Earthworm Jim 3D - Nintendo 64 Review - Ultra HDMI - HD 

I rented this for a weekend when I was 11. I couldn’t get past one boss, who says “I love the smell of bacon in the morning”, when the fight starts, but I tried to beat it like 8 million times. I’m 33 now, and I still hear him saying it all the time.

Despite the game's obvious flaws and troubled production history, EJ3D really does have a charming art-style, is visually consistent with the franchise and the staff's love for the previous two games is readily apparent. That counts for something in my book. Great video as always

I'm a simple man, i see a video from Glenn and i drop everything, grab a beer and watch it

Probably the most positive review of Earthworm Jim 3D that i have ever seen :p Now i want buy a copy and try it

Jim's character animation is great. It's fluid and funny, especially that goofy run. I think that run translated well from the 2D sprites to the 3D model.

You got Bomberman listed in your description. Just a heads up. Loved the review.

I hope Earth Worm Jim gets the Sonic Mania treatment

I had the PC original Earthworm Jim, and there was an icon for it on our Win98 desktop. One time my mom had to do some important work on the computer and was already in a bad mood. She mis-clicked and was met instantly with a voice belching out "Earth-worm-Jiiimmm" and yelled "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT." My greatest Earthworm Jim memory.

Loved this show back in the day

Yeah, the bosses completely dragged this game down entirely. They were so awful. It's a shame too, because this game is really quite fun, but those damn boss segments are horrifically bad.

Another great review! I was wondering when you where going to review this game. I actually liked it. I also had no real high expectations going it and really had fun with this game. 3D platformers are pretty rare these days so I enjoy games like this a lot more than when I was a younger and they seamed to come out all the time. Keep up the great work!

This 3D model of Earthworm Jim is surprisingly good in terms of detail and animation. They even modeled his fingers individually. It's probably using much more polygons compared to Mario's or Banjo's models.

I know you're nearing the end of the library, but please try find a way to continue the reviews. Whether you move on to another system you're familiar with or not, your work and content doesn't go unappreciated! Keep up the awesome work, Glenn!

I love all of your content, but I really wish you'd capture this footage in 4x3.

Man that first music theme- all I heard in my head during that bit was Cheryl Crow's All I Wanna Do

it is the first positive review about this game and i totaly agree it is not a perfect game but in my opinion definitly a good one i play it every 5 years once same to say about castlevania 64/legacy of darkness in my opinion a masterpiece

Have been waiting 3 years for you to make this review. Cheers

This is one of the games that makes me think if it were a memory or a dream

This game falls into the same category of Mega Man 64 and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness. Everyone hates it because of clunky controls and not jumping to the third dimension from its predecessors very well, but they were still learning back then, so I say those flaws are excusable. This game did it's job greatly for how hard it was to develop, and it doesn't deserve as much hate as it gets

Hearing Earthworm Jim scream "Ungroovy!" all the time got to me but It wore over me eventually...

Jim really needs a comeback I love the guy and think he did great its just this game was so meh it can be fun it some parts but the boss battles can be a bore. so much potential for a sequel to improve with what didnt work and what did work last time we saw him on Nintendo was in Clayfighter 63 1/3

I'm glad about this review, most people just bash the game. Having owned it and completed at some point, while I understand the frustrations and wouldn't recommend it today, I felt a lot of its flaws were over-exaggerated and there's stuff in here that is enjoyable. Like you said the level design is alright, and while not the same level as the 2D entries it does have more personality than other 3D platformers. I didn't mind the boss levels that much, but aside from the camera being a pain (I wanna say here that this was kind of a standard in early 3D stuff, so as a teen I had more patience to cope with it), I think what held it back for me was the collectibles. As a completionist I liked getting everything, but EW3D did a similar design Banjo Kazooie did where once you exited a level, or died, your marble counter reset and you had to collect them all again in order to break your previous record. And as fine as the level design is, it is rather linear, and some stages are full of instant death. Jim controls tight, but his head copter needed to de-accelerate more naturally so that Jim could ease into place (think of Conker's tail copter from BFD). It would have improved the platforming a lot more, on top of the camera being more responsive and further away. But accidents happen, and forcing the player to retread the entire level is too punishing. Also the music was pretty good.

