Maniac Mansion

aka: MM
Moby ID: 714
Apple II Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/28 1:53 AM )

Description official descriptions

The Edison mansion has always been a creepy old house on the edge of town. There have been rumors of strange experiments going on and of odd creatures living amongst the Edison family. There is even a story that a meteorite once crashed near the home nearly 20 years ago. More immediately, a girl named Sandy has gone missing from the local highschool and her boyfriend Dave swears that he saw Dr. Fred abducting her. Dave knows that he cannot do it alone and will need help from two other students if he has any hope of infiltrating the mansion and rescuing Sandy.

Players start by choosing two students to accompany Dave to the Edison mansion, and can then switch between these three characters at will. Most actions are carried out by selecting verbs on the screen and applying them to an object (such as "OPEN Door"). Each character maintains a separate personality and may have a different way to solve a problem from his classmates. Thus many of the puzzles can be overcome in different ways depending on the character being used. If any one of the kids are captured by the Edisons, they are thrown into the dungeon and must be rescued themselves by any character who still has their freedom.

GOG release includes both Original and Enhanced game versions.

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Apple II version)

22 People (20 developers, 2 thanks) · View all

Produced by the
  • Lucasfilm Games Division
Created and Designed by
Programmed by
Graphic Art and Animation by
Sound Effects by
Original Music by
Apple Conversion Special Support by
Creative and Technical support by
Lucasfilm Games General Manager
Production and Marketing Management by
Administrative Support by
Lead Playtester
Special thanks to
  • The many other playtesters; especially Tom and Darrell
  • George Lucas
Box Cover Art by
Package and manual designed by
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 83% (based on 53 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 282 ratings with 16 reviews)

A rare treat!

The Good
Maniac Mansion features impressive graphics, music and sound effects. The eccentric characters, puzzlers, parodies and witty humor from the computer game are all here. If you like graphic adventure games and own a 8-bit Nintendo, then you need to play this game!

The Bad
Nintendo insisted that several things be censored before the game could be released. If you are familiar with the original computer version, you will notice the content changes and get a kick out of the Big N's censorship. Despite the strict content guidelines, some versions of the game do allow you to kidnap and brutally kill a pet hamster by frying him in the microwave.

The Bottom Line
Maniac Mansion is one of the few point n' click, graphic adventure games for the 8-bit Nintendo. The home console version is as fun to play as the computer version, with the biggest complaint being the silly and uptight content changes that were ordered.

NES · by ETJB (428) · 2010

A Fantastic Game for Those who GET IT!

The Good
What did I like about the game? Everything! In fact, it hurt a lot to read the comments of others (especially considering the poor use of grammar and spelling). So many people missed the point of the game: it's supposed to provide a good time. While others were busy nitpicking the "poor" graphics and bad story line, I was busy having a blast playing the game.

I don't simply like the game because it heralded a new era in graphic adventures. Why do you think all those other graphic adventures came after Maniac Mansion? Because of the precedence set by Maniac Mansion! Do you honestly believe that if Maniac Mansion was a poorly-conceived flop, other graphic adventures, such as the Monkey Island series, would have been released? No! Corporations may not always know what product will turn out to be good or bad until it's released, but sales figures and customer feedback doesn't lie! Maniac Mansion was a solid hit in 1987, and it has left a legacy still being felt today.

The game play is great! Even though the graphics were unrealistic, I was still panicking (and yes, putting an ING after panic includes a "k") when Weird Ed (one of the villains) comes down to get the door and I'm still in the living room.

The creators of "Monkey Island" didn't wake up to a comic epiphany in the middle of the night. The comic genius of the creators is very evident in Maniac Mansion, even though some of it is missing in the watered down NES version (by the way, there is much more to Maniac Mansion than you think. You should read "The Expurgation of Maniac Mansion" at http://dott.mixnmojo.com)

I can't say enough about the game.

The Bad
There's all sorts of reasons why people don't like the game, I'll describe the most common complaints:

THE GAME GRAPHICS ARE BAD! Well, no offense, but "DUH!" The game was made in 1987. Also, if some gamers find that graphics are the sole point of playing a game, then they should probably consider playing more "up to date," "shooter" games. The graphics adventure genre probably goes over their heads anyway.

THE PLOT'S STUPID! And so are the special effects on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Have many gamers missed the point? It's a PARODY of really bad teenage entertainment of the '80s (do I have to bring up "Hobgoblins?"). Obviously people associate bad graphics (due to being dated, not the fact that they were particularly bad in the first place) with a bad plot! If you're not looking for humor in a game, might I suggest "Loom?"

IT'S SO OLD! Well, granted there are nice things about games being new, but who says that old is the same as bad? Is the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" bad? Is the Mona Lisa or Michaelangelo's "David" lame because they're aged?

The only complaint I've ever had about the game was the fact that you can waste certain objects that will become necessary in a future puzzle. This will just teach you to be careful and save the game often.

The Bottom Line
How would I describe this game to others? I don't know, let's see...will I have to use picture flashcards?

Some think that Maniac Mansion is remembered fondly because it brought about a new age in graphic adventures. On the contrary, Maniac Mansion was so GOOD that it was able to bring about a new age in graphic adventures. If Maniac Mansion really was as bad as some of these reviews describe, most of the games would have been banished to the backs of closets and landfills across the U.S. by now.

Serious graphics adventure gamers who are looking for a campy classic, listen up! Don't let the "McDonalds-esque" instant-gratification gamers deceive you! If you're looking for a solidly built graphic adventure from a long forgotten era where gameplay mattered more than whiz-bang special effects, THIS GAME IS FOR YOU! Get to eBay immediately and pick up a copy. You certainly won't break the bank, they only go for $3-4.

