[zobraks]

My Dear Fellow Adventurers,

This is the beginning post of an unofficial playthrough, a magnificent crawlthrough along the walls and floors, brooms and boxes of Eddie's On the Waterfront, the not so famous bar on Townsend St. in San Francisco, USA. Yes, it's the game many of you have been waiting for, the one and only - Bad Mojo (Redux version, hopefully).




What's so special about this game? Well, it would be easier (and shorter) to say what Bad Mojo has in common with other adventures, but I'll stick with the differences.
First of all, in BM you're not a "run-of-the mill" hero you've used to be in most of the titles of the genre. Actually, you're not much of a hero either: you're a selfish, lonely, beaten by life thirty three years old scientist (entomologist at that) Roger Samms who gets turned into a cockroach. I know that many of you will now jump and shout: "Kafka!" - and you're right. Yes, the initial idea of the game comes from Franz (Franz is also the name of the feline that plays Bogart the cat in this title) Kafka's story about one Gregor Samsa (Samsa -> Samms, and Roger written backwards is (G)regor, you see it?) and his metamorphosis to a bug.

In the intro of BM you'll learn that Roger had embezzled a large sum of money and that he intended to escape to Mexico with it leaving his unsuccessful work on a revolutionary pesticide and his misfortunate life behind him. He's on the top of the world, and, as we all know well, that is when things in life usually start going downhill. Poor Roger gets turned into a roach while observing the strange medallion his late mother left him (before he went to the orphanage where he spent big part of his life, not knowing who his father was). So, you're the cockroach Roger has turned into and your task in the game will be to figure out what actually happened and to find the way to become (a) human again.

You won't have to save the world in this unique game, you'll be saving only yourself and... well, you'll see that in the game.

The commanding system in BM is also a bit unusual: forget the mouse and point & click, the only means of steering you'll use in the game will be the arrow keys of your keyboard. There isn't any inventory in this game either, but there are puzzles for you to solve and you'll do that by walking (crawling) and pushing things around you. No dialogs too (cockroaches don't talk, remember?), but your mother will speak to you - through many creatures that live in Eddie's not quite hygienic (to put it mildly) place.

We'll start playing Bad Mojo together on Friday, November 12th at 17:00 Central European Time. Why then? Seventeen is my lucky number and Friday is my lucky day and I'm superstitious - that's all. You have three days to find the game CD, blow off the dust and install Bad Mojo. The game was published in 1996 and works fine on Win 9X and Win XP ( with some tweaking). If you want to buy it, I suggest you buy Bad Mojo Redux (2004) which is basically the same game with improved graphics and cutscenes and with technical issues eliminated to play smoothly on newer computer systems. During the installation you'll be prompted to install QuickTime 6.5.1 (the version that comes with the game) but you don't have to do so if you already have a newer version of QuickTime on your computer.

This playthrough will be divided into...

Spoiler:

... seven stages (corresponding six rooms and the grand finale of the game).

Feel free to comment the current stage but be careful to put spoilers from the upcoming stages in spoiler tags (for those who intend to play this masterpiece for the first time).

If you will excuse my lousy grammar, so-so spelling and poor vocabulary , then perhaps I would help you have some nice and memorable moments scurrying through Eddie's Bar.

[seagul]

I'm ready to take of (or crawl down the dumps).
After a few minor problems i finally got the game working on my computer.
It's the (german) BadMojo redux version.
For fellow xp users: i had to deinstall all of quicktime to get the game started.
I hope it will work.

[diego]

I'm ready for re-crawlthrough , because Mr. "meanie" zobraks already "forced" me once to play with the cockroaches. Maybe i'll try to finish the game this time

[zobraks]

Everybody is welcome in TUBMC. Even truant students (although you're improving lately, Diego ) and the ones that failed at last year's Bad Mojo playthrough at FSK .

[PolloDiablo]

Oh good, I've had this game on my shelf for a while but for some reason other games kept popping up whenever I looked for something to play. It's the Redux version so it should be fine on Vista, right? I'll try to install it tomorrow.

[zobraks]

I've played Bad Mojo Redux on XP (although there were reports of problems with QuickTime), some people had no problems on Win 7. I hope it will work for you too PD and welcome aboard .

[Origami]

I'll be joining this Crawltrough? So how do we do this? With checkpoints?

[Fien]

This is gonna be good, dear fellow roachies! Eddie's Bar is paradise. Can't wait.

[zobraks]

Originally Posted by Origami

So how do we do this? With checkpoints?

Bad Mojo is clearly divided into stages (1 room = 1 stage of the playthrough). Welcome aboard.
You (accidentally and quite unintentionally ) started all this .

Originally Posted by Fien

This is gonna be good, dear fellow roachies! Eddie's Bar is paradise. Can't wait.

I'm looking forward to your comments, Fien!

[tegendemuur]

Got this game laying around for ages, yet never played it. I shall check today if it runs on my windows 7, otherwise it will be a nightly netbook crawlthrough.

