Blog
Day of the Tentacle
also known as BEST DAY EVER
Oh man, I have such fond memories of this game. Seriously, this was my childhood.
So basically, we have here a relatively difficult graphical adventure game (Like text based RPG's. Only not.). Be sure to play this with no guides. Which is, by the way, the only way to play.
((Also, I really had to make myself write this. The implications of tentacles and asian girls, well.. Let's just leave it at that))
Day of the Tentacle follows the great point-and-click era of PC gaming with Lucas Arts' point and click big guy 'Sam and Max Hit the Road' and lesser known 'Loom'.
Replaying it after so long was such a challenge. No wonder it took me months to beat it the first time! After a refresher course in forcing my ol' Win 95 to work on my old computer (You can of course, get pretty decent emulators instead), I found myself laughing until my kidneys shrunk to the size of corn kernels. This game is just a riot.
Basically, you play three friends teaming together to foil a purple tentacle's plot to take over the world.
Eventually, you have the power to transport objects from the present to the future and past via transporting toilet between all 3 individuals, a gaming ploy revolutionary for its time.
As for the rest of the plot, you really need to play it if you haven't. Honestly, you're missing out on so much it's not even funny.
One frustrating element is during those little parts of the game when you're stuck. Unlike LoZ puzzles, where you can set the game down and come back to it later and slap yourself in the forehead for not thinking of it sooner, Day of the Tentacle leaves the smallest items and clues in the most unobvious and stupid places. You'll find yourself frustratingly poking everything into every corner and wishing you could take a mallet to your old computer after all.
Asides from that, it was a great refreshing blast from the past. Great story, clean graphics (Give it a break, it's on DOS), funny audio. Definitely worth a play, and a replay for all of you that haven't dug this up from your childhood memories.
Comments
I still have yet to play this game. I love Maniac Mansion and point and click adventures...but never got around to this one...I wonder if I ever will. :(
Awesome, awesome review! This game took me months to beat originally. So much fun. I don't love it as much as Maniac Mansion (okay, I don't love anything as much as Maniac Mansion), but it's still so, so good. I actually found my old copy at my mom's house recently and it's sitting on my desk--I can't wait to play it again!
YES!
Played through this a mere three months ago, when my 360 was in for repair.
Love, love loveeeee it.
I have tried several times to devote a large segment of the Combobreaker podcast to all the awesome Lucasarts point and click games and it always gets nayed by those who haven't really played them. i don't see how anyone could live with themselve not having played thiese games.
such a great game. this was my favorite era of pc games when the majority were point and clicks with great story lines that kept me engaged for hours. did anyone ever play lost in time?
dude! shutting the doors! that took me, like, a year to figure out!! and you can run it if you download the scummVM emulation emulator from the interwebs.
LOVE....THIS....GAME....!!!