Developer: Shiny Publisher: Playmates Interactive Release: 11/15/95 Genre: Action
There were many mascot platformers during the 16-bit era. The vast majority of them failed to make an impression and sadly some of the truly great ones did not attain the success they deserved. Earthworm Jim was one of the breakout successes of that era and it is easy to see why. Shiny really thought out the character’s history and design which made the transition to other media like animation easier. Earthworm Jim 2 released at the tail end of that generation and is one of the last great 16-bit games. While the Sega Genesis version is not the odds on favorite this time it is still fantastic in its own right.
After rescuing Princess What’s-her-name (and removing the cow that squashed her at the end of the first game) Jim wins her heart. But out of jealousy Psycrow kidnaps her and takes her to the Lost Vegas system to force her to marry him and allow him to rule the universe. Jim is in pursuit with the help of his new buddy Snot. Earthworm Jim 2released after the cartoon began airing and has a much bigger presence. Even in the wake of the Sega Saturn and PlayStation’s release it is one of the best games of 1995.
Mechanically Earthworm Jim 2 has changed significantly. Jim no longer uses his body to swing from surfaces. Instead his companion Snot performs that function. Honestly it feels redundant and a change for the sake of it as you only swing from designated slime deposits. Snot also doubles as a parachute. But to activate it you must press jump and the attack button rather than jump twice. There are more guns to play with and unfortunately you cannot switch in this version like the SNES game to conserve ammo. This is a huge detriment as you will want to avoid certain weapons like the stupid bubble gun for this reason. The controls while needlessly complicated work but could have been better.
Earthworm Jim 2 eschews the straight platforming of the first game in the name of variety. Of the ten levels only three feature traditional action. Almost every other stage introduces some new mechanic or gimmick to spruce things up. In the Villi People Jim dresses up as a cave salamander and must float his way through the intestines of the planet, carefully avoiding walls and obstacles in the process. The Flyin’ King sees you hop on a rocket to guide a bomb strapped to a hot air balloon to the level’s boss. This stage looks like an isometric shooter and is the weirdest of all. Inflated Head sees Jim…..inflate his head to navigate his way through hazardous terrain on his way out of Evil the Cat’s circus. Puppy Love replaces Andy’s Asteroids as you save Peter Puppy’s litter from Psycrow as he tosses them out of a window, the bastard.
The variety is appreciated and is one of the game’s strengths. But it is also hit or miss. The perspective and controls of the Flyin’ King make it one of the most frustrating stages in the game. The slippery controls (a problem I had with the first game as well) make some levels like Udderly Abducted and the final race against Psycrow aggravating. And Puppy Love is a fun distraction the first time. But you play through it three times and it gets longer each time. These annoyances do not make the game bad, far from it. But they stand out compared to the better levels that are more traditional like Lorenzo’s Soil or ISO 9000. If they tightened up the mechanics some more Earthworm Jim 2 could have been stellar. The pieces are here, they just need some tightening up.
Like its predecessor Earthworm Jim 2 is difficult. Aiming still feels imprecise but combat is not a big focus in this game. The challenge varies from one level to the next. I found the Flyin’ King to be one of the hardest due to the perspective and controls. It also drags on too long. This also applies to the later Puppy Love stages; they are a grueling test of your patience. Chasing Psycrow in the finale is doubly harder in this version as they love to place the worst weapons in your path and you cannot switch. You’ll waste precious time exhausting your ammo to move on. There is a password system thankfully this time but you’ll have to find three hidden items in each level first. Always a damn caveat with this one I swear.
The Sega Genesis is the base version of Earthworm Jim 2. However this time there is content parity with the SNES version and significant differences in visuals. Shiny used more of the SNES features for effects not present here like transparency and additional layers of parallax scrolling. This is most notable in Lorenzo’s Soil and ISO 9000. Some stages have completely different backgrounds as well. The first level takes place at night on Super Nintendo while on Sega during Sunset. See Jim Run has an awesome futuristic look on the Genesis that I miss on SNES. The music is also not as high quality as the SNES game. That being said although the presentation favors the Nintendo version Shiny have still done a bang up job here.
In Closing
Earthworm Jim 2 is a great game and the title that made me a fan of this series. While the levels can be hit or miss overall they are still fun and insanely creative. The quality of this game makes the fall off for this series that much more tragic. But that is a story for another day.