I remember my uncle getting me this for my birthday back then. Such a fun game.

I wish Nintendo would have made more 2d platformers for the N64 imagine how fun and good this game would have looked in a 2d world

Jim sure loves to play his accordion

The vaporware would be DOOM [2016]. Thank goodness after over a decade of broken development they got into the groove and released such an excellent game I've sunk over two hundred hours into across three platforms.

I didn't really grow up this game at all but I have played it recently on the Genesis and man is it pretty good so far. I wish they would make another 3D Earthworm Jim game as a sequel to this game and make the bosses more challenging and also add more characters to play as other than just Jim himself. It would be a mechanic similar to DK 64 where you can switch out characters anywhere every now and then and also maybe they can even make an animated movie based on this franchise since now movies based on video games are becoming more popular nowadays.

Skullmonkeys is the true next gen EJ game. Its a 10/10 - noone ever talks about it, i think its the most underrated game of all time. If it was by Nintendo it would be recognised as a genuine all time classic platformer.

When Earthworm Jim took damage, I could have sworn I heard him say "pawg". Pork-boarding was hard. Oh and don't forget......"Homebrew".

What’s that squeaking sound heard through much of the video? (May be more noticeable with headphones, and can be heard around 6:23, for instance)

This could have been a passable platformer on the N64 if it weren't for those infuriating and absolutely broken boss fights. They totally ruined the entire experience for me. The final boss took me forever to beat and that was with me using an Action Replay to give me invincibility. I never want to play this game again.

Doug Perry...now that's a fusion of names I've never heard before XD

I enjoyed this game. Horrible camera and very difficult at times but rewarding and great level design. Just get past the beginning level and the game gets much better.

This game was was way udderrated ! The story about exploring the facets of a beloved hero's mind is humanists and a welcome extension. It is not a technically perfect platformer like it's 2D cousins, but fun, zany, and a neat exploration of 6th gen platforming. But the bosses are frustrating.

I was a huge huge HUGE Earthworm Jim fan and had both the original and sequel for the SNES, so when a third entry for the N64 was announced I was overjoyed and got it for Christmas 1999 and it quickly became a group effort with all my friends to try to 100% the game. There was some weird issue in the graveyard level in which we could see some marbles high above the level, above a coffin I want to say, but we couldn't figure out how to get them. We got damn far, but never finished it. I still have my N64 copy but since it has been made available on Good Old Games, I'm seriously considering streaming that from start to finish and really flesh out the experience without compromise. Great video, taking me back down memory lane.

3D killed off some of the classic and really great games of the 90s era. Making transition into 3D didn't do well with a lot of franchises.

Well good to know it's not as bad as I thought. It moved a couple notches up the list today...

With all the retro games getting 2D reboots these days I think Earthworm Jim could easily make a comeback. I remember Earthworm Jim was absolutely massive in the early 90's pop culture. Especially that cartoon and mech.

I miss Earthworm Jim 😥 we need him back 😊

Earthworm Jim racing is a good shout Glenn!

Doug Perry? Do u mean Doug TenNapel or Dave Perry? Lol

I think the 3rd Earth Worm Jim 3D Game would been if it played like MDK 1 with Earth Worm Jim gameplay features with Jim being 2D still in 3rd person.

How many N64 games do you have left to review Glenn? I feel like you reviewed almost every one of them. I enjoy all of them I have.

As per your question at the end, my favorite game that almost never was (but thankfully was released) is Psychonauts on the Xbox/PS2/PC. It's easily one of the best 3D platformers from that era of gaming when the genre was dying out and is one of the most creative video games i've ever played, eventually making my list of all time favorite games. I love the game so much that I still own my original Xbox version from back in the day (despite not having an Xbox to play it on) and i've purchased the game 2 other times on the PC through Steam and GOG. The reason it was stuck in development hell was mainly because it couldn't find a publisher willing to take a risk on it (as well as some development issues). Eventually, Majesco would publish the title, but this came as a double edged sword as the publisher didn't do much advertising for the game and that led to the game not selling super well (it sold alright, but not great). Over the years, Psychonauts has been gaining a lot of fans who eventually discovered the game and over 10 years later, thanks to crowd funding, we are finally getting a sequel (whenever that is released is beyond me)...

