Friday Reboot: Maniac Mansion

Well, it's a day late, but it's time for the weekly reboot. This time around it's time for a classic favorite of anyone who played a Nintendo Entertainment System beyond Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. In those 8-bit days, very few games fed into the player's creativity. Most games only had the choice of moving left or right and that's as far as they'd go for open-endedness. But in 1987, the company now known as LucasArts put out a game with optional characters, multiple endings, and hidden comedy ranging from pop culture references to exploding hampsters. It's time to go back to the Maniac Mansion.




If Maniac Mansion had anything, it was a high replayability factor. With seven different endings, six characters having different abilities with only two to select for the game, and the capability to interact with almost any object you came across, anyone would have a difficult time playing it the same way twice. But the times have changed and there are even more possibilities for open game styles. This is a title that would need a serious overhaul to be ready for today's market.


CHARACTERS


One of the most memorable aspects of the original was its diverse cast of characters, playable and non. The Edisons, the primary antagonists living in the mansion, were a colorful group besides their blue skin. It was a family consisting of an evil scientist, a militaristic son, an obsessive daughter, and two tentacles. Depending how you played the game, you could turn your enemies into allies. However, Edna could use some more fleshing out beyond the romantic who hung out in the kitchen at the beginning of the game.

The playable characters could transition into a more modern interpretation but it could stand to have them more balanced. Bernard, the do-anything nerd (and possibly a character created as wish fulfillment on behalf of the developers), could be scaled back with a modern interpretation. I also never saw the need for two musicians when neither of them offered anything different. There is also the option to diversify the gameplay with photography and Easter Eggs with radio channels.

GAMEPLAY

Gaming genres have diversified much more since the days of the NES. Thanks to games like Resident Evil, games offer more suspense and terror than most horror movies now. The classic adventure style of gaming has been fading for a while and perhaps the best way for a reboot to succeed would be to follow more of a survival horror style of exploration. Maniac Mansion, with all its goofy humor, still created a feeling of suspense. You didn't know if the next room you were about to explore would be occupied by one of the house's residents or what kind of danger there was to interacting with any given item. They just have to make sure they get the camera right.

STORY

Obviously there would have to be more to the story in a new generation of the game, not only because of hardware ability but because a refreshed version of the old game wouldn't offer much to old fans. A bigger mansion offers more interactions for side stories and character development. But the most important aspect would be more endings. The original Maniac Mansion and similar games like Crono Trigger begged to be played again just to discover what other outcomes there were. Maybe give Edna that romance she was always looking for. Personally, I'd love to see a giant hampster rampage through town after giving it radioactive water.

With the rough economy, many publishers are going to already established IPs rather than risking a new one. LucasArts is still around and I'm sure they wouldn't have any trouble finding a publisher for a reboot. Maniac mansion is one of those classic games that can send a group of 20-somethings reminiscing of hidden jokes and crazy story developments. It was Maniac Mansion that taught this gamer if you have a problem with something, throw it into the trunk of somebody else's car.