Difference between revisions of "Earthworm Jim"

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{{OtherPage|desc=the [[Sega Mega-CD]] game|page=Earthworm Jim: Special Edition}}
 
{{Bob
 
{{Bob
 
| bobscreen=Earthworm Jim Title.png
 
| bobscreen=Earthworm Jim Title.png
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| screenwidth=
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| bobscreen2=EarthwormJim GG Title.png
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| title=Earthworm Jim
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| bobscreen3=EarthwormJim SMS Title.png
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| publisher=[[Playmates]]
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| tab1=Mega Drive
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| developer=[[Shiny Entertainment]]
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| tab2=Game Gear
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| system= [[Sega Mega Drive]], [[Sega Mega CD]], [[Sega Master System]], [[Sega Game Gear]]
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| tab3=Master System
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| romsize={{MD}} 3MB {{SMS}} 512KB
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| publisher={{company|[[Playmates Interactive Entertainment]]|system=MD,GG|region=US}}
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{{company|[[Virgin Interactive Entertainment]]|system=MD,GG|region=EU}}
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{{company|[[Interplay]]|system=MD|region=JP; [[Sega Channel]]}}
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{{company|[[Ballistic]]|region=US re-release|system=MD}}
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{{company|[[Tec Toy]]|system=SMS}}
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{{company|[[Interplay]]|system=VC,SwitchOnline}}
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| developer={{company|[[Shiny Entertainment]]|system=MD}}
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{{company|[[Eurocom Entertainment Software]]|system=GG,SMS}}
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{{company|[[M2]]|system=VC}}
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| support={{company|[[Moore & Price Design Group]]|system=MD,GG|region=US|role=packaging}}
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| distributor={{company|[[Metro Games]]|system=MD|region=AU}}
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{{company|[[SF Interactive Media]]|system=MD|region=SE rental}}
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| system=[[Sega Mega Drive]], [[Sega Master System]], [[Sega Game Gear]], [[Virtual Console]], [[Nintendo Switch Online]]
 
| sounddriver={{MD}} [[GEMS]]
 
| sounddriver={{MD}} [[GEMS]]
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| peripherals={{MD}} [[Control Pad (Mega Drive)]]
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| peripherals=
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| europe=1994 ({{MD}} presumably June 9, 1994 if ''[[Earthworm Jim 2|2]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>'s quiz question on Jim's birthday refers to it)
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| players=1
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| usa=1994 ({{MD}} presumably June 9, 1994 if ''[[Earthworm Jim 2|2]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>'s quiz question on Jim's birthday refers to it)
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| genre=Action{{fileref|EWJ GG EU Box Back.jpg}}, Action/Humour{{fileref|EWJ MD SE rental cover.jpg}}
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| genre=Action
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| releases={{releasesMD
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| timeattack=
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| md_date_jp_sc=1995-12-01
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| esrb=e
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| md_rrp_jp_sc=sub
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| vrc=ga
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| md_date_us=1994-10{{magref|megaplay|0504|36}}<!--1994-09{{magref|gameplayers|0711|148}}-->
−
| sega=
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| md_rrp_us=69.99{{magref|gameplayers|0711|148}}
−
| pegi=7
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| md_code_us=T-132036
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| elspa=3
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| md_rating_us=ga
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| bbfc=
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| md_date_us_re-release=199x
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| usk=6
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| md_rating_us_re-release=ga
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| oflc=gold
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| md_date_eu=1994-11-11
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| adese=tp
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| md_code_eu=T-70386-50
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| sell=tp
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| md_rating_eu=3
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| tectoy=ti
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| md_date_uk=1994-11-11
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| md_code_uk=T-70386-50
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| md_rating_uk=3
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| md_rrp_uk=44.99{{magref|mega|26|52}}{{magref|gamesworld|6|13}}<!--49.99{{magref|cvg|156|42}}-->
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| md_date_au=199x
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| md_rating_au=g
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| md_date_br=1994
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| md_code_br=047080
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| md_rating_br=ti
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| md_date_pt=1994
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| md_code_pt=MD70386
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| md_date_se_r=199x
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| md_date_za=199x
 
}}
 
}}
−
'''''Earthworm Jim''''' (アースワームジム) is a platform video game developed by [[Shiny Entertainment]] in 1994 for the [[Sega Mega Drive]]. Highly praised at the time of release, ''Earthworm Jim'' offers very detailed and smooth graphics, a very well recieved soundtrack and large amounts of surreal humour and parodies of popular culture.
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{{releasesGG
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| gg_date_us=1995-07{{magref|gamepro|71|106}}
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| gg_code_us=T-132028
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| gg_rating_us=ka
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| gg_rrp_us=39.99{{magref|gamepro|71|106}}
 +
| gg_date_eu=1995-07{{magref|cvg|164|48}}
 +
| gg_code_eu=T-70178-50
 +
| gg_rating_eu=3
 +
| gg_date_uk=1995-08{{magref|ctw|552|20}}<!--(End), 1995-07{{magref|cvg|164|48}}-->
 +
| gg_code_uk=T-70178-50
 +
| gg_rating_uk=3
 +
| gg_rrp_uk=29.99{{magref|mms|34|78}}
 +
}}
 +
{{releasesSMS
 +
| sms_date_br=1997-03
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| sms_code_br=028690
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| sms_rating_br=ti
 +
}}
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{{releasesWii
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| vc_date_eu=2008-10-03{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20170626214322/http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/earthworm_jim}}{{ref|https://archive.is/xfp1b|https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Earthworm-Jim--277072.html}}
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| vc_rrp_eu=800{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20170626214322/http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/earthworm_jim}}
 +
| vc_rating_eu=7
 +
| vc_date_us=2008-10-27{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20101123004317/http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/D_zMknkluv5Cv4Ghqx1w7p0zELRG1nkf}}
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| vc_rrp_us=800{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20101123004317/http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/D_zMknkluv5Cv4Ghqx1w7p0zELRG1nkf}}
 +
| vc_rating_us=e
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| vc_date_jp=2008-12-16{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20180305231834/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/09.html}}
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| vc_rrp_jp=600{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20081217114045/http://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_ewj/}}
 +
| vc_rating_jp=a
 +
| vc_date_au=2008-10
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| vc_rrp_au=800{{ref|1=http://web.archive.org/web/20120403020623/http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=41&prod_id=19736&pageID=4}}
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| vc_rating_au=g
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}}
 +
{{releasesSwitch
 +
| switchonline_date_jp=2022-09-16{{ref|https://archive.ph/I9pCn|https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/866c0993-5a1f-4d90-9f9d-bfe80770506e}}
 +
| switchonline_rrp_jp=sub
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| switchonline_date_us=2022-09-15{{ref|https://archive.ph/JDNSH|https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1570579275471806466}}
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| switchonline_rrp_us=sub
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| switchonline_date_eu=2022-09-16{{ref|https://archive.ph/zDtq3|https://twitter.com/NintendoEurope/status/1570683915895017473}}
 +
| switchonline_rrp_eu=sub
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| switchonline_date_au=2022-09-16{{ref|https://archive.ph/B90kq|https://twitter.com/NintendoAUNZ/status/1570670329479012352}}
 +
| switchonline_rrp_au=sub
 +
}}
 +
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Presumably 1994-06-09 if ''[[Earthworm Jim 2|2]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s quiz question on Jim's birthday refers to it.<br>
 +
| otherformats={{NonSega|IBMPC|GB|GBA|SNES}}
 +
}}
 +
'''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' (アースワームジム) is a [[Sega Mega Drive]] action platform game developed by [[Shiny Entertainment]]. First published in November 1994 to commercial and critical acclaim, it is most remembered for its self-aware humor, detailed graphics and animation, well-received soundtrack, and surrealist parodies of popular culture, and has since become one of the most fondly-remembered American-developed Mega Drive titles.
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 +
==Story==
 +
The story begins with Jim, a common garden earthworm, primitively evading a hungry crow on Earth. Meanwhile, up in space, Psy-Crow pursues a renegade ship that has stolen an ultra high tech super suit and, under orders from Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt, blasts the renegade ship to smithereens. Following the explosion, the suit plummets down to Earth, and lands right on top of Jim as he was checking his surroundings. Through sheer luck, he was enveloped in the neck ring of the suit.
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 +
Suddenly, a rapid light-speed evolution is triggered by the particles in the super suit, vastly increasing Jim's size and intelligence and granting him full control of the suit. Taking his time to figure out how his suit works, Jim ends up blasting the crow that pursued him with the suit's plasma blaster, and crushes the crow while leaning against a tree while gathering his thoughts.
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 +
Just as he thought he was getting it easy in life, he sees Psy-Crow investigating the suit's landing zone and reporting to the Queen that the suit is very near, with Jim overhearing that the Queen wants the suit to make her more beautiful than her imprisoned twin sister, Princess What's-Her-Name. Afterwards, Jim decides to go and meet this princess before Psy-Crow finds him.
  
