According to "Next Generation", "The Secret of Monkey Island" was a "relatively minor hit" in the United States, but the game and its sequel became "blockbusters on the PC and the Amiga throughout Europe." Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser of "Dragon" praised the designers' attention to detail, and cited the game's humor as a high point. Although they believed that the game was too expensive, they summarized it as "a highly enjoyable graphic adventure replete with interesting puzzles, a fantastic Roland soundtrack, superb VGA graphics, smooth-scrolling animation, and some of the funniest lines ever seen on your computer screen." Duncan MacDonald of "Zero" praised the graphics and found the game "quite amusing". His favorite aspect was the fine-tuned difficulty level, which he believed was "just right". He ended his review, "At last an adventure game that's enjoyable rather than frustrating." Paul Glancey of "Computer and Video Games" consider the game superior to Lucasfilm's earlier adventure titles, and wrote that, "Usually the entertainment you get from an adventure is derived solely from solving puzzles, but the hilarious characters and situations, and the movie-like presentation ... make playing this more like taking part in a comedy film, so it's much more enjoyable." He considered the puzzles to be "brilliantly conceived" and found the game's controls accessible. He summarized it as "utterly enthralling". "ACE"s Steve Cooke also found the controls convenient, and he praised the game's atmosphere. He wrote that, "in graphics and sound terms ... "Monkey Island", along with "King's Quest V", is currently at the head of the pack." However, he disliked the designers' running joke of placing "TM" after character and place names, which he thought detracted from the atmosphere. He singled out the game's writing, characters and plot structure as its best elements. "Amiga Power"s Mark Ramshaw wrote, "With "The Secret of Monkey Island", the mouse-controlled, graphic-adventure comes of age." He lauded its comedic elements, which he believed were the highlight of the game. The reviewer also praised the control scheme, noting that it allows the player to "more or less forget about the specifics of what [they are] physically doing ... and lose [themselves] in the adventure instead." He noted that the game's plot and visual and aural presentation fit together to create a thick atmosphere, and finished, "Forget all those other milestone adventures ("Zork", "The Hobbit", "" "et al") — for sheer enjoyment and general all-round perfection, "The Secret of Monkey Island" creams 'em all in style."