Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle

aka: DOTT, Den' Schupaltsa, Der Tag des Tentakels, Il Giorno del Tentacolo, Maniac Mansion 2, Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle
Moby ID: 719
DOS Specs

Description official descriptions

Purple Tentacle, one of the crazy Dr. Fred's creations, drinks contaminated water from Dr. Fred's Sludge-o-matic. He mutates into an insane genius and grows arms, and now he's plotting to take over the world. In an effort to stop him, Dr. Fred sends three friends, Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne back in time to yesterday, in order for them to turn off the Sludge-o-Matic and stop the sludge from spilling into the river, thus preventing the whole incident. Naturally, the cheap doctor uses a fake diamond over a real one in his time machine, which blows up sending Hoagie 200 years into the past and Laverne 200 years into the future.

Now the player must bring back Hoagie and Laverne, with the help of the time machine's ability to move objects between time periods, and then stop evil Purple from taking over the world.

Day of the Tentacle is a point-and-click adventure game and a sequel to Maniac Mansion. The player controls Bernard, and later also Hoagie and Laverne, being able to switch between them at any time. By using the commands at the bottom of the screen, the character can pick up items, use them on other things, talk to people, and more. Any of the three friends can also send his items across time to another friend.

The game takes place in the same area, but in three different eras, and thus affecting history takes a vital part in some puzzles. For instance, Hoagie can hide an item in the 18th century, and Laverne discovers it in the 23rd century - but by then, the item may have been affected by time and changed its properties.

The CD version of the game contains voice-overs for all the dialogues.

Spellings

  • День Щупальца - Russian spelling
  • יומו של הטנטקל - Hebrew spelling
  • 瘋狂時代 - Traditional Chinese spelling

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Credits (DOS version)

134 People (121 developers, 13 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 93% (based on 37 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 392 ratings with 8 reviews)

Make my day tentacle....

The Good
Lucasarts proved they couldn't be beaten to the top in the adventure genre when they released this baby. Generally regarded as one of the best adventure games ever made, DOTT managed to overcome it's "being the sequel to" stigma (in this case the legendary Maniac Mansion) and instead managed to become a killer game in it's own right, surpassing the original in many aspects.

Ron Gilbert may not have leaded this particular game, but Tim Schafer proved that if someone could beat ol' man Gilbert at his own game was him, and designed a magnificent adventure game that follows the wacky tradition set by the original. Years have passed and after a typically cooky event (toxic waste turns purple tentacle evil!!!.......snif.... Ed Wood would be proud) all hell breaks loose and the green tentacle asks for the help of the only member of the original Maniac Mansion gang still around: super-geek extraordinaire Bernard, whom with the aid of new friends Hoagie (total asskicker) and Laverne (kind of a letdown) journeys to the Edison's mansion to see what's cooking. Once in the mansion you'll get zapped in a time-travelling plot which leaves each character stranded in a different time period and from that point on it's typical adventure gaming goodness as you switch from each of the 3 characters in standard MM-fashion trying to solve deduction and inventory-based puzzles and teaming-up (and I do mean teaming-up!) for a grand finale against Purple tentacle.

So far we have a typical adventure game, sure there's the wacky B-movie plotline that spoofs ol' sci-fi flicks but aside from it there's nothing super-duper about it. What sets DOTT appart from other games is that the technology finally catched up with the narrative in terms of wackyness. Taking it's cues from classic animated works, the artists of DOTT crafted a bizarre visual world in par with the one the script called for. Thus, all the characters are wildly distorted to cartoony proportions, and the backgrounds and items are drawn in wild perspectives, with lots of jagged lines and distorting stuff which gives it a distinct graphic look similar to the Ren & Stimpy cartoons in their graphical surreality. Heck, even the font used in the SCUMM interface is all twitchy and wacky!!

However the real genius of DOTT is that the cartoony look is not just a graphical gimmick, it's a core aspect of it's design thus it's present in it's storyline, graphics and gameplay, making for a tightly designed package that never lets you down. Because the graphics and story may be as wacky as you can imagine, but if the puzzles are all "use hammer on nail" then we have a problem. Fortunately the puzzles in MM follow equally weird rules and include washing a car to summon rain (loved that one!) for example, thus providing a gameplay experience on par with the story and graphics.

Plus it includes the complete original masterpiece Maniac Mansion in it!!!

The Bad
Pretty much the only thing I missed was the fact that Bernard was the only returning character from the old MM gang, and while Hoagie is an excellent addition, Laverne was far lower on the "cool-o-meter" for me. And I also would have loved to have some good old cheesy horror spoofs as in the original. DOTT is more of a "just" sci-fi game.

So yeah, I'm bitching. But I would have Killed to be able to play as Bernard, Syd an Razor!! And Hoagie of course!!

