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Blastin' Until The Cows Come Home - Earthworm Jim crawls back out of the dirt! (EWJ'S SECOND 160-page comic now on Kickstarter!)

PsychoJosh

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NEWS 8/12/2020: Jim has a new 160-page comic book adventure now being funded on kickstarter!

Intellivision has also given us a quick sneak peek at the new Earthworm Jim game for the Amico!


♪ Earthworm Jim, in he soil he did crawl ♪

♪ Earthworm Jim, a super suit did fall ♪

♪ Jim was just a dirt-eating chewy link of worm-flesh ♪

♪ But all that came to a crashing end, ha-ha-ha! ♪

(3D render by Nibroc-Rock)

Who is Earthworm Jim?

Earthworm Jim is a platforming superhero from the SNES and Genesis era of consoles, created by Doug Tennapel and developed by the now defunct Shiny Entertainment, who gave the rights for the character to Interplay. His first game was released for both the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis on June 9, 1994, and it was a critical and commercial success. The game was the start of a multimedia legacy. Earthworm Jim went on to have numerous updated ports, sequels, a comic book, a toy line, and even a Saturday morning cartoon series.

What is Jim's backstory?

Once, somewhere in the state of Texas, there lived a small, ordinary, garden-variety earthworm named Jim. Jim spent his days much like any other member of his species, burrowing through soil and dodging dive-bombing crows. One fateful day, an intergalactic bounty hunter named Psy-Crow was chasing a bounty through space, ordered to retrieve a valuable cargo from a space freighter: an "ultra high-tech, indestructible, super space cyber-suit". Getting into a space dogfight with the freighter's pilot, Psy-Crow destroyed the freighter and emerged victorious, but lost the precious cargo he was sent to obtain. The super suit was jettisoned from the explosion and careened through space towards a planet called Earth.

Back on Earth's surface, Jim was having a hard time dealing with a particularly stubborn crow. Suddenly the suit fell from space and crash-landed right next to him. Seeking refuge from the crow, he crawled into the confines of the suit, and as the suit's atomic particles came into contact with Jim's flesh, a miraculous light-speed evolution took place, causing Jim to grow in size and elasticity, gaining eyes, a mouth, and four "hyper-intelligent brains".


"I'm hungry!"
"I'm cold!"
"I'm itchy!"
"Where are all the girls?"


Jim found that he was able to speak perfect English, and with the super suit at his command, he was strong enough to lift cows over his head and knock over trees with barely any effort. Holstered at his side was a strange red object. Tinkering with it, he quickly found out it was a ray gun, which he used to incinerate the crow that had been menacing him. Probing further, he found that the suit had all manner of gadgets, weaponry and hamsters to toy around with.

All his wonder and amazement at these amazing new discoveries were cut short when he overheard a human-sized crow nearby, speaking on the radio to an unknown party. Listening in on their conversation he deduced that they were talking about the suit he was now wearing, and heard stuff about an evil queen's empire and a princess in distress. Interested in meeting this princess and learning more, he pulled out his pocket rocket and followed Psy-Crow into space.

And so began the adventures of Earthworm Jim...

Why should Earthworm Jim be in Smash?

Back in the 90's, Jim was a very important character to gaming, and one of the few examples of western gaming icons in an industry that was then dominated by Japanese developers. His games were extremely popular in the west, so much in fact that a multimedia franchise was born from them. Not only did his game spawn numerous sequels and updated ports with new content on later consoles, they also had a line of toys, a limited run comic book series, and even a fantastic Saturday morning cartoon show by Universal Animation Studios, that was filled with the same quirky humor as the games. Jim was quite a famous and enduring character, but unfortunately, after a few less-than-stellar games near the end of the series' lifespan, he faded off into obscurity, and was lost to time. Now an entirely new generation of gamers has surfaced that has never heard of him.

Smash Bros. could remedy this in a big way, by kicking the dust off this historic franchise and bringing Jim back to duke it out with all the classic gaming icons he shared a spotlight with in his heydey. Not only would this introduce him to the latest generation of gamers, but it would also introduce him to players overseas who might not know very much about him or his games.


So what would Jim play like?

In essence, Earthworm Jim would be a floaty heavyweight zoner, similar to Power Suit Samus. He'd have a large variety of guns and other tricks, such as using his head as a whip, and launching his buddy Snott from his backpack to use as a parachute or to do extended-range melee attacks. He would be able to switch between weapons on the fly, having different zoning options for different situations, but unlike Samus would have a unique mechanic where he would need to watch his ammo.

Earthworm Jim's groovy moveset! (written by me)

Earthworm Jim crawls out of hiding!

Stats
Weight: 7/10 (Heavyweight. He'd be on the exact borderline between Ganondorf and Bowser Jr. The new median character between the Heavyweight and Super Heavyweight class)
Walk Speed: 7/10 (About the same as Wii Fit Trainer)
Run Speed: 7/10 (Ditto)
Jump Height: 37 (Exactly the same as Samus)
Fall Speed: Medium-High (About the same as Donkey Kong)
Size: 7/10 (Somewhere in the ballpark of Ganondorf and Charizard)
Crawl: Yes
Wall Jump: No
Wall Cling: No
Tether Grab: Yes

Unique Trait: Jim's guns all use ammunition, which is indicated by a gun icon near his stock counter. This gun icon represents ammo with a number next to it, starting maxed out at 1000 (one thousand) ammo. His ability to do certain attacks are dependent on how much ammo he has, and if he doesn't have enough, he will either do a weaker version of the attack, or won't do the attack at all. Ammo refills itself gradually.

Intro Animation:
Flies into the ring onboard his Pocket Rocket, then stuffs it in his pocket and goes into his standing animation.

Standing Animation:
Bobs up and down anxiously while watching his opponent, plasma pistol drawn and held in his right hand.

