Maniac Mansion

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a game by Jaleco
Genre: Adventure/RPG
Platforms: PC, NESNES
User Rating: 8.7/10 - 3 votes
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See also: Old School Games, Cult Classic Games, Retro Games, Text Adventure

Maybe you've been to the Fun House and you've probably heard about the. Mad House: now you can explore the weirdest house of all -- Maniac Manson. This new role play game from Jateco plunges you into a brain-spraining mystery that introduces you to as strange a crew of people as you're ever likely to meet.

Sounds fee a good place to stay away from! Sorry...as Dave, the local teenage heartthrob; you've got to turn this crazy house upside down in search of poor, kidnapped Sandy -- your cheerleading girlfriend.

Don't Go Alone

Dave can take along two of these buddies to help him save Sandy. Each of the six different teens you can choose from has different skills and weaknesses, as well as their own hidden goals.

ProTip: For example, Bernard is "Mr. Wizard." He knows a lot and can fix things and operate equipment. But he's also a chicken. You might have difficulty getting him to go to certain scary arm, and he ready hates sushi!

Depending on the teenagers you select the game can change each time you play -- and can even have an entirely different ending! To find Sandy, you and your companions have to search Maniac Mansion from top to bottom-without getting caught yourself. Getting from place to place in the mansion is quite challenging. As in any role-play adventure you'll have to search for clues, special items, and advice from other characters in order to solve the mystery.

When In Doubt, Click!

The interface is similar to the computer version of the game, although the Nintendo format is much easier to manage. The Vessage Lime displays the words spoken by the characters that you encounter. The Animation Window enables you to view the room that you're currently in. Uses tie Sentence Line to tell your characters what to do by linking together nouns and verbs in to simple commands. For example, "Get glass of water." Search the house by moving the kids around it so they can look, get, open, take, use, etc. the variety of strange objects they find in the mansion and talk to the different characters they encounter. Investigate everything.

  • Be cautious as you move from room to room in the mansion. You never know who you're going to run into!
  • If you leave your characters standing around in the main hallways, they're likely to get caught!

As in all role plays, the small item you overlook is sure to be the key to getting on to the next area of the game.

  • Check the ceilings in every room. There just might be a key hidden in one of the light fixtures!
  • The pool water is radioactive. It makes some things grow, but it makes other things die!

Along the way special animated sequences cut into the action to give you clues and information about the strange things that are happening to you.

The Game's Afoot

Your adventure begins at the gate that leads to the front yard. Your first puzzle is to figure out how to get inside the mansion. You can knock on the door or ring the bell, but Dr. Fred isn't going to let you in. One of your buddies, however, will figure out a solution. Once you get inside try heading into the kitchen. You can raid the refrigerator and get other special, items you'll need. Next, find the storage room. There you'll find everything from canned goods to film developer!

To easily search an entire room click the "What Is..." command, and then scan the entire room with the pointer. You'll quickly discover whether there are any special objects you should pay attention to, such as loose panels. This technique also comes a handy in dark rooms when you don't have a flashlight. It's a quick way to find the light switch without getting hurt.

From there you're on your own. To find Sandy you and your companions have to search Maniac Mansion from top to bottom -- without getting caught yourself. Getting from place to place in the mansion is quite challenging. As in any role play adventure you'll have to search for clues, special items, and advice from characters in order to solve the mystery. Just remember there's more than three floors in mansion, not including the basement and the attic; and you've got to explore them all!

  • Having trouble getting into garage? Well, you better go and find a place to work out to make yourself stronger!
  • It sure is hard to get that basement door open since it doesn't have a knob. Hey, maybe you could try fiddling around with the gargoyles at of the staircase!

As long as Dave and the gang can hang in there and keep searching they'll eventually solve the mystery of Maniac Mansion and rescue Sandy. It's a horrifyingly refreshing adventure -- sort of a role play a la Rocky Horror Picture Show meets the Addams Family! Keep your head clear, don't drink any radioactive water, and you'll be out of the mansion before you can say, "Come up to the lab and see what's on the slab!"

Download Maniac Mansion

PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
NES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • P-200, 32 MB RAM

Game Reviews

Jaleco Official Nintendo Seal of Quality

Once You Get In, Will You Ever Get Out?

Why is there a chainsaw in the kitchen? And a nuclear reactor in the basement?

Fifty rooms to explore. Five different endings. One deadly secret to uncover. All in Maniac Mansion, for your Nintendo Entertainment System!

Coming in late September. Look for it wherever video games are sold.

  • Machine: Nintendo
  • Publisher: Jaleco

Why is there a chainsaw in the kitchen?

And a scalpel-wielding doctor with an attitude? And a cheerleader held captive in the basement?

Just your average day in Maniac Mansion! Totally weird! Definitely wacky! It's the first game for your Nintendo Entertainment System that combines the challenge of a mystery with the off-the-wall humor Americans love.

Your goal - rescue the cheerleader and keep the mad doctor from taking over the world. There are over 50 rooms to search for clues. A cast of dangerous characters to avoid.

And five completely different endings. It's even based on the original from LucasFilm Games.

You pick three of seven teenagers to go inside to solve the mystery. Who you pick determines the course of the game.

Want to take a break? No problem. Maniac Mansion's battery back-up always saves your place. Maniac Mansion is different every time - sometimes scary... sometimes silly... but always a challenge... the kind of a game that will keep you up nights trying to figure it out - or afraid to fall asleep!

Why is there a chainsaw in the kitchen? And a nuclear reactor in the basement? And disembodied tentacles hopping around? And why does that peculiar doctor keep going, "Heh, heh, hen..."? To answer this and other equally weird and wacky questions, you'll have to enter Maniac Mansion for adventure/role play that's out of this world! This monster computer title is coming to the NES via a joint venture between Jaleco and Lucasfilm. What this all means is that you can expect a gaming experience not quite like any you've had before. It all starts when a meteor crashes into Earth and strange things start to happen at Dr.Fred's old mansion. Now Dave and his friends have got to solve the mystery, and you get to come along for the fun... heh, heh. heh.

Published and developed by Lucasfilm Games, this video game was released in 1987. The Edison mansion has always been a weird old house somewhere on the edge of town. They say that some strange experiments have been going on there and some odd creatures are living in the Edison family, that nearly 20 years ago a meteorite crashed near the mansion. Not long ago, a girl named Sandy has gone missing from the local high school. Dave, her boyfriend, swears that it is Dr. Fred who has kidnapped her. Dave knows very well, that he needs the two other students to help him as he has decided to get into the house and release Sandy.

As the game starts the players can choose the 2 students to go along with Dave to the Edison mansion. They can also switch between these characters at will. Each character has personality and may have a different way to solve a problem from his classmates. So, many of the puzzles can be solved in a few ways depending on the character being used. If the Edisons capture any of them, they will be thrown into the dungeon. They will have to get out on their own or rescued by any character who has their freedom.

Snapshots and Media

PC Screenshots

NES/Famicom/Dendy Screenshots

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