Earthworm Jim 2

From Sega Retro

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EarthWormJim2 Title.png

Earthworm Jim 2
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Saturn
Publisher: Playmates Interactive Entertainment (US) Virgin Interactive (EU) Takara (JP)
Sega Mega Drive
JP Sega Channel Interplay
Developer:
Sound driver:
Sega Mega Drive
GEMS
Genre: Action

















Release Date RRP Code
Wii Virtual Console
JP
600pts600
Wii Virtual Console
US
800pts800
Wii Virtual Console
EU
800pts800
CERO
Missing Parameter!

Earthworm Jim 2 (アースワーム・ジム2) is the direct sequel to Earthworm Jim, and was released (among other consoles) for the Sega Mega Drive in 1995. An enhanced version was released on the Sega Saturn.

Though very similar to the original game, Earthworm Jim 2 has more varied gameplay than its predecessor. As well as including standard platforming levels, there are also quiz questions, an isometric shoot 'em up level and various adaptions to the platforming formula, including marathon races and a stage where Jim must shoot his way through mounds of dirt. It retains the surreal humour from the first game and was followed by Earthworm Jim 3D in 1999.

Version Differences

Mega Drive

Like its predecessor, Earthworm Jim 2 was developed with the Sega Mega Drive in mind, with the code subsequently ported to the Super Nintendo. The Mega Drive version is therefore the original copy of the game and the basis for most of the ports going forward.

Saturn

The Sega Saturn version of Earthworm Jim 2 was ported to the system (alongside a PlayStation version) by Screaming Pink. It uses the enhanced audio soundtrack seen in the PC version released six months prior, while making a number of improvements to the game' graphics (namely the backgrounds, which are unique to these two versions). A great deal still resembles that of the Mega Drive original, however, and many of the sprites remain largely unchanged (including those employing dithering techniques to circumvent the Mega Drive's limited colour palette).

The Saturn and PlayStation Earthworm Jim 2s were considered controversial by some critics in 1996, as it was felt the upgrades were not significant enough to justify the release on newer hardware.

History

Legacy

The Mega Drive version of the game has since been re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console service.

Production Credits

Mega Drive Version

Earthworm Jim 2

(C) 1995 Shiny Entertainment, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

Program: Andy Astor
Additional Programming: Nicholas Jones, D.P.
Art Director: Nick Bruty
Lead Artists: Steve Crow, Mark Lorenzon
Level Designer: Tom Tanaka
Directing Animator: Michael Francis Dietz
Animators: Jeff Etter, Shawn McLean, Ed Schofield, Doug Tennapel, Larry Whitaker
Assistant Animators: Eric Ciccone, Roger Hardy
Additional Art: Rod Altschul, Clark Sorensen, Lin Shen, Tom Tanaka
Fine Art Director and Illustrations: Michael Koelsch
Music & FX: Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc
Clean Up: Dave Bombadier, Nancy Fernandez
Designed By: About a million Shiny meetings
Produced By: Scott Herrington, David Luehmann
Development Tools By: Andy Astor, Dan Chang, Alias, Psy-Q, Rob Northern
Lead Testers: Andy Brown, Lee Jones, James Martinez, Carlos Rodriguez, Manuel Quintones, Jose Zatarain
Special Thanks: Brenda Bolanos, Sandy Burusco, Brad Hartke, Stacy Hering, Charles Loop, Chris Mayberry, Richard Sallis, Nicole Smith, Kris Stoyak, Angie Tennapel, Beck Tran, Chips + Bread, Cows