Idle:
After a moment of standing around, he pulls out a tiny dancing Elvis and watches it for a moment. He then either eats it or lets it run away.

Idle 2:
He twirls his gun around on his finger, then tosses it in the air with a few different outcomes.

1. He bonks himself on the head with it, and rubs his head painfully.
2. It goes off in his face, leaving him ashen. He shakes the ashes off.
3. He catches it in his side holster.

Crouching Animation:
Gets on all fours, resting on his forearms and looking forward. He looks around occasionally. He can crawl while in this state.

Jump:

Jim has an unorthodox way of staying in the air. In addition to his traditional double jump, pressing the jump button a third time makes his booger buddy Snott come out of his backpack and morph into a parachute to help him glide along. Holding the button allows him to use his helicopter head to blow air into the Snott parachute, elevating them both upwards. This gives him a jump similar to ROB's jump jets combined with Peach's parasol. He can only use heli-head so much before he gets tired, but the Snott Parachute can be left open even in a helpless state. Snott Parachute can also be cancelled with an aerial attack. Because of all these factors, Jim has no B moves that help him recover. Overall, Jim has decent recovery.

A Moves
Jab 1: A quick hook with his leading hand.
Jab 2: Follows up with a straight punch from his aft hand.
Jab 3: Follows with an uppercut with his leading hand.

Rapidfire Jab: Starts blasting with his pistol. It rapidly fires bullets, each bullet doing 2 damage. Can be aimed in any direction as long as the button is held, and the bullets can juggle people in the air. Range only travels a bit farther than the visual effect of the blasts themselves, which is about two character widths. This attack spends ammo at a rate of 125 ammo per second, although that's not how many bullets will actually be hitting the opponent.

Forward Tilt: Pistol whips his opponent with follow through.
Up Tilt: Thrusts his fist straight up into the air, heroically.
Down Tilt: Snott quickly shoots forward out of Jim's backpack, morphing into a boxing glove with a stretchy appendage. Has quite a long reach - about three and a half character widths.

Dash Attack: He leaps forward and does a diving tackle, then rolls to his feet and dusts himself off.

Up Smash: His head crawls out of his body and begins squeezing his suit. When released, the neck of the suit will belch an explosion upwards, similar to his death animations in EWJ1 and 2.
Forward Smash: Puts his hand in his pocket. Upon releasing the Smash attack, he pulls out a "Happy Oinker" (a full-sized pig) and smashes it on the ground in front of him. Very strong smash attack with great range, but has long start-up.
Down Smash: Reaches into his pocket. Upon releasing, he pulls out and drops down a very large hamster and rides on top of it rodeo-style as it bucks around in a circle and bites things on either side of him. Has a lot of starting lag, but the hamster is quite enormous and bites up to four times (twice on either side) before going away.

Neutral Air: Goes perpendicular to the stage and does a barrel roll with his fists, his gun spraying a quick flurry of plasma if the button is held. Firing the gun spends ammo.
Forward Air: A shoulder tackle that pushes him forward a little, similar to the one he uses in Snot a Problem. If the button is held, he fires his gun forward while spinning, similar to his animation in the last part of Level 5 (EWJ1). Firing the gun spends ammo.
Back Air: Goes horiizontal and does a flying elbow drop. If the button is held, he will fire his gun backwards. Firing the gun spends ammo.
Up Air: Snott Swing. Snott shoots out of Jim's backpack and stretches upwards. If Snott hits them, he sticks to the opponent and then snaps Jim into them, reeling them in with his sticky body. A two-hit aerial where the second hit depends on the first. This is the only one of Jim's aerials that doesn't have the option to use the gun.
Down Air: Does a double hammerfist downwards, legs spread. If the button his held he will fire his gun downwards. Firing the gun spends ammo.
Z-Air: Whips his head diagonally up and in front of him. If it connects with a ledge, he will grab onto the ledge with his teeth, and his suit will climb up and put him back inside.

Grabs and Throws

Grab: His iconic head-whip. Can be aimed in any direction except down, and comes out much faster than any other tether grab in the game. Can also be used in the air. Upon grabbing his opponents, his head lassos around them.

Pummel:
Jim's suit punches the opponent in the face while they're being held by his head.

Forward throw:
Jim quickly twirls the opponent in the air a couple of times with cowboy-like flair, before spiking them into the ground in front of him. If done near a ledge, it will spike the opponent straight down into the abyss.

Back throw
Same as above, except Jim spikes the opponent behind him.

Up throw
Jim twirls the opponent at his side and then whips them straight upwards.

Down throw
Jim smashes the opponent into the ground twice; once on either side of him.

B Moves

Neutral B: Mega Plasma
1558146136315.png

Blasts the opponent with a burst of Mega Plasma - an explosive, elongated, VERY fast fireball. Can be held down to aim aimed in all directions, otherwise aims forward by default. . Each Mega Plasma blast costs 300 ammo. If he doesn't have enough ammo when he tries to perform this attack, his gun will fizzle out a very weak and tiny spark that burns the opponent but doesn't knock them back far at all.

Side+B: HOME-ing Missile
1558145595732.png

Jim fires an a house-shaped (or rather, "home" shaped) missile that travels in a wide and dangerous arc. It is a very fast-moving projectile and tracks the opponent in a circular arc, but it is possible to make it miss and slam into a wall. Costs 200 ammo.

Up+B: Manta Shield
1558145574508.png

Jim holds his forearms in front of him and they grow hard protrusions that wrap around him, in the shape of a manta-ray. Negates all projectiles, and gives Jim hyper armor against melee attacks while the button is being held (he will still take damage from physical attacks but suffer no knockback at all). He can also slowly walk while holding the shield up. However, he can still be grabbed out of it.

