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Illustration of Maniac Mansion (Japan)

Maniac Mansion (Japan)

Overview

This is the original port of Maniac Mansion for the Famicom released only in Japan in 1988. It's entirely different from the port that was released on the NES in Europe and the United States in 1990 and is a unique game.

Maniac Mansion is a graphic adventure video game. It follows teenage protagonist Dave Miller as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend Sandy Pantz from a mad scientist, whose mind has been enslaved by a sentient meteor. The player uses a point-and-click interface to guide Dave and two of his six playable friends through the scientist's mansion while solving puzzles and avoiding dangers. Gameplay is non-linear, and the game must be completed in different ways based on the player's choice of characters.

The game was conceived in 1985 by Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, who sought to tell a comedic story based on horror film and B-movie clichés. They mapped out the project as a paper-and-pencil game before coding commenced. While earlier adventure titles had relied on command lines, Gilbert disliked such systems, and he developed Maniac Mansion's simpler point-and-click interface as a replacement. To speed up production, he created a game engine called SCUMM, which was used in many later LucasArts titles. After its release, Maniac Mansion was ported to several platforms.

Developers
Lucasfilm Games
Publishers
Jaleco
Alternate Names
  • Maniac Mansion (Famicom Version)
  • Maniac Mansion Japan
Video
No information available

Media

Box - 3D

Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Box - 3D (Japan) - 600x450
Japan -  600 x 450

Box - Front

Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Box - Front (Japan) - 752x749
Japan -  752 x 749

Box - Front - Reconstructed

Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Box - Front - Reconstructed (Japan) - 812x821
Japan -  812 x 821

Cart - Back

Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Cart - Back (Japan) - 800x719
Japan -  800 x 719

Cart - Front

Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Cart - Front (Japan) - 800x795
Japan -  800 x 795
Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Cart - Front (Japan) - 800x725
Japan -  800 x 725

Clear Logo

Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Clear Logo (Japan) - 1224x465
Japan -  1224 x 465

Screenshot - Game Select

Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Screenshot - Game Select (Japan) - 256x240
Japan -  256 x 240

Screenshot - Game Title

Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Screenshot - Game Title (Japan) - 256x240
Japan -  256 x 240

Screenshot - Gameplay

Maniac Mansion (Japan) - Screenshot - Gameplay (Japan) - 256x240
Japan -  256 x 240