"Tuna-heads, hampters, and tentacles, oh my!"

One of the true legends of the video game industry on both NES and PC, Maniac Mansion stands out as one of the few truly great point-and-click crusades. Although its dark sense of humor was later later censored a bit in the NES versions (there were two NES versions released), it stayed true to its twisted charm.

Maniac Mansion is a story of teen heartthrob Dave's search for his kidnapped girlfriend. As the title screen clearly states, though, something happened 20 years ago today. A meteor fell and proceeded to do weird things to an already weird bunch of people. To get to your imprisoned girlfriend, you'll have to outwit the residents of the house on a regular basis (sometimes even forming alliances with them), find creative ways to do just about everything, and get every item possible that will help you with your final showdown with the Doc.

The style of gameplay that this game utilizes was unique for the time and is still quite rare for today. You don't control Dave and his one or two (it again depends on the version you have) teammates directly, but instead control an arrow cursor and a list of verbs. Sound insane? Actually, it works pretty well. It takes a little bit of practice to be able to ''run away'' from something at a steady rate, but other than that, the control method is actually solid. Although a common complaint seems to be that you simply have too many verbs (some of them you'll never actually use), I feel this adds even more to the style of gameplay, as it lets you decide which commands are useful and which aren't. I like a game that doesn't have to spell out what you should do with what item.

Likewise, there are many items that serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever (I won't tell you which ones, as it would likely spoil part of the game for you), which I also appreciate for the above reason.

There are several different ways to tackle the game, each depending on what kid(s) you choose to help Dave. Bernard is a technologically and mechanically strong-minded (in other words, he's a nerd), Wendy is an avid writer, and both Syd and Razor love to jam. It's up to you to find out how these things will help you along the way.

One of the things that add a true hint of true danger in the atmosphere is that your characters aren't represented as immortal or unbeatable. If you're not careful, your kids will not only be regularly captured, but they could die in any number of ways. Most of these can be avoided with simple common sense, though, so don't worry too much about it.

The visuals also play their role in setting the mood for this game. All of the rooms are simply gorgeous, and the character models, while showing their age, were a welcome change of pace from the old ''2x2/2x4 pixel'' characters you saw all over the place at the time. You'll see all the items that you want to get before you pick them up (after all, it'd be a bit hard to point the cursor at it if you didn't), and no expense has been spared on the articulation. (Remember the time period we're talking about, though.)

There are also timed events and conversations that take place throughout the game. These events will also play a role in where you go and what you do; not to mention why you're doing it. Once again, I can't tell you WHAT these events are, you'll just have to see for yourself.

Now, it would simply not be fair if I didn't mention the characters and conversations in this game, as they are some of the funniest I have ever witnessed (and were just as funny in the game's sequel ''Day of the Tentacle''). These characters include a manic-depressive tentacle, a surfer who's afraid of the water, and a green-faced commando bent on overthrowing the lab his own way, among many, many others. The conversations are also some of the most memorable in the game industry, as every single person who's played it will clearly remember one-liners like ''Intruder alert!'' and my personal favorite, ''Where's the cheese?'' (Once again, I won't tell you when these lines happen, as it might spoil part of the game.)

The absolute best thing, though, is just the mind-boggling things you can do in this game. Some of the most hilarious skits in the game are started by taking part in the most pointless of activities. I just simply can't state enough the sheer magnitude of things you can do.

So how does this game stand the test of time? Well, because there's maybe three American citizens who have a floppy disk drive anymore (those statistics have yet to be confirmed), you'll very likely have to play the Nintendo version, unless you can get someone to convert it for you like I did. Don't feel bad, though. The NES version is almost every bit as good. It'd only score one point lower because of the aforementioned censorship of the game. I would absolutely encourage you to go out and get this game. Even if you don't have an old NES and have to go to the thrift store and buy the one with the broken power button that you have to press with a butterknife (sadly, yes, I do have a precedent for that visual...), you should get this priceless jewel of a game now.

The bottom line (ratings based on their standings when the game was released):

Concept - A rescue game where you control an arrow instead of a person.
9

Graphics - Simply breathtaking for such an old bird.
10

Sound - Ever kid has his own theme song, and there are accurate (if a bit goofy) sound effects abound.
9

Controls - Easy to learn, tough to master. Is there any other way to go?
10

Entertainment - A thrilling, hilarious ride to the end.
10

OVERALL - 9

Current-day value HIGHLY collectable.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/26/02, Updated 03/26/02