Different NES Maniac Mansions? [Archive]

albailey

05-09-2007, 08:53 AM

I dont think there is any difference visually, but since I've only come across exploding hamster versions, I cant say for sure.

I've been playing my copies and putting a sticker on the back to indicate which version it is. It definitely takes a while to get to the exploding hamster part.

If you had a CopyNES, you might be able to quickly dump the cart and check it that way (CRC check or analyze the CHR contents or something). I've got a CopyNES, but I've never tried it (I dont have a parallel port on my laptop .... yet).

Al

Jumpman Jr.

05-09-2007, 09:42 AM

hehe, good one bro

Heh, That is actually the difference between the two carts.

bangtango

05-09-2007, 01:06 PM

I thought that the "different" versions of NES Maniac Mansion was bogus. The story is that Nintendo supposedly caught the hamster trick and removed it from "later" versions that were supposedly produced. Were there even later versions? I don't remember the game being a big-time seller and can't imagine that an updated version ever came out. That's just an uninformed hunch because I don't hang around Maniac Mansion fan sites or read FAQ's based on the game.

This is off topic but I know for a fact a lot of the people who rave about the game didn't even play it until around 2000-2005 because they read about it on the internet or some magazine that happened to mention "sleeper" NES games. I've been playing the game since it was released, I got my copy when it was still being sold new in stores, so I've heard the rumor a ton of times that some versions don't let you cook the hamster. Never seen proof, though. I'll bet I've gotten my hands on 8 copies over the years and never found a version that you couldn't do it.

I hope someone proves me wrong, though, because it'd be funny to own both versions if there are a couple.

EDIT: Straight from the Digital Press rarity guide:

"Tell Sid or Razor to put the hamster in the microwave oven, then cook it! This trick was allegedly taken out of later carts by Jaleco, but all NTSC carts still let you do it (PAL ones don't). There's also a prototype cart that has all the other things Nin."

That's how it reads, so the unfinished sentence probably reads something like

"things Nintendo removed from the final NTSC version."

Blitzwing256

05-09-2007, 01:49 PM

you are correct, there are NO ntsc copies with the hamster trick (and consequently the hamster glitch)

only the pal versions as well as the spanish version have it removed.

XxHennersXx

05-09-2007, 01:56 PM

YEAH, try putting the hamster into the microwave.

I ment the actual cartridges. But my

Hounder

05-09-2007, 02:00 PM

If there is a different NTSC version all you have to do is look at the cart id to find out. If it says NES-JM-USA you have the exploding hamster version. If it says NES-JM-USA-1 then you have the version that has it removed. However, I'm not sure the -1 code exists but it would if it was indeed re-released without the exploding hamster.

77punk

05-09-2007, 02:20 PM

BocoDragon

05-09-2007, 02:33 PM

I really loved this game.. IT was kick ass, scary at some times, with them people moving around in the house. I wish they were to make a better sequel since i wasn't impressed by the second one. It was interesting but thats about it.

LucasArts these days hates anything that isn't Star Wars or a pale imitation of a console-style game.... No revival of Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, Full throttle, Grim Fandango....... anything :(

Hounder

05-09-2007, 02:34 PM

And I was so waiting for Monkey Island 5 to come out :(

roushimsx

05-09-2007, 05:30 PM

This is off topic but I know for a fact a lot of the people who rave about the game didn't even play it until around 2000-2005 because they read about it on the internet or some magazine that happened to mention "sleeper" NES games.

Ain't nothing wrong with people getting in on the action late as long as they got in on the action at all. Lucasarts developed some incredibly awesome adventure games that hold up wonderfully for new audiences just as they incite a massive nostalgic rush whenever old timers fire 'em up.

I didn't much care for Grim Fandango (awesome writing / voice acting / graphics...shit control / inventory management / puzzles) and I never put much time into Escape From Monkey Island, but I sure enjoyed the unholy shit out of pretty much every earlier title (especially The Dig, which got really unfairly hosed in reviews :( ). Thank GOD for SCUMMVM, rampant piracy, and strong word of mouth for bringing god-knows-how-many new people into the Lucasarts adventure love club.

Now if only more people would sign up for Gametap to experience the excellence of Sam & Max Season 1. God, I hope Lucasarts is watching the way that sucker develops and decides to revitalize some of their sleeping franchises...like...I don't know... maybe Maniac Mansion? :D

God, just thinking about it makes me want to fire up Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle again. Fucking classics.

exit

05-09-2007, 07:21 PM

bangtango

05-09-2007, 08:31 PM

God, just thinking about it makes me want to fire up Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle again. Fucking classics.