 
==Gameplay==
 
==Gameplay==
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The player is the titular hero, a common garden earthworm who mutated into giant size when an alien super-suit fell from the sky and crashed on top of him. Jim quickly finds that while getting used to being able to jump ({{C}}), shoot ({{A}}), and fly with his Pocket Rocket, he's being eyed up by several villains for the suit... Whipping ({{B}}) and shooting his way through the game's levels, Jim also has the ability to twirl his head around like a helicopter to slow his rate of descent, as well as being able to use his whip to not only shoot down enemies (including some impervious to his pistol), but to use with hooks to navigate to otherwise impossible to reach areas. Hunting around the levels can reveal Plasma Shots that add 1 extremely powerful shot to the pistol per Plasma found (up to 9 at once), as well as Homing Missiles in the Mega CD & Windows 95 versions that home in on enemies without Jim having to aim (though these are only found in a few levels).
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The player takes control of the titular hero, Earthworm Jim. Jim quickly finds that while getting used to being able to jump ({{C}}), shoot ({{A}}), and fly with his Pocket Rocket, he's being eyed up by several villains for the suit... Whipping with {{B}} and shooting his way through the game's levels, Jim also has the ability to twirl his head around like a helicopter to slow his rate of descent by repeatedly pressing {{C}} while in the air, as well as being able to use his whip to not only shoot down enemies (including some impervious to his pistol), but to use with hooks to navigate to otherwise impossible to reach areas.
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The super suit's energy is measured by a percentage - it will drain if Jim takes damage, and if it drops to 0%, the suit will explode, taking away one of Jim's lives. If Jim's ammo runs too low, the plasma gun will slowly recharge itself, but it is generally a good idea to conserve ammo as much as possible. Hunting around the levels can reveal all kinds of hidden items.
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 +
===Items===
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{{InfoTable|
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Plasma Power
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| sprite=
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| bgcolor=#DCD8DC
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| desc=Adds 250 rounds of plasma power to the pistol.
 +
}}
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{{InfoRow
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| title=Mega Plasma
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| sprite=
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| bgcolor=#DCD8DC
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| desc=Adds 1 extremely powerful shot to the pistol (up to 9 at once) that will instantly wipe out any regular enemy in one shot.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
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| title=Suit Power
 +
| sprite=
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| bgcolor=#DCD8DC
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| desc=Recharges a small percentage of the suit's energy.
 +
}}
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{{InfoRow
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| title=Super Suit Power
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| sprite=
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| bgcolor=#DCD8DC
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| desc=Recharges a huge percentage of the suit's energy.
 +
}}
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{{InfoRow
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| title=Extra Life
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| sprite=
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| bgcolor=#DCD8DC
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| desc=Awards an extra life.
 +
}}
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{{InfoRow
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| title=Asteroid Shield
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| sprite=
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| bgcolor=#DCD8DC
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| desc=Appears only in Andy Asteroids. These can be activated with {{B}} to temporarily protect Jim from asteroids.
 +
}}
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{{InfoRow
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| title=Atomic Accelerator
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| sprite=
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| bgcolor=#DCD8DC
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| desc=Appears only in Andy Asteroids. Instantaneously gives Jim's rocket a burst of speed.
 +
}}
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{{InfoRow
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| title=Fuel Pod
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| sprite=
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| bgcolor=#DCD8DC
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| desc=Appears only in Andy Asteroids. Collect 50 of these to earn a continue.
 +
}}
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
===Levels===
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''Earthworm Jim'' takes place over 7 main levels, plus 7 bonus segments between levels, bosses for the player to fight and a hidden bonus level halfway through the game.
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 +
{{InfoTable|imagewidths=320|
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{{InfoRow
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| title=New Junk City
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| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive cow.png
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| screenshot2=EarthwormJim MegaDrive njc-bin.png
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| screenshot3=EarthwormJim MegaDrive njc-boss.png
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| tabs=yes
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| desc=The first level, '''New Junk City''', is a giant rubbish dump. Tyres can be bounced over, ziplines hooked on to and conveyor belts climbed. Watch out for crows and Fifis - the crows will try to pull Jim out of the suit, damaging him in the process, while the Fifis try to bite Jim (though shooting them will gain some health back). In the Mega-CD version, there's an extra segment where Jim is suit-less and has to time jumps between platforms to reach the suit again. Shown here is the cow near the start of the level - whipping the fridge launches it into space, where it will fly past in the background in some levels, moo-ing in terror as it does so.
  
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==Levels==
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The first boss Jim encounters has two forms - the kart shown here, and a humanoid shape where he calls tubas down from the sky to fall on Jim's head. If he hits Jim when he's driving around as the cart form, he'll go back up to full health.
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Earthworm Jim takes place over 7 main levels (8 in the Mega CD version), plus 7 bonus segments between levels, a boss you can avoid if you're good enough and a hidden bonus level halfway through the game.
 
  
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{| class="wikitable"
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The first end of level boss (and planet mascot) of the game is '''Chuck''' - a magnet drops crates and tubas on Jim from above, while he sits on a zip line. Dodge the tubas (or whip them away), and whip the crate on to the spring while he's under it - but watch out for the resulting fish he starts throwing up. He can't be hit directly so only the crates will work.
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|-
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}}
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| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_cow.png|200px]] || The first level, '''New Junk City''', is a giant rubbish dump. Tyres can be bounced over, ziplines hooked on to and conveyor belts climbed. Watch out for crows and Fifis - the crows will try to pull you out of the suit, damaging you in the process, while the Fifis try to rip you to shreds (though shooting them will gain you some health back). In the Mega CD version, there's an extra segment where Jim is suit-less and has to time jumps between platforms to reach the suit again. Shown here is the cow near the start of the level - whipping the fridge launches it into space, where it will fly past in the background in some levels, moo-ing in terror as it does so.
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{{InfoRow
−
|-
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| title=Andy Asteroids?
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| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_njc-bin.png|200px]] || The very first boss - this guy isn't too hard. He has two forms - the kart shown here, and a humanoid shape where he calls tubas down from the sky to fall on Jim's head. When he's driving around as the cart form, if he hits you, he'll go back up to full health.
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| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive andy-asteroids.png
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|-
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| desc=At the end of every level is a transition racing level to the next planet, one of a steadily-growing harder set of stages called '''Andy Asteroids''' (named after [[Andy Astor]], one of the game's programmers). Here, Jim has to race a giant bird in a spacesuit called Psy-Crow to the end of a tunnel, accelerating with {{A}} while dodging asteroids and collecting Fuel Pods & Asteroid Shields. Picking up the Atomic Accelerators will give Jim temporary invincibility and a short jump ahead in the race - getting these are later on the only way to win the stages. Psy-Crow will grab these if given the chance after the first stage or so.
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| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_njc-boss.png|200px]] || The first end of level boss (and planet mascot) of the game is '''Chuck''' - a magnet drops crates and tubas on you from above, while he sits on a zip line. Dodge the tubas (or whip them away), and whip the crate on to the spring while he's under it - but watch out for the resulting fish he starts throwing up. He can't be hit directly so only the crates will work.
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}}
−
|-
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{{InfoRow
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_andy-asteroids.png|200px]] || At the end of every level there's a transition racing level to the next planet, one of a steadily-growing harder set of stages called '''Andy Asteroids''' (named for Andy Aster, one of the game's programmers). Here, Jim has to race a giant bird in a spacesuit called Psy-Crow to the end of a tunnel, dodging asteroids and collecting blue orbs (collect 50 and you'll gain a continue) & shields (that deflect asteroids temporarily). Picking up the speed boosters (the orange icons in shot) will give Jim temporary invincibility and a short jump ahead in the race - getting these are later on the only way to win the stages. Psy-Crow will grab these if you let him after the first stage or so.
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| title=Psy-Crow!
−
|-
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| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive andy-asteroids-psycrow.png
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| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_andy-asteroids-psycrow.png|200px]] || Lost the race? Then you have to battle '''Psy-Crow''', who will attack Jim with a fish-hook gun. Shoot him and when he's dazed, whip him to finish him off and start the next level proper.
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| desc=If the player loses a race in Andy Asteroids, then they must battle '''Psy-Crow''', who will attack Jim with a fish-hook gun. Shoot him and when he's dazed, whip him to finish him off and start the next level proper.
−
|-
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}}
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| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_heck.png|200px]] || Home to Evil the Cat, '''What The Heck?''' is the second level proper. Elevator music plays in the background (with the occasional scream of horror from the musak), demons are everywhere and you also need to dodge fire & brimstone - plus suitcase-wielding lawyers (Hell is full of them, after all). The Mega CD version has an expanded section of level just before the first boss.
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{{InfoRow
−
|-
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| title=What the Heck?
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_heck-snowman.png|200px]] || On the note of that first boss... a snowball's chance in Hell doesn't describe beating this giant snowman - all you need to do is shoot him and dodge the fireballs he belches at you.
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| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive heck.png
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|-
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| screenshot2=EarthwormJim MegaDrive heck-snowman.png
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| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_heck-evil.png|200px]] || Fresh from throwing a bomb and trying to impale Jim on several rows of spikes, '''Evil the Cat''' has managed to get Jim's suit away from the worm and fires balls of flame at you from an oversized gun. However the shots melt the support for the platform he's standing on and it collapses, causing Evil to run away and Jim to reclaim the suit. From there it's just a case of shooting away his lives (9, naturally) and dodging the flames that come from the sides of the screen.
+
| screenshot3=EarthwormJim MegaDrive heck-evil.png
−
|-
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| tabs=yes
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaCD_bigbruty1.png|200px]] || Named for Nick Bruty, one of the artists, '''Big Bruty''' is a level exclusive to the Mega CD version of the game. In this level you need to avoid giant bees while luring the planet's mascot around - get close enough to him for him to pick up your scent and chase you and Bruty will knock away obstacles impeding Jim's progress. Don't get too close to him though (or try and jump over him), or he'll quickly snap his jaws around Jim, eating him whole.
+
| desc=Home to Evil the Cat, '''What The Heck?''' is the second level proper. Elevator music plays in the background (with the occasional scream of horror from the musak), demons are everywhere and Jim will also need to dodge fire & brimstone - plus suitcase-wielding lawyers (Hell is full of them, after all). The Mega-CD version has an expanded section of level just before the first boss, which is a giant snowman that belches fireballs that must be dodged.
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaCD_bigbruty2.png|200px]] || Here's '''Bruty''' himself. You don't actually fight him, making this one more of a puzzle level than the straightforward shooting of the last 2 levels.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_downthetubes.png|200px]] || Jim's next challenge following another Andy Asteroids is '''Down The Tubes''', a water themed level consisting of rooms linked by tubes (some of which you travel down riding the back of a giant hamster that can eat all obstacles in its path, with Jim clinging on for dear life). Shown in shot is one of the two level mascots, '''No. 4''' - these muscular cloned cats are all over the level acting as bodyguards for the main level mascot, who we'll get to in a bit. Touch one and they'll punch Jim so hard he'll go flying back and lose health in the process. The Mega CD version has a hidden spot that when touched, has a secret alternate Andy Asteroids level with no asteroids in and no Psy-Crow - just speed boosters, blue orbs and shields, that takes you straight to Snot A Problem without having to do the second half of the level.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_downthetubes-pod.png|200px]] || This level is possibly best known for the second half (one of only 2 levels to have more than one title card displayed, not counting the multiple Andy Asteroid races; the other being Snot A Problem), which is mostly navigating one of the pods from the first half of the level around on a time limit with a lot of walls, some narrow sections, and not a lot of air refillers.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_downthetubes-bob.png|200px]] || Finally, you've reached the end of the pod navigation sequence, and you come face to face with '''Bob the Goldfish'''. Somewhat of an anticlimax after the pod, you complete the level either with a single pistol shot, whipping Bob or simply walking into the bowl - all three knock it to the floor, where as he flops about, Jim hops on the Rocket and zooms off.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_bungee-mucus.png|200px]] || The next level is '''Snot A Problem''' - an interesting change in that not only are there 3 sub levels (each with a progressively more intelligent '''Major Mucus'''), but Jim has none of his normal weaponry available. Instead, Mucus must be defeated by ramming him against the sides of the level until his rope snaps, but he can do the same to you - and he has a spinning attack that will also wear Jim's rope down.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_bungee-chomp.png|200px]] || There's an added hazard for the second and third bouts - this monster at the bottom of the screen that for the first level just watches will actively try to eat Jim when he reaches the bottom of the chasm and the cord stretches out, snapping the rope (and Jim!) instantly.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_level5.png|200px]] || The rather imaginatively titled '''Level 5''' (which thanks to the inclusion of Big Bruty, is actually the sixth level on the Mega CD version) is a giant laboratory, home of '''Professor Monkey-For-A-Head''' (and his flipped personality, Monkey Professor-For-A-Head). Both will attack you as you progress through the level dodging leaping brains, flying eyeballs, giant cells, green blobs with eyes on a stalk that explode into a shower of maggots, and electrified ball platforms. Later in the level Jim gets seperated from the suit and must navigate spiked platforms and fans to re-connect with it.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_level5-wtotl-enterance.png|200px]]] || About halfway through Level 5, the player will come across this section with health leading away in an arc from a large black box with a red dot in the middle. This can be ignored with no repercussions but if Jim ignores the indicated route and jumps into the dot of light...
 
