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Maniac Mansion

aka: MM
Moby ID: 714

Quick! Dr. Fred's kidnapped Sandy and he's about to start the experiment...

Source:

Box Cover

"Oh, good!

More brain donors."

Actually, Dave and his friends have come to rescue Sandy before she donates her brains to Dr. Fred. And you are the brains behind their efforts to solve the many mysteries of Maniac Mansion...

  • What really happened when that meteor landed 20 years ago?
  • How did it change Dr. Fred, Nurse Edna, and Weird Ed?
  • What's a Green Tentacle and how do you feed it?
  • Why is there a chainsaw in the kitchen?
  • Why is there a nuclear reactor in the basement?
  • How does Razor get her hair to stand up like that?
  • Why does Dr. Fred keep going, "Heh, heh, heh..."?

  • Explore room after room. Collect weird stuff. Laugh out loud. Feel a little spooky.

  • Choose your own reckless rescue trio from seven unlikely volunteers.
  • Five exciting ways to unravel the mystery. Hundreds of hilarious ways to guess wrong!
  • No typing ever! Point 'n' click to select characters, objects, and actions.

"A cross between the Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Addams Family....diabolically fun."

Columbia Daily Tribune

"Brilliant use of 3D graphics."

RUN Magazine

As funny as it is fun."

A+ Magazine

"...ingenious puzzles..."

The New York Times

Source:

From the back cover

"Game of the Year" Award Winner

Jeff just wants to party. Syd and Razor want to start a band. Bernard's flashlight is on the blink. And now, Dave's girlfriend Sandy gets kidnapped by a creepy scientist who wants to experiment on her in ... Maniac Mansion.

So recruit your rescue team, take a deep breath, and walk into the Mansion. You'll meet all sorts of weird and funny characters. And you'll discover why this challenging no-typing adventure was named "most innovative game of the year".

Source:

From the Triton Software Catalog For Your IBM, 1988

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, heh..."?

Strange things have been going on for years up at Dr. Fred's old mansion, ever since that meteor landed just outside the house. But when a sweet young cheerleader named Sandy disappeared into the basement, boyfriend Dave knew it was time to take a look behind the good doctor's door.

Your task is to help Dave choose a rescue team and guide them on the wildest, wierdest mission your NES system has ever seen. The storyline depends on the individual talents and quirks of the team members you select, and no matter how many times you play, the outcome is never quite the same. Sometimes it's puzzling, sometimes scary, sometimes downright funny, but it's always, always a challenge.

So if you're looking for a comedy-adventure that makes you think as hard as you laugh, get into Maniac Mansion today. And then try, just try, to get out!

Source:

Back of Box - NES (US)

"Pardon the mess... it's all those brain donors."

Ever since that meteor landed, strange things have been sighted at Dr. Fred's old mansion.

Disembodied tentacles hopping around. Chainsaws in the kitchen. Plants with unusual appetites. An odd glow from the swimming pool.

And now, sweet Sandy the cheerleader is in Dr. Fred's clutches. So round up your pals, take a deep breath, and get ready for the weirdest, funniest adventure of your life.

"Graphic adventure of the year."

RUN Magazine

Power Play

Isaac Asimov Magazine

Commodore Magazine

"A cross between the Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Addams Family...diabolically fun."

Columbia Daily Tribune

"Ingenious puzzles..."

The New York Times

"Brilliant use of 3D graphics."

RUN Magazine

Just point 'n' click... no typing ever!

High resolution graphics and great sound effects.

Meet all sorts of zany characters.

Source:

Back of Box - Amiga/Atari ST/DOS (US)

*## His ambition was to rule the world... one teenager at a time.

Suddenly you're in the middle of a madcap adventure surrounding a meteor that crashed to the earth some 20 years ago.

Ever since it landed in the back yard of Dr. Fred and Nurse Edna's Victorian mansion, bizarre things have been happening.

First, their mutant son, Weird Ed, dropped out of school.

Then patients started disappearing from County Hospital.

And now this strange event is affecting the lives of innocent (and even some not-so-innocent) teenagers. In fact, a girt named Sandy is being held captive in that musty old mansion right now.

Sandy's boyfriend, Dave, has lots of friends who need your help to sneak in—and sneak her out. Now exactly how it all ends up depends entirely on which trio of friends you send in there. And which inhabitants you encounter.

In fact, the farther you get inside the mansion, the more weird characters you'll meet. There's Nurse Edna—who's as nasty as she is ugly. There's a disembodied Tentacle who wants you to make him a rock star. And a host of others, who all have their own crazy quirks you'll have to deal with.

Everyone in there seems to be working for Dr. Fred. But the question is: "Who is Dr. Fred working for?"

An adventure so compelling, you'll never want to leave... which is just what Dr. Fred wants. "Heh, heh, heh..."

