Game Debate #122: ToeJam & Earl

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

[Lynda Monica | 350]

Awesome game. One of the best on the Genesis.

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

8/10. Game is kind of all around killer though. Dynamic split screen, roguelike gameplay, super unique style, gameplay based on exploration and present "risk management" rather than killing things. Equally fun co-op or not.

Sometimes just a little slow, especially if you fall off a good bit and have to backtrack your way up to the top.

[doner24 | 1,196]

10/10, one of the only games I still try to break out and play every couple of years. 

[Lynda Monica | 350]

I haven't actually debated much in these threads, so I guess I'll go into a little more detail.

• Obviously the music is infectiously catchy, and sticks with you. Sometimes when I'm doing chores or making lunch, ToeJam and Earl tunes spill out of me for longer than they should.
• The cast of characters is fantastic. Obviously ToeJam and Earl and great, but the enemies are fantastic too. So many of the enemies are ridiculous, but so threatening that you're terrified of them. It makes stressful gameplay moments all the more fun when what you're terrified of is a fat man with a lawnmower, or a group of tourists.
• The item system is incredibly well thought out, and trying to find all the best items while avoiding the punishing ones is thrilling and fun. Your obvious goal is to identify the present reshuffler as it's the most crippling one. Yet that doesn't mean you're out of the woods, as there are other crushing ones like instant death. All the while you want to find those Icarus Wings and Hi-tops as soon as possible, and start stockpiling them.
• Speaking of which, stockpiling items is absolutely required for the final stages, so you often want to fully explore a stage even if you find the elevator really quickly. It makes for great decision making where you have to determine if the enemies around you are worth trying to avoid, or if you'd waste too many items trying to find better ones.

It's an all around well designed game, which I think is its biggest strong point. Everything is thought out, and is very balanced. The items are good, but never completely broken. Enemies are overpowered, but items render them useless. Diving in water can help you escape, but it's not safe either. You have an out by jumping off the stage, but you have to climb back up. Every aspect is designed to have a pro and con, and it's a triumph in difficulty balance. As crazy as this game can get, you never feel completely helpless unless you run out of items.

Overall an amazing game.

[ifightdragons | 234]

Good write-up by LM above me.

Personally, I find the entire game awful. Wish I didn't, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Definitely not for me

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

I haven't spent a lot of time playing it, but it just seemed okay to me. 5/10.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

I've tried to play it over the years (very many  years apart) and it just never clicked or made much sense.  I get the idea is exploration of sorts, but I'd just wander, not feel like I did much of value(likely didn't) get bored and quit going onto something actually interesting.  I guess I could have cheated and used a FAQ walkthrough of something but that kind of defeats the point.

[G-type | 2,482]

This game embodies that early 90s funky vibe. I love it. Vibes are a 10 out 10. Awesome music, humor, concept. Gameplay is maybe 6 / 10. strip away the style and its not that fun... but fortunately, the style carries it a long way, so I gave it a 9

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

I'm also not huge on it.  I remember when it was released for the Wii eShop.  My buddy and I bought pizza, beer, and planned to make a whole night of it.  I think we made it an hour.

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

Some of my favorites.  And probably the best Genesis game out there.  Beat it again earlier this year.  And who doesn't love presents?

TJ&E got me into funk back in tha day and it's still my favorite music genre.

[TDIRunner | 2,740]

Never played it.  While I recognize the game from seeing it in video rental stores as a kid, I don't know anything else about it.  

[fox | 1,667]

The character and art design, funky music, and random level are too cool.

It is rather annoying to avoid enemies and falling off the stage can send you back several levels.  The power ups are unknown till you use them, which leads to a lot of them being used at the wrong time just to see what they do.  Throw in a couple zonks like ones that instantly kill you, and it feels like a big game of gotcha.  
 

There is a fun game in there somewhere, but it is buried beneath a lot of punishment and frustration.

[Murray | 2,448]

5 hours ago, JamesRobot said:

Some of my favorites.  And probably the best Genesis game out there.  Beat it again earlier this year.  And who doesn't love presents?

TJ&E got me into funk back in tha day and it's still my favorite music genre.

Anyone got an extra manual they would be willing to part with? 

[Webhead123 | 675]

TJ&E is one of those games that I've always meant to spend some serious time playing but have never gotten around to. I absolutely intend to explore this game at some point but, to-date, I haven't done so.

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

40 minutes ago, Murray said:

 

On 12/25/2020 at 6:38 PM, Murray said:

 

 

Murray Christmas ya bum!

[RH | 4,903]

I selected "Never played, never will". But last night I went to bed and wanted to mess around on my Switch for about 5-10 minutes.  Because of this post, I tried this game.

Yeah, other than the graphics and vaguely recalling the commercials and magazine ads of the 90s, I didn't know anything about this game.  If you had asked me what type of game it was, I would have guessed a platform, which it is not.

After 10 minutes (with no manual) I don't really know what I'm doing.  I walked around the first stage, which if I understood correctly was selected randomly(?) and I found the first space ship part.  Maybe I was tired, but I really felt like I didn't know what to do.

I also couldn't figure out the buttons.  I mean, one opened a menu but once I was in there, I didn't know what to do or all of the items I picked up, I didn't know there purpose.

Although I had no clue what I was doing, this felt like a point-and-click without the mouse.  IT seemed like it could have been fun with the manual but without it, it's just a bit confusing.  I might read up on it a bit and see if I can find a manual scan but I doubt I'll do more than give it another 30 minutes.  It is an interesting game, though.  I'll give it that.  It definitely brakes the mold for console games of that era, so that's cool.

[twiztor | 851]

i rated it a 6/10.

i love the vibe. the characters are fun and interesting. the music is, of course, awesome.

but the gameplay, is just kinda meh. Like many others, i've popped it in a few times, wandered, explored, collected, and just didn't get hooked. I reserve the right to eventually give it a really solid play and rate it higher, because i suspect that's what would happen if i understood the game more. 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Own both, both on the backlog. 

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

6/10. It's always been one of those games I wish I liked more than I actually do. I love good music in games and I love quirky atmospheres, but the meat of the game I find quite boring and redundant.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

I dreamt the other night that I "discovered" that this whole time I owned a CIB copy of ToeJam 2, and was somehow unaware of it.  Found it next to my well-used copy of ToeJam 1.

 

 

In reality I own neither game.  It was a strange night.