25 days into this Month of Codes and I’ve been able to dole out codes like a pedophile doles out candy to unsuspecting children, today though I was at a complete loss. It was a strange feeling not having a cheat code readily available. Then as I thought and thought and thought about what would be an appropriate code for the day. It suddenly came to me. What better code to showcase on a day when I myself was drawing a blank then a code that may or may not work depending on which version of the game you own.

Confused? Now you know how I felt earlier.

Day Twenty-Five

Maniac Mansion.

1990 / Nintendo Entertainment System

Microwave The Hamster

That’s right reaching forward from the past on the wings of time its Maniac Mansion, whose sequel was mention way back on Day Two. Maniac Mansion is a great game for those who like the point and click genre and definitely something I would recommend to anyone who enjoys video games. However if you are going to give it a try then my recommendation is to hunt down a copy of the original 1987 PC release or one of the various remakes available online. If you’re really industrious then you could find a copy of Day of the Tentacle where you can play the original on the computer in Weird Ed’s Bedroom. Only in the most dire of circumstances should you play the NES version.

The reason is that Nintendo censored everything it could get its hands on. Dialog was changed to make it sound less graphic, graffiti that in the initial release gave hints to an in game puzzle was eliminated, and various scenic elements deemed to sexual for the NES were also removed.

Somehow while they were terminating everything that might warp the minds of their core audience, the Big N missed something that absolutely spit in the face of there “Thou Shalt not use the word ‘Kill’ in a video game” commandment.  In Maniac Mansion you are able to pick up and interact with almost everything in the game, including Weird Ed’s pet Hamster. Now the Hamster is really only useful so that you can get the item behind him, that is unless you are playing as one of the resident musicians you can start the game as Syd or Razor

Razor

OR

Syd

 

To clarify further Syd is the Male looking like he plays Keyboard as a member of Huey Lewis and the News and Razor is the Hot Red Head. Remember that now.

As Musicians in the Eighties these two are HARDCORE they know how to party and as a result they don’t even blink an eye when you suggest that they put the Hamster in the Microwave in the kitchen, nor do they flinch when you tell them to then turn on said Microwave, effectively nuking the furry little red herring item. As an added bonus if you give the ashes of the Hamster back to Weird Ed he will “kill” you right on the spot. In truth while the character will die, you are still able to play as them with the added bonus of said character being both invisible and invincible.

The problem with this code comes if you live in a PAL region where Nintendo was intelligent enough to notice and fix their mistake. Though this was not the only time they were able to fix it. After they sold out of the initial run of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand (250,000) cartridges, Big N made LucasFilm Games (they hadn’t yet evolved into LucasArts) and Jaleco the games publisher eliminate it in future North American releases as well.  As a result this little gem is one of the only cheat codes I’m aware of that can only be accessed in certain releases of the game.

Thus in summation in order to take advantage of this code you must

  1. Find one of the original 250,000 carts released in North America.
  2. Choose Razor or Syd as one of your Three characters.

    PROTIP: Don't pick both

  3. As Syd or Razor get the Hamster from Weird Ed’s room.
  4. Go to the Kitchen, Open Microwave, Use Hamster with Microwave, Close Microwave, Turn On Microwave

There you have it folks, now you understand why I recommend tracking down a copy of the original PC release. Not only because it has a much easier interface, but because that way you ensure that you’ll get all the grody content that is Censored from the Nintendo release and you can Microwave a Hamster.

Just a reminder Razor and Syd are professional video game characters, do not attempt to microwave Hamsters at home, not because its dangerous, but mostly because the cleanup is a bitch