Has anyone actually found a REV01 Maniac Mansion cartridge?
Not sure if anyone here knows, but Maniac Mansion was an NES game that got hit with a ton of NOA censorship changes. It's commonly known that the European release had some additional censorship added, including the removal of the hamster microwaving tidbit. What has been floating around the internet lately is the idea that there exists a revised ROM of the USA version that contains the extra censorship like the Euro release. A ROM revision is otherwise known as REV01, revision 01 or version 1.1. Some NES games have this, including Legend of Zelda, SMB3 and Kirby's Adventure.
My question to the NA collectors is, has anyone actually found a revised Maniac Mansion cartridge? Easiest way to tell is by checking the stamped code on the game's back label. A REV01 cartridge should have ##A (# = any number). The most indisputable indicator is to open the cartridge and check the PRG ROM chip, its product code should end in a 1, not a 0.
Sources:
https://tcrf.net/Maniac_Mansion_(NES,_USA)#Regional_Differences
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/maniacmansion/maniacmansion.htm
http://www.gametrailers.com/full-episodes/6mn5yx/pop-fiction-maniac-mansion--microwaving-the-hamster
My question to the NA collectors is, has anyone actually found a revised Maniac Mansion cartridge? Easiest way to tell is by checking the stamped code on the game's back label. A REV01 cartridge should have ##A (# = any number). The most indisputable indicator is to open the cartridge and check the PRG ROM chip, its product code should end in a 1, not a 0.
Sources:
https://tcrf.net/Maniac_Mansion_(NES,_USA)#Regional_Differences
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/maniacmansion/maniacmansion.htm
http://www.gametrailers.com/full-episodes/6mn5yx/pop-fiction-maniac-mansion--microwaving-the-hamster
Comments
Originally posted by: Guntz
Not sure if anyone here knows, but Maniac Mansion was an NES game that got hit with a ton of NOA censorship changes. It's commonly known that the European release had some additional censorship added, including the removal of the hamster microwaving tidbit. What has been floating around the internet lately is the idea that there exists a revised ROM of the USA version, otherwise known as REV01, revision 01 or version 1.1. Some NES games have this, including Legend of Zelda and SMB3.
My question to the NA collectors is, has anyone actually found a revised Maniac Mansion cartridge? Easiest way to tell is by checking the stamped code on the game's back label. A REV01 cartridge should have ##A (# = any number). The most indisputable indicator is to open the cartridge and check the PRG ROM chip, its product code should end in a 1, not a 0.
Sources:
https://tcrf.net/Maniac_Mansion_%...
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/...
http://www.gametrailers.com/full-...
Oh shit, I never knew this! I will have to check the one I have.
My copy is the plain REV00 version.
https://tcrf.net/Proto:Maniac_Mansion_(NES,_USA)
What I'm asking about is the rumored second print run of Maniac Mansion in the US. Supposedly it contains additional censorship, meaning it would have an updated PRG ROM (the game has CHR RAM), hence a revised ROM. Most ROM sources refer to such a revision as REV01, or version 1.1. For example, Ocarina of Time has three versions in the USA, 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2.
People, check your Maniac Mansion cartridges. Does yours have ##A stamped on the back? (replace # with any number). Does your copy's circuit board contain a PRG ROM that ends with 1 rather than 0 in its product code? Are you unable to microwave the hamster in it?
So far no sources for this story have confirmed the existence of this revision. It is still just a rumor. Currently I don't believe the revision exists seeing how it's so rare. Not even Bootgod has a revision listed, despite having three profiles.
http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/profile.php?id=13
I distinctly remember it because, to my 9 year old mind at the time, it was the most scandalous thing ever to happen to video games.
All the sources I linked to claim that REV01 copies of Maniac Mansion likely got made, but none of them have proven it. Nobody actually owns a copy of Maniac Mansion with an updated PRG ROM inside.
EDIT: Guess not...all the ones on Feebay that show the backside also read "REV-A"...
REV-A refers to the back label itself, not the game. There's stamped numbers and letters denoting the manufacturer and revision. A version 1.1 Maniac Mansion should have 00A stamped, or some other numbers.
Originally posted by: the_wizard_666
Backs get swapped all the time. The only way to really know is to fire up the game and nuke the hamster. Everyone, start nuking!
A more reliable and faster method is to open the cartridge and look at the PRG ROM chip. Version 1.1 should have this printed on it: NES-JM-1 PRG (version 1.0 has 0 instead)
Originally posted by: Guntz
Originally posted by: the_wizard_666
Backs get swapped all the time. The only way to really know is to fire up the game and nuke the hamster. Everyone, start nuking!
A more reliable and faster method is to open the cartridge and look at the PRG ROM chip. Version 1.1 should have this printed on it: NES-JM-1 PRG (version 1.0 has 0 instead)
This, and as far as i know its only the PAL versions I think it was removed. Not the USA.
Originally posted by: cirellio
My back label says Rev-A too, but I opened it up and the PRG ends in 0.
Not Rev-A, I mean the two digits stamped onto the label. Rev-A refers to the back label itself, not the game.
Originally posted by: Guntz
Originally posted by: cirellio
My back label says Rev-A too, but I opened it up and the PRG ends in 0.
Not Rev-A, I mean the two digits stamped onto the label. Rev-A refers to the back label itself, not the game.
I was replying more to Estil, but to clarify, my PRG reads NES-JM-0, and the two digits stamped are 00.
If there really is a Rev01 / PRG1 / version 1.1 for Maniac Mansion, it must be extremely rare.