Down+B: Tactical Cow Drop
1558145536652.png

Jim blows a whistle on his fingers and a shadow appears over him with a whistling noise. A cow falls shortly after. Jim can move out of the shadow to make the cow fall on the ground in front of him, or he can stay in the shadow to catch the cow and use it as an item. The cow is a deadly projectile to anyone who gets hit by it as it falls, and it can spike in the air, much like Pikachu's Thunder. Very rarely it can be an "exploding cow" (a cow with a lit fuse on top of its head).
When a cow is present, Jim can do several things with it:
-Carry it around and caber toss it a short distance. He can toss it off ledges. Useful for edgeguarding. Can even break shields if it lands on top of a shielding opponent correctly.
-Perform a smash attack with it. Jim will grab it by the tail and smash it in front of him. Has huge wind-up time but breaks shields in one hit and is also extremely powerful.
-Smack it on the rump, which will send it charging in the direction it's facing. When it's an explosive cow, this can be a useful strategy; you can let the cow cook for a few seconds before sending it stampeding into a crowd of enemies, where it will detonate and send everyone flying. HERE'S the beef!


Final Smash: Barn Blaster
1558178434139.png

"Eat dirt, everyone in the vicinity!"

Jim pulls out a gigantic gun made out of bricks with a chimney on top, which he holds with both hands and aims directly in front of him. The chimney whistles out a bunch of smoke as the gun vibrates, and the Barn Blaster fires a gigantic, immensely powerful sphere of super-heated plasma, scorching everyone in front of him before the sphere explodes like a supernova. Jim is knocked off his feet by the sheer force of the blast and gets up rubbing his head.

Up Taunt

Pulls out an accordion and starts prancing around in place while playing a tune.

Side Taunt

Does a dance where he pretends to ride an invisible horse while twirling his head around in a lasso. Shouts "yeehaw!" or "wheeee doggy!"

Down Taunt

Bounces his upper body around while flexing. He occasionally strikes karate poses in between bouncing around. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaE1MjCZfXw , 39 seconds in)


Victory Animation 1
Jim flies around in a circle on his rocket, twirling his head around like a lasso. He whips his face at the camera and it freeze frames on him grinning before he puts himself back in his suit.

Victory Animation 2
Jim prances around playing an accordion to his victory music. He is abruptly cut off by a falling cow, which he dives out of the way of in the nick of time. He sits there rubbing his head as the cow chews grass.

Victory Animation 3
Camera shows a close-up of a cow's face. Zoom out to show Jim leaning on the cow and giving a thumbs up to the camera. The cow says "well done" in a baritone voice as it eats its grass

Victory Music
Ending theme from EWJ2, shortened to 5 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmhI6yD3s0w



COMING SOON: Stage speculation, and other fun stuff!




FUN STUFF:

Trophy descriptions!
Earthworm Jim
First appearance: Earthworm Jim (1994) (SNES)


Once an ordinary garden-variety earthworm, Jim's life was changed forever when something called an "ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit" fell from outer space and crash landed on his home turf. When a young Jim entered the neck ring of the suit to avoid a particularly vicious crow, he miraculously evolved at the speed of light, growing in size, sprouting eyes, a mouth, and the ability to talk. Now this soil-munching hero cruises the cosmos using the many gadgets in his suit to fight evil wherever it rears its ugly head. And boy, does his suit have gadgets! It's filled with all manner of blasters, shields, rockets, springtraps, barnyard animals, anvils, tiny dancing Elvises, hamsters...

Princess What's-Her-Name
First appearance: Earthworm Jim (1994) (SNES)


Heiress to the throne of the distant planet Insecticka, Princess What's-Her-Name (which is her actual name) is the good-natured twin sister of the evil Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. Unfortunately, the princess is considered very ugly by Insectickan standards, which caused her to be shunned and exiled by her people - and no one even bothered to give her a name. Eventually, she met Earthworm Jim after his victory over the evil Queen - and although their relationship had a rough start (due to the princess being struck by a falling cow immediately after their initial meeting), the two have been a romantic pair ever since.

Peter Puppy

First appearance: Earthworm Jim (1994) (SNES)

Peter Puppy is one of Earthworm Jim's closest friends, a friendly and loyal talking dog who lives on an asteroid belt somewhere in space with his family of 200-or-so small puppies. However, Peter has a small problem - whenever he is hurt, scared or stressed out, he mutates into a gigantic, extremely violent monster dog. This tendency of his makes it difficult for him to maintain any friends, but luckily for Peter, Jim is quite the magnanimous fellow, and he just takes the occasional mauling as a simple quirk of their friendship.


Victory quotes!
An idea I've had for an additional feature to future Smash games is the addition of victory quotes for each character when they win against certain other characters, in the style of a traditional fighting game. I'd like to see them add something like this as it would make for interesting interaction between the characters. Here are some I came up with. If you come up with any, post them in the thread!

Vs. Mario: "If you think having one arch-nemesis is bad, try having TEN of them!"

Vs. Dragon Quest Hero: "I don't watch many Japanese cartoons, but weren't you in one of 'em? Except you did a lot more kicking and yelling..."

Vs. Crash Bandicoot: "Somethin' I like about you, Crash! Guys like you and me just got that universal appeal, y'know what I'm saying?"

Vs. Bayonetta: "Holy cow! High heels with guns on 'em?! If that ain't the PERFECT birthday present for my favorite gal! Where, and how much?!"

Vs. Joker: "You're a thief? With noodle arms like those? No offense pal, but you don't look like you could steal a free lunch."

Vs. Pokemon Trainer: "Training animals to do your fighting for you is illegal in AT LEAST nine states! I'm turning you in!"

Vs. Cloud: "Hey, loosen up, pal! No need to take everything so... CIRRUS-ly! Bwahahahaha!!"

Vs. Donkey Kong: "Your old man said WHAT about me?! Why, I got a mind to pay that old geezer a little visit!"

Vs. Diddy Kong: "You're not even half as annoying as this other chimp I know. 'Course, maybe it's 'cause your head's not grafted to a mad scientist..."

