One of the coolest, weirdest and off the wall games that I've ever played. My friends and I were obsessed with ToeJam & Earl when we were kids and still talk about it to this day. I never understood the plot but it didn't matter. Just walking around and interacting with the environment was all you needed. As you said, a truly great game that reflects the era in which it was made like no other. Who can forget the secret island with the hot tub and lemon-aid stand? When you were a kid, there was nothing better. Excellent video. Thank you
It's funny, Sega was really into roguelikes for a minute in the early 90s. TJ&E was preceded by Fatal Labyrinth on Genesis, a much more straightforward roguelike (which was sadly quite dull, and way too difficult). There was even a Game Gear game, Dragon Crystal, with a roguelike style. Basically, three roguelikes in two years or so, when most consoles had none.
...How have I never realized Toejam and Earl is a Roguelike?? I love this game, super nostalgic of sleepovers at a friends house, but never sleeping just playing this all night. We did finally bea it.
Speaking of covering huge swathes of distance in the first level... there is also a bonus island in the very top right! Rather than a secret level, it's just an island with a bunch of presents on it. And I think you then have to be lucky enough to get another pair of rocket skates on that island for the journey back or you'll die. But I wouldn't know - I always used Game Genie to get there.
I don't think it was the first game to rely exclusively on procedural level generation. Fatal Labyrinth came out a month earlier on Genesis. And, on GameBoy, CaveNoire (a massive favorite of mine) came out about 5 months earlier.
...? Umm, how exactly are they similar, other than both them being puzzle games. "Match three" style puzzles games are very common with a ton of games with variations on the formula, to the point it's become it's own genre of puzzle games, and columns wasn't the first by any means. Also, Candy crush didn't really do anything unique or original, except for maybe it's theming, as their have been games with basically it's exact gameplay style long before it ever came out It'd be like saying Do a video on Goldeneye and how it's so similar to Call of Duty games...I mean, there both first person shooters that have popular multiplayer but really other than that, there isn't much common ground between the two. If someone's going to do a video on a older puzzle game, than at least do it on a game that was actually influential and changed the genre and/or have extremely interesting stories behind it, like "Tetris"(it's back story might be a well known but the story behind it's creation, and everything it went through, is still interesting and unique. Plus there are few games that are as well-known and influential to the industry as a whole as Tetris was, or perhaps "Shariki" , a little known puzzle game of Russian origin that actually greatly influence the puzzle genre and basically stet the mold for games like Candy Crush in the future.
@@Aevilbeast Tetris has been done to death and does not need a new video. you could make an argument that columns was a derivative of Tetris, but Columns is almost identical to CC. that's why I suggested a video on it, because a lot of people might not know that.
I have no faith in the movie, but I love the first 3 games. I want to try the fourth, but I dislike all the new consoles, and just computers in general.
ToeJam & Earl: the "Biggest Cult Hit" of the 90s ? That sounds very much a great stretch of a title 🙄 I'm pretty sure there could be a lot more characters and IP's that earned that title more, but evreything is built on an opinion in such thinking so evreything goes I guess. - Some 90's born things that comes to my mind would be the likes of; Sonic the Hedgehog, Pokemon, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, Street Fighter or comics like; Spawn or cartoons like; Ren & Stimpy Show, Batman: The Animated Series etc. and the examples could be many more of all these things 😉 Still in all, ToeJam & Earl was something unique non the less.
I think he said that he meant the biggest cult-hit when it specifically comes to Genesis/MD games or maybe 90's video games in general, not out of ALL 90's media. Also a lot of what you mention, while they were super popular and more successful than TJ&E don't exactly fit the term "Cult hit". Something is a cult hit when it isn't immediately popular when it comes out, but eventually builds up it's popularity or "cult" following after, sometimes long after, it's initial release and it usually does so through word of mouth instead of other traditional means like advertising and hype. IMO, that describes Tj&E to a tee. Like he mentioned in the video, due to various reasons, it wasn't actually success at first and but eventually as word got out, it slowly but steadily started growing it's cult following, and unlike a lot of games, it's somehow managed to maintain that popularity,despite it's being such a product of it's era and the bumpy road it had with it's sequels, and has only continued to talked about and loved by more and more people.
You could probably make a whole series of videos on underappreciated Sega games with amazing music. This was a fun watch!
One of the coolest, weirdest and off the wall games that I've ever played. My friends and I were obsessed with ToeJam & Earl when we were kids and still talk about it to this day. I never understood the plot but it didn't matter. Just walking around and interacting with the environment was all you needed. As you said, a truly great game that reflects the era in which it was made like no other. Who can forget the secret island with the hot tub and lemon-aid stand? When you were a kid, there was nothing better. Excellent video. Thank you
6:53 dude, I was playing the music in my head the entire video. Even the sound effects.
The gameplay was awesome, but it was the music that made it a classic 😁👍👍
Another interesting tidbit is that Macaulay Culkin actually ended up financing the new game after Adult Swim bailed out.
In a day where Boogerman and Battle Toads are both rented out this was suggested and it was a gem to me.
