In the last edition of Mascots That Failed, I mentioned that I would be taking your requests. However, not every edition (this one being a good example) will be from a request. I also have mascots that I want covered in this series, and since I'm writing it, they get priority. I also mentioned that the word "failed" is much different from the word "sucked." Today's volume contains a character that I'm willing to bet everybody on this site loves. However, since his last game was way back in 1999, I consider him failed. Today's Mascot That Failed is none other than...


Earthworm Jim

The original Earthworm Jim was a run and gun platformer released in 1994 for the Genesis, and was soon ported to the Super Nintendo (it was later released for PC and even Game Boy Advance). It was developed by Shiny Entertainment (I'd mention other games they've made, but Enter The Matrix doesn't look very good on a resume), and spawned 3 sequels: Earthworm Jim 2, Earthworm Jim 3D and Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy. Jim became extremely popular. He had his own cartoon show (in which he was voiced by the immortal Dan Castellaneta), toys... he was even playable in ClayFighter 63 1/3.

So why did Earthworm Jim fail? Maybe it was because Shiny Entertainment only made the first 2 games. Maybe it was because Earthworm Jim 3D had shenanigans declared on it for false advertising (Evil the Cat was on the box, but not in the game). If I had to guess, I'd say it's because Doug TenNapel (Jim's creator) stopped being involved because he's allergic to mountains of cash. If Jim were to make a comeback, a true comeback with Doug TenNapel being largely involved, I'd buy that thing faster than you can say "but the street date isn't for another 3 months!"

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Volume 1
Volume 2