Was the sequel as good or better than Maniac Mansion? Like I mentioned earlier, I had Maniac Mansion way back when it first came out on NES :) but I never even played Day of the Tentacle. I had it on Mac at one time, before giving it away, but don't own a Mac computer.

BocoDragon

05-09-2007, 08:48 PM

Was the sequel as good or better than Maniac Mansion? Like I mentioned earlier, I had Maniac Mansion way back when it first came out on NES :) but I never even played Day of the Tentacle. I had it on Mac at one time, before giving it away, but don't own a Mac computer.

It's really good... Or it was 13 years ago. Instead of a big house with timed events, we have a time travelling gimmick. Other than that, the game looks and plays like a Monkey Island.

roushimsx

05-09-2007, 09:06 PM

Was the sequel as good or better than Maniac Mansion?

I thought the writing/story/pacing was better, but I liked the flexibility in Maniac Mansion's gameplay more. It was cool as hell that they actually included Maniac Mansion with DotT, though (it's playable on one of the computers in the game), though for my MM fix I still stuck with either booting it up proper or pulling out the NES cart.

exit

05-09-2007, 09:26 PM

Don't forget to mention it was the original (or ghetto as someone once mentioned it to me) dos port of MM, instead of the updated graphics one.

roushimsx

05-09-2007, 09:48 PM

Don't forget to mention it was the original (or ghetto as someone once mentioned it to me) dos port of MM, instead of the updated graphics one.

Well yea, but the game didn't get an enhanced remake until like '04 when the freeware remake came out. Why would anyone be expecting to play an updated one in a game that came out back in '93? :)

...and I know this makes me a bad person, but I've yet to play that freeware remake.

exit

05-09-2007, 10:09 PM

I was talking about the enhanced version that was released a few years after the original. Last time I remember playing the freeware remake, it wasn't fully completed. I might have to check it out now that it's finished.

Original 19987/88 port (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/maniac-mansion/screenshots/gameShotId,8521/)

Enhanced 1989/1990 reversion (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/maniac-mansion/screenshots/gameShotId,30500/)

It still puzzles me why they didn't use the enhanced version for DotT.

On a side note: Anyone know if there's an ending where Sandy does get her brains sucked out? One cut scene hints that time is running out for her, I always wondered if the game has an ending involving that.

roushimsx

05-09-2007, 10:14 PM

Hah, I never even knew about the enhanced EGA version. That looks pretty dang good. :)

chrissylas

05-09-2007, 10:58 PM

I didn't much care for Grim Fandango

Blasphemy! Grim Fandango is one of my favorite games ever. For Realz (http://www.xbox.com/en-us/community/personality/trixie/gamerspotlights/20061113-chrissylas306.htm)

I miss point and clicks. I love that Sierra released those collection packs. I wish Lucasarts would decide to do the same.

Blitzwing256

05-09-2007, 11:20 PM

random point, maniac mansion on the famicom was completely differnt, the us version was redone from the ground up.

gdement

05-10-2007, 08:03 AM

Hah, I never even knew about the enhanced EGA version. That looks pretty dang good. :)

Yeah, it does! I'd have thought it was VGA if I was guessing. EGA was not very well exploited by most games, at least the ones that I've played. EGA ought to be comparable/better than NES graphics, but it usually looked worse in practice. That enhanced version's EGA looks much better though.

sirhansirhan

05-10-2007, 02:34 PM

BocoDragon

05-10-2007, 03:03 PM

random point, maniac mansion on the famicom was completely differnt, the us version was redone from the ground up.

That's pretty common for a conversion of the day. I don't know if I'd call it a completely different game, but the graphics/small details might be different.

GrandAmChandler

05-10-2007, 03:07 PM

random point, maniac mansion on the famicom was completely differnt, the us version was redone from the ground up.

The best part of the Famicom version is that you get to play as Shigeru Miyamoto

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b241/ATMachine/KQ/mmnesjp2.png

exit

05-10-2007, 09:22 PM

What Dead Dave trick are you talking about? I've killed Dave and still beat the game (which gives you a crazy ending), and I bought the game new inside of a month of its release. Is that what you're talking about, or is there something else?

When you kill the hamster, give it to Dave, then give it to Weird Ed, Dave gets murdered and then you can walk around as his ghost. The catch being you can't pick anything up, or really interact with anything at all. It was in the first prints and later removed.

