Franchise: The Downfall of Earthworm Jim
The demise of a legend is sad to watch...being a onetime fan only makes things worse.
Before I begin, for those who have never heard of (or wish to forget) what Earthworm Jim is here is a select assortment of visual clues that may give aid as to just what he is.
No matter what the people may say, 1994 was not an all-bad year. I do realize that it was the year that The New Kids On The Block called it quits, but please hear me out(oh come on dont try to pretend you didnt see it coming). For it was the year that the gaming world was given a new kind of herothe squirmy protoplasmic kind.
Earthworm Jim started out with a bang and continued strong throughout the first half of the 90s. However, since the end of the 16-bit era the Earthworm Jim franchise has, with all due respect, done little more than make a mockery of itself and alienate even the most devote of its dwindling fanbase. The leap to the third dimension came at far too high a cost for the series; sadly, though, it laid the framework for the darker times ahead. For today, even the Game Boy Advance seems to be foreign ground for the once vibrant worm.
The Earthworm known as Jim began his heroic life when he (an ordinary worm) stumbled across a space suit, which had fallen from the sky. As comical as it may sound, the suit endowed Jim with super strength, average intelligence, and bipedal locomotion. Yet, no sooner had he come to grips with these newfound abilities, than word came to pass of the beautiful Princess Whats Her Name, who had been kidnapped by the evil Psy-Crow. Touting a really big red gun he wandered off to rescue her. Earthworm Jim (produced by Shiny Entertainment) proved to be as fun as it was imaginative and became an instant smash hit. Bringing forth a creative attitude and excellent sense of humor to players of the SNES era, the game became so popular that it even spawned its very own animated cartoon series.
Earthworm Jim gave the whole platforming genre a, much needed, breath of fresh air. Unlike many, the title wasnt just a prettied up Super Mario Bros. or Sonic the Hedgehog. The game reeked of originality and those hoping for endless monster squishing or spin attacks were faced with a difficult decision. Live a life of anger and resentment stemming from an inability to cope with themselves for not saving Princess Whats Her Name when the opportunity aroseor become one with the madness that is Earthworm Jim.
Preloaded with a really big red gun, Jim could fire in almost every direction for easy annihilation of any living creature that happened to come his way. To make things even better, that sleek worm body of his could be used to whip monsters out of the way, or swing across ravines (via strategically placed hooks). Should worst come to the worst, he could always spin the top of his head like a helicopter to guide himself away from a particularly dangerous area. With an A+ in the fun department it was no surprise when the title became a major hit. To make things even better Shiny Entertainment was already hard at work on a sequel to the hit game.
In a little over a year Shiny wrapped things up on Earthworm Jim 2 and fans everywhere rejoiced. Published by Funsoft, EWJ2 proved worthy of purchaseat any price. Taking all of the fun of the original and adding new abilities, a great and comical new story, new-fangled power ups, and even better level design Earthworm Jim 2 left millions foaming at the mouth in anticipation for even more earthy goodness. Jim didnt head into battle alone his 2nd time through, however. He had his very own backpack companion, Snott, who could be used either as a parachute, or as a swing to transport Jim across mucus-encrusted ledges. As if that werent enough, there were many new and off the wall weapons this time around, including a homing gun, a big laser, the undeniably awesome barn gun, and the most deadly weapon ever conceivedthe bubble gun. As for the barn gun, it was unfeasibly huge, and when fired, cleared the screen of all life, and most of the foliage, too.
Shiny really outdid itself with EWJ2 and it was evident in the unique enemies and levels that made up the game. It had crows, rabid dogs, more crows, aliens, mutant cats, and nearly every other disturbing creature Shiny could come up with. The main antagonists included the likes of Psy-Crow, Queen Pulsating, Evil the Cat, Major Mucus, Professor Monkey-for-a-head, and Bob the Tyrannical Goldfish. Judging from their names one would be petrified, but many of them were not as sinister as their name implied. Thats not to say that any of them were defeated easily, howeverthe game required one to think as well as blast. EWJ2s levels were even better than the original. From rescuing Peter Puppys (Peter changes into a Jim eating monster when angry) babies from imminent demise to outrunning falling rocks, fun was a basic element in the level design. Oh how grand it would have been if the word fun could be associated with Jims future endeavors.
