An even crazier, more colorful, more inventive Earthworm Jim sequel. Wild level variety makes up for rare lulls.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player7+
Description
Sequel to Earthworm Jim, even more zany with new extravagant levels. Published by Playmates Interactive, released in North America in 1995. More varied themed levels including a submarine and giant kitchen, new powers for Jim, even more creative bosses and amplified absurdist humor. Sequel to the cult platformer on Super Nintendo.
Earthworm Jim 2 review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
Elastic, delirious cartoon by Shiny: hilarious animation, absurd creatures and vivid colours compose a surrealist universe full of humour. The suppleness of the line and the visual inventiveness overflow with energy. This art direction, unhinged and polished, stands as a masterpiece of interactive animation.
Even zanier, the sequel piles up sonic experiments, from jazz to the most absurd pastiches, including a famous send-up of a classical waltz. The music embraces the game's surreal humour with a wild inventiveness. This musical daring, funny and virtuosic, confirms Tommy Tallarico's singular talent.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
The sequel pushes the madness even further: rescuing puppies in free fall, blasting away underwater or facing a giant lawyer is unabashed, gleeful nonsense. The variety of situations and absurd humour keep renewing the surprise. More inventive and funnier, a delirious platformer that never leaves time to be bored.
The North American NTSC SNES edition of the Shiny Entertainment sequel, released late in the US SNES cycle with a reduced run. Later than the average of the US catalogue, it grows markedly scarcer there as clean complete copies. The US cardboard box warps, favouring crisp-cornered examples. Value rests on this end-of-generation thinning and on the coherence of a complete Earthworm Jim NTSC series, more than on the sealed market alone.
Is Earthworm Jim 2 still worth playing in 2026?
Earthworm Jim 2 pushes the first installment's extravagance even further by multiplying parody passages, namely game show levels, puppy rescue sequences, RPG fragments and other oddities. Jim's handling stays sharp and the art direction is more colorful than ever. The overall cohesion can feel shaky, but that is precisely what gives the game its unique identity. Recommended to fans of the first or to anyone curious about a peak of Western 16 bit extravagance.