Let us have fun

[zobraks]

Originally Posted by seagul

I'm ready to take of (or crawl down the dumps).
After a few minor problems i finally got the game working on my computer.
It's the (german) BadMojo redux version.
For fellow xp users: i had to deinstall all of quicktime to get the game started.
I hope it will work.

I'm glad you made it and I'm looking forward to your comments too.

Originally Posted by tegendemuur

Let us have fun

That's what TUBMC is all about! Hop in the wagon and welcome!

[Origami]

Originally Posted by zobraks

Bad Mojo is clearly divided into stages (1 room = 1 stage of the playthrough). Welcome aboard.
You (accidentally and quite unintentionally ) started all this .

Lol, I suspected so. But I stopped playing it too join this collective playthrough. Works out great, since I dislike finishing good games too quick.
I have stopped playing after the first stage.

I think I figured out some twists already. =P
But I don't feel like discussing it. I want rather the game to revelate everything.

[zobraks]

You've legally bought Bad Mojo, you've installed and tested it and you already saw Michael X. Sommers (Roger) acting his a$$ off. You became a roach and a tube opened in front of you.

OK roaches, here we go! Move straight into that tube and keep crawling on.
The first stage of Bad Mojo crawlthrough has officially started.

I almost forgot something:

Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Bad Mojo - abridged edition
(written by an idiot, for the idiots )

Here are some basic advice about adventuring in Bad Mojo (Redux):

1. Go everywhere.
[When you enter a new location try going in all directions, as far as you can. If you come across an obstacle (water, paint, cobwebs, etc.) go along it until you find a way through. If you're crawling on an object (table, box, radio, ...) go along all sides of it because there may be something interesting there (a new perspective, passage, ...).]
2. Pay attention to everything and carefully observe everything around you.
[It is worth taking notes of everything written on letters, bills, notes, newspapers and specially of strange numbers that repeatedly show to and fro. When you see a fellow cockroach scurrying in a certain direction - follow it and you might learn something useful. To get a larger picture of your whereabouts try to climb anything that protrudes (shelf, table, broom, box and so on). You may be amazed by a scenery!
Listen carefully: a dramatic change in music usually means you're approaching a danger/something evil.]
3. Save often.
[All kinds of peril lurk in the rooms of Eddie's bar, so make sure to save your position before every potentially dangerous situation (and almost all situations in BM are dangerous ). You have only four lives, remember, so I suggest you return to the saved position after losing a life. Or you may take risks if you feel lucky.]

[Fien]

Zobraks, where do we stop and how long do we have for the first part of the crawlthrough?

[zobraks]

The end of the first stage is when you leave Eddie's room (the place you're in now) and enter...

Spoiler:

... the toilet.

I wasn't sure about how long the first part of the crawlthrough should last: based on enthusiasm showed in Origami's theme I reckoned it would take you only a couple of hours to finish it , but now I think it would take longer (you all obviously need more time to accomodate) so the next part of TUBMC will start on Friday, November 19th, at 17:00 CET.

[PolloDiablo]

Excellent. It installed just fine. I watched the intro movie and saved right after that, haven't actually played.

[seagul]

I watched the intro movie.
My game only works if i have no quick time on my computer. So i have to whatch youtube for the little movies.
And i have a few questions:
At the beginning we see a bridge. Is it cognizable for someone what bridge/what town this is? I don't think it's important, just curious.
What's this room with the pipes? Is this a normal place in an american house? Seems really strange to me.
Before Eddi knocks, Roger states that it is because of his landlords he gets in trouble. But Eddies "lock it" only makes him remember the locket. So Roger only wants to blame somebody?
I like the way Sommers is acting over the top. Roger seems to be totally crazy. And totally ready to crawl into "the night of my soul", as he says it.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by seagul

I watched the intro movie.
My game only works if i have no quick time on my computer. So i have to whatch youtube for the little movies.

That's more than just a little frustrating, cause there will be many short FMV cutscenes which flesh out the background story. I'm not good at technical stuff, maybe someone else can help you.

And i have a few questions:
At the beginning we see a bridge. Is it cognizable for someone what bridge/what town this is?

The famous San Francisco bridge. The same bridge you saw in A New Beginning.
[[Question for quizz lovers, like Master Zobraks: there are at least two other adventures where you can see this bridge. Which ones?]]

What's this room with the pipes?

The basement. We have sewer pipes in Holland and I bet you have them too in Germany.

Before Eddi knocks, Roger states that it is because of his landlords he gets in trouble. But Eddies "lock it" only makes him remember the locket. So Roger only wants to blame somebody?

Yep. Eddy claims he's no longer the victim, but whining is second nature to him.

[Jelena]

A complete idiot's guide! Perfect! Sound convenient for me.
Last time I tried playing I indeed felt like an idiot.

[diego]

Originally Posted by Fien

Which ones?

Golden Gate (obviously) and some of Tex Murphy games