Fricken love this game. Had the best music of the western developed games of the time too.
I never beat this game but I remember playing it a lot as a kid and the theme song is still in my memories, great game can be difficult
I had a Menacer, and Panic on Funkatron back in the 90's.
I have POF and Back in the Groove these days...
Funcotron was highly underrated i loved that one and remember finding all the secrets in it.
It's funny, Sega was really into roguelikes for a minute in the early 90s. TJ&E was preceded by Fatal Labyrinth on Genesis, a much more straightforward roguelike (which was sadly quite dull, and way too difficult). There was even a Game Gear game, Dragon Crystal, with a roguelike style. Basically, three roguelikes in two years or so, when most consoles had none.
...How have I never realized Toejam and Earl is a Roguelike?? I love this game, super nostalgic of sleepovers at a friends house, but never sleeping just playing this all night. We did finally bea it.
Speaking of covering huge swathes of distance in the first level... there is also a bonus island in the very top right! Rather than a secret level, it's just an island with a bunch of presents on it. And I think you then have to be lucky enough to get another pair of rocket skates on that island for the journey back or you'll die. But I wouldn't know - I always used Game Genie to get there.
Greatest game of all time.
I’ll have to buy that game and try it on my genesis
early 90s was the absolute best time to be a kid
The sequel was my first introduction to Toejam and Earl and it might have ruined the series for me because I loved the sequel so much
Always kind of felt that SpongeBob was inspired by this game, at least Patrick
We had & Played Religiously the 2nd Game: Panik on Funktron
Never Played the first game until the early 2k's
I don't think it was the first game to rely exclusively on procedural level generation. Fatal Labyrinth came out a month earlier on Genesis. And, on GameBoy, CaveNoire (a massive favorite of mine) came out about 5 months earlier.
Suggestion for a new video: show the sega genesis game Columns and how similar it is to Candy Crush.
...? Umm, how exactly are they similar, other than both them being puzzle games. "Match three" style puzzles games are very common with a ton of games with variations on the formula, to the point it's become it's own genre of puzzle games, and columns wasn't the first by any means. Also, Candy crush didn't really do anything unique or original, except for maybe it's theming, as their have been games with basically it's exact gameplay style long before it ever came out
It'd be like saying Do a video on Goldeneye and how it's so similar to Call of Duty games...I mean, there both first person shooters that have popular multiplayer but really other than that, there isn't much common ground between the two.
If someone's going to do a video on a older puzzle game, than at least do it on a game that was actually influential and changed the genre and/or have extremely interesting stories behind it, like "Tetris"(it's back story might be a well known but the story behind it's creation, and everything it went through, is still interesting and unique. Plus there are few games that are as well-known and influential to the industry as a whole as Tetris was, or perhaps "Shariki" , a little known puzzle game of Russian origin that actually greatly influence the puzzle genre and basically stet the mold for games like Candy Crush in the future.
@@Aevilbeast Tetris has been done to death and does not need a new video. you could make an argument that columns was a derivative of Tetris, but Columns is almost identical to CC. that's why I suggested a video on it, because a lot of people might not know that.
Haha I forgot about this game
I have no faith in the movie, but I love the first 3 games. I want to try the fourth, but I dislike all the new consoles, and just computers in general.
shoulda included the music
Neil-ism? Were you talking about nihilism?
Neilism is a religion based on Neil from The Young Ones
Heavy!
ToeJam & Earl: the "Biggest Cult Hit" of the 90s ? That sounds very much a great stretch of a title 🙄
I'm pretty sure there could be a lot more characters and IP's that earned that title more, but evreything is built on an opinion in such thinking so evreything goes I guess.
- Some 90's born things that comes to my mind would be the likes of; Sonic the Hedgehog, Pokemon, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, Street Fighter or comics like;
Spawn or cartoons like; Ren & Stimpy Show, Batman: The Animated Series etc. and the examples could be many more of all these things 😉
Still in all, ToeJam & Earl was something unique non the less.
I think he said that he meant the biggest cult-hit when it specifically comes to Genesis/MD games or maybe 90's video games in general, not out of ALL 90's media. Also a lot of what you mention, while they were super popular and more successful than TJ&E don't exactly fit the term "Cult hit".
Something is a cult hit when it isn't immediately popular when it comes out, but eventually builds up it's popularity or "cult" following after, sometimes long after, it's initial release and it usually does so through word of mouth instead of other traditional means like advertising and hype.
IMO, that describes Tj&E to a tee. Like he mentioned in the video, due to various reasons, it wasn't actually success at first and but eventually as word got out, it slowly but steadily started growing it's cult following, and unlike a lot of games, it's somehow managed to maintain that popularity,despite it's being such a product of it's era and the bumpy road it had with it's sequels, and has only continued to talked about and loved by more and more people.
@@Aevilbeast Very well put argument! You have my respect for that.
The sequel was better. I never even played this one as a kid, but I had the second one.
earthworm Jim's was an awsome game too
is this AI Tucker Carlson? its all i can hear.
Bro, totally.