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Maniac Mansion

aka: MM
Moby ID: 714
box cover
Released
September 1987 on Apple II
Credits
22 people
Releases by Date (by platform)
Publishers
Developers
Moby Score
7.7
#4,560 of 24.2K
Critics
83% (53)
Players
(282)
Review Ranking
Collected By
344 players
Genre
Adventure
Perspective
Side view
Visual
2D scrolling
Gameplay
Graphic adventure
Puzzle elements
Interface
Point and select
Narrative
Comedy
Apple II Specs
Business Model
Commercial
Media Type
5.25" Floppy Disk
Input Devices Supported/Optional
Keyboard
Number of Players Supported
1 Player
[ view all 48 specs ]
Buy on Commodore 64
$1,498.00 used on eBay
Buy on NES
$30.00 used, $1,999.38 new on eBay
Buy on Windows
$5.99 new on Steam
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 4/17 9:28 AM )
Conversion (unofficial) Included in

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.

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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)

Ahhh, those were the days...

The Good
Aside from the unusual combination of characters that was akin to the classic bad B-film (from the musicians to the journalist to the techie to the surfer dude who did, well... no, I'm not going to spoil it :), it was also the first game that introduced me to the Lucasarts world and hooked me in straight.
The graphics, where everyone had big heads, and the people talked like it was out of a B-film (smileys all around). I enjoyed the clear-cut humor it gave me (not to mention the strange opening music and the many times I got to watch the mansion blow up in a five mile radius) and the odd combinations of things you could do. Even the fact that some of the ways you could die were incredible (toxic steam! AUUUUGH!) If you like a game that is based on movies that you have to stay up till five in the morning to watch, then by all means you'll enjoy this game at least for watching.

The Bad
Okay, I understand that back then mice were one of those rare devices, but mouse support would have been soooooo sweet, especially when avoiding all of those crazy Edison kinfolk. Aside from that, it had a high difficulty gradient; maybe it would be best if you watched this game rather than played it if you aren't accustomed to these sort of games.

One comment - DYING?? In a LUCASARTS game?????

The Bottom Line
Rough, but rewarding in the end. Always go for Bernard, baby!.

DOS · by Don Lee (8) · 2000

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

Groundwork for some of the best adventure games of the '80s/'90s.

The Good
The historical value of this game is huge: It was the very first of LucasArts' games to feature the SCUMM (Script Creation Utility For Maniac Mansion) engine, a groundbreaking platform that featured many classic adventure games over the course of the '80s and '90s (such as the Monkey Island series, Day Of The Tentacle and Sam & Max).

It's certainly interesting to play through this game in light of having played through the 'classic' SCUMM games: You can then see how the genre has evolved over time.

The Bad
Some puzzles are quite a bit harder than those found in other LucasArts games; can be dull/frustrating if you get stuck. The interface isn't as intuitive as is found in later SCUMM games, so it can be confusing at times.

I expect that if you played this in 1987 you would really enjoy it and find the graphics and sound to be excellent. Nowadays, it just doesn't stand up to the later SCUMM games in terms of storyline, humor, graphics and just about everything else. I found it interesting to play, but not that much fun really.

The Bottom Line
If you're a fan of SCUMM games, then you need to play this game (make sure to play the enhanced version). If not, stick to the later SCUMM games to fully experience and appreciate the genius of LucasArts.

DOS · by tFX (7) · 2003

[ View all 16 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Famicom version -- new entry? Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) 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

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 714
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Tony Van.

Amiga added by POMAH. Commodore 64 added by Rebound Boy. Linux, Windows, Macintosh added by Sciere. NES added by jeremy strope. Antstream added by lights out party. Atari ST, Apple II 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 April 1, 2024.