Developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Sega of America in 1994. Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Al82_Retro Add me on Google+: http://bit.ly/1tPwL1u If you were growing up during the mid-90's and had an interest in video games then I suspect that you might have heard of Earthworm Jim. Based on a character created by artist and illustrator, Doug TenNapel, Shiny Entertainment liked what they saw when TenNapel showed them a sketch of Jim. So much so that they bought the rights and set about developing a game featuring everyone's favourite annelid. Jim was once a normal earthworm until the day that a super suit falls from the sky. The suit grants Jim the ability to manoeuvre like a human being with him coiled up in neck cavity. The suit was originally created for the evil Queen Slug-for-a-Butt, so that she could conquer the universe, but now Jim must defeat her and her henchmen on a mission to rescue Princess What's-Her-Name from the queen's clutches. The game is predominantly a platform affair that boasts some of the best graphics and animation to ever appear on Sega's 16-bit console. From the moment that you launch the cow into space using a large refrigerator, the game continually demonstrates a surreal sense of humour that is never less than entertaining. Despite being in possession of the suit, Jim certainly has his work cut out for him. Each level boasts a number of enemies out to kill him, but these can be be dispatched with a burst of gun-fire from Jim's blaster. The blaster has limited ammunition, but it's also possible to perform a melee attack where the suit uses Jim like a whip, which can conserve ammunition. The whip move also allows Jim to latch on to hooks strategically placed within the level and allows him to reach platforms that would be otherwise out of reach. Many secret areas can be found in the game by using these hooks to reach distant platforms or areas where bonus lives, ammo or health may be situated. The game features a number of uniquely themed levels that punctuate the platforming sections. Jim will often have to enter an interstellar race (astride a jet-engine with handlebars) with the bounty hunter, Psy-Crow, to reach the next level first. Jim must take care not to collide with various meteors drifting along the route, whilst making sure to grab the turbo boosts before Psy-Crow can. Fortunately, Jim can always slam the pesky bird into the path of an oncoming meteor in order to gain the lead. One of the most notable levels sees Jim escorting Peter Puppy to safety across a hostile landscape. Jim must make sure no harm comes to Peter as the dog has a Jekyll and Hide split-personality. If the dog gets hurt, he metamorphoses into a hulking, slavering hound that will give Jim a proper pasting in return for his carelessness. Jim must whip Peter to get him to leap across pitfalls, whilst shooting down UFOs that will temporarily stun Jim, thus giving Peter time to get himself into trouble. The level is funny and frustrating in equal measures and will take a good many attempts to complete. Whilst the original cartridge version of the game featured some great music and sound effects, the Sega CD version features a fully mastered soundtrack by Tommy Tallarico. Whilst the SNES port of the game features some pretty good music, there's no denying the fact that the CD audio on offer here makes the Sega CD the definitive version of the game. Personally, I feel that Earthworm Jim is one of those rare games that is timeless thanks to combination of superb design, offbeat humour and fantastic animation. An HD remaster of the game was released in 2010 for Xbox Live Arcade, but I think that the graphics and voice-over provided by Doug TenNapel himself make the original versions more endearing. Earthworm Jim remains one of the finest console games of it's generation and the Sega CD special edition is certainly the most complete version available and comes highly recommended.

• published: 25 Dec 2014
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