A story of:

Love

Lust Power Greed Wealth Insanity Burglary Kidnapping Rock 'n Roll Music Nuclear Reactors Electric Cattle Prods Classic Automobiles Microwave Ovens Soft Drinks Small Furry Animals Strange Aliens Sleazy Publishers Late Night Talkshow Hosts Mutants Geeks Punk Rockers Postal Fraud Obscene Phone Calls Undeveloped Photographs Medical Experiments Radiation Suits Purple Slime and... World Domination*

Poor Sandy! What does Dr. Fred have in store for her?

How can Dave and Razor get inside to rescue Sandy?

Realizing the mansion's size, should Wendy and Syd split up?

Who are these guys? And what do they have to do with the story anyway?

Source:

Back of Box - Commodore 64 (Canada, UK, US)

THE COMEDY THRILLER THAT DARES TO BE DIFFERENT!

"PARDON THE MESS... IT'S ALL THOSE BRAIN DONORS"

Ever since that meteor landed, strange things have been sighted at Dr. Fred's old mansion.

Disembodied tentacles hopping around. Chainsaws in the kitchen. Plants with unusual appetite. An odd glow from the swimming pool.

And now, sweet Sandy the cheerleader is in Dr. Fred's clutches. So round up your pals, take a deep breath, and get ready for the weirdest, funniest adventure of your life.

An adventure so compelling, you'll never want to leave... which is just what Dr. Fred wants. "Heh, Heh, Heh..."

  • Sophisticated, off the wall humour throughout.
  • Learn to play in minutes... clear plot and game objectives.
  • No typing ever, just 'point 'n' click' to select characters, objectives and actions.
  • Over 400 objects to discover.
  • Five different stories with different ways to win.
  • Rich in graphical details with a variety of play options.
  • All sorts of zany allies and adversaries.
  • Many, many hours of rewarding fun for the beginner and the serious adventurer.

"Great! Maniac Mansion is utterly brilliant"

ST Action

"Maniac Mansion is a brilliant adventure on its own, but when you include its interactiveness you really have a winner... worth every single penny!" Amiga Action

"A brilliant spoof... the outstanding graphics and sound effects, combined with the twisted humour, will take Maniac Mansion straight into the charts. Rush out and buy it now!" Your Amiga

Source:

Back of Box - DOS (Kixx XL release) (UK)

EIN SPIEL WIE IM KINO

Die Geschichte beginnt vor 20 Jahren in einer schwülen Sommernacht. Die Luft war wie elektrisiert. Plötzlich zerfetze ein ohrenbetäubender Knall die unheimliche Stille. Mit einem gleißenden Feuerstrahl stieß ein Meteor aus dem nachtdunklen Himmel auf die Erde hinab. Seit diesem Tag gehen unerklärliche Dinge in dem Jaus von Dr. Fred – dem Maniac Mansion – vor.

IN DEUTSCH

AUF DEM BILDSCHIRM UND IM HANDBUCH

Dies ist eine Story über: Anonyme Anrufe, Atomreaktoren. Außerirdische. Einbrüche, elektrische Zäune, gerissene Verleger, Habgier, hysterische Tiere, Kidnapping. klassische Automobile. Liebe, Lust. lila Schleim. medizinische Experimente, Microwellenherde. Mutanten. Postbetrug, Punk, Reichtum, Rock ‘n‘ Roll, Säfte. Strahlenanzüge. Talkmaster, unentwickelte Fotos, Wahnsinn und... Weltherrschaft.

*“…Die verrückte Story könnte ich mir gut von Regisseur Steven Spielberg inszeniert vorstellen – aber wofür brauchen wir Spielberg, wenn wir es mit dem Joystick selber können?

Das ist Software, die zeigt, was fähige Programmierer können: komplex, benutzerfreundlich und höchst unterhaltsam…“

Boris Schneider, Happy Computer 10/87*

Source:

Print advertisement - Power Play 1

Quick, Dr. Fred's Kidnapped Sandy and he's about to start the experiment... Dave and his friends have come to rescue Sandy before she donates her brains to Dr. Fred. And you are the brains behind their efforts to solve the many mysteries of Maniac Mansion…

• What really happened when that meteor landed 20 years ago? • How did it change Dr. Fred, Nurse Edna, and Weird Ed? • What is a Green Tentacle and how do you feed it? • Why is there a chainsaw in the kitchen? • Why is there a nuclear reactor in the basement? • How does Razor get her hair to stand up like that? • Why does Dr. Fred keep going, "Heh, heh, heh..."? • Explore room after room. Collect weird stuff. Laugh out loud. Feel a little spooky. • Choose your own reckless rescue trio from seven unlikely volunteers. • Five exciting ways to unravel the mystery. Hundreds of hilarious ways to guess wrong! • No typing ever! Point 'n' click to select characters, objects and actions.

Source:

GOG.com


Contributed by Patrick Bregger, Belboz, te_lanus, Jason Harang, Havoc Crow.


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