Earthworm Jim

First, I actually hadn't heard about the issues with POC until Targetmaster Joe brought them up. And searching on that resulted in me finding even more stuff I'd have a problem with. Damn it, it's like a whirlpool of awful.

My personal stance is, I'm already at a time and attention deficit trying to keep up with the stuff I like by people I do respect (I'm at the "play video games while watching shows/movies regularly" stage). It makes it super easy to decide to cut out stuff by people I don't respect.

And honestly, given that DTN was just responsible for character design, I feel like a good game could happen even without his involvement.

In a more business-oriented question, for the possibility of it eventually losing "exclusive" status... well, presuming the Amico fails (which is not outrageous), I could see it going multiplatform if the game itself was well received. Platform exclusivity doesn't mean nearly as much as it used to, and hasn't for at least a decade (remember all those "GameCube exclusives" Capcom made? The only ones that stayed that way were the ones that sold below expectations). Cuphead is my current prime example - that was contracted to be only available for PCs and the Xbox One, up until everyone figured out how to make everyone a profit and viola, a Switch version came out. Yes, the particulars are distinct in that case, but it still generally holds true that games only stay exclusive if they sell badly, a first-party dev studio locks it down, lawyers get involved (god DAMN it, Uniracers), or tech issues prevent it (i.e. we're never going to see any Power Pad game get a wide rerelease).

Regardless of DTN's involvement, still interested in seeing what they're gonna do. The 2D cartoonish art style and VERY fluid and awesome animation in the old games was top notch. It felt like you played a cartoon! And if they manage to top that off and have for example 1000 differing idle animations... maybe that's too much but hey, 10 can be ok.

Sadly, I never watched Earthworm Jim animated series...

Speaking of EWJ, does this mean they could expand this to other games Shiny Entertainment did in 90's? I'd love, love, LOVE a MDK reboot or a new MDK game.

The sniper head coil suit Kurt has is still one of the coolest things! Everyone has opinions on the sequel but I always enjoyed the variety. Every playable character felt different.

Edited by Dhiruxide on May 3rd 2019 at 4:54:10 PM

I saw the complete EWJ cartoon series at my local used game store for 10 bucks.

The cartoon is almost completely a different animal from the games. I enjoy it (and have it all on DVD), but it very much is best treated as an AU.

In light of our favorite scatterbrained, worm-headed, cosmic superhero celebrating his 25th birthday, iam8bit is releasing a 2-in-1 Super NES cartridge containing Earthworm Jim 1 and 2!

Deets:

• Limited Edition of 2000*
• Brand-New Playable SNES Cartridge*
• 2 games in 1!
• Specialty Fold-Out Foil Box with Gloss and Embellishments
• Premium Instruction Booklet w/ “Mystery Foreword”
• Retro Pack-In Surprises
• Custom Package Design & Restoration by Jango Snow Art & Design
• Manufacturing by Retrotainment Games + Infinite NES Lives
• Cartridges will either be pink (like cow udders) or white with black (like cows, 100 only available).

Other stuff:

• MSRP 134.99
• SNES or third-party device that plays SNES cartridges required

Pre-orders begin May 21, 2019 at 10 am PST (or 1pm EST). Shipping starts November 2019.

Bump for an unexpected update:

• For starters, DTN went on the record to say in terms of the new Earthworm Jim game, he's only giving the team consultation and ideas. (So...good thing he's not super involved?)
• That said, he's also doing a 160-page graphic novel adaptation of the first game called Earthworm Jim: Launch the Cow, and he's getting the funds for it with an Indiegogo campaign...and the initial goal was already reached in less than 6 minutes after the campaign launched.

Okay, I know DTN has some unpleasant stances regarding certain folks, but the graphic novel in question is already starting◊ to look◊ awfully◊ interesting...◊

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on May 18th 2019 at 2:06:39 PM

TenNapel is a genuinely good artist and writer. He has bad opinions on some things, but I cant say that his works haven't affected me.

