Maniac Mansion: Nintendo Classic Game Review

After coming across a very vague review on one of my favorite Nintendo classic games, I had to go into my basement dig up my old console, wipe it of dirt and dust, and pray it still worked. I needed to do all this because I wanted to get in some game time with one of my favorite classics, Maniac Mansion. The game is old school, and not many people have ever heard of it, let alone played it. Fear not though, this title can still be found on ebay. Anyhow, Maniac Mansion takes place in the Edsel mansion owned by Dr. Fred. You see a meteorite landed on his lawn which in turn turned Dr. Fred into a maniac taken over by some crazed space ghoul's. He in turn kidnaps Sandy to use in his latest evil experiment. It is now up to Dave; Sandy's boyfriend and his friends to save her from the evil Dr. Fred.

The game is like a mystery where every turn could either lead you to a very disappointing game over, or to the basement where you have to discover the secret loose brick to activate a door that will open and free your player.

Dave and his 6 friends explore the mansion and all of it's secrets in order to move on throughout the mansion. What is neat about the game is that each character can be switched back and forth. So if you are playing with Dave, you can switch to another character.

Throughout the game going into one room could mean being captured and thrown into the basement prison. The game without a guide is a game of chance. Choose a wrong door and it could be all over. Choose the right door, and you will advance.

The same goes for items. Throughout the mansion are hidden items. If your character uses that item correctly they will advance... give that item away though, and it could mean game over.

Other things to look out for are Dr. Fred's teen children, who will imprison you. Also be on the look out for green and purple tentacles. They resemble possessed octopus's, and will require you to feed them, or gain their trust in order to pass through.

As a kid I remember the game becoming very frustrating, as I was summoned tons of game overs, and tons of basement jail time. All in all though once you get to know the mansion, and where things are hidden, you can easily breeze through the game in 3 hours or so. The most annoying thing about it is that if one of your characters dies you may have to start the game all over again, because if they died with an item you needed, you can not continue on in the game. Highly annoying if you were pretty far into game play.

Overall:
 
Maniac Mansion is a sweet game that is like a treasure hunt, a game of wits, a mystery, and a game of chance all mixed into one. I enjoyed playing the game as a child, and enjoyed it just as much reviving it in my adult years for game play.

Graphics:
 
Looking at Maniac Mansion now will of course make your jaw drop in how lame it looks graphic wise. However for its time this game had some pretty neat graphics when I was a kid I admired them and felt they looked pretty realistic.


Sounds:
 
The sounds played in the game were always cool. If you were about to land into trouble certain scary music would play. Each character also had their own theme music, which I always, and still think is cool in this game.

Controls:
 
You basically lead your character to areas in the mansion by cruising the pointer arrow over to that area, and directing your character there. It is a little tedious when text menus pop up giving you a list of things you can do. Such as move here, pick up flashlight, place here, give... once you get the hang of it though, it simply adds to the charm of the game. At first though its slightly annoying.

Re-Play:
 
Obviously it has re-play value, especially if I find myself going back to the game 15 or 16 years later after first playing it. The game will take you weeks to complete if you don't cheat and seek out online guides and walkthroughs. Maniac Mansion also has alternative endings, depending on which character you beat the game with. So re-play value is pretty decent.

I'd recommend this to old school game players, as well as new ones. Maniac Mansion was always fun, and is still fun. Besides who doesn't want to walk through a huge mansion hunting for cool objects, while saving your girlfriend from evil alien forces?