BocoDragon

05-11-2007, 10:39 AM

The best part of the Famicom version is that you get to play as Shigeru Miyamoto

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b241/ATMachine/KQ/mmnesjp2.png

ohhhh..... now I see what he was saying. I must have glossed over a word.... Famicom vs. US version.... That's pretty neat.

bangtango

05-11-2007, 05:42 PM

On a side note: Anyone know if there's an ending where Sandy does get her brains sucked out? One cut scene hints that time is running out for her, I always wondered if the game has an ending involving that.

You mean if you're simply taking an extremely long time to get through the game? I would think some of the earlier cut scenes begin repeating over and over again or you just stop seeing them. I never took the time to see how long they ran.

BHvrd

05-11-2007, 09:19 PM

The only thing that was removed from the NTSC Maniac Mansion is the invisible Dead Dave "trick". From what I remember, only the first 100,000 copies (or less) had it in them.

I have came across the un-microwavable hamster through roms, which confused the hell out of me when i first discovered emulation way back when.

YES!!!!! THATS IT!

Finally someone that knows about this other than me!

I actually have this cart and the thing is you give ed his dead hamster and when he kills you you turn into a ghost that can walk around. I believe you can even walk into the house. Been so long since i've done this, but I actually have this cart and this is indeed true.

I can boot up the ole nes and investigate this further if anyone wants. I just used to think it was always very odd, and had another version that didn't do it.

XxHennersXx

05-12-2007, 12:28 AM

is there any way to tell the difference on the cartridges? like, the item number or something?

Master Chu

05-12-2007, 06:14 PM

What Dead Dave trick are you talking about? I've killed Dave and still beat the game (which gives you a crazy ending), and I bought the game new inside of a month of its release. Is that what you're talking about, or is there something else?

Waitaminit...
If you do the Dead Dave trick, and can't interact w/objects.....how the hell can you beat the game this way...?

Jorpho

05-12-2007, 07:33 PM

Well, you don't need Dave to finish the game (or to do anything, period).

BHvrd

05-12-2007, 09:11 PM

bangtango

05-12-2007, 09:30 PM

Well, you don't need Dave to finish the game (or to do anything, period).

Cold hard fact. Dave is about as useless as Jeff in a team that already contains Bernard or Syd in a team that already contains Razor. Man, Jeff sucked ass. He was useless period. Did anyone ever pick HIM? Hell, I'll get it over with and come clean. I used to pick Jeff from time to time when I was first starting out with the game and didn't know better.

Hounder

05-12-2007, 09:39 PM

Ok i'm going to check into this as I type this i'll get as much info as I can and maybe a pic or 2.

I'll see if there is anything different with the numbers on cart, etc.

To microwaving hamsters I go...

Cart differences (if they exist) follows as:

Cart with exploding hamster will have the code NES-JM-USA

Cart without will have NES-JM-USA-1 plus a REV A on the front of the cart. Or it might just have REV-A and not code change (no -1).

Hope that makes sense.

BHvrd

05-12-2007, 09:39 PM

Ok my kid took the good digital camera, the little...

So i'll just do this live, and maybe get a pic with my nappy ass net cam.

http://www.stickam.com/profile/porter

Live Razor hamster frying and Dave dying, you know you wanna see it! Well maybe not, but i'm doing it anyway.

BHvrd

05-12-2007, 10:09 PM

Ok so i'm dead and a ghost on my cam, and you CAN pick up objects and interact with things. I guess you can beat the game this way. I'm gonna go open Weird Ed's door next and see what happens. Just click that link if you need proof as i'm on cam atm..

Hounder - Both my carts I can fry the hamster. Both have "NES-JM-USA" on front and "rev A" on the back, but the one you can do the ghost trick with has "01" imprinted in the gold foil on the back in the top left, and the one you can't do it with has "00" imprinted in the gold foil on the back of cart top left.

You can fry the hamster on both these versions I have. Just one has ghost Dave and the other doesn't. I do believe there is a US non-hamster version though, but the 2 I have are not it.

exit

05-12-2007, 11:33 PM

Ok so i'm dead and a ghost on my cam, and you CAN pick up objects and interact with things.

Really? I thought it was just a useless feature, maybe I'm thinking of the PC version, or just completely mistaken.

As for Jeff, if I'm not mistaken, he can at least repair the phone. Dave on the other hand, he just stands by the mailbox.

bangtango

05-12-2007, 11:45 PM

As for Jeff, if I'm not mistaken, he can at least repair the phone. Dave on the other hand, he just stands by the mailbox.

