Earthworm Jim 2

Earthworm Jim 2
File:Earthworm Jim 2 (EUR).png
Developer(s)	Shiny Entertainment Screaming Pink (Sega Saturn, PlayStation)
Publisher(s)	NA Playmates Interactive Entertainment EU Virgin Interactive
Designer	David Perry Doug TenNapel
Engine
status	Status Missing
Release date	Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: EU December 22, 1995 NA 1996 SNES: NA 1995 EU January 25, 1996 MS-DOS (PC): April 30, 1996 Sega Saturn: NA October 31, 1996 JPN November 11, 1996 Sony PlayStation: EU November 1996 Game Boy Advance: NA May 31, 2002 EU November 29, 2002 Virtual Console September 1, 2009 (JP) December 14, 2009 (NA) December 4, 2009 (EU) Windows (GOG.com) October 7, 2008 (INT)
Genre	Platform
Mode(s)	Single Player
Age rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone ELSPA: 3+ PEGI: 7
Platform(s)	Sega Mega Drive, Super NES, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, MS-DOS, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console, Windows
Arcade system	Arcade System Missing
Media
Input
Requirements
Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough

Earthworm Jim 2 is a platform video game originally developed by Shiny Entertainment and released in 1995 in Europe, and 1996 in the US. It is a sequel to the original Earthworm Jim. Again, the game was created by Doug TenNapel (Also returned as the voice of Jim) with design from David Perry and music from Tommy Tallarico. Earthworm Jim 2 follows the exploits of annelid superhero Jim and his new sidekick Snott as they try to rescue Jim's beloved Princess What's-Her-Name from a forced marriage to the nefarious Psy-Crow. While chasing them across the universe, Jim comes across the summer homes of a number of villains from the first game, including Evil the Cat and Bob the Killer Goldfish.

Like the original game, Earthworm Jim 2 contains a lot of irreverent, surrealist humor. It also features more diverse gameplay than the original, with each stage having a different style and mission, as well as various new weapons. However, fans have debated which of the two games are better.

Releases

• Sega Genesis: One of the first releases. It was later released on the Wii via Virtual Console.
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System: Similar to the Genesis release, but features improved visuals and audio, as well as some new backgrounds. Like the first game, it has been debated whether or not this release is better than what was on the Genesis.
• MS-DOS: Features more voice clips and a CD soundtrack. However, Lorenzen's Soil is missing.
• Playstation: Identical to the MS-DOS release, but there are new backgrounds and a new set of questions in the game show. Lorenzen's Soil is restored as well.
• Sega Saturn: Vaguely identical to the Playstation release.
• Gameboy Advance: A port of the Super Nintendo release. Has been widely criticised for poor graphics, bad sound and music, and very glitchy gameplay, most notably that you lose a life whenever you enter a level by means of a password.

Gameplay

File:Earthworm Jim 2 lvl1.png

Snott slowing Jim's descent

Gameplay is much more diverse than in the first Earthworm Jim, largely departing from the template of a standard platformer. Although the majority of levels are based on platformer elements, they also incorporate gameplay from a variety of different genres, including mazes, trivia contests, arcade game style levels, and a marathon race which acts as the game's final level in lieu of a boss battle. Many levels are heavily non-linear and are navigated in an unusual manner.

For instance in the third level 'The Villi People/Jim's Now A Blind Cave Salamander!', the player must guide Jim, defenceless in the guise of a blind cave salamander, through intestinal passages while avoiding exploding sheep and hazards embedded in the floor and walls. In another, the player controls Jim as he floats upward through a warped circus setting by means of his inflated head, avoiding touching sharp objects and light bulbs which will cause him to fall to the start of the level.

Jim's movement has changed from the original Earthworm Jim. For instance, he can no longer use his head to swing or to hover like a helicopter. Instead, Jim is accompanied by a living mucus named Snott, who resides in Jim's backpack and allows him to float by morphing into a parachute and swing by sticking on ceilings that are covered with dripping goo.

Reception

The original releases, and to an extent the enhanced ports to the PlayStation and Saturn received highly favourable reviews. Critics praised the game's humour and absurd, innovative gameplay. The 'mini-game' style levels spread throughout the game were also held in high regard as a welcome change from the linear gameplay common at the time. Dyson Turner of Sega-16 said that the game was better than the first, owing to its improved graphics and level of detail. However he did also comment on the low number of bosses and the absence of a two-player mode.

Although, or perhaps because, the PlayStation port contained the same content as the original releases, the PS version received a poor review from CVG, obtaining a score of only 3/10. Their reviewer was not impressed with re-releasing a 16-bit title in the 'Age of Polygons', stating that he would have liked 'something new, please'.

The 2002 Game Boy Advance release was panned by critics owing to an 'unfinished' game engine, glitched graphics and an unpredictable save system. Craig Harris, reviewer for IGN, gave the port 4/10, stating that 'The action tends to slowdown in the most unlikely locations ...and the gameplay's inconsistent... The GBA version of Earthworm Jim 2 even dishes out level passwords that ...load a game where you instantly die for no apparent reason'.

Soundtrack

Earthworm Jim 2 Soundtrack (Sega Saturn Version)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tangerine"	2:02
2.	"Granny Bag"	2:05
3.	"Italian Medley"	1:50
4.	"Dad's Tune" (Written and performed by Thomas V. Tallarico and Tommy Tallarico)	1:20
5.	""Moonlight Sonata" 1st movement" (Written by Ludwig Van Beethoven, performed by Tommy Tallarico)	5:33
6.	""Moonlight Sonata" 3rd movement" (Written by Ludwig Von Beethoven, performed by Tommy Tallarico)	6:16
7.	"The Moo Tango"	1:44
8.	"The Big Top Polka"	2:50
9.	"Tropical Paradise"	2:27
10.	"Subterranean"	5:37
11.	"Dixieland Finale"	0:43
12.	"Continue to Rock"	0:36
13.	"Doobeedowapbop"	1:06
Total length:		34:09

Earthworm Jim 2 Soundtrack (PC Version)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Continue TO Rock"	0:42
2.	"Dad's Tune"	4:01
3.	"Dixieland Final"	3:36
4.	"Doobeedowapbop"	1:10
5.	"Worms From Foreign Lands (Buttville)"	6:19
6.	"Italian Medley"	5:34
7.	""Moonlight Sonata" Third Movement"	6:23
8.	"The Moo Tango"	7:06
9.	"The Big Top Polka"	5:44
10.	"Subterranean"	5:44
11.	"Tangerine"	6:05
12.	"Tropical Paradise"	4:50
Total length:		57:13

External links

• 'Earthworm Jim 2' at MobyGames

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