History VideoGame / EarthwormJim

** ''2'' has Earthworm Jim playing the accordion to one side of the logo while Princess What's-Her-Name sits on the other side, before Psy-Crow pops out from behind, pokes Jim's shoulder, then kidnaps the princess while he's distracted.

In 2008, a fourth installment was claimed to be in the works by Interplay, though franchise creator Doug [=TenNapel=] would [[http://tinyurl.com/n4orow8 later state]] that this was just talk, and nothing ever entered production due to various financial issues. In 2019, Music/TommyTallarico announced that a brand new entry in the series would be developed by ten members of the original EWJ team to be released exclusively for the UsefulNotes/IntellivisionAmico, with [=TenNapel=] volunteering as a creative consultant. While the game would [[https://www.thegamer.com/earthworm-jim-4-cancelled/ quietly be cancelled]] (with many questioning if it actually entered production) once it became clear that the Amico would be nothing but {{vapourware}}, [=TenNapel=] himself would release two graphic novels for the series -- ''Earthworm Jim: Launch the Cow'' (2019) and ''Earthworm Jim: Fight the Fish'' (2021) -- exclusively through Website/{{Indiegogo}} crowdfunding campaigns. The campaign for ''Launch the Cow'' broke the record for the highest-funded comic book on the site at the time with over $700,000US.

--> And so, having defeated the nefarious '''[[red:COW]]''', our hero, '''[[red:THE COW]]''', wins back the heart of the lovely '''[[red:COW]]'''

* SatiatingSandwich: The coveted Chip Butty in ''[=EWJ=] 2'' can increase Jim's health up to 200%. The sandwich is presumably a chip butty[[note]]fried potatoes, aka "French Fries" or "Hot Chips", between two slices of buttered bread[[/note]] because [[InherentlyFunnyWords the names of other sandwiches aren't as much fun to say]].
* SaveThePrincess: Parodied with Princess What's-Her-Name. [[spoiler: You don't succeed at saving her in either game, and in the cartoons, she's a badass ActionGirl.]]

* StockScream: Many of them heard in "What the Heck?" Over elevator music, no less.

Yes. It's ''[[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs that]]'' kind of game.

* CameraScrew: The main problem with Earthworm Jim 3D is that the designers really didn't know how to adapt to the new 3D graphics, causing the camera to become an extremely frustrating and uncooperative part of gameplay.

* NoFairCheating: While using the debug code in the first to skip to a further level WOULD take you there, once you completed the level, nine times out of ten you were sent back to "What the Heck?" and made to finish the game properly. This even included the final level, Buttville. Since it's a debug mode, you're essentially choosing a replacement for Level 1, rather than being intentionally punished for cheating. The second game's debug mode had a more typical level select feature.

* RankScalesWithAsskicking: Queen Slug-For-A-Butt is not the hardest FinalBoss there is, but she can still be a threat by attacking you with her [[MagicWand mystical scepter]] or her, well, [[AssKicksYou slug-for-a-butt]].

* StealthPun: One enemy in "What the Heck?" is a fire-breathing demonic snowman, a reference to the phrase "a snowball's chance in hell".

* OneHundredPercentCompletion: Collecting all golden udders and 100 marbles in every level counts for this in ''Earthworm Jim 3D''.

* AnvilOnHead: In the second game, Jim throws an anvil onto a rudimentary plank-on-stone seesaw to vault himself onto the next level. [[EpicFail Sometimes, his aim is a little off and the anvil lands back on him]] and sometimes it just breaks the plank without moving him an inch, at which point he chooses to [[EmergencyTaxi hail a passing taxi instead.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Queen Slug-For-A-Butt is not the hardest FinalBoss there is, but she can still be a threat by attacking you with her [[MagicWand mystical scepter]] or her, well, [[AssKicksYou slug-for-a-butt]].

* BonusFeatureFailure: The reward for OneHundredPercentCompletion in ''3D'' is [[spoiler:Earthworm Kim mode.]] Aside from ramping up the difficulty a bit and pulling a role reversal on the final boss, it's completely identical to the regular game mode and doesn't even provide any reward for 100 percent completing it.

** [[DumbMuscle Number 4,]] Bob's invincible (unless you have a mega shot) and very mean hench-cat.

* {{Gasshole}}: The boss of New Junk City arguably; it's not easy to be sure whether he's belching out or throwing up when he hocks dead fish at you. Given the artwork from the manual depicts him with a [[{{squick}} beard-like smear of vomit down his chest]], he's probably vomiting the fish at you.
* GenderFlip: [[spoiler:The final boss, Earthworm Kim,]] from ''Earthworm Jim 3D''. [[spoiler:You can even unlock her if you reach OneHundredPercentCompletion.]]

* IdleAnimation: The first two games are standout examples of this trope, but in terms of quantity as well as quality, these were done [[RuleOfFunny comically.]] In the first game alone, Jim will do things like jump rope with his head, flex his muscles, or [[JugglingLoadedGuns fail to practice trigger discipline.]]

The [[ThirdIs3D third game]], ''Earthworm Jim 3D'' for the Nintendo 64 and PC, had Jim taking a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind after one too many falling cows to the head. A UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor title, ''Menace 2 The Galaxy'', was also released. Also, he appeared as GuestFighter in the PC version of ''VideoGame/BattleArenaToshinden'' (as SecretCharacter) and the ''VideoGame/ClayFighter'' games for Nintendo 64 (''63⅓'' and ''Sculpture's Cut'').

