Retro Gaming Australia

Earthworm Jim was a launch title for the Game Boy Advance, but the port wasn’t particularly great – nor was this advert, which lacked the delightful double entendres and silly jokes of the original ad campaign.

Earthworm Jim: Special Edition is an expanded version of the first game in the series which features an extra level, Big Bruty, 1,000 extra frames of animation, alternate endings and a remixed CD soundtrack. It was originally released for the Mega CD, with a Windows 95-based PC version released some months later.

MDK is Shiny Entertainment’s third game, a distinct departure from the bright, cartoon-like Earthworm Jim. The game was originally pitched as Murder, Death, Kill, but the title was rejected by US publisher Playmates Interactive, whose parent company was to make toys associated with the game. MDK’s acronym tends to change based on the day – Max, Doctor Hawkins and Kurt, Mission: Deliver Kindess and My Dear Knight are just a few examples cited in official documents and interviews.

I thought I had seen all of the advertisements for Earthworm Jim, but it seems one had eluded me. It’s kind of cruel that I laughed at it though.

Earthworm Jim was pretty heavily advertised, but it was well worth the money. Not only was the campaign clever, but the game was actually good. Shiny’s debut marked them as a force to be reckoned with, at least until their unmitigated failure with Enter the Matrix.