The creators where David Perry and Doug Tennapel. Not Doug Perry :p

This is the best review of this game i’ve ever seen. It’s fair and I’m impressed. I have a soft spot for this game despite all of its obvious flaws. Great review!

To me, I would want another 2-D entry in the series that should should serve as not just another reboot but as a true sequel to Earthworm Jim 2 and have gameplay and animation that’s true to the first 2 games but mixed with a bit of Rayman Origins and Legends.

Groovy

I like Jim he's a cool guy I like playing as him in clay fitter ❤❤

I wanna play this game so bad. I miss it so much, 7 year old me struggled with allot of the levels but I feel like seasoned more experienced me will be able to get far. Never got past the boss you fight in the baked beans, or maybe I did, I remember a grave yard area. I know I struggled beating the baked beans boss though

Never played this game since it doesn't have the same feel as the original Jim 1 and 2. Still hope they'd make a new 2D Jim game..

I remember renting this game back in the day. A good enough game for that era, with some funny moments and unique ideas. Now everyone seems to hate it online. This is the most fair review of this game I have seen. As far as 3D platforming and collectathons go EWJ3D is much closer to Banjo and Mario than to Bubsy.

I remember wanting to rent this game back in the day at Blockbuster Video and they'd never have it in stock. No chance in hell I was going to buy it, so renting it was the only way I was gonna play it.

I used to played EWJ 1and2, now here come's in 3D for now, I played it when I was a childhood, when I was 7 years old.

Glenn you are pretty much my go-to guy for helping me expand my n64 library. You help me find more games like this that pique my interest whether they be bad or good. I'm not trying to go for a complete n64 collection, just only games that I'm genuinely interested in and look fun to play. Much appreciated!

I think that perhaps the best 3D platformer on Nintendo 64 that wasn't developed by Nintendo, Rare, or Konami, and one that I'm surprised you still haven't talked about at this point, is Rocket: Robot on Wheels. It was developed by Sucker Punch, the developer of the Sly Cooper games, and one can definitely see the beginning of them getting the grasp of being a high quality game development in that game.

I never knew this even existed! I'm gonna have to keep an eye out for it. A new 2d version for the Switch would be so awesome. Thanks!

Always enjoy your reviews

My mom loved Earth Worm Jim

So an earthworm has a skull? Jim DID lose his mind. 💀

Just played this for the first time today and, because the game has a poor reputation, was surprised how much I liked it! It seems far more enjoyable than either of the Gex games. It's too bad what they did with the boss battles, though.

Good video as always Glen

For what it was, the game was so so ok. Honestly though I dont think it was ready for a 3d adaptation

I can’t beat the first boss, where we are fighting for the Marvels , is called Pork Surfing 🏄 lol .

As much as I love EWJ & EWJ2 I don't think I would like this game at all. I was never a big fan of that craze in the 90's where they took brilliant 2D games and turned them into clunky 3D games. You have to understand thought the same thing about Mario 64 so I know I'm in a small minority here lol. I'd love to see Jim return in a 2.5-D game, nice crisp HD graphics, a funky soundtrack like old... also sure let's go for the cell shaded visuals ideas you mentioned and maybe throw in a couple of other playable characters to add some freshness to it. I think EWJ is one of those games that you don't need to tweek much for it to work. I'd buy a new EWJ if it was done right.. and it wasn't download only, I hate that!! grrr! :P

Loved this game as a kid. Never got past Psycrow the first boss to this date! Always loved watching the start screen gameplay at the start of the game to see what the other worlds looked like!

wonder how much time passes between Jim's PlayStation version canceled / Rachet and Clank debuts ?

Damn glenn...how don't u work for like ign or gamespot...u do the best type reviews I've ever seen...

I agree with everything you said, exept for the promotions and expectations thing. When I played the game for the first time 2yrs ago I had no expectations at all (I barely knew the game existed at all) and was pleasantly surprised. Really liked the game but the boss fights and the infuriating difficulty in the later half of it keeps me from ever playing it again.

I know this game is flawed but I have completed it 100% multiple times and love it. Lots of variety and zaniness. I can't believe you didn't enjoy pork boarding!

