's Robert Frost!”: Try to intimidate the pigeons
- “The marrow of these trees, Manny...”: Ask Glottis about the tree farm
- “We only have one mop.”: Check your job qualifications with Celso
- “Used to scream like a banshee...”: Ask Velasco about his eye patch
- Year 1: Spend a year in the Eighth Underworld
- “New, secret talent of our tiny messengers!”: Catch up on how the pigeons are doing
- “Plus, we look good in these clothes!”: Talk to Glottis about leaving
- “Well, maybe just a sip...”: Sample the Marillo de Oro
- “Our king rides a pale horse.”: Try to get a passport from Chowchilla Charlie
- “YOU'RE NOT EVEN LISTENING TO ME!!!”: Ask Lupe about her organizational system
- “It shone, pale as bone...”: Look at the moon
- “Consider it an homage.”: Have Olivia recite one of your poems
- “We're straight stingers, you know?”: Talk to the worker bees about playing the game
- “Let me hold that metal detector...”: Listen to Carla's whole story
- “Manny, we've given up. All of us.”: Talk to Membrillo about why he's still here
- “See how the big boys play, eh Manny?”: Visit with Maximino
- “So, sorry, but I don't do... 'odd jobs.'”: Try to convince Verago to help you out
- “Oh, yeah, I could take you down...”: Try to convince Aitor to take you down to the wine cellar
- “Oh Rusty Anchor”: Have Glottis sing you the rusty anchor song
- “ME, ME, ME-ME-ME!”: Chant with the bees
- Year 2: Spend two years in the Eighth Underworld
- “I wasn't always this color!”: Talk to Chepito about how long he's been down here
- *sniff* *sniff*: Make the angelitos cry
- “Save your breath...”: Try to explain to Meche
- “How much of this haven haven't you figured out?”: Get Domino to explain the racket to you
- “IT'S A BUST-ALL!”: Talk to Chepito about his bartering tactics
- “Stop showing off for the girl!”: Try to beat Domino in a fair fight
- Year 3: Spend three years in the Eighth Underworld
- “Happy trails, Captain.”: See Chepito on his way
- “Walk out of this world...”: Hold to your commitments
- “This world's for suckers.”: See Bruno on his way
- “...so large”: Meet the mechanics
- “Oh, Lola...”: Revisit the place where you left Lola
- “THAT'S NOT FUNNY!”: Crack a joke
- “Manuel! Is everything okay?”: Play with the radio
- Year 4: Spend four years in the Eighth Underworld
