Shiny Entertainment
Earthworm Jim

In '94, the 16-bit era was living its last golden year, SNES and Mega Drive were the most widespread home consoles, and the advent of 32-bit seemed distant, especially here in Europe. It was a time when platformers sprang up like mushrooms, a bit like FPS games today, the market was broader, there were many small companies also because development costs were low. Obviously, to make one's way in such an exploited genre, original ideas were needed, well-implemented, it was necessary to give the impression that the product wasn't just another clone of Mario, Sonic, or Megaman. Nintendo's plumber's slow and measured approach had been overused, while the instinctive and frantic gameplay of the blue hedgehog didn't suit design choices different from those made by SEGA. Capcom's little man, on the other hand, had his own characteristics that could be an interesting starting point for new ideas. Megaman climbed, shot, and above all, unlike the other two, did not jump on the enemies' heads.

When David Perry designed his hero, he put aside any pretense of coherence and created a world and ridiculous and demented characters with which to unleash every crazy idea that crossed his mind. Earthworm Jim was therefore an earthworm, who stumbled upon a hyper-technological suit that fell from the sky, granting him intelligence and superhuman strength. But the Queen Slug-For-A-Butt, who cared a lot about the suit, sent the evil Psy-Crow to retrieve it by fair means or foul, effectively forcing Jim to make his way through a series of bizarre levels and events until he confronted the queen and saved Princess What's-Her-Name at the same time. Not that a platformer strictly needed a story, especially in a time when it was said that a plot for a video game was as useful as a plot for a porn movie.

The game worked great: Jim shot, climbed, swung, whipped, bungee jumped over a lake of mucus, walked the dog, and did many other things, but above all, catapulted cows into the skies (!). Most of the characters encountered were grotesque and disgusting and engaged in absolutely hilarious animations. The technical department was meticulously curated, the backgrounds and sprites were sumptuous, the sound effects were amusing, and the music was beautiful (especially the second level's). Moreover, in contrast to modern titles that practically finish themselves, Earthworm Jim boasted a considerable level of difficulty in the advanced stages, but never frustrating to the point of giving up.

Jimmy had an excellent sequel the following year, and his popularity overseas was such that a cartoon was even made, which of course never reached us. The advent of 3D pushed Shiny to make an attempt on the 32-bit, but the ideas weren't what they used to be, and the game was all in all forgettable. Despite the success of the first two titles, the brand was practically abandoned by Shiny, which preferred to focus on other projects, finding its own path through ups and downs until its closure in 2007, the year it merged with another company to form Double Helix Games. In 2008, Interplay announced that they were working on a fourth chapter, but no further information ever emerged.

Fifteen years later it remains one of the best 2D platformers ever made, and the fact that it is still so fresh and fun should cause today's game designers to reflect, who have advanced technologies at their disposal but very few ideas and willingness to take risks.