2. Sushi Academy (DS)
3. Alcahest (SFC)
4. Comix Zone (GEN)
5. Lost Vikings (GEN)
6. Beautiful Katamari (360)
7. Toejam & Earl (GEN)*
8. Final Fantasy Legend III (GB)
9. Toejam & Earl [2-player] (GEN)*
10. Mass Effect 1 (360)*
11. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
12. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
13. Donkey Kong Country (SNES) -- Summer Games Challenge!
14. Earthworm Jim (GEN) - Summer Games Challenge!
My personal, decades-old relationship with Jim:
Jim and I have been an item since 1994 when my eight-year-old self read about him in Sega Visions. For kicks I went back to my old copy of the issue -- June/July 1994, if anyone's curious -- to relive some memories.
What fascinates me about the magazine coverage is that the game wasn't released yet at the time, so there were no hard details about gameplay or stages. It was just two pages of hype and interesting facts about the company, followed by two pages of character designs and short descriptions. It's these character sketches that made a huge impression on me. I can tell you exactly where I was sitting in my childhood house as I poured over those latter pages, memorizing the full name of Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Puss-Filled, Malformed Slug-for-a-Butt. I remember I had to ask my mom what some of the words meant. I'll bet she was thrilled about my expanding vocabulary.
Somehow, though, I never wound up playing this game. I would later rent and love Earthworm Jim 2 for Genesis, and watch the cartoon and tape it to VHS (which is a show that really holds up for adults, by the way), but somehow the original title eluded me. I even had a good friend loan it to me a few years back, but inspiration never struck, and I returned it unplayed.
One last thing: After reading the Earthworm Jim coverage, I continued reading through Sega Visions, and man, do I miss this. The issue is thick and gloriously text-laden. As great as the internet is for information on games, I really miss being able to tuck myself into a couch corner to read paragraphs upon paragraphs about games and pour over level maps in print. I either wish this were still a thing for retro games, or that I liked modern games enough to get the same thrill out of current-day publications.
What fascinates me about the magazine coverage is that the game wasn't released yet at the time, so there were no hard details about gameplay or stages. It was just two pages of hype and interesting facts about the company, followed by two pages of character designs and short descriptions. It's these character sketches that made a huge impression on me. I can tell you exactly where I was sitting in my childhood house as I poured over those latter pages, memorizing the full name of Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Puss-Filled, Malformed Slug-for-a-Butt. I remember I had to ask my mom what some of the words meant. I'll bet she was thrilled about my expanding vocabulary.
Somehow, though, I never wound up playing this game. I would later rent and love Earthworm Jim 2 for Genesis, and watch the cartoon and tape it to VHS (which is a show that really holds up for adults, by the way), but somehow the original title eluded me. I even had a good friend loan it to me a few years back, but inspiration never struck, and I returned it unplayed.
One last thing: After reading the Earthworm Jim coverage, I continued reading through Sega Visions, and man, do I miss this. The issue is thick and gloriously text-laden. As great as the internet is for information on games, I really miss being able to tuck myself into a couch corner to read paragraphs upon paragraphs about games and pour over level maps in print. I either wish this were still a thing for retro games, or that I liked modern games enough to get the same thrill out of current-day publications.
Thoughts on the game:
I come from the weird position of having played Earthworm Jim 2 before this one, and the second game definitely improved on a few of the original's weak points. I found myself really missing the feature to cycle through my guns, as I often had to waste a glorious plasma deathray on some negligible enemy that just happened to crop up next (note: I hate bees in video games forever). The second also had a much easier swinging mechanic that didn't require as much precision or D-pad noodling.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this game anyway. The characters that fascinated me in Sega Visions and delighted me in the cartoon have all their personality, even here at the beginning of things. The absurdist sense of humor is fantastic throughout, from the idle animations to the manual and everything in between (the manual's tips and tricks section includes advice for baking puffier cookies), and it's a little less twisted than the second game. The music is great, although I typically had the volume down pretty low because the SFX were quite loud ("SQUAWK!!"). It also makes you feel awesome when you get a hang of the challenging levels. One of my crowning gaming moments was having my husband witness my expert submarine maneuvers after running the clock down to literally the last second.
I'll admit that I did get frustrated at the end of the game, however, and at one point hollered some choice expletives quite loudly. It's not outright sadistic, but the final level throws some one-hit kills at you and a fairly difficult pre-boss fight. I also had a glitching issue that needlessly lost me some lives and tested my patience too, and unfortunately I'm a gamer whose performance erodes as she gets aggravated. The game has no password system, so it was tough to get so close to the endgame and have to start all over because you didn't know the pattern of something new -- but hey, that's what retro gaming is generally about, right? So I'll quit my whining.
Special thanks to CFFJR, who tipped me off to an aspect of the first boss that I probably never would have figured out on my own. Fistbump.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this game anyway. The characters that fascinated me in Sega Visions and delighted me in the cartoon have all their personality, even here at the beginning of things. The absurdist sense of humor is fantastic throughout, from the idle animations to the manual and everything in between (the manual's tips and tricks section includes advice for baking puffier cookies), and it's a little less twisted than the second game. The music is great, although I typically had the volume down pretty low because the SFX were quite loud ("SQUAWK!!"). It also makes you feel awesome when you get a hang of the challenging levels. One of my crowning gaming moments was having my husband witness my expert submarine maneuvers after running the clock down to literally the last second.
I'll admit that I did get frustrated at the end of the game, however, and at one point hollered some choice expletives quite loudly. It's not outright sadistic, but the final level throws some one-hit kills at you and a fairly difficult pre-boss fight. I also had a glitching issue that needlessly lost me some lives and tested my patience too, and unfortunately I'm a gamer whose performance erodes as she gets aggravated. The game has no password system, so it was tough to get so close to the endgame and have to start all over because you didn't know the pattern of something new -- but hey, that's what retro gaming is generally about, right? So I'll quit my whining.
Special thanks to CFFJR, who tipped me off to an aspect of the first boss that I probably never would have figured out on my own. Fistbump.
* = replay