The Earthworm Jim license began its run as the village bicycle shortly after the release of EWJ2. Earthworm Jim 3D (for the N64) went through an exhausting number of redesigns, developers, and publishers before it was finally released in late 1999. Shiny Entertainment had long since washed its hands of the franchise and it finally ended up being developed by Vicarious Visions, with Rockstar as its publisher. In the game, Jim (in full 3D) is hit by a falling cow and on the brink of losing his marbles because of it. So, like all normal brains, a miniature Earthworm Jim was created inside his mind as some kind of self-defense mechanism. The miniature earthworm had to, not only, find all of his marbles but defeat all evil in the four sections of his brain as well.
It was a valiant effort by Vic. Visions but ultimately failed to capture the magic of its predecessors. The game played just like every other Earthworm Jim game, with an added third dimension. However, it didnt offer anything that other 3D platformers didnt already havein abundance. Even worse was the fact that it didnt exude the carefree atmosphere all had hoped for, especially with its absolutely terrible camera system. The camera seemed to have a life of its own. Many times blocking the view during crucial times in the game or zooming in far to close for the player to be able to see where enemies were coming from. The camera alone made the game almost unplayable. EWJ 3D was the series first and last adventure in a 3D world.
Roughly two weeks after Earthworm Jim 3D hit shelves fans everywhere were invited to purchase the worms first handheld title, Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy for the Game Boy Color. Most declined that invitationand rightfully so. Developed by IMS Productions and published by Crave Entertainment, the game was a revisit to Jims past gone horribly wrong. Sure, it had jumping and shooting but it lacked everything that makes Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim. The sense of humor that magnetized gamers to the original titles was not a part of Menace 2 the Galaxy at all. Even Jims whip failed to make the cut. Menace 2 the Galaxy was nothing more than a jump and collect the nuts side-scroller. It was not an Earthworm Jim game and, with EWJ3D, helped dig the franchise into a hole it has yet to dig itself out of.
With the launch of the Game Boy Advance the original Earthworm Jim was reborn once againthis time developed by Game Titan and published by Majesco. The moment Earthworm Jim (a port from the SNES) was released the two companys intentions were clear. Caring little or nothing for the EWJ license, Game Titan let it be known to the world that they were not only a 3rd party developer, but a 3rd rate one at that. The games conversion from SNES to GBA (done successfully by countless other game makers) couldnt be described as anything more than a sloppy, careless port to milk the EWJ name for all its worth. The animation was off, the control horrid, and to top it all off no one seemed to realize or care that perhaps a save feature should have been added being that it was on a portable system and all. The game stunk.
As if Majesco (this time with Super Empire as developer) hadnt done enough damage the first time through, on May 31, 2002 the company ruined yet another classic EWJ adventure with its port of Earthworm Jim 2 on the GBA. No time or consideration was taken in the conversion at all. Majesco has made a mockery out of the series and truly showed the world how low some publishers are willing to go to increase profits. The game plays even worse than the companys first EWJ GBA port, which is hard to imagine. The title is full of a ridiculous number of bugs and glitches, all of which pretty much make it unplayable. It even freezes up on various levels and the animation is so bad that not even a small child should be subject to it.
It is evident that Super Empire (with Majesco at the helm) decided, for some odd reason, not to test the game for glitches. Why you ask...because they simply didnt care. The password generator rarely works and one can only wonder why the sound is so horrid considering it was one of the only acceptable parts of the first GBA port. The fact that both Game Titan and Super Empire were created specifically for the two ports also leads one to wonder just how qualified they were to handle the projects. Majesco needs to change its ways and start selling games instead of pretty names.
In the mid 90s the gaming world was blessed with two games that featured a new kind of herothe wormy kind. Shiny Entertainments Earthworm Jim took 2D platforming to a whole new level. However, the 16-bit era is the only place its legacy will remain. For the true Earthworm Jim is all but extinct. All that remains a name, the growing aura of emptiness surrounding it, and the remembrance of what once was. Like all things that gradually lose the very substance that binds them
Earthworm Jim will soon crumble....
The views expressed above are mine and may not necessarily reflect the views of N-Sider as a whole. Email Jeff with any Feedback, comments, questions, ranting, etc or post them in the related topic in our forums. Here's a link.