An NES LucasArts Adventure Classic May Be Getting A Spiritual Successor

Interesting choice to make like five different versions. Takes me back a bit.

Ehh... I love Maniac Mansion but this has 'wait for a review and/or a deep sale' written all over it. That is, of course, if Ron Gilbert or Disney doesn't get it pulled in the meantime.

@Jack_Goetz Ron Gilbert doesn't own Maniac Mansion and Disney doesn't have much interest in doing much with it to warrant legal action. Beyond that, this game is clearly doing it's own thing within Maniac Mansion's framework. It's not an outright ripoff. So why would you think this is at risk of a C&D?

@N00BiSH It looks like an outright rip-off and Disney is known to be protective of it's IPs, whether or not it plans to do anything with it currently or in the future.

@Jack_Goetz by that logic they should've taken down Gilbert's own Thimbleweed Park, which also took direct cues from Maniac Mansion. They don't care as much as you think they do.

I only played the PC version of Maniac Mansion when I was a kid. Seems like it would be cumbersome to play without a mouse.

@N00BiSH That game didn't feature 'Mansion' in the title for starts and have the main location be a mansion. 😅

Torn. I really commend the creators’ commitment to multiple versions that are unique to their platforms, with different UI, fonts, etc. I assume the solutions will be the same across every platform (only just now learning about this game so maybe this is already known), with the differences found primarily in presentation (such as one version having voice work).

What bugs me is the comparison to Maniac Mansion. On the one hand, it’s clearly lifting a ton from it, to the point where it seems to be bordering on outright copying versus an homage. The bit about the rat in the microwave is a clear callout, and that’s fine, but there’s also a ton of other things that feel way less inspired-by and more just “oh yeah we are basically just palette switching the original game.” Like having a character who is protective of their PC, which is obviously a Weird Ed standin. Like that’s too on the nose.

I’m also not wild about the super generic anime motifs. There’s already like five different art styles, and topping it off with something outta early 2000s Flash toons feels like an attempt to get attention. I can’t be too harsh about that because at the end of the day, everything in the industry is about getting attention.

So for me personally, it’s sitting in this weird limbo space where - as a huge fan of PnC 90s adventures, Lucasarts, and Maniac Mansion specifically - I’m very intrigued, but I’m put off by some of the choices that feel very disingenuous. It’s one thing to wear your inspiration on your sleeve, and even to take a different spin on it. But when you say you’re doing that and then you wholesale bring in entire bits and pieces from your inspiration, it feels lazy, and then I start wondering if maybe making a single version and putting effort into story and making your game feel more unique would have been the better path to choose.

It’s hard to want to support something that looks like it’s overstepping a bit into gimmick territory by having bullet points like “we made physical cartridges of every platform!” But my endless adoration for this genre while also respecting the sheer achievement from an indie dev makes me hopeful.

Probably won’t back it (been burned too many times) but will eagerly look forward to reviews and hope for/wish them the best.

Looks decent. The trailer kinda sucks, that music is breaking my eardrums.

@Jack_Goetz Thimbleweed featured characters and nods FROM Maniac Mansion(including Bernard, Edna and Chuck the Plant), yet it's still available for purchase. Say what you want but that doesn't change the fact that Disney won't really DO anything about this. It's not an active threat to an IP they show no interest in doing anything with. I dunno why you'd believe otherwise.

Nes Maniac Mansion was THE game I played as a kid, along Final Fantasy. This looks amazing!!! The demo was so fun! 💜

Anyone remember The Cave? A Maniac Mansion spiritual successor from Ron Gilbert? Did I whiff by not playing that when it was available?

@Kyloctopus It's alright. More of a platformer with adventure game elements. Like Maniac Mansion, it has seven characters with their own unique attributes, which encourages multiple playthroughs.

Looks like a weird knockoff remake. And the Kickstarter screams amateur. I'll pass and stick with the original, and buy this later if it comes out and is decent.

@N00BiSH Ron Gilbert is a professional and knows how to clear rights, in case that was necessary for Thimbleweed Park. He co-created the original game and has the contacts at Disney. That’s a different case to a fan game on Kickstarter.

The argument of ‘but the IP holder isn’t doing anything with it’ doesn’t hold up at all.

@NintendoWife Neither does automatically assuming any spiritual successor is at legal risk simply because it's aping qualities from an existing title. Plenty of other point and clicks have pulled from Maniac's playbook and they're all fine. What makes this case any different is what I'm asking.

@N00BiSH Me thinks its because of the interface looking VERY much like Maniac Mansion, though I have my doubts Gilbert is that petty like others we've seen.

@NatiaAdamo it's not like they own the patent for verb grids or anything. Other point and clicks games used similar UIs - even back in the genre's heyday.

I've already backed this one. Particularly interested in the SNES version.

I was confused by the screenshots because on first glance I thought they were actually screenshots FROM Maniac Mansion. Being inspired by a game is one thing, but you need to at least put in some effort to distinguish your work from that which it was inspired by.

Obligatory "Day of the Tentacle" reference.

Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, and so many more... fast forward to the late 2010s and we have... Thimbleweed Park.

If you haven't played Thimbleweed Park and you are a fan of old Lucas Art point-n-click adventure games, then you're missing one of the greatest modern day versions of the genre.

I will be picking this one up too of course.

Just started playing Thimbleweed Park last week! It’s pretty good. Not sure I like it more than Broken Age, but probably only about halfway through, so we’ll see.

Day of the Tentacle, otoh, still owns.

I absolutely adored Maniac Mansion as a kid, and I even built a D&D encounter centered around a 1:1 map of the mansion with a few adjustments. I'm interested, but still skeptical. This is actually a great example of why the Switch 2's mouse feature is a welcome addition.

@N00BiSH it is an outright rip off

Was looking into it but with the backing price of a full priced AAA game I will pass.

@Jack_Goetz Ah, but do you copy-it-and-call-it-something-else-for-money love it?

@Jack_Goetz Except Disney doesn't own MM, and it did things that Disney would not want to be associated with. They bought and then disbanded Lucas arts gaming. So sadly, we'll likely never see ports of their comp games. Besides, Disney is one to talk about stealing.

Also, this is a spiritual successor and those are totally allowed.

@PharoneTheGnome thanks for the recc. I'll check it out.

@DdG1408 I agree. This is the most blatant rip-off I've seen since the Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest. Lol.

@Tempestryke If that's true, then why did Ron Gilbert have to get the rights from Disney in order to make Return to Monkey Island?

@Jack_Goetz that was mostly thanks to the involvement of specific people from Devolver Digital and Lucasfilm Games, who had interest in making a new Monkey Island. Doesn't mean he got the rights to the series back. There's an interview that goes into detail on this a bit more: https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/ron-gilbert-dave-grossman-return-to-monkey-island