Grim Fandango

Story

The game is divided into four acts, each of which takes place on November 2 in four consecutive years. Manuel "Manny" Calavera is a travel agent in the Department of Death in the city of El Marrow, forced into this job to work off his debt to the powerful. Manny is frustrated because he is assigned clients who must make the four-year journey, and his boss, Don Copal, threatens to fire him unless he comes up with better clients. Manny steals a client, Mercedes "Meche" Colomar, from his colleague Domino Hurley. The department's computers assign Meche to the four-year trip, even though Manny believes she should have a guaranteed spot on the luxury "Number Nine" express train because of the goodness of her heart in her life. After setting Meche on her way, Manny investigates further and finds that Domino and Don have rigged the system to deny many customers tickets on the "Double N" and hoard them for the head of the criminal underworld, Hector LeMans. LeMans then sells the tickets at an exorbitant price to those who can afford it. Manny realizes that he can't stop Hector for now, and instead, with the help of his driver and speed demon Glottis, tries to find Meche on her journey in the nearby Petrified Forest. During the journey, Manny meets Salvador "Sal" Limones, the leader of the small underground organization Lost Souls Alliance (LSA), who knows about Hector's plans and recruits Manny to help. When Manny arrives in the small port town of Rubacava, he finds that he has beaten Meche there, and waits for her to show up. A year passes, and the town of Rubacava has grown. Manny now runs his own nightclub in a converted automaton on the edge of the forest. Manny learns from Olivia Ofrenda that Don has been "injected" for publicizing the scandal, and that Meche was recently seen leaving the port with Domino. Manny takes up the pursuit and tracks the two down a year later at a coral mining facility on the edge of the world. Domino has been holding Meche there in order to lure Manny into a trap. All of Domino's customers who have had their tickets stolen are also being held there and used as slave labor to make a profit from coral mining and to keep Hector's scandal a secret. Domino tries to convince Manny to take his post at the factory since he has no alternative and can spend the rest of eternity with Meche, but he refuses. After saving Meche, Manny defeats Domino by dropping him into a stone crusher. Manny, Meche, Glottis and all the souls held in the factory then escape from the edge of the world. The three travel for another year until they reach the terminus of the Number Nine train outside the Ninth Underworld. Unfortunately, the gatekeeper of the Ninth Underworld will not let the souls continue their journey without their tickets, mistakenly believing that they have sold them. In the meantime, Glottis has fallen fatally ill. Manny learns from the demons stationed at the terminus that the only way to revive Glottis is to travel at high speed to restore Glottis' purpose to which he was summoned. Manny and the others craft a makeshift fuel source to build a "rocket" train car that will quickly return Manny and Meche to Rubacava and save Glottis' life. The three return to El Marrow, now completely under Hector's control and renamed Nuevo Marrow. Manny meets with Sal and his extended LSA, and with the help of Olivia, who has volunteered to join the gang in Rubacava, learns of Hector's current activities. Upon further investigation, it turns out that Hector has not only been hoarding the Number Nine tickets, but also making counterfeit versions that he has been selling to others. Manny tries to confront Hector, but is lured into another trap by Olivia, who has also captured Sal, and taken to Hector's greenhouse, where he is germinated. Manny manages to defeat Hector after Sal sacrifices himself to prevent Olivia from interfering. Manny and Meche find the real Double N cards, including the one Meche should have gotten. Manny makes sure that the remaining tickets are given to their rightful owners; in return, he receives his own ticket for his good deeds. Together, Manny and Meche board the Number Nine and embark on a happy journey to the Ninth Underworld.