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|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_whoturnedoutthelights.png|200px]] || ...he will enter a secret level entitled '''Who Turned Out The Lights?''', that's played with Jim entirely in silhouette apart from his eyes, with the enemies in the level also only being visible by their eyes.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_wtotl-door.png|200px]] || There are 5 sections to the level, all of which are fairly short - Jim transfers between them by running out of an exit door and into the next room.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_wtotl-eyesofdoom.png|200px]] || In the 5th room, Jim will scream in terror at what's this level's mascot - a giant pair of eyes that will roar and chase him. Jumping over the eyes and running as fast as you can to the right, Jim will enter a poiont where 3 rays of light meet and be teleported back to the same point in Level 5 that he left, with all the items just as they were when he left it.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_level5chicken.png|200px]] || The boss of Level 5 is a chicken in a mech suit - it lays eggs that roll towards you and explode, and flies over your head occasionally. It must be defeated by whipping the target when the chicken is below the drop chute, which will cause a giant cell to fall onto the chicken and hurt it.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_level5chickenfall.png|200px]] || When the chicken has taken enough damage, it will shift to a second form, where it and Jim are in free-fall down an endless shaft. Here the method to kill it is simple - just shoot at it with the pistol. Dodge the bombs it drops and the feathers it sheds that explode, as well as the mecha-chicken itself, and eventually it will blow up, ending the level.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_forpetessake.png|200px]] || The next level proper is '''For Pete's Sake''', which has Jim playing escort to a prancing Peter Puppy who is trying to get back to his house at the end of the level. There's a slight problem - if he gets hurt or falls off the main path, he transmogrifies into a demonic beast and grabs Jim in his mouth, flying backwards in the level until the last invisible checkpoint passed whereupon he spits Jim out and turns back into his normal self. Jim has to not only whip him over gaps and shoot down asteroid bombardments but must get Peter past cement mixers with electric sparks, shoot down flying saucers (that don't hurt Peter or Jim, but capture Jim for a few seconds which can be long enough for Peter to end up in trouble and transforming), and giant vines that grab Peter, squeezing him until he transforms and bursts them apart.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_forpetessake-end.png|200px]] || Eventually, '''Peter Puppy's''' house is in sight, but you have the option of whipping him over the house for a more difficult section of level if you want to. Either way, when Peter enters one of the houses, the level is over - there's no boss here.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_intestines.png|200px]] || The penultimate level is '''Intestinal Distress''' - Jim must tackle spikes, wind pipes, flying fish and balls of.... something.... to reach the end of the level.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_intestines-DocDuodenum.png|200px]] || The boss of the level is '''Doc Duodenum''', who likes to jump around rapidly and spew material at you. Defeating him rewards you with one last Andy Asteroids before the final level.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_buttville-descent.png|200px]] || Finally, Jim has reached '''Buttville'''. The first section sees Jim using his helicopter move to navigate a maze of thorns - it's short, but difficult, and this is only a taste of what's to come later on. When you reach the bottom, Jim teleports to the main section of the level.
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_buttville-main.png|200px]] || In Buttville proper, Jim must avoid bugs that spew from nests, one-hit knock-out worms that jump in and out from the background (shown to the right of this shot), more thorns and creatures that spit electric sparks at you. Survive all of this, and you'll start to pass under a large segmented ceiling, which when you reach the end of it...
 
−
|-
 
−
| [[Image:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_buttville-queen.png|200px]] || ...is revealed to be the game's final boss (deep breath), '''Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-For-A-Butt'''. Standing on the green platforms that circle her and shooting her at the 3, 6, 9 and 12'o'clock positions is the best tactic here for finally defeating the evil queen and meeting her sister, '''Princess Whats-Her-Name''' (who clearly got the more attractive end of the gene pool, as Jim discovers). However, the rather bitter-sweet ending has one final surprise in store for the gallant earthworm...
 
−
|}
 
  
−
==Additional Information==
+
'''Evil the Cat''' makes numerous appearances throughout the level to impede Jim's progress by throwing a bomb and trying to impale him with falling stalactites. Should Jim make it to the end of the level, Evil will manage to get Jim's suit away from the worm and fires balls of flame at him from an oversized gun. However, the shots melt the support for the platform he's standing on and it collapses, causing Evil to run away and Jim to reclaim the suit. From there it's just a case of shooting away his lives (9, naturally) and dodging the flames that come from the sides of the screen.
−
===Misc Items===
+
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Down the Tubes
 +
| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive downthetubes.png
 +
| screenshot2=EarthwormJim MegaDrive downthetubes-pod.png
 +
| screenshot3=EarthwormJim MegaDrive downthetubes-bob.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc='''Down The Tubes''' is a water-themed level consisting of rooms linked by tubes (some of which Jim will travel down riding the back of a giant hamster that can eat all obstacles in its path, with Jim clinging on for dear life). Shown in the first screenshot is one of the two level mascots, '''No. 4''' - these muscular cloned cats are all over the level acting as bodyguards for the main level mascot. Touch one and they'll punch Jim so hard he'll go flying back and lose health in the process. The Mega-CD version has a hidden spot that when touched, has a secret alternate Andy Asteroids level with no asteroids in and no Psy-Crow - just speed boosters, Fuel Pods and Shields, that takes the player straight to Snot A Problem without having to do the second half of the level.
 +
 
 +
This level is possibly best known for the second half (one of only 2 levels to have more than one title card displayed, not counting the multiple Andy Asteroid races; the other being Snot A Problem), which is mostly navigating one of the glass pods from the first half of the level around on a time limit with a lot of walls, some narrow sections, and not a lot of air refillers. If the pods hit the walls too many times, they will shatter, resulting in millions of gallons of wet death.
 +
 
 +
At the end of the pod navigation sequence, Jim will come face to face with '''Bob the Goldfish'''. Somewhat of an anticlimax after the pod, the player can complete the level either with a single pistol shot, whipping Bob or simply walking into the bowl - all three knock it to the floor, where as he flops about, Jim hops on the Rocket and zooms off.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Snot a Problem!
 +
| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive bungee-mucus.png
 +
| screenshot2=EarthwormJim MegaDrive bungee-chomp.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=The next level is '''Snot A Problem!''' - an interesting change in that not only are there 3 sub levels (each with a progressively more intelligent '''Major Mucus'''), but Jim has none of his normal weaponry available. Instead, Mucus must be defeated by ramming him against the sides of the level until his rope snaps, but he can do the same to Jim - and he has a spinning attack that will also wear Jim's rope down.
 +
 
 +
There's an added hazard for the second and third bouts - a monster at the bottom of the screen. For the first round it just watches, but from the second round onward it will actively try to eat Jim when he reaches the bottom of the chasm and the cord stretches out, snapping the rope (and Jim!) instantly.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Level 5
 +
| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5.png
 +
| screenshot2=EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5-wtotl-enterance.png
 +
| screenshot3=EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5chicken.png
 +
| screenshot4=EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5chickenfall.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=The rather imaginatively titled '''Level 5''' (which thanks to the inclusion of Big Bruty, is actually the sixth level on the Mega-CD version) is a giant laboratory, home of '''Professor Monkey-For-A-Head''' (and his flipped personality, Monkey Professor-For-A-Head). Both will attack Jim as he progresses through the level dodging leaping brains, flying eyeballs, giant cells, green blobs with eyes on a stalk that explode into a shower of maggots, and electrified ball platforms. Later in the level Jim gets separated from the suit and must navigate spiked platforms and fans to re-connect with it.
 +
 
