Or made with VICE and the wrong color palette…
Yes. 
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A bit before my time. Thanks!
Based just on the screenshots I’d probably go for that EGA v2 version, but I’ll have to try it out as well to see if I like the music in the other version. Are there any quick ways to mix and match if desired? 
(Like those talkie versions of ScummVM Monkey Island.)
Good choice, but I am biased
Good choice, but I am biased
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Are you sure about that? Wasn´t there “not enhanced” version of Zak too like with the original 1987 PC release of Maniac Mansion that had graphics closer to the C64 version?
Oh hai, Google Duplex!
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v2 came shortly after v1, unless you are a day 1 gamer you would probably have gotten v2.
No, it could be EGA v1. I can’t find a screenshot that is EGA v1 for sure.
btw: At least your FM towns screenshots is using an anti-alias filter.
Is that so? I thought it might have been a year or something like that (or in the case of Maniac Mansion 2 years).
But maybe I´m getting my timeline wrong since it is not easy to look it up.
1987 Maniac Mansion initial release
1988 Zak McKracken initial release
1989 MM enhanced, Zak enhanced
1990 MM NES, Zak FM Towns
The original version was released on October 1988. v2 in 1989.
I always go to Mobygames for that kind of stuff: http://www.mobygames.com/game/zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders/release-info
Of course that can make up a month between a year. But since Ron Gilbert has challenged MM october date already I am also not so sure about Zak anymore. 
According to Wikipedia:
1988 C64, IBM PC (MS-DOS) (later that year)
1989 Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS v2
1990 FM Towns
MobyGames rarely lists exact dates (which may be different all over the globe anyways).
The October release of v1 is according to LucasArts.
I think I dug up a few articles a while before where it turned out that the german translations where always a little bit later. So we got the german MM in 1988 and the german Zak in 1989 it seems.
You know what I´m starting to believe is that october may just be the way they noted Q4 back then. I guess they had christmas release dates in mind and that´s why they were slated for that time window and since Q4 starts in october that may be a rough guess. Could be november, could be december.
The only reason I wanna know the exact date is because I´d love to celebrate this year.
Yes, that’s right. (I’ve played the English version of Zak before the German Zak came out.)
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Yes, maybe 
I missed the Wall Fall…
And actually, I’m far from being an expert. I’ve been keeping quiet until now
From the names you’d expect, the adventure games I’ve played are: all the Sam & Maxes (last year), Thimbleweed Park (this January), and…
…that’s it.
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I saw the exploded atom plant in Chernobyl on TV…