Yeah, I know that. My point is that only a tard would ever pick Jeff without picking Bernard. A guy would only pick Jeff as a goof. Otherwise a fanatic or completist might use him just so they could say they finished Maniac Mansion with every character or every possible combination of characters.

exit

05-13-2007, 12:19 AM

Well Jeff does have a pretty sweet theme, but I do get your point. I've always wanted to see a MM re-make with covers of the themes, if done properly, it would be the best thing ever.

BHvrd

05-13-2007, 02:48 AM

Really? I thought it was just a useless feature, maybe I'm thinking of the PC version, or just completely mistaken.

Nope, you're still like a regular character only in ghost form.

Thing is though if weird ed kills you while you are holding items those items will be gone when you turn into a ghost. You can pick up items after you're a ghost so best just to pick them up then.

I went to weird ed's room and he busted me, so it's like regular. I'm gonna beat the entire game in ghost form in the next week or so to see if anything else happens.

exit

05-13-2007, 06:43 AM

I went to weird ed's room and he busted me, so it's like regular. I'm gonna beat the entire game in ghost form in the next week or so to see if anything else happens.

I also thought that nobody was able to see you, then again Ed is the strange type.

bootgod

05-14-2007, 12:14 AM

Both my carts I can fry the hamster. Both have "NES-JM-USA" on front and "rev A" on the back, but the one you can do the ghost trick with has "01" imprinted in the gold foil on the back in the top left, and the one you can't do it with has "00" imprinted in the gold foil on the back of cart top left.

Near where it says Rev-A on the back, is there also an imprint of an 'A'? The number imprinted on the top-left is irrelevant to the version, it has to do with where the cart was manufactured. If there is a letter 'A' (or B) imprinted, that means the software was updated.

Shrooin

05-14-2007, 01:21 AM

I just got a US maniac mansion on NES but when I play it on my Australian toploader the animation is screwed up. When it scrolls from the right side of the screen to the left, the bottom half only shows the left side and doesn't scroll at all. Also the music is really slow, i know of a duck maze cart which had slow music. I opened it up because it had philips head screws and the circuit board had real dodgy soldering. Anyone else had these problems with their MM cart?

bangtango

05-14-2007, 09:02 PM

I also thought that nobody was able to see you, then again Ed is the strange type.

Maybe it is just your friends because if Ed can see you, then I bet Edna and the tentacles (at least the purple one) probably could.

BHvrd

05-15-2007, 11:52 PM

Near where it says Rev-A on the back, is there also an imprint of an 'A'? The number imprinted on the top-left is irrelevant to the version, it has to do with where the cart was manufactured. If there is a letter 'A' (or B) imprinted, that means the software was updated.

Nope. Just the normal REV-A in black lettering, no imprinted a or b.

exit

05-16-2007, 02:08 AM

I just got a US maniac mansion on NES but when I play it on my Australian toploader the animation is screwed up.

Maybe it's because you're using it on an Australian toploader?

Shrooin

05-16-2007, 02:37 AM

still it should work shouldnt it? toploaders have no region lockout (Nin10) chips. I don't see what else would cause it but a faulty cartridge. Id like to hear from a NES expert

djsquarewave

05-16-2007, 06:19 AM

still it should work shouldnt it? toploaders have no region lockout (Nin10) chips. I don't see what else would cause it but a faulty cartridge. Id like to hear from a NES expert
The hardware runs at different speeds between NTSC and PAL systems, like any other game console from back when. There's a handful of PAL games that won't work properly on an NTSC system because of this (Elite springs to mind immediately) and it isn't at all surprising that there's cases where the opposite happens.

Just tried the US version in an NES emulator set to PAL mode and the backgrounds are completely screwed up. So...yeah, it's because you're using an Australian toploader.

bootgod

05-16-2007, 07:44 AM

Nope. Just the normal REV-A in black lettering, no imprinted a or b.

Well that's odd :| I don't suppose you have the bit to open the cart? The initial version would have a ROM that says NES-JM-0 PRG, if it were updated, it would have a 1 instead of 0

Shrooin

05-17-2007, 02:07 AM

The hardware runs at different speeds between NTSC and PAL systems, like any other game console from back when. There's a handful of PAL games that won't work properly on an NTSC system because of this (Elite springs to mind immediately) and it isn't at all surprising that there's cases where the opposite happens.

Just tried the US version in an NES emulator set to PAL mode and the backgrounds are completely screwed up. So...yeah, it's because you're using an Australian toploader.

Ah yeah that makes sense, thanks for the reply. I feel bad now for abusing the ebay seller who sold it to me. But at least I know its not faulty