Promotional Material

Physical Scans

Mega Drive Version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
76 №11, p108/109/110/111
93 №48, p120/121/122
93 №169, p24/25
79
96
92
91 №37, p50/51
94 №88
93 №47, p58/59/60
76
95 №58, p92/93/94/95
95 №74, p32/33/34
93 №53, p42/43
94 №2, p89
Sega Mega Drive
90
Based on
14 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
80
[1]
CD Consoles (FR)
76
[2]
Consoles + (FR)
93
[3]
Cool Gamer (RU)
90
[4]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
93
[5]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
79
[6]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)
80
[7]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 2 (RU)
80
[8]
Fusion (US) NTSC-U
75
[9]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
96
[10]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
92
[11]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
98
[12]
GamePro (UK)
95
[13]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
94
[14]
Game Informer (US) NTSC-U
89
[15]
Hobby Consolas (ES) PAL
95
[16]
Joypad (FR)
93
[17]
LeveL (CZ)
100
[18]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
76
[19]
Mega Fun (DE) PAL
91
[20]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
95
[21]
Next Generation (US) NTSC-U
75
[22]
Player One (FR)
95
[23]
Sega Magazin (DE) PAL
94
[24]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
95
[25]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
93
[26]
Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL
94
[27]
Todo Sega (ES)
95
[28]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
92
[29]
Ultimate Gamer (US)
100
[30]
Última Generación (ES)
77
[31]
VideoGames (US) NTSC-U
90
[32]
Sega Mega Drive
89
Based on
32 reviews

Earthworm Jim 2

Mega Drive, US
EWJ2 MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Earthworm Jim 2 MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, EU
Earthworm Jim 2 MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
EarthwormJim2 MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, BR
EWJ2 md br cover.jpg
Cover

Saturn Version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
92 №61, p114/115
80
83
81
60 №47, p44
100 №55, p64
76
70 №50, p71[33]
80
87 №71, p100/101
85 №82
72 №13, p72/73
80
Sega Saturn
80
Based on
13 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
CD Consoles (FR) PAL
40
[34]
Consoles + (FR)
92
[35]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
70
[36]
Fun Generation (DE) PAL
80
[37]
GameFan (US)
83
[38]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
90
[39]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
81
[40]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
85
[41]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
60
[42]
Game Informer (US) NTSC-U
81
[43]
Hacker (HR)
84
[44]
Hacker (HR)
82
[45]
Intelligent Gamer's Fusion (US) NTSC-U
83
[46]
Joypad (FR) NTSC-U
100
[47]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
76
[48]
Mega Fun (DE) PAL
91
[49]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
70
[33]
Next Generation (US) NTSC-U
50
[50]
neXt Level (DE) PAL
80
[51]
Player One (FR)
87
[52]
Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J
70
[53]
Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J
61
[54]
Secret Service (PL)
75
[55]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
85
[56]
Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL
72
[57]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
70
[58]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
80
[59]
Total Saturn (UK) PAL
76
[60]
Total Saturn (UK) PAL
73
[61]
Video Games (DE) PAL
80
[62]
VideoGames (US)
90
[63]
Sega Saturn
77
Based on
31 reviews

Earthworm Jim 2

Saturn, US
EarthWormJim2Back us.jpgEarthWormJim2Box us.jpg
Cover
EarthWormJim2SatDisc us.jpg
Disc
Earthwormjim2 sat us manual.pdf
Manual
Saturn, EU
EWJ2 Saturn EU Box.jpg
Cover
EWJ2 Saturn EU Disc.jpg
Disc
Saturn, JP
EWJ2 Saturn JP Box Back.jpgEWJ2 Saturn JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
EarthwormJim2 Saturn JP Spinecard.jpg
Spinecard
Earthworm Jim 2 Sega Saturn JP Disc.jpg
Disc