* WritingAroundTrademarks: The "Puppy Love" levels in ''2'' are a carbon copy of the ''VideoGame/GameAndWatch'' game ''Fire''.

In 2008, a fourth installment was claimed to be in the works by Interplay, though franchise creator Doug [=TenNapel=] would [[http://tinyurl.com/n4orow8 later state]] that this was just talk, and nothing ever entered production due to various financial issues. In 2019, Music/TommyTallarico announced that a brand new entry in the series would be developed by ten members of the original EWJ team to be released exclusively for the UsefulNotes/IntellivisionAmico, with [=TenNapel=] volunteering as a creative consultant. While the game would [[https://www.thegamer.com/earthworm-jim-4-cancelled/ quietly be cancelled]] once it became clear that the Amico would be nothing but {{vapourware}}, [=TenNapel=] himself would release two graphic novels for the series -- ''Earthworm Jim: Launch the Cow'' (2019) and ''Earthworm Jim: Fight the Fish'' (2021) -- exclusively through Website/{{Indiegogo}} crowdfunding campaigns. The campaign for ''Launch the Cow'' broke the record for the highest-funded comic book on the site at the time with over $700,000US.

The franchise struggled to revive itself, with a [[VideoGameRemake remake]] of the original game promised for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable, but was [[{{Vaporware}} eventually cancelled]].

However in 2010 a remake of the original game, ''[[UpdatedRerelease Earthworm Jim HD]]'', finally made its way to the UsefulNotes/PlaystationNetwork and Xbox Live with enhanced graphics, sound, 4 player co-op, new levels and the option of the original NintendoHard difficulty for the purists. But oddly missing the secret "Who Turned Out The Lights?" level. Sadly, this version was delisted from all services in February 2018.

A new, fourth game, was rumored to be in the works, along with a new cartoon and motion picture, supervised by franchise creator Doug [=TenNapel=]; [[http://tinyurl.com/n4orow8 that didn't pan out, but Doug confirms that Interplay is interested]]. In early 2017 the series, alongside Playmates' other properties, was sold off to investors. Earthworm Jim was priced around $10,000, but Doug confirmed that another game in the series will not be made without his (and a few others)'s assistance.

In 2019, Music/TommyTallarico (who has since become the CEO of UsefulNotes/{{Intellivision}}) announced that a brand new entry in the series would be developed by ten members of the original team, reuniting them for the first time since 1995's ''Earthworm Jim 2'', to be released exclusively for the UsefulNotes/IntellivisionAmico sometime after its launch. While Doug has stated that he is simply volunteering to provide the team with consultation and ideas, he has also announced that he's working on a brand new 160-page graphic novel, ''Earthworm Jim: Launch the Cow'', that would tell the never-before-seen story of the first game. It will be released exclusively through an Website/{{Indiegogo}} crowdfunding campaign (seen [[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/earthworm-jim-the-comic-book#/ here]]), which met its goal of $12,000 within six minutes of its launch, and exceeded a whopping $700,000 when it ended, breaking the record for the highest-funded comic book on the site as of this writing.

In late 2021, Interplay Entertainment Corp. (which owns the ''Earthworm Jim'' franchise) [[https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/earthworm-jim-animated-tv-series-1235114624/ announced]] that a second animated series, ''Earthworm Jim: Beyond the Groovy'', was in development.

-->- '''Earthworm Jim'''

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Taken UpToEleven. The ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit turns an ordinary earthworm into a SuperSoldier.

* PolygonCeiling: ''3D'' hit its head pretty hard on it. The game is notoriously ugly because the designers really struggled to handle the shift from sprites to polygons, which many negative reviews comment on.

* DenserAndWackier: Somehow. The first game is already out there, but at least it resembles a somewhat consistent PlatformGame with weird, innovative twists to your typical VideogameSettings. The sequel, however, employs so much randomness with its constant {{Unexpected Gameplay Change}}s and completely nonsensical level settings that one can be left wondering if they're even playing a platformer (instead of a parody of one) to begin with.

* DownerEnding: Played for laughs in the first game. [[spoiler:The cow you launched two minutes into the game ends up landing on Princess Whats-Her-Name. It's not a total loss for Jim, though, since he at least pops back into frame to swipe her crown.]]

* SatiatingSandwich: The coveted Chip Butty in ''[=EWJ=] 2'' can increase Jim's health up to 200%. The sandwich is presumably a chip butty[[note]]fried potatoes, aka "French Fries" or "Hot Chips", between two slices of bread[[/note]] because [[InherentlyFunnyWords the names of other sandwiches aren't as much fun to say]].

--> And so, having defeated the nefarious '''[[red:COW]]''', our hero, the '''[[red:COW]]''', wins back the heart of the lovely '''[[red:COW]]'''

* ChainReactionDestruction: Bosses are prone for that.

In late 2021, Interplay Entertainment Corp. (which owns the ''Earthworm Jim'' franchise) [[https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/earthworm-jim-animated-tv-series-1235114624/ announced]] that a second animated series was in development.

In late 2021, Interplay Entertaniment Corp. (which owns the ''Earthworm Jim'' franchise) [[https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/earthworm-jim-animated-tv-series-1235114624/ announced]] that a second animated series was in development.