 +
The boss of Level 5 is a chicken in a mech suit - it lays eggs that roll towards Jim and explode, and flies over his head occasionally. It must be defeated by whipping the target when the chicken is below the drop chute, which will cause a giant cell to fall onto the chicken and hurt it. When the chicken has taken enough damage, it will shift to a second form, where it and Jim are in free-fall down an endless shaft. Here the method to kill it is simple - just shoot at it with the pistol. Dodge the bombs it drops and the feathers it sheds that explode, as well as the mecha-chicken itself, and eventually it will blow up, ending the level.
 +
 
 +
This level is not present in the Game Gear and Master System versions.
 +
 
 +
About halfway through Level 5, the player will come across a section with health leading away in an arc from a large black box with a red dot in the middle (shown in the second screenshot). This can be ignored with no repercussions, but if Jim ignores the indicated route and jumps into the dot of light...
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Who Turned Out the Lights?
 +
| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive whoturnedoutthelights.png
 +
| screenshot2=EarthwormJim MegaDrive wtotl-door.png
 +
| screenshot3=EarthwormJim MegaDrive wtotl-eyesofdoom.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=...he will enter a secret level titled '''Who Turned Out The Lights?''', that's played with Jim entirely in silhouette apart from his eyes, with the enemies in the level also only being visible by their eyes. There are 5 sections to the level, all of which are fairly short - Jim transfers between them by running out of an exit door and into the next room.
 +
 
 +
In the 5th room, Jim will scream in terror at what's this level's mascot - a giant pair of eyes that will roar and chase him. Jumping over the eyes and running as fast as you can to the right, Jim will enter a point where 3 rays of light meet and be teleported back to the same point in Level 5 that he left, with all the items just as they were when he left it.
 +
 
 +
This level is not present in the Game Gear and Master System versions.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=For Pete's Sake!
 +
| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive forpetessake.png
 +
| screenshot2=EarthwormJim MegaDrive forpetessake-end.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=The next level proper is '''For Pete's Sake!''', which has Jim playing escort to a prancing '''Peter Puppy''' who is trying to get back to his house at the end of the level. There's a slight problem - if he gets hurt or falls off the main path, he transmogrifies into a demonic beast and grabs Jim in his mouth, flying backwards in the level until the last invisible checkpoint passed whereupon he spits Jim out and turns back into his normal self. Jim has to not only whip him over gaps and shoot down asteroid bombardments but must get Peter past cement mixers with electric sparks, shoot down flying saucers (that don't hurt Peter or Jim, but capture Jim for a few seconds which can be long enough for Peter to end up in trouble and transforming), and giant vines that grab Peter, squeezing him until he transforms and bursts them apart.
 +
 
 +
Eventually, Peter Puppy's house is in sight, but the player has the option of whipping him over the house for a more difficult section of level for bonus items. Either way, when Peter enters one of the houses, the level is over - there's no boss here.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Intestinal Distress!
 +
| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive intestines.png
 +
| screenshot2=EarthwormJim MegaDrive intestines-DocDuodenum.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=The penultimate level is '''Intestinal Distress!''' - Jim must tackle spikes, wind pipes, flying fish and balls of.... something.... to reach the end of the level. The boss of the level is '''Doc Duodenum''', who likes to jump around rapidly and spew material at Jim. Defeating him rewards the player with one last Andy Asteroids before the final level.
 +
 
 +
This level is not present in the Game Gear and Master System versions. Some non-Sega versions of the game, such as the [[Super NES]] and [[IBM PC]] versions, also lack this level.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Buttville
 +
| screenshot=EarthwormJim MegaDrive buttville-descent.png
 +
| screenshot2=EarthwormJim MegaDrive buttville-main.png
 +
| screenshot3=EarthwormJim MegaDrive buttville-queen.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=Finally, Jim has reached '''Buttville'''. The first section sees Jim using his helicopter move to navigate a maze of thorns - it's short, but difficult, and this is only a taste of what's to come later on. When Jim reaches the bottom, he will teleport to the main section of the level. In Buttville proper, Jim must avoid bugs that spew from nests, one-hit knock-out worms that jump in and out from the background (shown to the right of the second shot), more thorns and creatures that spit electric sparks at Jim.
 +
 
 +
Should the player survive all of this, they'll start to pass under a large segmented ceiling, which when they reach the end of it is revealed to be the game's final boss, '''Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt'''. To fight her, Jim has to stand on the floating Snott platforms that circle her and shoot her at the 3, 6, 9 and 12'o'clock positions, or whip her once, finally defeating the evil queen and meeting her sister, '''Princess Whats-Her-Name''' (who clearly got the more attractive end of the gene pool, as Jim discovers). However, the rather bitter-sweet ending has one final surprise in store for the gallant earthworm...
 +
}}
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
===Misc items===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
−
File:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_jim-rocket.png|Jim exits each level by hooping on his Pocket Rocket and flying off to the next world, via an Andy Asteroids stage.
+
EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_jim-rocket.png|Jim exits each level by hooping on his Pocket Rocket and flying off to the next world, via an Andy Asteroids stage.
−
File:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_continue.png|"A whole new can of worms", these are granted by picking up 50 blue orbs in an Andy Asteroids stage.
+
EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_continue.png|"A whole new can of worms", these are granted by picking up 50 blue orbs in an Andy Asteroids stage.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
−
===Mega Drive Cheat Menu===
+
==History==
−
The Megadrive version contains a cheat menu, activated with the code A+Left, B, B, A, A+Right, B, B, A, while the game is paused.
+
[[File:DavidPerry Shiny EarthwormJim.png|thumb|280px|Head programmer and [[Shiny Entertainment]] founder [[David Perry]].]]
 +
===Development===
 +
With most of Shiny Entertainment originating from [[Virgin Interactive Entertainment]], ''Earthworm Jim'' was built using similar techniques to ''[[Cool Spot]]'' and ''[[Disney's Aladdin]]''. Animations were drawn by hand and digitised into the game.
 +
 
 +
===Release===
 +
In the United States, television advertisements featuring an old lady eating (plastic) earthworms garnered some controversy, with complaints forcing the advert to be pulled from television network in Portland (Oregon), Spokane (Washington) and Sacramento (California){{magref|egm|66|64}}.
 +
 
 +
===Legacy===
 +
''Earthworm Jim'' was quickly ported to a variety of systems including the [[Sega Game Gear]], [[Super Nintendo]] and [[Game Boy]]. It was released for the [[Sega Master System]] in 1996 exclusively in Brazil by [[Sega]]'s distributor [[Tec Toy]].
 +
 
 +
An enhanced version of the game, ''[[Earthworm Jim: Special Edition]]'' was released for the [[Sega Mega-CD]] and Windows PCs, and in more recent times ports have been made to the [[Game Boy Advance]], iPhone, [[Xbox Live Arcade]], [[PlayStation Network]] and the [[Wii]]'s [[Virtual Console]] service. The game is also included in the Western units of the [[Mega Drive Mini]].
  
−
<gallery>
+
The game was followed by ''[[Earthworm Jim 2]]'' and a variety of other sequels. It also led to a cartoon show by Universal Animation Studios, which is arguably one of the more successful video game cartoon adaptions of all time.
−
File:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_cheater.png|The crew at Shiny who made the game pop up with this message when the cheat is successfully activated, while Jim yells "Cheater!" at you.
+
 
−
File:EarthwormJim_MegaDrive_cheat-menu.png|The main cheat menu screen.
+
==Versions==
−
</gallery>
+
The Sega Mega Drive was the lead platform for ''Earthworm Jim'', with all other ports stemming from this version. This includes the port to the Mega Drive's nearest rival, the Super NES, which although benefits from a increased colour palette, uses fewer animations due to sprite and memory limitations.
  
−
The screen is largely informational - only the last 4 options are changable. The cheats themselves are fairly straightforward - Cheat Mode gives you infinite health, Freezeability changes the pause menu in such a way that the music keeps playing on pause and the screen doesn't darken (but does make it impossible to re-enter the cheat menu again, or to pause the game - the freeze effect only lasts as long as you're holding start), and Map View Mode makes Jim disappear at the start of the level, with the d-pad then letting the screen scroll around the level - pressing one of the A, B or C buttons makes Jim re-appear and the regular gameplay style resume.
+
The Intestinal Distress stage was originally exclusive to the Mega Drive version of the game, reportedly put in at the last minute due to a request from Sega (thus making the game bigger than the Super NES version). In return, Sega reduced cartridge manufacturing costs for the game.
  