Vs. Dedede: "Hey, weren't you the mascot for some cigarette company?"

Vs. Peach: "Say, you're a princess, ain'tcha? Where do you like to shop for jewelry? See, I got a gal-pal who's birthday is comin' up, and, well..."

Vs. Rosalina: "Don't worry, I know how lonely it gets in space. You know how I deal with it? Motivational bumper stickers! Grab yourself some, they really lift your spirits!"

Vs. Palutena: "What a fancy dress you got on there! Gosh, did I wind up in the middle of an upper-class ball? I hope my deodorant hasn't worn off!

Vs. Sonic: "Man, it's great to see you still kickin' around! I still got that sticker-book with you and me in it from that magazine in 1994!"


Vs. Fox: "Sooo... do I just call you Fox or Star Fox? Because y'know, Star Fox would make a great superhero name! Like Johnny Dactyl, or the Hamsternator!"

Vs. Falco: "Who're you? One of Psy-Crow's buddies? You'd better not be sizin' me up for lunch or we're gonna resort to blastin'!"

Vs. Snake: "Hey, we all got our inner demons, pal. You don't know real fear until you've been a worm in the park on lawnmowin' day. Uggghhh."

Vs. Link: "...what's your deal, man? Just say somethin'! Is shoutin' really all you can do? Ya gotta learn to enunciate!"

Vs. Warioware Wario: "Ragsdale, you rotten old dog! That fake mustache doesn't fool me! Wait, what? You're not Boogerman? But why do you have all his powers?!"

Vs. Samus (Power Suit): "Metroids? Yeah, Peter had a bad case of those once! Wasn't pleasant, I had to get him some special cream from the vet."

Vs. Samus (Zero Suit): "Geez, if you weren't a blonde I swear you'd be a dead ringer for my lady-friend! Tall, and pretty, with really mean kicks. Yeowch!"


Other characters' victory quotes against Jim:

Rosalina: "Even something as little as an earthworm has its place in the universe - you help planets stay green. Your life is a precious gift, Mr. Worm."

Falco: "Worms ain't on my menu, pal. I'm more of a fried tilapia with brown rice kinda guy. And who the heck is this Psy-Crow you keep blabbing about?"

Fox: "I'll admit you're pretty handy with that blaster. But you'd still never cut it in the mercenary corps."

Wolf: "Foolish worm. You're no match for a trained mercenary. Begone before I feed you to Leon."

Lip: "Say, Mr. Worm, would you be willing to come home with me? I'd love some help judging the quality of my garden's soil!"

Ganondorf: "Sending an actual lowly, pathetic worm after me? Those wretched goddesses shall pay dearly for this mockery."

King Dedede: "Psy-Crow? Never heard of 'im. Do I look like someone who fraternizes with crows? I'm a king, boy!"

Sonic: "Well, if it isn't Earthworm Jim! Never thought I'd catch you at this party."

Kirby: "Hu... hayoyo? (Big.. spaghetti?)"

Pit: "I didn't know worms could breathe in space. Hey, do worms even breathe? Where do they keep their lungs? I gotta ask Viridi..."

Diddy Kong: "Ookiikii ook ook eek ook. [Hey, sorry about the trash can thing... Cranky can be a little ornery sometimes...]"

Master Chief: "Only ONE big worm in a space suit? Maybe you'd pose a greater threat if there were a hundred more of you in there."



Loading screen tips!
Fighters - Earthworm Jim: Snott Swing
Jim's up-aerial, the Snott Swing, sends out his buddy Snott to latch onto something. If it latches onto a ceiling or hard platform, it will snap Jim into it and function like a wall tech, which will restore his jumps if he's still in the air. It pays to have a giant smiling booger in your backpack!

Stages - Level Ate
Like it says in the Earthworm Jim 2 instruction manual, drooling on your controller may cause poor performance. Consider wearing a bib when playing this stage. (Nintendo is not liable for any damages caused by drooling on your controller or attempting to eat your TV screen).


Stages - Level Ate
Be careful, the pizza's still piping hot from the oven! If you stand on it too long, you'll sink into the cheese and take fire damage! Who ordered an 80 foot pepperoni pizza, anyways? Perhaps it was Dedede... or Wario? This roster has no shortage of suspects...


Stages - New Junk City
When it starts raining garbage, don't just stand around outside! Take shelter inside the handy school bus, although things may get hectic once you're in there. Some of these old CRT TV sets in the garbage are still working just fine, but no one really wants them anymore... unless you're still playing Melee.

 
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Yomi's Biggest Fan

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Words can't describe how much I love Earthworm Jim and his games. He would be a great fit as this wacky 3rd party with a variety of strange weaponry and headwhips. I would say that I enjoyed the Super Nintendo version of the games more than the Genesis versions.

That being said, sign me up.
 

nirvanafan

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Earthworm Jim would be a cool, fitting addition although i am unsure about his current relevance and Interplay (who i think still own the property) dont seem to be in a good position now to really deal with everything involved in making this happen although i hope i am wrong
 

PsychoJosh

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Very cool. I've added your names to the OP.

Tomorrow I'll expand it a bit more with movelist and stage discussion. Feel free to contribute your own ideas though. Why not talk about the music? The entire series has a lot of great tracks.
 

PsychoJosh

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Added a bit more to the OP.

Could use some help. Does anyone have a moveset template that I can use? I can write up a brief description, but I need the template for details.

Also I plan on putting in some fun stuff like assist trophies, normal trophies, stages, music tracks and even ideas for event matches. Who knows, if I'm feeling up to it, I might draw some stuff too.

Since we're having fun with it I started writing some victory quotes for Jim (based on the idea that Smash might eventually have victory quotes between characters).
 

Yomi's Biggest Fan

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Added a bit more to the OP.

