When Earthworm Jim was first released across multiple platforms in 1994, the game received a warm reception from critics and fans alike. Players were delighted by its run-and-gun gameplay and its utterly bonkers, highly comedic story about a worm that inhabits a musclebound robotic suit to battle a gang of evil space villains.
The game spawned a number of successful sequels, as well as a beloved cult classic Warner Brothers cartoon series, also entitled Earthworm Jim. Now that Interplay has announced that the character is making a comeback in a new animated series, the time is perfect for the next installment of the venerable gaming franchise as well.
Earthworm Jim Animated Series Should Recapture the Original
Earthworm Jim, the animated series, ran for two seasons between 1995 and 1996 and was a hit with fans of the games. Its popularity was boosted by its strong voice cast, which included Dan Castellaneta — better known as the voice of Homer Simpson — to voice the heroic worm.
The show pitted Jim against many of the games’ ridiculous villains, such as Psy-Crow, Evil the Cat, Professor Monkey-For-A-Head, and Bob the Killer Goldfish. Its surreal storylines also chronicled the earthworm’s attempts to manage his friend Peter Puppy’s recurring metamorphoses into a rampaging monster, and to dodge a cow that he had previously launched into space. It featured numerous fourth wall breaking moments, in keeping with the trend at the time and as seen in other popular 90s cartoons such as Animaniacs.
The new Earthworm Jim TV series’ tagline is “Beyond The Groovy,” a reference to Jim’s spaceship, and already has a trailer that features Jim himself explaining more about the show to an interviewer. The trailer has received positive comments for its sense of humor, and fans are excited to see whether it can recapture the oddball comedy of the original, while appealing to a modern audience.
How Earthworm Jim 4 Can Capitalize On The New Animated Series
With the upcoming animated series showing promise, now is the perfect time for Interplay to also release its long-awaited next Earthworm Jim game. Earthworm Jim 4 was announced way back in 2008, but has remained largely dormant since then until the recent announcement that it would be developed for the upcoming Intellivision Amico.
The new Intellivision Amico console is itself an intriguing proposition for fans of retro gamers, and Earthworm Jim feels like a perfect for the product. Although the new game’s teaser trailer has met with some criticism for appearing basic, it clearly demonstrates that the game will look and feel very similar to the original classic.
With the nostalgia cycle famously following “the 20 year rule,” now is the ideal time to resurrect the Earthworm Jim franchise, as fans who enjoyed the annelid’s antics in their childhoods are now adults with plenty of cash to splash on revivals of their favorite retro IPs. This phenomenon explains why many popular 90s franchises are making comebacks, and will doubtless ensure plenty of publicity for the next Earthworm Jim game.
However, it’s important that the title delivers more than just an uninspired re-tread of the originals. If it doesn’t impress fans, it is likely to lead to another multi-decade stint in the abyss of irrelevance for Earthworm Jim.
Earthworm Jim 4 is in development for the Intellivision Amico.