−
Start On Level has several options, listed below:
+
==Production credits==
 +
===Mega Drive version===
 +
{{multicol|
 +
{{creditstable|
 +
*'''Program:''' [[Andy Astor]]
 +
*'''Programming:''' [[David Perry]]
 +
*'''Additional Programming:''' [[Nicholas A. Jones]], [[Andy Astor]]
 +
*'''Original Concept:''' [[Douglas TenNapel]]
 +
*'''Level Design:''' Tom Tanaka
 +
*'''Animation Director:''' [[Mike Dietz|Michael Francis Dietz]]
 +
*'''Animators:''' [[Edward Schofield]], [[Douglas TenNapel]]
 +
*'''Art Director:''' [[Nick Bruty]]
 +
*'''Lead Artist:''' [[Stephen Crow]]
 +
*'''Ink & Paint:''' Eric Ciccone, Mike Pilotti
 +
*'''Clean Up:''' Clark Sorenson, Ryan Silva, Nicholas Wilson
 +
*'''Additional Artwork:''' Lin Shen
 +
*'''Music and Sound FX:''' [[Mark Miller]]
 +
*'''Designed by:''' Shiny Entertainment [Many, Many Shiny Meetings]
 +
*'''Produced by:''' David A. Luehmann
 +
*'''Development Tools by:''' [[Andy Astor]], Dan Chang, Psy-Q, Rob Northern Computing
 +
*'''Special Thanks:''' Playmates Toys, Richard Sallis, Becky Tran, Bug Busters, Game Test, Michael Koelsh, Sachs Finley & Co., Golin Harris Communications, [[Moore & Price Design]]
 +
| console=MD
 +
}}
 +
}}
 +
===Game Gear version===
 
{{multicol|
 
{{multicol|
−
*1 - New Junk City
+
{{creditstable|
−
*2A - Hell or Heck?
+
*'''Conversion Developed by:''' [[Eurocom Entertainment Software]]
−
*2B - Snowman Boss
+
*'''Programming:''' Dave Looker, Kevin J. Grantham, Dave Pridmore, Tim Rogers
−
*2C - Evil Boss
+
*'''Graphics:''' Andy Bee, Nigel Bentley, Steve Bedser
−
*3A - Bungee 1
+
*'''Sound:''' Martin Walker
−
*3B - Bungee 2
+
*'''Quality Assurance:''' Kevin Holt
−
*3C - Bungee 3
+
*'''Producers:''' Mat Sneap, Mark Hetherington, Hugh Binns
−
*4 - Peter Puppy
+
{{creditsheader|Playmates Staff}}
−
*5 - Slug for Butt
+
*'''Quality Assurance:''' Ray Nivarel, PIE QA Crew
−
*5B - Helicopter
+
*'''Executive Producer:''' David Luehmann
−
*6A - Prof's Lab
+
*'''Project Manager:''' Scott Herrington
−
*6C - Chicken Fly
+
| source=In-game credits
−
*6D - Naked Worm
+
| pdf=Earthworm Jim GG credits.pdf
−
*7 - Intestines
+
| console=GG
−
*8A - Sea Tunnels
+
}}
−
*8B - Pod Races
+
}}
−
*9A - Asteroids 1
+
 
−
*9B - Asteroids 2
+
==Digital manuals==
−
*9C - Asteroids 3
+
<gallery>
−
*9D - Asteroids 4
+
EarthwormJim MD US MDMini manual.pdf|Mega Drive Mini US manual
−
*9E - Asteroids 5
+
EarthwormJim MD EU MDMini manual.pdf|Mega Drive Mini EU manual
−
*9F - Asteroids 6
+
</gallery>
−
*9G - Asteroids 7
 
−
*10A - Darkness 1
 
−
*10B - Darkness 2
 
−
*10C - Darkness 3
 
−
*10D - Darkness 4
 
−
*10E - Darkness 5
 
−
*9P - Psycrow!
 
−
|cols=4}}
 
−
One notable thing about this list (apart from the jumbled level order) is that there's no 6B slot - on Level 5, 6A is followed by 6D and then 6C, but the part of the level after the Naked Worm segment before the falling segment (i.e., the segment that ends with the first chicken boss) is not directly accessible, unlike every other area in the game.
 
  
−
==Sequels and Re-releases==
+
==Magazine articles==
−
''Earthworm Jim'' was quickly ported to a variety of systems including the [[Sega Game Gear]], Super Nintendo and Game Boy. It was released for the [[Sega Master System]] in 1996 exclusively in Brazil by [[Sega]]'s distributor [[Tec Toy]]. Enhanced versions of the game including a CD audio soundtrack were released for the [[Sega Mega CD]] and Windows PCs, and in more recent times ports have been made to the [[Game Boy Advance]], iPhone, [[Xbox Live Arcade]], [[PlayStation Network]] and the [[Wii]]'s [[Virtual Console]] service.
+
{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Magazine articles}}
  
−
The game was followed by ''[[Earthworm Jim 2]]'' and a variety of other sequels. It also led to a cartoon show by DiC, which is arguably one of the more successful video game cartoon adaptions of all time.
+
==Promotional material==
 +
{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Promotional material}}
  
−
==Physical Scans==
+
==Physical scans==
 +
===Mega Drive version===
 
{{ratings
 
{{ratings
−
| consolesplus={{MD}} 97 {{MCD}} 92
+
| icon=MD
−
| egm={{MD}} 88 {{MCD}} 89 {{GG}} 65
+
| consolesplus=97
−
| gamefan={{MCD}} 98
+
| joypad=97
−
| gameplayers={{MD}} 96 {{GG}} 76
 
−
| hobbyconsolas={{MCD}} 90
 
−
| joypad={{MD}} 97
 
−
| megaforce={{MD}} 97 {{MCD}} 97
 
−
| playerone={{MD}} 98 {{MCD}} 90 {{GG}} 93
 
−
| vgce={{MD}} 90 {{MCD}} 100
 
 
}}
 
}}
−
===Mega Drive Version===
 
 
{{Scanbox
 
{{Scanbox
 
| console=Mega Drive
 
| console=Mega Drive
 
| region=US
 
| region=US
−
| front=Earthworm Jim MD US Box.jpg
+
| cover=Earthworm Jim MD US Box.jpg
 
| cart=Earthworm Jim MD US Cart.jpg
 
| cart=Earthworm Jim MD US Cart.jpg
−
| manual=
+
| manual=Earthworm Jim MD US Plastic Case Manual.jpg
 +
| poster=Earthworm Jim MD US Poster.jpg
 +
}}{{Scanbox
 +
| console=Mega Drive
 +
| region=US (cardboard)
 +
| front=EWJ MD US Box Front Cardboard.jpg
 +
| back=EWJ MD US Box Back Cardboard.jpg
 +
| spine=EWJ MD US Box Spine Cardboard.jpg
 +
| spine2=EWJ MD US Box Spine2 Cardboard.jpg
 +
| cart=Earthworm Jim MD US CB Cart.jpg
 +
| manual=Earthworm Jim MD US Manual.pdf
 
}}{{Scanbox
 
}}{{Scanbox
 
| console=Mega Drive
 
| console=Mega Drive
 
| region=EU
 
| region=EU
−
| front=Earthworm Jim MD EU Box.jpg
+
| cover=Earthworm Jim MD EU Box.jpg
 +
| cart=EarthwormJim MD EU Cart.jpg
 +
| manual=Earthworm Jim MD EU Manual.pdf
 +
}}{{Scanbox
 +
| console=Mega Drive
 +
| region=PT
 +
| front=Earthworm Jim MD PT Box Front.jpg
 +
| back=Earthworm Jim MD PT Box Back.jpg
 +
| spine=Earthworm Jim MD PT Box Spine.jpg
 +
}}{{Scanbox
 +
| console=Mega Drive
 +
| region=SE rental (SF)
 +
| cover=EWJ MD SE rental cover.jpg
 
| cart=
 
| cart=
 +
}}
 +
{{Scanbox
 +
| console=Mega Drive
 +
| region=GR ([[Zegetron]])
 +
| cover=
 +
| cart=EarthwormJim MD EU Cart.jpg
 
| manual=
 
| manual=
 
}}
 
}}
−
===Mega CD Version===
 
 
{{Scanbox
 
{{Scanbox
−
| console=Mega CD
+
| console=Mega Drive
−
| region=US
+
| region=AU
−
| front=EWJ MCD US Box Front.jpg
+
| cover=EWJ MD AU cover.jpg
−
| back=EWJ MCD US Box Back.jpg
+
| cart=
−
| disc=Earthworm Jim MCD US Disc.jpg
 
−
| manual=
 
 
}}{{Scanbox
 
}}{{Scanbox
−
| console=Mega CD
+
| console=Mega Drive
−
| region=EU
+
| region=BR
−
| front=EWJ MCD EU Box Front.jpg
+
| cover=EarthwormJim MD BR cover.jpg
−
| back=EWJ MCD EU Box Back.jpg
+
| cart=EarthwormJim MD BR Cart.jpg
−
| disc=EWJ MCD EU Disc.jpg
+
}}
−
| square=yes
+
{{Scanbox
 +
| console=Mega Drive
 +
| region=ZA
 +
| cover=Earthworm Jim MD ZA Box.jpg
 +
| cart=EarthwormJim MD EU Cart.jpg
 
| manual=
 
| manual=
 
}}
 
}}
−
===Master System Version===
+
 
 +
===Master System version===
 
{{Scanbox
 
{{Scanbox
 
| console=Master System
 
| console=Master System
 
| region=BR
 
| region=BR
−
| front=Earthworm Jim SMS BR Box.jpg
+
| cover=Earthworm Jim SMS BR Box.jpg
−
| cart=
+
| cart=EarthwormJim SMS BR Cart.jpg
−
| manual=
+
| manual=Earthwormjim sms br manual.pdf
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
===Game Gear version===
 +
{{ratings|GG}}
 +
{{Scanbox
 +
| console=Game Gear
 +
| region=US
 +
| front=EWJ GG US Box Front.jpg
 +
| back=EWJ GG US Box Back.jpg
 +
| spinemissing=yes
 +
| cart=EarthwormJim GG US cart.jpg
 +
| manual=Earthworm Jim GG US Manual.pdf
 
}}
 
}}
−
===Game Gear Version===
 
 
{{Scanbox
 
{{Scanbox
 
| console=Game Gear
 
| console=Game Gear
Line 207: Line 448:
 
| front=EWJ GG EU Box Front.jpg
 
| front=EWJ GG EU Box Front.jpg
 
| back=EWJ GG EU Box Back.jpg
 
| back=EWJ GG EU Box Back.jpg
−
| spinemissing=yes
+
| spine=Earthworm Jim GG EU BoxSpine.jpg
−
| cart=
+
| cart=EWJ GG EU Cart.jpg
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| manual=
+
| manual=Earthworm Jim GG EU Manual.jpg
 
}}
 
}}
  
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[[Category:1994 Mega Drive Games]]
+
==Technical information==
−
[[Category:Mega Drive Games]]
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{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Technical information}}
−
[[Category:Mega Drive Action Games]]
+
 
