Toejam & Earl Review

THIS IS THE GAME THAT FUNK BUILT

cartridge

ToeJam & Earl was one of the first games I bought for the VC. I remember spending hours playing this thing on my best friend’s Sega Genesis back in the day. God I love the virtual console, Oh the memories! But some things (like Highlander II: The Quickening) are best left in your childhood memory. ToeJam & Earl thankfully was never THAT bad, but it didn’t age as well as I had hoped.

ToeJam & Earl really shows it’s age, it’s really not what we’ve come to expect from video games, there is no attack button, no save, you can’t even run. In ToeJam & Earl you STRUT! Thats right you casually stroll through the levels, avoiding enemies by sneaking and opening unlabeled Christmas packages for various power ups. This is not a fast paced game, I found myself on many occasions opening random packages in a desperate search for something to speed up my progress.

 

ToeJam & Earl

 

What ToeJam & Earl lacks in violence and speed it makes up for with its funky style. This game screams retro with Toejam and his giant gold “TJ” necklace to the ghetto-blasters to just.. everything. I keep expecting one of the Ninja Turtles to jump out and yell “Cowabunga dude!” or throw a pizza or something.

Giving this game a rating was difficult. On the one hand this game really can really only entertain for a couple plays, but on the other hand its a classic two player game with plenty of funny crap (if your 12 or have about 12 beers to split between you and player 2). In the end I think I’d have to give this game about 3 and a half out of 5. It was good enough to buy in its day but for 8 bucks you might want to look at something else today.

 

3.5 out of 5

 



Around The Net:


  • http://wiinintendo.net/ hey_suburbia

    Loved this game.

    Nerd herd, hot tube with chicks, rocket skates, great early 90′s rap beats, so fun.

  • http://wiinintendo.net/ hey_suburbia

    Loved this game.

    Nerd herd, hot tube with chicks, rocket skates, great early 90′s rap beats, so fun.

  • http://wiinintendo.net hey_suburbia

    Loved this game.

    Nerd herd, hot tube with chicks, rocket skates, great early 90′s rap beats, so fun.

  • matthew

    Dude there’s totally a shoot/run button!

    You just have to have the right things equipped!

  • matthew

    Dude there’s totally a shoot/run button!

    You just have to have the right things equipped!

  • http://www.iloveantix.com/ T

    I totally disagree. This is a 5 of 5. I don’t know any game with the level of absurdity as Toe Jam & Earl. I think it’s an incredibly liberating game. The main drawback is that you can’t save. I used to play this for hours back in the day but don’t know if I ever beat it. I think the Sega always cut out on us :(

    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

    wake up…..wake up….wake up…………………WAKE UP!

  • http://www.iloveantix.com T

    I totally disagree. This is a 5 of 5. I don’t know any game with the level of absurdity as Toe Jam & Earl. I think it’s an incredibly liberating game. The main drawback is that you can’t save. I used to play this for hours back in the day but don’t know if I ever beat it. I think the Sega always cut out on us :(

    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

    wake up…..wake up….wake up…………………WAKE UP!

  • The_Ferret

    Aww crap I had written out a big long reply and then the page went and crashed on me. I hate that.
    Okay Matthew, I know about the hightops and tomatoes, but you have to have the right package to do that, and they are unlabled so you can end up with something compleatly useless sometimes or just not have anything in your inventory. Its not really the same.
    To T, Uhm.. im sorry? Not sure what to say. I loved this game when I played it as a kid too but now I play it mostly BECAUSE of that, not because its addictive. Its a good game, but its not great ither. So maybe a 4 would have been more fair but.. Im not going to go back and edit it now. Sorry. But don’t let me stop you from enjoying it! Play it all you like and tell us what you think if you like.

  • The_Ferret

    Aww crap I had written out a big long reply and then the page went and crashed on me. I hate that.
    Okay Matthew, I know about the hightops and tomatoes, but you have to have the right package to do that, and they are unlabled so you can end up with something compleatly useless sometimes or just not have anything in your inventory. Its not really the same.
    To T, Uhm.. im sorry? Not sure what to say. I loved this game when I played it as a kid too but now I play it mostly BECAUSE of that, not because its addictive. Its a good game, but its not great ither. So maybe a 4 would have been more fair but.. Im not going to go back and edit it now. Sorry. But don’t let me stop you from enjoying it! Play it all you like and tell us what you think if you like.

  • Shelley

    This game is THE BEST!! My daughter, brother, and I played it for weeks & weeks back in the early 90s. At the time, it was “our family thing” to do, and we laughed and had a blast. My Kkoky mother would always answer the REAL PHONE when she heard the game phone ringing…..Now, my granddaughter is learning it! So THREE generations of ToeJam & Earl players are groovin’ to The Funk. We hope we like the third game, as well.

  • Shelley

    This game is THE BEST!! My daughter, brother, and I played it for weeks & weeks back in the early 90s. At the time, it was “our family thing” to do, and we laughed and had a blast. My Kkoky mother would always answer the REAL PHONE when she heard the game phone ringing…..Now, my granddaughter is learning it! So THREE generations of ToeJam & Earl players are groovin’ to The Funk. We hope we like the third game, as well.

  • Shelley

    This game is THE BEST!! My daughter, brother, and I played it for weeks & weeks back in the early 90s. At the time, it was “our family thing” to do, and we laughed and had a blast. My Kkoky mother would always answer the REAL PHONE when she heard the game phone ringing…..Now, my granddaughter is learning it! So THREE generations of ToeJam & Earl players are groovin’ to The Funk. We hope we like the third game, as well.

  • Shelley

    This game is THE BEST!! My daughter, brother, and I played it for weeks & weeks back in the early 90s. At the time, it was “our family thing” to do, and we laughed and had a blast. My Kkoky mother would always answer the REAL PHONE when she heard the game phone ringing…..Now, my granddaughter is learning it! So THREE generations of ToeJam & Earl players are groovin’ to The Funk. We hope we like the third game, as well.

  • Shelley

    This game is THE BEST!! My daughter, brother, and I played it for weeks & weeks back in the early 90s. At the time, it was “our family thing” to do, and we laughed and had a blast. My Kkoky mother would always answer the REAL PHONE when she heard the game phone ringing…..Now, my granddaughter is learning it! So THREE generations of ToeJam & Earl players are groovin’ to The Funk. We hope we like the third game, as well.

  • matt

    coolest game ever i played it when i was like 5 now i’m twenty the only thing that sucks is i don’t think they made it for any of the the newer systems that are out today i hope i’m wrong and i find it some where that game was alot of fun

  • matt

    coolest game ever i played it when i was like 5 now i’m twenty the only thing that sucks is i don’t think they made it for any of the the newer systems that are out today i hope i’m wrong and i find it some where that game was alot of fun

  • matt

    coolest game ever i played it when i was like 5 now i’m twenty the only thing that sucks is i don’t think they made it for any of the the newer systems that are out today i hope i’m wrong and i find it some where that game was alot of fun