Earthworm Jim 2

• Title — Earthworm Jim 2 • Developer — Shiny Entertainment • Publisher — PlayStation Virgin Interactive Entertainment Game Boy Advance Majesco • Producer — David A. Luehmann Scott Herrington • Designer — David Perry Doug TenNapel • Programmer — Andy Astor Nicholas Jones • Artist — Nick Bruty Stephen Crow Mark Lorenzen Mike Dietz • Composer — Tony Bernetich Christopher Beck • Series — Earthworm Jim • Engine — Animotion • Platforms — Genesis/Mega Drive, Super NES, MS-DOS, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance • Released — Genesis/Mega Drive Super NES MS-DOSApril 30, 1996 SaturnOctober 1996 PlayStationNovember 1996 Game Boy Advance • Genre — Run and gun, Platform • Modes — Single-player

• Illustration — Snott slowing Jim's descent The purpose of the game is largely the same as it was in the original Earthworm Jim; traverse through the levels in order to save Princess What's-Her-Name from Psy-Crow. However, gameplay is much more diverse than the original. While the majority of levels are still based on run and gun and platformer elements, separate levels incorporate different gameplay mechanics as well. Some levels, like the opening level, "Anything but Tangerines", and the eighth level, "Level Ate", play mostly the same as the original Earthworm Jim, with the exception of there being a larger variety of moves at the player's disposal. For instance, there are more types of guns to use once found in a level, like an auto-aiming gun, or the "Barn Blaster" gun which takes out every enemy visible on the screen. New power-ups include the chip butty, which increases Jim's suit power to 200%. Additionally, Jim's friend, Snott, travels with him and can be used to stick to and swing from other slimy green surfaces or as a parachute upon jumping. Other levels stray much further from this formula. In the third level, "Villi People", the player must guide Jim, in the disguise of a blind cave salamander, through intestinal passages, while avoiding exploding sheep and hazards embedded in the floors and walls. The latter part of the level suddenly switches to a game show/trivia format, where the player has to answer nonsensical multiple choice questions that commonly have no logically correct answer. Another level, aptly titled "Inflated Head", has Jim's head inflated like a balloon, and the player must control Jim as he floats upward, avoiding sharp objects which cause him to fall back down to the start, all the while dodging Evil the Cat's attacks. Another level, "The Flyin' King", plays as an isometric shooter, which includes Jim on his "pocket rocket", where a balloon with a bomb must be directed to the end of the level, and defended from enemies, in order to defeat Major Mucus. The last level, "See Jim Run Run Jim Run", is not a typical boss fight, but a race against Psy-Crow through an obstacle course to get to Princess What's-Her-Name. The game ends with Jim saving the Princess, but all three characters eventually turn out to be cows in disguise.

The game, much like the first, was developed for the Sega Genesis and then ported to the Super NES. They were released virtually simultaneously and were largely the same game, the only differences being that the Super NES version had alternate background art, and the ability to switch weapons. The Genesis version was released in Japan exclusively via the Sega Channel service. Rainbow Arts ported the game to MS-DOS along with the first game, in a package titled "Earthworm Jim 1 & 2: The Whole Can 'O Worms". This port featured an upgraded CD-DA music soundtrack, more voice clips and redrawn graphics, but lacked the "Lorenzen's Soil" level. Versions for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation (both developed by a separate studio, Screaming Pink, Inc.) were also released, which contained the upgraded audio and all of the levels from the original. Both of these versions were identical and contained background art and graphical differences separate from any other versions. In a 1994 conference held on CompuServe with Shiny Entertainment prior to its release, David Perry stated that they were considering making a version for the Atari Jaguar, which never came to fruition. Many years later, it was ported to a newer generation of systems. A Game Boy Advance port, developed by Russian studio SuperEmpire Inc, based on the Super NES release, was released in 2002. It has been widely criticized for poor graphics, bad sound and music, and very glitchy gameplay. The Genesis version was later released for download on the Wii via the Virtual Console in 2009. The MS-DOS version was re-released through DOSbox emulation on GOG.com and Steam. The Super NES version was re-released on the Nintendo Classics service in March 2022.

Earthworm Jim 2 was nominated for the Video Software Dealers Association's "Video Game of the Year" in 1995, losing to Donkey Kong Country 2. In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the Mega Drive version second in their "The GamesMaster Mega Drive Top 10." In 1998, Saturn Power listed the Saturn version 90th in their Top 100 Sega Saturn Games. IGN rated the game 40th on its "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time." They praised the Snott dynamic that it added a lot to the gameplay experience.

The Earthworm Jim series had future sequels, including Earthworm Jim 3D and Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy. They were made by different developers, with vastly dissimilar gameplay and styles, and received generally negative reception.