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[[Category:1995 Mega CD Games]]
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==External links==
−
[[Category:Mega CD Games]]
+
*''[https://www.fullecirclemagazine.com/2020/04/eat-dirt-conversation-with-earthworm.html Eat Dirt!: A Conversation with Earthworm Jim Creator Doug TenNapel]'' article by Jason Anders at ''[https://www.fullecirclemagazine.com Fülle Circle Magazine]''
−
[[Category:Mega CD Action Games]]
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*''[https://web.archive.org/web/20040804000723/https://www.geocities.com/asathena/ Athena's Earthworm Jim Shrine!]'' fansite (Wayback Machine)
−
[[Category:1996 Master System Games]]
+
*[http://vc.sega.jp/vc_ewj/ Virtual Console listing (Sega of Japan)]
−
[[Category:Master System Games]]
+
*[https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/D_zMknkluv5Cv4Ghqx1w7p0zELRG1nkf Virtual Console listing (Nintendo of America)]
−
[[Category:Master System Action Games]]
+
*[https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Earthworm-Jim--277072.html Virtual Console listing (Nintendo of Europe)]
−
[[Category:1995 Game Gear Games]]
+
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20120403020623/http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=41&prod_id=19736&pageID=4 Virtual Console listing (Nintendo of Australia)]
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[[Category:Game Gear Games]]
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[[Category:Game Gear Action Games]]
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==References==
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[[Category:Sega Channel Games]]
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<references/>
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[[Category:Virtual Console Games]]
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{{EarthwormJimOmni}}
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{{EarthwormJim}}
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[[Category:Sega Channel games]]
 +
[[Category:Mega Drive Mini games]]

Latest revision as of 12:15, 27 February 2024

For the Sega Mega-CD game, see Earthworm Jim: Special Edition.

n/a

  • Mega Drive
  • Game Gear
  • Master System

Earthworm Jim Title.png

EarthwormJim GG Title.png

EarthwormJim SMS Title.png

Earthworm Jim
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, Virtual Console, Nintendo Switch Online
Publisher:
Sega Mega Drive
Sega Game Gear
Playmates Interactive Entertainment (US)
Sega Mega Drive
Sega Game Gear
Virgin Interactive Entertainment (EU)
Sega Mega Drive
Interplay (JP; Sega Channel)
Sega Mega Drive
Ballistic (US re-release)
Sega Master System
Tec Toy
Wii Virtual Console
Nintendo Switch Online
Interplay
Developer:
Supporting companies:
Distributor:
Sega Mega Drive
Metro Games (AU)
Sega Mega Drive
SF Interactive Media (SE rental)
Sound driver:
Sega Mega Drive
GEMS
Genre: Action[1], Action/Humour[2]

















Number of players: 1
* Presumably 1994-06-09 if 2's quiz question on Jim's birthday refers to it.
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP ▼
(Sega Channel) 		SUBsub
Sega Mega Drive
US 		$69.9969.99[4] T-132036
Videogame Rating Council: GA
Sega Mega Drive
US
(re-release)
Videogame Rating Council: GA
Sega Mega Drive
EU 		T-70386-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Mega Drive
PT 		MD70386
Sega Mega Drive
UK 		£44.9944.99[5][6] T-70386-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Mega Drive
SE
(Rental)
Sega Mega Drive
AU
OFLC: G
Sega Mega Drive
BR 		047080
Tectoy: Todas as Idades
Sega Mega Drive
ZA
Sega Game Gear
US 		$39.9939.99[7] T-132028
ESRB: Kids to Adults
Sega Game Gear
EU 		T-70178-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Game Gear
UK 		£29.9929.99[10] T-70178-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Master System
BR 		028690
Tectoy: Todas as Idades
Wii Virtual Console
JP ▼ 		600pts600[15]
CERO: A
Wii Virtual Console
US ▼ 		800pts800[13]
ESRB: Everyone
Wii Virtual Console
EU ▼ 		800pts800[11]
PEGI: 7+
Wii Virtual Console
AU ▼ 		800pts800[16]
OFLC: General (G)
Nintendo Switch Online
JP ▼ 		SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
US ▼ 		SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
EU ▼ 		SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
AU ▼ 		SUBsub
Non-Sega versions

Earthworm Jim (アースワームジム) is a Sega Mega Drive action platform game developed by Shiny Entertainment. First published in November 1994 to commercial and critical acclaim, it is most remembered for its self-aware humor, detailed graphics and animation, well-received soundtrack, and surrealist parodies of popular culture, and has since become one of the most fondly-remembered American-developed Mega Drive titles.

Story

The story begins with Jim, a common garden earthworm, primitively evading a hungry crow on Earth. Meanwhile, up in space, Psy-Crow pursues a renegade ship that has stolen an ultra high tech super suit and, under orders from Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt, blasts the renegade ship to smithereens. Following the explosion, the suit plummets down to Earth, and lands right on top of Jim as he was checking his surroundings. Through sheer luck, he was enveloped in the neck ring of the suit.

Suddenly, a rapid light-speed evolution is triggered by the particles in the super suit, vastly increasing Jim's size and intelligence and granting him full control of the suit. Taking his time to figure out how his suit works, Jim ends up blasting the crow that pursued him with the suit's plasma blaster, and crushes the crow while leaning against a tree while gathering his thoughts.

Just as he thought he was getting it easy in life, he sees Psy-Crow investigating the suit's landing zone and reporting to the Queen that the suit is very near, with Jim overhearing that the Queen wants the suit to make her more beautiful than her imprisoned twin sister, Princess What's-Her-Name. Afterwards, Jim decides to go and meet this princess before Psy-Crow finds him.

Gameplay

The player takes control of the titular hero, Earthworm Jim. Jim quickly finds that while getting used to being able to jump (C), shoot (A), and fly with his Pocket Rocket, he's being eyed up by several villains for the suit... Whipping with B and shooting his way through the game's levels, Jim also has the ability to twirl his head around like a helicopter to slow his rate of descent by repeatedly pressing C while in the air, as well as being able to use his whip to not only shoot down enemies (including some impervious to his pistol), but to use with hooks to navigate to otherwise impossible to reach areas.

The super suit's energy is measured by a percentage - it will drain if Jim takes damage, and if it drops to 0%, the suit will explode, taking away one of Jim's lives. If Jim's ammo runs too low, the plasma gun will slowly recharge itself, but it is generally a good idea to conserve ammo as much as possible. Hunting around the levels can reveal all kinds of hidden items.

Items

Plasma Power
Adds 250 rounds of plasma power to the pistol.
Mega Plasma
Adds 1 extremely powerful shot to the pistol (up to 9 at once) that will instantly wipe out any regular enemy in one shot.
Suit Power
Recharges a small percentage of the suit's energy.
Super Suit Power
Recharges a huge percentage of the suit's energy.
Extra Life
Awards an extra life.
Asteroid Shield
Appears only in Andy Asteroids. These can be activated with B to temporarily protect Jim from asteroids.
Atomic Accelerator
Appears only in Andy Asteroids. Instantaneously gives Jim's rocket a burst of speed.
Fuel Pod
Appears only in Andy Asteroids. Collect 50 of these to earn a continue.

Levels

Earthworm Jim takes place over 7 main levels, plus 7 bonus segments between levels, bosses for the player to fight and a hidden bonus level halfway through the game.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive cow.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive njc-bin.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive njc-boss.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive cow.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive njc-bin.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive njc-boss.png

New Junk City
The first level, New Junk City, is a giant rubbish dump. Tyres can be bounced over, ziplines hooked on to and conveyor belts climbed. Watch out for crows and Fifis - the crows will try to pull Jim out of the suit, damaging him in the process, while the Fifis try to bite Jim (though shooting them will gain some health back). In the Mega-CD version, there's an extra segment where Jim is suit-less and has to time jumps between platforms to reach the suit again. Shown here is the cow near the start of the level - whipping the fridge launches it into space, where it will fly past in the background in some levels, moo-ing in terror as it does so.

The first boss Jim encounters has two forms - the kart shown here, and a humanoid shape where he calls tubas down from the sky to fall on Jim's head. If he hits Jim when he's driving around as the cart form, he'll go back up to full health.

The first end of level boss (and planet mascot) of the game is Chuck - a magnet drops crates and tubas on Jim from above, while he sits on a zip line. Dodge the tubas (or whip them away), and whip the crate on to the spring while he's under it - but watch out for the resulting fish he starts throwing up. He can't be hit directly so only the crates will work.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive andy-asteroids.png

Andy Asteroids?
At the end of every level is a transition racing level to the next planet, one of a steadily-growing harder set of stages called Andy Asteroids (named after Andy Astor, one of the game's programmers). Here, Jim has to race a giant bird in a spacesuit called Psy-Crow to the end of a tunnel, accelerating with A while dodging asteroids and collecting Fuel Pods & Asteroid Shields. Picking up the Atomic Accelerators will give Jim temporary invincibility and a short jump ahead in the race - getting these are later on the only way to win the stages. Psy-Crow will grab these if given the chance after the first stage or so.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive andy-asteroids-psycrow.png

Psy-Crow!
If the player loses a race in Andy Asteroids, then they must battle Psy-Crow, who will attack Jim with a fish-hook gun. Shoot him and when he's dazed, whip him to finish him off and start the next level proper.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive heck.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive heck-snowman.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive heck-evil.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive heck.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive heck-snowman.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive heck-evil.png

What the Heck?
Home to Evil the Cat, What The Heck? is the second level proper. Elevator music plays in the background (with the occasional scream of horror from the musak), demons are everywhere and Jim will also need to dodge fire & brimstone - plus suitcase-wielding lawyers (Hell is full of them, after all). The Mega-CD version has an expanded section of level just before the first boss, which is a giant snowman that belches fireballs that must be dodged.