DOS · by X X (3) · 2002

Great game...looking at some of these other reviews makes me very upset.

The Good
What can I say? This game is what we should thank for the majority of all of the games today. Whether you originally played this on your Amiga, PC, or Nintendo, it sticks with you. I think some of you like Day of the Tentacle more (Oh, and don't get me wrong, either. I LOVED Day of the Tentacle) only because it has BETTER graphics! The game is funny, has a wacky and interesting storyline, and is funny. I don't know how it can be so criticized so much, it STARTED the SCUMM engine!

The Bad
If I have to be skeptical, I'd have to say....

NOTHING

The Bottom Line
The game is simply fun, and that's the whole point of a video game, right? I never thought that games were made to be frustrating..just fun. It's probably different from anything that most gamers have played, because sadly, there aren't has many old Lucasfilm graphic advneture fans as there should be.

Highly recommended.

DOS · by Jason Harang (38) · 2001

[ View all 16 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Famicom version -- new entry? Pseudo_Intellectual (66274) Jul 21, 2012

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Maniac Mansion appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Chuck the plant

In the mansion's library, there is an un-useable plant called "Chuck the Plant" The plant also appears in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in Henry's room, and Day of the Tentacle in the lobby.

Copy protection

The computer versions featured an humorous copy protection scheme. In a new game a player entered the house, walked upstairs and are confronted by a giant iron bolted door which opens after entering four correct symbols on the keypad as shown in "Nuke'm Alarms - Nukes Burglars in their tracks: Owner's Disarmament Quick Reference Guide" included with the game. The wrong answer proved fatal!

Day of the Tentacle

Maniac Mansion is included as a bonus game inside Day of the Tentacle (on Ed's computer).

Hamster in the microwave

Players can microwave the hamster in any of the computer releases (but not the European NES version), but they have to use a sick-minded character (such as Syd or Razor) when doing it. Showing the exploded hamster to Weird Ed will make him kill that character.

NES version

The game was ported not once, but twice, to the NES. One version was made in America, while another one was made by Jaleco in Japan. The two versions look very different. It was one of the very few NES games to be translated into Spanish.

Many things had to be censored/changed to comply with Nintendo's policies: * Some of the language was toned down, for example: "The meteor is going to be pissed" was changed to "The meteor is going to be mad." * The "KILL THRILL" arcade game was changed to "TUNA" * "For a good time EDNA 3444" was changed to "Call Edna 3444"

A complete list of changes and more info can be found at http://www.crockford.com/wrrrld/maniac.html

In the European NES version, additionally the possibility to microwave the hamster was removed. In turn, at least in the German version, some linguistic points from the above list are closer to the original.

References

  • The name of Razor's punk band is "Razor and the Scummettes", a reference to the SCUMM graphical interface used by LucasArts adventures.
  • There is an X-Wing model in Ed's room.
  • The speakers in the green tentacle's room are "THX" sound speakers. THX is a high-quality sound technology developed by Lucasfilm.

Zak McKracken

Connections between Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken (based on Amiga version): * In the game room there's a Zak McKracken poster. * In Maniac Mansion there's a chainsaw that has no gas. In the game Zak McKracken there is a can of gas on Mars. The can reads, "For use with chainsaws only". When trying to pick it up the character says, "I don't need it. It's for a different game." * "Tuna head" is said in both games. One of the aliens in Zak McKracken is always saying, "Tum de dum." In Maniac Mansion when Weird Ed is walking through the kitchen to get his cheese he says, "Tum te dum." * It appears that Zak happens to be going out with Sandy from Maniac Mansion. In Zak McKracken, if players go away and come back home enough times and keep checking the answering machine they will soon get a message from Weird Ed from Maniac Mansion. He calls up about going to a monster truck show, and that he'll come by with Sandy at 6:00 in the Edsel. * In Zak McKracken, at the police station in Nepal: there is a wanted poster for the purple meteor.

Remake

The German LucasFan Games developed a freeware 256-colour remake called Maniac Mansion Deluxe.

TV series

The game spawned a comedy series on the Family Channel in the early 90's.

Awards

  • Commodore Format
    • April 1991 (Issue 7) - listed in the A to Z of Classic Games article (Great)
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 03/2013 – One of the "Ten Best C64 Games“
  • Happy Computer
    • Issue 01/1988 - Best Game Idea in 1987
  • Power Play
    • 1987 - #2 Best C64 Game '87

Information also contributed by Игги Друге, Der.Archivar, Garcia, Jason Harang, kelmer44, Hitman23, Ricky Derocher, Tiago Jacques, whatt, Ye Olde Infocomme Shoppe

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Maniac Mansion Deluxe
Released 2004 on Linux, Windows
Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle
Released 1993 on DOS, 1996 on Macintosh
Maniac Inc.
Released 2016 on Macintosh, Browser, Windows
Wrestle Maniac
Released 1986 on TRS-80 CoCo
Maniac Miner
Released 1983 on Atari 8-bit
Maniac Aracs
Released 2013 on Windows
Maniac Path
Released 2020 on Windows
Mogul Maniac
Released 1983 on Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit
Maniac Sports
Released 1994 on Windows 3.x, Macintosh

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 714
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Tony Van.

Amiga added by POMAH. Commodore 64 added by Rebound Boy. Windows, Macintosh, Linux added by Sciere. NES added by jeremy strope. Antstream added by lights out party. Apple II, Atari ST added by Servo.

Additional contributors: Jason Harang, Jeanne, tFX, Shoddyan, Sciere, Pseudo_Intellectual, Ricky Derocher, Zeppin, Patrick Bregger, Maniac Mansion Fan, Izmir Egal, Fred Zanfardino, Victor Vance, FatherJack, ZeTomes.

Game added January 10, 2000. Last modified February 27, 2024.