Jim firing his gun in
Earthworm Jim 2, for Super Nintendo
Earthworm Jim is the name of a platform game starring an earthworm who battles evil with the help of an "ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit". It was developed by Shiny Entertainment, released for the Sega Genesis in 1994, and subsequently for the SNES, Game Gear, Game Boy, Mega CD, Game Boy Advance, and Microsoft Windows. Upon its release it was received very well, praised for its detailed, humourous animation and polished gameplay, and becoming the first game ever to get a 100% review in Games Master magazine. A special edition of the game was released for the Sega CD, which featured CD quality music, better graphics, and expanded levels [1].
The storyline involved many colorful characters. Jim himself was at first an ordinary Earth earthworm who did very earthworm-like things such as flee from crows. One day, in the space above Earth, the evil Psy-Crow had cornered a rebel spaceship pilot who had stolen an ultra-high-tech indestructible super space-cyber-suit, built by Professor Monkey-For-A-Head. The suit had been commissioned by Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt so that it would make her as beautiful as her twin sister, Princess What's-Her-Name. In the ensuing space fight, the suit was dropped to Earth, and fell on Jim. By a stroke of luck, Jim managed to land within the collar of the suit, and it ended up mutating him into the large and intelligent (at least by earthworm standards) superhero he is today. Jim overheard Psy-Crow talking to Queen Slug-for-a-Butt about the scorch marks left by the suit, and how she would soon be as beautiful as Princess What's-Her-Name. Jim thus set out to rescue the princess, fighting many enemies along the way, such as Evil the Cat and Bob the Killer Goldfish.
It has three sequels. Earthworm Jim 2 was released in 1995 for the Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, SNES and PC (and later for the Game Boy Advance). Earthworm Jim 3D (1999, PC, Nintendo 64), and Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy (1999, Game Boy Color).
Shiny's game Sacrifice involved an earthworm-like god called James.
Other media
An animated television series based on the games was produced and created by Doug TenNapel, and aired from 1995 to 1996, with Dan Castellaneta providing the voice for the title character. Other voices were provided by Andrea Martin and Ben Stein.
Two separate Earthworm Jim comics were published: one in the United States, and one in the UK. The latter was based more on the cartoon series than the original games. Aside from featuring the same characters, the two comics were completely unrelated.
See also
External links
Fan sites
Last updated: 09-03-2005 18:37:12
