Who Shot Johnny Rock? Cheats & Cheat Codes for Arcade, DOS and Sega CD

Who Shot Johnny Rock? is a 1991 live-action full-motion video laserdisc title developed and published by American Laser Games. The game made its way to a ton of platforms, including arcades, DOS, Sega CD, Philips CD-i, and even DVD.

The reviews of the game back in 1991 were not particularly great. While the combination of a murder mystery alongside the full-motion video was praised as an interesting concept, there was a lot about the technical side of the game that left a lot to be desired.

Who Shot Johnny Rock? Premise

Based in 1930s Chicago, Who Shot Johnny Rock? tells the story of a murdered nightclub singer and the investigation to solve his murder. To do so, you, the investigator, must interrogate multiple subjects, collecting clues throughout various levels to crack the case.

The game is a light gun game, meaning it has several shooting sections. In these levels, you must shoot enemies before they shoot you. Killing enemies earns you money, which you then need to spend on more ammunition between missions. However, killing innocent civilians during these levels means that you have to pay for their funeral costs, which reduces the amount you can spend on ammo. If you run out of money, it’s game over.

To win, you must piece together the clues that you collect throughout the game, and use them in the final showdown with the murderer.

Who Shot Johnny Rock? Main Characters

The characters in Who Shot Johnny Rock? are at the heart of everything. You interact with them in every scene, and need to read how they react to your interrogations to figure out if they’re telling the truth or not.

Here’s everyone you need to know before playing Who Shot Johnny Rock?’s story.

• The Protagonist: In Who Shot Johnny Rock?, you’re the protagonist, a private investigator brought in to solve Johnny Rock’s murder through a variety of tactics.
• Red: Red is introduced at the beginning of the game, having hired you to discover the murderer’s identity.
• Johnny Rock: Johnny Rock is a nightclub singer who has been murdered. It’s up to you to figure out the true identity of the killer.
• Measles, Mumps, Smallpox, and Lockjaw Lil: These four gangsters are the key suspects in the Johnny Rock cases. You must interrogate all four individually to figure out which one committed the crime.

Who Shot Johnny Rock? Titles in the Series

Ultimately, Who Shot Johnny Rock? went on to be a solo release, and didn’t sell well enough to justify a sequel.

Despite this, American Laser Games was determined to take advantage of the light gun technology of the time, producing numerous titles in the style of Who Shot Johnny Rock? between 1990 and 1994. It would be difficult to say that any of them were enormous successes for the studio, and the genre eventually fizzled out outside of retro arcades.

Here is the full list of American Laser Games released within this genre:

American Laser Games Light Gun Arcade Games

• Mad Dog McCree (1990)
• Who Shot Johnny Rock? (1991)
• Space Pirates (1992)
• Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold (1992)
• Gallagher’s Gallery (1992)
• Crime Patrol (1993)
• Crime Patrol 2: Drug Wars (1993)
• The Last Bounty Hunter (1994)
• Fast Draw Showdown (1994)
• Shootout at Old Tucson (1994)

Who Shot Johnny Rock? Cheat Codes

Unfortunately, American Laser Games never included any cheat codes in Who Shot Johnny Rock? as the game is full-motion video. This meant that everything that happens in-game had to be extremely controlled, with actors recording every single event that occurs throughout. Cheat codes are naturally unpredictable in how they can affect the game, so it makes sense that they were excluded from this particular title.

If cheats were to exist, we imagine it would only really be an infinite money code, as this is the only factor that truly matters throughout Who Shot Johnny Rock?‘s story.

Who Shot Johnny Rock? Cheat Code FAQs

Are There Achievements in Who Shot Johnny Rock?

No. The game doesn’t support achievements of any kind, having been released far before they were prevalent in games. There is no modern re-release of the game either, meaning they haven’t been retroactively added further down the line.

How Many Levels Are There in Who Shot Johnny Rock?

In total, there are seven levels in Who Shot Johnny Rock?, with each one giving you different clues depending on the eventual identity of the killer. Here’s the full list below:

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Who Shot Johnny Rock?.