The Bottom Line
Incredible game that has to be played to be believed. Another masterpiece by Lucasarts, another milestone in the world of adventure games. Both honors it's tradition and surpasses it. Memo to the powers-that-be: make Day of the tentacle a worldwide holiday!

DOS · by Zovni (10504) · 2001

A ludicrously funny romp through time!

The Good
The best thing about this game was the name of the time machines. How could anyone resist travelling in a Chron-O-John? Little jokes like that, along with funny sight gags, such as Bernard scratching himself or Hoagie belching if you leave him alone for too long, are evidence of the great effort put forth by the developers of this game.

The game's storyline flows very smoothly with fabulously done cut-scenes. I thought it was awesome when I reached the first scene after finding Dr. Fred's secret lab. Who can forget Hoagie hanging ten in his Chron-O-John?

Another bonus was that you actually play the old Maniac Mansion while playing DOT!! Of course, you also have to use Maniac Mansion's poor mouse interface,

The Bad
Nothing, really. A very fulfilling computer entertainment experience.

The Bottom Line
A great game that you definitely should rush to play if you can get your hands on it.

DOS · by Michael Reznick (37) · 2000

Even funnier than Maniac Mansion

The Good
When you start Day of the Tentacle, you can see why it is the sequel to Maniac Mansion. All the characters are here from the original, including Green and Purple Tentacle, Weird Ed, Nurse Edna, and of course, Doctor Fred. In Maniac Mansion, you selected three of nine people that will rescue Sandy from the clutches of Doctor Fred and stop him from turning her into a zombie

There are a lot of differences between this game and Day of the Tentacle. For example, there are over 100 zany sound effects, which you can hear through your Sound Blaster, not the PC speaker. Also, whereas the original game allowed you to select three of the nine characters to choose from, you can’t in this game. Instead, you control three university students: Bernard, the character you could select from Maniac Mansion and has experience with a lot of technology; Hoagie, a member of an unknown metal band; and Laverne, a feisty medical student whose favorite Edison is Cousin Ted.

They receive a letter from Green Tentacle saying that Doctor Fred is planning to kill both him and Purple Tentacle, so they all go on a rescue mission to save them from execution. Later, after the rescue, Doctor Fred must turn off the Sludge-O-Matic machine to prevent the sludge from intoxicating the river. Realizing it is too late, he attempts to transport Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne to yesterday to fix the problem. However, due to the fake diamond that he installed in the time machine, the machine malfunctions, sending Hoagie 200 years in the past, Laverne 200 years in the future, and Bernard back to the present. To make matters worse, Purple Tentacle goes out to take over the world and enslave all humanity, and in the process, he manages to steal diamonds and do some cow tipping.

Apart from Bernard, everybody must find a way to transport themselves back to the present. Bernard, on the other hand, must order a real diamond to replace the broken one. You control him at first, but if you get the Super Battery Plans that Doctor Fred asks you to get, you can switch to Hoagie, in the past. And if you do something in the past that will affect the future, you might get to control Laverne. All three characters can exchange objects that will help them in their quest by flushing them down the toilet (known as the Chron-O-John, a device which was used to transport the characters through time).

Only the Edison family may still be living in the present, but a few other characters can only be found in the past and future time periods. In the past for example, the mansion is where the famous presidents live, and the only Edison living there is Red Edison. In the future, tentacles take control of the mansion where the Edisons are prisoners in their own home.

Day of the Tentacle uses the SCUMM interface similar to Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, where nine verbs are displayed to the left of the inventory, and you choose one to perform an action. This type of interface certainly has few less commands than Maniac Mansion. When I first played this game, I found that I didn’t know what half of the commands do, but Tentacle’s interface is easy to use.

Two versions of Tentacle exist: the floppy disk version, and the CD-ROM version. There is not much difference between the two, apart from the fact that the CD-ROM version has full speech, featuring the voice of Richard Sanders as Bernard. The disk version has speech in the introduction, but it’s “text only” for the rest of the game. Back in the present, there is a computer in the mansion, and if you decide to use it, you can actually play Maniac Mansion (in both versions), which has its advantages and disadvantages. It may save you money from buying the game, but the sounds and graphics are not nearly as good as the stand-alone version, and the paths you must take to complete the game are no different.

Chuck Jones, the director of old Looney Tunes cartoons, consulted with LucasArts and helped them design the graphics. The result is beautifully hand-drawn graphics and smooth textures. The game is also very funny. Do nothing in the present and Bernard will pick his nose. Give Doctor Fred a cup of decaf coffee and he’ll sleepwalk and immediately remember the combination to his safe. Blow Washington’s teeth out and give him chattering teeth, and his mouth doesn’t stop moving. More often than not, Laverne walks around with her arms out while she walks, behaving like an airplane.

The Bad
Too short.

