Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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A playthrough of ASC's 1992 action-platformer for the Super Nintendo, Sküljagger: Revolt of the Westicans.

When they weren't relying on licensed media tie-ins, American Softworks was a company that often leaned into novelty to market their games. Treasure Master (youtu.be/_KvkJe5mVl8), for example, challenged players to compete for a $10,000 prize, and Cannondale Cup could be played with an exercise bike.

Sküljagger was posed as a typical action game, but it also had a gimmick. With a wink and a nod to parents, it came packed in with a lengthy novella that masqueraded as an instruction manual and hint book. For the kid who hated to read, this would've been a perfect Trojan horse. The story - a tale about a pirate who fights to liberate his island from the tyranny of the evil Sküljagger - is surprisingly well written, and the hints and secrets woven directly into the narrative provided a real incentive to sit down and read it. It's a clever idea, and I have no doubt that it drew in a fair number of reluctant readers.

You can find scanned copy at archive.org/details/skuljagger-usa

The game itself is somewhat less interesting, but it does its job as a vehicle for the concept. You play as Storm Jaxon, a hotheaded swordsman and lover of bubblegum. The stages are your standard array of semi-linear, 16-bit platforming gauntlets loaded with collectibles, bizarre enemies, and hidden bonus areas. The twist is that Storm can gain special abilities (flying, high jumps, invincibility, etc.) by chewing different flavors of gum. Bizarre, but memorable.

The controls are clumsy but generally reliable, the level layouts are varied enough to hold your interest, the challenge is fair throughout, and the music is catchy. Everything would've benefited from more polish, though. The game drags on for way too long, the character animations are rough and awkward, and the heavy slowdown in the later stages is a huge annoyance.

Sküljagger is a great idea wrapped around a decent game, and I imagine that's all it needed to be to serve its purpose. I'm curious: did Storm Jaxon's adventure convert any of you into life-long lovers of the written word?
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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