Evil the Cat makes numerous appearances throughout the level to impede Jim's progress by throwing a bomb and trying to impale him with falling stalactites. Should Jim make it to the end of the level, Evil will manage to get Jim's suit away from the worm and fires balls of flame at him from an oversized gun. However, the shots melt the support for the platform he's standing on and it collapses, causing Evil to run away and Jim to reclaim the suit. From there it's just a case of shooting away his lives (9, naturally) and dodging the flames that come from the sides of the screen.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive downthetubes.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive downthetubes-pod.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive downthetubes-bob.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive downthetubes.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive downthetubes-pod.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive downthetubes-bob.png

Down the Tubes
Down The Tubes is a water-themed level consisting of rooms linked by tubes (some of which Jim will travel down riding the back of a giant hamster that can eat all obstacles in its path, with Jim clinging on for dear life). Shown in the first screenshot is one of the two level mascots, No. 4 - these muscular cloned cats are all over the level acting as bodyguards for the main level mascot. Touch one and they'll punch Jim so hard he'll go flying back and lose health in the process. The Mega-CD version has a hidden spot that when touched, has a secret alternate Andy Asteroids level with no asteroids in and no Psy-Crow - just speed boosters, Fuel Pods and Shields, that takes the player straight to Snot A Problem without having to do the second half of the level.

This level is possibly best known for the second half (one of only 2 levels to have more than one title card displayed, not counting the multiple Andy Asteroid races; the other being Snot A Problem), which is mostly navigating one of the glass pods from the first half of the level around on a time limit with a lot of walls, some narrow sections, and not a lot of air refillers. If the pods hit the walls too many times, they will shatter, resulting in millions of gallons of wet death.

At the end of the pod navigation sequence, Jim will come face to face with Bob the Goldfish. Somewhat of an anticlimax after the pod, the player can complete the level either with a single pistol shot, whipping Bob or simply walking into the bowl - all three knock it to the floor, where as he flops about, Jim hops on the Rocket and zooms off.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive bungee-mucus.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive bungee-chomp.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive bungee-mucus.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive bungee-chomp.png

Snot a Problem!
The next level is Snot A Problem! - an interesting change in that not only are there 3 sub levels (each with a progressively more intelligent Major Mucus), but Jim has none of his normal weaponry available. Instead, Mucus must be defeated by ramming him against the sides of the level until his rope snaps, but he can do the same to Jim - and he has a spinning attack that will also wear Jim's rope down.

There's an added hazard for the second and third bouts - a monster at the bottom of the screen. For the first round it just watches, but from the second round onward it will actively try to eat Jim when he reaches the bottom of the chasm and the cord stretches out, snapping the rope (and Jim!) instantly.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5-wtotl-enterance.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5chicken.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5chickenfall.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5-wtotl-enterance.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5chicken.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive level5chickenfall.png

Level 5
The rather imaginatively titled Level 5 (which thanks to the inclusion of Big Bruty, is actually the sixth level on the Mega-CD version) is a giant laboratory, home of Professor Monkey-For-A-Head (and his flipped personality, Monkey Professor-For-A-Head). Both will attack Jim as he progresses through the level dodging leaping brains, flying eyeballs, giant cells, green blobs with eyes on a stalk that explode into a shower of maggots, and electrified ball platforms. Later in the level Jim gets separated from the suit and must navigate spiked platforms and fans to re-connect with it.

The boss of Level 5 is a chicken in a mech suit - it lays eggs that roll towards Jim and explode, and flies over his head occasionally. It must be defeated by whipping the target when the chicken is below the drop chute, which will cause a giant cell to fall onto the chicken and hurt it. When the chicken has taken enough damage, it will shift to a second form, where it and Jim are in free-fall down an endless shaft. Here the method to kill it is simple - just shoot at it with the pistol. Dodge the bombs it drops and the feathers it sheds that explode, as well as the mecha-chicken itself, and eventually it will blow up, ending the level.

This level is not present in the Game Gear and Master System versions.

About halfway through Level 5, the player will come across a section with health leading away in an arc from a large black box with a red dot in the middle (shown in the second screenshot). This can be ignored with no repercussions, but if Jim ignores the indicated route and jumps into the dot of light...

EarthwormJim MegaDrive whoturnedoutthelights.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive wtotl-door.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive wtotl-eyesofdoom.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive whoturnedoutthelights.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive wtotl-door.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive wtotl-eyesofdoom.png

Who Turned Out the Lights?
...he will enter a secret level titled Who Turned Out The Lights?, that's played with Jim entirely in silhouette apart from his eyes, with the enemies in the level also only being visible by their eyes. There are 5 sections to the level, all of which are fairly short - Jim transfers between them by running out of an exit door and into the next room.

In the 5th room, Jim will scream in terror at what's this level's mascot - a giant pair of eyes that will roar and chase him. Jumping over the eyes and running as fast as you can to the right, Jim will enter a point where 3 rays of light meet and be teleported back to the same point in Level 5 that he left, with all the items just as they were when he left it.

This level is not present in the Game Gear and Master System versions.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive forpetessake.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive forpetessake-end.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive forpetessake.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive forpetessake-end.png

For Pete's Sake!
The next level proper is For Pete's Sake!, which has Jim playing escort to a prancing Peter Puppy who is trying to get back to his house at the end of the level. There's a slight problem - if he gets hurt or falls off the main path, he transmogrifies into a demonic beast and grabs Jim in his mouth, flying backwards in the level until the last invisible checkpoint passed whereupon he spits Jim out and turns back into his normal self. Jim has to not only whip him over gaps and shoot down asteroid bombardments but must get Peter past cement mixers with electric sparks, shoot down flying saucers (that don't hurt Peter or Jim, but capture Jim for a few seconds which can be long enough for Peter to end up in trouble and transforming), and giant vines that grab Peter, squeezing him until he transforms and bursts them apart.

Eventually, Peter Puppy's house is in sight, but the player has the option of whipping him over the house for a more difficult section of level for bonus items. Either way, when Peter enters one of the houses, the level is over - there's no boss here.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive intestines.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive intestines-DocDuodenum.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive intestines.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive intestines-DocDuodenum.png

Intestinal Distress!
The penultimate level is Intestinal Distress! - Jim must tackle spikes, wind pipes, flying fish and balls of.... something.... to reach the end of the level. The boss of the level is Doc Duodenum, who likes to jump around rapidly and spew material at Jim. Defeating him rewards the player with one last Andy Asteroids before the final level.

This level is not present in the Game Gear and Master System versions. Some non-Sega versions of the game, such as the Super NES and IBM PC versions, also lack this level.

EarthwormJim MegaDrive buttville-descent.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive buttville-main.png

EarthwormJim MegaDrive buttville-queen.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive buttville-descent.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive buttville-main.png

  • EarthwormJim MegaDrive buttville-queen.png

Buttville
Finally, Jim has reached Buttville. The first section sees Jim using his helicopter move to navigate a maze of thorns - it's short, but difficult, and this is only a taste of what's to come later on. When Jim reaches the bottom, he will teleport to the main section of the level. In Buttville proper, Jim must avoid bugs that spew from nests, one-hit knock-out worms that jump in and out from the background (shown to the right of the second shot), more thorns and creatures that spit electric sparks at Jim.

Should the player survive all of this, they'll start to pass under a large segmented ceiling, which when they reach the end of it is revealed to be the game's final boss, Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt. To fight her, Jim has to stand on the floating Snott platforms that circle her and shoot her at the 3, 6, 9 and 12'o'clock positions, or whip her once, finally defeating the evil queen and meeting her sister, Princess Whats-Her-Name (who clearly got the more attractive end of the gene pool, as Jim discovers). However, the rather bitter-sweet ending has one final surprise in store for the gallant earthworm...

Misc items

  • Jim exits each level by hooping on his Pocket Rocket and flying off to the next world, via an Andy Asteroids stage.

  • "A whole new can of worms", these are granted by picking up 50 blue orbs in an Andy Asteroids stage.

History

Head programmer and Shiny Entertainment founder David Perry.

Development

With most of Shiny Entertainment originating from Virgin Interactive Entertainment, Earthworm Jim was built using similar techniques to Cool Spot and Disney's Aladdin. Animations were drawn by hand and digitised into the game.

Release

In the United States, television advertisements featuring an old lady eating (plastic) earthworms garnered some controversy, with complaints forcing the advert to be pulled from television network in Portland (Oregon), Spokane (Washington) and Sacramento (California)[21].

Legacy

Earthworm Jim was quickly ported to a variety of systems including the Sega Game Gear, Super Nintendo and Game Boy. It was released for the Sega Master System in 1996 exclusively in Brazil by Sega's distributor Tec Toy.

An enhanced version of the game, Earthworm Jim: Special Edition was released for the Sega Mega-CD and Windows PCs, and in more recent times ports have been made to the Game Boy Advance, iPhone, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and the Wii's Virtual Console service. The game is also included in the Western units of the Mega Drive Mini.

The game was followed by Earthworm Jim 2 and a variety of other sequels. It also led to a cartoon show by Universal Animation Studios, which is arguably one of the more successful video game cartoon adaptions of all time.

Versions

The Sega Mega Drive was the lead platform for Earthworm Jim, with all other ports stemming from this version. This includes the port to the Mega Drive's nearest rival, the Super NES, which although benefits from a increased colour palette, uses fewer animations due to sprite and memory limitations.

The Intestinal Distress stage was originally exclusive to the Mega Drive version of the game, reportedly put in at the last minute due to a request from Sega (thus making the game bigger than the Super NES version). In return, Sega reduced cartridge manufacturing costs for the game.