The Bottom Line
Day of the Tentacle is even funnier than LucasArt’s past adventures. If you like a bit of comedy, or if you’ve play Maniac Mansion, then it’s worth buying this game. ****½

DOS · by Katakis | カタキス (43092) · 2003

[ View all 8 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

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

CD version

The CD version of the game features speech and no copy protection.

Development

At one point during DOTT's development, the artists consulted with legendary animator Chuck Jones.

Maniac Mansion

Contains the original Maniac Mansion as an actual computer game (on a computer) inside the game.

Music

The music playing during the intro is the ouverture to the opera Wilhelm Tell by the famous 19th century opera composer Gioachino Rossini.

References

  • In the mansion 200 years in the past, a picture of Max from Sam & Max Hit the Road can be seen.
  • Check out the Darth Vader calendar in Dr. Fred's office! You can also spot the Stormtrooper helmet in Green Tentacle's room (above the stereo and a bit to the left).
  • The title for Day of the Tentacle has obviously been influenced by the novel titled Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. In this sci-fi novel, carnivorous, walking plants called 'Triffids', after waiting for the perfect opportunity, decide to end the reign of Humanity and take on the world.
  • Maniac Mansion is more than just a game within a game, it's also an integral part of the plot. Dr. Fred and his family (within Day of the Tentacle) licensed themselves into Maniac Mansion and should have become rich off the royalties. Well as luck would have it, the contract was never signed and so Dr. Fred lost out. During the course of the game's plot, you'll have to deal with this situation and get Dr. Fred reimbursed by the lawyers at Lucasarts.
  • Dr. Fred mentions the royalties that he lost from the 1990 TV Show based on his life, the YTV/Family Channel sitcom, Maniac Mansion, which takes great liberties from the source material.
  • The Couch Potato's Buying Network (shopping channel) within the game instructs viewers to call their operators at 1-800-STAR-WARS , otherwise known as the Lucasarts' hotline.
  • In DOTT, there is a reference to the Commodore 64 computer. The original version of Maniac Mansion was released for the Commodore and is the same version that can be played in Weird Eds room. Get Bernard to "talk to" the computer and he'll say something like "Hello computer, I still love you even though you have 64k of memory", This refers to the fact that Commodore 64s had 64k of RAM, and yes, Weird Ed's computer is obviously a Commodore 64
  • In the plot of the game, you are forced to use a microwave 200 years in the future to melt the frozen hamster left in the ice bin from 200 years ago. Laverne hopes that the microwaves aren't like the ones back in her time because they could really pop a hamster good. This is reference to the fact that you could microwave Ed's hamster in Maniac Mansion (causing the hamster to explode). Another reference to this is the fact that Ed's hamster used to be brown with white spots, now it is just brown.

References to the game

In The Secret Of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, Sam & Max can be seen outside of the Monkey Head Temple respectively in the Costume Store on Booty Island. In the Special Edition remakes of these games, the characters can still be seen in classic mode. However, when the games are hotswapped to the Special Edition modes they are replaced by Purple Tentacle!

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • June 1994 (Issue #119) – Adventure Game of the Year (together with Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers)
    • March 1996 (Issue #140) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) - #34 in “150 Best Games of All Time" list
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) –#3 Funniest Computer Game
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – Most Memorable Game Villain (Purple Tentacle)
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 12/1999 - #32 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
  • PC Powerplay (Germany)
    • Issue 06/2005 - #3 Likeable Secondary Character (for Bernhard, Hoagie and Laverne)
    • Issue 11/2005 - #7 Game Which Absolutely Needs A Sequel
  • Power Play
    • Issue 02/1994 – Best Sequel in 1993

Information also contributed by Adam Baratz, Jason Harang, Paul Graves, PCGamer77, Rambutaan, Scott G, Tomar Gabel, Unicorn Lynx, WildKard and Ye Old Infocomme Shoppe

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Related Sites +

  • Day After Day of the Tentacle
    A (n apparently on hiatus) web comic strip dealing with day to day interactions between residents and guests in the Edison family mansion; all character and background art in the comic strip has been appropriated from the game.
  • Hints for DOTT
    Jason Strautman wrote this wonderful group of helpful hints. They are designed to give you nudges before the final solutions are revealed.
  • IGCD Internet Game Cars Database
    Game page on IGCD, a database that tries to archive vehicles found in video games.
  • Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle - FAQs & Guides
    Various files on GameFaqs.com
  • ScummVM
    Get "Day of the Tentacle", as well as many other adventure games, to run on modern systems by using ScummVM, a legal and free program.
  • The Making of Maniac Mansion
    a Word document which appeared in Edge magazine dated July 5, 2005

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 719
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Tomer Gabel.

Macintosh added by Jason Savage.

Additional contributors: Trixter, PCGamer77, Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, Apogee IV, Pseudo_Intellectual, Dan K, Crawly, 6⅞ of Nine, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger, Victor Vance, FatherJack.

Game added January 10, 2000. Last modified February 23, 2024.