Could use some help. Does anyone have a moveset template that I can use? I can write up a brief description, but I need the template for details.

Also I plan on putting in some fun stuff like assist trophies, normal trophies, stages, music tracks and even ideas for event matches. Who knows, if I'm feeling up to it, I might draw some stuff too.

Since we're having fun with it I started writing some victory quotes for Jim (based on the idea that Smash might eventually have victory quotes between characters).
I would be able to get a template if I can get my MacBook charger in the mail tomorrow. It would be far easier that way.

Love the funny quote for Jim's interaction with Snake. Reminds me of the zaniness of the original cartoon. Can already imagine him talking about his time dressing as an axolotl in The Villi People level when speaking about Yoshi's digestive system.

I was thinking very hard about the musical tracks that you've asked about. Can't post them here, but I can name a few good ones that would go with Jim's inclusion.

What the Heck, The Villi People, New Junk City, maybe a longer version of Psycrow's theme, Butville the Queen's Lair, For Pete's Sake, Puppy Love, Udderly Abducted, and Anything But Tangerines. A good mix of classic EWJ 1 and 2 themes. I wasn't sure if to bring up Earthworm Jim 3D since many didn't like that game.


 

PsychoJosh

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For all its faults, Earthworm Jim 3D had some pretty great music. I think it would at least deserve some consideration. Some of it fits right in with the quirkier Smash levels.

Here's a few tracks from it.


Regarding the stage, I have some fun ideas. I'm choosing between New Junk City and Level Ate, but I'll probably post ideas for both of them.
 

PsychoJosh

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Ah geez, my thread's already in the middle of page 2.

Updated the OP a little bit more.
 
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It's ok to bump on rare occasions, but of the last 5 posts, 4 of them are yours.


After this point, please do no bump unless there is some major or relevant news not relating to jut updating the OP
 

Freduardo

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Was a decent buy on 3ds, helped relive old times.

Would love to have Jim in smash. Especially if he came with a psy crow or bad Mr frosty assist trophy.

But what I'd really kill for is a second season of the cartoon.
 

PsychoJosh

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Was a decent buy on 3ds, helped relive old times.

Would love to have Jim in smash. Especially if he came with a psy crow or bad Mr frosty assist trophy.

But what I'd really kill for is a second season of the cartoon.
Awesome, I'll add you to the supporter list.

Sadly, I don't think a second season is possible even in principle, that ship has long since sailed. The entire franchise is begging for a revival.
 
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AwesomeAussie27

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I've heard you wanted a moveset template PsychoJosh PsychoJosh , I hope this one helps.

Entrance Animation:

Idle Animation:

Walk:

Run:

Sleeping Animation:

Dizzy Animation:

Dodge Animation:

Normals
Jab:
Forward Tilt:
She swings her axe overhead with an aggressive motion.
Down Tilt:
Dash Attack:
Neutral Air:
Forward Air:
Back Air:
Up Air:
Down Air:

Forward Smash:

Up Smash:

Down Smash:q

Grab:
Pummel:
Forward Throw:
Back Throw:
Camilla quickly turns and toss her foe before casting a Fire Spell at their back with her axe still planted in the ground. .
Up Throw:
Down Throw:

Neutral Special: Mjolnir

Side Special: Hand Axe

Up Special: Fimbulvetr

Down Special: Ginnungagap

Final Smash: Wyvern Rider

Taunt 1:
Taunt 2:
Taunt 3:

Victory Animation 1:
Victory Animation 2:
Victory Animation 3:

I hope you like it.
 

PF9

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An Earthworm Jim animated series was made years ago by Universal, which is my ideal studio for film adaptations of numerous Nintendo games (some in conjunction with other studios), notably Pokemon (which has been confirmed for Universal and Legendary)

Earthworm Jim would be an interesting add to Smash, given his TV show was on the WB, the network which aired the Pokemon anime stateside for 7 years
 

PsychoJosh

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I've heard you wanted a moveset template PsychoJosh PsychoJosh , I hope this one helps.

Entrance Animation:

Idle Animation:

Walk:

Run:

Sleeping Animation:

Dizzy Animation:

Dodge Animation:

Normals
Jab:
Forward Tilt:
She swings her axe overhead with an aggressive motion.
Down Tilt:
Dash Attack:
Neutral Air:
Forward Air:
Back Air:
Up Air:
Down Air:

Forward Smash:

Up Smash:

Down Smash:q

Grab:
Pummel:
Forward Throw:
Back Throw:
Camilla quickly turns and toss her foe before casting a Fire Spell at their back with her axe still planted in the ground. .
Up Throw:
Down Throw:

Neutral Special: Mjolnir

Side Special: Hand Axe

Up Special: Fimbulvetr

Down Special: Ginnungagap

Final Smash: Wyvern Rider

Taunt 1:
Taunt 2:
Taunt 3:

Victory Animation 1:
Victory Animation 2:
Victory Animation 3:

I hope you like it.

Hey, I really appreciate it! However I kinda already started on one using a different template. Also you left bits of Camilla's moveset in there as well.
 

AwesomeAussie27

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Hey, I really appreciate it! However I kinda already started on one using a different template. Also you left bits of Camilla's moveset in there as well.
Oops. I'll take my time to fix it.

And glad someone was able to help you beforehand.
 

Oddball

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I'd be highly disappointed if none of his moves or stages involve cow falling on somebody.

It could be his Final Smash.
 

PsychoJosh

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I'd be highly disappointed if none of his moves or stages involve cow falling on somebody.

It could be his Final Smash.
Dropping a cow on someone could be a special move. I imagine Jim's Final Smash would just be the Barn Blaster.

 

PsychoJosh

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Saving what I've done so far.

Edit: almost done.


Earthworm Jim crawls out of hiding!

