TOEJAM & EARL/TOEJAM & EARL: PANIC ON FUNKOTRON
Original Release Date: 1991 (Toejam & Earl), 1994 (Panic on Funkotron)
Available On: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Wii Virtual Console (and apparently Playstation Network).
Available From: Carts easily found online for around £10.
It's been a while since I took time out to review a classic from the past, so this time I'm going to be reviewing two titles in a fantastic series that I genuinely can't split when trying to decide which is the best - despite them being two very different games. It's the
Toejam & Earl series for the Sega Mega Drive (the rather poor XBox title isn't included).
So let's first start off with
Toejam and Earl. It's pretty much impossible to describe in terms of placing it in a genre. Yes, it's
sort of a platformer, in that the characters walk around, but it takes place on a top down, faux-3D world where the characters spend their time dodging enemies and collecting power-ups, trying to find a piece of a broken space ship before then finding the elevator to the next part of the world, where you do the same thing.
On paper, it sounds incredibly dull, but challenge is added in with a variety of enemies and real consequences to dropping off the screen. You don't die as such, but you go down a level and have to find the lift back up. In two-player mode, which this game really was made for, this makes things very challenging. What happens is that when you split up, the screen splits and you can go your own way, and when you enter the same part of the map again, it joins back together.
Teamwork plays a big role in the title - one of you will explore one part of the game for the space ship part and elevator, one will go the other way. Routes aren't always obvious either - they'll spawn when you go to a secret spot and open up more of the map.
The enemies, as mentioned, are diverse - and incredibly odd. There's a random hula girl who will force you to hula dance, freezing you in place whilst such enemies as a pack of bees or a deranged dentist pepper you with attacks, all seemingly determined to push you off the map.
The very worst are the tornadoes - they're almost impossible to dodge and, when caught, will swirl you randomly around the map, dropping you nine times out of ten off the map. Power-ups come in the shape of gifts which, when opened, allow you to fly, have springs in your shoes or gain super-speed - but the problem is that the game doesn't immediately tell you what gift does what - so you could open one and be electrocuted if you guess.
The game was a surprising but well-deserved success when released, and anticipation for the follow up -
Panic on Funkotron - was high. Howeverm, in TJ & Earl fashion, the release was not what anyone expected.
Panic on Funkotron was much more of a 2D platformer in the traditional sense - a sidescroller where you aim to capture humans in jars to send them back to Earth, as they're causing mayhem on the protagonists home planet.
Seems simple enough, but it's anything but. Secrets are around every corner, some really intriguing puzzles test your logic and the game overall is insanely harsh on you if you get something wrong. If you accidentally get too close to a rabid poodle, you're basically done - the little bar stewards will bite and bite until you die or you're lucky enough to fall into water.
The game, simply put, is beautiful. Vivid colourful graphics, funny animations and amazingly holds up today, 20 years after its' release. The side games are great too - judges score you on elaborate bounces on the pink sponge, you get to dance along to rap music and talk to the inhabitants of Funkotron on your journey.
If most of what I typed above made no sense, then I don't blame you - the games are almost indescribable unless actually played. They are the most quintessential "nineties" games you'll ever play - like the opening credits to
Saved by the Bell - but for all that, they're genuinely brilliant and a must-play for platform game enthusiasts.
VERDICT: 89% - Some people prefer the quirkiness of the original, others prefer the fast, smooth action of the sequel, but either way you can't go wrong with Toejam & Earl.