Edited by Zeromaeus on May 18th 2019 at 4:55:13 AM

Crowdfunded comics are blowing up right now, which is funny because it’s one of the few growth sectors outside of non-manga products for funny books. I’m not surprised he got funded so fast because it looks great and is probably viewed by a lot of his backers as sticking it to the traditional power structure.

Still, I don’t agree with his politics but that art sure looks nice.

Teaser for 4 posted today

Interplay Entertainment just announced a brand new 3DCG animated series: Earthworm Jim: Beyond the Groovy. The official website has an animated preview and concept art.

As reported by Variety:

Edited by XMenMutant22 on Nov 18th 2021 at 5:43:15 AM

Oh my god yes

I didn't think it would happen

Proof that modern gaming franchises all suck so much and we should revive the older ones in a new and invigorating art style! Crash, Spyro, Sly Cooper, Sonic, Bubsy, Toejame and Earl, Splatterhouse, and now Earthworm Jim.

Edited by FOFD on Nov 18th 2021 at 5:53:35 AM

The article doesn't mention DTN being involved in the show at all, so I'm happy.

Indeed, Interplay even told Polygon the following:

By the Great Worm Spirit whose body length would boggle even the world's most advanced supercomputer, I literally jolted straight up after seeing that news and thought "WHOA NELLY!" when I heard about it last night.

They provided a clip too. Or at least a proof-of-concept of where they're going with it:

Hrrrmmm. I think I'm still used to Dan Castellaneta as Jim right now. Maybe if we see New!Jim in more EWJ-level shenanigans, I might get a better feel for him.

(*hopes against hope that they'll repurpose the Great Worm Spirit*)

RE: No DTN: That actually caught me by surprise. But then, the guy's looking more and more like a not-great guy, so forget him, right? (Though didn't he recently release a graphic novel about Jim? And wasn't he going to be helping in EWJ4? Eh, probably for the best in case of the latter. Actually, what happened to that new Intellivision thing anyway? Have we gotten an update on that?)

Possible bad news: 4 might have been quiety cancelled.

Why is Earthworm Jim cursed with such awful luck?

It was cursed from the start. Its creator Doug Ten Napel turned out to be a pretty awful person.

That is true. I'm just really sad that out of all the 90s character platformer mascots to comeback and have a new title, it was Bubsy and not Jim.

To provide context on x4:

The worst case scenario is that the team that was working on the game didn't actually have the EWJ license and Interplay sic'd their licensing ninjas on them. The best(?) case scenario is that everything went down the toilet with the Amico (which, come to think of it, we haven't really heard much from since the first announcement dropped) and they made like rats and abandoned ship.

That said, the OG source admitted to not having all the answers and they're in the dark as much as everyone else.

Call it instinct on my end, but the whole thing with the Amico was more than a bit fishy IMO anyway, so I won't be surprised if the latter scenario turned out to be the case, but the whole thing is disappointing, regardless.

EDIT: Did some snooping around and apparently the Amico still hasn't been released and it got hit with delays due to Covid and the global chip shortage. Plus, folks had problems with the asking price of $250 for the console, someone found out that an exclusive game called Tank Battle was mooching off of assets from World of Tanks and other games, and Tommy Tallarico stepped down as CEO on February 2022 and on April of that year, they cut staff and licensed IP, just to be able to (somehow) launch the console.

Now I'm even less surprised if it turned out that EWJ was among the licensed IP that got cut. Or Interplay knew a sinking ship when they saw one and took action.

What was even the point in creating a console instead of just making games on the consoles that are already available right now anyway? Pretty sure people would flock at the chance to play an EWJ-themed retro collection on Switch, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series X|S, and Steam.

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Feb 9th 2023 at 12:03:22 PM

Yeah, everything regarding the Amico was... kinda insane, to put it lightly. PatTheNESPunk followed the entire saga pretty closely on his podcast. I'm not surprised that Earthworm Jim 4 was a casualty.

Edited by RacattackForce on Feb 9th 2023 at 11:45:02 AM

I was going to say that it would be pointless to have an EWJ retro collection on Switch considering 1 and 2 are on NSO, but that didn't stop Sega from giving Switch owners four ways of playing Sonic 2.