Déjà Vu (NES) Playthrough

A playthrough of Kemco-Seika's 1990 graphic adventure for the NES, Déjà Vu.

Déjà Vu is a detective story set in Chicago in the early 1940s. The story opens with our leading man regaining consciousness in the bathroom of a seedy bar with no idea who he is or how he got there. All he knows is that he has been injected with something and that there's a dead body sprawled across the desk in the office upstairs. Something bad has gone down, and it would be in his best interests to get out of there before trouble returns.

It's your job to figure out who you are, what happened at the bar, and how to avoid taking the rap for a crime you haven't committed. After exploring the bar which appears to be a front for an illicit gambling operation, you take to the streets of Chicago in search of clues.

Déjà Vu plays exactly like Shadowgate and Uninvited, but the overall feel is strikingly different. This adventure is rooted firmly in the real world. There are no magicians to take down or ghosts to cross wits with this time - rather, everyone you interact with is a living, breathing human being, and the consequences for your actions are far more grounded. If you're attacked by a mugger, you might end up with a bullet in you. If you shoot a bum in cold blood, the police will haul you off in cuffs.

The lack of any fantasy tropes also makes the writing come across as surprisingly brutal at times. You can shoot at anyone, including a woman you find tied up and knocked out in the trunk of a car, people sleeping peacefully in their beds, and even yourself if you feel so inclined. The game is clearly aimed at an adult audience, and though it was somewhat censored, I'm still surprised that Nintendo approved it without demanding heavier cuts.

The morbid among you can find a collection of these scenes at 1:00:47.

Déjà Vu's atmosphere, engaging story, and challenging puzzles make for a good pick if you're looking for something that'll make you think.

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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

[NintendoComplete]

This 1940s detective story makes for yet another great NES conversion of a MacVenture classic.

[xxHUNGRYTHETRUTHxx]

Kudos to Hiroyuki Masuno. The musician who gave us this great atomsphere of 1930's-40's noir. It's almost as haunting as the other 2 adventures.

[Dr-Weird]

Got this for Xmas as a kid. I loved shadowgate and my parents hated it cause of the story. But they Loved this story. My dad, my siblings, and me played it all day trying to discover everything. Good times.

[charleygordonFFA]

Oh man this takes me back. Never understood this game as a kid but I still loved the music and ambience.

[SandroWalach]

I got this game as a little kid. I am not from a native English-speaking country, so I had no idea what to do. I never finished it, but now I can finally see what it was all about. Thanks! :D

[rjcupid]

15:40 “There may be objects in the glove compartment, but probably no gloves.” Pure MacVenture comedy gold.

[RxCogito]

Ah, I was just a kid and this game was magic.

I didn’t even know what a walk through was at that time. We just randomly tried stuff until it worked.

[spoonshiro]

Wonderful game. Sequel never came out on the NES but having played it recently on PC, we weren't missing much.

[bll]

Yes! I love this game. Plus, the tone. Music and the atmosphere of this game.

[renemolina]

One of my favorite games of the NES library.

[rjazz]

I knew I had to have this game as soon as I read about it as a kid. My 1st Nintendo Power issue had a full walkthrough of this amazing cart.

[kellyrjohnson]

I swear you already did a playthrough of this like a million years ago. Which totally doesn't matter, because I'm going to watch it again.

[zparklebugz]

These types of games(this one, Shadowgate and Uninvited) really need a remake/remaster for modern consoles!💖

[rcblazer]

MacVentures always have some fun and well thought out writing. I also love when the games call you out for doing something stupid.

[clang]

I had this game, played it a lot and never knew what was going on…30yrs later I’m going to find out!

[frankbauerful]

Great playthrough. I like how you are both efficient and yet also show fluff aside from the correct solution like the final interactions with the mugger. I also liked your Snatcher playthrough. A lot of people think that a playthrough with no commentary is nothing special, but they're wrong. Getting a no commentary playthrough tight without wasting time but still including everything that's interesting takes work. 👍

[PixelSniperPro]

3:50 that picture and song always gave me goosebumps

[Shorty_Lickens]

this was the only game in the trilogy I ever completed. Probably because it made sense, and theres no torches.

[Admin-qyzi]

18:37
Looks like Moe Howard didn’t get any sleep last night.

[VahanNisanian]

The first and best game in the MacVentures saga, in my opinion. Excellent storytelling of an amnesic man falsely accused of murder.