Stats
Weight:
7/10 (Heavyweight. He'd be on the exact borderline between Ganondorf and Bowser Jr. The new median character between the Heavyweight and Super Heavyweight class)
Walk Speed: 7/10 (About the same as Wii Fit Trainer)
Run Speed: 7/10 (Ditto)
Jump Height: 37 (Exactly the same as Samus)
Fall Speed: Medium-High (About the same as Donkey Kong)
Size: 7/10 (Somewhere in the ballpark of Ganondorf and Charizard)
Crawl: Yes
Wall Jump: No
Wall Cling: No
Tether Grab: Yes

Unique Trait: Jim's guns all use ammunition, which is indicated by a gun icon near his stock counter. This gun icon represents ammo with a number next to it, starting maxed out at 1000 (one thousand) ammo. His ability to do certain attacks are dependent on how much ammo he has, and if he doesn't have enough, he will either do a weaker version of the attack, or won't do the attack at all. Ammo refills itself gradually.

Intro Animation:
Flies into the ring onboard his Pocket Rocket, then stuffs it in his pocket and goes into his standing animation.

Standing Animation:
Bobs up and down anxiously while watching his opponent, plasma pistol drawn and held in his right hand.

Idle: After a moment of standing around, he pulls out a tiny dancing Elvis and watches it for a moment. He then either eats it or lets it run away.

Crouching Animation:
Gets on all fours, resting on his forearms and looking forward. He looks around occasionally. He can crawl while in this state.

Jump:

Jim has an unorthodox way of staying in the air. In addition to his traditional double jump, pressing the jump button a third time makes his booger buddy Snott come out of his backpack and morph into a parachute to help him glide along. Holding the button allows him to use his helicopter head to blow air into the Snott parachute, elevating them both upwards. This gives him a jump similar to ROB's jump jets combined with Peach's parasol. He can only use heli-head so much before he gets tired, but the Snott Parachute can be left open even in a helpless state. Snott Parachute can also be cancelled with an aerial attack. Because of all these factors, Jim has no B moves that help him recover. Overall, Jim has decent recovery.

A Moves
Jab 1:
A quick hook with his leading hand.
Jab 2: Follows up with a straight punch from his aft hand.
Jab 3: Follows with an uppercut with his leading hand.

Rapidfire Jab:
Starts blasting with his pistol. It rapidly fires bullets, each bullet doing 2 damage. Can be aimed in any direction as long as the button is held, and the bullets can juggle people in the air. Range only travels a bit farther than the visual effect of the blasts themselves, which is about two character widths. This attack spends ammo at a rate of 125 ammo per second, although that's not how many bullets will actually be hitting the opponent.

Forward Tilt: Pistol whips his opponent with follow through.
Up Tilt: Thrusts his fist straight up into the air, heroically.
Down Tilt: Snott quickly shoots forward out of Jim's backpack, morphing into a boxing glove with a stretchy appendage. Has quite a long reach - about three and a half character widths.

Dash Attack:
He leaps forward and does a diving tackle, then rolls to his feet and dusts himself off.

Up Smash:
His head crawls out of his body and begins squeezing his suit. When released, the neck of the suit will belch an explosion upwards, similar to his death animations in EWJ1 and 2.
Forward Smash: Puts his hand in his pocket. Upon releasing the Smash attack, he pulls out a "Happy Oinker" (a full-sized pig) and smashes it on the ground in front of him. Very strong smash attack with great range, but has long start-up.
Down Smash: Reaches into his pocket. Upon releasing, he pulls out and drops down a very large hamster and rides on top of it rodeo-style as it bucks around in a circle and bites things on either side of him. Has a lot of starting lag, but the hamster is quite enormous and bites up to four times (twice on either side) before going away.

Neutral Air:
Goes perpendicular to the stage and does a barrel roll with his fists, his gun spraying a quick flurry of plasma if the button is held. Firing the gun spends ammo.
Forward Air:
A shoulder tackle that pushes him forward a little, similar to the one he uses in Snot a Problem. If the button is held, he fires his gun forward while spinning, similar to his animation in the last part of Level 5 (EWJ1). Firing the gun spends ammo.
Back Air: Goes horiizontal and does a flying elbow drop. If the button is held, he will fire his gun backwards. Firing the gun spends ammo.
Up Air:
Snott Swing. Snott shoots out of Jim's backpack and stretches upwards. If Snott hits them, he sticks to the opponent and then snaps Jim into them, reeling them in with his sticky body. A two-hit aerial where the second hit depends on the first. This is the only one of Jim's aerials that doesn't have the option to use the gun.
Down Air: Does a double hammerfist downwards, legs spread. If the button his held he will fire his gun downwards. Firing the gun spends ammo.

Grabs and Throws

Grab:
His iconic head-whip. Can be aimed in any direction except down, and comes out much faster than any other tether grab in the game. Can also be used in the air. Upon grabbing his opponents, his head lassos around them.

Pummel:

Jim's suit karate chops the opponent while they're being held by his head.

Forward throw:

Jim quickly twirls the opponent in the air a couple of times with cowboy-like flair, before spiking them into the ground in front of him.

Back throw

Same as above, except Jim spikes the opponent behind him.

Up throw

Jim twirls the opponent at his side and then whips them straight upwards.

Down throw

Jim smashes the opponent into the ground twice; once on either side of him.

B Moves

Neutral B
HOME-ing Missile:
Jim fires a fast-moving, erratic, house-shaped (or rather, "home" shaped) missile that travels in a wide and dangerous arc. It moves very quickly and tracks the opponent in a circular arc, but it is possible to make it miss and slam into a wall. Costs 200 ammo.

Side+B
Mega Plasma:
Blasts the opponent with a burst of Mega Plasma - an explosive, elongated, VERY fast fireball. Can be held down to aim aimed in all directions, otherwise aims forward by default. . Each Mega Plasma blast costs 300 ammo. If he doesn't have enough ammo when he tries to perform this attack, his gun will fizzle out a very weak and tiny spark that burns the opponent but doesn't knock them back far at all.