Great review. I was on the fence on buying this title, back in the day, but never did. Your insight has been invaluable! - on the point of the Expansion Pak: it wouldn't make a difference regarding performance under heavy enemy load, that's a CPU bottleneck scenario ( Due to triangle count and/or higher number of collisions to be detected)

As a kid i enjoyed the SNES version so much more i liked this game (even if others did not) but it just did not top the original games

10:02 My favorite game that nearly became vaporware is Alien: Infestation for the Nintendo DS.

i used to love this game. thanks for making the video

Great review! I've always wondered about how this game plays. The 2D games are classics! May I suggest presenting the gameplay footage in the original aspect ratio?

This game was one of the major deceptions of my time with the N64.

I have the most faintest memory of playing this game of when I rented this game.

Glenn, totally unrelated to the video but will you ever do a video on goldeneye source?

The game I wanted to play was Dinosaur Planet. I was waiting for the n64 version to come out for years. I refused to play the game it became. Financially it wouldn't make any sense to release the game on the n64, but it would have been a masterpiece and great swan song for the system.

I loved this game at the time. While I admit it hasn't aged well and has some issues, it's still a game I can find a lot of fun in.

I really enjoyed this game back in the day. I'm kind of afraid to try it again though, since I might end up not liking it so much now. Like it was for me with Gex 64.

I've never played it due to the absolute slating it took at the time. But looking at that now, damn that art direction is epic for 5th gen 3D!

If they ever did make another 3d earthworm Jim game, I think a good place to get ideas would be with ratchet and clank. It has a combination of platforming and shooting which I think would be a good fit for Jim, not a carbon copy just a place to get a template. Adding more zaniness and random gameplay elements could work.

I remember l got this and banjo kazooie on the same day and actually liked this game more when I first played them simply because I found it easier. I now prefer banjo for obvious reasons and still replay ever now and then, l tried replaying earthworm Jim 3d recently and just couldn't do it.. like its not the worst I just don't want to destroy the good memories I had with it.

He needs to come back

It wold be awesome if you reviewed Ogre Battle 64

Doug Perry? I thought Doug TenNapel was the creator of Earthworm Jim?

I believe the PC is superior for one reason: The music.

Excellent review!

Apparently this game is getting a sequel, maybe. I would make it a puzzle platformer with 2.5 graphics and hand drawn animation with lots of frames of animation.

Favourite game that almost became Vaporware? Well, this is certainly a recent one, but I'd have to say Doom 2016. I'm a huge Doom fangirl (#1 is my all time fav game.) and despite not loving Doom 3 that much, I was still eager to see where it would go next. And for eons we heard rumours, saw leaked screenshots, and they kinda made it hard to get excited and apparently the game was actually really shitty for a long time. But they managed to restart almost from scratch (Albeit keeping some assets) and turn it around into a genuinely great Doom game.

I like the game, never got the hate for it :)

Please bring this to Switch!

My favorite almost-vaporware must be Kirby's Air Ride

Ghost Master, Ton of cut content and a cliffhanger ending but the game studio was closing its doors so the sequel got canned and they made a quick bonus level to override the cliffhanger ending

N64 GLENN PLANT_ Why on nintendo 64 is not enough games.? You can add games like the Hulk of the green giant and fireman and many different.

Buy it, write a review, sell it and write it off on taxes.

I've never really played this game (outside of a failed attempt to emulate it on an emulator back when I was big into emulation and it didn't work correctly), but I always kind of wanted to...despite how meh/bad I hear it is. I know the camera is awful, but i've also played tons of games at the time with terrible cameras so i'm sure I could adjust to it. I've always been a fan of Earthworm Jim and the idea of him being trapped inside his own head is a really cool one... I'll probably pick up a copy of this game at some point in the future...

So Glenn, I must ask.... are you EVER going to get around to doing Super Mario 64? I've been waiting for like ever for you to cover this game. It's like 1 of the 2 Mario games you haven't even covered yet.

Lol l love the premise for this game Jim in a coma lol l just love the wackyness of the Earthworm Jim gsmes.Have this in my N64 collection but havnt played it as of yet but you've piqued my interest in it now as before l always heard this game wasn't great but now l will give it a whirl so thanks for that.Its a crying shame about those boss battles.