Mohawk & Headphone Jack

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Mohawk & Headphone Jack
MohawkandHeadphoneJackSNES.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) Solid Software
Publisher(s)
Designer(s) D. Scott Williamson
Martin Alessi
Lou Moskalski
Michael Cihak
Tim Coman
Programmer(s) D. Scott Williamson
Composer(s) Mike Cihak
Matt Scott
Byte Size Sound [1]
Platform(s) Super NES
Release
  • NA: August 1996
  • EU: March 27, 1997
Genre(s) 2D action platformer
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer (Alternating turns)

Mohawk & Headphone Jack (alternately written as Mo Hawk & Headphone Jack) is a 1996 2D rotational game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Contents

The game was developed by American studio Solid Software, published by THQ and distributed by Electro Source. It was programmed by industry veteran D. Scott Williamson. The game spins around and around wildly in a circle, also changing the rotation of the map, and making it difficult to continue in the right direction. Rock music plays in the background as one or two players attempt to negotiate a treacherous series of platforms throughout the game's 14 levels. The game's likeness was based on Sonic the Hedgehog .

Gameplay

The aim of each level is to collect enough CDs in order to open the exit to the next level. When the required number has been reached, the CD number in the bottom left-hand corner sounds an alert and begins flashing. At this point, the exit appears on the map as a flashing X (not to be confused with the player's current location). There are different coloured CDs worth different numbers of points, as well as large CDs that unlock different audio tracks (the final one being "Elephant Funk"). Every second level ends with a boss, and leads to a different world upon completion.

Mohawk's health is represented by yellow triangles; each time he is hit by an enemy, the number goes down (maximum of five). However, spikes bring instant death. He can also collect floating balls (maximum of three) which allow him to explode, killing all enemies on screen. Mohawk can become a variety of forms, including wheelie, springs, angel and mer-hawk.

Reception

Captain Squideo of GamePro warned gamers that the game's rotating screen is enough to make one queasy, and summarized the game as "Different, yes; fun, no." [3] A reviewer for Next Generation ridiculed the character design, saying that Mohawk looks like a naked man with no genitals. He praised the huge, complex levels and the well-designed map screen, but found the game too focused on navigation, being populated by only a few generic, easy-to-kill enemies. He concluded, "While some players may love the adventure aspect of finding new hidden areas, Mohawk could've been a more compelling title if there was more of a challenge in completing the task rather than just mulling through." [2]

References

  1. Mohawk & Headphone Jack information at SNES Music
  2. 1 2 "Mohawk and Headphone Jack". Next Generation . No. 19. Imagine Media. July 1996. p. 89.
  3. "ProReview: Mo Hawk & Headphone Jack". GamePro . No. 93. IDG. June 1996. p. 71.