A classic that is as funny and smart as i remembered it.

Ps. use a controller for the ring the bell achievement.

"Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle," first encountered in The LucasArts Archives Vol. I during the mid-90s, remains a cherished game that I've enjoyed repeatedly over the years. Renowned for its vibrant characters and captivating settings, this point-and-click adventure follows Bernard Bernoulli, a geeky college student, and his companions Hoagie and Laverne. Together, they undertake a quest to foil the dastardly plans of the malevolent Purple Tentacle, a self-aware tentacle with ambitions of global conquest. I highly recommend it.

To my pleasant surprise, you not only get Day of the Tentacle (1993) but also the predecessor Maniac Mansion (1987) with the Remastered (2016) edition. The remastered edition has quality of life improvements but you can also choose to play the original version by pressing F1. Maniac Mansion did not get the remastered treatment and you will have to accommodate the original UI utilising predefined verbs to accomplish tasks. As I remember, it's still better then inputting your own verbs a la the first Sierra Space Quest games.

Early into my play-through, I noticed a computer in Ed's room which made Maniac Mansion accessible to play. So I put Day of the Tentacle on hiatus while I finished Maniac Mansion. Lucasfilm games were some of my favourites back in the day and Maniac Mansion did not disappoint. However, the puzzle structure was queer as most of the time I felt like I was tackling solutions to obscure problems rather than the traditional way of playing point and click adventures where you are trying to find solutions to obvious problems. Gimmick involves playing 3 characters that have individual skills, can share inventory and cooperate to solve puzzles. Had to cheat on two occasions near the end of the game only because the game lets you use items with reckless abandon that are later necessary to solving puzzled. Never seen something like that before. OG adventure games did have dire consequences such as death or letting you proceed without picking up crucial items, but Maniac Mansion was more insidious by letting you use crucial items.

Once I completed my Maniac Mansion play-through, by saving the world from a telepathic meteor, I turned my attention to the sequel and saved the world from purple tentacle dominion. The cast from Maniac Mansion make a return; Mad scientist Dr. Fred, his Frankensteinian son Ed and his witchy wife Edna along with old and new protagonists, friends and villains. You also play as 3 distinct characters that have individual skills, can share inventory and cooperate to solve puzzles except this time you are not confined to a mansion but spread across space and time. One character ends up in 1700's, another remains in the present while the third is transported to the future. You share your inventory by flushing items down the Chron-O-John time machines. I had to look up cheats on 3 occasions again near the end of the game. Two of them involved the push/pull mechanic which peeved me off.

All in all, classics and a great way to revisit old school point and click adventure games that don't hold your hand, are well crafted, tell a good story and are chock-full of humour.