Format: Xbox Series X
Genre: Adventure
Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: Double Fine Productions

Artist Peter Chan invoked his inner "Bugs Bunny" by drawing up caricature-like comic book-style characters set against "Looney Tunes"-esque backdrops. This reviewer can attest first-hand to what it was like in 1993 seeing these humongous characters humorously parading about the screen, or even represented in full-screen animated sequences. For this "Remastered" edition, the game can be toggled between the original art style and a zoomed in, hidden-inventory version with higher resolution art. As is always the case with nearly pixel-less graphics, the new style is deep into hideous Flash game territory, even if it is more faithful to the original box art. However, the 1993 game art has never looked better, and other than the menu the whole title can be played through in this way.

The three-headed composition team of Bajakian-McConnell-Land brought out the very best of OPL synth, as remembered in the memories of millions of Sound Blaster owners at the time of this game's original release. Some of the songs, such as the one in "Weird Ed's" room, or the "Red Edison" theme, with its harpsichord impersonation, are utterly unforgettable. What's fascinating is that the game's audio is fully dynamic, with the tunes seamlessly shifting during play. The voice acting is some of the best in a video game, with professional-grade performances all around. The game does play remixed versions of the songs in the "new art style" mode, and while they aren't terrible, they lose all of the personality of the originals.

Where "Maniac Mansion" had a very experimental, dead end-filled, almost rogue-like freedom, this sequel opted for a more traditional adventure game in the spirit of the "Monkey Island" series, or other LucasArts releases. While it feels more constraining to play, it allowed the designers to focus on the writing. It also still did retain the ability to switch between characters, and the way the game's writing integrates its time travel mechanic into the puzzles is positively ingenious. This "Remastered" edition adds the ability to "fast transfer" items between the characters without needing to walk to the "Chron-o-Johns", and this reviewer found himself frequently flipping to the "new" artstyle-- with the press of a button-- to make use of that feature, then switching right back to the original mode.

The original "Day of the Tentacle" was a masterpiece on every level: while it was a bit on the short side, its groundbreaking use of digital sound effects, full voice acting of the highest order, incredible art style and animation, some of the best puzzle writing to ever grace the genre, and music which choreographed itself to the action in real-time, makes it one of the best adventure titles ever released. This "Remastered" edition is a great way to play the game, as it exposes the original art and music to the full benefits of a clean HDMI signal. It's a shame through that the new user interface additions-- "fast transfer" of items, glowing interaction hints, and so forth-- are locked into the undesirable "new style" mode.