Video Game Classics: Earthworm Jim
Video Game Classics: Earthworm Jim
Some games will live forever as Classics. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be taking a look at run and gun platformer Earthworm Jim.
Released in 1994 by Shiny Entertainment for the Sega Mega Drive and Genesis, it was later ported to the SNES and several other platforms. When first released, it was hailed as the best Genesis game of the year; and received universal praise for its detailed animation, polished gameplay and surreal sense of humor.
The game’s plot is centered on an ordinary worm turned intergalactic superhero through the use of an “ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber suit.” Using it, he must save Princess “What’s-Her-Name” from her evil sister “Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-Filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt.”
Filled with bizarre characters and landscapes, players quickly learn to launch cows, bungee-jump, pilot submarines, and ride giant hamsters through the various levels.
Making your way, you will combat many strange enemies, fighting with Jim’s head as a whip and firing your trusty plasma blaster.
To advance, you must swing on hooks and climb through various treacherous obstacles.
In-between levels, Jim will fly to his next destination in a mini-game called Andy Asteroids, a semi-3D race against the evil Psycrow. Beating him, you must challenge him to one-on-one combat before progressing to the next world.
Due to Earthworm Jim’s instant success, the zany adventure received a cartoon show and a video game sequel only a year after its release. Eventually, Jim leaped to next generation gaming with 1999’s PC and Nintendo 64 sequel Earthworm Jim 3D, and made an appearance as a combatant in the offbeat brawler ClayFighter 63 1/3.
Fans appetite for the original was satisfied when an HD version made its way to the various downloadable services in 2010, re-igniting the longtime hope for a fourth installment in the series to arrive.
