Nintendo's Maniac Mansion Censorship Explored

Thanks to Video-Fenky for a new feature illustrating the Nintendo censorship affecting the NES version of Maniac Mansion. These comments were originally written up in a 1993 issue of Wired, and an unedited prototype NES cart of the classic point n' click adventure has been found to show the changes - though "Nintendo didn't catch the old 'blow up the hamster in the microwave' trick (it was removed in the European version)", changes include editing Nurse Edna's suggestive speeches ("I should have tied you to my bed, cutie!"), and switching graffiti in the bathroom from "For a good time EDNA 3444" to "Call EDNA 3444".

Comments

Nintendo is in denial concerning adult content

[Tragedy4u]

Nintendo thinks its perfectly acceptable for kids to play a game with short, fat Italians run and jump around a hallucinogenic fantasy world eating MAGIC mushrooms to aquire bizzare super powers. But kids calling a toothless old hag for a "good time" is wrong compared to gross rampant drug use in the Mario franchise?

Time to come clean Nintendo or all these kids will send their Betty Ford clinic bills to you!

On ./ Games Why?

[skermit]

(This comment isn't intended as a flame, or troll, but a suggestive criticism question aimed at editors)

Why is this news now, when the game came out 13 years ago, and the wired article came out 11 years ago? Is there nothing else in the queue worth publishing? (I'm not a ./ subscriber)

Albeit interesting, it's not "news" but if this is what's getting posted, maybe I should start submitting more articles to generate traffic. The ./ games section receives about 30 comments an article (roughly 1/5th to 1/20th of normal articles) so if nobody responds, I understand, but I'd like some feedback from the editors please.

Re:On ./ Games Why?

[simoniker]

It's news, imho, because it's a newly posted article (as of last night), which, I believe, is the first time someone has taken screenshots from a prototype ROM to illustrate the changes originally discussed in the Wired article. I certainly haven't seen it before.

But we'd love people to submit as many games-specific posts as possible, yes. Please do!

Re:Nintendo will always be known as kid-friendly

[Incoherent07]

And this is a problem... why? Nintendo has "adult" games for Gamecube... Resident Evil and Eternal Darkness come to mind. It's just that not everything in gaming has to be "shoot people and/or watch jiggling polygonal boobs". If you can't enjoy a game that's based on such BRAND NEW concepts as gameplay and adventure and... God forbid... FUN for all ages, then how did you ever get into gaming in the first place?

The reason Nintendo is in such a hole right now is not as much because of their "kiddy" games as it is several bad business decisions. *coughSQUAREcough*

Re:How do you.....

[cordsie]

I don't remember the exact details, but it's something like this (I'm basing it on my memory of the C64 version):

Have Bernard fix the radio in the cabinet in the same room. You use a radio tube or something on it (I don't remember from where exactly).

In the green tentacle's room, there's a record, that plays a high-pitched tone. (It's a recording of the tentacle mating call!) If you play it in the green tentacle's room, you'll end up with a dead kid, (one of the few ways to truly die in the game, but it's funny). However, you can safely play it in the victorola in the TV room. As you're playing the record, record the sound onto a tape (from where I don't remember) using the recording deck. Then take the tape and play it in the chandelier room. The high-pitched noise will shatter the chandelier and drop the key onto the floor.

And it is indeed for the dungeon, as far as I can recall.

Maybe I should have gotten out more as a kid. Sigh.