Up+B
Manta Shield:
Jim holds his forearms in front of him and they grow hard protrusions, in the shape of a manta-ray. Negates all projectiles and some weak melee attacks, but has long recovery and can be grabbed out of it.

Down+B
Cow Drop:
Jim blows a whistle on his fingers and a shadow appears over him with a whistling noise. A cow falls shortly after. Jim can move out of the shadow to make the cow fall on the ground in front of him, or he can stay in the shadow to catch the cow and use it as an item. The cow is a deadly projectile to anyone who gets hit by it as it falls, and it can spike in the air, much like Pikachu's Thunder. If he doesn't catch it, the cow just looks around plaintively and disappears after a moment. While holding the cow, he can perform devastating cow Smash attacks on either side of him, but his movement is greatly slowed. Very rarely it can be an "exploding cow" (a cow with a lit fuse on top of its head). After a few seconds the exploding cow will go up in a huge firey explosion which is lethal to both Jim and his opponent if they are caught in the blast.

Final Smash: Barn Blaster

"Eat dirt, everyone in the vicinity!"

Jim gets on his Pocket Rocket and rides into the foreground. He then pulls out a gigantic gun made out of bricks and even sporting a chimney, which he holds with both hands and aims at the stage. The gun begins to vibrate, and a giant targetting reticle appears on the stage that players can aim. Upon pressing any button or running out of time, the Barn Blaster will fire a gigantic explosive blast in the area of the reticle (except significantly larger), devastating anyone caught within the blast zone. Jim then flies back to the stage.

Up Taunt

Does a variety of muscle flexes. Can end with his muscles over-inflating, or his pants falling down and showing his underwear, at which point he yelps and pulls them back up in embarrassment.

Side Taunt

Twirls his pistol on his finger,, then tosses it up and catches it in his holster. Can also end with him bonking himself on the head with his pistol and rubbing himself, or the pistol accidentally going off in his face.

Down Taunt

Bounces his upper body around while flexing. He occasionally strikes karate poses in between bouncing around. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaE1MjCZfXw , 39 seconds in)


Victory Animation 1

Jim flies around in a circle on his rocket, twirling his head around like a lasso. He whips his face at the camera and it freeze frames on him grinning before he puts himself back in his suit.

Victory Animation 2

Jim prances around playing an accordion to his victory music. He is abruptly cut off by a falling cow, which he dives out of the way of in the nick of time. He sits there rubbing his head as the cow chews grass.

Victory Animation 3

Camera shows a close-up of a cow's face. Zoom out to show Jim leaning on the cow and giving a thumbs up to the camera. The cow says "well done" in a baritone voice as it eats its grass

Victory Music

Ending theme from EWJ2, shortened to 5 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmhI6yD3s0w
 
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kiteinthesky

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Please for the love of all that is holy and good in this world, put me on the support list.
 

PsychoJosh

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You got it pal!

So what do you guys think of my movelist so far?

The reason I didn't include his three-finger gun and electro-gun was because I was thinking they'd be "customs" (despite being A-moves). I had a bit of a struggle deciding which should be A moves and which should be B moves but I think it turned out pretty well.

Also added some victory quotes to the OP, tell me what you think of them.

edit: changed the moveset a little.
 
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PsychoJosh

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Been filling out the winquotes.

Hope you guys find them funny, I tried to keep them in character.
 

Megadoomer

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Earthworm Jim was a fun game, and while I haven't played the second one yet (I'm thinking about getting it through the Wii Virtual Console before that's closed down), I'd definitely be fine with seeing him in Smash! (or even more Earthworm Jim games in general)
 

PsychoJosh

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The second one is by far my favorite. It has my favorite levels and music (Anything But Tangerines and Flyin' King/Level Ate). I think the animation is much more fluid too.

Granted, I do think Jim is kind of a longshot for this game as he hasn't had a new game in many years. Ideally his Smash debut would coincide with a brand new game release, but it seems Interplay is selling all their IPs as one single unit. So whoever is buying their IPs has to buy ALL of them.

Hopefully whoever buys them does the right thing and gives Earthworm Jim back to Doug Tennapel so he can do stuff with it. I think it's only fair that he gets the rights to his own creation back.
 
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shinhed-echi

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Brilliance.
How didn't I think of him before?
Earthworm Jim represenrs the humor that defined my generation, for better or worse.

He has a little cameo in DKC, that alone means he was in the videogame icon radar at one point.

I've only played the first game (remastered and original). And I love it!
You just reminded me I need to play 2 and 3D.

It's a shame... Interplay went down and took some great IPs with them. (EWJ and Descent come to mind mostly).

I love the art style too. Seriously, Thank you for reminding me he existed!

I support this character!
 

PsychoJosh

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Brilliance.
How didn't I think of him before?
Earthworm Jim represenrs the humor that defined my generation, for better or worse.
Perhaps you didn't think of him for the same reason many others did, which is that he hasn't had a new game in decades.

With Interplay selling all its IPs simultaneously it's hard to say if Jim even has a future anymore. It's a shame because I absolutely remember him being a big deal in the 90s, and then he disappeared into obscurity.

I just hope that whoever obtains Interplay's properties is good people and will finally bring him back the way he deserves.

EWJ2 is my personal favorite in the whole series. If you ever get a chance to obtain a SNES copy, that's the one you should snag.

Everyone seems to hate EWJ3D, but I don't think it's terrible. The writing is still quite funny and it has some cool moments, as well as a modestly catchy soundtrack. Just make sure to play the N64 version and not the PC version.
 
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Yomi's Biggest Fan

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Hello Earthworm Jim fans. Want a place to support Earthworm Jim, but feel that he isn't getting enough attention?