Production credits

Mega Drive version

Game Gear version

  • Conversion Developed by: Eurocom Entertainment Software
  • Programming: Dave Looker, Kevin J. Grantham, Dave Pridmore, Tim Rogers
  • Graphics: Andy Bee, Nigel Bentley, Steve Bedser
  • Sound: Martin Walker
  • Quality Assurance: Kevin Holt
  • Producers: Mat Sneap, Mark Hetherington, Hugh Binns
Playmates Staff
  • Quality Assurance: Ray Nivarel, PIE QA Crew
  • Executive Producer: David Luehmann
  • Project Manager: Scott Herrington
Source:
In-game credits
Earthworm Jim GG credits.pdf
[22]

Digital manuals

  • Mega Drive Mini US manual

  • Mega Drive Mini EU manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Earthworm Jim/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Earthworm Jim/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
97
Sega Mega Drive
 97
Based on
1 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
70
[23]
Cool Gamer (RU)
80
[24]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
88
[25]
Digitiser (UK)
89
[26]
Edge (UK)
70
[27]
Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U
67
[28]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
88
[29]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)
80
[30]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 2 (RU)
80
[31]
Freak (IL)
97
[32]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
96
[4]
Game Players (US)
95
[33]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
100
[34]
GamesMaster (UK)
93
[35]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
94
[36]
Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL
93
[6]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
95
[37]
Hyper (AU) PAL
94
[38]
LeveL (CZ)
85
[39]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
86
[40]
Mega (UK) PAL
92
[41]
Mega Force (FR) PAL
97
[42]
Mega Fun (DE) PAL
87
[43]
Megazin (SI)
91
[44]
Micro Kid's Multimédia (FR)
100
[45]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
93
[46]
Next Generation (US) NTSC-U
75
[47]
Player One (FR)
98
[48]
Playjoy (YU)
88
[49]
Play Time (DE) PAL
87
[50]
Sega Magazin (DE)
89
[51]
Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
93
[52]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
94
[53]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
93
[54]
Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)
92
[55]
Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)
94
[56]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
94
[57]
Super Juegos (ES)
93
[58]
Todo Sega (ES)
95
[59]
Tricks (RU)
81
[60]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
93
[61]
Ultimate Future Games (UK)
93
[62]
Video Games (DE) PAL
95
[63]
VideoGames (US)
90
[64]
Sega Mega Drive
 89
Based on
44 reviews

Earthworm Jim

Mega Drive, US
Earthworm Jim MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Earthworm Jim MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Earthworm Jim MD US Plastic Case Manual.jpg
Manual
Earthworm Jim MD US Poster.jpg
Poster
Mega Drive, US (cardboard)
EWJ MD US Box Back Cardboard.jpgEWJ MD US Box Spine Cardboard.jpgEWJ MD US Box Front Cardboard.jpgEWJ MD US Box Spine2 Cardboard.jpg
Cover
Earthworm Jim MD US CB Cart.jpg
Cart
Earthworm Jim MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
Earthworm Jim MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
EarthwormJim MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Earthworm Jim MD EU Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, PT
Earthworm Jim MD PT Box Back.jpgEarthworm Jim MD PT Box Spine.jpgEarthworm Jim MD PT Box Front.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, SE rental (SF)
EWJ MD SE rental cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, GR (Zegetron)

EarthwormJim MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, AU
EWJ MD AU cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, BR
EarthwormJim MD BR cover.jpg
Cover
EarthwormJim MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, ZA
Earthworm Jim MD ZA Box.jpg
Cover
EarthwormJim MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart

Master System version

Master System, BR
Earthworm Jim SMS BR Box.jpg
Cover
EarthwormJim SMS BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Earthwormjim sms br manual.pdf
Manual

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U
58
[65]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
65
[66]
Freak (IL)
82
[67]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
76
[68]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
73
[7]
Gamers (DE)
87
[69]
Mega Fun (DE) PAL
75
[70]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
90
[10]
Player One (FR)
93
[71]
Sega Magazin (DE)
83
[72]
Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
91
[73]
Sega News (CZ)
82
[74]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
91
[75]
Super Juegos (ES)
93
[76]
Todo Sega (ES)
86
[77]
Sega Game Gear
 82
Based on
15 reviews

Earthworm Jim

Game Gear, US
EWJ GG US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngEWJ GG US Box Front.jpg
Cover
EarthwormJim GG US cart.jpg
Cart
Earthworm Jim GG US Manual.pdf
Manual
Game Gear, EU
EWJ GG EU Box Back.jpgEarthworm Jim GG EU BoxSpine.jpgEWJ GG EU Box Front.jpg
Cover
EWJ GG EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Earthworm Jim GG EU Manual.jpg
Manual

Technical information

Main article: Earthworm Jim/Technical information.

External links

References

  1. ↑ File:EWJ GG EU Box Back.jpg
  2. ↑ File:EWJ MD SE rental cover.jpg
  3. ↑ Mega Play, "August 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 36
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 11 November 1994" (US; 1994-1x-xx), page 148
  5. ↑ Mega, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-10-27), page 52
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Games World: The Magazine, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-10-28), page 13
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 GamePro, "June 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 106
  8. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "July 1995" (UK; 1995-06-09), page 48
  9. ↑ Computer Trade Weekly, "" (UK; 1995-08-28), page 20
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Mean Machines Sega, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-06-26), page 78
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/earthworm_jim (Wayback Machine: 2017-06-26 21:43)
  12. ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Earthworm-Jim--277072.html (archive.today)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/D_zMknkluv5Cv4Ghqx1w7p0zELRG1nkf (Wayback Machine: 2010-11-23 00:43)
  14. ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/09.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-05 23:18)
  15. ↑ http://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_ewj/ (Wayback Machine: 2008-12-17 11:40)
  16. ↑ http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=41&prod_id=19736&pageID=4 (Wayback Machine: 2012-04-03 02:06)
  17. ↑ https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/866c0993-5a1f-4d90-9f9d-bfe80770506e (archive.today)
  18. ↑ @NintendoAmerica on Twitter (archive.today)
  19. ↑ @NintendoEurope on Twitter (archive.today)
  20. ↑ @NintendoAUNZ on Twitter (archive.today)
  21. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "January 1995" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 64
  22. ↑ File:Earthworm Jim GG credits.pdf
  23. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 66
  24. ↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 70
  25. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-10-15), page 42
  26. ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1994-11-22)
  27. ↑ Edge, "October 1994" (UK; 1994-08-25), page 54
  28. ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "October 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 74
  29. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "October 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 34
  30. ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 309
  31. ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 2, "" (RU; 2000-xx-xx), page 115
  32. ↑ Freak, "12/94" (IL; 1994-xx-xx), page 1
  33. ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 12 December 1994" (US; 1994-1x-xx), page 51
  34. ↑ GamePro, "November 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 72
  35. ↑ GamesMaster, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-10-20), page 68
  36. ↑ GamesMaster (UK) "Series 4, episode 4" (1994-10-11, 24:00) (+7:31)
  37. ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Diciembre 1994" (ES; 1994-xx-xx), page 64
  38. ↑ Hyper, "October 1994" (AU; 1994-xx-xx), page 36
  39. ↑ LeveL, "Duben 1995" (CZ; 1995-04-20), page 34
  40. ↑ MAN!AC, "11/94" (DE; 1994-10-12), page 66
  41. ↑ Mega, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-10-27), page 12
  42. ↑ Mega Force, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-12-02), page 38
  43. ↑ Mega Fun, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-23), page 119
  44. ↑ Megazin, "Letnik 2, Številka 16, December 1994" (SI; 1994-xx-xx), page 31
  45. ↑ Micro Kid's Multimédia, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-1x-xx), page 60
  46. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1994" (UK; 1994-08-xx), page 60
  47. ↑ Next Generation, "Premiere Issue 1995" (US; 1994-12-08), page 105
  48. ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-1x-xx), page 148
  49. ↑ Playjoy, "Oktobar 1995" (YU; 1995-10-xx), page 31
  50. ↑ Play Time, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-09), page 110
  51. ↑ Sega Magazin, "Dezember 1994" (DE; 1994-11-17), page 20
  52. ↑ Sega Magazine, "October 1994" (UK; 1994-09-15), page 86
  53. ↑ Sega Power, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-09-29), page 46
  54. ↑ Sega Pro, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-10-06), page 72
  55. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Review, "1" (RU; 1995-04-03), page 49
  56. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Review, "2" (RU; 1996-01-03), page 60
  57. ↑ Sonic the Comic, "January 6th 1995" (UK; 1994-12-24), page 10
  58. ↑ Super Juegos, "Enero 1995" (ES; 199x-xx-xx), page 104
  59. ↑ Todo Sega, "Diciembre 1994" (ES; 1994-1x-xx), page 40
  60. ↑ Tricks, "4/95" (RU; 1995-xx-xx), page 30
  61. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 13
  62. ↑ Ultimate Future Games, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-01), page 108
  63. ↑ Video Games, "11/94" (DE; 1994-10-26), page 104
  64. ↑ VideoGames, "December 1994" (US; 1994-1x-xx), page 92
  65. ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "June 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 100
  66. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "July 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 40
  67. ↑ Freak, "7/95" (IL; 1995-xx-xx), page 1
  68. ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 8 No. 8 August 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 67
  69. ↑ Gamers, "November 1995" (DE; 1995-10-11), page 50
  70. ↑ Mega Fun, "11/95" (DE; 1995-10-18), page 74
  71. ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 144
  72. ↑ Sega Magazin, "August 1995" (DE; 1995-07-12), page 84
  73. ↑ Sega Magazine, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-07-13), page 88
  74. ↑ Sega News, "Listopad 1996" (CZ; 1996-1x-xx), page 34
  75. ↑ Sega Power, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-07-20), page 58
  76. ↑ Super Juegos, "Agosto 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 118
  77. ↑ Todo Sega, "Agosto 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 55


Earthworm Jim

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Main page | Comparisons | Maps | Hidden content | Bugs | Development | Magazine articles | Video coverage | Reception | Promotional material | Region coding | Technical information | Bootlegs


Sega Mega Drive
Prototypes: 1994-07-28



Earthworm Jim games for Sega systems
Sega Mega Drive
 Earthworm Jim (1994) | Earthworm Jim 2 (1995)
Sega Mega-CD
 Earthworm Jim: Special Edition (1995)
Sega Game Gear
 Earthworm Jim (1995)
Sega Master System
 Earthworm Jim (1997)
Sega Saturn
 Earthworm Jim 2 (1996)
Earthworm Jim-related media
Book
 Biblioteka zhurnala Tricks. Earthworm Jim I,II (?)
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