External links

  • 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 67
  • CD Consoles, "Novembre 1995" (FR; 1995-xx-xx), page 108
  • Consoles +, "Novembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 120
  • Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 71
  • Computer & Video Games, "December 1995" (UK; 1995-11-10), page 24
  • Electronic Gaming Monthly, "November 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 42
  • Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 309
  • Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 2, "" (RU; 2000-xx-xx), page 123
  • Fusion, "Volume 1, Number 4: November 1995" (US; 1995-1x-xx), page 116
  • GameFan, "Volume 3, Issue 11: November 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 22
  • Game Players, "Vol. 8 No. 12 December 1995" (US; 1995-1x-xx), page 58
  • GamePro, "November 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 76
  • GamePro, "December 1995" (UK; 1995-10-28), page 20
  • GamesMaster (UK) "Series 5, episode 9" (1995-11-16, 24:00) (+14:17)
  • Game Informer, "November 1995" (US; 1995-1x-xx), page 20
  • Hobby Consolas, "Noviembre 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 72
  • Joypad, "Novembre 1995" (FR; 1995-11-03), page 58
  • LeveL, "Březen 1996" (CZ; 1996-03-06), page 21
  • MAN!AC, "12/95" (DE; 1995-11-08), page 80
  • Mega Fun, "12/95" (DE; 1995-11-21), page 36
  • Mean Machines Sega, "Earthworm Jim 2 Exclusive Review Booklet" (UK; 1995-10-30), page 2
  • Next Generation, "December 1995" (US; 1995-11-21), page 1999
  • Player One, "Novembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 94
  • Sega Magazin, "Dezember 1995" (DE; 1995-11-15), page 18
  • Sega Power, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-11-16), page 32
  • Sega Pro, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-11-30), page 36
  • Sega Saturn Magazine, "December 1995" (UK; 1995-11-24), page 89
  • Todo Sega, "Noviembre 1995" (ES; 1995-1x-xx), page 42
  • Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 13
  • Ultimate Gamer, "November 1995" (US; 1995-1x-xx), page 92
  • Última Generación, "Octubre 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 102
  • VideoGames, "December 1995" (US; 1995-11-21), page 92
  • 33.0 33.1 File:MeanMachinesSega50UK.pdf, page 71 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega50UK.pdf_p71" defined multiple times with different content
  • CD Consoles, "Janvier 1997" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 126
  • Consoles +, "Janvier 1997" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 114
  • Famitsu, "1996-11-08,15" (JP; 1996-10-25), page 1
  • Fun Generation, "08/96" (DE; 1996-07-10), page 78
  • GameFan, "Volume 4, Issue 3: March 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 12
  • GameFan, "Volume 4, Issue 7: July 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 12
  • Game Players, "Vol. 9 No. 5 May 1996" (US; 1996-04-xx), page 66
  • GamePro, "May 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 64
  • GamesMaster, "October 1996" (UK; 1996-08-29), page 44
  • Game Informer, "April 1996" (US; 1996-0x-xx), page 42
  • Hacker, "02/1996" (HR; 1996-xx-xx), page 30
  • Hacker, "07-08/1996" (HR; 1996-xx-xx), page 28
  • Intelligent Gamer's Fusion, "Volume 2, Number 8: May 1996" (US; 1996-0x-xx), page 83
  • Joypad, "Juillet/Août 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 64
  • MAN!AC, "07/96" (DE; 1996-06-12), page 62
  • Mega Fun, "07/96" (DE; 1996-06-19), page 40
  • Next Generation, "June 1996" (US; 1996-05-21), page 119
  • neXt Level, "Juli 1996" (DE; 1996-06-12), page 68
  • Player One, "Janvier 1997" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 100
  • Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 17" (JP; 1996-08-02), page 189
  • Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 26" (JP; 1996-12-13), page 70
  • Secret Service, "Marzec 1997" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 66
  • Sega Power, "Collectors' Issue 1996" (UK; 1996-07-xx), page 50
  • Sega Saturn Magazine, "November 1996" (UK; 1996-10-17), page 72
  • Sega Saturn Magazine, "1996-15 (1996-09-13)" (JP; 1996-08-23), page 242
  • Sega Saturn Magazine, "Readers rating final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 13
  • Total Saturn, "Volume One Issue Three" (UK; 1996-11-29), page 54
  • Total Saturn, "Volume One Issue Four" (UK; 1996-12-29), page 24
  • Video Games, "8/96" (DE; 1996-07-31), page 112
  • VideoGames, "May 1996" (US; 1996-04-23), page 62