Then the Smash Underdogs Discord is the place for you and your support for other underrated characters/series.

https://discord.gg/x897WQn
 

verysleepywolf

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The fate of this series really makes me sad.

Earthworm Jim blew my mind and changed my tastes ever since my first time laying eyes on it at my uncle's house. I had never seen a game with such a unique visual style and surreal world. I don't think gamers would understand the impact of a game like Earthworm Jim unless you had a personal experience with the series back when it was in its prime. Each level was weird and unexpected, the animations of the characters were remarkably fluid thanks to Doug Tennapel, and the soundtrack stood out as a distinctively different beast from what other video games had. There are also some terrifying moments, for instance that disturbing level Intestinal Distress that SNES owners missed out on due to version differences. You could say Earthworm Jim taught me how satisfying it was to brave through something that makes you squeamish / uncomfortable and come out of the experience all the braver. Then there are levels like Jim is a Blind Cave Salamander, which are simply artistic and unforgettable. The level ISO-9000 is one I never understood growing up, but after replaying the second game like a year back and having a desk job at a call center, the very adult metaphor of the level hit me pretty hard. Due to going through a tough time mentally and emotionally, I somewhat broke down. I adore this series so much.

I'm a passionate Earthworm Jim fan and always will be. I was about 6 years old when I had my Sega Genesis... what a long time ago that was. Times change and characters fade into obscurity. As hard as it is to accept Jim's fate, it's just the way it is. Let's not kid ourselves, he will never be in SSB, but it's awesome to see he hasn't been forgotten.
 
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PsychoJosh

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Welcome to Jim's new supporters! Glad to have you guys on board.

Now then, to keep discussion going, I've worked kind of hard on the OP for this thread, posting winquotes, trophies and even writing up a moveset for our plucky worm hero. But it kind of breaks my heart to see this effort going unnoticed. Won't you guys please read the stuff in my OP and tell me what you think of the ideas I presented?

Particularly with the winquotes, I've done my best to keep them as in-character and quirky as possible. I know winquotes aren't a thing in Smash, but they're something I'd like to see added to the new games just to see the characters interact in more ways than simply fighting.
 

Imadethisname

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Hello. New to the smash boards, but I honestly believe that Jim deserves to be in Smash. He is a whacky, beloved fan favorite who is now part of a dying franchise. You know, Sakurai really has a love for old, whacky characters. Most people I talk to on the subject agree that Jim would be an excellent character for smash. However, I think the problem is that so many people have forgotten about him or just don't know of his existence. I truly believe Smash Brothers might be Jim's last chance. If we work hard and talk about him joining enough, then he might have a shot. I believe the problem, in this instance, is publicity; I keep wishing there was a way to show this to Sakurai because you've done a really good job with this one.
 

PsychoJosh

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Thanks for chiming in! I've added you to the supporter list. Happy you chose this thread for your first post :)

If we're being realistic about Jim's chances, it's an extremely long shot. Even besides the fact that he's a western third party character, there are other western third parties that are significantly further ahead in the running for Smash, like Banjo, Master Chief and Rayman. And on top of that, Jim is in a strange legal limbo where Interplay is trying to sell him along with the rest of their IP, so it's nearly impossible to figure out who to talk to to make this happen. I suppose he still technically belongs to Interplay until they manage to sell him off, but either way this problem presents quite a steep mountain for him to climb over.

Nonetheless, I made this thread to still entertain the idea, as I think he has what it takes to be a fun and incredibly amusing Smash fighter. This is mostly just for fun, but if this thread could somehow be the spark that propels Jim back into the public eye, who knows where that could lead? I'd be ecstatic if this thread got that ball rolling.
 

KirbyWorshipper2465

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I would also like to dig in and support our wormy friend. :estatic:

Thanks for chiming in! I've added you to the supporter list. Happy you chose this thread for your first post :)

If we're being realistic about Jim's chances, it's an extremely long shot. Even besides the fact that he's a western third party character, there are other western third parties that are significantly further ahead in the running for Smash, like Banjo, Master Chief and Rayman. And on top of that, Jim is in a strange legal limbo where Interplay is trying to sell him along with the rest of their IP, so it's nearly impossible to figure out who to talk to to make this happen. I suppose he still technically belongs to Interplay until they manage to sell him off, but either way this problem presents quite a steep mountain for him to climb over.

Nonetheless, I made this thread to still entertain the idea, as I think he has what it takes to be a fun and incredibly amusing Smash fighter. This is mostly just for fun, but if this thread could somehow be the spark that propels Jim back into the public eye, who knows where that could lead? I'd be ecstatic if this thread got that ball rolling.
Yeah, I got the same sentiment, given that Smash can revive dead series. It might help if a second ballot gets started up later on, in order to rally up a stronger EWJ movement, since some of the big name boys are in Smash now (with other ones potentially getting into Ultimate later on).

Also, Jim still has to prove to the DK crew that he ain't a "No-Hoper". Sonic managed to do so, so it's Jim's turn next.
 

leprechaunlink727

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I totally support, even though there's zero chance. I started the EWJ thread all the way back in the Brawl speculation days (I'm too old for this ****). I love these games and I would love to see him make a comeback. Unfortunately the IP has been in a weird limbo for about two decades and his creator has become a reactionary evangelical bigot but I still hope there's a new game some day, we're living in the era of Twin Peaks Season 3 after all.
 

PsychoJosh

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Welcome to the new supporters! I've added you both.

Also, Jim still has to prove to the DK crew that he ain't a "No-Hoper". Sonic managed to do so, so it's Jim's turn next.
Yes, I added a reference to this in his winquote against Donkey Kong. Would absolutely be part of the fun to see things come full circle and have Jim make Cranky eat those words.

Unfortunately the IP has been in a weird limbo for about two decades and his creator has become a reactionary evangelical bigot
Glad to have your support too, but please don't go there. I really don't care for political nonsense and don't wish this thread to get derailed.
 
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