Earthworm Jim

"Totally Groovy"

Earthworm Jim on the Genesis is one of the best 2d platformers. I plays well with excellent graphics and sound/music. The level design is also inspired with some non-platforming levels that offer a bit of extra variety.

Perhaps what defines this game is its absurdly random humour and creative level designs. These levels are not simple left to right only excursions. You'll have to go in all different directions and use all your skills in jumping up to grab onto ledges, worm whip to swing on hooks and even use your helicopter head. Most levels are unique and are filled with a good amount of hidden little areas with powerups that require ingenuity and skill to get to. The boss battles are also pretty fun. My favorite is the one where Jim is in constant free fall with a robotic hen house at the end of level 5. The non platforming levels like the extremely fun bungee cord duel with Major Mucus and the Andy Asteroids bonus racing levels which occur between the main levels offer a nice break to the more conventional platforming levels. The peter puppy level is one of the better escort type levels out there. Although I've heard of people who find it frustrating, it's really not that difficult except for the very last section which might require a few tries but is hardly insurmountable.

Controls are responsive and work well. A bit of practice is required to use your worm whip to swing on hooks but once you figure out the right placement and timing, you won't have a problem executing it consistently. The trick is to take into account the time it takes for jim to pull his whip back. There are some limitations to Jim's abilities which aren't an issue when you actually play through the game but can feel limiting at first for a gamer who is more used to run and gun games like Vectorman. Jim cannot run and attack at the same time. He will remain in place for the duration of his shooting or worm ship. The advantage of this is that it allows him to shoot in all 8 directions which is very useful in different parts of the game.

The game is challenging but it's fairly easy to gain two to three extra continues in the first few Andy Asteroid levels on normal difficulty. You need to get at least 50 bubbles and win the race to earn a continue.

As mentioned before the game is pretty funny, from the opening of EWJ at the Sega logo to the idle animations to the fact that his suit uses Jim himself to whip at enemies. The villains are also very well designed with hilarious names like Professor Monkey for a Butt who is looks exactly like what his name implies. Enemies specific to certain levels like the lawyers in Heck are brilliant comic touches. It's little details like these that give the game personality. The ending will most certainly get a good laugh out of you.

As much as I like this game, it has its flaws. A fairly frustrating one are the submarine sequences in the Down the Tubes levels. The last one in particular is long and difficult as the controls are simply not well suited for the fast and quick navigation required during these timed sequences. The extra level not available on the SNES version is really nothing special and is difficult because it has only one continue point and has the least enjoyable boss battle in the game. The final boss is also somewhat of a disappointment, as long as you have enough ammo you'll beat her fairly easily.

As far as the comparisons to the SNES version, this game is not as graphically impressive as that version but it still looks great regardless. Most of the graphical enhancements in the SNES are in the backgrounds with a couple of levels having a different colour scheme entirely. Personally I find the sound and music comparable between both versions. One advantage that the Genesis has over the SNES is that for whatever reason the SNES version shows less of the level and appears to be zoomed in a bit more. This actually does affect gameplay sometimes. For instance the garbage can sub-boss in the first level is easier to defeat in the Genesis version simply because you have more room to run and maneuver due to the wider field of view. For me that makes the gameplay better if I can see more of the level at any given moment. I'll take that over superficial graphical enhancements that have no effect on gameplay.

Pros
-Bizarre and hilarious presentation
-Excellent and creative level design including enemies and bosses
-Very good graphics and music that is always appropriate for the level
-Responsive controls
-Wider field of view than the SNES version

Cons
-Not as graphically impressive as the SNES
-Submarine sequences are frustrating
-Exclusive Genesis level is nothing special

On the fence
-Last few levels can be quite difficult in comparison to the later levels. Not impossible but newer gamers may not be used to this level of challenge. Personally I think it's fine and I'm definitely not someone who likes very hard games.

Verdict: 8/10
This game while challenging is lots of fun, bursting with creativity and bizarre humour that you don't see very often. A classic of the 16-bit era surpassed only by the Sega CD special edition and EWJ2 games.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/28/09

Game Release: Earthworm Jim (US, 06/09/94)